So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

rtandon27

My dearest friend gave up work after having her son, many moons ago.  She was bored listening to me talk about work & I was bored hearing her talking about house and home.  (...and her son is my godson!)  Somehow we managed to find other common ground and are still the closest of friends even all these years later.

What does get my goat is when new & newish mothers at work continually state that they have to plan their work around their children!  We ALL have lives and personal commitments are just that - no one is interested in hearing about them!

Softplay sounds hideous!  I had to look it up 🤣🤣🤣  Who in their right mind would want to stand around nattering while listening to children running around like wild beasties?

themadvix

Our friends definitely vary in their ability to talk about non-child-related matters. Last time we saw our good friends who we see quite regularly, we commented (to each other afterwards) that the conversation does appear to have turned a corner at last. I try to be very understanding given that small children in particular are very demanding and beyond them and work, there's little energy left for much else. I think it grates a bit more with Mr MV. But I know when we've met with the wider group of school friends and the conversation has been entirely about school/nursery choices etc., I've found it a bit much - we hardly ever see these people and this is the most exciting thing they have to talk about?! It will be interesting to see how it is tomorrow - hopefully not too much of that, but we've only seen the couple with the younger child once since they had him (Mr MV has met up with his friend (the one who suggested softplay) a couple more times, but I can't imagine they talked about child-stuff!). The other one will be fine, I'm sure, as said child is 8 and they live in America, so plenty to talk about with the child too!

@rtandon27, re working around children - but you're forgetting, they are far more important than any non-child-related commitments that anyone else might have! 🙄

@Suffolk_lass that's awful - and I'm glad to hear DS has stuck to his guns on the matter! 😂

Right, I've strung those two bits of work out for far too long (although I've also unfurred two hoovers and the Vax), so time to be doing something else. Timesheet for Cambridge first!

themadvix

Morning all,

Well we had a lovely weekend. Got up early enough on Saturday to get to a parkrun near friends' house and I had a lovely walk round the country park while Mr MV ran about. It was cold, but sunny and beautiful and I saw wildlife and sheep as well as other people. Breakfast was lovely - and very little child chat, mainly because it was the blokes who are friends and the wife of the one who lives in the US hadn't come over, so just me and one other lady. (Unfortunately for her, I knew the guys when they were at uni, so I could relate to most of their stories, so I think she was a bit bored at times - we were also not sat next to each other, so couldn't engage in quiet, separate conversation.) The children were pretty well-behaved, although the eight year-old was given a phone to play on 🙄. Came home mid-afternoon and got a few jobs done before we walked to the pub - we didn't go on the Friday, so this was a nice change - didn't stop long, but enjoyed the walk rather than cycle (it's about 45 mins walking, 15 cycling).

Sunday, I made marmalade, which took up most of the day, and we did various other houseworky jobs, and a bit of planning for week/weeks ahead. It was satisfying to get stuff done (including my evening class homework, very early for me!) and the house smelt wonderful with the oranges. A nice weekend of simple pleasures really.

Mr MV is away this week for two nights - from tomorrow, so it's a bit of a different one. I'm off to the refill shop this afternoon and then on to watch Niece make her Brownie promise (I am so proud and pleased that she loves Brownies 😊). Will then head home to see Mr MV before he heads off. Am quite concerned as he's heading up north and the forecast is not great - he's meant to be going over the M62 on Wednesday 😬. I have told him not to take any chances and I'll be packing his car with emergency blanket, snacks etc. in case he has trouble. Meanwhile, I'm going to pop into town tomorrow, have Cambridge meetings on Wednesday and need to collect a cat key on Thursday, so hopefully should be fairly busy. Have saved Call the Midwife for one evening too. 

My car passed its MOT on Friday, so Mr MV is now looking into selling it. We may shelve the idea for a couple of months though as it tends to get rather damp inside in the winter and is definitely a summer car - it has removable glass roof panels. If we do this, we'll need to take it to the in-laws and SORN it, so we need to have a conversation with them (I'm popping round later, so I might broach the topic then.) Mr MV asked me to do a quote for the car we're planning on buying (a generic quote, we're not ready to buy yet) - interestingly, it came up as being about £100 cheaper like for like than his quote, so it may yet be 'my' car! This would solve the issue of me not retaining my no-claims (the other option being that I take over the NCD for the mini, but this is definitely Mr MV's car), but realistically I wouldn't be the main driver, even if I was the registered keeper. More thinking to be done there.

