Decisions Decisions

Well I have had a few days off of blogging but I am back refreshed and ready to go again. The attacks (touch wood) seem to have calmed down I have not had one for a few days and today is the first day I have felt like my old self for a while. I went to my specialist appointment on Thursday and was poked and prodded about and subjected to a whole lot of tests. My hearing and balance have deteriorated which was no surprise to me. As I suspected I have to go back and be fitted for hearing aids on both ears, I have to go back for more in depth balance tests to see if I am a candidate for the gentamicin treatment, I also have to go back for a pre op assessment, and finally day surgery to have the grommit replaced in my left ear which fell out over a year ago. He also doubled my meds. Whilst none of this came as a surprise to me it has taken a while to digest and I have had talks with the children, Lee, and my family about whether or not to have the gentamicin treatment as it comes with a pretty hefty side effect. There is a good chance if I have the treatment it will destroy the little hearing I have left and affect my balance however it may help with the vertigo attacks. I asked the surgeon outright what the chances of success are and he said based on what he has seen of me he thinks it would be 50/50. So a lot to take in and consider I still have not made a decision but I have a few weeks before I need to so lots more conversations with the family are coming my way I feel.

We had visitors on Saturday my family came down from London for the day and it was so nice to see them all. Even more so as my little sister and her girlfriend have just got engaged and I have been asked to be a bridesmaid. We spent the whole day having a good old catch up and a good old giggle which was lovely. My step dad mentioned how tired I look and how it breaks his heart that someone as young as me is having to live with this debilitating disease. I just gave him a hug and assured him that yes it is hard but its not something that is going to kill me and I have to just suck it up and get on with it. I made a lovely coffee cake for my mum and she loved it wrapping it in foil to take home with her. It was like the battle of Britain just to get her to leave a little slice here for me lol.

I also got left lots of yummy scrummy food all for free thanks to my mummies fussy food ways. I offered everyone ham and cheese rolls and cake for lunch but that was not good enough so they bought their own food with them for the day. Now this would probably offend a lot of people but I don't let it bother me any more as whatever they don't eat gets left here for us to use. As a result I got the following free food a big box of cocktail sausages, a £3 packet of deli ham, 6 large muffins, a bakers loaf of bread, half a pack of Easter cakes.

I have been working hard on my homemade prezzies over the last few days and have finally finished. The bestie has a jewellery set

The next door neighbor has a baby blanket and 3 wash mitts

And DGD has a toiletry set

All have been wrapped and ready to give as well as 4 cards made (sorry forgot to take a pic). So that's me finished with prezzie making for a few months so I have started making scarfs for xmas prezzies. I am a very basic knitter but love it as it is a real stress buster for me so the more stressed I am the more knitting I get done :) anyway I am off to do some knitting but its just for fun today as its a very good day and no stress to work through.

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

Finally finished

Well its taken several months but I have finally finished the baby blanket and wash mitts for my next door neighbor. I am very proud of myself I am a very basic knitter and this is the largest piece I have ever made I usually stick with wash mitts, scarfs, and headbands. Here it is in all its glory

Its is around half the length of a single duvet and just as wide

And here it is with the wash mitts

It is all in the wash now and will be soaked over night in baby pure fabric conditioner, air dried, and wrapped ready to give her when baby puts in her appearance. So that's 2 gifts made just another 2 to do oh and 3 cards to make. I will probably do the cards tonight and if I feel up to it DGD toiletry set. The coffee cake I am making for them both will be made on Sunday to give them when they come to visit on Monday. I also have to make a coffee cake for mum's visit on Saturday and I think I may attempt my first ever lemon drizzle cake to. Once all this lot is finished I have a few months off of present making as the next birthday is not until June. So I will probably make a start on some xmas prezzies yes I know i'm very early but hey best to get ahead. The plan is to make scarfs for everyone this year and a homemade treat basket each with xmas cookies, mince pies, and xmas chocolates. I think this will be more than enough for the family. For the boys I am hoping to make them a scarf each, a bed topper each, a teddy each, a book from the charity shop, a DVD of their choice, and a few small bits and pieces I will buy throughout the year.

