From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

mumtoomany

Hello, Greying. (I always want to call you Greyling, like a character in an old Morse episode). Half term here, South West Wales, was also last week, but the 
DGC are not back till tomorrow, teacher training day today. Have you always been vegetarian? She asked nosily! We tend to eat little meat compared to most, smaller portions of it but still most days, (dadtoomany is a real carnivore). Around half of our meat is home produced, the rest is usually yellow stickered. 

You've inspired me to make some cake this afternoon. That and we've finished eating the huge rice pudding I made in the slow cooker to use up the, very, our of date milk. Hugs mumtoomany.xxx

EssexHebridean

edinburgher said:

I can't quite wrap my head around people spending £200 or thereabouts on groceries!!! I think to myself "right, so that basically means being a vegetarian" but then canny folk like EH mention free range chicken and eggs 🤔

The eggs are the (relatively) easy bit - I always nab the 15-egg mixed weight boxes. FR chicken is getting increasingly tricky as prices have increased - at least count it was impossible to find anything for under about £9 now - and although I get a few meals from the bird, still, it's a good chunk to factor in to a week's shopping bill. As Greying rightly says though - a chicken for us is a once a month thing, and even then, not always that often - if we wanted to eat it more often then that in itself would realistically mean extra on the monthly budget for a start. 

How fantastic seeing the woodpeckers - if you had two then chances are at this time of year that may well be a pair. It's not surprising that you may not have heard the sound as they don't make that distinctive drumming noise so  much at this stage in the year as mostly what they are doing right now is just pecking at the bark to get at insects etc. Ooh - you've just reminded me too - the new nest box we bought the other week, it had its first viewing on Friday morning! A pair of blue tits turned up, one went in for a good long look, the other then popped in afterwards and they both flew again a few moments later. No idea if they may have been back over the weekend at all but fingers crossed! Honestly - our flat didn't get any viewings that fast!! 

Greying_Pilgrim

mumtoomany said:

Hello, Greying. (I always want to call you Greyling, like a character in an old Morse episode). Half term here, South West Wales, was also last week, but the 
DGC are not back till tomorrow, teacher training day today. Have you always been vegetarian? She asked nosily! We tend to eat little meat compared to most, smaller portions of it but still most days, (dadtoomany is a real carnivore). Around half of our meat is home produced, the rest is usually yellow stickered. 

You've inspired me to make some cake this afternoon. That and we've finished eating the huge rice pudding I made in the slow cooker to use up the, very, our of date milk. Hugs mumtoomany.xxx

Ay up sweetie - how are you.  I should act more 'fish-like' 😁 Unfortunately it is reference to my barnet - which is a lighter shade of pale day by day...... 😉

No, I haven't always been vegetarian.  I ate meat - and liked it, and came from a family of meat-eaters, very much in the 'meat and 2 veg vein'.  But in my late teens I started to be a bit worried about my weight and read in a BBC Yoga book that a vegetarian diet could perhaps help with weight control.  It worked reasonably well for me, and pretty much from my early 20's until I had LG I stayed a very similar weight.  Needless to say, after having LG and being an older mum, I've had trouble shifting the last stone 🙁 

At university and beyond I got interested in vegetarian cooking, and on the couple of occasions that I have had meat since giving up, it's made me feel extremely bloated and uncomfortable, so I've easily not eaten meat for 25 years now.  Crucially, I don't personally miss meat - so don't routinely seek out meat alternatives (although full-disclosure we had veggie mince tonight).  But I never have problems with people eating meat - and I think your approach is absolutely marvellous - you give your animals the best home and care and then use them as food - I bet nose-to-tail eating is second nature to you.  

EH - I think the woodpeckers may have been a pair as one seemed slightly larger than the other, and the larger one did appear to be leading, but then also acting as look-out, whilst the slightly smaller one was the one doing all the exploring of the trunk.  We are very lucky, as these birds - such a variety - choose to come close to our garden - although not necessarily into the garden, but we still get to see them.  I love that birdlife is conducting 'viewings' of nestboxes in your neck of the woods - do you think there are waiting lists and bidding wars, like in the human world?

So I made savoury veggie mince for tea tonight, and shoe-horned a load of extra veggies in.  I served it with fusilli pasta as we just needed a quick 'heat 'n eat' option after getting in late after LG's class.  We all had chopped tinned pineapple and greek yoghurt for pud.

The washing did very well, although the top that encountered all the problems this morning was not bone dry.  But at least I am more or less caught up with the clothes washing, so that's a positive.  

I hadn't realised that I still had the £2 that was leftover in the launderette money bag from January.  As long as I don't need it before next Tuesday, I shall commit to put it in the 'C4C' pot - as it will mean I will have done February without needing to use the dryers.  But that is all in the land of 'if's and's pots pans' at the mo, so I'm going to carry on looking for spare pennies hither and yon.  

