From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Baileys_Babe

I love LG's response to their jumper ☺️

Humboldt

Morning @Greying_Pilgrim, I have been an avid reader of your threads (past and present) for more years than I care to remember, but have never commented until now.  I just wanted to say that your efforts to provide LG with a Christmas jumper and their subsequent reaction, must have really lit up the Spirit Clausometer!  Wishing you all a magical Christmas.

Greying_Pilgrim

"Spirit Clausometer" - L.O.V.E that Humboldt!  I am hence forth going to nick it, and judge activities on the SC - with the emphasis (for me) being on "Spirit" - Thanks so much!  And just dive in - I talk a lot of nonsense, but lovely MFW'rs on here usually set me straight 😁

Thanks Baileys_babe - I was delighted that, that was their response too.  Especially that they kept true to their 'way of being', despite them being under quite a bit of peer pressure at the mo for what they don't have.  

Right, back in from shopping.  A quick duck in from me, as I've soup to conjure up - and in wanting to make something "nice", I'm currently a rabbit in the headlights, over my recipe index 🤣🐰  At least I made the bread - I went for foccacia stylee in the end, perhaps now is not the time to practice with plaits and braids! 🤣

I spent - in total, across MrS, hB and MrL £57.63.  A bit more than I'd intended, although a fraction of that is the FB donation.  However, if I so much as whimper that we've nothing to eat, you have my full permission to call.me.out. about it!  We have food, cupboards and freezers are stuffed.  We have food.  I have most of the components for the various 'special' meals that I've set out.  The only exception is the accompanying veg, and I'm treading water on that until next week.  But we have sufficient.  

Right, SOUP!

Ta for popping by.  Greying X

Humdinger1

I utterly adore your approach to the Christmas jumper @Greying_Pilgrim znd LG's response!  You've enabled her to navigate being herself while joining in.  Many adults find this tricky.  Onwards and upwards to empowerment!  Love Humdinger xx 

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

LG had a good day at school today 😁  Guess what, the kiddos got to learn a "Christmas" (secular) song!  Who knew, some kids actually like having a sing song with their mates, and making up movements or choreography to music 🙄  No gaps or words to hold onto in the verse to catch you out, no ideology indoctrination, no bad piano playing.  Just fun.  The whole class was rocking apparently, and the kids loved it.

Doing something Christmassy, at Christmas time = enjoyment and fun🙄 Heavens! 🙄

Friend came and we had a good auld natter.  Soup was slurped and bread munched.  And the world set to rights 😁  They had to shuffle off to an appt in Greying Town, so they were unable to come to pick LG up from school - LG would have loved that 🥰

Tea tonight was left over soup - from the other night and lunchtime.  LG is at club and ate earlier.  There was a piece of foccacia left over, so I have sliced it into 3 and popped it in the freezer, and it can be either an accompaniment to soup on a future date, or make a 'posh' bap of something.  

LG's last gift has now been wrapped up.  I think the stocking may still be a bit light.  Mind, I've still a bit of time, and it's not like there won't be nothing, so it's not the end of the world.  

I finished off the hat I was knitting to use up yarn.  It's lovely and warm.

Can't think of anything else MSE to add.  Ta for popping in.  Greying X

KajiKita

A £2 coin and a satsuma in the toe of the stocking might help?

So pleased LG got to do something fun at school and you enjoyed your time with your friend 😊

KK

teapot2

KajiKita said:

A £2 coin and a satsuma in the toe of the stocking might help?

Also a sugar mouse or two 

Greying_Pilgrim

Ha ha teapot - sugar mice used to be a LUXURY when i was a kiddo - but I'm not sure where you'd get them from these days?  I can't think of any 'sweet shops' nearby, and the only other place I've ever seen them is in places like D3benhams, or department stores with concession stands..... maybe JL??  The nearest I have to it, is a little pink knitted one that goes on the Advent calendar 😁

KajiKita - definitely some coinage going in - metal and chocolate 😁  To be fair, LG is pretty good at having satsumas/easy peelers in their lunchbox, so perhaps not so much of a treat that an orange would have been when I was little.  

