Bendy Carrots

There was a bag of bendy carrots in the bottom of the fridge and it worried me that they had not been used up.  It is a battle, but I have been trying to use all the things in the fridge and reduce the amount we throw away. So, the bendy carrots have been converted into Carrot and Coriander Soup for Sunday lunch. Thanks to BBC Good Food.
It does not really classify as frugal food, but at least it is not a waste.

On a knitty note, I have now finished the 5th cardi for charity and am on to the second hat. We want to get them sent off this week. Em has been crocheting 6 inch granny squares, and it all helps.
I am going to put a pic up when I have sewn the last one together.

Good way to get rid of those bits of wool after a project.

quorn

OK, we have budding buddhists and almost vegetarians in this house and we are trying Quorn tonight. So very sorry that I read about it on the 'net before buying it. Produced in sterilised VATS, the words fungus and single cell really did not appeal at all. The only thing I want to consume that is produced in VATS is wine....But, in this brave new world, we must embrace change. Hope it is tasty.

Touching base

Life seems a bit mad at present so Wednesday mornings are such a treat. The boys are erecting our new shed in the garden today. It is icy cold, but sunny. The old shed came down earlier this week and has opened out a great space in the garden. I love it. No plans for what to plant yet - Big J and I have to do our walking around and talking about it thing! Maybe veg? Maybe plants?

I have caught up with the news from other bloggers and so enjoy doing it. Especially when they add in links for what inspires them or where they have been. It does mean a lot longer in front of the computer though.....

I am trying really hard to be careful with our food and the use of it to avoid waste and to save money. I had to do a run to Aldi this morning for eggs and milk, but that is not bad. There is enough meat/veg and other staples to get us into next week so when I top-up shop this weekend, we won't need so much.

I am an avid fan of Moneysavingexpert and have been for years, long before we moved to England. I read the emails weekly and have had some brilliant advice. Big J and I are overpaying our mortgage as fast as we can - and I am saving hard.  The kids laugh at me and occasionally think I am 'weird' but when things go well on ebay and my cashback sites payout, they are pretty impressed. They are now well used to the fact that most of my clothes and shoes are from the OP-SHOP!! I so want to instill in them the habit of reflecting before they reach for their wallets. Do I NEED it? Will I USE it? and CAN I AFFORD IT? I also tell them to save at least 10% of everything they earn or are lucky enough to receive as gifts. 20% would be better - they still get to spend 80%!

Even little Juno will be a frugal puppy! Her first puppy training pads were left overs from a local litter - I got tons of them for £10.00. This afternoon I am going to collect her cage, again used by a local pup who at six months has graduated from it. It will need to be disinfected, but it is perfectly sensible to re-use a nearly new cage.

I think while I am working and am fit and well I owe it to myself, my kids, husband and society at large to put away money that will keep me in old age, so that someone else does not have to!!!

Okay you lovely people, I am off to town - on foot - to do some errands.

Thanks for popping in.

x










 

One thing and another

At this time of year I worry about spending money - more than usual, because Christmas looms and with it comes that terrifying notion that one HAS to spend money. Each year I endeavour not to go overboard, to plan well in advance, to stock up early and still end up feeling as if it is all too much.

If you read FQ's blog, you will no that she is encouraging readers not to spend anything at all in October. Good idea. And I have been far more careful than normal, planned meals all week, no charity shop sprees etc. Then disaster strikes and the car gets a flat....and a nail in another tyre and when it goes in, the man tells me a third one is bald......and he was right. So three new tyres.  Then the boiler died. Dead, kaput. And we have to fork out for a new one.

On the bright side. This winter there will be a very warm house and a very safe car on the roads. And I will still be prudent about Christmas shopping, because that still strikes me as spending money for the sake of it!!




 

Black bananas

While we were away the bananas in the fruit bowl went spotty and black. That means that no one in this house will touch them. Madness. Not moi. A batch of wholemeal banana nut muffins are in the oven as I type and the rest have been mashed and put into the freezer to make more muffiny things another day. Love not wasting food.

At lunch time my gym buddy and I did a short spin class. Exercise is just SO GOOD. It gives me energy.

The Spain photos are uploaded at least. I have to say something might have been lost in translation. They are not as brilliant as my memory, but nevertheless. Will get some posted, soon.

