From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Humdinger1

Now commenting live from p48 @Greying_Pilgrim.  Re WBD, the best thing I ever did was to fit cardboard over DD, paint it choc colour, and DD went as a piece of chocolate from Charlie and the Choc Factory.  I'm not handy and was working full time at that point.  I agree re the insane competition over utterly meaningless points and just decided that I wasn't feeding the frenzy.  DD loved it.  On the same lines, she went full punk for a 70s day.  Every other girl was in floaty Laura Ash...prints.  Love Humdinger xx 

Greying_Pilgrim

Oh dearest Humdinger - you did give me a chortle "Now, live from Salford......" 🤣  Or are you using BBC Standard pronounciation, and we're "London calling.." for the Eurovision votes of the grand jury?  😁😁😁  You are so kind - and those are GREAT ideas 😁  I actually still have a large LA remnant that I got in a chazzer for literally pennies, years ago - but it's got all the authentic material dates etc on the selvedge.  I love the ethos of "punk" - not so much the scary eye liner, studded collars and mahooosive spikey hair, but the premise behind it.  The make do and mend, the artistry, the DIY, the individual (or collective) creativity, freedom of expression, self-publishing (on a banda machine in them days!).  'Tightwad Gazette' and 'Moosewood cookbook' (along with the original 'Cranks' cafe) are all products of this time (and the run up to it).  Very, very much my vibe - getting what you need, when you've not a lot of moola to fund it.  Plus, whilst I don't like operating in isolation, I do like 'individuality', 'uniqueness' 'one-of-a-kind' ness that DIY/making it yourself gifts - something missing in mass produced 'everyone else has one' ness.  Even modern influencers/vloggers are all promoting the same things 😟 The scene from the film where all the bots are in their 'holders', but when recess is rung, they 'wake up' and automatically wear their 'individually selected' sleeves to denote their owners.... 🙄

We had 'made up' soup for lunch.  I had a couple of manky sweet potatoes in the fridge (I'm not even joking), but peeled they were OK, so I cooked them up in the PC with; onion, celery, garlic, swede and all the 'warm' spices (ginger, cumin, coriander etc), and then I blitzed that.   I put in a tin of chickpeas, some small diced carrot and some small diced swede.  Cooked again for 5 minutes, added some (cooked) pasta and served with some wholemeal tortillas.  LG and DH had seconds.  Used up some manky veg and some store cupboard things.  Not too sure what to do for tea as LG got a late invite for a pizza/movie date with a chum around the way.  DH is still busy fixing insulation tape to the kitchen/outer door and it is freezing in the kitchen and I can't get to the freezer to see what to pull out 😕  I love my DH, but no job he ever starts is completed in 5 minutes flat.  It ALWAYS raises other issues/problems/jobs and ends up taking hours...........  

Greying X

Bluegreen143

I’ve just read your diary from start to finish the past few days (love seeing Humdinger commenting from previous parts I’ve just been reading!).

On “haves”, versus “have nots”, I’ve found that the richer my friends the more likely they are to buy second hand clothing for their kids. The ones living in posh areas with 1/2 million £ houses etc all dress their kids in faded hand me down sundresses mismatched with wellies etc or use the preloved stall for school uniform. We live in a fairly “deprived” area as didn’t want to stretch our budget for too expensive a house, and the neighbour kids are all immaculately turned out in matching designer wear despite their parents have so much lower incomes. (This doesn’t affect my kids as they don’t go to the local school, so thankfully they’ve never been picked on for preloved clothing or lack of brands, their school doesn’t seem to have that culture at all!).

I think weirdly there is much more stigma about “looking” poor at the lower end of the income scale - for my “posh” friends they have the confidence to do so, have no fear their child will be stigmatised for being poor (they obviously aren’t) and also like to signal that they’re being green by buying second hand. 

That said I do think there’s a lot of pressure at the posh schools to sign your kids up to pricey activities and do expensive holidays so I suppose the small amount saved on preloved clothes immediately flies out the door again. 

Thinking about this just makes me realise again how much easily life is if your local tribe/community aligns with your values versus your child going to a school with a different culture/value system to yours. Your school sounds so tricky to deal with - you have my sympathies! 

Greying_Pilgrim

Ay up Bluegreen - how are you? - do you still write your blog?  

I agree - the "rich" have always known how to hold onto their brass, and definitely have the 'buy quality, buy once' mentality, so that the 6th Fortescue minor can wear the same blazer/summer frock/kilt/brogues that 1st Fortescue minor wore....... The Royal Family are masters at recycling outfits - the Princess Royal being the leading exponent - but then the royal kiddies all appear in 'hand me downs' too.   And whilst costs do need to be taken into account - perhaps there is "something" in paying for 'experiences' over 'stuff'.  I ain't rich, but I know which side of the coin I'd like to be on 😁

Plus, in this day and age, I am surprised that we still have 'fast fashion' (for want of a better description), the eco angle should appeal much more than it appears to - we're still all addicted to the 'throw away' rather than mend culture (although I would be the first to acknowledge that manufacturers have made repairing an obsolete function).  

Ta for popping in - great to "see" ya 😁

Greying X

Bluegreen143

Gosh, mention of the blog is a blast from the past! Alas, like so many things, it’s fallen victim to lack of time these days 🤣. I suppose nowadays it would all be about starting up a tik tok channel or similar, and I really am not into that kind of thing!

