From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Greying_Pilgrim

As an aside, and just to prove (to myself) that my gut feeling about changing the front room window was a priority (along with LG's room), was shown this morning.  The position of our house means that alot of weather - particularly cold and/or fog "falls" onto the house, it was the same at the rental.  This morning, there was some (external) condensation on the windows at the front - and the part towards the middle was like droplets rather than a fine mist.  Although I "knew" it was on the 'outside' pane, I just wanted to double check myself that it was on the outside of the outside pane of glass, and not 'inside' the outside pane of glass (hope that makes sense!).  Imagine my surprise, when i touched this 'condensation' and found it to be frozen solid!  And yet, despite the outside pane being that cold, there wasn't any condensation on the inside pane - so that was clearly considerably warmer.  I know this is what DG is "supposed" to do, and it hasn't been cheap to install, but I feel vindicated that my observation of cold spots has been validated, and by asking questions I've been able to change the set up of the window, to at least ameliorate the effects of the weather on our living space.  Again, I asked questions of a builder locally, who'd treated a window in the same way, and he was generous with his time and explanation, and gifted me the knowledge of what could be achieved.  I asked all the window installers who quoted if they could sort out this window in a specific way, and they all said it could be done.  If I hadn't asked, and been armed with some basic knowledge, the window would just be a straight replacement, and we still would have had cold spots.  

This is why I value this space so much, everyone is so helpful.  I've never really shied away from asking questions, and got over "looking daft" a long time ago, but it's amazing how much you have to "know" in order to get what you want/need.  We wanted replacement DG to make the house more comfortable to live in, as well as more energy efficient.  DG installers seem to think that the 'look' is all customers are interested in.......

And following my 'discussion' with greenbee about radiator size, my gut reaction that LG's radiator should be at least a 1000mm width one, is validated by the fact that the window is over 1.2m wide.  So the silly farty little rad currently in the middle of it, isn't touching any coldness.  It would be struggling if it wasn't located on one of the two cold walls!    I know what I shall be insisting on as a minimum now with regard to a replacement radiator.  And for the most part, the majority of the rads (located under windows) elsewhere in the house, are as wide as the windows........ 🙄

newgirly - I don't think my '6 days of Christmas' (🤣) are that thrilling, but at the mo, they will sort of look something along these lines;

Solstice, Sunday 21st Dec - Nut or lentil roast, boiled and roast veg (all the trimmings).  Spiced Apple crumble.

Christmas Eve 24th Dec - Ratatouille pasta bake (slow cooker) and garlic bread

Christmas Day  25th Dec - Quorn & mushroom bake (slow cooker) and rice.  Christmas pudding & ice cream

Boxing Day 26th December - Fish finger sub sandwiches with garlic mayo and curly fries 

New Year's Eve 31st December - Curry (yet to be determined, but coconut based to pair with Reisling wine).

New Year's Day 1st January - Vegetarian Hoppin' John

Clearly these are only 'main' meals.  Lunches will be an assortment of soups or sandwiches or crackers and cheese, depending on the weather and fullness/emptiness of tummies etc.  I've mince pies in the freezer, an uniced (our preference) Christmas cake and Christmas pudding already made.  We've an assortment of ice-cream and ice creams in the freezer.  We will probably eat our main meals in the evening on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day, so will need to plan some sort of 'buffet' arrangement for the lunches.  However, this is more about just setting stuff out, and how we make up a plate, rather than some elaborate planned menu with stuff purchased from 1celand (other shops are available) for it.  It might even be wraps - LG lurves a buffet 😁 Sweet treats, the odd hot chocolate and biscuit will inevitably be around too.  So I suspect we won't go hungry.  My Boxing Day meal is more because it's a Friday - we're usually craving curry by Boxing Day 😁

KajiKita - I agree, we have achieved alot through the years, just by dilligently saving.  I don't think it helps that DH is surrounded by work colleagues who are either young, still living at home and have high disposable incomes or are closer to our age but are (seemingly) benefitting from very large inheritances from family members.  We're at a stage in life where we have responsibility for LG (and we're super-glad to be here 😁🥰), and we're not in line for any inheritances - which is fine.  And actually, for some of the colleagues, life ain't all a bed of roses, despite the influx of cash, so we are definitely in counting blessings territory, and are 'happy with our lot'.  But DH has it pushed in his face on a daily basis more than I do, so it gets to him a bit sometimes I think.  

Greying X

EssexHebridean

Completely agree that there is only so much you can do to try to allay someone elses fears, AND that it's way better than he has the concerns than if he didn't! It might be worth telling him that his fretting is actually serving to make YOU anxious though - remind him that you are the one who deals with the budget, so if you say it's fine, then fine it is, and that by seemingly constantly worrying about it he is in fact calling YOUR household management into question... I mean that may not strictly be true, but it just could make him look at it from a different angle. 

We do normal food around Christmas until Christmas eve - with the exception of usually a Christmas tea the weekend before which my Mum comes round for. that said, this year she will be doing that, and we're doing the christmas day catering, so a slightly different twist on things. Christmas day will be a traditional lunch and then a picky bits tea. Boxing day in our house is a quiet day - Mr EH will be at the rugby club and I'll have a leftovers sandwich for lunch then we'll do picky bit leftovers for tea - I don't do cooking on Boxing day! 

