The Friendly Frugaleers, watching the pennies as we wait for sunshine!

[Cagliostro]

Hello, all welcome!

wrecked have fun at the NT venue, do you have a membership? It's the only one we have now, but good value indeed.

em Jamie also does a Kiev recipe in his superfoods book. I make it sometimes when I can be bothered, bit healthier and the DC are big fans. It's YOU that is now enabling now with your tales of beautiful Italian Christmas baubles

Lovely that your DS is looking after you Sunny. Hope you feel better soon.

I'm trying to sort A Level choices with DD. It's not working out well in terms of school in that the time blocks that the subjects she wants to study clash. I'm fairly sure there are funding restraints at work here. It's an affluent area, therefore the school won't get any extra money at all and bizarrely would actually benefit from the Govt planned changes. Anyway, she's getting upset and having to think about college. Wonderfully, I apologetically emailed her tutor yesterday (it is the holidays obviously) and have already had a reply. Like I always do, and why I really hope we can figure a way round this. Tutor will call me.

She's going to apply for college anyway. No point in being upset, better to just get a plan in place. We will figure it through and stuff has a way if working out anyway. Not always how you expect, but it does always work out.

Yes we have membership

Hooray on the fridge front, boo on the door

Worth checking Freecycle or similar cag?

I wish that I was a TU fan, but I'm not. Probably because our local Sainsbury's is quite small with not much stock.

Wreck :o :o shame about the wine! I don't drink it but cold Dr Pepper on tap would be tempting...

The fridge we are looking at has door shelves lower down as well so would hopefully put milk in there I suppose? I'll have a further look at the photos.

There is one with an ice dispenser too but it's another £100 and less storage in the freezer because of it. So not sure that'd be worth it TBH - lovely cold water on tap would be so nice that I wouldn't have ice with it, we don't have many drinks at home at all (juice is rare) and with lots of extra freezer space we could just have ice cube trays anyway.

I reeeeeally hope we can fit it in - will do a mock up with the measurements later.

Need that's a shame about the subject clashes. What does she want to study? It seems like funding cuts are really affecting subject availability, one of my pupils was devastated her school is dropping Dance (she is super talented and that's her planned career), I also heard that my old fancypants state grammar school is completely dropping music and German from the ENTIRE SCHOOL 😱😱😱 because they can't afford them anymore.

I hope you find the Christmas decoration shop need :o I love getting decorations from places we go. Science museum has little stars made from old circuit boards! It's so nice remembering all the fun stuff we have done as we decorate the tree :)

We have that problem too, Cag. When we moved in our furniture got stuck in the hall!

I loved Sorrento when I went. I've been to a few parts of Italy and loved them all.

We have 2 trees cag. One is my naice matching one that my Christmas decorations that I am now going to buy will go. Here's looking at you *Em'.

Thanks, it is the funding cuts I'm sorry too for the schools you mention. DS has only ever been STEM and we all know how this current Govt value STEM. Therefore his choices just slotted in. DD likes a wider range of subjects. She thinks she's odd as she's no clue about what she wants to do in life. I think she's entirely normal and DS is more unusual in that it's maths, maths and then more maths.

She's changed her mind too, which doesn't help but the school are still being super supportive. Currently History, Biology, English Lit, Computer Science, Archeology (not offered), Ancient History (not offered) Chemistry. All these she would be happy to study, but the timetable clashes. Tutor has now emailed DD herself and told her not to fret. I can hardly ask for more of them.

Posted that due to IPad. I have a lovely matching tree and one that is full of all the decorations the DC made at nursery, school, childminders, that we bought, that mean something. Just as lovely, but entirely random.

Oooh archaeology and ancient history! I can totally see DD wanting to do those. She has heard about classical civilisations too (friend's big brother did it) and is very excited about that prospect when she's older.

I agree, totally normal to not be specialising yet! We ask young people to very early I think.

Need last weeks long run took 75 mins & I'll be adding 10-15 mins each week now. My plan would be use them for that long run each week to see if they're agreeable. Typical though bought the tailwind & now decalthon are out of the hydration backpack I was planning to buy going to hold off on the crop trousers & bra I'd in my basket until hydration pack comes back in stock, it's their own brand so it surely will.

Em I remember you gushing about that pasta & I made it successfully once & second time was a disaster.

Today will have spends so far €10 henfood, then breakfast out, grocery shopping too, returning a present bought for dgd & hopefully exchanging dhs for a bigger size
Wellies for ds but have gift card for those.