I have my specialist appointment tomorrow and I am really hoping they can do something to help me with my MD. I know I will be looking at more surgery something I had hoped to avoid but if its going to improve my quality of life then its worth the aggro.

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

Roast On A Budget

I have been in a MD coma again all day today it has been very hard going the last few weeks with all these attacks I am having. Today I received a great amount of support from someone I barely know but her words help so much as I know she is going through the same. H is someone I met (virtually) through an online support group for MD sufferers and she herself is having a hard time with daily attacks at the moment. For her to find the time to talk with me and support me even though she is having a terrible time also means the world to me right now. The Mr and friends are being incredibly supportive but to have someone who knows exactly how it feels to live with this some times debilitating disease has helped in ways I can not express. H I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I hope I can be there to help and support you in the same way you have myself. OK pity party over with yesterday I made a roast dinner on a very small budget. We had pork, veg, roast pots, stuffing, crackling, and gravy.

 I put my pork shank in my slow cooker filled with half a pot of gravy and left to cook for 5 hours on high.

My slow cooker which cost me just £10 from the charity shop

As you can see I got loads of meat from this 55p pork shank

I popped half a bag of ready roasties in the oven with a packet of value stuffing and the crackling from the pork. I used 1/3 of a bag of frozen veg which I cooked on the hob.

Finished result we was stuffed and it was very yummy

Costing for this meal was as follows
Pork shank 55p yellow sticker reduction
1/2 bag of ready roasties 50p iceland
Crackling free cut from the pork shank
Stuffing 15p Asda smartprice
1/3 of a bag of frozen veg 25p Tesco value
1/2 Pot of gravy 10p Tesco value
Total cost £1.55 and served 5 of us so 31p per portion for a roast dinner


I had a phone call from my mum today and I was able to make out most of what she said which was lovely as I usually can't hear a thing on the phone. She is coming down with my step dad, my sister, and my sisters girlfriend on Saturday to bring the boys their Easter eggs. My family live in London and it is a good 2 hour drive to get here so I am very grateful and really looking forward to seeing them all. Lee and I have also invited a few of my good friends to spend Easter Monday with us. Where Lee is away working for 2 weeks solid I am unable to get out of the house and am starting to feel very isolated and lonely. My friend Kelly suggested coming round and cooking a meal for me as she has said I need lots of TLC bless her heart she is a real love. So I decided to make an event of it and have invited the bestie and Leia along to. If I do have an attack and am confined to the sofa one of my lovely friends will take over the cooking for me and they have all seen me at my worst and know to just carry on as normal and not make a fuss. So I have an exciting Easter weekend coming up filled with good frugal food and good loving company and I have to tell you I can not wait.

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

Thank God

The big man upstairs has decided to give me a dizzy free day today and I am sooooo thankful. If you will excuse the pun it has been a god send to be able to potter about the house doing little jobs. I have taken it nice and slowly but was determined to get some jobs done. Washing has been done and put away, the house has been tidied within an inch of its life, the animals have been given a thoroughly good clean out, the washing up has been done, I have made the bestie's birthday prezzie, and I even had time to give myself a manicure and pedicure. I am doing well with my knitting I reckon another 18 rows and it will be done so about 3 hours work left to do. I need to get a wiggle on as she is due in a week and has been getting twinges.

The bestie's jewellery set handmade by me

And all wrapped up ready to give her

The jewellery set cost me a pound and I put it together myself. I bought a few of them a while ago when I saw them for £1 with the idea of making them up and giving them as gifts. Karen loves costume jewellery so i'm pretty sure she is going to like this. The stripy bag and ribbon cost me nothing as I have heaps of them left over from my ebay jewellery selling days. I only ever sell handmade jewellery now and that's on etsy.

