Ashwood Nurseries & Crispy Leaves

After a cold, snowy couple of days, and going absolutely nowhere for those 2 days, we were champing at the bit for a bit of fresh air and exercise. The temperature gauge in the hall showed just 16.5°C when I got out of bed at 8.30am so I clicked the heating on for an hour..... 

 Graham de-iced the car and we drove the short distance to Ashwood Nurseries. The car park was reasonably clear of ice and the paths had been gritted. First stop was the greenhouse which had a massive, colourful display of Cyclamen, and planted pots intended, no doubt, for gift giving...... 

 

The photos show just a tiny proportion of the Cyclamen on sale. 

On arrival, we took a brisk walk around the dog walking field...

 

The leaves were crisp and felt amazing underfoot... 

The sky was a beautiful clear blue and there were buds on the trees waiting for the opportunity to burst forth... 

 

I love these crisp, clear, sunny days when the air fills your lungs with cold oxygenated air. It gives me so much more energy.  My back was hurting after so much sitting at home and I was having a 'dizzy day' light-headed feeling, but the brisk walk really helped.. 

We both felt hungry afterwards and succumbed to a bowl of piping hot leek and potato soup with a roll and butter in the coffee shop. It cost £9.40 for the two of us. Not cheap but utterly delicious and indulgent 👍

Have you ventured out into the snow today?

Thanks for popping in and stay safe and well.

Angie 💗

Banana Bread & More Snow

 

I didn't manage to make any banana bread on Sunday after all, but Sue Hall from A Smaller and Simpler Life very kindly left a message to say that she uses muffin liners sometimes to make smaller cakes which are much quicker to cook.  On Tuesday, as it was snowing heavily, I took her advice and used my last egg and a squidgy banana to make some whilst I was making pizza for lunch and had the oven on anyway.  They came out beautifully moist and fluffy inside.  I will definitely make them again but perhaps put more mixture in each cake case.  I was nervous of overfilling them in case they rose substantially but..... they didn't.  Thank you Sue. They were delicious 👍

When I woke up this morning it had snowed again during the night. Our adventures are on hold for a while 🙄

Never mind, look how blue the sky is.... 

Thanks for popping in and stay safe and well,

Angie 💗

Snow and Treats

I'm writing this post at 7am whilst snuggled up in bed with a hot water bottle and IT IS SNOWING!! How decadent that feels! For once I have had a decent night's sleep and feel refreshed, but before I get up, dressed and face the day I thought I might tell you what we did last week.... 

On Friday we visited our favourite pub to indulge in a hot lunch from their 2 for £15 menu, roast turkey for Gray and broccoli cheese bake for me. They were both filling and delicious, eaten in a bright warm pub where there is always a warm welcome 😊 The drinks; a standard glass of red wine and a pint of shandy, came to £9.55.

When we ventured out we were surprised to find how chilly it was, just 5.5° C

Two days before that we were at the Wednesday Club in the village community centre.  It's held every other Wednesday during the afternoon and there is always a speaker. We've had talks as diverse as nature, hedgehogs, local glass production and ceramics, followed by a hot drink in a paper cup and a (wrapped) biscuit. All for the princely sum of £3 each 👍 The talk last week was by Dr Brian Dakin on Chas Grigg who, amongst many other things, illustrated the Dandy comics and who was responsible for many of the saucy seaside postcards of the past. Brian goes by the name of Billy Spakemon and his stories and songs were a strong testament to the struggles of local history. 

He was selling his book for £5 with the whole amount going to charity.  The event saw attendees a bit thin on the ground which was a shame..... 

If the snow thickens and sticks today I can't see us going anywhere but it won't matter. I can get some jobs done and our online food shopping is being delivered this afternoon too. I've ordered a bit extra because the farmers are protesting today and strikes could follow. Who knows 🤔

Thanks so much for dropping by, and stay safe and well, 

 

Angie ❤️

Frugal Sunday Doings...

 It's Sunday morning and in a few minutes time my half-price electricity slot will kick in.  from 11am until 4pm everything I use will be half price and I've been saving up the washing in order to take advantage of the lower price. I've just stripped the single bed and my to-do list today is as follows:

1) Washing (4 loads)

2) Tumble dry the cotton stuff and put the delicates on the airer in the sun streaming through the patio doors. It's sunny but too damp to peg stuff outside.

3) Put the bread maker on for a lovely crusty loaf

4) Meanwhile: Clean the bathroom, dust, vacuum...phew 😎 

5) Descale the kettle

EDIT: 

6) I just discovered I have one egg left as well as a soft banana.  Ooh is that enough for a small banana bread???

Yesterday, I made a veggie hotpot with a crispy potato and cheese topping, which makes 4 good size portions. I'll re-heat the rest today in the microwave for a lovely easy, hot lunch.

Hopefully, after that lot I'll sleep well tonight!

How is your Sunday going?

Angie x

PS Please tell me if my Christmas countdown is annoying and I'll stop it.  I just LOVE Christmas 🎄🎄🎄

Explaining Our Discretionary Spending

££££

Both Graham and I have our State Pensions paid into a joint current account to cover the cost of the Direct Debits for bills every month. This 'bare bones' budget covers all basic bills including food @ £55 per week, the running costs of the main car, the cost of two dental check ups each, annual TV licence etc, etc

In addition, Graham now has an allocated personal allowance which he has to use for petrol, garden or allotment spending, days out, and treats.  He is used to spending his earnings but he will have to rein himself in from now on!

I have a small Civil Service pension of £113.59 per month (£1363 per annum) which will be my own personal spending.  At the moment it covers the following:

Hair cuts 6 @ £28.00 = £168

Petrol £10.00 per month = £120

Running costs of car 2 =  £400

Birthday gifts (family) =  £150 

Total £838  

This will leave £525  ie £10 per week (roughly) for 'frivolous' spending.

