Mucky boots.

Hello. Fancied something different for my breakfast this morning, rather than the usual bran flakes, ground nuts, seeds, and fruit, and a banana. Twas half a tin of Value baked beans, 12p, two scrambled eggs, 28p, and two slices of seeded bread, 14p. Filled me up a treat, had a late lunch because I was still full at 1pm. 

Weather is still a bit murky, though not raining. I got my walk done before lunch today, and went a different route. The farmers are getting in the sugar beet. Two tractors trundling up and down the track and tipping them onto this pile.

I watched for a few minutes. I had a job once driving tractors through an auction, it was hilarious. I like tractors. I like JCB's as well. I had a go once at driving one at the JCB test site at Ashbourne in Derbyshire, they don't half bounce around. I imagine the suspension must have improved a lot since then.

Clever how that machine scoops up the roots and discards the tops of the plants. Wouldn't mind having a play with that monster. 

Coming back for another load, best get out the way.

 Oh heck, stuck up to the eyeballs in mud.

Moving on. Money saving tip. Are you coming to the end of your toothpaste? I bought the Colgate for 50p ages ago from Poundstretcher, it was on offer. It has lasted a while, I only put a squidgen on my brush, hate having a frothy mouth. Anyway, the new tube is a Tesco Value one, only 25p. It might be cheap but it has all the ingredients needed to clean teeth, and is accredited by the International Dental Health Foundation. I have used it in the past, it's perfectly fine, and the minty taste is not too strong, which I like. Give it a go, no need to pay silly prices for toothpaste.

Think that's about it. I'm making some more shopping bags, always something to do.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Just popping in.

Hello, howz ya doin. I'm just out of the bath, sweet smelling and scrubbed. 

I have an idea for the next picture, fragments of fabric laid out on a backing. There will be a lot of stitching.Who knows how it will end up. Something will happen as I am working on it. 

A 'no cook' dinner from yesterday. Love the mushroom pasta with pine nuts. Watercress, iceberg lettuce and potato salad. Quick and easy. 

And the dinner today was similar, two boiled eggs and broad bean and mint houmous. Delishus.

I did three hours of walking today, my three mile route three times, back to back. I felt like I wanted to do a bit extra, and set aside the afternoon for it, 2pm to 5pm. I think I might do that again.

Just a quick one tonight. Bugsy is wanting my attention, he can't get settled. He's been off his food again.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon
Toodle pip.

Slashing the grocery bill

Hello me hearties. It's a bright sunny morning, makes me want to go out. Makes me think of all those lovely walks I am going to do this year. I've got a spring in my step. 

My yellow sticker dash last night proved very fruitful, I got £24.82's worth of food for £6.20. Howzat for money saving. This little lot will last me a couple of weeks, along with other bits and bobs I bought, till receipt at the bottom. Quite a bit spent was for the cats, mainly Bugsy and his treats. 

There's diced onions, broccoli, cauliflower, spring onions, carrots, potatoes, rice noodles, egg noodles,  houmous, salad leaves, potato salad, watercress, mushroom pasta, brussels sprouts, pancakes, and a 30p cake. Gotta have a treat. 75% off most things. Of course a lot of it won't need cooking so a saving on gas will be made as well.

Everything here is all out of date as from midnight last night. I shall inspect my fridge 2 or 3 times a day, and will eat what will go off the quickest, first. After all the salady stuff, if I think I might not be able to eat the rest in time, I will cook the veg up into stews and freeze in margarine tubs. These are my ready meals.  

Yes, there's a bottle of plonk there, I am not doing dry January, my alcohol intake is very low, one bottle every 3 - 4 weeks, so why should I deprive myself of that. This weekend is Wine Weekend, the bottle will last four days. The meaty items and tuna, along with the cat food are treats for Bugsy.

