Dusty's Frugal Fortnights Return!

dustydigger

15 mins,actually. Put most stuff away,and did spuds,and by then my back was killing me so had to stop. Will do the veg later. Fortunately I still have meat left. We got a smallish piece,£8, and it has made 4 meals,so thats good. Mr D will have to have just veggies and naan bread for supper,no way am I doing anything else.

Mr D is sitting there watching news programmes,all about depressing things. He looks a bit irritated at me keep pecking away at the computer,and my upper arms are rather sore,so I'll come back in the afternoon - doubtless after an hour's sleep!

beanielou

Slow down woman!!

dustydigger

Hi beanielou,couldnt have slowed down any further,I have been asleep over an hour!

dustydigger

OK,back to yesterday's tale. After we gave up on mending the hedge clippers I opened my mail. A paper statement from Talk Talk for this month - and they charged me £2.75 for the paper!. I have been with them since 2014 and never had a paper statement,its always been email. Tried to use their chat section,none of the questions really applied and I got a bot questionnaire which wanted me to do a survey about my experience with the site. Couldnt get off the page so I had to phone them.As usual long palavers trying to explain what was wrong,and in the end they got me to get a new contract(still had 10 months of the old one to go.) but they took off the £2.75,and upgraded me to a faster fibre level,for £2.77 less than I now pay. It has anytime calls included,plus the TT supersafe boost  which is supposed to be a good quality security system. I recently left my Macaffee which wanted a ridiculous £89.99 to renew,so I am glad to get some protection. Supersafe is normally a £4 a monthboost on TT,so getting £48 worth of security plus my anytime calls,all for £2.77 less than I am cucurrently paying is a win in my view. Of course I was on the phone forever,sitting on the stairs,very uncomfortable. That including the earlier fiasco in the sun,plus making the dinner afterwards all worked together to set off my back pain good and proper,and I suffered the rest of the day,and compounded it with all the work making nsupper,so I had a very bad night,didnt manage to sleep till nearly 2am.,and woke at 5.

so all those plans for a new start to a new month got totally scuppered!

I did get my crockpot in the afternoon,and managed to unpack it and cut up all the cardboard and packaging in time to put in the recycling bin before our neighbour put it out for emp tying.this am.

My oven arrived last night - finally - but I havent felt up to opening it yet what with everything going on. Maybe this evening

dustydigger

So you may be wondering about us trying yet again to mend the clippers. Its had a sad ending in many ways. Yet another instance of Mr Ds decline. He came downstairs and looked a bit puzzled about what we had to do,asking me what it was he had to get out of the cupboard. I explained about yesterday's messed up cable,but he had little recollection. I had to go through it all several times. Then he refused to open up the cable and insisted that we order a new one.Couldnt shake him or persuade him to try again,so we have ordered a new one - a cordless one this time!.When I told him we would need to transfer some of my cash  from the household funds envelope to the bank - just spent quite a bit on the crockpot and oven,the bank card is getting rather anaemic! - he couldnt grasp the situation at all. Kept reiterating that he would be putting £200 in the bank as usual on my next Frugal Fortnight. No way could I make him see that that was for asd@ deliveries and bills as usual.Anything to do with money is becoming difficult for him,which is not good in a former chief accountant.

Praise be that I proved to be clear on the cancer scare,I forsee issues ahead with Mr D. Most of the time he is fine,but then these lapses appear and show things are not really so good after all.

Well,i did manage to set up my challenges etc for my various sites Sunday night,Monday morning - now all I have to do is sit down and read!

I think I will cover the Canada and children's book first,but I MUST get back to reading classic and high quality stuff,for the last few months I've mostly read rubbish or fluff,matching the state of my brain.The house is a tip,stuff lying around everywhere instead of me having clear benches and shelves like I've had the last few years. And I still have masses of books dumped behind the couch. I had great plans to go out several days a week unloading them on charities etc,but unless its a doctor's appointment I am just not getting up the gumption to go out for a walk,or get on a bus.Not good.......