Anyway off to do some more knitting and then an early night me thinks.

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

My Saving Grace

Anyone who knows me well knows I am not keen on cats. That was until this little beauty came into my life in Aug of last year.

                                        

                                                        My princess who we call baby girl


In July we rescued a little kitten who wandered into our house. We managed to track down the owner and return her to her rightful home but the few hours we spent with her completely changed my view on cats. She was a lovely little thing with a wonderful temperament and so playful. We all kind of hoped we didn't find the owner so we could keep her ourselves. After spending time with this kitten I decided I wanted to get one myself so kept my eyes open for adverts. I didn't want a pedigree I wanted a moggie that would be difficult to home but I also wanted a baby so she could grow up with the boys and would learn to fit in with our rather crazy way of life. Well Baby has done just that its like she has always been a part of the family. She is completely and utterly bonkers and the most loving cat I have ever met. She seems to have a sixth sense of when I am ill and she will climb up on top of me and rub herself into my face as if to say don't worry mum i'm here. When the boys are at school and Lee is off at work she is my companion and brightens up my day. She sits on my lap when i'm watching TV and follows me upstairs when i'm putting the washing away. Never in a million years did I think I would be so gogo gaga over a cat and friends and family were gob smacked when I told them I had got one. Baby was the runt of the litter, when we got to the women's house who was selling the kittens it was over run with animals i'm not talking a few there was loads of them. The house smelt terribly and you could see she was not the most house proud of people. She took us into the garden where all the kittens were roaming around outside. These kittens were 4 weeks old and should not have been out let alone for sale at such a young age. All the kittens were playing together except for Baby who was sat on a washing basket by herself looking rather sad. I tried to look at the huddle of kittens but could feel Baby's eyes staring at me the whole time so decided to give her a cuddle as soon as I picked her up she dug her claws into my coat and would not let go for love nor money. So that was that Baby picked us not the other way round and she is one of the best things ever to have happened to me. She was riddled with fleas and worms when we got her so I had to take her to the vets a few times to be treated as she was to young for me to treat her myself. It was money well spent and she is growing into the most beautiful feline ever (yes I know i'm biased). Here are some pictures of Baby as a kitten

She is slightly older in this last picture it was taken a few months ago

And here are some pictures of her today

Don't worry mum i'm here

She truly is my saving grace when i'm poorly and I love her immensely.

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

Will It Ever End

Yet again more MD attacks have been had. I had one last night while I was sleeping and one again this morning. I am averaging 2 attacks a day at the moment and they are pretty bad ones requiring my meds and not just a quick nap to sleep them off. It is so frustrating to be lying there with lots of things that need doing and the mind is willing but the body is not and can barely move or open my eyes with the vertigo. So my plans for today have been put on hold yet again and I am just resting, knitting, and reading whenever the spinning takes a little break. Menieres disease is not commonly heard of I know when I was diagnosed I had no clue what it was and had to do research to find out about it.

Here is some information on the disease taken from wikipedia

Ménière's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that can affect hearing and balance to a varying degree. It is characterized by episodes of vertigo, low-pitched tinnitus, and hearing loss. The hearing loss is fluctuating rather than permanent, meaning that it comes and goes, alternating between ears for some time, then becomes permanent with no return to normal function. It is named after the French physician Prosper Ménière, who, in an article published in 1861, first reported that vertigo was caused by inner ear disorders. The condition affects people differently; it can range in intensity from being a mild annoyance to a lifelong disability. 

Ménière's often begins with one symptom, and gradually progresses. However, not all symptoms must be present to confirm the diagnosis although several symptoms at once is more conclusive than different symptoms at separate times. Other conditions can present themselves with Ménière's-like symptoms, such as Cogan's syndrome,autoimmune disease of the inner ear, dysautonomia, perilymph fistula, multiple sclerosis,acoustic neuroma, and both hypo- and hyperthyroidism.

The symptoms of Ménière's are variable; not all sufferers experience the same symptoms. However, so-called "classic Ménière's" is considered to have the following four symptoms.

