Away From The Madding Crowd

Katiehound

^^^^
Lucky you

They are no longer in this part of town- used to nest in the pantiles of a house opposite.  that's why I hadn't seen them......

Humboldt

@bluenose1 I am impressed with your DIY skills, although I did have to google 'wainscoting'.  Very nice!  House decorating is on our 'to do list', but we are hoping to enjoy the summer first. 

@Katiehound loved your latest simple pleasure.  I do worry that future generations will not have the same seasonal pleasures that I have grown-up with.  

@Nebulous2 fabulous that you are content with them nesting in your roof.  

Thanks' to you all for taking the time to comment.

Today's simple pleasure - the alliums in my garden are now in full flower, and proving to be very popular with a huge variety of pollinators. 

Savvy_Sue

For those of you who would like to help swifts, take a look at https://www.bristolswifts.co.uk/swift-nest-box-design/

For some information on how to attract them, have a read of https://www.bristolswifts.co.uk/swift-colony/

Humboldt

Morning @Savvy_Sue thanks for sharing the links.  Hopefully they will inspire others to build the much needed nest boxes.

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week

You will never find a rainbow if you’re looking down – Charlie Chaplin.

Money Saving

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 4 spend for May was £70.99.  I am feeding a lot of family members this weekend, so a larger than normal spend. Total spend to date for May is £254.46, so I am already £4.46 over budget and another week to go.  Sometimes I just must roll with it and be grateful that I am able to do so. 

Replaced our very old, leaky hose reel with a new T!tan 25m set that was half price (£19.99) in Screwf!x.   Having subscribed to h0tukde@ls, I receive a daily email featuring ‘h0t de@ls of the day’.  Most days there is nothing of interest to us, but now and again there is a good deal, such as the hose reel purchased this week.  You can also check out their website if you are looking for a particular item.

Found 2 recipe books in a charity shop; F0rk to Fork by M0nty & Sarah D0n and Veggie Le@n in 15 by Joe W!cks. Both were only 50p each and in excellent condition. 

This week’s main menu

Monday – Chicken Provençal (H@iry Dieter’s recipe).  This is a shuffle from yesterday.  It was replaced by a quick meal of poached eggs and beans on sour dough toast at the end of a busy day.

Tuesday – Tikka masala chickpea fritters and raita (Joe W!cks recipe) with Dum aloo (Ultimate Sl0w Cooker recipe). This will make enough for 4 portions, so I will freeze the extras.  Mint is homegrown.  I will use the leftover spinach to make soup for lunches.

Wednesday – Kale, fennel, and butterbean stew (J0e Wicks recipe).  I will replace the kale with some spring greens that need using up.

Thursday – Spaghetti Bolognese (will cook in the slow cooker).  A quick and easy meal for some of the family that are arriving today.

Friday – Buffet for large family gathering.

Saturday – Family BBQ (weather permitting).

Sunday – Chicken Jalfrezi (H@iry Dieter’s recipe) with homemade flat bread.

Healthier Lifestyle

Completed 2 free workouts via Fabulous50’s on Y0utube.

Step count last week was 43,727.

Completed 4 free meditations.

Simple Pleasures.

Book 8/24 – The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater (a charity shop find).  First published in 2001, but new to me. A memoir of life, love, and olive oil in the South of France.  The author is best known for her role as Helen Herriot in the original series of All Creatures Great and Small.  This is a tale of real-life romance between the actress and a television producer, and the abandoned Provençal olive farm which they buy.  It was an absolute joy to read, whisking me off to sunnier climes during the grey, wet days that we have been experiencing. I will now be seeking out the next book in the series.

Watching the RH$ Chelse@ flower show on tv this week.

A trip to a local garden centre with DH.  We bought summer bedding, and I managed to plant the summer pots between the rain showers yesterday.  I also moved my homegrown beetroot plants, and 3 my courgettes into one of the veg boxes (2 extra courgette plants held back just in case).

DH and I enjoyed coffee and a very yummy cheese scone for lunch when we visited the garden centre café.

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

bluenose1

Finally finished my panelling and painting so nice to relax with a coffee and read your weekly update @Humboldt. I have written a menu plan for this week and we went to Lidl yesterday after a carvery lunch in Southport and got the main items in. Need to stop going to local Co-op /Tesco Express for bits as so expensive.

After enjoying your precious book recommendations I have bought The Olive Farm and sequel from eBay, only cost £5.43 and I had an offer for £2 off Topcashback. Will take them to read on our Northumberland holiday. There were plenty of copies of both on ebay.

Have spent a fair bit of time in garden tidying up, it is definitely - a good year for the roses, as the song used to go. The back fence is covered in white and yellow climbing roses and the rose bushes are in full bloom, just a shame weather not great.

Enjoy your family visit and hope the weather is nice for your BBQ.

Humboldt

Morning @bluenose1 I hope that you are pleased with your latest DIY project. Northumberland is a beautiful area, especially for dog walking.  Thanks lots for the Eb@y tip.  Where possible, I try to support charity shops by buying my books from them, but obviously there is no guarantee they are going to have what I want.  It's raining again here today, so no gardening.  Although I may have to go on a slug hunt later!  