More sheets to tend to - did a TON of ironing yesterday - and some tidying.

Work tomorrow and I do NOT want to go back.....

 

A crochet preview

I have been sitting up late working on this:

A blanket for Em, using up left over yarns. But of course to get the range of colours, one or two new balls did have to be purchased. But now Han wants one and it looks as though they too will get used up in turn!!
It is more than half done, but is wide and it takes a while to do a row. But I am determined to get it finished as soon as I can.

This week my little crock pot (or slow cooker) bit the dust, well it cracked from side to side actually. So this morning after doing a cashback check, I found a new one and got a fiver off it. It is much bigger, allowing for a meal plus one each time. In use as I speak.

Remembering the good things

Today I collect my new bike from the shop. I have committed to doing the ride for Help for Heros and our own Trust's charity fund. I have signed up for a spin session at the gym on Tuesday as part of the training and I suspect my legs will be very sore on Wednesday. The sun is shining and it is cold. It is a lovely day and my girls are well. Adam is well and so is Big J who I saw live on screen this morning in his hotel room in Hong Kong. Everything is hunky dory.

But I am feeling a bit blue. I spoke to my mum this morning. She is very far away in Cooran in Queensland in Australia. She and Dad live in a beautiful but pretty isolated area. They have both had ailments, they are not getting any younger and none of their offspring live near.

My sisters are going to a mutual friend's 50th soon, in Bali, (very close to Australia if you live at the top end, as one does). I miss my sisters.

My brother and his lovely wife and daughter are in Hong Kong - I miss them too.

Big J does look well, but still he does not have a return date. It will be great when that is decided. We are a bit in limbo and yes, I miss him, a lot.

Missing all those people makes me blue.

Remembering the good things is the challenge for today.

All the folk I love

A new bike

A feta cheese and spinach filo pie

Being at home doing the things I like

What would happen if I stopped?

Easter is behind us, (we only had one chocolate bunny each, but with banoffee pie made to request as well this weekend, enough with the sweet stuff already!) and Big J is only a couple of hours from landing in Hong Kong, it feels as if lots of things have ended.

But, things never end, there are always goings on. Big J will be back in May for good. (Until the next trip, but not a 4 plus month stint). The girls are working on their skirts. I am sewing in ends and adding another row of squares to my LENT blanket....ok so I did not get it done, but I had a good go. The result will be the same, it will still go to a good cause.

The garden is well saturated now with the rain we have had and I can get some of the potatoes in. This year we are trying Kerr's Pink.

We have booked a very short stay in a cottage in Portugal in June as the girls will be away over the summer again and with me having to share holiday time now with another mum, it was the only time we could all go together.

I am about to sign up to a charity bike ride with my lovely friend Gill who is a bike queen. She has done the London to Brighton, and knows her stuff. She is encouraging me to do this and is being very patient about all my 'buts' and 'what ifs'!! It will mean getting a bike for me, not borrowing one of the girls' which on the last longish ride I did caused more pain and distress than I personally thought it was worth! BUT, that is because the seat was too low and hard, I could not lean into the handle bars and I could not stretch out my legs on the downward pedal motion. Bit like riding a mini bike really. This time it will all be to suit my height and needs and there will be a gel saddle, yes sir, a gel saddle, ideally the size of a tractor seat, if they exist....comfort is key here. The next week or so will involve tracking down a good used bike if one can be had, the saddle and then riding to work (eek). The plan is to then set off after work and do some road rides for training purposes....watch this space.

On top of this, there is my frugal food plan, ebay, decluttering - still, learning more about my camera, sewing a dress for me and my new crochet idea which is jumping up and down in my head and being very pushy,  and which I am really excited about - but have declared it must remain an idea until that LENT blanket is packed off to SIBOL.

So Easter had ended, only one tiny ending in all that goes on in life.

