Questions ... and Answers

 

I realised after answering a question from Bovey Belle yesterday, that there may be many more of you, especially all my newer readers, who may have questions about various things that I post regularly about.  

BB had asked me specifically about non-food item shopping and did I buy it separately from the food.  I forgot to answer part of your question ... yes, I am using mostly frozen vegetables at the moment, alongside tinned vegetables.

Anyway, I thought I would do a very quick lazy post encouraging anyone that wants to, ask any questions that they have been wondering about in the comments section, and within reason I will answer them all there.

Sue xx

Autumn's Softer Rhythm

 

Art by Paco Yao

 Autumn's Softer Rhythm  

Relaxing in autumn

feels like sinking

into a softer rhythm,

the world slowing

beneath drifting leaves.

The air carries

a gentle crispness,

cool enough to wake the senses,

calm enough

to invite stillness.

Colors glow warmly,

as if the trees

exhale their final breath of beauty

before winter’s quiet.

Beside me,

a steaming cup of coffee awaits,

a good book rests open,

companions to the hush.

In this season,

to sit,

to breathe,

to simply be,

feels like enough.

~ ‘Autumn’s Softer Rhythm’ by Spirit of a Hippie

Mary Anne Byrne

Shared because I loved it so much, I hope you do too.  💛

Sue xx

Free Food, Bargains and Final Pickings

 

My 1st October shopping from Sainsbury's.

I had a £100 Sainsbury's gift card to use that I had acquired by taking out a Pure Cremation funeral plan. Me, Alan and my brother all did this so that Mum would get £300 in gift cards for recommending people. As my Mum doesn't need much  these days except soap and shampoo, Graham kept just one of the hundreds as a Sainsbury's card to keep her supplied, and with my permission used the other £200 plus his own £100 for taking out his funeral plan to go towards a much needed new laptop from Curry's.  Alan chose a Marks and Spencer's gift card and bought himself all new underwear and a couple of t-shirts.

Well anyway I digress, with far too much background information.  Here's what a smidge over £50 of my gift card bought me.  After reading so much online and in the news about coffee prices due to really shoot up soon, I thought I would stock up on next years coffee supply, this winter's lip salves and a decent stock of dairy-free cheeses.  I also bought a few other things that I had almost run out of.

I didn't want to blow it all in one fell swoop as I wanted to see what I had in my longer term storage cupboard and see if more coffee would be good idea, or did I need something else.  When I got home I found I already had one and a half of this sized jars, so at the rate I think I use coffee I reckon that is a nine month supply. I might just hang fire a bit and see if a decent coffee offer appears later this month.  

There was a coffee offer on at the moment but that was on the 200g jars, and looking at the shelf edge label in store this was still quite a bit more expensive per 100g than my jars.  So not quite the brilliant Nectar offer it proclaimed itself to be.

Tip of the Day:  Always check the shelf edge label for the price per 100g, or mls whenever possible.

They didn't have any organic eggs in Sainsbury's for some reason, so I nipped round to Booths for my preferred ones, and managed to find myself two £1 books on the charity book table.  These have been on my radar for a while and have been recommended by many people.  There were a lot of really good books there but I restrained myself admirably.  😁

Once I got home and put the shopping away, I decided to pick the remaining rhubarb.  That's the last from my two plants for this year, and the garden suddenly looks a little bare.  Once lightly stewed with a bit of brown sugar, I got another five takeaway sized tubs of rhubarb for the freezer, two for Alan and three for me. 

That should keep me going for a while.

Then yesterday I picked the last of the tomatoes.  With the weather turning really bad this weekend I wanted them in and out of the way.  Now they are in the fridge, while I decide if their fate is chutney or something else.  🍅

Here's to a weekend of mostly staying in and staying cosy as Storm Amy is set to hit our area over Friday night and Saturday.

Sue xx

The Freebies I Got Last Month

At the end of every month on my Instagram account I used to share the freebies that I had managed to collect over the course of the month.  Now, while it is easy to scroll though photos and photos of napkins and sugar sachets on Insta it might be quite a different kettle of fish on my blog.

But here for posterity is last months collection of acquisitions.  All gathered legally and to save them going to landfill unwanted and unused.  I'll explain them all this month, to give you an idea of how I collect them.

For instance in the top photo - Alan chose a tomato ketchup sachet to go with his Booths bacon bun, but decided not to use it, he used one sachet of sugar instead of his usual two, and the napkins were leftovers, they always seem very generous giving you one each and at least one spare. 

I have a Dobbie's card which entitles me to two free coffees per month, along with many other perks.  We nearly always manage to visit and pick up our freebies.  It was my Dad who introduced us to the wonderful art of enjoying outings in retirement and getting free coffees with membership cards.