This yellow sticker dash seems to be turning into a monthly ritual. In between times I sometimes pick up a bit from Aldi if I am in town, and buy a few items from the Discount stores, B & M, Home Bargains, and Poundstretcher. Occasionally I will call into the small Asda which is within walking distance, if I have 20 minutes to spare, and I will pick up a few oddments from the Cash and Carry as I drive past there on my way to town. Keeping my food bill low is really easy, I have it all organized, I know where to shop within my budget.

The places I don't go are Sainsburys, and Marks and Sparks,  far too expensive. Morrisons is at the other end of town so is the big Asda, I have no need to drive that far. I have looked in Farmfoods, the mainly freezer place, they don't have much that I would actually eat. We get a leaflet through the door every so often, there was only frozen veg and Quorn that I would actually eat, all the rest is processed, ready meals, full of sugar, junk. No thanks.

Anyway, I'm sure you have your favourite foods and places to shop, which will be different from mine, according to how many you shop for and what the rest of your family eat. I must say, shopping for one is very easy.

I'm off out now. Too nice to be in. Thanks for popping in, have a nice weekend.
Toodle pip

Eight years old today.

Well hello, how are you, welcome, come on in. We have a little celebration going on, the 2nd of January is the anniversary of the very first blog post, eight years ago, so Happy Birthday blog. 

After an operation when I was 59 I had 12 weeks off to recover, and when I was ready to go back to work, they announced they were closing the depot. I didn't have a job to go back to. And so I became unemployed. I didn't have much money because I had been reducing my hours at work, which reduced my pay. I had also been living on a pittance, my JSA had been reduced because I was receiving a little bit of insurance money. Those were hard times, but some of it was of my making because I scaled back the driving. It was just unfortunate that I had to take sick leave for a while. 

So this blog was started in the January, and I survived on little money until my 60th birthday in May. It was a big sigh of relief when my pension kicked in. Things are much improved now, my thriftyness and penny pinching has helped me to pay off my mortgage, change my car twice, and have holidays and days out. Now I am ticking over nicely living within my means, and happy with my lot.  

I think I have had all the mileage updates for the 2016 walking challenge. Counting up, 21 people have passed the 1000 mile mark. I think that's bloomin great, you should all be proud of yourselves. Some of you have come very close to it, also a great achievement, and a lot of you have done so well by sticking with it. As I always say, having a go and doing what you can, is better than sitting on your bum and doing nothing. So well done everyone. 

The challenge was not a competition, not a race, but I've picked out two names at random for a prize. So step forward Helen D and Vicki. Big cheer. Send me your addresses and I'll send you a little surprise in the post. 

Up to now there are 50 names on the list for 2017. Wouldn't it be good if we could get half of them to the 1000 mile mark. It would be chuffin great. 25 people fitter than when they started at the beginning. I know December is a long way off, but as you can see, it is achievable Good luck everyone. 

Right, what's next. My lunch yesterday. Not much food left in the fridge. A spud in the microwave, grated cheese, a tomato, and sliced beetroot. A nice simple cheap meal. 

 The other day I made this, enough for two days of lunch and dinner. Two smallish onions chopped, handful of Quorn pieces, carrots, Brussels Sprouts, frozen broad beans, sweetcorn, and frozen cranberries. Start it off with a slug of oil, add water and splash of fruit juice. Curry powder, turmeric, vegetable granules, coriander, Danish blue cheese, and cream cheese. Simmer till veg is soft, add water if needed.

I cooked plenty of wholemeal pasta, enough for three meals, and the fourth portion was a topping on a microwaved spud. I didn't bother freezing it, kept it in the fridge, and microwaved it before eating. My goodness it was ever so tasty. I will need to go shopping at some point this week, seems like ages since I last went to the shops. Not much left in the fridge.

Find the cat. Heidi has a new hidey hole, ha ha. Isn't it funny, just when you think they have found the ideal place, they move on to somewhere else.

