From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

beanielou

Love Jersey Royals and Scottish strawberries.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Boy, was I tired last night, and i was only navigating. DH has said he doesn't want to drive as far anymore 😬Trouble is, if I drive, he won't navigate, and we all know satnav isn't all it's cracked up to be. We came home yesterday the way we'd gone on holiday, partially because we took a wrong exit on a roundabout in a town centre (and couldn't find a turning point easily - so kept on that road), but also avoiding M'ways - which are all but car parks in holidays, and an A road that serves a tourist hotspot, and is notorious for queuing traffic. But you wouldn't have got the route via satnav. What I did was, to use the map, and move the satnav manually, as the satnav is brilliant for showing you precisely where you are, which isn't always apparent on a paper map. We probably didn't get home any faster, but at least we were moving all the time - with a couple of 'slow moving' points when we did join the m'way, but we weren't on it for many junctions.

DH decided to top up at the same petrol station he'd used on the way down. There was a +2p a litre difference from 3 days prior 😬but by the time we'd reached our home county, it was looking "cheap" 😬

DH has his scan this afternoon. Hence why he's in a niggly mood. What with LG's hormonal growing changes too, it ain't a bundle of larfs in this neck of t'woods. I need a holiday…….. Although one advantage or being a geriatric mum is becoming apparent - what if I was perimeno at the same time too……… 😱

Tea last night was freezer parsnip curry and dhal, and I used the packet microwave rice that I'd bought for holiday. I'd got it from FF, and it wasn't a brand I recognised. I don't think I would buy it again, although all makes of that type of rice are clearly different to freshly cooked rice. But it didn't separate well in the packet, and wasn't much better when cooked. But hey, it works, cooks in 2 minutes and adds to a plate of curry, so it may just be a case of finding a brand that i prefer - the concept is sound enough.

I have washed the towels, managed to get them mostly dry last night. I have today washed 2 batches of clothing, and that is all out on the line. I have also rewashed the (new) bathmat. It says to wash on it's own, but of course it throws the machine into a tizzy, and it won't spin, so I have managed to re-wash it with a couple of things and it has spun out gloriously - and will probably dry quickly as it's polyester. Still clothes to wash and bedding (no room on the line).

We went to the places we'd slated to go on holiday, and had a couple of 'slow' days. We all love that part of the UK, but I'm unsure whether we will rush back to that particular site. The caravan wasn't as good/clean as the previous one we'd rented - I think the focus is on owner occupiers, not lets. And whilst there are plenty of walks, and ruins and not ££ things to do, it becomes a question as to whether we could do 'all that' closer to home. We've done the 2 museums that we had 'year based tickets too', and we saw some different things this visit. If we went back, say in May, or in the summer, we would be unlikely to see 'much' that was different. So it would be pointless us going back. It's why I (personally) don't like tickets that are annual entry - there are just some places that don't have sufficient rotational interest to make you want to return. We still love static caravans (and chalets, and cottages, and shepherds huts!), but I think - especially in light of the fuel crisis), we will have to seek out places closer to home. I (personally) can't justify travelling X hundreds of miles and then doing 'nothing'. Common sense-wise, I can see the destressing/relaxation point, but I can't marry that up with travel costs - my bad, I know. DH is indifferent about holidays - he'll go along with things, as long as I've organised it all, LG is at the stage where the gift shop is all 🙄 and is slowly but surely careering towards "ain't bovvered". Which I'm finding hard to cope with - I thought we'd have a bit longer, because of how LG has been when they were younger.

DH is on holiday again for the May HT. Clearly, we'll be unlikely to go away, although there is something of interest on the BH weekend - in the area we've just holidayed 🙄It's a different part of the county - the caravan wouldn't be a good base as it's too far from the venue, but who knows where we will be fuel-wise, so it's probably not worth trying to plan anything. Whether DH would be OK driving as far - because it is something that is of super interest to him - is a moot point.

On holiday, we did eat all the remaining green box mangoes, and easy peelers. We ate some of the brown baggy bananas - and have brought some home - and used some of the Easter tatties, onions and garlic. LG loved their cereals, but I was amazed that the "ordinary" cornflakes were the most attractive - I'd assumed the pops cocoa would have been priority choice. But it is interesting that they didn't have much milk in their bowl, and it got surreptitiously poured away - so the health benefits of eating cereal aren't that great. I shall be happier if the novelty wears off, I can't lie. There are cereal boxes left, but I'm keeping them - probably for weekends, to retain the 'treat-ness' of them. LG will be able to have them, just not all at once.

Our lunch out was OK. It wasn't cheap - BUT even I know that eating out costs, and for what we had, which was 3 plates of food in a sit down restaurant with 'free' tap water, the cost was actually low, by modern standards. I'm glad we did it - it made a nice change, and I'm sure the food was better quality than you'd get at a fast food outlet.

We did purchase one item of local produce - it was a bottle of cider. Overpriced (possibly because I got it in a chi-chi farm shop), but at least we were in spitting distance of where it was produced. And it was nearly half the price of the asparagus…..

