Tuesday 11 March 2014

£8.25 saved on shopping

And here we have Helen, working away merrily, tearing her house down and putting it all back together again. She will have a go at anything, cutting and sanding wood, bashing tiles off the wall, ripping up laminate flooring, repairing skirting board, sanding the staircase, and painting the walls. Who says women are hopeless at DIY, ha ha. Come on, give us a smile.
Thank you. Love the safety glasses and the rubber gloves, very fetching :o))

I went to do some gardening and attacked the massive laurel bush. Managed to get most of it cut down to a more manageable height, except for three or four thick branches. Then I ran out of time because the tip closes at 4 pm and we wanted to take a couple of loads in. I filled my car with the laurel, looked like a mobile forest, ha ha. I'll go back and finish it next week, there are workmen in the house for the rest of this week, so I'll keep out of their way.

I timed it so I went to the small Tesco for 4.30pm, to look for yellow stickers. Again, I was too early for the final markdown, but I am pleased with what I found. Here is the list.
2 bags of fresh pears, reduced from £1.75 each, to 9p each.
Mushrooms reduced from £1, to 41p.
Grapes down from £2.25 to 78p.
2 bags of broccoli and cauliflower florets, were £1 each, reduced to 45p each.
2 bags of spinach, £1 each down to 45p each.
Fresh double cream was £1.16, now 48p
Leerdammer cheese slices, not reduced £1.
Total real price £12.91, I paid £4.66
I really wanted Value plain yogurt, but they didn't have any, so I opted for the not so healthy cream. As you can see I have even more broccoli to chomp my way through, very pleased with the spinach though. My fame goes before me, two shoppers in Tesco said they read my blog. Amazing.

When I got home there was a small package waiting for me. Here I am modelling a new sun visor, sent by blog reader Toni. When she saw it she thought of me. Why thank you so much, I am chuffed.

Dinner tonight had broccoli in it, well what a surprise. I chopped two small onions and eight mushrooms, cooked them in a small pan in a little oil. Added wholegrain mustard, garlic powder, a little stroganoff sauce mix, and apple juice. Cooked it for a few minutes till the onion was soft. Just before serving I added two dessertspoons of cream. Served on a bed of steamed cauliflower, carrots, spinach, and broccoli.

 The sauce was delicious, nothing was wasted, I licked the plate, ha ha.

Well my dear readers, that's the end of another day, they go too quickly. I'll hit the cross trainer before I go to bed, should sleep soundly tonight. Toodle pip.

12 comments:

  1. I love DIY..the more power tools involved , the better!
    Jane x

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  2. you may have said before and I missed it....do you eat meat at all? I never see it in your menus. I have a sister in law who can cut angles for trim and has laid her own floors. She is also an excellent painter... a DIY madam she is!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Linda. No, no meat at all, haven't eaten it for over 20 years. I stopped eating fish a year ago.

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    2. Due to gall bladder problems my daughter stopped meat about 2 years ago. Her favorite go to health food is Kale.

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  3. I am pleased you like the sun visor :-)

    Toni

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  4. My favourite DIY quote came a few years ago, when my grandchildren came to see us with their father. "Dad has bought us out of the way while mum installs a shower" they told me.
    Gill

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  5. Great background colour! As flat as the grey but much prettier.
    Now, I just saw Ed M is going to do the next election on the cost of living pressures. So, I'm waiting for your blog posting on that, and for you to email his office to read it, and print his reply. Advocate for those on pensions and limited incomes. I'm waiting!!!!! I'm sure you're well qualified to write that blog posting.

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    Replies
    1. Hello Anon. I'm afraid you will be waiting for a long time, dabbling in politics is not on my agenda. My blog is about how I live my life. I may have thoughts on how the country is run, but this isn't a platform to mount a campaign against any political party.

      I did all my campaigning in the eighties, when I fought against the injustices of sex discrimination. I am not about to throw myself into the political arena now, just to score Brownie points. Others can do that if they so wish.

      I believe in chipping away over a long period of time at what I believe to be right, not coming out with all guns blazing. Edwina Currie once told me that I would make a good politician, I might have done then, but not now.

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    2. I didn't mean for you: "to mount a campaign against any political party". I mean that you could give a very good first hand documentation of the trials of living on a basic income right now in the UK, as you do in this blog. Up to you. It might be a good insight for some.

      Delete
  6. Fabulous sun visor, perfect for all your gardening. Gosh you are a busy lady, I bet you sleep very well at night.

    X x

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  7. Measure twice, cut once, stick to that Helen and the DIY will be ok. Glad to see she's got her safety glasses on, some people don't bother but you can't replace your eyes.
    I wish i had the time to do some DIY, i started to fit a shower 18 years ago, as i was running the cable for it the phone rang with some work, so i put the floorboards back, went to work and never did finish the job (i dont think i nailed the floorboard down either).
    I might get round to finishing it when i retire but the government keep extending the retirement age.
    Dave.

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