🌞 Happy Days in our Golden Years 🌞

greenbee

I've got Renpho scales too. I try to avoid using them if I can though…

Humboldt

Morning @Fortune_Smiles, just catching up after a lovely, but busy week with family visiting. Always great to see them all, but nice to settle back into our normal pace of life.

You mentioned that you were considering raising your shopping budget due to rising costs, something that no doubt, we can all relate to. I personally have increased our self imposed monthly grocery budget from £200 in January 2024 to £300 in April 2026. It now takes more effort than ever to ensure that we remain within our budget, and also eat healthily. Your recipe recommendations using inexpensive, healthy seasonal produce, continue to provide much welcome inspiration. We will be trying the courgette, lentil, ricotta layer bake next week 😉

Loving your health goals and garden updates. Fabulous news about your weight loss, and what an amazing onion harvest. Simple pleasures are the way forward!

Fortune_Smiles

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82107723#Comment_82107723

Morning @Humboldt 👋 Our grocery bill is shocking. Largely because I buy organic wherever possible. It's not something I want to compromise on - although I would of course if it was necessary. You pays your money and you takes your choice. It's good to know that the increase in cost isn't of my own doing though.

How did you get on with the Layer Bake? I think I'd double up the lentils or add carrots or other veg if I made it again. There did seem to be quite a lot of liquid in the base.

Simple pleasures are absolutely the way forward.

Fortune x

ruby_eskimo

Your photo of the onions reminded me that DH pulled up all our shallots ages ago and they've been drying out in the garage! Must sort them out this evening so they don't go to waste! Also need to do some research on effective ways of drying chili's as we have a severe glut of them and regularly use chili flakes in recipes so would be good to try making our own. A friend also mentioned wanting to make chili oil so I think I'll be dropping a lot off with him in the hope of sharing the spoils 😊

Hope the court prep is going well and wish you all the best when the time comes.

Fortune_Smiles

I'm only happy when it rains 🎵🎶🎵

I'm ridiculously excited that it is raining this morning 😁 It's such a novelty! Remind me about this when we are in the depths of winter and the storms are blowing in 😂

I'm just as busy as always only now it's because I'm doing more social and fun stuff. I feel so much better for it.

Health 🧘‍♀️

• I'm going to 3 gym classes a week and have just invested in some dumbbells so I can do some weight workouts at home
• I've lost 9lbs and am ounces away from reaching that magic 10lbs number🥳 I've still got a way to go but I can already feel some benefits - more energy and motivation, my clothes fit better, I am sleeping a little better, my mind feels sharper and I can run up stairs relatively easily. This is all helping me to stick to the plan - eat food, not too much, mainly plants and move more.

Wealth 💰

• we have had to raise another Section 75 with the credit card company for the garden furniture bought in May. They failed to deliver for two months and gave various excuses as to why not. We asked for a refund a month ago and it has still not arrived. My requests for an immediate refund yesterday were met with a 'I'll escalate this to our Accounts Team' which did not inspire me with confidence
• I have an invoice to raise for the business and an expenses claim to put through
• Mr F and Handy Man have spent the last few days staining the gates and fences. It will help to keep them going for another winter although several fence posts need replacing now. It's cost quite a lot in product and Handy Man's time but he helps us much less over the winter so we'll make a budget saving there and it's cheaper than having to replace the whole lot
• Mr F's car is in the garage for air conditioning issues again. This time there is a leak in the condenser… the new one they fitted fairly recently 🙄 So either Mr F has managed to damage it again or there is a manufacturing or fitting error. This might mean a big bill 😟
• my car has an intermittent amber engine light warning coming on 🙄 It never rains but it pours 😂
• we have a great harvest of leeks, plums and greengages. Although I am appreciating the rain, I will miss the scent of a freshly picked greengage still warm from the sun - they are absolutely delicious this year. I picked a huge bowlful yesterday along with lots of blackberries from the hedgerow.

Happiness 😊

• we've gifted plums and greengages to neighbours and friends. I love to leave surprise bags of produce on the doorsteps of our neighbours for them to discover. Although after all the raspberries and cherries, etc they might be a little disappointed when they get green beans 😂
• I finished the dress I was making and it has turned out really well. I think my next project might be a dressing gown. I have the pattern and fabric and have needed new for a long time.
• also attended a workshop to learn how to make roman blinds which will come in very useful
• after a very difficult year the gloom finally seems to be lifting for the Fortunate family.

Hope you get some rainbows today.

