Away From The Madding Crowd

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

‘I wanted to be happy so I decided I would be’ – a quote from the BBc film Marvell0us.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £300. Week 2 spend for May was £54.60. Total spend in May to date is £110.24.

Our energy supplier enters those customers who have reduced their energy use between 5-7pm, into a monthly prize draw. The more you shift, the more entries you earn. This month we won £2 energy credit, whilst not the top prize of a year’s free energy, it was better than nothing.

I took advantage of some offers on B0ot’s £10 Tuesd@y, one item is a birthday gift. Total cost of my order was £32.81 and the amount saved was £55.83. I also earned an extra £2.50’s worth of Advant@ge points because I spent over £25. No cost for delivery.

Freebies.

Whilst at the till in M+S, a member of staff was handing out free bunches of British stocks that were a day past their ‘display date’. A random act of kindness that brought joy.

Visited an English Heritage site that was free to locals this weekend.

This week’s main menu.

Monday – Lasagne, with salad. Originally planned for last Sunday, but we had a bit of a meal swap. Friday, we had prawn stir-fry (an adaptation of salmon in chilli ginger sauce (H@iry Dieter’s recipe)). On Saturday there was enough golden chickpea, squash and coconut curry (B0ld Bean Co recipe) leftover to enable us to have a ‘ping meal’ on Sunday.

Tuesday – Ping meal (lasagne, with salad) – cook once, eat twice - saves on time and energy costs.

Wednesday – BBQ chicken wings, coleslaw, baked sweet potato with a dollop of 0% fat Greek yogurt and chopped chives. No recipe as such, I will just coat the chicken in reggae reggae sauce (bought at a reduced price in Her0n F0ods). Chives are from the garden. Coleslaw will be homemade and include leftover red cabbage. I will cook the chicken and sweet potato in the air fryer. M+S chicken wings are currently only £1.65.

Thursday – Roast chicken, stuffing, Yorkshire puds, cranberry sauce, kale, carrots, peas, and gravy. Cranberry sauce is homemade and from the freezer. Kale is from the garden.

Friday – Ping Meal – as above

Saturday – Adana lamb kebabs, lemon wholemeal couscous and roasted veg, tzatziki and middle eastern flat bread (originally planned for last Friday).

Sunday – Cheesy butter bean, tomato and garlic pasta bake (B0ld Bean Co recipe). I will swap the spinach for chard from the garden, and use whole-wheat pasta. I will add leftover peppers just to increase the veg content.

Healthier lifestyle.

Last week’s step count was 49,895.

Completed 5 free online meditations.

Completed 0 free online workouts (knee issue is slowly improving).

Simple pleasures.

I have seen so many more wild cowslips this year.

A meet up with friends for a cuppa and natter. Always good for the soul.

I have potted on my tomato seedlings and pinched out my sweet peas.

Decluttering continues – another bag of items dropped off at Oxf@m and more things sold on V!nted.

I traded some books to W0rld of B0oks on behalf of a family member. It didn’t take me long and I was happy to help out. They were thrilled to hear that they could potentially gain £32.41 (if all goes well with the delivery, sorting, etc).

A winding grass path cut through a field of knee-high buttercups.

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

louby40

Glad to hear you're still decluttering and selling stuff on Vinted. I've sold a few more things and had some money sat in there so bought my other half a M & S shirt for our cruise in August - £2.50, bargain. He rarely wears shirts so it seemed silly to buy one for £30 from Next or M & S. Hopefully it will be ok.

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82002876#Comment_82002876

Morning @louby40 thanks for the encouragement. Well done on buying the shirt at a bargain price. How nice to have a cruise to look forward to in August, we have one booked for later in the year.

Today's simple pleasure - I sold another item on V!nted this morning!

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

If the sun enters the house, it also enters a little into your soul – Le Corbusier.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £300. Week 3 spend for May was £71.19. Total spend in May to date is £181.43.

I purchased flowers to send as a gift from Bl0om & W!ld. I am a member of their rewards club (free to join). As a member, you earn 5 points for every £1 you spend, along with various other perks. The £5 credit I had in my account reduced the cost of my order to £25. I also earned double points on this order and postage was free.

Freebies.

