Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

PennysIntoPounds

You sound so much brighter, good to hear. But don't fight for your self-imposed deadline of a week, take the meds and have the lazy sessions as and when it occurs to you they may be needed. Applying your productive and organisational skills to getting rid of the darned lurgy properly is an excellent use of those skills

Suffolk_lass

Good to hear you are on the mend. I have just caught up with over 50 posts.

I've just had a good chuckle at the pork loins tale. A few years ago, a neighbour called and asked if I would like a leg of venison (it was 23rd December) and I accepted and offered garden produce in exchange. She was desperate for freezer space and turned up with four (bone in) frozen legs in exchange for a string of onions, two or three bags of gooseberries (frozen) and a butternut! Needless to say, my freezer only had the gooseberry space, so we defrosted all of them, boned them out and I made the biggest vat of venison vindaloo known to man. I managed to freeze three bread-boxes after two hours of tetris across three freezers. Not the quiet Christmas Eve we had planned but fantastic meat (he is an excellent shot and has a small business culling for local estates) 

foxgloves

@Suffolk_lass - I read out your post to Mr F who wanted to know why we don't know anyone with spare venison, lol!
F

foxgloves

Greetings Dear Readers,
Thanks for your kind wishes.
Well the big news today has been that I went out! Dosed myself with flu/cold capsules before being driven to town by Mr F for our planned cafe breakfast. I didn't walk very fast, as didn't feel normal, but enjoyed the excursion. The cafe wasn't very busy & we sat by the open door in case I am still carrying any infection. They have a deli counter which had just reduced a range of lovely bread & rolls so we bought a couple of items, as I have been out of my usual bread-baking routines due to the plague. Hadn't intended to go anywhere else but did just decide to pop a few doors up to the brand new Waterstones (couldn't believe it when I heard we were getting that.....shops only close down here, so a lovely surprise) where I ordered the trilogy I want to give to my sister for Christmas. While we were there, Mr F spotted a book he knows will be on my Christmas list with £4 off, so he asked if I'd mind him getting it then & there. Of course I didn't, but I did think he might let me have a peep at it......nope! It has been squirrelled away I know not where.
No further shopping done because after a week of Covid, I wasn't exactly leaping around town like a mountain goat. I was well ready to go home & sit down and I have done nothing but sit & read, have a bubble bath, read some more, since we got back. Oh, actually, we did both do a master meal plan for the rest of October over lunch, in which we really hammered our freezer supplies. It was a big eye-opener as to how much food we actually do have in stock, mainly because our veggie garden harvest was good (there is still stuff out there to pick) & has enabled plenty of batch cooking. It's not my cooking night, which I'm glad about, as I am still doing plenty of coughing, but there is very little to do as we have opted for a nice hot bowl of the leftover beef carbonnade I made in the slow cooker on Saturday with a portion of Mr F's lovely home made jacket wedges. 
I'm getting on well with the cable socks I started while we were in Northumbria so I will carry on with those later. I still have to fit in knitting another pair for the presents bag so may do those before casting on the 2nd of my cable pair, I'll see.
Did a few surveys & tidied up my email inbox. I think that as I still don't feel 100%, that I will aim to do 2 or 3 modest tasks each morning for the rest of this week, followed by a restful afternoon of reading. Surely this should help ensure that I am feeling more like my old self by the weekend. It had better do, as I am well fed-up with this now. 
Hope everyone else is managing to avoid the lergy.
F x

Makingabobor2

Glad you are improving. Do take it slowly though. I feel a lot better today after my bad day yesterday. It must have been the jab that did it. The sunshine today has helped no end, although I did decide not to to my WalkFit class, and just did a few chores instead.  Hope the book from Mr FG is a good one. I do love to get books as presents. 

PennysIntoPounds

Good you're feeling improved enough to go out a little.
Sounds a sensible recovery plan.
Nice to know you're getting a good book for Christmas!

Suffolk_lass

foxgloves said:

@Suffolk_lass - I read out your post to Mr F who wanted to know why we don't know anyone with spare venison, lol!
F

Tell Mr F, you will, when you move to this county! You just have to find them. These particular neighbours have moved to a neighbouring village now. He inherited unexpectedly, from an old couple he used to look after and they bought a barn with several barn outbuildings and a field (my dream property, except I would be happy with a bungalow or chalet bungalow instead of a live-in barn, but the outbuildings are my idea of heaven, with a greenhouse and a poly tunnel!)

foxgloves

@Suffolk_lass - Well, Mr F has his retirement wish-date in his diary, although he would very much like it to be sooner (which isn't possible unless ERNIE decides to be very kind). I've been following the progress of a bungalow for sale in Saxmundham....(now Sold STC) as it's the sort of thing we can see ourselves living in. Mr F was so disappointed when I told him it had sold even though there is no earthly way we could have bought it ourselves atm OR in the next few years. I've told him that by the time he retires (he's younger than me), it might just about be ready to come back on the market again, lol! He said he is prepared to throw anything & everything into savings to ensure we can go when the time comes. We are both on the same page with it, which is definitely an advantage so you may yet be able to turn up on my future doorstep for some plant-swapping!)
F

EssexHebridean

Glad you feel on the mend now - I heard that another pal had tested positive this morning so there is clearly a lot of it about again. 

foxgloves

Hello Diary Readers,
Well, I probably feel about the same as yesterday in terms of the lergy, but I am now sleeping better so don't feel as horribly tired. I've been quite busy this morning but intend to stick to my Covid recovery plan by reading this afternoon. I have a good book on the go & apparently there is another one waiting for me at the library.
Today's frugal wins:
*Sorted basket of clean dry laundry - only 2 items require ironing so I am not wasting electricity heating up the iron just for those, they can wait until next week.
*Did a small amount of budget updates/admin. Still not overly happy with the changeover of my CC provider to a new bank account as payments to my card seem to be slower, although I have done the change correctly because the small test payment I sent did end up in my account & was correctly logged on both that & our current account from whence it was sent. Will keep an eye on it. There are other methods I can use to pay, but bank transfer was working well for me, especially as it is usually pretty instant.
*Divided up Sunday's roast pork. It has already done us a roast dinner, I shall make pork & sweetcorn hash tonight & I've frozen a box of chunks to make a chilli at some point. Mr F has a roast pork & mustard roll for his packed lunch tomorrow & the rest was requested as an Epic Man Stew ingredient. Apparently there is an Epic Man Stew planned for tomorrow (Jacket potato/freezer dive night) that will defy all that have gone before it. There certainly seem to be a good few containers taken out of the freezer, so I wait with baited breath (as I tuck into my prawn & sweetcorn mayonnaise!)
*Ordered a Christmas present for B-i-L. The 15% new customer discount code covered most of the postage cost.
*Fed sourdough jar.
*Finish knitting my cable sock.
Still to do:
*Write Week 2's grocery shopping list. We've done a tight use-it-up meal plan for the month so this shouldn't be a very long list. Must remember there'll need to be a visit to the eco-refill shop at the weekend too.
Right, I think that it is it, as I am definitely going to put my feet up & read this afternoon. 
Wishing everyone a pleasant day. Ah, here's Soot come upstairs to remind me he hasn't had his lunch. And for once, he isn't being a big pants on fire!
F x