That's it, all blogged out, nowt else left to say. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

No need to go mad just because it's Christmas

Hello and Good Morning. I've just had a good laugh. There is an article about me and how to save money at Christmas, in iNews, a budget daily newspaper. The journalist Katie Grant rang me yesterday for a chat. I usually get requests at this time of year asking for my money saving Christmas tips, but when I reply, I don't do Christmas, they usually give up and look elsewhere for their story. Katie stuck with it.

Click on this link and see the story yourself.  Britains stingiest woman offers her advice.

Anyway, let's press on. I did my Christmas shopping last night at Tesco. The yellow stickers cost me £6.21, and it's all good food. The total shop was £40.78, and with a voucher for £8 off this brought it down to £32.78.

There were only two of us waiting for the final reductions so we got the pick of the crop. Tons of veg as usual, broccoli and spinach my favourite. I will be cooking some of this up later today and putting portions of stew in the freezer. I might not have to go shopping again until after Christmas. In fact I could stretch what I have in my freezer and cupboards until the New Year.

I had it in mind to write something here about Christmas spending, or not spending, but Katie beat me to it, so I will add a few more thoughts on what she has already written.

Utility bills go up in winter, heating and cooking cost more, to budget for that savings have to be made elsewhere. Budgeting is an all the year round activity, there will be peaks and troughs throughout the seasons. Think about what you NEED, what you WANT, and what you will NEVER spend your money on. Compile your own lists on what is important to you, and what you can do without.

I can do without Christmas, not important, but I like a nice car, need to pay for my pets, and I like to go away on holidays and day trips. What I don't need is to shop at Sainsbury's Waitrose, and Marks and Sparks. I don't need a television set, don't need a licence. Don't need to eat out, don't need takeaways. I could list whole rafts of things I don't need, and my do need list will be very short.

If you have a partner, you should sit down together and do this exercise, you need to be singing from the same song sheet. No point in one person frugally saving pennies everywhere, when the other is squandering  it all away. That will only cause conflict.

If Christmas is important to you all well and good, go ahead, but do not go into DEBT for it. It is an annual event and there will be another one on the same date next year. It won't hurt to cut back on the spending for one year, or if you are like me, you might decide you can do away with it altogether.

I find it very liberating that I have chosen not to join in. My brain is not cluttered with the worry of getting the right presents, buying the right food, sending cards, and generally running around like a headless chicken trying to keep up. I can sit back and relax and watch everyone else getting their knickers in a twist. You will not see a furrowed brow on my face, you will see a wide grin from cheek to cheek.

No more lectures, do what you like, but don't come crying to me when the credit card bill lands on the door mat. I will just say, I told you so.

I had a lovely email from Amy of Hard up and Happy. She had difficulty commenting on my blog, so I will copy and paste it here.

 Hi Ilona,

I just want to say a huge thank you for your support and kind words on your blog - which is ace by the way. 

It means a lot when people are nice, as it's my philosophy to be as kind to others as I can, unfortunately this isn't always returned.

I won't concentrate on the negative Nellies though, as the positive comments are amazing. If I can help a few families be happy with what they have then that makes it worthwhile. I would have loved to have responded to each comment on your blog and my website, I'm afraid for some reason I can't? The comments plug in on mine is playing up. Anyway enough rambling I wanted to seek you out and say a great big thank you. You have made me very happy. From one thrfiter to another Merry Christmas!

Kind regards 

Amy 

Thank you Amy, lovely to hear from you. 

I'm beginning ramble now, it's lunch time, and I have things to do. An idea for another textile picture is creeping into my head, want to have a play with some fabric. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. 

Toodle pip. 

Let's have a catch up.

Hello, I've been AWOL, apologies for my absence. Apart from not having much to say, I've been helping my friend Helen deliver her parish newsletters, and done some Bailey dog walks for Joyce, as she has needed to rest her leg. So all good stuff, lots of walking. 

I didn't see the super moon the other night, but last night there was very little cloud and it lit the back garden up nicely.