I wonder what would happen if I stopped?  LOL

catching up

Firstly, Big J is home and well and it is nice to have him here. The Rising Tide EP launch was fantastic. Poor Han developed a migraine early in the afternoon and it was touch and go whether she would be well enough to make it. Her medication kicked in enough for her to sit in the back seat with her duvet and pillow for the drive to Brighton

By the time we got there and had something to eat, she was well enough to enjoy the night. It was a great gig, a good crowd, many who knew the songs. The band was in top form and apart from enjoying the music it was a lot of fun. I was very proud to be step mum to a band member. Big J then arrived home in the early hours of Sunday morning and was determined to beat the jet lag by having a normal day. So off we went for our Sunday morning coffee/walk to our favourite cafe. We then went back to town to have lunch with Celia B and her man - and to celebrate Celia B's 70th. Home for a slow cooked leg of lamb which I simply could not eat, but we all sat at the table together. I like that. Last night Big J indulged me and came to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a film I have wanted to see. It was funny and a little predictable. It really fired my urge to go to India, it may be on the cards for this year, still considering it. And, it reminded me of a conversation I had in my first marriage when I told my other half that when I retire I wanted to go somewhere where I might be able to utilise my skills to benefit other people. At the time I was doing a Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language and I thought maybe I could volunteer my teaching skills. My poor other half was horrified. He asked me if I planned to take off when I was retired, why did I even bother getting married? Good question!! Big J has an adventurous spirit and like me wants to travel and do things in the prime of his life. Phew!! Tonight, like Frugal Queen, see her blog in my side bar, I used the left over lamb leg for a shepherd's pie. I used the meat part of this recipe and it was excellent. I did not go for the rich topping, just mash, but with some greek yoghurt in it! Tonight it is raining and it sounds lovely on the roof. Han is working on her skirt, Adam is out and Big J and Em are watching a film. Happy times.

Sun shiney day

It has been lovely having the day off today. A very early start saw me blocking out the last squares of the Lent blanket for sewing together tonight when Celia B comes over for our crafty session. Then it was out into the garden for a serious bought of weeding. While doing this our neighbour's cat turned up to check out the goings on. She is very nosey, but friendly and pretty. She has a habit of poking around where she really shouldn't and of course when my back was turned she took her chance and shot into the house. Her sudden absence had me suspicious, one minute she was eyeing off Bosley from the patio and next she was gone... but after checking around it was only a tell tale thump when she leapt off a piece of furniture and the ringing of her collar bell, that gave her away. She was poking around in Em's room! But she looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Here she is in the garden before breaking and entering.

I planted up some foxgloves, hoping to get them to flower this year. The dry earth is real cause for concern and today the grape vine got a bucketful of recycled water. (We keep a bucket in the shower now to catch the excess and I use rinsing water from the kitchen sink as well for the garden). Bosley demonstrates the dryness of the soil in the next shot. See how he has his toes in the bluebells, it must feel cooler.

Finally, this beauty is in blossom prooving just how lovely tulips are when they are open - as opposed to the cup like shape we all go for in the shops.

Big J and I had a chat on Facebook and all in all it has been a great day so far. Bolognaise sauce in the slow cooker for Francoise style pasta tonight. Francoise tosses spaghetti into the meat sauce with grated parmesan cheese and then bakes it in the oven. Delicious. We have enough for about three meals!

An evening in spring

How wonderful is this weather? After work today when I got home, Em and I played badminton in the garden. Han rode her bike to her flute lesson and back and we were all keen just to be out there.

For dinner is Chicken Lemon and Pea Rissotto, (with soya beans as we like them more than peas.) Lovely to know what is on the menu when I get home and to have everything to hand.

Saturday and sunshine

Another dry, sunny day in the South East. We have bought a skirt pattern and some fabric for Han to make her own garment.

Much bulk cooking was done including 'My Big Fat Moussaka' from the Love Food Hate Waste web site. It was not such a trial to assemble, but the potatoes were not waxy enough and I missed the aubergine in the traditional versions. Looks like we may have two more meals out of this effort.
Some broccoli was blanched and frozen and yesterday a big bag of carrots was done. I also did some red onions. The menu last night was kedgeree and there is container of that in the freezer too.

So, what happend to her crochet you are all thinking? What's all this with the food thing? It is still going on in the background. The Lent blanket is slowly being sewn together. The bunting is blocking and this week, with all these meals ready prepared, I will HAVE MORE TIME......yippee.

I hoped to go for a walk with my camera today, but only got as far as the green. I felt really self conscious taking photos on my home turf.

My three varieties of daffs:

I then took some in the garden.
This is one of my favourite flowers - the quince blossom;