Another day another Booths breakfast, this time for some reason Alan chose brown sauce when he was asked for his preference ... he rarely eats this, and I really don't like it.  I might use it to flavour a soup or a curry, or pass it on to my son who loves the stuff.  😕

Napkins and a sugar sachet.

Another napkin and more sugar.

The white sugar was off someone else's tray, they left it behind when they went ... I'm getting a little bit braver at doing this.

I always bring home unused napkins, otherwise they are swept into the bin when the tables are cleared along with everything else.  Far better for them to be used at home and then thrown away than to not be used at all.

I have not had to buy any paper kitchen towel rolls since December of last year thanks to this new habit of mine.  I use my collection of rescued napkins for any messier jobs, and keep my one roll of kitchen paper for anything food related.

Two little sugars.

A single tomato ketchup sachet.

I only use tomato ketchup on sausage or 'bacon' butties, so having a couple of these in my little stash means I don't have a bottle of ketchup going off before it can all be used up.

Just a couple of napkins, but always worth bringing home.

I have the Greggs app on my phone and while we have been stopping at the motorway services at least twice a week for the past two years, it means that we have been able to enjoy quite a few free coffees and sausage rolls by gradually building up the required purchases in each category.  It's buy nine and get one free, so when there are two of you ... and occasionally three ... enjoying sausage rolls and coffee, this soon adds up.

This month I had a free sausage roll to enjoy, is it just me or do they taste even better when no money changes hands.  😀

A couple more napkins for the stash.

Sugars and salt.

 Alan had forgotten to ask for them when he bought us some coffees and chips at Booths one lunchtime, so he went back to rectify this.  They nearly always give you far more than you actually need when they hand them over this way.

Mayo and napkins, I never say no to mayo!!

This one seems excessive, but it was due to Alan telling me he was getting one thing and then getting another, and me being the one gathering the cutlery and condiments.  

Nothing will go to waste though.

So these photos were usually to be found on my Instagram page, if you are interested in seeing what we get each month I can continue to share, but if not this is a good round up of what is usually added to my stash, and it can stay on my blog for posterity.

Sue xx

The Books That I Read in September

 

Walking Home by Simon Armitage

I started the month of September by finishing this book.  It was a really good read and I did enjoy it, although I think it suffered a little because I seemed to lose my reading mojo halfway through it with everything that has been going on in our lives.

As you can see quite clearly from the cover he walks the Pennine Way, unusually he walks it in reverse heading for his home, and on each evening of his journey he 'sings for his supper' by reading from his poetry books and collecting donations.

I have Simon's next book on my shelves, which is called 'Walking Away'.  In this next one he is walking the South West Coast Path.  I actually first found out about Simon through one of my favourite books The Salt Path, as Moth was mistaken for him a few times on their walk.  It was a happy discovery.

This book has now been donated.

Preloved by Lauren Bravo

This book appealed to me as quite a lot of my working life was spent volunteering at and then managing charity shops.  It is written in a really unusual style, with mini chapters interspersing the main story to tell the background of various donated items.  It pays to remember the items that you are reading about as virtually all of them then tie back to the main story in one way or another.

A relaxing and enjoyable read, but it took me quite a while as we had so much going on ... and I spent far too long playing on my phone in my downtime.

This book has been donated.

My final quick read of the month was this vegan cookbook.

It was more of a very big magazine than a cookbook really, and as such I can find no link to share with you for it.  I think I actually got it free with something that I ordered a long time ago.  It had remained unread on my kitchen shelf for far too long.

While a lot of the recipes and most of the information was very good, I didn't feel the need to keep it as I have far too many vegan and plant-based cookbooks that I use regularly.  There are only so many cookbooks that I actually need.  

I never thought I would hear myself say those words, let alone commit them to print!!

This book has been donated.

I have been a bit dismayed at my lack of reading recently, so in a bid to stop myself wasting time on my phone and encourage me to pick up my latest book I have actually deleted my Instagram account.  Sorry to all of you who followed me on there.  It was fun to share things with you while it lasted but I think from now on I will share the things that used to appear solely on there with my blog instead.

Here's to rainy days, cups of hot coffee and reading the days away.  💖

Sue xx

I would just like to point out, that although I try provide links to Amazon for all the books that I read each month, not all my books are actually bought from Amazon.  If they are some of them were bought from the Used section rather than at full price.  

I share the links so that you can learn more about the books that I write about for yourself, or read reviews from other people that have read them to get a more balanced view.  Of course most of the books I talk about would also be available from your local library, and if you are very lucky you might even find them in charity or thrift shops.  

There are so many ways to bring books into your home if you love reading. 📚