Away From The Madding Crowd

Katiehound

I've just googled it too- thinking maybe it is another blue butterfly, but no, I think I'm right. It was right by the ivy & it flies quite high. There's lots of ivy along the wall by the house. 
As a child I was greatly into all flora & fauna & had the 'I-Spy' books as well as identification guides, so I have been looking for quite some years!!!
Years ago I think I probably drove my hosts & distant cousins in Zimbabwe & S.Africa asking what tree/ flower/ bird is that??

The new teapot has just been delivered to the local hospice shop (with Gift Aid). I think the tea cup & saucer is a better seller in Mablethorpe so that can go to the McMillan shop next time I go. (I'm thinking it will appeal to the holiday makers!)

Katiehound

Today's free enjoyment: the scent of the hawthorn flowers.
 I also spotted the very first elderflowers opening, am I ready to make cordial?

Humboldt

@Katiehound thank you for taking the time to share your simple pleasures, always a joy to read them.

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week

If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way – a quote often attributed to Martin Luther King, Jnr. 

Money Saving

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250. Week 1 spend for May was £60.47. 

The total amount of interest added to our various savings accounts in April was £165.45.  After checking April’s current account statement, we transferred some funds to the holiday savings account (2024 holiday to be paid this week).

May’s premium bond win was £200 (2024 total to date is £425).

Took advantage of the S@insbury’s ‘buy 6 or more bottles of wine and save 25%’.  Bought 6 bottles, saved £9.66, reduced the bill further by using £20 worth of Nect@r Points, leaving only £8.84 to pay.  I have previously mentioned that I add the ‘personal offers’ to my S@insbury and Co0p accounts on a weekly basis, resulting in extra points if I buy those items.  If an item is price matched to Ald! or reduced in price, it makes sense to gain the additional points.  For those who are unaware, you can also gain Nect@r points when purchasing from many other companies if you link them to your account, i.e. I have linked Arg0s and B0oking.c0m.  Car fuel accounts for lots of our Nect@r points and we frequently receive a double points voucher when paying.

Bought a polo top for DH in the TU sale (reduced to £10.50).  Also bought him a Fatf@ce polo top (that looks like new) in a charity shop for £5.

This week’s main menu

Monday – Salmon with chilli ginger sauce (H@iry Dieter’s recipe) with stir-fry veg and noodles.  Salmon was reduced in price and frozen until required.

Tuesday – Spiced cannellini and lentil soup (W@itrose recipe) with warm wholemeal pittas.  I buy S@insbury’s wholemeal pittas (6 for 50p) and freeze them until required.  I reheat them in the toaster on the defrost setting.

Wednesday – Tex-Mex spicy shepherd’s pie (Tesc0 recipe) with spring cabbage and carrots.  Lamb mince was reduced in price and frozen until required.

Thursday – Ping Meal – As per yesterday (cook once eat twice, saves time and energy costs).

Friday – Spicy chicken and sweet potato (from one of my cut-out recipe books. I cannot remember where it originally came from) with salad. Tasty and minimum effort. Recipe below if anyone wants to try it:

Serves 2 - 2 chicken legs (or chicken thighs), 2 sweet potatoes cut into chunks, 2 teaspoons of Balti paste (or whatever curry paste you like/have), zest and juice of 1 lime, 2 tablespoons of olive oil (or whatever oil you like/have), ½ small red onion peeled and thinly sliced, 2 tomatoes thinly sliced, chopped fresh coriander, mango chutney (optional but it does make a difference).

In a large bowl, toss the chicken, potato, Balti paste, lime zest and juice and olive oil.  Season. Tip on to a roasting tray and cook at 200, fan 180, gas 6 for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Serve scattered with onion, tomato, and coriander, with mango chutney alongside.  Enjoy.

Saturday – Goats’ cheese and wild garlic pesto pizza.  The pesto is homemade and was frozen until required.  I will roast the vegetables for tomorrow’s meal whilst the oven is on and reheat them in the microwave.

Sunday – Vegetable couscous with harissa yogurt (W@itrose recipe).  I will add leftover goat’s cheese to this recipe. I freeze harissa paste in ice-cube trays until required. Spring onions and parsley are homegrown.

Breakfasts continue to be mainly oat based. This morning it was chocolate and banana overnight oats with 0 fat Greek yogurt.  Lunches will include homemade soups from the freezer.

Healthier Lifestyle

Completed 1 free workout via F@bulous50’s on Y0utube last week.

Step count last week was 65,517.

Completed 4 free meditations.

Simple Pleasures

DH and I visited a local brewery yesterday and enjoyed a cold beer in the picnic garden.  Thought we best make the most of the sunshine because you never know what the weather is going to do the next day!

Homegrown courgette and tomato seedlings have been potted-on. This year I am growing cherry tomatoes in the hope that I have more success with the fruits ripening on the vine. I am also planning to direct sow spinach this week.

I bought a small brass coloured plant hanger in P0undland for only £1.50 and added a string of hearts plant. Certainly, looks much more expensive than it was.

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read my diary.

Nebulous2

Thanks for writing it - and giving us a glimpse into your life. 

Tu clothes from Sainsbury's were my go to for year's, Fairtrade pure cotton T-shirts and TU jeans, usually bought in one of their twice yearly sales. Unfortunately they have slipped recently - and I've had to resort to M & S for jeans. 

We get nectar points on fuel - and on electric and gas, but we aren't very well organised in using them. 