This morning it was at the front of the house at 7am, still visible, with a whisp of cloud floating by.

Hey, look what I found. Someone very kindly has bagged up all their spare apples and hung them on the railing for anyone to take. Thank you, I'll have one of those.

 Tonight I've made a big pan of broth and vegetables.

Soaked the Scotch Broth Mix overnight, and added carrots, potatoes, parsnips, an onion, the last bit of broccoli, and two apples. I used half the packet, which was as you can see 50p, it makes four large portions, or five not so large. This will put hairs on my chest, it's lovely, and very cheap. I will eat some more tomorrow, and freeze some.

I had a phone call from a local WI group, asking me to do a frugal money saving talk. I've booked them in for January. I haven't done one for ages, it will make a nice change.

Pussy cat rescue news. Someone contacted us about a stray kitten seen wandering at a caravan park. Sue and Janet went to have a look for it, and found it in a pond. The poor little might was half dead. The man who owned the place waded in and got it out. They had it checked at the vet. Luckily we had a spare pen for it, and now it is being looked after and making progress.

There are some new exhibitions starting soon at the Arts Centre, one of them sounds really good. It's called Radical Craft, Alternative ways of making. There is a tour with the Curator on Saturday, I'll go along to that. Someone has blogged about it here.

Has anyone found the videos by Graeme Stevenson on yoootooob?  He is an artist who travels around chatting to other artists about their work. Claire Bremner produces some stunning work, and demonstrates her techniques as she talks and paints. Have a look if you are an artist, or if you aren't. She makes it look so easy.



Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Healthy eating for one.

Hello. It's been a week since I did that massive shop at Tesco. I was really low on food so had to stock up on almost everything. I still have lots left, mainly tins and frozen, but my fresh stuff is getting low again, so I went to Aldi today and did a small top up shop. I needed vegetables and salady stuff, and eggs, and bananas, and bread, and cheese, and more nuts, gotta have nuts. 

This is the lunch I had today. Mushrooms, tomato, cucumber, potato salad, pickled onions, brie cheese, Quorn sausage, and a cheese and onion crispy bake. Very nice it was too.

 Tonight was my usual steamed vegetables with a sprinkling of grated cheese. I could scoff broccoli every day, I love the taste of it. Still got some home grown beans in the freezer.

A leaflet came through the door the other day, from the church. It is a thank you card to show their appreciation for the support they get from the parishioners, and has a list of services for the following weeks. . Everyone gets one regardless of whether they go to church or not. A large part of the leaflet is taken up with a list of ten churchyard rules which go into great detail about what is and isn't acceptable regarding the decoration of graves. I think quite a few people will be upset by this because such a lot of things are not allowed. There is a detailed list, plastic flowers, pot plants, statues, garden ornaments, lights, windmills, pottery and glass, are just a few of the things.

I can't see the harm in a few plastic flowers, people can't afford to put expensive fresh flowers on their grave all the time, and if the relative is not able to visit on a regular basis, plastic flowers would be ideal. There are some people that have gone right over the top though, with their decorations. They are going to be mighty upset if they have to remove everything. I do think it is a bit harsh of the church, some of the rules are a bit over the top, there should be some wiggle room in some cases. There is a grave alongside the wall on the edge of the graveyard which is a small child. The mother has been coming almost every week for years to tend it. She takes the soft toys away for washing and brings them back, she adds cards for the child's birthday and Christmas, and swaps the old toys for new ones. I shall be very sad to see this go.

It's the weekend again, the weeks are flying by and it's getting colder. Nowt else to tell you so I'll buzz off. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

How much! Chuffin heck!

Hello. My computer is having a wobbly. When I walk away from it and it goes into sleep mode, the screen doesn't just go black, it goes all colours, keeps changing every few seconds, bright neon colours. Then when I shut down, the computer switches itself off but the colours carry on and there is no response when I press the off button. I have to switch off at the wall, which I always do anyway. I think the monitor may be on it's way out. I'll wait until it stops working altogether. This computer is quite old. The red colour is very bright. Very strange.

