From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

beanielou

Wins for literacy always good. 

badmemory

Oh I am in big trouble.  No-one tell DS it is shrove tuesday - I forgot & we have fish that will go off if I do the usual pancake thing.  You see how I got my username!

Greying_Pilgrim

badmemory said:

Oh I am in big trouble.  No-one tell DS it is shrove tuesday - I forgot & we have fish that will go off if I do the usual pancake thing.  You see how I got my username!

We'll keep ya secret badmemory - but actually, you're doing what is "supposed" to happen, using up all the 'yummy' foodstuffs before it gets all bland and tasteless for the next 40 days 🤣  (if that's your thing, natch).  

LG and I went to MrAl and MrS this afternoon.  And I remembered I had forgotten (perhaps I need to rethink my username 🤔), that MrAl stock a range of foodstuffs for Ramadan.  And they had the 2kg bags of red lentils at £2.99 La1la brand, which is 1p cheaper than MrT (cc price), and - in my case - MrAl is relatively close, whereas I would need to travel to get to the larger MrT that actually has a decent World Foods aisle.  So for 1p more, it makes far more sense to purchase them from MrAl.  I had forgotten i did exactly the same thing last year.  I need to get on and work out where I could store some bags, and get some.   £1.50/kg is still pricey, but the cheapest i had found previously was £1.80/kg n*ctar price, so I have to take my discounts where I find them.  

I only got a few bits and bobs - but still managed to spend in the region of £17 - I shall dig my receipts out.   I DID remember milk, which was the whole purpose of the exercise 🤣

Shopping took longer than expected, so I was glad I had some lentil dhal and swede jungle curry in the freezer.  I defrosted them and boiled up some basmati.  LG lapped it up and declared it delish...... what a difference a few days makes 🤣

Can't think of anything else MSE at the mo.  Thanks for popping in.  I'm away to alter my siggie.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Afternoon MFW'rs

£6.21 spent in hB on food items today - although that did also include a (small) bag of maltesers for LG - jus' cuz 🥰 I will add to my siggie.  I did also buy a top in a chazzer for LG - only £1 and it doesn't come out of the grocery budget.  I was surprised that it was in quite good condition and was big enough/a colour LG likes, so it was worth a punt.  Getting clothes from chazzers is hit and miss these days.

Right, better toddle off and experiment with tea.  Wanted to do something that will make a dent in the bag of radishes that came in last weeks MrL box and found a green lentil salad thing - that can use some of the puy style lentils I bought last month, using the bulk fund.  

Greying X 

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

Tea was successful, clean plates all round 😁  It was based on this Lentil Salad with Feta recipe, although I improvised.  I didn't have any rocket/Arugula, and I used toasted walnuts (chopped up), rather than pistachios.  My vegetable base used onion, garlic, celery, carrot, broccoli stalk (chopped up), red pepper, carrot and radish (chopped up v. small).  The lentils were small green lentils and produce of Canada 😊 Once I had combined the lentils and the cooked veg, I put the dressing on and combined.  I then served with crumbled feta (MrAl), the chopped walnuts, more sliced radish and the last of the cherry tomatoes.  There was a dribble of dressing left that I drizzled over mine & DH's plates.  The red pepper, radishes and cherry tomatoes were all from the MrS and MrL boxes and were used up/finished.  

Don't think there is anything else MSE to report, so I'll push orf.  Ta for popping by. 

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Lawks, I just left part of the post I meant to do here, on newgirly's thread.  I'm really not feeling so well this morning 🤒

Anyhoo, the gist was that it's World Book Day today (sigh), and luckily LG was accepting of my suggestion to go as a character from one of the books that they have that they had read and read and re-read (and yes, it did originate from a chazzer), which involves an ordinary kiddo, who wears ordinary clothes and yet has an extra-ordinary skill and goes on adventures.  With clothes that they already have, and a couple of props - including the actual book, LG was sorted.  Everyone else appeared to be wearing a super-hero/computer game costume or a princess outfit or football kit.  And there were several hundred 4 year olds as HP......

