From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

greenbee

Annoying about the window - I had that my first winter in the last place (along with bits falling off) so ended up sealing some of them shut. Unfortunately I now have a slipped tile and can't get a roofer to come out until next Wednesday, so I'm hoping the weather lets up a bit! I'm also very grateful that I noticed it, even if it does now mean I'll be worrying about it until it's fixed. TBH I have no idea how long it has been like that, but I'm assuming it's from the storm last night. 

rtandon27

Good morning GP - so lovely to have you back & posting on a shiny new diary! Have duly subscribed.

 Am all caught up with your comings & goings -  a huge congrats on the new home 😁

Had quite a chuckle to read that Friday is still pizza and wedges night - it was the inspiration for our own Fakeaway Friday tradition💝

Looking forward to sharing the next step of your adventures - XOXOXOXOX

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Afternoon MFW'rs

Ay up RT - how are you?  Backatcha for the congrats on the new home! 😁👍Lovely to 'see' you and have your support - thanks for popping in.

Well, today has been a bit of a curates egg thus far.  For the most part OK.  I managed to get a small wash out on the line earlier - DH's DIY coveralls and work coat, which were in mucho need of a launder after threatening to walk out the door t'selves 😕 and DH's socks.  But they had to be brought in just before lunch as it started to rain 😕The clothes were drier than I had hoped, so they can go on the airer, and I won't go to the launderette, but the airer takes up space we currently don't have.

I had planned to go to do a small grocery shop today, but DH hijacked my mission by insisting I go to hold hands with him & LG in the paint aisle of a DIY store 🙄 I selected a paint colour that would sit alongside the colour LG had selected for themselves, only to find it wasn't in stock in the 5L tins, and was only available in the 2.5L tins - hence I had to select choice b that was available in the 5L tins.  We still spent over £50 on paint for one small room..... 😕  We then went to the MrL on that side of town.  It's only a small branch, but I found everything on my list - although I was disappointed that MrL have started doing the same as the big 4 and providing discounts on certain goods 'if' you have the shopping app.  There is a type of wine that I buy and that was 36p (I think) cheaper if you had the app.  I did come across a couple of YS'd bargains that I could use.  I froze 2 of them, and we will use the red pepper hummus (60% off) for lunches for the next couple of days. 

DH is now cracking on with painting - under LG's close supervision 🤣 

Lunch was sandwiches, just using up what we had.  We also had a slice of fruit cake - there is only 1 slice left now - so that will be hoovered up before the year end.  I hope I don't come across as a grump about Christmas.  It's just I have learnt over the years that it's nice to buy a few treat foods, someone will always buy/gift/offer you something - be it a mince pie or perhaps some chocolates, and after perhaps a day of 'fine food' we tend to crave the ordinary anyway, so I much prefer to keep the treats 'special' by not overloading - either of one item, or lots of multiple treats.  It works for our little family, and I can only think of one thing that LG  possibly has yet to try in terms of 'Christmas' food (with the exception of turkey/ham/pigs in blankets, which they could have had for school xmas dinners, but chose not to partake), and that is Christmas pudding - I can't remember if LG has tried and not liked or just not tried.  Now I have the PC I should make a small one to see if they like it - DH would hoover up any leftovers if not, so nothing lost 😁I did also buy a couple of packets of MrM 'made instore' mince pies too - so we have eaten those.  I'm not a huge fan of mincemeat and am a rubbish pastry chef, so really can't be bothered to make my own mincepies.   

Tea this evening will - indeed - be pizza and wedges from the 15p potatoes.  In school-term time pizza seems to appear on the menu for school lunch on a Friday - and so l/o pizza is usually LG's lunchbox choice on a Friday, which makes it difficult to then have pizza for tea, but at least as LG has become better at eating a wider range of foods, Friday night has been able to stay 'fakeaway' inspired, albeit moving away from pizza and chips/wedges.  

Can't think of anything else that fits the MSE/mortgage/money saving brief, so I shall shuffle off and make pizza dough.

Ta for popping in to visit.  Most appreciated.

Greying X

badmemory

I have got a bit (think of a rude word) about those supermarket app/cards etc.  I try to buy only the items reduced as if they can do it for some of the time then they should be able to do it for all of the time.  Also some items the quality is definitely not the standard so another thing to be picky about, then it comes off special & it is still rubbish.  Still struggling to get the red cabbage stain off one finger though!

Greying_Pilgrim

Good evening MFW'rs

badmemory - I think that the card-based 'loyalty' schemes at least provides equality of opportunity.  Anyone can apply for/hold a card - the biggest deal is remembering to have 'X' loyalty card in your purse/wallet when you visit 'X' store.  But needing to a) have a smartphone and b) have all the apps for any/every store you visit is starting to get a bit onerous.  I mean, perhaps you might need more than one supermarket?  What about a DIY superstore loyalty?  A garden centre loyalty?  Do all these apps require 'juice' (memory/GB) to make them work?  I certainly don't mind the app holders getting 'freebies' - why not?  If you spend £X in our store, have a free Y, Z, or A, on us - or have X% off your next spend.  That's kinda the object of the exercise - rewarding loyalty, but it does rile me that purely price reduction based special offers, on certain products - that would otherwise be open to those going through the tills - are only available to 'the few'.  I didn't think that was what the likes of MrAl and MrL were about.  

