From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

EssexHebridean

Ahh - yes to the Terns, but they’re about 3 times the size of the Phalaropes so those still win, for me! 🤣

can’t offer up feeding Phalaropes, but I can do you one just standing, looking… 

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Lovely photo EH - of a female Phalarope, isn't it?

Well, we got our little pootle out and about yesterday.  We got up and out, early doors and just took a couple of flasks of hot drinks, a couple of bottles of water and a slab of fruit cake each.  I saw by far the most swallows I have seen in one place yesterday, but still there weren't that many 😕 We heard a cuckoo, possibly 2 as we heard the call in 2 separate locations - first of the year, and possibly last. Spring was still flourishing on our route (slightly higher elevation) and it was lovely to see the leaves starting to appear, and the bluebells were still in their full bluey/violet glory.  I even spotted some wild garlic, but it was too close to a high traffic area to make me want to pick/eat it.

It's been a long time since I've been on my bike, so it was good to be able to cycle the route and be able to walk this morning........  

DH's workwear dried well yesterday, so I can say that for about 5 seconds, I have caught up with the family laundry...... 😂

Tea for Saturday night was mushroom and courgette pasta - LG ate every single scrap, i was amazed.  Tea last night was curry and dhal from the freezer with some boiled basmati.  I'm going to do some veggie balls (MrL own brand) in tommie sauce in the slow cooker this afternoon, it can cook whilst we are at activity and I will serve with pasta.  

I must start trying to contact plumbers to try to sort out the boiler firing up everytime you turn a tap on 🙄 i don't think I will contact the plumbing firm that fitted it - I don't think I want them back in the house.  They seem to want to do jobs how they want to do them - not perhaps how they need to be done, and I am still p1ssed off that they fitted an identical radiator in LG's bedroom to what was there despite going in there when quoting and commenting on how much colder it was than other parts of the house - and then when I mentioned it after they fitted it, all I got was 'it's the right size for the room size, I'll just re-balance it' (which meant just turning a knob slightly, which made zero difference).  When we were at Greying Towers, the plumbers there fitted a radiator that didn't warm the room, and when I mentioned it, they changed it up, no bother, no charge - said it happens.....

Right, need to shift a tail feather.  Homework has been supervised this morning, but no snap prepped yet 😱

Greying X

Cheery_Daff

Good luck with your plumber! It's so tiring, isn't it?? We were meant to have a boiler service in the winter, but when the plumber arrived, there was water running into the electrics in the living room, and he fixed that instead, then went on holiday, and never got back to us. I did chase, but he didn't respond. I haven't bothered chasing more as the weather is now nice anyway - and also he never bothered to send us an invoice for the emergency repairs so perhaps he will realise that at some point! Or perhaps not, who knows. I wish I could do everything myself sometimes 😂

I heard a cuckoo the other day too 😊 I had just that day spotted our first cuckoo flower of the year too, so that was a nice thing 😊 I think I've only ever heard one once before here! 

I love hearing about your tasty meals 😊😊 have a cheerful day x

Greying_Pilgrim

Oh Cheery - it is a right fandango isn't it?  And sometimes, it isn't about the money - you're prepared to pay for the work that has been done in an emergency, you've budgeted for services or installation, but still folk don't return calls/enquiries or whatever.  I don't know if the plumber I'm going to contact will bother, as I didn't go with the quote they provided, simply because it arrived after we had already gone with the firm who could do it in the timeframe we had.  It was problematic to get 2 quotes as it was, never mind 3........ 😕

Oh that makes me feel better about hearing the cuckoo.  We don't routinely hear them here, and I must admit, I thought it was getting a bit late to hear them at all.  Currently all I can hear is house sparrows - I suspect two males are having bit of a turf war, it all got a bit 'crouching tigger, h1dden drag0n' here earlier with in-air combat 😕

Have a good day all, and thanks for popping in for a chat.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Phew!