@Savvy_Sue my DH intends to build a few swift nest boxes at work. Thanks again for sharing the link. 

 Today's simple pleasure - fresh blueberries (currently 99p at Ald!) with my overnight oats this morning.

Katiehound

Today's simple pleasure- just bottled approx 2.5 litres of elder flower cordial. 

Minimal cost: 1 kg bag of sugar (£1.09), 2 lemons (33 pence), Citric acid (50 pence?-bought online a couple of years ago)
 free solar power, free elder flowers, free recycled glass bottles, free charity labels
So all that for under £2

looking forward to tasting it with cheapie fizzy water when it is cold- bottles still too hot to handle!

Humboldt

Morning @Katiehound thank you for taking the time to share the elderflower cordial recipe.  Because you have also shared the costs, it will hopefully inspire others to give it a try.  

Today's simple pleasure - picking a small posy of flowers from the garden to enjoy indoors. 

Katiehound

Another batch brewing now, ready to strain today and then bottle. Half of the first brew already given away!
I guess there will be flowers for perhaps the next 2 weeks? Depends on the weather......

recipe here: https://veganonboard.com/the-best-homemade-elderflower-cordial/

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try – Brian Littrell.

Money saving

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 5 spend for May was £55.31. Total spend for May was £309.77. We were £59.77 over budget last month.  I am ok with this considering it was a 5-week month, and that we fed lots of family at the weekend.   

Total amount of interest added to our various savings accounts in May was £159.73.  Having paid our final holiday balance, we then transferred ‘surplus’ monies to our savings account at the end of the month.

Making the most of my homegrown chives.  Cheese and chive scones made and now in the freezer.  Used some of the chive flowers to make chive butter, which has been frozen in ice cube tray portions. Enjoying the remaining chive flowers sprinkled over salads. Seasonal pleasures.

Took advantage of M+S offer on men’s tee shirts.  3 for £22, plus a further 15% off (Sp@rks offer).

This week’s main menu

Monday – Toad in the hole, spring greens, carrots, peas, and gravy.

Tuesday – Ping meal – as above (cook once eat twice – save time and energy costs)

Wednesday – Fennel & lemon risotto (G0od Food recipe).  I will use homemade chicken stock, and add some frozen peas and leftover fresh spinach.  I find that spinach lasts longer if I buy it unwashed and place a piece of kitchen roll in the bag to absorb any moisture.

Thursday – Stuffed peppers with salad.  I will stuff the peppers with leftover homemade lentil Bolognese (Oc@do recipe) that was frozen until required.

Friday – Chicken Jalfrezi (H@iry Dieter’s recipe) with homemade flat bread.  This is a menu shuffle from Sunday when we had homemade goats’ cheese and wild garlic pesto pizza.  The pesto was homemade and from the freezer.

Saturday – Gingered beef, vegetable stir-fry, with noodles. Homemade ginger marinade consisting of reduced salt soy sauce, red wine vinegar, grated garlic and grated fresh ginger.  I buy fresh ginger when it is either reduced, or on offer. I then freeze it in thumb sized pieces (you can grate it whilst frozen).

Sunday – Moroccan fish and couscous parcels (Tesc0 recipe).

Breakfasts continue to be mainly oat based.  This week lunches will include salads, homemade hummus, falafels (currently on offer in Aldi 6 for £1.05, delicious in warm pittas with salad), and homemade soups from the freezer.  

Healthier lifestyle

In January this year I attended a standard 5-year NHS health check, and the results came as a shock. I took the decision (with medical approval) to make healthier choices, and to go back 3-4 months later.  I was very pleased with the results that I recently received.  My cholesterol and blood pressure are now within the normal range.  Having been a standard size 12, I am now a comfortable size 10. My Qrisk has reduced significantly, despite me being a lady over 60, and having close family members who sadly had heart issues at an early age.

My fledgling diary is one of several things that have kept me motivated and accountable. I am enjoying making tweaks to our diet, whilst also ensuring that we stay within our budget.  I am building time into my day to exercise, meditate and ‘just be'.  My decision to work part-time has certainly helped. I will never again underestimate the negative impact that long term stress can have on my mind and body. It continues to be work in progress, but I am committed to my healthy lifestyle choices so that I can make the most of my simple, full, and happy life.  As always, my diary is about our journey, and I totally understand that others may choose a different path, or indeed may not have a choice. 

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

Step count last week was 50,163.

Completed 4 free meditations last week.

Simple pleasures

I have a spare courgette plant to replace the one that has been munched by slugs (outdoors). A whole row of freshly germinated salad has also been munched (outdoors). Two of my cucumber seeds have germinated (indoors).  Oh, what a rollercoaster ride gardening is! 

A weekend with family, which was filled with lots of laughter, food, and togetherness (the BBQ went ahead despite the weather).

Enjoying a cuppa whilst sat on the garden bench in the late evening sunshine.

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