This afternoon has been....... more of a curates egg.  I decided to take down the Christmas decorations.  A large part of me didn't want to - they haven't quite been up a week yet, but with the decorating, we are struggling for space, and not really able to enjoy the decorations anyway.  

DH was decorating away and I started to make the pizza and wedges.  DH was changing a socket and the power was down for the relevant circuit which didn't affect tea-making...... until the main trip switch tripped......  Cue panic as DH was upstairs, we were downstairs... was he OK?  Yes, he was OK, and I (luckily) had my phone torch to hand and was able to reset the trip switch (downstairs).  Was it something we/he did?  Or had we had a brief power outage?  We will never know.  But then the fun and games started - the new CH boiler decided to go into 'self-governing mode'....... 😬  It was doing some sort of cleaning thing and the boiler temp was going up, up, up, up.  My nerve held out until it got to 82 degrees C and then I panicked and switched it off at the fuse spur.......  Needless to say, the manual wasn't to hand...... it was where it was supposed to be, but that is currently underneath a pile of toot out of LG's room...... 😕  Anyway, we finally located the manual, and after a while decided to turn the boiler on again.........  There was a flashing light, that we hadn't seen before - but apparently meant it was 'initialising', and the wireless icon was flashing.  The room thermostat said it wasn't speaking to the boiler - but it happened that a quick button push was enough to reset that (who knew?).  Eventually everything settled down and the boiler appears to be working again, and everything is ticking over as it should.  Meanwhile....... the wedges were 'well done', and the pizza was 'just there'..... 🙄 

The good news is that LG is happy with the first part of the decorating of their room, and that DH has made progress during his time off.  Had the weather been better, I am sure i would have been in the dilemma of 'trips out' versus working on the house, but the inclement conditions have made that decision for us.

 Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

- That DH is so versed in so many tasks and always seeks to do his 'best' (which is a high standard).
- The washing dried mostly on the line (and for the brief, but unexpected glimpses of sunshine ☀️😎)
- We're starting to 'live' in our new home - it's a bit bumpy, a lot lumpy, a bit chaotic and not always pretty, but it's US, it's ours, it's..... home..............

Ta for popping by.  Appreciated.  Always. 

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs!

I have been busy prepping food this morning.  I processed a load of mushrooms and fried them up with onion, celery and garlic.  Now have to decide whether to have mushroom pasta for tea tonight (my preference, but not, I suspect LG's) or whether to curry them - which will mean LG will eat a little.  Such a pity as when they were little LG ate mushrooms quite happily.  To be fair, they don't outright refuse mushrooms anymore (we went though that phase), so I may yet go for the pasta dish.  I'm going to be doing shredded sprouts with the pasta 😉If I was doing curry, I would do a citrussy, stir fry type curried sprout dish.  I don't currently have any lemons/limes - didn't like the ones on offer in MrL yesterday.  I could pootle around to the c0-op, the lemon would be dearer, but I would just buy a lemon, so no petrol spent/no temptation to purchase anything else.

I have also just made a vat of vegetable tomato sauce in the PC, as I discovered I didn't have any pizza topping sauce last night 🙄 I improvised with bought pasta sauce, but prefer HM.

I think we had our final Christmas card through the post on Thursday, so today's post was less exciting as it was the visa bill.  It's massive 😬not because of reckless spending, but has all the new 'white goods' purchases on it.  Budgeted for, and the money is ready to pay off the expenditure, but ooofffff........... 😬 Still, we've continued to have white goods in the budget line moving forward, so we hopefully will be able to afford appliances in the future.  

DH is continuing with painting.  Yesterday's paint purchase proved that we didn't need as much of the complimentary colour as we assumed, so DH took the big tin back today, and we now have the colour that I wanted, as 2.5L should cover the area needed. In daylight, DH's work looks slightly different 😬 so he's now being super-critical and repainting certain spots on LG's accent wall 😬  I'm trying to keep spirits up by providing cups of tea and the last of the fruit cake got left outside the door to keep energy levels high 😉  

It's a dreich day, definitely soup weather, so I shall whip up a saucepan full just now - probably tomato based, something or other.  

I have changed the way round the (cutlery) drawer insert sits in the drawer.  It means that 2 slots aren't really accessible, but does mean that the kitchen knives (have blade sheaths), are now easier to get to - important as I use them regularly.  I will try it this way round, and whilst the 'lost' compartment space rankles, I have tried to put most stuff back into the accessible slots, so everything that is now in the drawer is used pretty much daily.  It is worth a trial, as the drawer insert I have seen that would give a similar orientation (without 'lost' spaces) is a branded one, and would set me back £15..... Trying 'shopping from home' first.........  

