Sunday

Good morning, everyone.  I don't know about where you are but here it is raining and looks as if it has been for quite some time.  Good for the garden which is pretty dry.  There's a bit of a breeze and it felt so chilly in the night that I closed the bedroom window which is usually on tilt and turn.  That doesn't happen very often.  Yesterday, in contrast, remained lovely and sunny all through the day, just turning dully-grey in the evening.  I tried to have the big French window open but the papers kept blowing about after a while as the wind got up.  

It was mostly work yesterday but I did take a few photos so here we go . . .

Possible fruit later on - June drop permitting?  Who knows?

The irises are, again, lovely!  There's a couple of random ones elsewhere in the bed, slap bang in the middle of the crocosmia, and when flowering is done I must move them elsewhere.  I've been ruthless with the crocosmia this year and a lot is being pulled up as it dares peep through the soil's surface.  It can be quite invasive when it wants to be.

Poor tayberry.  After surviving for a couple of years before being planted in its forever place, it was thoroughly weeded by an over-enthusiastic young gardener about a month ago.  It must love me though - it is coming up again for more.  I like tough plants!
(At least, I am assuming it is the tayberry and not some vile, slow growing - is there such a thing? -  weed that has decided to grow in exactly the same spot.)

The chives are doing well and are being useful in culinary efforts . . .

. . . as is the oregano!  Must make pizza!

I also have two likely looking fuchsias in pots, bought (on special, obviously!) at Morrisons.  They are healthy, semi-hardy so who knows how long they will survive, growing well in the kitchen and need planting out soon.

Breadline: end of month 2

Already spent:  £55.58
Left to spend:  £6.42
Days to go:  1

Today's menu
Breakfast:  Oat pancake (paid) with bacon (10p) and soft cheese (paid)
Lunch:  Poached eggs (30p) on toast (paid).  Apple (11p)
Dinner:  Pork and apple burger (50p), roast sweet potatoes (9p), carrots (paid)

Total:  £1.10

It's very much a part of my routine now, doing this maximum of £2 a day on food and, usually, drink too.
I've been thinking about it all and here's some of the thoughts/strategies (in no particular order and in no way profound).

I keep a strict account of either what I spend or the cost of what I eat.  Generally, the everyday things like milk, oats, oil, and a number of other things that have to be used or go off like salad veg, fruit, etc are deducted from the total when bought.  They are the items that are 'paid' and it is why the totals from day to day don't necessarily match what the daily plan costs as recorded in here.

My sharpie pen is my new best friend.  Everything is marked with the price or p (for paid).  That way I don't get into a muddle and it is all done before I put any shopping away.

I round up as I really can't cope with calculating with pennies in three decimal places or more!  The fractions of pences go towards the cost of herbs, seasonings, spices, etc, that don't get costed.  I reckon it works out about even over the month.

I'm eating well, I think, and I'm losing weight.  A stone and a half since I started.  There's a way to go yet but it's a good start.  I know pennies don't equal calories but, when you are cooking from fresh as much as possible (and then freezing when appropriate) and not buying processed meals, it seems to balance out pretty well all round.

There's still way too much in my cupboards and in the freezers.  The stockpile is slowly decreasing but even so . . .   However, very little gets thrown away now and I'm pleased about that.  I always have a list in hand when I do go shopping now and usually stick rigidly to it which is good, I think.

There's a world of information and support out there thanks to the internet.  From places like 'Feed yourself for £1 a day' on Facebook, via helpful blogs and recipe sites, through to articles giving advice and strategies for frugality, there's so much to find.  Very helpful.

I could go on but will stop there.  Now I am looking forward to month 3!

Saturday

Good morning!  It is sunny here, like yesterday, but it was deceptive and we had a right downpour during the day before it cleared up to give us a lovely evening.  It's still a bit cool, not as warm as it usually is, but no complaints from me.  I like cool.

Today is more work, sadly.  I've had a lovely half term but time passes quickly and things have to be done.  A right pain but there you go!

Better get on with it then . . .

