And now we go again...

EssexHebridean

Aww thanks all, how nice to have lots of visitors all helping usher to evil little bugs away! Milann & BC hopefully you are both feeling thoroughly on the mend now as well, there certainly is a lot of nasties about! BM that's prompted me to wonder whether it could be years of repeated tonsilitis that has affected my hearing in one ear too. Hmmm. Once mine goes past just "mild" it invariably leaves me with uncomfortable ears which is hugely annoying! 

LaPlan - November "eat the freezer" challenge, then?!

Anyhoo - we did get our weekend down in Devon with the inlaws - thanks to my lurgy I stayed with Lovely SIL/BIL plus Niece and Nephew which was fab, SO good to get to spend lots of time with them and far better risking my germs to 4 robust healthy immune systems rather than MIL's rather frailer one! MrEH still stayed at MIL's so he got to spend some good time with her anyway, and the food festival was great fun and we all enjoyed that.  Our purchases were entirely cheese and bun-based, oh and a bottle of Rum purchased by MrEH too. The buns being Shaldon Bakery's rather fabulous wonderfully named "Uglibuns" which are quite the family favourite and always get pounced on when we see them! We've also returned home with a glorious selection of cheeses which will keep us going for a decent while now - all from local cheesemakers including a couple we hadn't come across before. Also came home with a small Bay sapling in a pot (replacing our one from the flat which has seemingly snuffed it) which BIL had kindly dug out of the garden there for us, (they pop up all over the place down there so this wasn't as "generous" as it may sound!) and also a rather beautiful handmade ceramic bowl that SIL wanted to get rid of and asked if we might want - it's gorgeous, and fills my desire for a fruit-bowl perfectly, so we are both happy with that outcome!

I had Monday off work so made the most of the chance for a bit of a batch-cook - a cheaty easy fish pie mix using frozen white-fish and salmon fillets plus the last of a pack of prawns, and half a bag of frozen mixed veg - that made 4 portions and I elected just to use those this week rather than adding more to the freezer. It's been served "deconstructed" with HG tatties boiled alongside on Monday, and I think we will probably do much the same this evening, although I may cook the tatties slightly more to leave them a cross between just boiled, and mashed. 

Also got the shopping dealt with on Monday - decided to just pop to Al's on foot rather than taking the car anywhere, and that of course also meant that the temptation to impulse buy was resisted. 

The garden is still providing in a small way - a handful of runner beans were had with tea on Monday night, and there is one small cucumber in the fridge...there are still a few dinky little courgettes as well, still on the plants at the moment but will probably be taken off on Friday, I think. Toms in the dish on the windowsill are still ripening - my next batch cook will involve those in some way I think, although it may just be to make a quick tomato and garlic sauce. 

More money-saving activity:
- MrEH dodged a trip into London on Monday and so SHOULD get through the last few days of the month without feeding his Oyster I think...
- His car got two top-ups with fuel at the weekend, specifically when we found it at a decent price. That amounted to a single fill though so was all budgeted for.
- The cheese purchases will come from the account we pay into from personal spends monthly which usually covers spending at the Good Food Show (but we're not going this year, so it has been used at other food festival types things we have attended instead.) I've already shifted money across to cover that. Of course they will also be forming part of regular meals so there is a grocery budget saving there too.
- I need to sit down and do an extended  meal plan again - that might be a job for this evening as then I can enlist MrEH's input as well.
- WM and DW have been run on the cheapest electric we could manage - although this week is generally not looking brilliant, there is a possibility of Friday being better by the look of it, which would be handy if I was batch-cooking again. 
- Am just under £30 for prolific cashout for the moth - so hoping that a couple of outstanding bits pay out between now and tomorrow! I've picked up a few nicely high paying but undemanding bits over the last week or so which is a bonus. 

I have started a list of house-things I want to set time aside to do - mostly involving paint it seems. I can easily crack on with getting a coat of something light coloured over "Marilyn" on the dressing room wallpaper (thankfully only on a single wall, and not much of that on show as a lot of it is behind furniture where it will be staying!). I also want to have a go at that front room windowsill as well, as I think that will make a big difference to the look of the room, and the main redecorating will be waiting a while in there. 

beanielou

Glad you enjoyed your weekend. 

lucielle

Sounds like a good weekend was had by all. Nice the garden is still producing. 

L

EssexHebridean

Thanks Beanie & L! 

end of month money stuff has mostly been covered:
- we have both been paid
- Money shuffle from my pay to various savings pots done
- Some surplus shuffled to the mortgage (into the £103k's now!)
- More surplus shuffled to the long term savings (the bit that was left after the OP and the PBs)
- Some moving about of funds from my personal savings to get a wee bit more interest

I need to sort out the CC money shuffle today - we both owe a personal spends/fun account contribution from the weekend, and MrEH needs to send across the dosh for his rum too. 

I remembered to get the tub of ragu out of the freezer last night so that should be defrosted ready for tea this evening, I think that's the last "HM Ready meal" in there as well so I need to have a dig through and then decide what this week's batch cook is going to be. 

