Ding! Ding! All change, please... (now replaced with new diary on MFW)

themadvix

@Makingabobor2, if you make the salmon risotto, the trick is to cook the risotto and then turn the heat off and stir the chunks of fish in. Pop the lid on and let the residual heat cook the fish for five mins. It’s yum!

@EssexHebridean, fingers crossed you get some viewings booked in this weekend - I’m sure people sit down at the weekends and browse RM.

Makingabobor2

Thanks for the tip @themadvix, I'll try that.

That's the 2nd time this week I'd heard ACSIS trainers mentioned. Never heard of them before. Had a look online but there is a lot to choose from. Which are the best for good support when walking? God dodgy knees & hips...lol. Normally wear Skechers but can't seem to find the ones I used to like. 

elly68

Hi EH always wondered if you made it to the western islands as you know my bother and sister live in uist mum and dad brought up there came to mainland never went back but my brother and sister visited and loved it both very happy there . good luck with the house move x

EssexHebridean

Good morning (ish!) lovely visitors - and a right cold and frosty one it is down here! 

MAB - can't help at all on ASICS shoes suitable for walking - my runners from them are great but I can't walk any distance in them as they are simply too cushioned for me! My current walking shoes are Merrells and I've been really impressed with them - not the cheapest, I paid around £60 from Sp0rt5 D1r3ct - but certainly one of the more comfortable pairs I've had!

Crossing fingers for some movement on the viewings on the flat this week - I'm hopeful that the theory about people sitting down with RM over weekends is correct! If we don't see any movement this week then we're definitely going to have to start bracing ourselves for the strong likelihood that we will lose OCO - but also we'll need to try to work out why there isn't being any interest, or whether it is as simple as flats are being slower to move at the moment. the one two doors down is going to hit the market at some stage, but we hope we've disrupted things a bit for them by being listed first as that will be a sale by an investor and he will want to go for a higher price we suspect. It will probably look very fresh and "no work needed" inside - but it's been turned as quite a rush job and it doesn't look like they're replacing the truly horrible windows, so we'll see how it comes across in listing.

We opted out of the Farmer's market in the end - the roads would have been very icy and there really was nothing we "needed" although I'm sure we'd have found plenty to buy! Instead though we took our pennies to F@rmf00ds - two x 6 tin packs of Tuna, a large (100 tablet) box of DW tablets, and a tin of coconut milk, for just under £20 in total. Then across the way to T's for the weekly shop - £24 spent there which was about on budget and included sticking pretty much entirely to the list in spite of me having MrEH in tow!   He was in grumpy mood though as his team's rugby match had been cancelled in the afternoon due to frozen pitches - in fairness by the time kickoff would have been they probably could perfectly well have played, but the decision needed to be taken early. Instead we wrapped up and walked across to Mum's - the fairly circuitous route on the way staying mostly on the old roads and foot/cycle tracks and the more direct one on the way back. 

Yesterday we popped into town in the morning - MrEH had a Christmas present that needed changing, so we parked in Sainsbugs and walked across to the town. Only spend was £4 on a replacement deodorant refill which is my target price so I was content with that and it gets me one back in stock as I put the previous "stock" on in to the holder on Saturday morning. I confess I browsed the B00ts sale, however I also dismissed most of it as tat and walked away again. Briefly considered a couple of toiletry items before concluding that at a point at which I am trying to use things up rather than bring more in, they weren't good value.  Get me!  

MrEH then dropped me back at home to sort dinner while he went to the garden centre as we wanted some plants to brighten up the balcony a bit for added kerb appeal. I'd just taken the meat out of the oven, bent down to reclose the oven door and CRASH - it fell off its hinges and landed on the floor! Thankfully it didn't break, but I was a bit taken aback to say the least. Dinner plans changed from roast tatties to jackets (handily I hadn't yet done the cut-up-and-par-boil bit) and MrEH managed to re-fix the door later on. 

MSE things:
- I'm declaring the B00ts frugality above here again. I mean come on - I'm impressed with myself! 
- C0v3ntry Limited Access saver is now opened - and I have shifted the Reg Saver funds out to Santander ready to shift back again as soon as I can - annoyingly it's not possible to do an internal transfer which makes it all into a bit of a faff. 
- Money is transferred to FD ready to fund the reg saver there - I've used £100 of joint account surplus and £200 matured reg saver money rather than stripping anything more from M@rcu5 this month. 
- We had a conversation in the car this morning around the fact that due to last year's holiday being late, and this year's one being far earlier in the year, we'll have a shortfall in the holiday account to cover the costs. It's not "news" to either of us, but we need to be aware of it and remember that funds will have to be lifted from somewhere else to cover the shortfall. All good and under control though. 
- I also need to remind MrEH about voluntary role expenses still needing done - we touched on it last night but he'll probably not remember. (email just sent nudging him!)
- The butternut squash that came in last week's veg box got turned into soup on Saturday along with a yellow pepper, the tin of coconut milk and a spoonful of the thai red curry paste that we're trying to use us. It also got a blob of the remaining double cream in the small pot I bought the previous week - with the remainder of that going into a portion of bread sauce that we had with lunch yesterday. the soup was delicious and there is a portion in the freezer for me to have another week when MrEH is out so hurrah for that. 