Attacks of rotational vertigo that can be severe, incapacitating, unpredictable, and last anywhere from minutes to hours, but generally no longer than 24 hours. For some, prolonged attacks can occur, lasting from several days to several weeks, often causing the sufferer to be severely incapacitated. This combines with an increase in volume of tinnitus and temporary, albeit significant, hearing loss. Hearing may improve after an attack, but often becomes progressively worse. Nausea, vomiting, and sweating sometimes accompany vertigo, but are symptoms of vertigo, and not of Ménière's.

Fluctuating, progressive, unilateral (in one ear) or bilateral (in both ears) hearing loss, usually in lower frequencies. For some, sounds can appear tinny or distorted, and patients can experience unusual sensitivity to noises.

Unilateral or bilateral tinnitus.

A sensation of fullness or pressure in one or both ears.

Some may have parasympathetic symptoms, which aren't necessarily symptoms of Ménière's, but rather side effects from other symptoms. These are typically nausea, vomiting, and sweating which are typically symptoms of vertigo, and not of Ménière's. Vertigo may induce nystagmus, or uncontrollable rhythmical and jerky eye movements, usually in the horizontal plane, reflecting the essential role of non-visual balance in coordinating eye movements. Sudden, severe attacks of dizziness or vertigo, known informally as "drop attacks," can cause someone who is standing to suddenly fall. Drop attacks are likely to occur later in the disease, but can occur at any time and in some cases chest pain.

If you want to find out more about Menieres disease here's a link

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ménière's_disease

Thankfully I have an appointment with my specialist on the 28th March unfortunately the boys are on school holidays so its going to cost me £37.50 in childcare fees so next week is not going to be a very frugal week in the Till household plus I have to pay £16 in travel costs. Still if it gets me the treatment I so desperately need then it is worth every penny. Until then I will keep fighting and just do what I can when I can and hope for a remission period soon.

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx 

Menieres Disease And Homemade Food

Sorry for no post last night I have been suffering terribly with my MD. I had 2 attacks yesterday one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Meds were taken and when I was not dizzy I was conked out from the strong meds I have to take they are powerful stuff I can tell you. They stop the dizziness but they also knock me out for a good few hours. So yesterday was spent spinning and sleeping I am afraid.

I have taken it pretty easy today as I am still suffering the after effects of yesterday. I have done some more work on the baby blanket I am making for my next door neighbor. She is due in 9 days time so I really better get a wiggle on. The wash mitts have been made and sewn together and all that's left is to finish the blanket and make a card. It is my best friend's and my god daughters birthdays on the 4th and 5th of April so I also have to get presents and cards made for them. I am thinking a handmade jewellery set for the bestie and a toiletries set for DGD and a nice big coffee cake for them to share.

This is the baby blanket I am making sorry about the darkness my phone camera has no flash so any picture taken at night time looks very dark. It is actually a lovely pink and white colour I will take a picture during day light hours when its finished to show you all.

I did manage to make a lovely lamb casserole for tea tonight it was a bit of a cheats casserole as I used tinned veg, ready made roasties, and ready made yorkshire pud. I wont beat myself up about it as I am ill and needed to make it quick and easy as possible.

I got all this lamb from one small lamb shank and there was plenty for myself and the boys

And here is the end result it was yummy and I got to use my slow cooker for the first time

Costing for this meal was as follows

Lamb shank 99p (yellow sticker reduction)

1/2 a pot of gravy granules 10p (Tesco value)

1 small onion 10p (Asda smartprice)

1 tin of carrots 20p (Tesco value)

1/2 a tin of sliced mushrooms 20p (Asda smartprice)

1/2 a bag of ready roasties 50p (Iceland)

6 yorkshire puds 25p (Tesco value)

Total cost for 4 servings £2.34 so 59p per serving

For dessert we had homemade icecream, dark choc and walnut cake, and syrup cake 

Here is the costing for dessert

Homemade icecream 4p

Dark choc and walnut cake 0p (Brad made these at school)

Syrup cake 13p (2 slabs for £1 approved foods)

Total cost for dessert was 17p and it was delish

Well I am hoping to be a bit more with it tomorrow as I need to clean out the animals and mend some duvet covers as well as more knitting and tomorrow is my pamper day to so I need all the strength I can get for a busy day.

