Jolly japes in July (only if they are frugal)...!

[needastrongone]

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NSD again for Monday. Not getting much sleep here at all....

Hello :-) Back again after a few days of great busyness. I'm getting everything ready for the camping that we have planned for this coming weekend. I think we're more or less okay. It's just catering for two exclusions diets in a field that's the tricky part now. fortunately there's and M&S food shop right near the camp site

Thanks for the encouragement to report back on my science fun Copper. It's going well I think. I feel like a real person again somehow, now that I have proper little job that is in the system of the University, even though there is no salary attached. It's very nice.

We had a good day, with much shopping and a trip to the park for ice cream.

Morning all!

Sunny envious of your camping this weekend were are you going?

Expensive spend day, 3 week food shop and my son needed trainers for school and some casual shoes.

I'm doing a balance transfer today on the credit card today to a 0 per cent one.

And must send my driving licence off for new address. I got caught doing 38 in a 30 zone - I need to accept respondibility but they won't accept my acception because my address is different. Hoping to just get the speed awareness course.

Morning all.

Dh is up making breakfast! Yay! Busy day at work planned today plus midwife apt at lunchtime.

Preggo swimming later too. So once I get out of bed I'm busy until at least 830 tonight. Eeeek!

That's annoying wheely

Do you think bacon? I'm not really a fan of socialising, at least not when there's people there that I don't know!

LSD today will be £4.50 on parking. I didn't want to get up today.

Actually I need to go into sainsburys to get dd some more knickers as she appears to hardly have any she's swimming at school three times this week and then has lessons on Thursday she's going to be exhausted.

Wheely It's just to a scout camping site 20 minutes away by car. Suits me very well as it means we can easily nip home if we forget something or whatever. This is our first go of camping. I did absolutely tons of it with Guides and DofE, but never as a family before.

Our neighbour is mowing his lawn

I wouldn't fancy that, Wreck, as I'm just about to go back to sleep now DS has left for school!

Glad you are all sorted for camping, Sunny. I hope you all have a great time.

Emm congratulations!!! you pregnant...how far along are you??

Sunny Youll have a fab time! family camping has its stressful moments (take alcohol) but the lads have always enjoyed it. They're too old...I'm told to camp with their mum now lol

I still have many boxes unpacked but luckily the first box I came to had my passport etc in. I can get this driving licence sent off first thing

Mine came back in 72hrs wheely, some insurers ask about speed courses & my insurance hasn't gone down much despite having no fault claims in 12 years.

Welol done to Cag's DD for her dance performance and perseverance, and to Wheely for managing to buy a house. I second Aldi dw tablets.
Hope the dentist sorts you out Lonely.
I now have a beautiful low wall ready for my greenhouse. I ordered the gh in May and paid a deposit, but needed to get the wall built. Wall's done and now they tell me there is a 10-12 week wait for the greenhouse. ffs.

Wreck neighbour mowing lawn at 07:40

Bloody hell, mowing at 7.40!
Expensive day yesterday, sometimes the car driver's door won't lock. Other times it won't open and I have to climb over the passenger seat to open it. It's just being bloody awkward.
So put it in local garage to have it checked as have to drive to Scotland at weekend.
They say door locking unit has failed....new unit ...about £250!!!
And there are other things wrong according to the computer but I can't understand the report. I do a high mileage. Do I need to change my car.
They said it would get expensive. It's only a 63 plate but I have done over 70000 miles. Help,,,
Can you freeze cauliflowers, or cauli cheese?

Here is the report. Make sense anyone?

What make?

Hi copper just shown the diagnostic thing to dp. He says have the garage checked the fuses? As if a fuse has blown then all sorts of little faults will show. He also says if they do a factory reset (along with a fuse check) it might clear them, without paying to fix each fault iyswim. The only one he would be concered about was the emissions one, but he says thats usually a dirty sensor. 70k miles on a car your age is nothing (according to dp!). Don't let them scare you!

You can buy frozen cauli, so I don't see why not. Oh, haven't had cauliflower cheese for ages, I love it. Must start meal planning again. We've been eating meat out of the freezer, but to no real plan, so it's been chicken or sausages for about a week now.

Have a great time, Sunny! We're missing out on camping this year as we couldn't face it with bottles to sterilise and so on plus we need a bigger tent now. You will have a great time. What are you sleeping on?

Thanks Wheely and Snuggly. I'm hoping it will be fun.

We're going in a proper old fashioned canvas patrol tent, which we all think is fantastic. It has lots of space and feels as though it would withstand a hurricane. We've bought new 3-4 season sleeping bags, and we got foam mats, then dh decided we needed something better and got those thin self-inflating mats, so we will be in the lap of luxury.

I've been practising cooking in the garden on a gas powered trangia (two in fact) and it really brings home to me what a difference it makes to have piped water and mains drainage. I'm now devoutly grateful to whatever person it was who invented these things.

The only tricky part that I haven't solved is that I'm on a very restricted diet and the only protein I get is from fresh meat (chicken bits, or a pork chop or a steak, or whatever) and I don't want to keep those in a cool box. I'm wondering if it's done to just sneak out to M&S during scout camp and buy a steak while everybody else is on the tinned corned beef? I may get pretty hungry after two days otherwise. I'm doing some head scratching on that. I'll also be doing wheat-free cooking for ds, which is pretty interesting in a field on two rings.

It should be good. Now we just have to stay healthy until Sunday lunchtime. I hear we get a badge at the end if we pull this off. I'm very highly motivated by badges.

Could you have a piece of meat in the cool box for day 1, then take a piece of meat (I'd favour most meat over chicken) that is frozen and will defrost on day two but continue to store in the cool box sunny?

Back from our weekend in London, haven't read back properly.
The weekend was fab. Expensive but I had budgeted for it. Tom Petty concert was great, dh loved it. Frugally, we stood at the gates of the Hyde Park venue on Saturday night when the Killers were playing, with about 100 others dancing and singing! The sound was great and we could even see one of the big screens, surreal but in a good way
Need to update our spreadsheets now & meal plan for the week. This week is ridiculously busy so will be relieved when Saturday comes.

Just lost another post!
Fluffy, it's a Renault grand scenic 7 seater...I need the boot space for my hobby and the DGC's bikes.
Lonely I will definitely suggest fuses and ask if they can do a factory reset. That sounds a good idea.
Sunny, have a great time. The meat idea from Bacon sounds doable but so does nipping out to M&S...If it's allowed.
Right, now off to freeze some caulies. I am trying to build up my stock of frozen veg because I use them all winter in stews in my slow cooker.

Ok, ask for goodwill of 50% to recognise that it's a young car just out of warranty & not a part that should fail eg it's not a mechanical part wear the metal could wear out.

Incorrect use of wear. I'm too cross to know the right one too