Riding the wave

ellenvan

Cheap entertainment and treats , but sound really nice.

Well done and well deserved after all the painting and gate making.

Keep_Buggering_On

Yesterday maybe wasn't as productive as Saturday, but still got some things on the list ticked off! Got a batch of baking done for the week ahead- 24 buns iced with pineapple flavoured icing (the Asian supermarket in town has a fantastic selection of different flavourings you never see in the normal supermarket) and 36 chocolate orange cookies, which was just me adding cocoa powder and orange essence to a basic biscuit recipe and dolloping the mixture on baking trays as I couldn't be bothered rolling and cutting! They received a very warm welcome from OH and kids so they can't be too bad!

After that I got the lawn cut and weeded the flower beds, which was back breaking. I am pretty sure I have a hoe in the shed my MiL gave us 15 years ago, so I might find that out as it will be easier than being on my hands and knees with a trowel! I had to make an emergency bread and sausage run up to the supermarket in the village and also came back with two packs of choc chip cookies in the chuck out down from £1.29 a pack to 31p along with ten packets of salt and vinegar flavoured peanuts down to 10p each- naughty I know, but they make a nice weekend treat. We finished off the day with a proper roast lamb dinner. Lamb is eye wateringly expensive, but I buy a breast of lamb for about £8 and then cut it in two and get two meals for £4 each. Still a lot more than my usual budget for a meal, but soo good and after three hours in the oven it just melts in the mouth! DS had two value sausages (hence my run to the supermarket) because he hates lamb- odd child as its his sister's favourite meal!

DS went back to school today, DD has another three days off and goes back on Thursday, which seems like a bit of a waste of time for two days, but she is pleased to have longer than her brother off. Its her last half term at primary school and then off to big school in September. She really doesn't seem ready, but then neither did DS and he thrived at secondary school, so fingers crossed it will be okay for her too. Just hope she can wake up a bit and overcome her naturally slightly dozy approach to life- she is the child who will forget to get off the bus and end up in the next town!

beanielou

Your baking sounds lush.

Keep_Buggering_On

Well that was extremely annoying! We booked the accommodation for our London trip over a year ago on Booking.com. Today (two months before we are due to go), we got an email cancelling it. This happened a couple of years ago when we had accommodation booked for Scarborough and it got cancelled six weeks before the holiday as being 'unavailable', then mysteriously reappeared two days later for the same week we had booked, but £1000 more in price! We have done a quick hunt around and luckily we have managed to find an alternative, albeit for an extra £5 for the week, so that is good, but I am a little annoyed about it and the greed of some accommodation providers on Booking.com. My view is that if you sign up to it, then its a contract and both sides honour it unless there are exceptional circumstances- thinking you can get more money by cancelling and relisting is not one of those!

beanielou

Poor show.

AntoMac

That’s appalling treatment. I agree you’ve been badly let down. We’ve just had poor treatment from the same company for different reasons. I would like to think they would have a strict policy for that kind of thing. Good work sorting alternative accommodation so quickly

Keep_Buggering_On

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82023880#Comment_82023880

Out of curiosity, we went back onto Booking.com and the flat has been relisted at a higher price. It was in Wembley and there is a major wrestling match at the stadium that week…I'm sure that is nothing to do it…

Keep_Buggering_On

Looking forward to heading into town tomorrow for the talk in the cathedral. The aim is to spend only what I have to- so £2.50 bus fare each way and a tube of superglue I need for £1, so if all goes to plan then it will be £6 for the afternoon, but I will also put a bit of change in my wallet to throw in the collection box at the cathedral. We might also stop by the free book shop and see if there are any new books worth picking up.

I have been pretty good with the spending this week, just spending a fiver on Wednesday, which included picking up ten packets of some ginger mallow/biscuit things reduced in B&Ms from £1.50 to 19p each. Each packet has 16 biscuits in them, so less than 2p each and they will help supplement puddings at tea time for a few weeks and I can’t make things that cheaply (the 20p crème eggs I bought at the same time are probably not as money saving, but I love creme eggs!). I am definitely being more mindful of my spending and I haven’t put things on the credit card at all and have not been spending on the debit card very much either. Its definitely proving a challenge sometimes and I have to keep telling myself its not a bargain if I don’t need it! I am allowing myself little treats from the charity shops, but trying to avoid Evilbay- a cheap book in the charity shop is 50p, a cheap book on EBay is a minimum of £2.50 and those add up! I am going to record my NSDs in my diary and aim for 4-5 a week and hopefully that will also help with the self discipline.

beanielou

There’s a no spend DFW Challenge. You could join in if you want.

weenancyinAmerica

Have you checked with Booking.com? The company that you were to rent from may be violating company policy and should be taken off the website. That isn't good business ethics and reflects badly on Booking.com