Breadline: 30-5-15

Aready spent:  £54.01
Still to spend:  £7.99
Days left: 2

Today's food:
Breakfast:  oat pancake (20p), pineapple (6p), melon (paid) and yogurt (paid), drizzle maple syrup (10p),
Lunch:  Ham (30p) salad (paid), mayo (2p)
Dinner:  Salmon steak (71p), oven wedges (15p), mayo (3p)

Spent today:  £1.57

Friday

Good morning, welcome to Friday!
It was very dull earlier today but the sun is just struggling through as I type so perhaps today will be nicer than originally promised.

Yesterday's tea (which was a family tea) went well.  When I looked over the table I was pleased that it was mostly home made/prepared.  Rolls, cheese, mushroom pate, two kinds of chutney, flapjacks and biscuits were all home made and the ham was home cooked.  I have to say it all tasted jolly good too, absolutely delicious.

I must mention the ham.  It was a little piece of gammon, unsalted and unfatty, from Aldi, £2.99, which took well under an hour to boil and which had a super flavour.  My parents commented on how delicious it was and they are hard to please where ham is concerned.  At that price I will be getting it again.

I follow mum's method for boiling.  I soak it overnight first, then put it in a pan with fresh cold water and bring it up to the boil, simmer it for the allotted amount of time minus about ten minutes, then take the pan off the heat and let the ham cool in the ham stock (as it is by then).  The ham stays beautifully moist and cuts really well.
I don't then roast it when we are having it cold, there's no need, we all like it just the way it is.
I threw away the stock this time as I still have some stock in the freezer from the last ham I boiled.  Yes, I feel guilty!

I managed to palm off most of the leftovers.  I kept one roll and a bit of the ham for lunch today and the sweet things went back in the tins for next week, although I might freeze some of them to get them out of temptation's way.  I bought some unsalted butter and some ordinary butter and what's left from that is in the freezer in small bits.  I bought some semi skimmed milk because I don't think mum and dad are that keen on skimmed milk and I shall freeze what's left (most of it), having checked that you can!

Long live frugality, that's what I say!  Now I must remember to write it all in the accounts!

Today is work, work, work.  Yawn!

Breadline: 29-5-15

Already spent:  £48.94
Still to spend:  £13.06
Days left:  3

Today's food plan:
Breakfast:  toast with jam or marmalade (paid), apple (11p)
Lunch:  ham (40p) roll (3p), soft cheese (5p), sliced tomato (paid), , yogurt and pineapple (6p)
Dinner:  Fish (37p) in tempura batter (1p).

biscuits (4p)

Today's spend:  £1.07

Just noticed I could spend £4.00 today, tomorrow and Sunday and be in budget but I'm not going to!  I shall use the left over this month to get longer term supplies for June such as bread flour, etc.

Thursday

Good morning, gentle readers.  It's another lovely sunny start to the day although it's chilly outside still and overnight I was glad to be snuggled under my quilt which kept me just right - warm and cosy but not hot.  It has to warm up soon - and then I will be moaning that it's too hot.

I had a great morning with a friend who came round for coffee.  We talked and talked and talked . . . and if she had been staying for lunch I reckon we'd have talked all afternoon too.  She admired the quilt and I shall make a similar one for her daughter.  I have plenty of time to make it, which is just as well.

After stumbling across an interesting blog I tried a recipe/method for making soft cheese from natural yogurt.  Very simple and straightforward and I now have a little pot of rather tasty soft cheese for tea.  I have blogged about it here.

I've also found a simple recipe for mushroom pate which I want to make for tea tonight, but I need to get some unsalted butter.  I looked in the fridge but the butter I had was dated February < blush > so that went in the bin and whatever I buy today and don't use will be frozen so as to avoid that happening again.

I've also just frozen some sliced mushrooms.  Because they were on special, I bought some and then some more and now, of course, can't see when they will be all used.  I know that they will only be OK for cooking but that's not a problem as that's how I usually use them; they will be there when I want them.

You might have gathered that I have some people round for a 'very light' tea today.  I have boiled a small ham that I got from Aldi and I shall also have the soft cheese, the mushroom pate, some lettuce and sliced tomatoes, cheese and chutney plus the biscuits and flapjacks I made yesterday.  Now I need to get the dough on for rolls.  It won't be a posh tea but it will be a tasty one!

Well, I'd better get going.  Dough doesn't make itself, although with Thermione doing all the hard work, you might think it does!
Have a super day.