Em that's fresh fish if they were still living, go you gi Jane

Then you definitely need some kind of fuel mammy. Great idea to see if they agree with you by using them in training. Take the fuel onboard BEFORE you think you need it. That's one tip. Another tip, if you are wanting to drop weight/fat is to do any early morning short runs before you eat. This teaches your body to utilise fat as an energy source, it will use carbs first otherwise. But keep the pace very very easy, otherwise you defeat the object

I've a spare hydration pack if you're stuck, it's a Camelback x

Health visitor, er, visit was great - biggest news is that she is going to ask the paediatrician to prescribe melatonin for DD. She is satisfied that we have tried everything possible to help her sleep (we really have - for years!) and this is the next step.

need I love a special Christmas decoration (or 6...) I may have already bought some for this year - a "my first Christmas" a "first Christmas as a family" and some gin baubles...

mammy it's an important (but gross) skill I think. Ddad used to be a fisherman so only fresh fresh fish here. The mackerels were super lovely. Glossy and shiny with lovely blue markings. So pretty. Lovely fishes.

sunny thanks for the recipe. I'm in agreement with your dh. Sometimes you HAVE to fry things in butter.

NSD yesterday and today. It's miserable here - windy and rainy. It got so dark just now that I had to switch on the lights .

I've been reading a book about China and now I really want to visit China. I've been googling places to visit in China and planning my dream itinerary . It won't be a reality anytime soon though.

I've started watching Poldark on Netflicks. Aidan Turner is verrrry easy on the eye. Why did nobody tell me about him? I think I'm going to enjoy it, if only for Aidan . DH wasn't so impressed - I don't think it's his style.

My neighbour has his house up for sale so I've been very nosy and googled his house. It's quite strange seeing a house with the exact same layout as mine but with very different decor.

Oh no tayto it's warm here at 24 degrees but it's just started to cloud over.

Nsd.

No holiday here! We have a huge race on sunday, regional champs, so I'm flat out with paperwork now, and baking later in the week! 180 riders and about 30 to feed lunch to as well. I am making an amazon order later for new baking things (tins, stacking cooling racks who knew and a cool box on wheels!) it will be circa £150, but I'll get this straight back.

£30 in tesco today.

Dp always says our bodies have 40minutes of glycogen in them, if you excercise longer than that you need to fuel every 20 mins after the first half hour. A gel or energy bar in little bits is great, but you must drink too. I use the effervescent tablets (high 5 tropical is my fave) in a bottle. I don't fuel as I only ride as a hobby and to lose weight, I am aware I do it all wrong! Recovery afterwards is important too. They all have shakes with protein in, we stock CNP, it's very good stuff.

tayto I agree re poldark. Outlander is better, Sam Hughen is like Aiden with added oomph!

Lonely I'm always impressed by your baking abilities. Yes, a friend recommended Outlander to me but I missed it on TV and it's not on Netflix yet.

Tayto I love Poldark, although he was a bit naughty at the end of the last series, I forgive him though

Have had quite a productive day, tidying and sorting this morning and then town this afternoon. Have decided on the phone to get dd, going to get a Tesco mobile one but the colour she wants (gold!) was out of stock so need to go back next week. Does anyone know anything about mobile phone insurance? They all seem expensive to me!!

Spends
£2.40 parking
£15 m&s on school trousers for dd
£4 Primark
£5 Tescos on some food for when dd has a friend over tomos.

The school skirts dd needs are £18 each the school have got much stricter about uniform and the skirts have to have the school logo on, I said she can have one!! Its going to be pricey what with shoes and P.E kit as well....

Hope you feel better soon Sunny when I was last ill dd was brilliant, she cleaned all the downstairs thats the one and only time in 11yrs though

Love the first baubles em, so much to look forward to isn't there?

Place looks nice wrecked.

Great news about your DD cag, you must be relieved. I was thinking that uninterrupted sleep might help with her anxiety,as she will be fully rested too?

Snuggly, I worked in Italy for a year when I was 21, best year of my life in some ways, it made me grow so much as a person. It's my spiritual home.

Very restrained in Sorrento. Just some drinks and presents for DD's friends and a few cheap bangles for me, 2 Euro each, DH paid. No baubles.

tayto my dad and partner visited China, they did 3 weeks there. Loved it, but a huge eye opener too. They were blown away by the Terracotta Army.

I'd love to see that, it must be incredible up close! In terms of Asia though (as a person who has never been further than a few European countries) my dream trip would have to be Japan. Shrines and anime :o

Any lovely frugaleers have a barbecue rib recipe? Got a ready made one in Sainsbury's (don't regularly shop there this was just picking something up for dinner) and it was amazing and DS actually willingly ate it! I've never done barbecue type stuff though

NSD.

£18 for a school skirt is she going to Cheltenham ladies college.

Oohhh helloooo fishies

£4.30, bus fares.