I think I may have overdone it a bit.  We need to work on the garden as it is just 'mostly useless' as it is at the moment.  I suspect it's been pretty much neglected since the house was built and the 'lawn' area suffers from having rubbish sub soil, a slope that means rain pools due to bad drainage/compacted clay and clearly the conifer that had been left to grow out of control had been busy taking moisture from the soil for all it was worth.  So we need to have a go at trying to level the lawn area and improve drainage.  The conifer has gone, and it is now abundantly clear why the roots were growing 'rope like' on the surface of the lawn - the ground is rock hard clay 🙁 The whole process is being hampered by me coming across builders debris too 🙄 

I have dug over a patch about 8' x 8'.  I got all carried away due to yesterday's cycling success...... beginning to ache a bit now....... 🙁 Any sane person would get the local landscaping firm in, but I doubt we could easily get a mini-digger onto the ground, and haven't the spare funds anyway.  Windows are more important than a show garden worthy of chelsea.  And nobody in their right mind would hand dig the space....... So press on with our own efforts we must.  Stupidly, this is the second time I have levelled a back garden.  I did the same at Greying Towers.  The garden was much larger there, but less Himalaya looking......

Right, stuff to shove in the slow cooker.  It's all go....................... 😂

Greying X

greenbee

GP - have a look at 'no dig' gardening. That's why I'm doing here. Obviously you have to dig out any plants you want to get rid of, but otherwise it's a case of cardboard and compost. 

themadvix

greenbee said:

GP - have a look at 'no dig' gardening. That's why I'm doing here. Obviously you have to dig out any plants you want to get rid of, but otherwise it's a case of cardboard and compost. 

Another vote for no dig! Better for you, better for the soil.

Greying_Pilgrim

greenbee said:

GP - have a look at 'no dig' gardening. That's why I'm doing here. Obviously you have to dig out any plants you want to get rid of, but otherwise it's a case of cardboard and compost. 

themadvix said:

greenbee said:

GP - have a look at 'no dig' gardening. That's why I'm doing here. Obviously you have to dig out any plants you want to get rid of, but otherwise it's a case of cardboard and compost. 

Another vote for no dig! Better for you, better for the soil.

Thanks both, but this isn't digging for planting.  This is digging to try to level the ground.  Our back garden is suitable for nowt - gardening, crown green bowls, setting up a tent, setting up a picnic bench - we can't do any of that until it is something approaching level.  The garden isn't that big, so if we do ever get around to planting veg or herbs, it will probably be best to do containers or raised beds or something.  

What I'm doing at the moment is trying to get back to a 'level playing field' which certainly initially will then be seeded with grass seed.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Not much happening here.

£6.47 spent in HB/MrS last night whilst LG was at club.  With the exception of the TV listings mag, it was all fruit & veg - so feeling slightly virtuous at least.....Siggie updated.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Shopping day today.  Not alot to get excited about as there ain't mucho of the budget left..... 🙄

I forgot to say, we ate those plant based balls from MrL vegan range; on Monday.  They were OK and at £1.99 a box, were in the ball park price-wise of similar products, but I don't think I would bother buying them again.  They appeared to be emulating 'chicken' and had a slightly weird taste - not unpleasant, just kind of, sort of, slightly different in a not particularly attractive way.  They cooked OK in the tommie sauce in the slow cooker, and were served up with pasta and green beans - made a meal, so no complaints.

I've just been reading research that says that providing 'healthy' packed lunches for kids is - on average - 45% more expensive than providing unhealthy alternatives.  I suppose it's good to have figures/percentages put to it, but any parent/carer who has been trying their best to do the right thing could have told you that, anyway.  Interesting that MrT came out top on providing healthy food for the lowest cost - MrL didn't make the list 😱 according to the report I read (which may have missed it off for some reason - MrAl was listed).  I don't know if I had said that LG has been taking in pieces of the HM savoury flapjack (not everyday, we like to try to aim for variety), and likes the version I came up with.  So fingers-crossed that will remain an option to deploy going forward (the mix freezes well, so batches can be made and will last for a little while).

I had to buy a new phone this week.  Not an entirely unexpected purchase, but I hadn't realised that I would actually be 'de-phoned' by the 3G switch off.  I missed an important phone call earlier in the week, and couldn't access voicemail. I hadn't actually had notification that "you have 30 days to get a new handset", the message I got - which I now realise was 30 days ago - said something along the lines of "we're working in your area, you shouldn't face any disruption" which isn't quite as useful.  But still, all is well and I am back in the 21st century.  Regrettably I had to 'pay the price I paid', as I had missed the special offer that had been on the phone I had decided I wanted.  I should have been brave enough to purchase something from 'bac*kmark3t' - I know people on here speak highly of it, ah well, next planned purchase I shall endeavour to do better.

Right, I better go off and finish up my shopping list - champagne, strawberries, dark chocolate, asparagus....... won't be on the list 😂

Ta for popping by.  Sorry I've nowt gripping to report.

Greying X