Away From The Madding Crowd

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things – Albert Einstein.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 5 spend for May was £48.23.  Total spend for May is £312.28 (£62.28 overbudget).  Having checked my monthly grocery spends since January, and allowing £250 per month, I am still £35.93 under budget to date.  

Took advantage of an offer on a V@x carpet cleaner in the MSE weekly email.  We saved £155 on the price of the actual carpet cleaner, and £5 on the cleaning solution.  It was our intention to have the carpets cleaned in the house upon completion of the decorating; however, this offer was a more cost-effective option.  Family members are all ready putting in requests to use it!

DH replaced his very old, ‘walking coat’ (which was no longer waterproof), with a clearance bargain at G0 Outd0ors, saving £40.03.

£3 made via my crafting.  Money added to the Christmas/Birthday account.

Interest made on savings accounts for May was £92.81.  Most of our savings are now tucked away in new fixed rate ISA’s.

Spent over £50 at B+Q on paint items for the hallway makeover (enough materials remaining to complete the upstairs landing), and was able to use a £8 code received via the B+Q Member’s Club.  It is free to join and I often receive money off codes.  Click and collect was free.

This week’s main menu.

Monday – Peppered mackerel and potato bake (from one on my recipe scrap books).  I chose cream as one of my weekly C0-0P weekly offers which reduced the cost by 40p.

Tuesday - Mushroom risotto (BBc G0od Fo0d recipe).  Mushrooms were reduced in price.

Wednesday – Tuscan bean soup (slow cooker recipe) with a hunk of homemade sourdough.

Thursday –  Vegetable enchiladas (slow cooker recipe) with a large dressed green salad. Chipotle paste was reduced in price despite being well in date. 

Friday – Jerk spiced chicken with roasted ratatouille (Kate Humble recipe).  The chicken was reduced and frozen until required.  I will spatchcock the chicken and mix jerk spice (bought whilst on holiday) with olive oil to coat it. The ratatouille will be cooked at the same time as the chicken and a homemade sourdough loaf.

Saturday – Ping meal (as above) – cook once, eat twice (saves on time and energy).

Sunday – Chickpea and pepper tagine (slow cooker recipe) with wholewheat couscous.

Healthier lifestyle.

Last week’s step count was 35,883.  Assisting DH with the hallway makeover has taken priority this week, so less walks.

Completed 4 free meditations last week.

Completed 0 free online workouts last week.

Simple pleasures.

DH and I have completed the actual panelling in the hallway, it just needs painting now. We have never done this before, but having checked out numerous Y0utube videos we felt confident to give it a go.  I can recommend K!rsty Griffith$ channel if anyone is thinking of doing the same thing. It has been a lovely project to work on together, and it has motivated us to continue with redecorating the whole house.  Plus, the money saved by doing it ourselves will go towards a holiday.

Bought a few packs of summer bedding plants from Ald! (only £1.98 for 6) and filled a few plant pots around the garden.

Books read 08/25 – Three Sisters by Heather Morris (library book). 

‘Three Sisters is a beautiful story of hope in the hardest of times and finding love after loss, based on the incredible true story of the Meller sisters, as told by Heather Morris.  Two of the sisters are alive in Israel today, surrounded by friends and family’.

Having read The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris, and her follow up novel, Cilka’s Journey, Three Sisters was on my very long to-read list.  I was not disappointed.

Books read 09/25 – Home Cooked ‘recipes from the farm’ – Kate Humble (library book). 

‘A celebration of simple, seasonal home cooking full of flavour, comfort, and joy.  With more than 100 recipes from Kate Humble’s kitchen table, this is food to share from breakfast time to the evening meal – for lazy days, busy weeknights or gatherings, and everything in between’.

This book is filled with beautiful photographs, nature notes and simple seasonal recipes.  A joy to read.  Photographs of the recipes that I intend to try are safely stored on my mobile.

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

jwil

Well done on doing the panelling yourselves, it's great to have more money towards a holiday

Humboldt

Morning @jwil, thank you lots, your kind words are much appreciated.  We have totally surprised ourselves because as I said, we have never done anything like this before.  If we can do it, anyone can!

Today's simple pleasure - watching the latest series of Springwatch.

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

Frugal living is not about having less of everything; it’s about having more of what you truly value - Anonymous

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 1 spend for June was £71.47.

June’s premium bond win was £100 (2025 total to date is £375).

Bought a Geum plant  ‘Mai Tai’ for the garden.  I wanted my money’s worth for £9.99, so chose the healthiest and largest plant that I could comfortably divide into three smaller plants. I have patience, and am happy to wait until they grow bigger.

A free fringe cut.  My hairdresser offers these in between actual hair appointments.