A packet of wild strawberry C@ndy K!ttens sweets via my mobile network provider. Not something that I would buy, but I know someone who will be very happy to receive these.

This week’s main menu.

Monday – Spaghetti Bolognese – No recipe as such, I will use a packet mix and add whatever vegetables are in the fridge, oregano from the garden, and a splash of red wine. I will use a pack of frozen Quorn mince purchased a few weeks ago, when half price in S@insbury’s (300g - £1.30).

Tuesday – Spinach and chickpea curry (G0od F00d recipe), and naan bread. Naan bread will be the other half of a pack bought from Ald! and frozen until required.

Wednesday – Cottage pie (H@iry Dieter’s recipe), with kale. I will adapt the recipe and use mashed sweet potato and carrots for the topping. Kale will be from the garden.

Edited - todays meal will be cheese and chive quiche, roasted hasselback new potatoes, a mixed salad, and rosemary & sea salt sourdough focaccia. The rosemary, spring onions and chives will be from the garden. If there is enough cheese, I may also make a batch of cheese and chive scones.

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

Friday – Mackerel and potato bake (from one of my recipe scrap books). I will add a large handful of spinach and the remainder of the cream will be used in the curry on Sunday.

Saturday – Salmon in chilli ginger sauce (H@iry Dieter’s recipe), with vegetable stir-fry and whole-wheat noodles. I will add whatever leftover vegetables are lurking in the fridge to the stir-fry mix. I will cook the salmon in the air fryer.

Sunday – Chicken korma (H@iry Biker Curries recipe), and a small portion of rice. I have chicken drum fillets in the freezer that can be used. DH is cooking this evening.

Healthier lifestyle.

Last week’s step count was 35,701.

Completed 0 free online workouts.

Completed 5 free online meditations.

Simple pleasures.

A sunny bank holiday weekend.

DH and I took advantage of the sunshine and gave the summerhouse it’s annual spring clean. I’ve added the soft furnishings, solar lights and bunting. We enjoyed breakfast in the summerhouse the next day, treating ourselves to a fresh coffee, croissants and homemade spiced orange marmalade. Of course, the croissants were bought at a reduced price and frozen until required 😉

The alliums are now in flower in our garden border. Their big majestic purple pom pom flowers appear to float above everything else below.

We have now finished watching the wonderful ‘Secret G@rden’, a five-part BB( documentary series narrated by Sir D@vid Attenb0rough - a wonderful watch.

The books that I traded with W0rld of Bo0ks for a family member, have now been processed. All the books were accepted and monies have now been transferred to the family member.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that a goldfinch had become a regular visitor to our garden. I am pleased to report that they have now brought along a friend. I thought I would share some info about this bird adapted from The Folkl0re of Birds by Alis0n Davies. Apparently, goldfinches are commonly seen as a fortuitous omen, particularly if one visits your home and garden. The Celts associated them with the fey, believing the golden streak of light that danced amongst the trees had fairy origins, hence its Irish name lasair choille (flame of the forest). To the ancient Greeks it was the symbol of joy and beauty associated with Aphrodite and Apollo. The Native Americans believed it to be synonymous with celebration and positivity, seeing one as an omen of good things to come, making it a sign of hope. In Chinese mythology, it was seen as a symbol of protection and healing, and this idea that the bird could remove all ills was popular in Europe during the medieval period.

I hope that you are all enjoying the long weekend and sunshine. Thank you for dropping by and taking the time to read my diary.

jwil

Your summerhouse sounds lovely. We enjoyed secret garden as well.

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011798#Comment_82011798

Morning @jwil so lovely of you to drop by. My summerhouse is my happy place at this time of year 😊 I know so many others who also enjoyed Secret Garden. We are now watching Spring Watch and learn something new from each episode.

Today's simple pleasure - planting summer bedding into pots.

Fortune_Smiles

Hi @Humboldt 👋 Just popping in to say I've really enjoyed reading your motivational quotes and the folklore about the goldfinches is so interesting. We have a great many goldfinches this year and some are nesting in the forsythia. I hope that means they are bringing us good fortune. Did you know that a group of goldfinches is called a 'charm'? It's believed to originate from the Old English word c'irm, which refers to the birds' cheerful, twittering song. But perhaps it's because they are considered a good luck charm. I will make a note to watch Secret Garden. It sounds delightful.