I had to go shopping this afternoon, I had virtually no food left in the house apart from three cans of peaches, a jar of pickled onions, pasta, noodles and rice, nothing in the fridge, and a few things in the freezer. The postie brought me a letter from Tesco, there was a voucher for £7 off a £50 spend, I never spend that much. I put it in my pocket anyway. As I was walking round, I thought I might as well buy a few extra things, then I won't have to bother with a big shop for a month or so. There were offers on the cat food as well so I stocked up on that.

As she was scanning it I watched the numbers creep up and up. Chuffin heck, £72 chuffin quid, and that was with a few yellow stickers as well. The extras I bought were seeds and nuts, several kinds of canned beans, a bottle of wine, tuna fish, frozen white fish, and cooked chicken for the cats, sesame seed oil, frozen veggie burgers, plus all the usual stuff. So I did get to use the £7 off voucher. My stocks were very low, it was almost like starting from scratch. Gotta eat something.

I bought a cheese and onion pasty because I was hungry, I ate it on the way home. It was supposed to be for my dinner. So tonight I have had the rest of it, a plate of spinach and rocket with a little grated cheese and some pea and mint dip.

I must keep an eye on the time, I can't have anything to eat or drink after 9pm tonight. Tomorrow morning at ten past nine I'm at the medical centre for the first part of my free health check. They take a sample of blood, and I go back the week after for the rest of the check. I think I'll get a drink now, so I'll sign off.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
toodle pip

What can you do with a tin of peas

Hello. There are some days when I don't mind what I eat, as long as it's cheap and fills me up. Saying that, you won't find any meat or fish in my fridge, unless it's cheap white fish for the cats, I no longer buy ready meals either. I will sometimes splash out a bit more dosh for something extra delicious, but not very often because I can make tasty food from scratch myself. So, I buy my food on price. My meals don't always look appetizing, my aim is to eat it, not to step back and admire my handiwork. 

A while ago I picked up a dented tin of mushy peas from Tesco, maybe I ought it eat it. 

My lunch yesterday was a spud in the microwave and half of the peas. Scoff scoff, it filled my tum, and at only 15p, it was a bargain. Bags of spuds are in season and cheap at the moment.

Dinner last night was steamed sprouts, broccoli, potatoes, and an onion, topped with the other half of the peas. Another tum filler at possibly 40p, a wild guess.

This is ten shopping bags waiting to be assembled. I had a fabric sample book from the Scrapstore and took it apart. The pieces weren't big enough to make a complete bag and handles, so I have used other fabric for the handles. I don't think it will matter, the two sides will be different anyway because there is only one sample of each. Best get on with it then. Need them for the Christmas Fair.  

Thanks for all your comments on the previous post, it's good to hear that we are all on the same wavelength. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Mix and Match

Hello. We've had a rotten morning weatherwise, piddling it down, but now the sun is out so I am tempted to go outside. Before I do I'll post this. Every morning I use my mini chopper to prepare my breakfast. Nuts, seeds, and fruit all go in there to be smashed to bits, then added to my branflakes, with a banana on top, and strawberries if I have some.  

I always keep my eyes open for other cereals when they are reduced. The Cash and Carry is good for this, and I have also found some in Poundstretcher as well. I usually put a few of these in the mini chopper as and when I need them, but I am concerned that I may be expecting it to do too much, because the lumps are pretty hard. I don't want it to conk out through excessive wear and tear, so this morning I decided to zap two whole packets in the big Kenwood, then it will be ready to use.

These were 50p each from the Cash and Carry. They are like small fruity Shreddies.

I have double bagged them to keep them dry. Two spoons in my fruit, nut, and seed mix will be enough.