Fortune x

themadvix

Wise words from Michael Pollan there Fortune. I'm glad the gloom seems to be lifting for your family ❤️

You've done well to have plums to gift - mine seem to have rotted on the tree, despite it being dry. I've had a couple off of it, but that's all (it was severely pruned in the summer after losing a lot of branches to too much fruit last year, so I wasn't expecting much). Your neighbours are very lucky!

Fortune_Smiles

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82115231#Comment_82115231

Our old Victoria Plum hasn't done well with the fruit rotting on the tree as yours has. Our Denbigh plum suffered a bit from plum moth (despite our putting traps out… maybe a little too late) but the later ripening fruit has been quite clean. I suspect our apples might have Codling moth which we've never had to worry about before 🙁 Each year brings it's own challenges in the veg patch and orchard but I love shopping from my own garden so will keep at it.

Fortune x

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82115156#Comment_82115156

Morning @Fortune_Smiles, sadly I didn't get around to making the layer bake. We have had lots of lovely visitors over the summer, which has resulted in us having to adapt/compromise on our menu plan. No judgement here about grocery spends. How you and everyone else chooses to spend their hard earned pennies is a matter of personal choice and circumstance. DH and I have a travel addiction that needs feeding….

Off to catch-up on your recent posts x

Fortune_Smiles

A moment's peace

Mr F has just left to return a scarifier to the hire company. He persuaded me that it was essential for feeding his lawn obsession but I drew the line at buying something that would get used once a year. Apparently a lawn aerator is now essential 🙄 In the meantime, I have a moment's peace to catch up with diaries.

Health 🧘‍♀️

• I made it to the magic 10lb weight loss mark 🥳but then stalled. But I'm keeping up with exercise and healthy eating so hopefully the scales will start moving in the right direction again soon
• Mr F and I are still struggling to take ourselves off to bed at a reasonable time some nights so there's still some work to do there
• I am managing my stress level much more effectively which I'm pleased about as the Hearing date is approaching fast.

Wealth 💰

• We are approaching our company year end and profits look likely to match last years. I'm really pleased about this as we lost a client early in the year (they took the work in-house) but gained another mid-year which helped to make up the difference. We're already looking really busy for next year with all our clients looking to increase work with us. This gives us the problem of taking on too much - but I'm not complaining about that, it's a good problem to have
• the garden furniture company tried to get us to cancel our chargeback claim 😲 So they could refund us more quickly 😲 As I'd been waiting a month for this refund, and I know you cannot restart a claim once you cancel it, I said no. They sent an email yesterday confirming they had accepted the chargeback so the money is now permanently back in our account. I think we dodged a bullet there though and I'll be buying through trusted brands in future even if it costs us more
• the condenser had failed on Mr F's car and, as this was supplied and fitted by the garage less than 2 years ago, they replaced it on warranty. The warning light on my car is now on permanently though so she'll have to go in for a check up
• I am still prepping for the Hearing but am near the end so will be finished in good time
• the veg patch is still providing - we harvested the last of the cucumbers and now have a little spinach and chard to use plus plenty of apples. Our quince tree will give us all of 3 fruits this year 😂 but a friend has offered some from her tree. I'm hoping to enter quince gin into the country show next year.

Happiness 🙂

• I feel like I'm getting a good balance of social events, work and rest. There's a bit of drama going on at WI but I'm just going to gently extricate myself from that. I am choosing my battles at the moment as I cannot fight the whole world even though I feel like it sometimes 😂
• my sewing adventures continue. I made a plain, ivory tunic top as I couldn't find anything in the shops I liked and it used up some fabric from my stash. I'm trying really, really hard not to buy any more fabric which is sooooo difficult when there are so many beautiful fabrics to be had in the sales. Resist, resist.
• I have not been able to resist buying a new sewing machine in the sales though 🫢 I felt ready for a more advanced machine and the better light and magnifiers will be a huge benefit now that the nights are drawing in. My eyesight is very poor now in low light. It's a big purchase for me but I used my little Birthday & Christmas Present Inheritance Pot to fund it along with a 20% sale reduction and £50 voucher. It has already bought me a great deal of joy - even with buttonholes 😁 Resitance is futile 😂

Mr F has just got back in so my moment of peace is up - although he did pop his head round the door to say we'd been given a £15 discount on the hire as there were some issues with the machine. So at least he came bearing good news… and not an aerator 😂 I hope all is well in the Forum world (well, except for the new format 🤦) and everyone is well and happy.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82122931#Comment_82122931

Morning @Humboldt 👋

I found the layer bake a bit too liquidy so will probably add another tin of lentils/reduce the passata next time. It was very tasty though. Yes 'you pays your money and you takes your choice' - I'm lucky that I could change my shopping habits if I needed to cut costs but I think there'd be other things I'd cut first.

Fortune x