Fortune x

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82017154#Comment_82017154

I so appreciate you dropping by @Fortune_Smiles. How lucky are you to have goldfinches nesting in your garden! I find the origin of names for things fascinating. I recently learnt that a group of rabbits is commonly known as a fluffle.

Today's simple pleasure - my breakfast of overnight oats included delicious fresh raspberries (bought at a reduced price of course 😉).

Fortune_Smiles

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82017365#Comment_82017365

Fluffle 😁 I love that.

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

This week’s motivational quote.

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness – Gertrude Jekyll.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £300. Week 4 spend for May was £70.56. Total for May was £251.99.

Made full use of this week’s free electric from out gas/electric provider.

Monthly interest gained from various savings accounts for May was £123.01.

May’s V!nted sales total was £49.65. Money transferred to the Christmas/Birthday account.

I bought a pot of basil from Ald! (85p) and replanted each individual plant. Hopefully they will grow and provide us with a constant supply over the summer.

Freebies.

A free cuppa via my Sp@rks account, when meeting friends at a M+S café. Buy any 6 hot drinks and get your 7th hot drink free.

This week’s main menu.

Monday – Chilli con carne, with a small portion of rice. I will use a small pack of 5% fat beef mince, add a tin of green lentils, and some chopped carrot/peppers. We are out most of the day, so this is a quick, easy meal which includes a packet mix (C0lmans packet mixes currently on offer in S@insbury’s 65p).

Tuesday – Tahini-dressed courgette and green bean salad (R!ver C0ttage Veg recipe). I will substitute the tahini with smooth peanut butter, and add some roasted sweet potato because they need using up. Will roast the sweet potato in the air fryer. Edited to say that this is a keeper - delicious.

Wednesday – Moroccan-style quinoa (P0N slow cooker recipe).

Thursday – Chachouka, also called shakshuka. (R!ver Cottage Veg recipe). The quality of the bags of wonky peppers tend to improve at this time of year. S@insbury’s bags generally contain 5 peppers, and are currently price matched with Ald! £1.69.

Friday – Homemade wild garlic pesto and goats cheese pizza. Pesto is homemade and from the freezer.

Saturday – Fish and chips takeaway.

Sunday – Mushroom, feta and tomato baked peppers (H@iry D!eter’s recipe), with a large mixed salad. I will replace the feta with goat’s cheese leftover from Friday’s meal. I will also swap the blanched hazelnuts for walnuts, because that is what I have. I will cook the stuffed peppers in the air fryer.

Healthier lifestyle.

Last week’s step count was 39,983.

Completed 6 free online meditations.

Completed 0 free online workouts.

Simple pleasures.

Sunny days spent driving along winding country lanes, with blossoming hawthorn hedges and billowing cow parsley in the verges.

Fresh strawberries, sadly not from the garden just yet, but we enjoyed them anyway.

A meet up with friends. Always good for the soul.

A haircut.

Gardening – After removing the forget me nots from the border, I gave them a good shake to release their seeds (free flowers next year). Sowed kale, chard and broccoli seeds. Planted out the sweet pea seedlings and also sowed some dwarf beans alongside them – I’m hoping that they will share the climbing frame in one of our veg boxes. Tied in the grape vine, which appears to be much happier since we relocated it to a sunnier position late last year. I have replanted the courgette plants into bigger pots and half submerged them in a veg box. Last year, slugs snaffled all my courgette plants, so this year I want them to be bigger and stronger before I plant them direct into the veg box.

Books read 11/26 - Glyph – Ali Smith (a library book).

It all starts when Petra and her sister Patch hear a horrifying story from the past and find themselves making up a ghost. Is it imaginary? Is it real? Then it starts again thirty years later when Petra, now estranged from Patch, finds a phantom horse kicking her furniture to pieces in her bedroom. What to do? She phones her sister.

This is described as an anti-war novel, and states that Glyph is about what our imagination is for and how, in a broken, brutal and divided time, we rekindle care, solidarity, resistance and openness. I found the writing style took some getting used to because it ‘jumps about’ quite a bit, but it was worth the effort. War, siblings, grief, and mental health are all interwoven subject matters that together made this a compelling read.

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