Can't think of anything more MSE-wise to report.  Today is unlikely to be a nsd as even if I don't buy a lemon,  I may well indulge in purchasing a lottery ticket for the NY draw. 

Ta for popping by.  Appreciated.

Greying X

badmemory

Interesting about the mushrooms.  My DS didn't like them as a child, something to do with the texture he said but now as an adult does like them.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Are you well?  We have sunshine here, and I am regretting not getting a wash on, but the weather is forecast to change within the hour to rain, so I probably wouldn't have got it dry anyway 😕

Tea last night was a success.  I went with the mushroom pasta option with shredded sprouts.  I discovered that the sprouts hadn't lasted well in the fridge and I lost about 1/3rd of them - but mea culpa!  I hadn't used the sprouts for the meal I had intended, and nothing lasts forever.  Although I opened the bag they came in, I should have transferred them to a paper bag, but I have misplaced my stash of paperbags in the move.  Anyhoo, I shredded the sprouts that were OK, washed and drained them and then steamed them in the microwave.  I put a portion of steamed sprouts on LG's plate, alongside their portion of mushroom pasta and put the rest of the sprouts through the remaining mushroom pasta for DH and I.  LG had asked earlier what was for tea, and when it was served, they came to the table, sat down, and....... ate e.v.e.r.y. last scrap 😁 

I have to say I was amazed - but obviously delighted 😁 Am I sure that we will have baulking at certain ingredients/meals in the future?  Heck yes, but I also need to remember the small wins 😁  I am trying very hard at the moment to get back into my frugal kitchen ways.  The prize is money saving/budgeting to be able to afford windows, or anything else that our new home needs along the way.  Because of a variety of issues, I have strayed off the frugal path in recent years, and haven't been keeping as close reign on the grocery budget as I should have and could have.  It's begun to feel like 'old times'  in our new kitchen - and I am much, much more motivated to whip up meals that don't break the bank.  Of course, it helps tremendously if we all eat the same meal, and I am doing such a happy dance over LG's increased willingness to eat what is put in front of them.  But also, we are a family of 3 now, and I want to continue my frugal path but also make food that we all enjoy/will eat.  

I was lucky as well that lunch worked out too.  I made tomato soup from the remaining sauce from the MrL jar that had provided pizza topping, I added water and cooked a load of veggies - carrot, onion, parsnip, swede in it.  Blitzed it up and then defrosted and added some l/o rice to the saucepan.  The rice was actually left over risotto rice, so the texture was possibly thicker/lumpier than intended, but with seasonings, it made a tasty, filling soup - and LG liked that too.  And don't nobody dob me in right, but I also added a large dollop of the YS'd red pepper hummus to the soup, to up the protein content.  LG doesn't like hummus.........😉

I know that these are all small things.  But it's all within my circle of control, and I feel like I'm getting into the groove again.  Of course, I'm not perfect - the sprouts wouldn't have gone off if I was 'on it like a car bonnet' - and it matters not that they were 'only 15p' to start with; this feels such an achievement for me personally - and is the basis of who/what I want to be going forward.

Lunch today will be l/o's - possibly with a spot of vegetable soup whipped up (the weather is changing as I type - the promised rain has arrived 🙁).  Tea this evening is going to be an experiment that has all the potential to go wrong.  It's a veggie version of sloppy joe sandwiches that I saw on a podcast - and I suppose that it is a similar concept to JO's muffaletta sandwich that he did in his recent TV series.  I don't know whether it will work, and I shall probably be cussing that it is so messy to eat - but ya gotta try these things, eh?  

DH is carrying on with DIY today and we will be at home all day.  We don't tend to celebrate NY - and thankfully the parties and NY events of our youth are well past.  I have been asleep by midnight in the recent past few years 🤣

Can't think of anything MSE to add, so I will shuffle orf.  Ta for popping by.

Greying X

rtandon27

Greying_Pilgrim said:

...but I also added a large dollop of the YS'd red pepper hummus to the soup, to up the protein content.  LG doesn't like hummus.........😉...

Good morning GP - my OH doesn't like hummus either, but somehow when I make us a sandwich wrap and use it generously instead of butter, he doesn't 'mind it so much' - he also puts up with the copious amount of vegetables that end up in said wraps!

On that note, I'm off to see if we have a tin of chickpeas in the stores, as a homemade batch of the stuff needs to be made 😊

Greying_Pilgrim

Soup made for lunch, using what we had + l/o YS'd hummus.  A big bowlful each, accompanied with the last of the loaf/crusts and LG declared it 'very nice mum' 😁

Meter readings for electricity and gas taken and submitted online 😁

Cards suitable for saying 'Thank you' dug out from stationery 'stash' and set up for LG to start writing in them 😁(stamps already bought in Dec. budget 😁)

Edited to add - No, we didn't win the humungous lottery jackpot (neither did anyone else it seems 🙁), checked the numbers and we didn't even match any drawn 🙁

Gotta keep on in me Frugal Furrow! 🤣

Greying X