My work seems to be quiet at the moment, but that can change at any moment - I'm expecting to start receiving work from my main client for the biannual project we do soon. In the meantime, I've got another report to write for Cambridge, so that will keep me somewhat busy this week. 

MS things:
* Clicks, HW done
* Have postponed purchasing more flea treatment (needed for next month) until nearer the time - we don't need anything else at the moment and I don't want to pay for delivery if it can be avoided - by then, we may need more.
* Marmalade - 7 jars of the stuff, most of which will be used as presents at Christmas
* Refill shop are honouring their stamp loyalty card discounts, even though they're folding - I have a full one, worth £5 off, so glad of this.
* Have started a freezer bag for veg scraps to make my own veg stock paste. Have been after an alternative to the v. tasty Marigold bouillon powder due to its UP contents - and one popped up on the Instant Pot facebook group the other day  - uses scraps, and last six months in the fridge (longer in freezer).
* Listed a couple of bits on Ebay to take advantage of listings offer - no interest yet though

Gratitudes:
* Loved my crisp walk in the country park on Saturday
* Enjoying the Sushi Go card game - we've got the hang of it and it's really good for two players - nice even scores
* Lovely to see the uni guys
* Marmalade making

Have a good day all!

QueenJess

Wow - the brownie promise.  That takes me back!

The veg stock paste sounds good... that's another one for my long list that I never get round to, although I still have too much stock to get through at the moment.  What was the one you found?  I found a simple actual stock to make and freeze in ice cube trays through Nancy Birtwhistle that I've saved somewhere, but that was less using leftovers/scraps and more using actual veg.  It did look good though.

themadvix

It's this one: https://www.feistytapas.com/2017/02/homemade-vegetable-stock-paste-instantpot-thermomix/. I like that it'll keep in the fridge, rather than the freezer, mainly because my freezer requires me to go outside and unlock a door, so it's a pain! I'll need to buy some veg, but she says put in whatever you have, so that's promising.

QueenJess

themadvix said:

It's this one: https://www.feistytapas.com/2017/02/homemade-vegetable-stock-paste-instantpot-thermomix/. I like that it'll keep in the fridge, rather than the freezer, mainly because my freezer requires me to go outside and unlock a door, so it's a pain! I'll need to buy some veg, but she says put in whatever you have, so that's promising.

OOh - that looks really interesting.  Thanks!

QueenJess

I forgot, but I also saw this one from Riverford a while ago that makes a dry stock powder (although looks quite salty): https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/veg-peeling-stock-powder .  I suspect it's a case of trying a few out to pick your favourite one.

rtandon27

Thanks for sharing the link Vix - I've been thinking about what we can do to make our own bouillon cubes.  I think I'd probably end up freezing in cubes though.

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks Jess, that one looks good too, but as I don't have a thermomix and only have a elderly (repaired once) food processor, the appeal of the Feisty Tapas one is that I can cook it all first before mushing it. Although I'm sure I could work out a way round that with the R'ford one.  You're welcome RT - I think I'd probably freeze it if my freezer was in the kitchen/house. As it is, I think I'd freeze the jars and keep one in the fridge at a time. We get through bouillon powder quite quickly (it's so good for flavour it goes in most things), so hopefully this would work.

Am partway through a small piece of 'proper' work this morning and have done a little bit of Cambridge work. Feels a bit like there's tumbleweed in my work inbox though. I do have other things to be getting on with - I'm going to head into town shortly. I have cards to buy for first four months of the year (with MBNA card as 5% cashback in Card Factory), library to visit (need reading material), Greggs to visit for my birthday freebie, cash to pay in, will be looking for a year wall planner and need a couple of bits in T's, for which I've got £3.50 of CC vouchers (it's taken me literal years to get this many - one runs out at end of Feb - so I figure I might as well just use off my shopping. I've also got a list of decluttering jobs to do, including the cupboard in Mr MV's office, which is mainly my stuff, an absolute mess and I can't access during his working day - so a priority while he's not here.