Much Love

Claire xx xx xx

Weekend Catch Up

So the Mr has gone home and we wont be seeing him for the next two weeks as he is working 12 hour shifts every day for two weeks solid. We will miss him heaps but understand that the reason he is doing this is so that the flat can be done up and rented out and we can then finaly live together as a proper family.

Friday was VE day celebrations at Ben's school and it was great fun. There was an exhibition of all the childrens work and I was really impressed with some of the models the children had made.

 

The children who created these awsome models are all 8-9 years old

 

Such detail in the work I was very impressed by it all

 

I was also very impressed with Ben's efforts at the celebrations. He was chosen to give a speech to anyone who pressed his button and he remembered it word perfect.

 

Ben's speech

"I am speaking to you, from the Cabinet Room in 10 Downing Street.

This morning, the british ambassador in Berlin handed the German

goverment a final note stating that unless we've heard from them by

11 o'clock that they will prepare at once to withdraw their troops from

Poland a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you

now that no such undertaking has been received and that

consequently this country is at war with Germany."

In the evening we went to a bingo night at the school to raise some much needed funds. Don't worry it was a very frugal outing. Bingo tickets were 20p each and a strip of raffle tickets were a pound so in total for myself, Lee, and Ben it cost £3.40 for 4 games of bingo and 5 raffle tickets. Lee won 3 easter eggs and a box of maltesers which we have put away for the boys for easter saving us the cost of an egg for each of them. Ben was also given an easter egg for being so honest. I was given a pound extra in my change so sent Ben back with it and they were so impressed by our honesty they gave him an egg which we allowed him to eat over the weekend. They provided pens, chocolates, biscuites, and squash all free of charge. It was a little surreal that as a christian school the bingo caller was dressed like Marylin Manson and drinking red wine but hey it was all good fun especially the rabbit and chicken who were running round checking all the bingo cards.

Saturday we did a little charity shopping. I got a few items I have been needing, one of which was a slow cooker I had decided on one from asda which was £25 and managed to find the exact same model in the british heart foundation shop for just £10 and it looks like it's barely been used.

 

I also found this gorgeous sewing box. At the moment I am keeping all my sewing bits and bobs in a little bag and have been meaning to get a nice box for it all to go into.

 

This little beauty was £4.99 but I had a credit note for £1.99 so it ended up costing me just £3

 

 

The inside of the box is lined with brown satin

 

 

The hinges are a little rusty but a bit of bicarb, and vinegar will sort that out. It also has a bit of a musty smell to it so I will give it a febrezze and it will be good as new.

 

 

And the cherry on the cake this sewing box was handmade in England as you can see from the sticker I look forward to bringing this box back to its former glory and getting many years of good use out of it.

 

 

On Saturday evening Lee took Ben and I to the cinema as a treat. We used our rail card getting us cheap train travel and we used Lee's odeon points getting us cheap cinema tickets. I usualy take a large handbag with me and fill it with drinks and treats saving us from buying anything at the cinema itself. As it was Lee's treat it cost me the grand total of nothing and we had a really good evening. We went to watch Oz the great and powerful which was awsome as my favourite films growing up were The wizard of Oz and The return to Oz. The new version did not live up to the original 2 films but it was still very good and we all enjoyed it.

 

 

On Sunday we went end of day bargain hunting and found a few goodies daffodils 10p a bunch x3, 12 Warburtons bread rolls 15p x3, 1 loaf of bread 27p, 6 sausage rolls 37p x2, box of fruit 7p, chicken liver pate with pancetta 50p x2, chicken and bacon triple sandwich 63p x2, 5 chocolate donuts 39p x2. We then got the train home and I came home to the following freebeeies given to me by my good friend Kelly.