Our energy provider as an initiative that encourages customers to reduce their energy use during peak times.  The more energy you shift, the more entries you earn to win prizes. This month we won £2 credit to our energy bill.  Fingers crossed that we win a year’s free energy next time.

Last week 5 x unwaxed lemons were only £1 at S@insbury’s.  This week’s menu will put them to good use.

This week’s main menu.  

Monday – Creamy mushroom and tuna pasta (from one of my recipe scrapbooks).  I will use up the leftover sweetcorn and half-fat cream cheese. Mushrooms were reduced in price.

Tuesday - Wild garlic pesto and goats cheese pizza.  Pesto is homemade and from the freezer (I will save some of the pesto for tomorrows meal).

Wednesday – Spring chicken with wild garlic and new potatoes (K@te Humble recipe).  I will add more vegetables. To fully utilise the oven, I will bake some chocolate and raspberry muffins (raspberries were reduced in price and frozen until required).  We will enjoy a warm muffin with a cuppa, and the others will be frozen.

Thursday – Baked cod with an herby lemon crust (British He@rt Foundation recipe), with orange and almond couscous (He@rt UK recipe).  The cod was reduced in price and frozen until required.

Friday – Imam Bayildi (Turkish stuffed aubergine – Pinch of N0m recipe), with leftover couscous. To fully utilise the oven, I will bake a sourdough loaf.

Saturday – Roast chicken wings with lemon and cracked pepper (Nigel Sl@ter recipe), a small portion of oven chips and BBQ beans (I just add a dollop of BBQ sauce to baked beans).  Chicken wings were reduced in price and frozen until required.

Sunday – Lasagne with a mixed green dressed salad. I will use a small pack of 5% fat beef mince and add a tin of green lentils (makes the meal a little healthier and reduces the cost). This will do two meals, so ‘ping meal’ on Monday.  Edited - I decided to freeze the last 2 portions of lasagne instead.  

Healthier lifestyle.

Last week’s step count was 35,954.

Completed 3 free online meditations last week.

Completed 0 free online workouts last week.  On the days that I have been redecorating, my F!tbit has registered 9/9 activity, although I do accept that this isn’t really a good substitute. 

Simple pleasures.

Catch-up with friends over a cake and cuppa.  Always good for the soul.

Picked our first homegrown strawberries from the garden. Delicious.

Our hallway makeover is now complete.  Pantry is next on the list…

A pile of magazines kindly passed onto me by a friend.   After I have read them, I too will pass them on.  

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

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

Don’t look back - you’re not going that way – often attributed to Mary Engelbreit.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250. Week 2 spend for June was £59.12.  Total spend for June to date is £130.59.

I received £233.20 tax rebate, which has been added to the holiday savings. Now that my tax has been sorted, I have submitted a claim for marriage tax allowance for 24/25.  MSE provides helpful information as to how to do this.

Received a free hair treatment via my hairdresser’s loyalty card.

I entered a competition via my mobile provider and won a free T0ny’s chocolate bar.

I bought a tin of paint to finish the hallway at a bargain price due to the tin having a slight dent in it, saving over £20.  There is sufficient paint left for the landing and maybe the pantry refurbishment.

£24.00 made via my crafting.  Money has been added to the Birthday/Christmas account.

Fully utilised my 1-hour free electric via our energy provider.

This week’s main menu.

We have been enjoying blueberries and strawberries with our overnight oats for breakfast.  Strawberries from the garden and 400g of yummy blueberries currently £3.25 at Ald!. 480g Dan0ne 0% fat Skyr Icelandic style yogurt currently £1.25 (Nect@r Price) at S@insbury’s.

Monday – Butternut squash and sage risotto (Go0d F0od recipe).  I will adapt this recipe, by omitting the sage and adding a small piece of leftover blue cheese (blue cheese and crackers were a treat for Father’s Day).  The squash was roasted yesterday when I reheated leftover lasagne.  

Tuesday – Imam Bayildi (Turkish stuffed aubergine – P0N recipe), homemade sweet potato wedges (seasoned with olive oil and smoked paprika), with a mixed green salad.  This is a meal swap from last Friday.  To fully utilise the oven, I will bake a cheese and chive quiche for tomorrow’s meal.

Wednesday – Ping meal (as above) – cook once, eat twice (saves on time and energy costs).

Thursday – Courgette fritters (from one of my recipe scrap books), homemade tzatziki, cheese/chive quiche, with sliced tomatoes dressed with fresh basil and olive oil. Mint is from the garden.

Friday – Italian meatballs with chunky tomato sauce (H@iry Dieter’s recipe) and whole wheat spaghetti.  Meatballs were premade, reduced in price and frozen until required.  I will add fresh oregano from the garden to the sauce.

