From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Greying_Pilgrim

Oooh, kayannie - you've just minded me of an EH castle we went too…… 🤔 It was a ruin(ish) because it'd been under bombardment, and they actually still had one of the huge cannonballs that had taken down walls of the castle, as it landed…. in the well? or in the moat (can't remember). It never ceases to amaze me - in areas where there wouldn't have been much money, how many pennies, half-pennies and occasional sixpence I've found. Even in my childhood, I used to walk from home to our 'allotment' (actually just a teeny-tiny field that dad rented), or to the local garage for sweets, and I was forever finding pennies (the big 'old' pennies, or half-pennies) in the muddy bit between the tarmac and the grass verge. It's easy to see how LG is like they are now, with their 'finds'. We should get a metal detector 😆

Greying X

rtandon27

@Greying_Pilgrim - we had groceries arrive early this morning & at long last the rhubarb and asparagus were affordable! The asparagus we got was on flash sale 200g for 1.65 and 400g rhubarb for 1.80. What amazed me, particularly about the asparagus was that it was local homegrown UK produce. I'm always happier when our fresh produce is not brought in from far flung places!

ETA - OH is now eyeing up both - and I've told him that unless he's prepared to make the crumble and quiche, he will need to wait until the weekend! Rhubarb/strawberry crumble & asaparagus quiche - sure signs that spring is here even if it is well under 10 degrees & we have our jumpers on!

kayannie

GP - we had a metal detector many years ago when our children were young. We didn't take it too seriously, it was just a bit of fun! The oldest coin we found was a Victorian 'bun' penny (the early Queen V ones). We found a few bent army badges in a relative's garden where I think the local soldiers once spent some time there before the house was built. It was very exciting when we found a coin we could spend!

Local people got to know we had the detector & we were twice asked to help find lost rings, which luckily we found.

If it's possible, a detector would be a fantastic present for LG. The simpler ones are quite reasonably priced.

KA x

Greying_Pilgrim

rt - which shop was that hun? MrS had one of their packets on offer (nectar price) - I can't remember the size, but the cost was 'down' to £2.10 iirc. MrL had dropped their 125g packets back down to £1.49 this week (which is what they were when I got my 'free' pack for signing up to the app), but they were £1.7-something last week. The British Asparagus season isn't on for much longer - in 'theory' the price should be falling, although I know what with labour issues and distribution this isn't quite as clear cut as market economics would paint it.

Greying X

Staffordia

We metal detect and it is hugely addictive. You never know what you might find next. There are a lot of rules regarding where you can and can't detect and you have to have the landowners permission. I often wish I knew a friendly farmer!

rtandon27

@Greying_Pilgrim - It was delivery hunny - from Ocad0 - I do our weekly shop online as it's easier for me to meal plan and saves a ton of my limited energy! Less so now, but over the past 6 months, we've also done top-up shops online (ub3reats) from c0-0p and waitflower, who often have discounts and deals. 50% off fruit & veg on a monday and I can compare the price of basics straight on the ordering website. I honestly can't remember the last time I went into a food shop in person!

Greying_Pilgrim

Well, I couldn't do much digging today, a) because of the weather and b) because I went shopping (although it was raining when I was shopping, so…..).

Anyhoo, when LG came home from school, I knew there was supposed to be a 2 hr window of drier weather, so I asked them if they would like to help me in the garden, and they said yes! I had to explain how I was doing things, but they gamely pitched in. They realised what hard work it was, but didn't quit, or moan within 5 seconds flat. Thankfully we found some interesting bits of pottery and another penny! We're now 2p the richer in legal tender! the coins are 40 years apart - 1973 (not 1970 as LG thought), and 2013. And I think that LG has a bit of a greater appreciation of what DiY entails. I appreciate that we might have the wrong end of the stick, but both DH and I did the 'sitting next to Nelly' approach when we were kids to learn about gardening or plumbing, or caring for animals, or car mechanics (dad was always trying to mend our car - and successive vehicles were more filler than metal 😬 wouldn't be allowed these days!). Perhaps LG will enter into adulthood with at least a smattering of knowledge about what goes into maintaining a home. But I do love it when Fam. Greying work together. Although I did have to stifle a laugh when DH came home and LG immediately led him into the garden and was explaining to him how to dig 😆

I did tofu salad wraps for tea. The wraps were wholemeal from MrL - the last of the YS'd ones I got a few weeks ago. We had shredded carrot, sliced radish, quick pickled red onion, tomato, cucumber, toasted seeds, lettuce, smoked tofu slices (fried with a little cornflour), and a drizzle made from garlic, honeyed tahini, mayo and yoghurt. I think there was something like a handful of seeds and a couple of lettuce leaves left over. Yoghurt and banana for pud.

Right, not quite such an active today, but I'm still away to my bed. Ta for popping by.

Greying X

Sun_Addict

The smoked tofu wraps sound really good, I love smoked tofu. Coincidentally I had some yesterday in taco shells with salad.

I’m glad LG has benefited from being helpful and willing to pass on acquired skills to DH 😆

rtandon27

Even my OH who says he doesn't like tofu laps up the smoked stuff with no fuss!

KajiKita

My dad always did all the cooking when I was growing up (my mother’s food is dire - boil all veg for 20 minutes! 😂😂 My dad quickly stepped in …) and I used to spend every evening in the watching him and absorbing lots about cooking whether I realised it or not. I also used to watch him as he used to pitch about with his old cars so when Mr KK came along I knew exactly what was involved and the why of changing a head gasket etc. 😊

Well done for keeping going at the digging. 👏 How much more do you think you have to do?

KK