I'm sure when it started out, dressing as as your favourite book character for WBD was probably a novel idea (see what I did there......)  but now all that happens is that supermarkets and the internet coin it in with last minute costume sales and the kids don't get exposed to any new books.  I shall keep on with my purchasing of books from chazzers and ensuring LG comes from a home that has books, values books and they see their parents reading books........

I am losing my voice (huzzah!), sneezing and coughing, but carrying on.  I slept like a log last night (double huzzah!).  

I'm trying to get the enthusiasm to go shopping.  It's not happening 🤣 Whites wash is pegged out on the line in the sunshine, so that's a plus.  

Right, I'll shuffle orf, leaving a silvery trail behind me...... 🤧

Greying X

Bluegreen143

I agree on World Book Day - even as someone who is basically obsessed with books, libraries and with reading to/with my kids I think it’s pointless. Plus every day is book day in our house!

Luckily our school don’t do it. They do “dress up as a Gaelic word day” instead 🤣 which is a very vague and wide ranging brief. 

I didn’t find out about it til the day before this year, so they did wear costumes they already owned (a bought Harry Potter and princess costume, as I am not a costume maker!) but at least they do now know the Gaelic for wizard and princess so perhaps not a totally wasted effort. Though my eldest admittedly already had this vocabulary so not sure that the small gain in learning for my youngest was worth the effort of sorting the costumes!

in_need_of_direction

i love seeing a white wash on a washing line.  hope it cheers you GP

Greying_Pilgrim

Learning something, new words, new authors, new facts, new genres of story-telling would be something bluegreen; in it's present format, it's just a celebration of all things material, worshipping at the shrine of bottom line consumerism.  Honestly, if put to a vote, I'm sure our parents/carers would cancel the 'dressing up' bit of WBD at school.

Back from the shopping.  One of the good things about discounter supermercados is that they don't give room over to dressing up costumes.... 

No green boxes in MrL.  A few YS'd things dotted about, I only picked up some crumpets.  Tinned fruit cocktail is back up to it's previous price of 95p a tin 😟 £24.91 spent.

I went to MrAl, seriously, our branch is an awful place to shop.  I purchased a load of red lentils (£2.99 for 2kg), which has bust this months bulk fund, but will help us out in other months.  I also bought some kayteecee brand black eyed peas which were 42p a tin.  However, in our store you had to dig for a while to find unbashed tins.  And as it was, as I was putting stuff in the car, I noticed the one tin is rusty around the edge - so I wouldn't recommend you go seek this product out.  'pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap' market stalls have better stock 🙄I spent (excluding the lentils), £5.14.

Total shopping spend (from March budget) - £ 30.05

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

I've pegged a wash out on the line, but even I'm not convinced it's the right thing to do.  The beebeecee forecast gave 10% chance of showers at such and such a time, 30% at this time, 0% at this time, all thru the day, so I've said to heck with it, shoved a wash on, and will take a 50/50 chance on it being wet, or being dry........ humpf!

I had thought we were going walking tomorrow.  There is a walk we have been wanting to do for ages - and DH suddenly got all enthusiastic at the tail end of last year about doing it (you know, when all those storms were raging 🙄).  I'd thought we were going to do it last weekend, but then suddenly the car was "ill" and needed super urgent repairs 🙄 Apparently.  So when I saw this weekend was forecast fair, I suggested to DH we do it - as also LG had - quite by chance - been covering an associated topic at school.  DH said no.  Then yesterday he said yes.  Then this morning he's said 'maybe'.  🙄It's a 8 mile, one way, and 8 mile return walk.  It involves travel to get to the location in the first place.  It's uneven terrain, and the last part can be boggy/marshy.  We will need to take a range of clothing, something to eat, something to drink and be intentional in our endeavours as it's not a 'walk in the park'.  Do I hare round today getting Av0n sk1n s0 s0ft to deter bitey things?  Do I pack up spare clothes?  Do I plan how many water bottles to take? and what to eat?  

Humpf.

I bet Isabella Bird never had these issues.

Right, I better get tail-shifting, cover all eventualities I suppose.  Fail to prepare, prepare to fail I guess, and I for one don't want to be THAT person, who has to be rescued off the mountain because they set out in flip-flops and sunshine...... in January.  

Grumpy Greying X