 

 

 

Kelly knows how much I like a good book

 

 

She also knows I have been looking for an oil filled radiator and happened to have a mini one in storage which she has given to me. It needs a bit of a clean up where it has been in storage for a long time but this little beauty is going to save me heaps on electric now I don't have to use the electric fire so thank you so much Kel loves you lots.

 

Last night I had a pretty bad MD attack which saw me crawling on my hands and knees downstairs trying to find my meds. Its the worst one ive had for a while and has completely wiped me out and left me feeling very unwell so today has been spent resting off the after effects and doing pretty much nothing all day.

 

 

Hope everyone else has had a good weekend and dont forget become a follower of my blog and when I get to 10 followers I will have a little give away as a little thank you for joining me on my frugal journey.

 

Much Love

Claire xx xx xx

 



Just A Quick One

Hi all just a quick post to let you know I have not disappeared. The Mr has a few days off of work so I have been spending as much time with him as possible. He will be going home tomorrow and working 2 weeks solid 12 hour shifts daily so I will sit and do a catch up post tomorrow night. I will miss him terribly but if we are ever to acheieve our goal of living together then he needs to earn the extra pennies to do his flat up so it can be rented out so I just keep reminding myself of this.

Thank you to all my new readers for stoping by. I have noticed my pageviews have gone up quite a bit over the last 2 weeks and am loving that people are intrested in what I have to say and information I have to share. Why not become a follower when I reach 10 followers I will have a little give away nothing huge something definately handmade in fact I already have something in mind just as a little thank you for joining me on my frugal journey. You can be any where in the world and I will happily post it to you if you are in the UK or Timbukto.

Untill Tomorrow
Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

Experiment Gone Wrong

Today I decided I wanted to make some homemade ketchup. I only ever buy the value ketchup at 30p a bottle (it was only 19p a bottle a few weeks ago). I bought a huge 3500g tin of tomato paste from approved foods which I will use for pizza's, bolognese, and lasagna but wondered if I could make a decent ketchup from it to.

I put 4 heaped table spoons of tomato paste in my little saucepan and added hot water to dilute to taste. Once the tomato paste was weakened down to suit my taste buds it was very runny so I decided to add some corn flour to thicken it up till I got the consistency of ketchup.

I then left it to cool down on the side before decanting it into an old ketchup bottle.

It is nice but very tomatoey (is that even a word). The boys were not keen on it as a ketchup so I think this will probably end up being used as a pasta sauce instead and I will add onions, mushrooms, and herbs to it. So although the experiment for ketchup went wrong I may have stumbled across a frugal recipe for pasta sauce. I will let you know how it goes next time I make something requiring pasta sauce.


I also made some homemade ice cream using the Bird's ice cream mix I got from approved foods 99p for 3 kg.

I used 400g of the ice cream mix and 800ml of semi skimmed milk and whisked with my electric mixer for a good 4 mins until I got a good creamy consistency.

I then poured into an old ice cream tub (perfect fit) and I had one litre of ice cream which is in the freezer as we speak we will have some tomorrow and I will let you know how it turned out.

The costing for this was 400g ice cream mix 11p, 800ml semi milk 34p so a total of 45p for one litre of ice cream even the Tesco value litre of ice cream is 89p so almost twice the price of my homemade. You can also use water instead of milk which would make it ridiculously cheap 11p for a litre but I like my ice cream nice and creamy so decided to use milk. I will try it with water next time and see how that turns out.


For dinner tonight we had cheese and bacon pasta bake. I used 300g part cooked pasta 15p, 200g of grated mild cheddar 85p, 1/3 of a pack of cooking bacon 27p, 2 boxes of Maggi sauce £1 (approved foods) Total cost £2.27

Add all your ingredients to a large bowl except 50g of the cheese this will be used for the topping towards the end. Give a good stir till everything is combined and pop in the oven for half an hour on 200. Ten minutes before it is due to come out add the remaining cheese to the top of the bake.