This is the rest of my breakfast ingredients, I mix and match any of these. Three types of nuts, sultanas, linseeds, and porridge oats, plus whatever fresh fruit I have, bananas, strawberries, nectarines. If I see any other types of nuts and seeds at a good price I will buy them. This is what starts my day most mornings, though now the weather is getting a bit cooler I won't be using as much soya milk, I will start making hot porridge, with all the rest added.

What's your favourite breakfast? Any good ideas that don't cost a lot of money and take only a short time to prepare it. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Happy with my bills

Hello me hearties. I haven't got any fresh veg left because I want to eat out of the cupboard and freezer for a few more days. I have plenty in the freezer to keep me going, seems daft to leave it in there forever and a day, it's got to be eaten sometime, might as well be now. 

Frozen chips indeed. Yes I bought a bag of these as something different, can't remember when I last bought them, that long ago I have forgotten. Yes, a bag of potatoes would have been cheaper, but I don't make real chips in a pan at home, I don't have a chip pan, and I'm certainly not doing them in a frying pan on the hob with all that oil spitting all over the place. These oven chips are cooked under the grill, turn once. Half a tin of spag hoops, and two scrambled eggs, my dinner tonight. I just fancied this and it was very nice. 

I am sorting out my spare room, aka the fabric store, plus all manner of stuff I collect because it might come in useful. It's going really well. The ladies at crafty club took some of my excess off me this morning, things I knew I was unlikely to get round to using. I've found some bits for the charity shop as well.

Three bills dropped through my door last week which will be paid tomorrow. I'm not too bothered by regular bills because I know more or less how much money they want from me. I email my gas and electricity readings in monthly, and they use these to calculate an amount. I last emailed on 25th September and the bills were dated 5th October, so there is a bit of a gap there. I see they have estimated what I have used during that gap, and they are pretty close so I am happy to pay them.

I get both gas and electricity from SSE, they are the suppliers, but my account is with Ebico, a not for profit organisation. I have no penalties for paying quarterly, and I have no standing charges. Everyone pays the same price per kwh. So, my gas bill is for £4.04, and my electricity bill is for £36.75. My electricity bill is always more than gas, probably because I have this computer on a lot. It rises slightly in the winter due to lights going on earlier.

My gas bill is obviously low in the summer months because I don't have any heating on. It will go up a bit in the winter. I think it is so low because I have been having a lot of meals which require little or no cooking. A lot of salads, and one pan meals, the shorter the cooking time the cheaper the meals are. Even a pan of veg stew made with fresh veg only takes about ten minutes on the hob, and if I use a big pan to make four portions, three of those will get heated in the microwave.

I only heat a tank of water if I am going to have a bath, why do I need to have a tank permanently full of hot water? I can boil a kettle to wash a few pots in the sink or wash my hair.

The other bill I have received is for £28.10 payable to Severn Trent Water. This covers the period from April to October, and is for surface water drainage. I will get another bill shortly from Anglia Water, it will be around £37, that's for clean water into the house, and a small amount of that will be sent on to Severn Trent for removal of dirty water through the sewers. Being on a water meter works best for me because I am in control of how much I use.

All cats are in for the night, they don't seem to want to go out much these days. Mayze spends a lot of time on my bed, she loves snuggling under the top cover, I often find a bump in the bed when I get in. Heidi is due for a vet visit later this week, we are getting to the end of her tablets. Best let the vet check her over and get some more. Bugsy is still camped out on the living room table right next to me. Boy does he yowl when I don't serve up the right food. Today they got a treat, I buy bags of cheap frozen white fish and microwave it for them. They love it.

Right, I'm off now. It's not yet 7pm and dark already. I still have to go and do my walk. I could have a day or two off but I don't want to drop behind. The extra I did last week has boosted my total, I will finish October over the target. Hope you are all keeping it up, no slacking now the weather is getting cooler. A good fast walk will keep you warm.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

That was a whoppa, no worries.