Greying_Pilgrim

tmv and Cheery - apols, I totally missed your supportive posts whilst drafting my missive this morn!  Sorry, and thank you both, in equal measure.  

tmv - we have achieved alot this year, and we've had a couple of short breaks, away from the home, so not to be sniffed at - I agree 😁Although we sort of knew that the old car was on it's way out, we did end up spending too much on it to keep it roadworthy, which was compounded with buying a 'new to us' car.  It set the windows back, but again, by listening to beanie, we just 'kept plodding' and we've got there 😁a little bit later than we'd hoped, but we're there 😁

The window fitters were OK, and with a degree in hindsight, I shouldn't have worried so much about having trades in the house, but unfortunately, past experience has meant we've been disappointed in some aspect or other of the work, workers or whatever.  And again, degree in hindsight, I'm glad that we'd saved enough - even though it took nearly 2 years - to have the job done in one fell swoop.  Noise, mess, inconvenience, cold etc etc, yes - but they're done now, and the work is finished.

EH - If fish finger butties/fries entails anything more than opening a couple of packets, setting the contents on a couple of trays and opening the oven door, then I'm returning to curry & rice next year! 🤣

Greying X

VintageHistorian

Ultimately it's not Mr GP who's let anyone down, it's his employer who's too cheap to pay proper sick pay. It's not like he was sitting on his backside watching TV because he couldn't be bothered to go in, he was in and out of hospital, on multiple antibiotics and painkillers. That's not something that should be punished in this day and age.

Greying_Pilgrim

Thanks VH - trouble is, there are too many that have spoilt it for the genuinely sick.  A long time ago, DH used to work with a guy - and this was when their employer of the time used to pay a days pay, even if you were sick - who would regularly schedule in CBA'd days.  At the time he was single and had bought his house (this did all subsequently change, and he got married and had a stepchild to care for etc etc), and didn't give enough of a damn to turn up to work.  He was responsible for changing the sick leave policy in that company to sick pay from Day 1 by his attitude.  Mind, it would be the same if DH was self-employed, wouldn't it?  No work, no pay - so really, it's in our interests to manage our finances as best we can to manage any peaks and troughs, and be able to pay our way.

So I've swung into frugal(ish) mode, and determined that we will have a 'soup & pud' night tonight.  I'm making an apple & blackcurrant steamed pudding in the SC - the blackcurrant is a bit of jam swirled in, it was bought as a treat when we were on hols in HT.  I was going to use one of the last cooking apples, but there were a couple of apples in the fruit bowl that were a bit battered and bashed.  I know that DH will throw away 'more' than the bruised bit, so I got them and just trimmed them and then chopped them up and threw them in the batter mix.  I have put apple pie spice in the mix too.  

Soup is definitely going to be on a (red) lentil vibe.  I'm not sure which direction to take it - ultra simple, or closer to veggie Harira........   I'm craving simple, with meltingly cooked tatties in the mix, with warming spices......... will consult my recipe index.  I has remained cold here - I could have put something on to wash, as the promised rain didn't materialise.  I thought it was odd it was forecast, as it was so cold, but bright and cloudless here this morning.  Had sleet or snow been forecast, I would have understood, but not rain.

Can't think of anything else MSE to report.  Ta for popping in.  Always appreciated.  

Greying X

badmemory

Have you considered having a vertical radiator in LG's room.  They are a little more expensive but you can get a bigger one in without it taking too much wall space & seeming too intrusive

EssexHebridean

We've got vertical rads in the living room - the snazzy ones made of tubes rather than flat traditional rad style. I confess when we moved in I was convinced they wouldn't work to warm the place up (it's a big space - open plan with the kitchen and with a high ceiling with three velux windows) but they're absolutely brilliant - I've been really impressed. I think because they go higher up they work slightly differently in terms of convecting the warm air around the room - I can't begin to explain how that would work scientifically but it sort of makes sense I think! 

Greying_Pilgrim

We actually have one vertical radiator in the house.  it works, although I don't think it's the most modern/technological of things.  It's in the kitchen and was probably put in originally as a space saving measure.  It doesn't really warm the kitchen - possibly because there is alot of glazing in the kitchen, it's a big space and on the coldest side of the house.  In time, I would like to reduce the square meterage of glazing and the vertical radiator could get moved.  In some ways, it would possibly be better in the hallway.  It's not a bad radiator per se, just the wrong size for room, although given the type of boiler that was in the kitchen originally, it's possible it was a secondary heat source.  A vertical radiator wouldn't really help in LG's room.  There would only be one place (I think) one could go, and that is on one of the coldest walls in the coldest corner (where the two outside walls meet).  I think a rectangular radiator would work, it just needs to be the correct size/output.  Possibly - I have no way of knowing - but if there was a larger radiator there now, I think we would have been seeing a much warmer room now that the window has been changed.  

Greying X

Watty1

Would a heated throw help LG's room in the short term?  So they could snuggle under it quickly and warm up?   Or is it more for when LG wants to play in there?    I never mind a cold bedroom if I have a heated blanket of some kind!

Greying_Pilgrim

Watty - it's more that they need to be able to play/read/change clothes in there.  Not for hours on end, and not flouncing about with a t-shirt and no socks on.  It just isn't comfortable.  When you walk into our bedroom - bigger, and with a bigger radiator, you can instantly feel heat - not sauna-esque, but it feels warm, and comfortable.  We've not managed that yet with LG's room, despite the fact their radiator is the first one connected to the boiler.   We don't have the heating on overnight, and once in bed, LG can be warm.  

Greying X