The beebeecee gave a high chance of rain for us today, but the weather is breezy and sunny, so I'm hopeful that the washing will dry, so that I'm a bit closer to having caught up.

I had better make something for lunch now, as we'll have to set off to the hospital soonish.

Sorry this post is a bit of a brain dump, things are changing, and I guess I just need to work out my reaction (or not) to them. We're still very blessed with all we have.

Greying X

kayannie

I think everyone needs a holiday to get over their holiday, especially when you've crammed in as much as possible into each day and returned to the caravan & cooked a 'proper' meal!

KA x

kayannie

Also, I meant to add that I hope the scan goes well this afternoon.

KA x

Greying_Pilgrim

Thanks kayannie. We're back. He has been told to expect results in 2 - 3 weeks. At least his mood has improved - he does, and always has, suffered from 'white coat' syndrome.

We dropped DH off and then pootled off to the huge MrT that is up the road. I hadn't got any hopes of finding anything, but their clothes section is still quite big, and always worth a look. I went to the World Foods section, which of course had nothing - following the Ramadan offers. But walking away, I went past an aisle end, that appeared to have lots of World food things - that were clearly marked RTC (rather than YS'd). It was products that had been curated for Vaisakhi - which I now know (because I looked it up), is the Sikh New Year. Anyway, there were 4 x 1kg brick packs of black eyed beans, which were £1.12 each (rtc from £2.80 😱)……. I bought them all, as B-E beans rarely appear on offer anywhere I shop. And I would be sceptical that our local MrT would have this display/offer. I've added that expense to my bulk buys spending. I bought some other bits in MrT - LG wanted spaghetti, so we got some of the cheap 28p stuff (DH doesn't like spaghetti - too difficult to eat), a tin of pineapple, and some radishes. We called in at MrL on the way back. I forgot to look if our store stocks the kimchi, but forgot. I got cheese, wine, YS'd mushrooms x 2 and YS'd british butter with truffles, and some yoghurt. Total food spend was £15.69 on groceries/wine, and £4.48 on 'bulk'. I have updated my siggie figgie and noted it on the GC thread. I've also noted that we're only a third of the way through the month, and I've spent well over half the budget 😬

As we were driving away from Greying Town, I could see black clouds in the rear view mirror and it had rained whilst we were out. But the clothes had bounced back in the subsequent sunshine/breeze. But we've just had another sharp shower, and none of us noticed as the curtains are closed due to the strong sunshine, and the washing is soaked again……… I'll be super lucky if it gets anywhere near dry again, before it's time to bring it in ☹️

Greying X

in_need_of_direction

when my two were small, they used to have cereal with natural yogurt instead of milk. Would that be an option for LG?

beanielou

I eat my cereal dry. Hate soggy cereal!

kayannie

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81958792#Comment_81958792

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81958792#Comment_81958792

My OH has always suffered 'White Coat' syndrome. The time that stands out is when he went to the optician for a routine eye test & passed out! Surprisingly, when he had his heart attack last year he remained calm with no nerves at all! I think that was because everything happened so quickly that he didn't have time to work up a panic attack!

KA x

badmemory

Here's another that suffers from white coat syndtrome. Unfortunately my latest experience has led to a total distrust of them or at least the hospital version of them. I hope he avoids that.

Greying_Pilgrim

DH has too much "respect" for the white coat i think. He's been treated (over the years) by some excellent people, but he's also accepted some rubbish from folk who weren't motivated by a helping people philosophy. He won't ask questions/challenge. I've told him to ask - when booking a blood test - whether its important the test is carried out in the morning - as I've just had a situation where the blood test was invalid, as it was "too old" for testing. Had I known that it was imperative it was a morning test, I would have declined the evening test - which I was actually impressed with, as I thought "how adaptive" the NHS was, making appts until 8pm, and how this helped folk working "9-5" (or equivalent). But no, turns out it was all for nought. Why didn't the people booking the test know an evening test wouldn't do?

LG is just trying it on as regards the cereal. They will drink milk on and in their porridge - I thought the milk would be the achilles heel. We try to include fruit/nuts in the yoghurt - usually for pud, so I'm not so sure the cereal would give such a fibre/vitamin hit. Happy to be proved wrong, but LG would gravitate to 'sugar coated' cereal in the drop of hat……

I've cooked up the YS'd mushrooms - one lot to top a pizza, and the chestnut mushrooms have been prepped for a future risotto 🥰 I'm hoping that the truffle butter is good stuff - that would be good in a risotto too, right?

Tea will be HM pizza (mushroom one side and black olive the other), and wedges (Easter tatties). When we were in MrL today, there were some pizzas in the YS'd bit - two cheap and cheerful 8" (??) cheese and tommie pizzas and one cheese stuffed crust. LG was quite keen for us to have one of the 49p cheese & tommie pizzas, but when i said I was thinking of making pizza, the YS'd pizza was put back… 😂

Thanks everso for popping by, the convo is appreciated.

Greying X