My wife has taken an interest in beer in recent times, and we are trying hard to support local breweries, the craft beer industry is having it tough. I wish we had a brewery within easy reach. 

Simple pleasures:- watching swallows. They've recently arrived, but have wasted no time in setting up home and darting about feeding. We also have swifts, but I haven't seen or heard them yet. 

bluenose1

Lovely post Humboldt and love your menu plan, you really do cook some delicious food. Back from Kos, which was lovely, not sure if I have seen such lovely colour sea before.  My simple pleasure is sleeping in my own bed, an added benefit not having to listen to my sister snore loudly all night which wasn't even drowned out by my White Noise Machine on max volume

Humboldt

@Nebulous2 I was not aware that you could link your Nect@r account to a utilities provider, or perhaps it is via S@insbury's Energy?  I will check this out. 

DH has been buying his jeans from Weird F!sh for a few years now.  Their Robs0n denim jeans come in 3 colours and are made with organic cotton.  They wash and wear well.  There is always an offer code of some description, but he tends to wait for the 40% offer (reduces them to £30) and free postage.  You have to be quick though, they sell out quickly. 

I feel that it is so important to support small, local companies, and let's face it, drinking beer in the sunshine is no chore lol.

Loving your simple pleasure.

@bluenose1 welcome back.  'Not sure if I have seen such lovely colour sea before' - so lovely to read this. Not so lovely to read about your sister's snoring lol.

Thanks to you both for taking the time to comment, much appreciated. 

Today's simple pleasure - The sun is shining and I am about to garden. 

Katiehound

Todays simple pleasures :
Sun all day!
 2 holly blue butterflies chasing each other at the play park.
 A laburnum tree almost fully in bloom and .....
... now this one is very man made.......a stunning 68 year old white classic MG Midget convertible gleaming in the sun. (It's usually parked in the garage) Iooks amazing with the red leather  & shiny chrome. Looks like the first one here:
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/1950s-mg-convertible-car-classic.html?sortBy=relevant

(A well loved 'boy's toy!')
 

Humboldt

Morning all.

@Katiehound the glorious sunshine this week is definitely at the top of my simple pleasures list. That is a stunning vintage car. 

Today's simple pleasure - perfectly ripe, sweet fresh pineapple with my overnight oats this morning (pineapples currently selling for only £1 in M+S).

bluenose1

Humboldt said:

Morning all.

@Katiehound the glorious sunshine this week is definitely at the top of my simple pleasures list. That is a stunning vintage car. 

Today's simple pleasure - perfectly ripe, sweet fresh pineapple with my overnight oats this morning (pineapples currently selling for only £1 in M+S).

That sounds delicious @Humboldt
Good price for M&S.I bought a pineapple from Lidl yesterday and think that was a £1. We get M&S own  spreadable butter as it is one of the few ones that is actual butter, rather than part rapeseed.
My simple pleasure is having my throbbing feet up drinking a coffee after a long walk with the washing on the line. Still can’t believe how lucky I am to be retired.

Humboldt

@bluenose1 I too count my blessings, because even semi-retirement is wonderful.  

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than the ones than you did do.  So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover – Mark Twain.

Money saving

Our monthly budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 2 spend for May was £59.86.  Total spend to date for May is £120.33.

Trip to a local town for a dental appointment.  Took advantage of the government’s £2 bus fare cap, saving £3.  The scheme runs until 31 December 2024.  Due to the dental services being abysmal in our town we felt that we had no choice but to go private. We are considering joining a Denplan scheme.  If any of you would like to share your experience of these, I would be most grateful.

Divided plants in the garden, resulting in more plants at no cost.

This week’s main meal plan

Monday – Fish, oven chips, and peas.  When shopping earlier, I bought some fresh, chunky cod fillets in breadcrumbs that were reduced in price.  

Tuesday – Sweet and sour chicken (H@iry Dieter’s recipe) with a small portion of brown rice.  Chicken was reduced in priced and frozen until required.

Wednesday – Vegetable lasagne (Tesc0 recipe) with salad.  I will omit the mozzarella, use fresh onions instead of frozen, and add diced sweet peppers.  I will swap pasta sheets for aubergine slices and the ready cooked Puy lentils for dried red lentils.   The aubergine was only 95p in M+S and twice the size of those in Ald! this week. 

Thursday – As above - Ping Meal (cook once, eat twice – saves time and energy costs).

Friday – Lentil Bolognese (Oc@do recipe) with whole-wheat spaghetti.  Tinned green lentils still only 49p at Ald!

Saturday – Chilli stuffed peppers with salad. I will use leftover homemade chilli con carne (without the rice) that was frozen until required. These will be cooked in the slow cooker.

Sunday – Spanish-style chicken bake (H@iry Dieter’s recipe). Using delicious jersey royal potatoes.  Will half the chorizo sausage and the remainder will be used for a soup next week.

Healthier lifestyle

Completed 2 free workouts via Fabulous50’s on Y0uTube this week.

Step count last week was 47,097.

Completed 4 free meditations.

Simple pleasures

Gave the summerhouse a spring clean, rehung the bunting, added the soft furnishings and a jug of flowers picked from the garden. This little wooden shack brings me such joy and it is wonderful to be able to use it again.

Repositioned and replanted one of my large herb boxes. 

A meet-up with a friend.  Always good for the soul.

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read my diary.