Well that's it for today.A bit depressing and downbeat. Perhaps tomorrow will be the real start of August,when I am going to be super active,losing weight,decluttering the house,being super frugal and all in all an unrecognizable creature!

beanielou

Sorry to read about Mr D's memory problems.
One of my friends husband is having similar difficulties.

dustydigger

Hi people,done nothing yet today,except make breakfast.

+ health. I phoned my chemist last week  to order the next batch of metformin,but my chemist had no authorisation since I received the first lot from the chemist at the surgery,since they had they wanted me started immediately,and didnt want to go through the normal procedure. The girl said she would send an email to the other chemist about it. Waited in vain till today and phoned the  surgery chemist,they knew nothing. Phoned my chemist and they said their computer was down....yet again,dont know how many times they have claimed this over the years.They would phone me back when the computer came back on.So had to sit near the hall door,wouldnt hear the phone if I was in the kitchen.

One hour later,at 9.45 they rang back,saying they could do nothing,it was in the hands of the diabetic nurse at the surgery,who sometime today makes the decision about whether it becomes part of my repeat prescription or not. If so they will send a scrip to my chemist and they will send it out. From past experience,since they dont work weekends,thats Monday if not Tuesday next week.. Our surgery and chemists seem to be getting worse month by month.I have 3 days supply left,so will have to ration them out. Glad to,somehow I dont swallow tablets well,and boy are those metformin bitter!. Reminds me of being back in Africa taking chloroquine for malaria. Those were REALLY bitter.

Have done various online tasks,dealt with mailetc,all stuff I wanted to complete ready to finally get some work done from 9 am. Its now 10 30 and I start the dinner at 10.50,so good luck with achieving a lot of kitchen cleaning   

Think I will just get on unboxing my oven and getting to know it.,and cutting up the packaging. Then on to cooking. Family friend brought me a huge head of brocoli,some kale,carrots,new potatoes and lovely tomatoes,all fresh from the allotment. Are such vegetables really from the same planet as the supermarket stuff? No resemblance whatsoever!

CumbrianLass70

dustydigger said:

Living_proof said:

I’d like everyone’s suggestions for a meal for 30p a day please. I feel a failure for being unable to budget and obviously don’t know how to cook from scratch!

Has the Member from Ashfield lost the plot?

This 30p thing has been making me feel so cross all day. I have a rather long suggestion...

For a month, maybe in November this year (since the weather will be chilly, damp and dreich, and energy bills will have risen again), every non-pregnant* and non-breastfeeding MP and peer needs to start their day with porridge made from the cheapest oats soaked overnight, not cooked, and not adorned with expensive trimmings.  Then they need to commit to consuming two additional, 'nutritious' 30p (max) meals each day, and maybe one small snack as well (since I'm feeling generous).  This includes freebie biscuits at meetings - no more than three bickies over the whole day (again, I'm feeling generous). These 30p/meal limits apply whether participants bring in a packed lunch, eat out, work from home, are travelling in the UK or abroad, are throwing dinner parties, are celebrating birthdays, are on their days-off, or parliament is in recess. Late night sittings do not confer any additional benefits.  A film crew will cover the Member from Ashfield's personal experience of this month ready for a documentary to be shown over Christmas/New Year on a channel that is free-to-view for those who have cancelled their streaming subscriptions and TV licences.

Mr Anderson's Ashfield constituency food bank should be funded to run compulsory courses in Westminster on budgeting and cooking skills in the early autumn to ensure that all MPs and peers are able to benefit properly from the November 30p/meal challenge.  This might be especially relevant for those who have so far relied on boarding schools, college kitchens, restaurants and domestic staff to provide their meals for them.  They will be expected to give any private staff the month of November off on full-pay so that the MP/peer can self-cater at home when needed.   (Exceptions will be made for MPs and peers with any disability or illness that necessitates extra care from others.)   

MPs and peers whose estates include the means to grow, kill and butcher food, must declare all associated energy costs, value the food they consume from the estate at supermarket prices and include it in their 30p/meal calculations.  They need to be aware that they have limited energy use to cook or store perishable items (pheasant or venison for 5-10 mins in the microwave or on the hob may not be enough - I don't know - it's over 40 years since I've eaten or cooked any sort of meat from scratch).  MPs and peers are not allowed to spend the month drinking their way through their cellars in order to dull any difficulties they may encounter during the experiment.  It's probably best that no alcohol is consumed at all... after a quick think, I've decided that November has to be tee-total for MPs and peers (good practice anyway for Dry January, 2023).