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

Getting to our destination safely - although we were late 🙄 mea culpa 🙁
sunshine, a purposed walk and aromatic blossom - free pleasures
encouragement

Thanks for popping by and joining in.  Appreciated.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Well I had a nice surprise this morning when I realised that I am a complete and utter parsnip (🤣) and have no need to pay for LG's club tonight, as this months payment has already been made.  I'd got all confused and thought this was the first session in February - of course, it isn't.  Doh!  So I have amended my figures on the CHB, and at this moment in time - unless an unexpected clothes/other purchase comes up, I may well have sufficient CHB to put towards the February 'C4C' commitment - along with any other pennies I can snaffle from other sources.  It's not a given, but it's given me a boost - even if I am a complete parsnip 🙄🤣

I haven't been as able to keep a lid on my emotions in recent days - I had been going ok-ish - but I've had a look at the 'triggers' and they are kind of all from the same stable (stress/worry/anxiety) So need to calmly look at them and see where I can take the heat out of the triggers.  I refuse to sabotage myself. I also need to be kinder to myself.  I made a mistake last night which made us late - but that was all.  I was very hard on myself for making the mistake in the first place, instead of considering that if it was going to happen, it was gonna happen yesterday as it was a full on day, with lots of new timings and events kicking in.  

I've done a quick wash of activity wear and shoved that on the line this morning.  It's forecast to be dry and breezy this morning with rain later.  If that is correct, I should be able to get this stuff pretty dry (it's lightweight, quick drying) by lunchtime.  Which will be helpful.  The machine performed fine today, so hopefully yesterday's fandango was down to imbalance.

Tea will be soup.  Haven't completely decided what type yet, but it needs to be quick and easy before we go out early evening. 

Right, best shift-a-tail feather.  Need to get a walk squeaked in before the weather changes.

Greying X

beanielou

A parsnip 😂😂

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

Back in and LG had a good time 😁

So I popped to MrA whilst over that side of town, but they didn't seem to have much of anything in stock 🤔 so i left empty handed.  Popped over to MrS, and they had similarly stripped shelves - particularly in the fresh produce aisles in their case.  Anyhoo, I did end up spending £2.49.  I got the TV mag, some dill, some YS'd hot dog rolls and a YS'd bloomer loaf - which although was white bread, was 35p instead of £1.90, so I figured I could definitely find a use for that.  Must update my siggie.  Pretty sure there will be nowt of the grocery budget left after Thursday's shop - which makes me wonder why I thought it so important to buy dill..... particularly when I'll need salt before the month end 🙄 Complete and utter parsnip.

I got my walk in and the washing got dry, so double win on that score.  The rain did eventually come, but something like 3 hrs after it was forecast, so we had sunshine for longer than expected.  No complaints from me about that. 

I made greek lentil soup (Fakes) for tea.  I was going to make a recipe for Spanish Lenten soup that  i have, as we're in Lent, but it had spinach in it, and although I have some, I figured it wasn't the best reheating option, and DH needed to be able to reheat it when he came in from work.  The lentil soup is nice, used some of the green (because the pack was open) lentils I got from MrM, and took 5 minutes to cook, with natural release in the PC.  I put small diced swede and carrot in my version, simply because I could.  It is the addition of vinegar at the end that makes this soup.  I served it with YS'd wholemeal pitas.  LG liked it and cleared their bowl.  I have also found a recipe for Greek Mung Bean soup, that I've not tried before, so I will have a go at making that one day, as I collect mung bean recipes, and have bought some in the MrM indus products offer.  

I did see some most wonderful hellebores (Lenten Rose) on my walk.  Because they were on top of a wall, you got a perspective on them that you don't always see.  They were the most wonderful shade of dark, dusky rose pink.  Small pleasures. 

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

Sunshine
Simple soup 
Getting my sums right.... eventually

Ta for popping by.  Appreciated.  Always.

Greying X

mumtoomany

Hi, greying. I have hair of that hue too, but prefer to think of it as silver, (a rare and precious thing).

You are right that we use all of the animals we send to slaughter. The last one sent were pigs. We had back the whole animals. Lungs were cooked for the dog, other offal, liver kidneys heart, eaten by us. The heads and trotters cooked up for brawn. Ears to the dog. Even the bones are used, boiled for stock, then burned on the fire for warmth, then the ash composted for the garden. 

Do you do surveys, or photograph receipts, or other side hustles to made a few extra pennies for the cfc fund? There are threads on the boost your income section of the forum. 

Hugs, mumtoomany.xxx

Greying_Pilgrim

Hi mumtoomany - no I'm afraid I don't do the side hustles that you mentioned.  It's just not for me - and yes, I do realise i am shooting myself in the foot, but it's just not for me.  

Greying X

redofromstart

I am planning on having a go at sprouting some of my green lentils, might that be something LG would enjoy doing and then eating? Vague memories of spouting seeds in a jam jar at school.

badmemory

After being ignored in a supermarket more than once when my hair had a colour in it that had connections to your name I decided that was no longer going to happen.  I do get addressed as red or similar by other customers but never ignored.  Was this the change in colour or the change in attitude and does that matter.  I am certainly a lot more, we will be polite & call it assertive than I was.  The major difference is I can now be assertive without being offensive/rude.  The interesting thing is that no-one from me being in my late 20s to about 35 (becoming a mother) ever messed with me.  Becoming a single parent at 45 didn't fix it, but 55 in the supermarket definitely did.  I will never go grey until I have to as at present the colour does not suit me.

Added to which I don't think some white some grey & some still brown is a good look anyway.  I blame the distant Irish heritage or alternatively the Scottich one - I have both & used to have the temper to match.