So true about fast fashion. It’s a challenge because in the moment, the temptation is “hang on, it’s only £10 for this cheap item rather than £70 for the well made version”. But then you are constantly buying. For the kids, they are outgrowing things so fast I don’t want to spend a fortune on individual items. What I am trying to do is fairly strictly limit the quantity I buy (capsule wardrobe) and not buy more than is needed at any one point. I find it difficult to get preloved clothes in good condition for 9 year old boys, it’s easier for my 6yo daughter for sure. For myself, I’ve been having success lately buying second hand nicer items on eBay - I got a Weird Fish dress for £15 from there recently and I think it will last well (rather than spending £20-25 on a new dress from Tesco or Matalan). 

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

An extremely slow, wet, slushy start with us today.  But I appreciate that we've got off lightly.  We've snow, but not much and alot has melted/washed away by subsequent rain/sleet.  It's cold, but not freezing, and overcast, but not dark.  

We have had the heating on, and the dehu to do the windows - both for about an hour.   We've rain/sleet forecast for the rest of the day which is a nuisance, as there is a useful breeze going on 😕 But nowt will dry outside.

Tea last night (for me & DH) ended up being oven chips and falafel.  Some were shop-bought YS'd spinach and pinenut (MrL) and some were homemade.  I did a version of garlicky tartare sauce to accompany.  DH spent way longer on the door insulating than intended, and the kitchen was freezing, hence why there was no incentive to be in there whipping up a feast!  I had intended to use the falafel for wraps, but I hadn't got around to it, so at least they are used up now and there is a space created in the freezer.  

Lunch has got to be some sort of soup ('tis the law in snowy weather 😁).  Not too sure if it will be curry or pizza for tea.  Would be a bit samey for LG - although I'm not sure they would object 🤣 - but also we're getting low on pizza slices for snack/lunch box/quick tea, so it would help to make a pizza now that we're on the cusp of heading back to term-time.

I still haven't got around to making a fruit cake, but we've still 3 of the reduced price mince pies left, so we'll hardly starve......... 😉

Can't think of anything spiffy to add at the mo, so I'll push orf and do something constructive..... 🤔

Greying X

greenbee

I hope the back door insulating was successful, and you'll feel the benefits once you have defrosted! I've rearranged a lot of fleeces/curtains/blinds over the last few weeks to try to eliminate draughts and cold (I did the draught strip last year) and it's paying off. Although it looks like the doors from the kitchen into the garden will have to be replaced as no one can work out how to adjust them to get rid of the HUGE gap at the bottom (you can see daylight through it, which isn't what you want on the north side of the house!). Tension rods/old curtain poles from elsewhere have been deployed on the back door/door into the freezing garage/door from utility to kitchen and are making a bit of difference to the amount of draught getting into and out of the utility room!

Greying_Pilgrim

I think it has greenbee.   LG sits at the table nearest the door and they said it was better.  There is already draught proofing strip around the door  frame on the garage side, but this is old, hard and ultimately pretty ineffective.  We're not as far forward with our curtains behind doors as we should be, but that is more or less on me because I was thinking we would be having windows installed sooner than we have.  We have a patio door out of the kitchen into the garden.  It is the "newest" DG in the house (along with the front door - but both are probably 20 yrs old 🙄) and it is worse than useless.  You have to be twiglet thin to get out of the door when opening singly, and it's a faff to open both doors.  I would like it blocked back up, just for a window (as the house was designed originally) - but am a little scared of the cost tbh.  A wall of windows on the north-facing side of the house, also isn't the best of ideas.... But I know if we totally blocked up the space, or left more of a 'letter box' window, higher up, we would regret not being able to see into the garden, so........

Lunch was leek and potato soup - using the last leek I bought before Christmas, and 4 tatties - 2 in the 'base',  2 cubed and added later.  I also used a tin of baked beans (with the sauce washed off) in the base soup to add to the protein. Finished off with some natural yoghurt and some parsley. It was a slightly pink hue, due to the beans (plus a slice of swede I'd cubed in the base soup), but tasted nice and creamy.  Just the job for such a damp, grey day.  Made it in the PC, so it didn't take long.  All eaten and clean plates all round.

We're still in our PJ's.  I would like DH to go out and brush the remaining snow off the cars.  There isn't alot, but if it freezes, it will be a pain to try to get it off tomorrow morning, in the dark and cold.  If he doesn't I shall go and do it myself.  I need to check there is enough screen wash in my car too, as we've got to go out along rural roads tomorrow for activity.

Bluegreen - I had missed your added point about finding your tribe in RL.  I would agree entirely.  There isn't a good community feel about LG's school.  Naturally some people are friends through their kids, or living next to each other, but there isn't a feeling of 'we're all part of something good and bigger than us'.  The people who shout the loudest, and claim to be 'speaking for all' are so far removed from how we live our lives, it's not even funny.  I purposely don't get involved in the SM side of things, which I think is sensible 99% of the time.  But as a recent incident has shown, I'm sure there are more parents (than I realise), who are more aligned with our values than the usual 'self-appointed speakers for the community' are.  But of course, I don't see these parents very often, so usually only find out months after the event, that they were dismayed by X's behaviour or they don't bother with the parents of Y either.  Very tricky.  Of the parents we do have most contact with, none of their children go to the same school as LG, so we're all navigating different organisational set ups.  Although I value their shoulders to cry on when everything gets a bit too much 👍

Greying X

greenbee

GP - this house is north-facing too. Which is nice when it's unbearably hot outside, but not great at this time of year when it gets very little light despite the huge windows. I've got a thermal imaging attachment for my phone camera and really do need to get on and use it to identify where the most vital issues are and what to do about them. 

I can send you my unwanted curtain poles if you'd like? I think I've reused all the ones I'm going to (they are metal ones left by the vendors, which I'm not keen on, but have been reusing to work out where/what I need for additional insulation!).

beanielou

Very very expensive to get a window partially blocked up. It’s been on my wish list for years. 

I have a full height very wide window in my sitting room.