And here's the finished product. It was delicious and very filling. I fed myself and the 3 boys for dinner and have 2 portions left for mine and Lee's lunch tomorrow so 6 portions works out at 37p per portion.

Dessert was free courtesy of Brad he made a sticky toffee pudding at school and bought it home for all of us to share.

I finished watching The diary of Anne Frank last night and whilst I enjoyed it for the frugal factor I found myself crying at the end. I never studied this book at school. I had heard of it but just knew it was the diary of a young girl from world war 2. I really thought they were going to make it. It was not until the end of the film when the German police had found them and was marching them all out of the place they had called home for 2 years that it hit home that this really happened. Out of the 8 people who had survived in hiding in the secret flat for 2 years 7 went on to die in concentration camps. The only survivor was Anne's father Mr Frank who passed away in 1980. So so sad that so many innocent people should lose their lives in the name of religion.

Tomorrow the Mr and I are going to a 40's VE day celebration party at Ben's school which should be fun but I know at the same time I will be thinking of all those people who lost their lives needlessly. Ben has been chosen to put on a jazz dance to entertain the parents which will be lovely to watch. I will try and get some pictures but I am not sure on the school's policy regarding photo's

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

I Love Days Like Today

I find that the best frugal days are the ones that come out of the blue, the ones that take you by surprise, the ones you were not expecting. Today has been one of those days. I went into town later than expected thanks to an MD attack I had to cancel and re book my eye test. I took my med's went to sleep for an hour and woke up with the spinning gone so headed into town. I went to the library to return our books and DVD's and I got out a new selection for the week. I usually get 4 DVD's for myself and one for each of the boys and a book for each of the boys all free of charge. I love my local library and don't know what I would do without it. You can rent books, films, audio tapes, use the computers, they have events in the holidays all for free its our main source of entertainment. You can even borrow one of those electricity monitors that tell you how much electric an appliance uses. I have put my name on the waiting list and as soon as it becomes available I will be borrowing it. They have a free activity on in the Easter holidays so I will be taking the boys to that. They will get to do Easter crafts, get given a few little chocolate eggs each, and be read Easter stories  by the librarian again all free of charge.

I popped into Morrison's to do my weekly shop which was 2 loaves of bread and 6 pints of milk. However the man with the reducing gun was out so I stalked him round the store and managed to get the following bargains.

6 loaves of bread at 25p a loaf

2 pork shanks 55p each, 1 lamb shank 99p, 1 pack of frying steak 55p, 1 large rump steak 55p, 1 large pack of stewing steak £1.45, and 1 large stuffed shoulder of pork £2.99

In total this little lot should have come to £27.17 I paid just £9.13 a saving of £18.04 and still came in on my weekly £15 food budget plenty of meat for next months food planner. All the bread and meat have been put in the deep freezer until we need it.

We sat and watched one of the DVD's from the library and are currently watching The Diary Of Anne Frank as Ben is studying this at school as part of his world war 2 project. I am enjoying it for the frugal factor of course.

News flash
Today I cleared my first debt since starting the snowball method of debt repayment 4 weeks ago recommended by frugal queen. It was a short term loan for just under £1300 and I made my final payment on it today. The joy I felt when I checked my account after making the payment and seeing the words "you currently DO NOT have a loan" can not be put into words. I am so grateful to Frugal Queen for showing me another way of dealing with my debts. On top of this I made an over payment of £250 to my catalogue and a £100 over payment on my store card. I still have a long way to go but just those 7 words "you currently DO NOT have a loan" are enough to keep me on this path to debt freedom.