Called in to the Turkish supermarket near work last night for a pack of the flatbreads we love, and a new bag of couscous seasoning as I used the last of the previous one on Tuesday. Also fell victim to an impulse buy of my favourite brand of granola's "Mango & Macadamia" variety for £2.99 which is about as cheap as I ever see the brand, and I NEED to try that flavour!

Jobs for tomorrow/weekend:
- Update meal plan for the next few weeks
- shopping list (and shopping!)
- decide on batch cook, and get it done early enough in the day that the electric prices aren't through the roof
- stuff to go into the loft
- next stage of tidying in the shed?
- Courgette plants to get dealt with
- begin to plan next year's planting

EssexHebridean

Just cashed a little over £30 out of Prolific which has gone straight to my tech replacement pot.

Also just placed an order with Z1pv1t via TCB - using their AFF4 code to get £4 off the order should also mean I get the cashback on it this time - and worked out fractionally better than using ZV's own code. 

Sun_Addict

I'm glad you're feeling better and managed to enjoy what sounded like a great weekend away. 

LadyWithAPlan

Sounds like you all had a great time over the weekend, this cool, dry but crisp weather is great for being outdoors.

Issue is with The Great November Freezer Defrost is I keep picking up YS meat as well as deliberately freezing extra meals of my various bean concoctions in an attemot to not spend hours every day in the kitchen

On the whole ENT when having the flu dilemma I recommend using daily a saline clean such as NeilMed sinus rinse, it helps reduce symptons especially of feeling clogged up and also removes the virus so if your nose is running it isnt then running bacteria down onto your throat etc as the saline rinse cleans it all up. I always use it after a long travel as well as when I do have a cold or anytime I need to make sure I am not getting ill.
I think its an amazing product

EssexHebridean

This is my issue with the freezer too  LaPlan- “oh, I’ll just batch-cook X, Y or Z” and then need to find space for several more portions to squeeze in! 😂 Having seen a chink of space though, I’ve encouraged MrEH to make rolls today - something we actually need imminently, which will fill some of the space to stop me buying anything more to put into it! 

While he had the oven heating anyway for the rolls, I took the opportunity to prep the squash I bought in Al’s last week (95p) and get that roasted (with plentiful smoked salt, black pepper and chilli flakes, plus a drizzle of smoked rapeseed oil), along with all the currently ripe toms which had garlic and basil added and will make the basis for a pasta sauce for Monday evening. Those have now cooked off and are finishing off in the cooling oven. The squash will be made into soup with some coconut milk I think - and if Al’s have more of those when I head there next (I forgot to look this morning) I will probably buy another couple.

MSE Stuff:
- making use of a hot oven and 18p-ish per kWh electric for cooking stuff
- start of the month bank stuff has been checked and all good
- washing was done overnight (on 15p-ish per kWh electric) and is now outside on the line in the sort of light breeze that might just see it dry before the day is out…
- £100 transferred to the mortgage this morning - now at £103,331.34 - meaning in we will be well into the £102k’s by next month! 

- PB’s now sitting at £1100 - surely ERNIE can celebrate this by giving us a win this month?! 

- free exercise this morning in the shape of a decent walk with MrEH - surprisingly warm out there still allowing we are now in November! 

- a quick potter round the garden when I put the washing out - retrieved 4 dinky courgettes (that has to be the last of them now?) and also spotted a couple of sections of the beans which were positively INFESTED with black fly - those have been lopped off and gone into the garden waste bin. 

- mrEH informed me that we will need currants for the Christmas cake, so those got bought when I shopped this morning. He’s now under instruction to check the recipe and confirm to me what else will be needed so I can purchase over the following few weeks. 

- main shopping done - just under £25, but there will be some more oddments to get yet. 

- meal plan for next week is done - I plan to spend some time this afternoon extending that for another few weeks ahead. 

- I bought eggs so will make scones shortly to provide a vehicle for some of the tasty clotted cream we brought back from Devon with us! 

- shopped on foot so saved a bit of diesel and wear and tear. 

I have burgers and chips planned for this evening - although having bought the burger buns and defrosted the burgers I am questioning whether we do still have a bag of chips in the freezer…? Oh well - if it turns out we haven’t then it will be a variant on wedges using the HG tatties instead - that will work perfectly well! 

My mission for a November by the way is a return to doing Yoga - I’m sore, stiff and achey, and it’s just lack of motivation stopping me, I already know that I feel SO much better when I’m getting a decent stretch in on a regular basis, so that’s the incentive. 

Debsnewbudget

Our local zero waste shop sells a brown bag Containing everything you need to bake your Christmas cake along with instructions.
they even swopped out the almonds for me 
for me it saves buying ingredients then trying to work out how to finish the supplies off. 

badmemory

Oh dear!  You have reminded me I need to sort & update "that" list.  Still I am ahead of the game as I already have one advent calendar  My list doesn't just include ingrediants required for every recipe but also the quantities & since a near disaster over 20 years ago it also summarises & totals those quantities.  It always amazes me how many breadcrumbs I seem to get through between C Eve & boxing Day.  That item at least is easier now I make my own (it also doesn't give me the bloat.