And now we go again...

milann

Glad you tackled the frog and won 👍
The paprika in the beans sounds a good tip as does the tomato purée. I’m partial to a squirt of HP in mine on occasion or bbq sauce.

Baileys_Babe

Well done on slaying the frog. Our 18 yo would like me to help them at the weekend log into their online banking as they have forgotten the details 🤦 turns out they haven't logged in for months.

beanielou

Good news on the frog 

lucielle

Well done on the frog munching, with or without tomato purée….?
L

joedenise

EH - your can buy a heat defuser plate for your hob so that you can use your non induction hob friendly pans.  It's what I had to do initially until I got round to buying the proper pans for it.  The big river company has a range of them available for less than £20.

jwil

Well done on tackling the frog!

I recently used the Swedish delivery for the first time and it was well worth the cost, so much less faffing!  (Our nearest store is 30 odd miles away though).

starnac

I also add tomato puree to cheap beans. If it's just for my son who has a very limited palate then occasionally I will literally just add ketchup and mix it in. 

You are really cracking on with the house. I am the same as you however, very active til I sit down then it's all over  

EssexHebridean

Interesting tip about the diffuser plate Joedenise - however I know the manufacturer of ours specifically says not to use them, because it can cause problematic levels of heat against the glass apparently. Ours is a fairly early one for the mainstream technology I think and being a linear, not a standard square one will be devil to replace so I’m inclined to be cautious and obey the rules I think! (Not something I am generally known for, I’ll agree!) 

Thanks for the frog-eating applause - I felt like I deserved it! 😁 No purée on this occasion L - I ate it plain! 😆


Been for our traditional Friday morning walk this morning - dropped some post at the old owners new house (hoping they will get their redirection sorted out fairly soon mind!) and came back via the paper shop. Step count already at a whisker under 8000 - it’ll be interesting to see how much I increase it doing my usual Friday clean and tidy today! 

MSE stuff:
- NSD yesterday - hurrah! The car squeaked home on 100 miles showing available so not even in the reserve so all good. I just BET it sounds the fuel alarm at me as soon as I start the ignition next though! 

- lampshade we’d ordered for the bedroom arrived, and is now up and looks good. 

- banks checked and all as it should be. CC still at zero. 😇
- Council tax money and the transfer to FD for my Reg saver have both gone out this morning. 

- I know have the payment dates for the mortgage protection insurance so can factor that into my budget. I’ll find a few minutes to update the budget book with that info later. 

- Loop energy app installed on the iPad so I can not only get a bit more insight into our electricity use but also start to get an idea whether solar is going to be a worthwhile investment for us. 

- discussion had about overpayments last night - we’ve agreed that while it is certainly possible to have savings at a higher rate than our mortgage rate at the moment, those savings will also be taxable on the interest, so offsetting some of their advantage. For now a compromise is being set with an intention to overpay a minimum of £100 a month to start with, but not to make any larger lump sum overpayments as yet. Instead we’ll reinvest regular saver maturities etc into fixed rate accounts most likely, with a view to then OP’ing a proportion of those later. 

- M@rcu5 interest rate increased yesterday so our EF/long term pot will be getting a boost. 

- Mum is clearing out the office at her house and has offered us Dad’s little stereo - it’s just an old Aiwa one but still working perfectly well so far as she knows, and will suit us perfectly for the front room and save us buying something to go in there. 

- Mince removed from the freezer ready for curry this evening. 

Plans for today: 
- Usual Friday cleaning routine will kick in shortly. I swished the kitchen last night so one less job to do today. 
- one load of washing (towels) already in the machine which will go on the line as soon as it’s finished.
- MrEH has put a loaf on but it won’t be ready in time for lunch - eyes roundly taken off the ball there! He will probably have soup, I’ll repeat my sourdough, pesto, feta & tomato lunch from last week I think as that was delicious. (He’s not a feta fan, I’m not just being mean!) 
- a quick trawl round the house collecting up bits that need to go to the office or shed.
- got a pal coming over this afternoon to see the house so that’ll be nice! 

Measuring for bookcases happened last night and we know what we want/need for the third bedroom. I’ll finalise the order over the weekend so we can hopefully get it delivered next Friday.

right - time to get my music on and head round the house with Jaws/a duster/a binbag I think! Have a cheerful Friday all! 

joedenise

Shame about the heat diffuser being no good to you EH but thought it worth mentioning.  I must admit to getting new pans as soon as I could as it's a bit of a faff!  Needed to use the diffuser for the Bialetti coffee pot for a while until we bought a bean to cup coffee machine.  We still use the Bialetti but in the motorhome now so it didn't go to waste - also saved having to take it from home. to MH and back indoors each time we went away!

foxgloves

Lovely that you can use your Dad's little stereo, @EH. We've got my Dad's DAB radio in our bedroom & I do think it is good to be able to use things. It really sounds as though you are making great progress getting established in your new house & already getting a handle on the everyday financial aspects such as energy costs, etc.
F