General things:
The second batch of marmalade was made last night and yet again we ended up short of jars for it - which as we consciously had extras ready is a bit annoying! Very tasty though and the excess went into the china basin in the fridge and will be eaten over the next few weekend. I must transfer the spare lemons to the fridge from the larder too so they last a bit longer. In truth they may just find their way into G&T's... 
I have a full meal plan for the week - not, I HAD a full meal plan for the week but it involved eggs, that I then couldn't buy because *egg shortage* so it will need tweaking. I also forgot to consult it last night, which means what I had planned for this evening is a mystery to me...I'm sure I can throw something together mind...

Right - as typing veg box above has reminded me we're due for one this week I'd better go and evaluate what they plan to send us to make sure I want it, and adjust preferences if needed!  Snuggle up to your radiators people! 

Makingabobor2

Sounds like you've been busy. 
What a shock, the oven door falling off. Good that Mr EH was able to fix it though. 

With regard to the ASICS trainers, I actually like good cushioned ones as it helps my knee. I tried some Merrells once, a few years ago and found them much too hard and no support at all. It takes me ages to find the right ones when I want new shoes...lol. 

EssexHebridean

We really are all different with shoes aren't we! I find that while the cushioning in the ASICS ones makes running positively bouncy and lovely, for walking I need something a little more structured and with good arch support - too much cushioning leads to my feet rolling in directions they shouldn't, and that then stresses my knees and makes them hurt. (this isn't a problem when I'm running because of the far shorter time of my feet contacting the ground) I understand that a huge amount comes down to how your feet behave naturally as well - and whether your anatomy benefits from any discrepancies being corrected (so a "support" shoe, for running) or whether you are more comfortable allowing things to unfold as they will. I can't wear very flat footwear all the time without it causing issues, either - I have an emergency pair of full arch-support insoles for the off occasions when I detect a problem starting. Very frustrating!

Feels a teeny bit warmer here this morning thank goodness - my hands were chilly after cycling from car > office but not on a level with the teeny blocks of ice my fingers felt like on arrival several days last week! It does appear that we are forecast to remain on the chilly side for the rest of the week, although not quite to the extent it has been - I'm hopeful that I might be able to adjust heating levels a little in a few days, we'll see. 

Money shuffling done here today too - the new C0v3ntry account is now fully opened, had a test payment sent to it first thing, and that having landed safely has now had the balance of the Reg Saver funds from the C0v transferred over to it - the ones from N@t1onwide still need shifting but I'm going to wait until MrEH's one lands there too I think and do both in one hit. Discussions needed to confirm whether I go ahead and open a new Cov Reg Saver - there seems little point in opening them for both of us as we definitely wouldn't be able to fund both through the year once we have the mortgage to think about, but my new draft budget does allow for one of them still. It does pay 4% though - so we're not going to find anywhere better to stick £500 a month, allowing that I'm already paying into the FD one from existing savings, too. I think the plan will be:
Open new Cov Reg for me, using the existing £500 P/M that's been going to my previous one.
Divert £300 of the £500 that has been funding MrEH's Cov Reg to my FD one
For the time being, Divert the other £200 of that to the New House Fund.

Nothing spendy yesterday I'm pleased to report, although MrEH will need to feed the Oyster on Thursday when he next goes to the office. Diesel will last through the week too - and we might plan a walk somewhere that would bring us past the super-cheap petrol station at the weekend I think, and fill up there again. It's slightly too far away to be able to justify making it a special trip, but there are some nice walking spots out that way. 

Pleased to say my idiocy in forgetting to check the meal plan for last night didn't cause any issues as it was planned to be risotto - however, the fact that I hadn't checked supplies of risotto rice made things a bit challenging! (where is that eye rolling smiley when you need him?!) Just did it basically as a sort of pilaf instead and it was fine though thankfully - but I DO need to put risotto rice on my shopping list! Tonight it's the Tuesday night standard of couscous, this week with roasted chickpeas and mushrooms, probably either some peas or broad beans, and leftovers from sunday's roast lamb. As usual it will be topped off with toasted seeds, probably a sprinkle of sumac, and the exceptionally moreish yogurt and mint sauce. 

That's me about summed up I think - although for full disclosure I will point out that I have been truly awful with surveys this month so I really need to focus the mind back there again! 

foxgloves

I've not done brilliantly with surveys this month either, @EH. I usually add my PA earnings to my Personal Spends but I'm considering putting all of February's into a Savings Pot for added motivation.
F

Sarahwithlove

Hope you get some interest in your property soon. I think some issue is now isn't good time for first time buyers. 

milann

Thank goodness the oven door didn’t break….never heard of a door falling off before. 😱 bet you jumped sky high 

enthusiasticsaver

That must have been a shock with the oven door falling off.  Good that Mr EH was able to sort it though.  Mr ES is handy that way too.  

I think the property market is slowing down a bit now due to uncertainty about the economy and jobs, cost of living crisis and mortgage rates going up.  My DD started the process last August and is hopefully due to exchange any day now but both her and her FTB who is buying her flat have mortgage offers due to expire in March so what that will mean if it doesn't happen soon I  don't know. Fingers crossed you get some viewings and an offer soon though. I guess there will be regional differences.