Saturday – BBQ – Margarita style lime spatchcock chicken, corn on the cob, with a large mixed salad.  The chicken was reduced in price and frozen until required.  I will spatchcock the chicken and marinate it in the margarita style seasoning mix (reduced to 26p in Ald!).  

Sunday – Tuna salad with red onion and beans (H@iry Dieter’s recipe).

Healthier lifestyle.

Last week’s step count was 60,272.

Completed 5 free online meditations last week.

Completed 2 free online workouts last week.

Simple pleasures.

Eating alfresco in the garden.                                                                       

I have planted some new perennials that I bought from a local plant nursery, sown kale, and pea (for the shoots only) seeds, and potted on some houseplants.

Remembered that we had some limoncello at the back of a cupboard (bought when on holiday).  A long, cool drink after gardening on a hot, sunny afternoon.

Watching a family of young sparrows lining up to use the bird bath.

Books read 10/25 Broken Light – Joanne Harris (library book).  ‘Bernie Moon feels invisible.  Now it’s time she made them look.’

This 2023 novel is a psychological thriller, with aspects of magical realism, and deals with a woman approaching menopause who develops paranormal abilities.  I am a self-confessed Joanne Harris fan and whilst on holiday some years ago, I was lucky enough to attend one of her talks. Whilst I did finish the book, I must admit this one was not for me.

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

jwil

Great news about the tax refund, and congrats on the chocolate bar win!

Working_Mum

You always seem to cram so much into your weeks Humboldt - retirement clearly suits you!

I love the picture of the young sparrows lining up for the water bath like good schoolchildren heading into class. I struggle to see wildlife from my desk so I'm thinking I need to change that so I can appreciate it more every day. I tend to sit in my garden on an evening and read - it's lovely at this time of year as the days are so long.

I don't have any major projects in my home for a while - I downsized in 2020 and knocked the house about quite a lot and finally got the hallway decorated a month ago. So I'm enjoying the headspace not thinking about colours and emulsion etc!

Wishing you a productive week ahead.

((WM))

Humboldt

jwil said:

Great news about the tax refund, and congrats on the chocolate bar win!

Hi @jwil thank you for taking the time to comment.  Sadly not one of the big prizes this week, but the chocolate bar was delicious, perhaps next week... I was pleased not to have to chase my tax refund and it's a nice addition to the holiday savings. Just wanted to add that I admire you for taking the time to list the positives about your job.  Sometimes we just have to count our blessings and you did just that. 

Humboldt

Working_Mum said:

You always seem to cram so much into your weeks Humboldt - retirement clearly suits you!

I love the picture of the young sparrows lining up for the water bath like good schoolchildren heading into class. I struggle to see wildlife from my desk so I'm thinking I need to change that so I can appreciate it more every day. I tend to sit in my garden on an evening and read - it's lovely at this time of year as the days are so long.

I don't have any major projects in my home for a while - I downsized in 2020 and knocked the house about quite a lot and finally got the hallway decorated a month ago. So I'm enjoying the headspace not thinking about colours and emulsion etc!

Wishing you a productive week ahead.

((WM))

Hi @Working_Mum thank you for taking the time to comment. Like you, I find so much joy in my garden.  It's amazing how much more I notice when sitting in my summerhouse, so maybe a rearrangement of your furniture is a good idea.  I currently have lilies flowering in my summerhouse and their perfume is amazing.  I have 'clotted cream' jasmine growing against the fence and that too will scent the garden on warm summer evenings.

We have lived in our house for sometime and it is in need of a bit of a refresh.  Nothing major, just cosmetic. It's nice that DH and I now have the time to plan and undertake the work ourselves.  I tend to be the creative one and DH helps with the practical elements.  I know what you mean about it taking up a lot of headspace though!  This week we have been measuring and costing materials for my 'pantry'.  It's just a large double cupboard really, which has a small kitchen unit, the washing machine and gas boiler in it.  We are going to add storage shelves and maybe some fairy lights a la Nigella, although I haven't told DH that yet!

Today's simple pleasure - harvested more homegrown strawberries for breakfast this morning. 

jwil

Humboldt said:

jwil said:

Great news about the tax refund, and congrats on the chocolate bar win!

Hi @jwil thank you for taking the time to comment.  Sadly not one of the big prizes this week, but the chocolate bar was delicious, perhaps next week... I was pleased not to have to chase my tax refund and it's a nice addition to the holiday savings. Just wanted to add that I admire you for taking the time to list the positives about your job.  Sometimes we just have to count our blessings and you did just that. 

Thank you, that's really nice of you to say that.  It was a good nudge for me too that it's not all bad!