Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

Humdinger1

You have, yet again, inspired me @foxgloves! At the end of this week, when we get back from Devon, I am going to do a stock-take of the pantry to see what needs to be ordered for the next quarterly round-up.  I simply cannot believe how much food has risen by; I am reluctant though to eat less healthily.  I cook 99% from scratch as is and eat mostly pescatarian....onwards and upwards love Humdinger xx 

2Scratters

Well the 64yo soap is now on the sink and being used for washing hands. In fairness it feels very nice when using it. As it is a Cussons soap it still lives up to the quality of the brand. The not so good fragrance is covered over with some better fragranced hand cream. Ah well needs must.

Patience with the knitting Mrs F. 

2 Scratters xx

foxgloves

@Humdinger1 - Yes, we also cook the vast majority of our food from scratch, so a well-stocked pantry is essential, as it means we usually only need to buy the fresh stuff on a weekly basis. We thought we'd need to do the re-stock quarterly, but so far we are finding that on a spend of between £75 & £80 each time at A*di, we are only needing to do it 3 times a year - roughly March, July & November. Prices have indeed risen & continue to do so. We try to be cheered by announcements on the News that food inflation seems to be falling back a little bit, but of course all this really means for those of us at the sharp end of the shopping trolley, is that prices won't be rising QUITE as horrendously as they were previously. I think there is a great deal of price-gouging around tbh. In any crisis throughout history, the carpetbaggers have soon followed, have they not? I heard one of the supermarket chiefs admit recently that they have kept their petrol at a higher price than it needs to be & I am sure this will be the case with branded goods from the big corporations, for whom profit is all.
F x

foxgloves

@2Scratters - That soap is older than me & is clearly still up to the job! Better to use it than have it sitting there for another 64 years!
F x

foxgloves

Hello Campers,
A low-key day today but that never hurt anyone. Small positive wins on the financial front as follows:
*Ordered self-patterning sock yarn for knitting the socks I planned for Mr F for the presents bag, Had chosen 3, but ordering an additional ball meant I met the free postage threshold & I also used a 5% discount code. Better than now't. I will aim to 'secret knit' 2 pairs for his birthday & 1 for Christmas - plenty of time.
*Did a few surveys. Up to £10-70 on PA again, which is motivating, as I only cashed out June's earnings very recently.
*Paid a few transactions off credit cards & sent a surplus £5 to the Clothes Pot. I think Mr F will need a new pair of DMs this winter, so it could do with building up. Both my pairs of DMs are also not looking long for this world.....one pair has been with me just one month less than Mr F!!
*Picked 2 more cucumbers.
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch & breakfast.
*Sorted clean laundry & ironed only what absolutely needed it.
*Do a little bit of mending (not done yet, will do over afternoon coffee)
Today's leisure time all seems to revolve around 'finishing off' which is quite motivating psychologically - I will be finishing my book, sorting out the last bit of pulling out that knitting as I am just a couple of rows away from the mistake now, & completing a section of my family tree research. 
I can see an enormous black cloud hoving into view, so my plans to take my lunch out into the garden with my book may not come to anything.
Take care, m'dears,
F x

milann

I’ve just had a catch up on your diary. Sorry you have had to cancel your holiday. I had several years where we didn’t go away as we were waiting on hospital tests and decisions. It was upsetting at the time but we are making up for it now by getaway as often as we can.

foxgloves

Thanks for the sympathy, @milann. I am resigned to the fact that we had to cancel & I think it was the most sensible decision. The problem is that in being sent for scans for one problem following my illness 3 months ago, they also found another, which may actually be linked. I don't think I will escape surgery tbh, but the word 'keyhole' was used today, which somehow didn't feel quite so invasive. I am also kind of hoping that as both issues are on the same side, that both things could be sorted out at the same time, though I expect I'm overlooking something there, I'll have to wait & see. Investigations still underway, including camera up 'where the sun don't shine'.......oh joy.
F

scandimore

One of my cats has a tendency to be sick quite regularly. I've narrowed it down now with trial and error and believe she might be allergic or intolerant to grains / gluten...apparently that's a thing with cats! Of course, one of the only wet foods she tolerates works out at £3 per day, so we've compromised with p*rina selective palates which they both can eat. Fussy devils! 

foxgloves

Hello Diary Readers,
Today has whizzed by very fast. I think this is because I spent most of this morning a)Worrying about telephone consultation appointment from hospital general surgery dept b) Waiting for the call c) Actually on the phone with consultant (who I must say was very nice & good at listening) d) Writing up notes from the conversation, especially their theory that both problems are linked because one (which seems to have involved infection) may have caused the other e) Liaising with Mr F about car availability- we share the car but his place of work is 26 miles away with no viable public transport f) Liaising with endoscopy unit at our local hospital & booking an appointment g) Relaying all of the above to Mr F who had clearly spent most of his team meeting this morning worrying about me h) Pouring myself a big coffee & thinking 'Bloody bodies, who'd have one?!! Anyway, all that kind of took up most of the morning. However, a few small positive money saving wins:
*Managed to get my next test booked at our local hospital instead of the main one - a saving of 42 miles worth of petrol, as our town hospital is about 2 miles away. Knowing the terrain, we may also manage to find free street parking.
*Baked a batch of bread rolls.
*Made tomorrow's pack-up for Mr F.
*Watered the veg.
*Picked 5 more courgettes, another 3 cucumbers, a bunch of spring onions & some coriander.
*Tied in the trombocino courgette as it truly grows like mad & I don't want it to break in the wind, which has been quite noticeable these last couple of days. I have planted it to grow up the archway into the veg plot.
*Peppers for tonight's fajhitas are on the hefty side (much like my good self) so have diced & frozen some for use next time I make a pizza or a veggie couscous or similar, as it'll save me buying another one.
(Hang on, just need to rescue a bee.................Right, that's him captured & put outside........are there ANY winged creatures capable of locating an open exit, I wonder? Oh, & that has reminded me that as far as I know, we still have a mouse at large in the house, courtesy of Soot. To be fair, he has put a fair bit of time into waiting to recapture it, but it went under the kitchen dresser, which is a big one, laden with my china collection, all my mixing bowls, stereo, etc, & can't be moved. He lost interest then & moved onto begging for snacks alternating with snoozing. Electronic trap set by Mr F but no capture. Perhaps it doesn't like peanut butter. Anyway, I digress....
Still to do:
*Pick 7 meals from July's master meal plan for the week ahead - our meal planning goes from Saturday to Friday - & write shopping list.
*Do a 'use-it-up' round-up of the fridge salad drawer as with Thursday usually being our shopping night, Wednesdays are generally getting into 'use-it-or-lose-it' territory & I can't bear food waste.
*Silly knitting error now resolved by frogging those 8 (long) rows, so I will re-knit those tonight while watching 'Sewing Bee'.

marionmgcars

Getting organised again.  Collected some grapes, cherries and iceberg lettuce from Olio today, so that’s a treat.  Posted a pair of gorgeous gloves I was given as gift, (but too small) to a friend who loves surprise packages.  Finished a pair of socks using left over sock yarn, so it feels like a free pair.  Onward and upward 👍