From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Greying_Pilgrim

RT - I missed your first post, sorry!  Ha ha - underpinnings 🤣  I had to do that same calculation, and came to the conclusion that towels were a priority 👍  

peb - it's clouded over here and gone colder unfortunately.  I'm hoping the breeze will pick up a bit to compensate. 

I just walked over to the PO and it was cold - an incentive to walk briskly at least!  I did pop in to the local chazzer, but they have gone really expensive - £2 each for children's chapter books, irrespective of the condition/age 🙁I didn't see any 'must haves', and so left without buying anything.  It used to be such a vibrant shop - there were only 2 customers in there today.  I did purchase a stamp at the PO, and sent off a note to a chum who's recovering from cancer.

Greying X

Grumpelstiltskin

GP  Remember the price of stamps goes up from 2/4/2024. If you are going to need any in the next few months buy them before the end of this month.

Prices 2024 | Royal Mail Group Ltd

badmemory

Couldn't agree more about the stamps.  I bought my next Xmas ones before the last rise.

Greying_Pilgrim

Grumplestiltskin - thanks for that, yes I'll have to get a book before the price goes up.  Royal Mail management seems determined to stop written correspondance 🙁A note, letter or card can be opened at the recipient's leisure - I never know if I'm interrupting sleep/a doctor's appt or that the recipient is driving when i text or phone 🙁

Well, BBC weather are NOT my best friend at the mo.  They got the forecast SOOOOOOOOOO wrong for us 🙁  It started to spot with rain and I hoped that the breeze would counteract it, and that the rain would blow over.  But no.  It kept on, and although not heavy, the rain was wetting and the breeze dropped to nought 🙁  So I eventually brought the washing in.  So annoying, as actually stuff was drying well where the rain hadn't hit 🙁 I've respun it and will set it out on the airers just now, as although the rain has now stopped, it has stayed overcast, and I should imagine it will start again at any moment. 

DH is having fun painting 🙁  I have spent the morning making falafels for cooking at a later date.  They are in the freezer now.  

Will get around to making some sandwiches for lunch just now.  

Greying X

kayannie

I'm don't  know whereabouts you are GP, but the weather here in North Wales has been similar to yours today. We woke to the best day of the week, clear blue skies & a gentle breeze. I got a 30 degree wash on first thing but by the time it was ready to hang out, it was pouring with rain! It's now sitting on an airer but goodness how long it'll take to dry as we don't have much heating on.
On the subject of Royal Mail, I have a birthday present to post to a friend. I have just weighed & measured it & it will cost £3.49 ( as long as I have calculated it correctly). I have picked up a list of prices from 2nd April & the same parcel would cost me £5.09! My friend will be getting her present a few days early! 
KA

Greying_Pilgrim

kayannie said:

........On the subject of Royal Mail, I have a birthday present to post to a friend. I have just weighed & measured it & it will cost £3.49 ( as long as I have calculated it correctly). I have picked up a list of prices from 2nd April & the same parcel would cost me £5.09! My friend will be getting her present a few days early! 
KA

Oh lawks!  Seriously?  That's going to impact what blankets I can send to the charity 🙁I thought RM wanted to get a larger slice of the pie of the parcels market - surely that isn't a competitive price?  

I enjoyed watching the Wales v Italy rugger.  Not the outcome certain family members wanted 🙁 but I think rugger was the overall winner.  As there weren't any cards, were there?  And OK, so Wales got the wooden spoon in this particular round, but they are a young side, rebuilding again, so they will taste glory just now, I've no doubt.  I didn't catch if it was George North's final game ever, or he's retiring from the six nations competition.  

We ended up having egg mayo sangers for lunch.  I also dug out a couple of sachets of tomato/pasta mug soup things (MrL brand), so made them up for DH and LG.  

Tea is prepped.  DH is just finishing off the painting.  He will have done the first coat on the landing and down the stairs, so he's worked hard.  It's going on over 'new' plaster, so you know how it sucks in like crazy.

Greying X

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, bet it's going to look lovely once it's done though Greying! 

peb

Such a shame re the washing.  I got my first load dry but the second got hit when the rain was over an hour early.   Hung up indoors.  

peb

What I've actually been meaning to say is how much I love reading your recipe ideas and planning of cooking. 

I ended up with diabetes (result of an invasive mass) which annoyingly means that I no longer can do the dishes with the legumes - they are high carb and my blood sugars react horrendously , it's so infuriating as I'd just started to get more adventurous with cooking with them, only using chickpeas and red lentils previously.  Still enjoy reading though.

Once I finish reading I'll have to crack on with the leek and no potato soup 😂

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Dreich again with us, I heard it pelting with rain during the night 🙁  The garden is going to be even more of a squelch-fest 🙁  The weather is supposed to dry up, with a reasonable breeze, so I may re-wash the towels that unfortunately went foosty yesterday - even with vinegar in the rinse water, even with getting partially dry outside, even with being in front of the laundry setting on the de-humidifier for 1hr 🙁  I think the other washing is pretty much dried/smelling OK - including the kitchen towels 🤔

The stew all got munched.  LG did take a while to eat it, but I'm not sure if that was because they weren't truly enamoured with it or because they hadn't been super active since lunch.  But it was clean plates all round, and I even added broccoli to the plate after all the talk of green veg on Fortune's thread.  There is a portion of stew leftover and a small portion of cooked rice, so they both went in the freezer for another day/other dishes.  DH and LG had a fake mini magn*m for pudding.  

Thoroughly enjoyed the rugby yesterday.  I think on balance that the table finished up pretty much reflecting the performances throughout the series, and was about right.  I think Ireland deserved to win, Italy showed great progress and were worthy of moving away from the wooden spoon slot.  England didn't quite do enough to grasp the second spot, so I think France moving up past them, was indicative of France's efforts.  England were late bloomers in this six nations, so none too shabby to finish third.

DH will probably continue with the painting today.  He is only tackling the ceilings at the moment, but you're right Cheery - even going from pale terracotta/dried plaster colour to first coat white has brightened up the landing/stairwell so much.  Mind, it's made the walls look shabby too, so they will eventually need re-painting 🙄🤣

It's another week of various 'bits' needing to be sent into school 🙄 Various additional activities and needing to collect LG at slightly different times, so I think i need to make some lists to make sure I don't forget what I'm supposed to be doing and where I am supposed to be🤣

In between trying to time putting out the towels to benefit from a line-dry, I think I need to do some cooking/processing of ingredients today.  There were more mushrooms in the punnet than I needed for the stew, and I need to ensure I use the rest before they go off, as they were YS'd in the first place.  I need to double check if I have all the ingredients, but i think I will make up a batch of chickpea and mushroom bangers, which is a recipe from the student cookbook I have.  They can go in the freezer and be used for future meals.  

I'm pretty sure I am on for a nsd today, and did only spend on a stamp yesterday - so that was a lsd. 

Not too sure what will be for lunch - it may be soup.  Tea will involve the wraps, but I've not worked out the whole meal yet, so it'll definitely be a trial 'n error tea.  Guinea Pigs?  Family Greying? 🐹

Ta for popping in.  Appreciated

Greying X