I don't think LG will go without.  Their stocking isn't too big, I just haven't focussed on it as much as the 'gifts around the tree'.  

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

I knew there was something I'd meant to mention today about shopping.  There weren't any boxes in MrS nor MrL - and very few YS'd things, although in MrL I only saw 50% off, no 20% offs today - although they had missed the one item I would have bought had it been YS'd.  No way I'm paying top whack for something that was 'suppposed' to be best before  today - and yes, I know it doesn't turn green at midnight, but it's the principle of the thing - the same (dated) stock was there last week........

Anyhoo, to link in with our conversations about doing Christmas "Your Style" and for example, not slavishly buying and cooking Turkey, when everyone would really prefer Egg, gammon and chips; I did see something in MrL today, that I thought was actually quite "useful" (broadest sense of the term).  It was a pizza - in their 'deluxe' range, I think it's seasonal too.  But it was a 'pigs in blankets' pizza.  So, dough, tomato sauce, cheese and chipolatas wrapped in bacon.  All for £3.99.  I don't think MrL pizzas (or any supermarket pizzas for that matter), are ever 'huge' enough to feed an army.  But for 1 or 2, or a couple of kids or something, I actually thought - Yes, that caters for what some people would much prefer to eat.  For sure, you could make it yourself - maybe better, I'm not so sure cheaper...... but it was the idea that I was taken with.  Perhaps a tadge gimmicky, but thinking outside the box. 

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

I nipped to MrS this morning.  I was going to walk, but the weather was looking dicey, so I jumped in the car, was able to park at the far end of the carpark, as I knew I wouldn't need a trolley, and ventured in-store.  I had seen a little decoration the other day that tickled my fancy (!) and figured if there were any left, I might purchase one.  So I was able to keep pretty much to the non-food side (sensible decision, the store was heaving, and people were starting to get a bit nowty 😟).  I also had a look at all the toys and stationery bits - and I'm glad I did, as a) I picked up a little game, reduced to half price for LG which will be a perfect stocking filler, b) I picked up some "reporters notepads" for me - they were getting rid, but at £1.13 per pad (300 pgs), that is the cheapest I have seen in a long time - cardboard backed too 👍 and c) I got confirmation that a pen I had picked up for LG in teekaymaximum was an absolute bargain, when compared to MrS prices 😁 I also found a little carton/box on the shelf that will be a perfect.......'container' for the FB donation - to keep everything from getting squashed in the bag when we drop the goods off.  It had previously held stockcubes I think.  Anyway, I went through the staffed tills (they were quieter than the self-serve for once!), and asked the till-operative if it was OK to have, and they said yes.  

If you are buying food for a party, hosting, or just trying to do your Friday shop in supermarkets today, you have my every sympathy.   It was starting to be a bit too 'bedlum-esque' for me.  Still don't see why folk need to be so rude to each other tho.  

I don't know if I mentioned yesterday, that i managed to get everything off the FB donation list - and it would have come in exactly 34p over budget (as we'd worked out), but when in the shop I noticed that they had 'iced' maderia cakes - as well as the plain (which we were going to buy).  Those versions were only 10p dearer than the plain, and I thought to myself that whilst I realise not everyone likes iced fruit cake - heck, not everyone likes fruit cake, full-stop - the iced maderia version at least looked a little 'celebratory', so I picked that over the plain madeira.  I made sure I got the longest dated one, and it's good into the start of January - the plain maderia only had a week longer on it anyway.  We'll take it along to the FB open day next week, and I'm sure, with them being the well-oiled machine they are, the donations will be out with recipients well in time for the big day, and the days surrounding Christmas.  

I've put a whites wash on.  I'm not sure it will dry - in any way, shape or form - naturally, today.  We've rain forecast until about lunchtime, but also, there is little or no breeze.  So it'll probably go straight in front of the dehu for a couple of hours.  At least that will be part of the uniform wash done - I'm not sure how much I can get done over the weekend, and workwear will need to take priority.  

Can't think of anything else MSE to mention.  

Greying X