From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Cheery_Daff

I do remember mentioning a thermal imagining camera - but only that our local Transition group had one and you could ask them to come round with it. I never did ask, and it looks like everyone else knows more than me! 

Blackcats

GP - i thought of you this afternoon whilst chatting with a family member.  Their child is at nursery and next week the children have - day 1 Christmas pj day, day 2 Christmas sock day,  day 3 Christmas jumper day, day 4  Christmas hat/hair day and day 5 wear red and green.  My family member is a single parent who works part time and already pays astronomical nursery fees.  Apparently the nursery staff have to wear the same items.  This is apparently festive fun week! 

Greying_Pilgrim

Thanks for all your help 😁  We'll have a go just now and report back 😁

Tea is going to be veggie sausage hot dog and chips.  We have been out to support one of the local YFC's Festive tractor parade.  Marvellous - absolutely marvellous.  So glad we went.  Parking worked out OK, and we stood with everyone else, which made it all very jolly.  

I am so glad.... Watty? mentioned the festive tractor runs, we're very lucky to have had several to choose from - but this was one that was 'close' to home, and a bit more special - not the YFC DH and I were once in, but... close enough 😉 IYKYK 😁

Feeling very festive now 😁🎄

Greying X

Cheery_Daff

Aw, glad you had a lovely time 🥰

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Blowy start with us.  One load of washing pegged out and another on the go.  Yesterday's loads did eventually dry, even without dehu intervention and I have folded and put everything away (LG did theirs).  If today's loads get to dry, then I'm more or less up to date - which is great for this time of year.

When I was out in the garden, there were a couple of robins really trilling at each other 😁  What's that type of singing 🤔is it something like 'call & respond'??  I'm thinking it's cultural/folk type singing, possibly acapella.  Anyway, it was a robin version of that - one would trill, and the other would either respond with (seemingly) the exact same refrain, or very similar, but with an extra tiddly bit added on.  Extraordinarily beautiful - unscripted, and free to hear 😁 
 
I need to give the freezers a sort out, to make sure I'm maximising space.  I also need to sort out what can be eaten 'now' so there is room for anything that we plan to eat over the festive season.  I'm thinking of pre-making the 'lentil bake/nut roasty' type things for next Sunday, so a) will need room and b) will need to check I have all the ingredients.  

Thinking about savings goals for 2026, there will definitely need to be a 'garden' category - for fence panels if nothing else.  It's all very well hoping and holding on, and putting the work to the back of our minds when there isn't a storm raging, but it needs doing.  I think to do "everything" with the garden, we will need at least £1k - excluding the cost of some sort of shed (I'd like a summerhouse type), and possibly excluding some sort of hard land scaping near to the house.  Certainly £1k is no small chunk of change, and is a starting point, so that's what I'll aim for - it makes with school trips and tow bars the budget target £2k already 😬  Still, if you've no target, nowt will ever get done, will it?  And whilst this month's wages were less due to illness, we're certainly not feeling any lack, so budgetting does work for us. And yes, I realise I'm talking with a super knowledgeable crowd, but a budget with a supportive tribe is much more likely to get you to where you need to be 😁

Right, a wash to peg out.  Ta for popping in.

Greying X

ladybird1106

Love your taking pleasure in the robin acapella.
love 🐞

Watty1

So glad you found the tractor run festive fun.   We are off to one next week. There is something joyous about them I think.  

I also heard bird song the last two mornings- or birds squabbling- still happy tho xx

Greying_Pilgrim

Lunch is munched.

I made soup.  Not too sure I'd bother with this 'version' again.  No recipe, just using up what I had.  I made a 'beige' stock to begin, putting onion, celery, garlic, parsnips, turnip and carrots in the PrC and boiling them up in water.  Then blitzed with the stick blender.  I sliced up and fried the remaining mushrooms (about 10), with some red onion and put some hot water over some 'soup mix' (pearl barley, dried peas, and lentils) in a jug.  I then added the mushrooms, soup mix and a tin of chickpeas into the beige stock.  I think added in a bay leaf, a few (crumbled) dried mushrooms and cooked for 20 mins.  I then added in a load of dried herbs, and some mustard, black pepper and salt.  It was OK, but I'm finding that irrespective of whether the soup mix is soaked for a long time, or for a shorter time in hot water, the yellow split peas remain - at best - chewy.  So, filled us up, made a lunch, but probably not for repeating.  There is a splodge left - I'll finish that off for lunch tomorrow.

I have brought the washing in.  Luckily I looked up from watching 'peas etc' vlog and noticed it had just started spitting with rain.  I got the washing in, and have hung it on the airers.  It did come to rain much harder, but has stopped now, but I am glad I got the washing in, I would have undone all this morning's work by leaving it out.  The clothes have done quite well, and should be dry by tomorrow.  

I have done a quick sweep of the freezers and we de-cluttered some plum cake for elevenses and have freed up a space, and the container for more cake 😁

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

Today was a quiet day.  Not much occuring.  Perhaps we all need a little re-set.  I did sleep well last night, straight through, so that was nice.

Tea was using up what we had - but I had to pivot half way through, as I was sure I had half a bag of plant-based mince in the freezer, but couldn't find it, so instead of mince based 'dirty rice', we had green lentils (tinned) 'dirty rice' instead, and I diced up some smoked tofu, and fried it until crispy and topped the rice with that.  I used half a red onion left over from the soup, and a yellow pepper, which I'm pretty sure was from the last MrL box I got several weeks ago.  The tommie sauce was HM from the freezer, and the rice was left over portions frozen - so it came together pretty quickly.  I must make sure that I replace the rice before Christmas day, as it will form part of our main meal, and I want to spend time with the fam - not watching rice cook on the stove in the kitchen.

The washing is on the airers, in front of the radiator.  Most of it was reasonably dry, a couple of pairs of socks were still slightly damp, but everything else has done well.  

Oh, I know that Bookworm mentioned that the MrS vegetable offer starts from the 18th, but has anyone heard any whispers as to what might be included in any of the offers?  I wouldn't be surprised if no one is breaking cover, but it would be helpful to know.  

I can't think of anything else MSE orientated at the mo.  Ta for popping by.

Greying X

BookWorm

GP found this 😉