Thermos flasks for hot, non-alcoholic drinks and home-made soup will be allowed (this is a generous concession).  If participants don't own a flask, however, and want one, they must source it from a charity shop.

The Houses of Parliament's restaurants, cafes, bars and other eateries must provide 'nutritious' meals at a maximum cost of 30p/meal to everyone through November (with maybe the surplus money that MPs and peers will be saving donated to suitable charities).  The catering departments can eek out their budgets with supermarket own-brand products, yellow-stickered ingredients, items with expired best-before dates, and foraged dandelions, chestnuts and mushrooms etc. from the central London parks. Fish from the Thames are probably best avoided because of the uncertainty about sewage discharge into the river at the moment.  Management have to allow the catering staff's queuing, shopping and foraging time within their work hours.  No member of catering staff is to be expected to do more than their normal hours given the anticipated stress that everyone will be under, although offers of properly remunerated overtime might be welcome.  If this isn't taken up, any extra workload must be managed by employing additional workers on proper contracts.  (Staff are not expected to follow any 30p/meal or other food-related restrictions themselves.)

All kitchen facilities (whether MP's offices or homes, or parliament's kitchens) should be limited to kettles, minimal use of microwaves, and minimal use of hobs. Other labour saving devices such as food processors or slow cookers are not allowed for the duration of the experiment. Many of Lee Anderson's poorest constituents won't own these and ovens are forbidden because small households can't afford these.

All the utilities' meters in Westminster's eateries, including for cooking costs, dishwashers, fridges and washing machines (for tablecloths and napkins) should be read daily and the information made public so that these hidden costs, over and above the 30p/meal per person, are made visible. Leftovers can be offered as part of the next days' menus because there will be no long-term chilled storage available (again, many of Lee Anderson's poorest constituents won't own a freezer) and food waste is highly discouraged. 

Anyone cheating should be fined a percentage of their salary - seems fair? - or maybe, in the case of some MPs have their entertainment expenses claims cancelled .  The whole scheme should be monitored by a team of impartial nutritionists and energy experts who are not politically aligned or linked to the major food producers, energy companies or sellers.  They will be asked to contribute to the documentary.

To be safe, and probably to avoid being sued for any medical disasters, MPs and peers should be checked over by their GPs before November (if they can get appointments to see them) to ensure that they are healthy enough to participate, and again afterwards (if they can get appointments) to ensure that their health, including their mental health, hasn't suffered.

End of rant. Sigh.

Just had to bring a copy of Broomstick''s brilliant post on Feeling the Pinch here for a permanent copy for myself.

Absolutely wonderful,sarcastic and sharp ly critical,but in a calm sly way.

Love it

Can we all chip in for the production cost of such a programme! I’d certainly pay to see it! 😂

Also where Lord Wilton and Marguerite Patton when you need them. I’ve been going back to her books for ideas for cheap meals. Seems madness we have to look back to a time of global warfare to survive nearly 100 years later 🙄

dustydigger

I think Broomstick     's post was an absolute classic/ The 30p meal team have become noticably more quiet lately. Hope someone showed them this wonderful rant

dustydigger

I've just been sleeping on and off all day! 3 hour long naps at least.

Got my oven sorted out,a bit difficult being on a table!. One problem with my old now defunct oven was that when cookingchicken pies the crust all round would get quite black and burned while the inner section was still barely cooked. This time I had lovely evenly browned pie top. Brilliant. Didnt heat up the oven long enough the first time,but gave it 5 mins extra heating up and it worked great!

One problem though is the whole thing gets very hot,Of course an ordinary oven presents only the front to the world,this is giving out heat in all directions. Hey,I can save on heating the room in the winter!

I'll soon work out how to use it. I managed to get 2 chicken pies and the potatoes to be roasted all on the same tray,so that was good.........