Friday 28 June 2013

Reasons to be cheerful!

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I seem to be chasing my tail a lot these days. Malcolm working full time again (yay!), my work schedule changing weekly to fit around school trips, sports days etc., new job jitters and general, everyday 'stuff' seems to have me more than usually frustrated and tired. 
I'm also trying to get my house in order, quite literally, but with each task I begin to tackle  I'm thinking of all the others still to be done! Add in the mountain of debt we're supposed to be trying to clear and......well....*@#*!!
Anyhoo, time to find something to make me smile :-)

I made my first sale on Etsy! These lovely little crochet pots are winging their way to a lovely lady in the USA, I do hope she likes them.



Don't get too excited, it's taken me a year to get a sale, but hey it's a start :-D 

The lettuce is growing well,



enough to make a salad to go with our quiche, they're sort of 'cut and come again' so I just pick what we need, when we need it, no more left over lettuce going soggy in the salad drawer,



and the spring onions are growing too. I know I should probably thin them out but it always seems mean to the ones I remove!!


The pumpkins have failed to put in an appearance, though!


I used Frugal Queen's idea of making an inventory of food in an attempt to get meal planning under control (we used to be sooo good at this!!)

Freezer
Dry goods
Tins/jars
Baking
Seasonings/spices
1 portion lasagne
¼  pack prawn crackers
Hoisin sauce

Fajita mix
Sm. Pot cooked, diced pork
Gravy powder
Wholegrain mustard
Golden syrup
Malt vinegar
4 bags fresh herbs
Cornflour
½ jar gerkins
Black treacle
Sea salt
5oz sliced crusty bread
Red lentils
½ jar pickled onions
Custard powder
Fish sauce
Sm. Portion hot pot
Star anise
¼ jar beetroot
Suet
Oyster sauce
4 flour tortillas
Cinnamon sticks
Branston pickle
Cocoa powder
Rice vinegar
7 homemade samosas
Box cloves
Pear halves
Gelatine
Dark soy
½ bag cooked mussels
Box dried red chilli
Sardines
Baking powder
Light soy
3 orange lollies
Box whole cardamom
Beetroot pickle
Bicarb. Of soda
Sesame oil
8 pack white rolls
Barley
Marmite
Cream of tartar
Chilli sauce
½ bag peas
Broth mix
Honey
100’s and 1000’s
Worcester sauce
½ bag sweetcorn
3 poppadoms
Peanut butter
Glace cherries
Balsamic vinegar
½ pack raspberries
½ pack lasagne
Chocolate spread
Easy bake yeast
Sherry
1 mini choc ice cream
Mixed pasta shapes
3 cartons chopped tomatoes
Mixed fruit
Ketjap manis
4 portions Bolognese type sauce
Spring roll wrappers
1 tin corned beef
Currants

500g lamb mince
Egg noodles
1 tin cannellini beans
Few sultanas

2 sm. packs beef mince
Basmati rice

Handful dried figs

500g pork mince


Sm. pack flaked & ground almonds

2x8 pork sausages


Vanilla extract

1 pack cass. steak


Jelly glaze mix

1 pack pork chops


Handful mixed nuts

Whole chicken


Plain flour

Ready made steak pie


Self-raising flour

5 chicken breasts


White bread flour




Icing




Caster sugar




Demerara sugar




Wholemeal bread flour




Dess. coconut




Ready to roll icing


 and as a result we also have two scrubbed clean and organised kitchen cupboards! Two birds with one stone - result!

Just a few reasons to be cheerful but I'm feeling better already! Perhaps the best thing that has happened this week is that Malcolm received his first full months pay cheque in three years and his self-esteem is well on the way to being fully restored :-D (I'm now off to pay the car tax!!)

Peace, love and marshmallows 
Louise x  


3 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your first sale! That's wonderful. Your crochet pots are really beautiful. I hope you sell many more! x

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  2. Big Congratulations on your First Sale. Im so happy for you. I hope that this is just the beginning. Also congratulations for Malcom, I can imagine he is so happy to be working again. It sounds like you have really got a grips on organizing. Well done. I know what you mean about meal planning.... I always get in a muddle with that one. Loved your post. Hope you have a nice weekend. Charlotte. x

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  3. Found your blog , thanks for the tips your lettuce looks really good , my onions are cooking onions , I am loving having the garden to escape too but wish I had more time to do both the house and the garden , I have still got some more potatoes and onions to plant , hoping to do it some time this week , sorry about your car , its such an expense and congratulations on your sale xxx

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