Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

@Blackcats - What a coincidence re the book!
Lol at the radish meal. The variety I most often grow is called "French breakfast" so I think there's a big clue there!

Morning Campers!
Glorious sunshine here today after a misty start. Just stopped for breakfast & more importantly, a large coffee. Today's small wins will be:
*Free bending & stretching session de-gunking pond. DONE.
*Bedding & household linens laundered & pegged out to dry for free. Bright & breezy so didn't bother with an extra spin - doubtless a small amount of electricity saved there. DONE.
*Venture into depths of shed to find 12 pot rings ready for tomatoes (home made from old pots ..... bases punched out by the resident caveman). DONE.
*Plant out another couple of trays of home grown summer bedding - cosmos & larkspur.
*Water all veg & new plantings.
It won't be an NSD, as we still need to buy sausages & Mr F is going to see if he can get his smashed phone screen replaced at a useful little shop in town. Cost of that will come from our Tech Replacement savings pot. 
Intend to enjoy some leisure time too, probably out on the sunny reading bench with my book or knitting. Mr F has had to work this morning but was talking about shed painting for later. Nothing to buy there as we already have the paint & it was yellow-stickered.
Soot, our house panther tummy-machine went into pester mode for his elevenses biscuits as soon as he'd finished the last chunk of his breakfast. Have explained to him about 14 times this morning already that me walking into the kitchen, does not mean that he is about to get early or extra biscuits - a message that is so far falling on deaf ears.
Enjoy the sunshine, all.
F x

Humdinger1

'None so deaf as them as won't hear' eh @foxgloves? Cats were worshipped in ancient Egypt, and they've never really got over it....love Humdinger xx 

Makingabobor2

Have a lovely day. Its glorious sunshine here as well. I have the bedroom curtains on the line and just about to clean the windows. Then I will sit out for some sunshine until DH gets back from taking car to his mate's for a service. 

foxgloves

@Tescodealqueen - Thanks for your update on the voluntary NI contributions. I don't think mine have been dealt with yet or if they have, the verification process for which I had to send in lots of info & copies of docs, has not yet been done, as I still cannot access my Government Gateway Account. I wrote to HMRC recently requesting that the corrections are made to my account asap, as the only evidence I really have that they have received my large payment & updated my state pension fund is being able to access the details online. I have requested that they email me when the corrections have been made, just in case they HAVE made them, but for whatever stupid reason, I still can't access my account. This whole faff is because the info they hold on me is incorrect, but they wouldn't tell me which part. I was asked questions about previous names & addresses, despite the fact that every letter/document I have received from them since I married/moved house have been addressed to the correct version of my name at the correct address, so it is most odd. I was instructed to send a letter containing several pieces of info, 2 copies of docs for ID, inc my birth certificate, which I had to take into town to the nearest DWP office (job centre) to have it verified in person by a member of their staff. HMRC had absolutely no problem collecting tax & NI from me on the obviously inaccurate records that they hold, but getting the mistakes corrected so I can actually have online access to my own records seems to be a task of mammoth complexity. My patience is wearing thin tbh. I shall wait another couple of weeks then will have to see if I can follow it up another way, probably one involving a hideously long phone queue. 
Glad you have got yours sorted out though, & can see the difference in your online account.
F

Tescodealqueen

I phoned originally early one Friday morning and then again on a whim last Thursday about 3pm about a different matter and got through after about 30 minutes if that helps

maggiem

A friend said to me to ring at 0800 and that has worked for me in terms of a relatively short wait before an answer. Hope it works for you. 

Blackcats

Cats are so cheeky.  Blackcat nearly got an extra dinner tonight as he was swirling and twirling round his empty bowl looking starved.  Just as I went to the cupboard OH yelled - noooo I only fed him 10 minutes ago.

Suffolk_lass

At last, I have finally caught up with your diary @foxgloves - we got back nearly three weeks ago but the bee season has exploded so no time to read and catch up! We have been running around, lifting and shifting and collecting swarms all over, especially the last week.

I just wanted to mention sherry over ice - if you ever have a dry sherry, it is worth trying it with a dash of lime juice cordial. In my touring days (hockey, no performing) it was a popular "cocktail".

@MisterPym my radish recipe is a bit like the ones you have at the Oktoberfest in Munich (or any beer garden, to be honest; Salted and spiral cut radish is a staple in German beer gardens . It is usually served with a mug of beer and a freshly baked pretzel (the bread kind, not the crackers), but using the Mooli Mino Radishes (the long fat white ones). They are lovely with a few caraway seeds if you grow caraway. So here, it works well enough if breakfast radishes (the milder longer ones) are salted and sprinkled with caraway and served with crusty bread and butter and a lovely cold beer in the hot afternoon. I cut them on the diagonal so the moisture in the radish makes the salt stick. Of course, in Germany, both elements are a cunning device to make you order another (maas; 1 litre) beer, as the salt makes you thirsty - but it also replaces the salt you lose on a hot afternoon and it is a very pleasant way to eat them.

foxgloves

@Suffolk_lass - That's interesting about the German way of serving salted radishes with beer - thanks for sharing. I reckon that would increase Mr F's interest in radish eating to hitherto unseen levels!
F

kayannie

On the subject of radishes, I picked up £1.50 fruit & veg box from l!DL this week. It was packed with lots of lovely things but included 6 bags of radishes & I HATE them. Luckily Mr KA likes them, but I don't think he will want any more for a long while!
KA