I stocked up at the refill shop yesterday afternoon and had a good chat with the owner (it's the one that's closing/being taken over by the garden centre). Sad times. £61 spent, but this included quite a lot, including rice (basmati, brown and arborio) for several months! Used my £5 off voucher too. Niece made her Brownie promise and it was excellent - she seems to have a lovely pack and leaders, so I'm happy She was thrilled with the little Brownie teddy resin model I gave her afterwards - a (£1 paid for) rescue from my friend's stuff she's been selling via me.

Mr MV is now away until Thursday evening, so I need to think about dinners for me - I might just make a batch of sunflower mince bolognese now I've stocked up on pasta. I intend to make (when R'ford delivery arrives) another batch of Glamorgan sausages for the freezer. The jury's out on how good these are as a replacement for UP veggie sausages, but they are nice and a good option to have for a quick dinner.

MS things:
* Clicks and HW done
* Possibly signed up for a MM product trial - I think so, but not entirely clear - free product plus addtional points for completing follow-up survey
* Slowly getting there with 1P
* Will be making use of cashback on cards and CC vouchers later (and removed bananas from my R'ford order as I can get these in town easily)
* £5 off at refill shop
* PA surveys - longitudinal and a whole bunch of little ones plus the CC application one
* Mr MV has taken his car away - we'll benefit from the mileage claim towards new car fund
* YG Safe updated
* Thought I needed to buy some batteries, but managed to shop them from home
* Cambridge pay arrived, Amex paid off, including yesterday's still-pending refill shop; money transferred to savings (not a lot, but I didn't get paid a huge amount!)

Gratitudes:
* A small piece of proper work
* An unexpected phone call from Mr MV this morning - he had stopped at the services. As I'm on my own until Thursday (with evening class on Zoom tonight and Cambridge meetings tomorrow), it's nice to have a chat occasionally (and Mum is out today, so no random boredom chats with her).
* It's dry and clear. Not sunny, but hopefully that means it's slightly warmer?

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Afternoon all,

Well I had a good trip into town yesterday afternoon - everything on my list achieved, even though I couldn't find my library card (it must be about somewhere). Went a bit cheese mad in T's - got cheddar (rather than Caerphilly, as they didn't have any) for my sausages, and paneer and halloumi. These last though and often I find tasty looking recipes and discover they call for one or other of these and I'm not about to make a special trip for them. I also got tofu as another such ingredient, with the intention of freezing it, but was very irritated to discover when I got home that it's 'not suitable for freezing' - I wish they'd give more info on why (assume it's been frozen already, but how do I know it's not just the manufacturer's opinion?). Tofu absorbs much more of the marinade if it has been pre-frozen and the texture improves too, so that was the plan with it. Never mind. In any case, I used my vouchers so it all cost about £8 instead of £12+. Spent £19 on birthday cards, but that's pretty much all of them until end of April. I really need to stop in some respects as I had a grand total of 7 cards for my birthday, so it's not exactly reciprocated. But it's something I've got into (especially for all the children of friends) and now struggle to get out of. (And some are extended family, who I make all the effort for - think I resent this more than the friends really!)

Made myself a nice spag bol for dinner and enough for tonight too. Also made a rice pud as we had a lot of milk - it's so easy in the IP. So tonight's dinner is sorted, bar some pasta, which is good as there's a DFS 17.30-18.30.

Today has been mostly meetings so far. I did another small project for my work this morning and have had warning of more later in the week. However, plenty of Cambridge work to do as a colleague is off sick, probably for at least two weeks, so I'm picking up some slack there. 

I do need to pop out for a walk and to the postbox (aforementioned birthday cards!), as well as dropping some stuff at the charity shop. Just hanging about until the schoolchildren have dispersed a bit!

MS things:
* Clicks and HW
* 1P survey
* Lots of PA surveys yesterday (not today as so many meetings)
* Dinner batch cooked
* Bread baked

Gratitudes:
* Weather hasn't been too bad for Mr MV up north
* Rice pudding - a real treat as Mr MV is not too keen, so I don't often make it
* Plenty of Cambridge work while my work is quiet (we all know it's going to get far too chaotic all of a sudden though)
* Good evening class last night

Have a good afternoon/evening all