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

MD, Snow, And Not Much Else

Gosh its cold here in Wiltshire. We have even had a few light showers of snow none have settled thankfully. The slightest sign of snow here and you would think its the end of the world. The schools close, some of the shops close, buses and trains stop running making it a nightmare to get out and about should you need to. We don't let the snow bother us all that much we just dig out our wellies and its business as usual. I have a busy day tomorrow and could do with the boys being at school. I have an eye test, I have to pop to the charity shop to return an item and drop some other items off, I have to pop to the library, and go and do my huge weekly shop which consists of 2 loaves of bread and 6 pints of milk. The snow wont stop me but if the boys are off school then that will certainly throw a spanner in the works.

I am still feeling very nausea's from my day of dizziness yesterday and the cold is not helping so I have given in and put the electric fire on for an hour with the curtains closed and the draught excluder  in place so the  room retains the heat. I also have fluffy socks, slippers, nightgown, and a quilt and I am still cold. I really need to get an oil filled radiator to use in place of the electric fire its costs so much to run around £1 an hour where as the oil filled radiators are much more economical to run.

So not much happening in the Till household today I had a tidy up, got some washing done, and have spent the rest of the day curled up on the sofa with pain killers and flitting between blog land and my knitting.

Anyway time to drag myself up and get some tea on the go for me and the boys. An early night is looming with electric blankets, double quilting, nightgowns, and fluffy socks me thinks. I REFUSE to put those darn electric heaters on.

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

Our Weekend

Saturday was spent looking round charity shops and I got a few items I have been needing for a while.

I got this wool coat for £7........ 4 of the buttons were hanging by a thread so I cut them off and reattached them,there were also a few loose strands which I trimmed and it is now as good as new and fits like a dream. I only have 2 coats a fake leather jacket and a waterproof hiking coat so I was on the look out for a nice warm coat and feel this really fits the bill

I also got a mixing bowl for 50p, a handmade pin cushion in the shape of a cake 75p, and a picnic set £1.50 there is one cup missing from the set but it is easily replaceable

For tea we had homemade cheese and tomato pizza total cost to make £1.04 and served the 4 of us.

It was huge and delicious

In the evening we settled down with a bag of cheese flavoured pop corn 33p from approved foods and watched a couple of free DVD's we got out of the library all in all it was a very good day.

My mother's day has been awful I have been laid up in an MD coma all day with the room spinning and feeling very sick. The dizziness has stopped temporarily allowing me to write this post but I still feel very very unwell so i am back off to bed to try and shift this thing. Hope everyone had a better mother's day than I have.

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

Egg And Bacon Pie

We had this on Thursday for tea and there was enough pastry for 8 mini jam tarts to.

Here's the recipe 

You will need

1 bag of Tesco shortcrust pastry mix (had a bag lurking in the back of a cupboard)  64p

6 eggs 60p

1/2 a pack of cooking bacon 40p

8 heaped tsp of strawberry jam 8p

4 baking potatoes £1                                                   Total cost £2.72

Make up your pastry as per the instructions on the pack and roll out quite thinly

Line a pie dish with the pastry keeping some of the pastry to one side for the lid

Add 5 eggs slightly whisked together

Part cook the bacon, chop into bite sized pieces and add to the pie

Crack and add one egg to the center of the pie

Roll out the remaining pastry to create the lid trimming any excess pastry, crimp the edge of the pastry using your finger

As you can see I had some pastry left over

Which I turned into 8 mini jam tart cases

Place in the oven at 190 for half an hour keep checking though as all ovens are different

After about 15 mins in the oven pull out and add one heaped teaspoon of jam to each case and then return it all to the oven for the remaining 15 mins

I also turned the 4 baking potatoes into chips and deep fried to go with our pie. I am afraid I don't have any end result pictures as we were so hungry and promptly ate the lot.

So egg and bacon pie with chips plus 2 jam tarts each for pudding cost £2.72 for 4 people which works out at 68p per person for a dinner and dessert.

We also had a slice of zebra cake for supper which cost nothing as Brad had made it at school and brought it home with him.

He is becoming quite the little chef is our Brad

Much Love 

Claire xx xx xx