Hello. I've had a massive credit card bill this month, money spent on what I needed, vet, food, and petrol. The days of impulse spending have long gone, everything I buy is what I need, with some cash left over for wants and treats. My emergency fund easily covered the bill, and as always, the balance is cleared every month. 

Keeping a tight hold on my food spending is ongoing, as is eating healthily. I find I am eating less tinned food,  some rice/pasta, very few veggie burgers/Quorn products, and no convenience ready crap. Most of my meals are fresh or frozen veg, sometimes eggs and cheese added. I don't eat much bread, when I do it's always wholemeal or seeded, but I can take it or leave it, some days I eat no bread at all. 

I prefer to spend little time in the kitchen, it's not my favourite room in the house. If I can knock something up in ten minutes that will do nicely. Shorter cooking times saves on gas. 

I got some yellow stickers the other day. Soys beans from £1.50 to 38p. Ready chopped onions from £1 to 25p. Spinach £1.50 to 38p. Mushrooms from 90p to 24p. Stir fry some of these in a pan and scramble an egg into it when it's almost done. One cheap and healthy meal. 

No cooking is even better. Yellow sticker pasta and char grilled mushrooms, £2.15 to 54p. I love this and would never pay full price for it. Add it to salad and it makes a lovely light lunch.

I've only got four bean plants but they are producing quite a lot of runner beans. Some I am eating, and the rest are bagged up in portions for the freezer. I don't bother blanching, just break them into three pieces and into the bag.

My fridge is looking quite full. I have some prepared veg which I will cook up, make soup, and freeze it today. I do a regular fridge inspection checking on quality and dates, to make sure I eat things before they go off. I have some peaches and strawberries which will need eating over the weekend.

All these little money savers means I don't have to worry about out of the ordinary large bills. Planning ahead and being mindful of the cost of day to day living has become a habit for me. It means I can sleep peacefully in my bed at night.

It's the weekend, enjoy. Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

PS. Just remembered. If anyone is wondering what I am doing about the new rule that says you have to have a TV licence to watch BBC iplayer catch up, I have stopped watching it and switched to Channel 4od, and yooootoooob. Plenty on there to entertain me while I sit and eat a meal or do some hand sewing. I don't sit glued to programmes when I have other things to do. BBC ain't getting any money out of me.

Get it down you, it will do you good

Hello. I wish the kids were as easy going about food as I am. I've got the oldies, Bugsy and Rocky hanging around my feet because they are not happy with the food I have just served up. They think if they whinge enough I am going to cave in and come up with a fresh bowl with something different in it. Sometimes I do,  to get a bit of peace from them. Tonight they are just going to have to eat what is there, I am fed up of throwing food away. 

When we were little we had to eat whatever mum dished up, and some of it was pretty awful. Some of the meat dishes were unrecognizable as meat, gawd knows which bits of the animal she was giving us. I often felt sick moving it around on my plate and was almost in tears. We moaned a bit but it was eat it, there is nothing else. I remember tripe, I definitely had to go without that day. Later on when I went to big school I looked forward to school dinners, especially puddings which my mum was not very good at making. 

This portion of frozen stew does not look very appetizing, but I know what's in it so it will be tasty. 

This is something I had the other day, simple veggie burgers in buns with potato salad and houmous. It was ok for a change because I couldn't be bothered to cook, but I could have managed on just one, I was too full afterwards.

As you know I often chuck a few things in a pan and scramble two eggs into the mix. I like these simple one pan meals. Here is left over steamed veg from the previous day, I made too much, with a handful of frozen broad beans and some chick peas.

Underneath the beans and chick peas is a portion of cheap noodles, with Danish Blue cheese on the top. It looks more like a side dish you would get at a restaurant because I put it into a bowl instead of a plate. This was my dinner one night last week.

I like to mix and match my food, I don't need recipes to follow, I make it up as I go along. It makes life more interesting to invent new concoctions. Anyone else have a slap dash approach to food as I do, or do you need to have all ingredients close by to create a masterpiece?

Thanks for popping in, We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip