The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

Pippilongstocking · 24 September 2017 at 5:02PM

Have a lovely day me dear - nice read back too. Thanks for the recommendations - always keen here. Was heartened to hear HFW nattering on the radio about his second veg book which is vegan but not a book solely for that purpose but for those of us who just LOVE veg. I'm going to request a copy from the library.

Muddy tatties at bargainous prices - well done. And charity shop delights for the nipper - also marvellous. Spent a lovely day at the local food market oohing and ahhing and much window shopping. Didn't buy anything but lovely to see all that produce about. Picked up some good leaflets for things coming up. Always nice to be inspired.

XOXOXO

Greying_Pilgrim · 25 September 2017 at 7:11AM

Good Morning :hello:

Visitors, how luverly

Hiddenidentity - we did indeed

INOD - t'was very easy to follow

Pippi - now I'm giggling at the term 'nipper' - haven't heard that in so long

Prolly since I was a nipper! :rotfl:I didn't realise HFW had a new book out, although come to think of it, I occasionally catch up with G1ll M3ll3rs insta account and he was mentioning working on vegan book - there were some nice pics of veg on the insta acc

Well, we finally got our but ox into gear yesterday and took our sangers out for a wander

It was nice - countryside with hills to walk up. Which we did. Lovely views, fresh air and exercise. On the way back, we stopped at a house that had put apples outside, with a note to 'Help Yourself'. They were such a wonderful variety - and several of them are smelling soooooo gorgeous. I think they may well be eaters, rather than cookers per se, but I think I'm going to make cake with them

We definitely got the best of the weather whilst we were out - we even ate our lunch in sunshine!

Tea last night was lentil bolognese with pasta. There is a portion of bolognese left over for another day.

I need to take stock of my grocery budget, it's taken a bashing, but I did buy a couple of items for the food bank yesterday - would you believe that mrS came out top for quality/value for money?

I'm changing around what we'll have for tea tonight, as originally I had planned bobotie for tonight, but I used the lentils for bolognese last night. I suspect we will have the second bit of the chickpea loaf with some baked potatoes and mixed veg. Summat of that order anyhoo.

Erm, can't think of owt else MSE at the mo. I've done snap, showered and dressed. Just about drained me coffee cup and written a post. Go me on a Monday morn........ :rotfl:

Ta for popping in and encouraging me. Appreciated. Greatly.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim · 25 September 2017 at 10:45AM

Right, have finally got my accounts book up to date.

We still have money in the groceries budget :j but not much

But we don't need overly much this week :j so we might just scrape through

I forgot to say, I managed to fund the purchase of the big bags of tatties from the 'bulk purchases' budget. Dear Reader, you may recall that I struggled earlier in the year with bulk purchases coming out of each month's budget. It has been easier to manage since I 'primed' the budget with £50 float (and yes, I was lucky to have savings to call on to do that - I realise many haven't). And I now ensure that I 'buy' from stores, things like rice, olive oil, porridge oats etc, which hopefully I've been able to snag at good prices.

Now that my purchases account book works so well - and has enabled me to get back on track with my spending, I may merge the 'food' budget back in with the 'non food' budget. The non food budget is pretty much right for what I spend each month - although now that my haircut cost has gone up by 50% (still cheapish, and the first rise in a couple of years), I am on the cusp of £60 only just being enough for non-food things. However, I find it difficult to keep everything balanced with 2 'pots' of money - ie it is simple to fund 55p out of my grocery budget to buy the TV guide, but if I did it every week for a month, that makes my grocery budget £2.20 out...... The noting down is the key to keep spending nearer to my budget. I might trial it next month and see how it goes.

Right, best go and do a bit more. It's pointless trying to do dusting/cleaning, can't see cobwebs in this stygian gloom!

ETA: I think I'll merge the money pots for groceries and non-groceries, but I think that I will still write them out separately in my accounts book. So if I go to a shop and buy bread for 75p and a TV guide for 55p, I've spent £1.30 of my available budget, but I'll know what that expenditure is made up of - it'll help if I go over budget in the future to see what expense is causing it. I also think I will still separate out some money at the start of the month, eg for my haircut - I know how much I need, and know when I'll need a haircut, so that makes sense to continue to do that - well, to me anyhoo.......

Greying X

Tea&Kittens · 25 September 2017 at 11:59AM

I think I'll have to take tips from you about the bulk purchases, food and non-food shopping budget after this weekends spend!
I like the idea of the pots so I can get to grips with how much I'm spending on what!

Greying_Pilgrim · 26 September 2017 at 8:52AM

Good Morning :hello:

Dark and gloomy again - the weather, not your OP

It was difficult to be grateful for anything yesterday. We spent the whole day indoors

It's just such a fandango to deal with getting soaked

There is nowhere to put stuff to drip-dry, I'm limited with what I can wash and get dry ordinarily, never mind extra coats/clothes/buggy covers on top......

Anyhoo, I am grateful for these 3 things;

our health

other people taking pride in their work and doing it well

for the lovely free apples making a tasty cake

Although I was unintentionally housebound, it didn't transpire to a NSD. DH was tasked with getting a few bits and pieces, and then I discovered that mrT had a good offer price on the washing powder that we use so 'instructions' were re-issued and the bits and bobs were got from mrT instead, along with 2 boxes of powder. Somethings from mrL - that we wouldn't get from mrT, even if we could afford them - will have to be got today. At the moment, the purchase of the washing powder came out of what was left in the 'non-food' budget.

I have just enough left in the 'non-food' budget to get the TV guide today. Although if some unexpected 'non-food' expenditure crops up between now and Saturday, I will do the same for the washing powder as i would for porridge oats or rice, and take the money out of the bulk purchases fund - and pay myself back as i use it. But if the non-food budget can absorb the washing powder purchase this month, then I'll let it stand.

Tea last night was the leftover chickpea loaf, served with baked potatoes that had benefitted from time in the oven with the Dorset Apple Cake, brocolli and baked beans. A filling and tasty tea, which didn't break the bank

Tea this evening is 'lentil soup'. I could make any one of a variety of recipes that I have. I'm being suitably vague, depending on whether the weather changes it's mind and the sun comes out, or whether we will need something - stand your spoon up in it - style to counteract the autumnal dankness. And this from a person that counts Autumn as pretty much their favourite season!

I forgot to mention the other day that I went ahead and signed up to the MPS. It remains to be seen whether it will stop the unwanted mail - particularly the loan/credit card pushers - or whether it'll prove a massive waste of time......

Right, best get on. Ta for popping in. Appreciated.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim · 26 September 2017 at 8:33PM

Good Evening :hello:

I looked out of my window this morning and saw what I initially thought was a yellow wagtail, but on reflection, was more likely to have been a grey wagtail. I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to see it :j Whilst we do have some 'garden' birds round and about, this has got to be the first time a grey wagtail has visited. I'm not even sure pied wagtails are round and about - I certainly cannot recall seeing one out of the window, although there are plenty in and around Greying town, usually patrolling carparks, like hyperactive little police officers

So a grey wagtail - bobbing into my eyeline today - is pretty spiffing

:j

We got out of the house as well today :j:D

We pootled up the high street to see what was occurin'

Not alot, although there was a sale going on in m&$, so it resembled the local church jumble. There were seemingly alot of elbows out....... Luckily we weaved through the melee and escaped unscathed to the foodall, which provided a laugh with coriander which was half dead, retailing - albeit with a yellow sticker - for about the price that the discounters charge for their stuff in the first place.............I didn't take them up on their invitation to treat.....

I did make a couple of unintended purchases in h0m3 bargins. They were selling butty boxes (well, plastic food containers, but they are perfect as butty boxes), individually for a great price. I had already purchased the set, and DH has the 'butty' sized container for his snap. So I got the same for us to go picnicing with

I also got a little container which was very cheap, and will do for BG when we go adventurising and need to take a piece of fruit or something. It may well yet go into their C-mas stocking.......

Tea ended up being Harira (veggie version). It met both needs of being comforting and being zesty - as i put plenty of lemon in (ours) and also had the advantage of being a soup suitable for the 'family' with a few adjustments

:j It was also all from stores, and was packed full of veggies and pulses :j we ate it ALL, and I made a big saucepan full

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

mother nature

that it didn't rain today :j

for cake

Ta for popping in and reading. Greatly appreciated.

Greying X

beanielou · 26 September 2017 at 8:37PM

Pass the cake

Greying_Pilgrim · 26 September 2017 at 8:43PM

Always happy to share cake beanie

I followed THIS recipe for Dorset apple cake, using some of my 'freebie' apples from Sunday. The only difference I make, is that I don't bother with the decoration on top (so my cake has less sugar in it), I use whatever sugar I have, which is usually white granulated, and I put in a small amount of; ground cloves, ground ginger and ground nutmeg along with the cinnamon, to up the spice quotient

Greying X

beanielou · 26 September 2017 at 9:07PM

Thank you

Verbatim · 29 September 2017 at 11:26PM

How's it going GP? I hope all is well at Greying Towers. Have a lovely weekend.

The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

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