The Frugal Hearth: Stories of Simple Living and Living Well

Elisheba

Moorviews said:

Fabulous decluttering and a great find with your granny’s old recipe! Clootie dumpling was a childhood favourite of mine although I have never made it myself since. Very tempted now though as it is a dull day. I agree completely about the buzz from clearing excess stuff out being as good, if not even better than buying in. I have stalled with mine because summer took over and life gets busier socially, the garden runs amok etc. As things build up it starts to drag me down so I really need to get going and have a good session. 

You are sounding amazing with where you are in your life and well done for the weight loss too!

Nothing like a slice of clootie dumpling on a grey day!

Elisheba

fionaandphil said:

Clootie dumpling is one of our family favourites too. My mum has a microwave one she makes which takes a lot of the effort out of it. I will try and find the recipe and post on here.

Our garden has taken over the decluttering time too. Raining today so shouldn't have any excuses.

Oh that would be fab if you can?  It would also mean I could try and adapt and test out low carb versions based on it, without each attempt taking hours and hours!  Although since I can't eat dried fruit, and I don't see how you would get a skin with almond or coconut flour, I think it might be an experiment doomed to failure.

Elisheba

KajiKita said:

'If it isn't hell yes, then it's hell no!', and that can apply to life as well as stuff.

I like this .... <files away to reflect over during 2 weeks' leave coming up>

KK

Yeah, when you think about it, it is very simple but very profound, isn't it?

Elisheba

honeybee1234 said:

*makes notes about minimalism*

Love all this, so thought provoking! It's a great idea to be dealing with "stuff" now and making considered decisions about what you want to own before you buy a house and need to move. I did this at my previous house and honestly, it was so freeing and did indeed make the mover's bill relatively low!

Well done on that weight loss, that's fantastic! A well deserved treat for you! 

Thank you!  And yes, this whole dealing with stuff now is pretty new and ground breaking for me.  I think having a lot of 'stuff' somehow equated in my head to security, but it was actually holding me back.

Elisheba

Makingabobor2 said:

Its lovely when you order trouser or shorts online and they actually fit.  I have lost count of the amount of pairs I have ordered and retuned, and in the case of V*nt*d, I have had a few that I ended up donating to CS as they didn't fit.  But actually I had a lovely pair of crop trousers delivered today from V*nt*d and they actually fitted....so pleased. M&S ones in a lovely shade of pink. 

Your post is sounding like you are on a roll now, well done. x

Thank you!  And yeah, clothes sizing is a complete nightmare.  When I look up the measurements on a particular companies website theoretically an item should fit me, but in real life its falling off me, or far too small! Well done on your cropped trousers though - they'll be fab for the summer :-). 

fionaandphil

Good timing, just gone onto the computer and have posted the micowave clootie dumpling recipe below

Clootie Dumpling

0.5 pint water

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

0.5 lb plain flour

3 teaspoons mixed spice

1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

0.5 lb margarine

1lb sultanas

 

Mix water, sugar, mixed spices and cinnamon, fruit and margarine, bicarbonate of soda and simmer for two minutes.  Remove from heat, add flour and beat in egg.  Line a microwave dish with cling film, add mixture and microwave for ten minutes.  To firm skin, leave in dish for 20 minutes.  Take with single cream and enjoy!

Great work with all the decluttering, I need to get on with mine but keep getting distracted 

beanielou

Massive well done on the books cull. 

Replace the bowls with something that you love. 

Go back to loo roll! 

Elisheba

fionaandphil said:

Good timing, just gone onto the computer and have posted the micowave clootie dumpling recipe below

Clootie Dumpling

0.5 pint water

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

0.5 lb plain flour

3 teaspoons mixed spice

1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

0.5 lb margarine

1lb sultanas

 

Mix water, sugar, mixed spices and cinnamon, fruit and margarine, bicarbonate of soda and simmer for two minutes.  Remove from heat, add flour and beat in egg.  Line a microwave dish with cling film, add mixture and microwave for ten minutes.  To firm skin, leave in dish for 20 minutes.  Take with single cream and enjoy!

Great work with all the decluttering, I need to get on with mine but keep getting distracted 

Thanks for that!  Its interesting your recipe also has margarine, same as my Grans (was always Stork  ).  You would have thought it should be lard, or butter at a push.  Maybe the marg originates from the war?

Elisheba

beanielou said:

Massive well done on the books cull. 

Replace the bowls with something that you love. 

Go back to loo roll! 

Yeah I'm still not sure about the bowls.  I have decided about the loo roll though, and chucked the cloths out    

Elisheba

Just a quick update to say it really does pay to shop around on car insurance.  Got a quote £200 cheaper than my renewal quote, so went back to my current insurance and they matched it, bar £15, but the excess is less than the quote I got so I took it.

Have also changed from Auto Aid to Evergreen for breakdown, as my car is over 10 years old and I don't get any call out charges.  There was some deal on as well, so it was only £50.25, which is about £6 cheaper than quoted on the MSE website.  

Anyway, that's one thing done and dusted for another year! I had put £650 aside in my annuals pots for car insurance and breakdown, so that gives me £300 off extra if I need it on holiday, and if I don't it will go into house savings at the end of the year.