Unfortunately, my lovely little car ( a Fox Urban) will be 14 years old next month and she is struggling to start right now.  I think the problem is an electrical fault and our friendly (cheap) mechanic /technician friend says it will be very difficult to track it down.  Foxy lady also has a headlight which is letting in water and spare parts are impossible to find.  He has already tried to help me out.  I have an MOT booked next month but I'm afraid it could be the end of the road for her. I know it will save me money to let her go but I will be very sad indeed if that is the case 😢

The good news is that any extra money that I can make throughout the year eg sales on eBay or working at the polling station next year, will be mine to keep 😊 

I'm quite excited about something.......

 

Can you tell what it is? 😍

Have a great weekend everyone,

Angie x

Recovering from October Overspend

We went over the food budget massively in October.  The overspend was £57.99 👀 but I think it was because we actually had a 5 week month to cope with, so was, perhaps, forgivable. We were also fighting covid infections and eating whatever we could manage at the time.  In order to claw a little back and ensure we don't make the same mistake this month, we did a small physical shop today.....

This little lot actually provides 10 portions (ie 5 days worth of meals) as we don't mind eating the same meal 2 days running:

Quorn mince £2.50 £1.50 will make 4 portions of cottage pie,  

Some of the veg (head of broccolli, 2 carrots, 1 leek, 1 homegrown onion and some sliced potatoes) will make 4 portions of veggie hotpot with cheese topping (I already have cheese & stock)

Pizza with extra veg on top will make 2 portions,

In addition, the remaining leek and some more potatoes will provide 2 portions of soup for lunch.

The shopping came to £17.44.  The two things crossed off were a gift bag and a half price Christmas gift, both of which came out of discretionary spending.  Meals for the other 2 days will come out of the freezer.  I have a portion of beef stew for Graham, fish fingers and some Quorn escalopes which we both like, as well as some tinned goods like beans, salmon and chickpeas and salad stuff.

Drat...I forgot to photograph the water. I bought a pack of 12 x 500ml bottles of water @ £2.00 which I save for when we do actually venture out. I still have a cough and often need a drink when we are out of the house.  It's much cheaper to carry a bottle of chilled water with me than to buy one from a shop. The plastic bottles are recycled or sometimes used at the allotment on top of the canes as eye protection.

I found a couple of rashers of bacon in the freezer so tonight's meal will be essentially a breakfast! Bacon, eggs, baked beans (left over from yesterday) grilled tomato and toast.  Yummy!

Has anyone else overspent on food this month?

Angie x

So What Changed?......The Back Story....

 Until September this year, Graham was working at B & Q in the gardening/plants/seasonal section.  He was working 12 hours per week over 2 days ie every Saturday and Sunday, as he has done for the last 14 years.  This gave us our discretionary spending.  When a new store manager started he decreed that everyone had to work on checkout. Graham explained that it was on record that his spinal problem meant that standing at the checkout for hours would be difficult. What did the manager do?  He put him permanently on self scan checkouts which involved standing watching the customers scan their own purchases, watching for problems and challenging potential shoplifters 😟  Graham stuck it out for a few weekends but was in so much pain at the end of each day that he decided enough was enough and handed in his notice.

This has necessitated a major review of our finances. Luckily, we had just reached our savings goal which has taken the pressure off in a big way.

Frugal Re-jigs:

1) I've managed to fix our energy prices for a year with British Gas and this fix also gives us half price electricity on Sundays between 11am and 4pm when I can plan to do washing, tumble drying, dishwashing etc

2) I cancelled a couple of Direct Debits for things we can do without 

3) Graham haggled with BT for a cheaper broadband deal knocking £7 per month off the new 2 Yr contract 

4) Meal planning has taken centre stage again along with a stock check of food cupboards

I now have a clearer idea of how much we will have left after bills have been paid at the beginning of the month, and can re-set our discretionary spending. This will have to cover the cost of running the main car as well as any 'entertainment' expenditure. 

Every bit of 'entertainment' expenditure, right down to cups of tea and car parking charges, is being written in a book which Gray calls 'Mum's secret book' despite the fact that it's A4 size and hard to hide! 😂🤣😂

More in my next post... 

Angie x

A Pensioner Revived!

 A year ago I stopped blogging on Small Treasures.  There were a number of reasons, but family health issues, financial stresses and world affairs were deciding factors in my decision.  I simply had to step back and huddle in a metaphorical corner until I could cope once more.  It has been a tough year but I'm feeling more in control of my mental health now.  Graham and I are both recovering from our first bout of Covid too.  It hit Gray harder than me but we're gradually regaining our strength.

I don't want this new blog to be a pity party though.  I want it to be uplifting, friendly and encouraging!

The Positives:

Our Grandchildren are now 20 and 17 and both in fulltime jobs;  the 20 year old in retail and the 17 year old is an apprentice welder.  They are doing well (apart from the 17 year old setting his trousers on fire at work! but that's another story!)

The main thing is that they are both decent human beings....

Although finances for us are tight, especially with losing the Winter Fuel Allowance this winter, we can still afford to put the heating on when it gets cold at night and we can eat well on our pensions (the old Basic State pension 😟) if I'm frugal when shopping and food planning.

Over the last 3 years since moving to the bungalow, we have scrimped, sold things and saved to put enough money aside for a whole years worth of bills money.  If anything happens to either of us now we will have a minimum of a year to decide what to do ie move or stay put, depending on how much the rent increases in that time.  It's a huge relief to have that safety net....

The Plan:

On 1st November I reached the ripe old age of 75 and I want to stop hibernating and get a bit of fun before I get too old to enjoy it.  I know we can't take holidays any more but I would like more days out which are low cost/free.

May I share them with you?

Angie x