Is Everybody Stockpiling?

 

I was watching a few of my regular YouTube channels this morning over my first cup of coffee of the day, and there seemed to be a regular theme running through their latest updates.  Stocking up their food supplies.

It made me wonder if this would be a sensible thing to do.  Fuel prices have already risen twice in our area in the last week, which of course will have a knock on effect very quickly on the price of food.  My first thought was to go to the shops immediately after breakfast and buy a few things, then I realised how dizzy my early morning tablets had left me, so I changed my mind.  

I'm not supposed to drive when they have this effect on me, I usually take them in the middle of the night if I get up for the bathroom, but this morning that was at 2am, much too early, so I took them at 7am ... hence the morning dizziness.

I decided to do something much more sensible instead, check the contents of the store cupboard to see what I already had in stock and finish off the moving of all the food dated 2026 to the top cupboard.

Everything in the top photo needed moving up ... and the spaghetti with the orange banded label wins the award for the food that has been neglected for the longest.  

Best before January 23 ... oops!!

It turned out to be a good exercise to do as I thought I had just two tins of tomatoes left in total, and I was all set to buy some more, but then I found these four cans tucked away at the back of the bottom cupboard.  Funnily enough I didn't remember buying them, but happily ... due to me showing my shopping in great detail to bore you all rigid over the past couple of years ... I found out that they had been bought HERE, in April 2024.

Now the top cupboard is fully stocked again with all the foods that either should have already been eaten, or that should be eaten at some point during this year.

And the lower cupboard has all the foods date during 2027 or beyond and some space should I choose to gather in some more supplies ... which according to the dictionary is another way of saying 'to stockpile'. 😁

The very old spaghetti though has gone back into the basket in the lower cupboard, waiting it's turn to be used, as the spaghetti in my spaghetti jar is even older.  😆

Have you been tempted to get some more supplies in yet, or do you already hold a really good supply of foods ready for any emergency?  I know we used to when we lived on our various smallholdings and were further away from the shops.

Sue xx

Making Money ... and a Renovation Update

At the end of last week with a car loaded up and jingling all the way, we took a trip to the scrap metal recycling merchants that turned out to be reasonably near us in Preston.  We both had a guess at how much our offerings would be worth.  We had heard from a few sources that the price of copper was at an all time high, so I guessed at £200 and Alan at a slightly more conservative £150.

Which one of us was the nearest?

We had a copper water heater like the one in the top photo, which I borrowed from Google Images, and the pipes in this photo.  You can see our actual water heater in the last walk through YouTube video that I made at the start of March.  We also had all the stripped out electric cables that Alan had pulled out from under the floors and up in the loft.

The scrap metal yard was a fascinating place, we were pointed to the right 'weighing in' area and had to unload onto the scales, first the tank, then the pipes and finally all the wiring, which were all individually priced.

 

Then we had to drive over to the office, show proof of identity and give our bank details, as all money is paid straight into your account these days to discourage theft of metals from church roofs etc. as this then gives a complete transaction trail.

Anyway, what was the total I hear you shouting ... it was £509 of which £106 was for the old copper boiler.

So I was the closest, even if I was a long way out.  😀

We treated ourselves to breakfast at Barton Grange Garden Centre on the way home to celebrate.

Now the bungalow is completely stripped out, we also got our planning permission through last week, so the alterations to the front of the bungalow will be allowed, and the garage is now almost finished.  The next steps will be to take a couple of walls down, and then start filling in the floor space again.  We will be using the bricks from the walls to fill in the floor, you don't get much money for selling off old blocks!!

Sue xx

 

I've Learnt This Lesson Now

 

Haha ... only joking.  😄

It's actually been rather nice waking up to daylight and occasional sunshine this past week.  In fact yesterday morning I was quite disappointed when the sunshine didn't make an appearance, it seems she was kidding us into what Spring could be like without rain, before going back into hiding.  🌞

I think I jinxed it by washing a few of my more Summery tops in readiness ... sorry!!

I had a white sink reset day yesterday.

A bit of bleach in and under the bowl with the washing up cloth soaking in it, then a good wipe down of all the sinks surfaces and edges, then transfer the bleachy water from the big bowl into the middle section, put the cloth back in and then an hour later finally pull the plug out, wiping everywhere down again with now sparkly white bleachy cloth.

It's a good multi-use of bleach, something that is not the best for the environment but that does the job well when used sensibly.  I learnt all this from when we had our septic tanks in various previous properties.  Put too much bleach into a septic tank and you kill all the good bacteria, so plan ahead when you want to use bleach.

And my biggest tip of the day ...don't put a white sink in your kitchen if you eat a lot of turmeric containing curries and red pasta sauces.  I've learnt this lesson now.  😄

Sue xx

But Is It Food?

 

I stepped into Aldi a couple of weeks ago and rounding the corner from the fresh fruits and vegetables and the fridges full of meats, yogurts and cheeses etc, I was met with this view of the next aisle.

This photo was one side ...

... and this the other.

I just said to myself, " Is this actually food?"

I think it's that over the last couple of years my eyes have been opening more and more to the ultra processed stuff that manufacturers are passing off as food, and that a large percentage of youngsters are now growing up thinking that these are their only food choices.  At least the garish packaging makes it stand out from 'real food' I guess.

I'm completely honest and I hold my hands up and say that I do buy some things that are most definitely ultra processed, but I do try to keep this to a minimum these days.  I definitely prefer something like this that at least contains vegetables and beans rather than fake meat.

But are these food?

Well, just about I would say, but I now tend to let the vegetables on my plate outweigh the processed item.  Of course I could have a go at making veggie burgers myself, but I usually have these as a 'I can't be bothered to cook' type of meal, so unless I set to and make a big batch of homemade veggie burgers for the freezer ... which I definitely should do one day when there is a bit of space in there ... these are currently staying on my menu.

Do you find yourself eating less and less ultra processed food items, or did you never eat them to start with?

Sue xx

Using the Riverford Vegetables, and Filling the Freezer

I made the soup that I spoke about making the other day, in fact it made so much more than the two portions I thought that I would get.  I ate one meal as a vegetable stew and then blended up what was left into two smallish portions for the next two days lunches and two larger portions to put into the freezer.  It's delicious, so I have something to really look forward to.

I dealt with most of the other Riverford vegetables last week and made up a large tray of Mediterranean style veggies and one that was more tomato and rice based.  I shared a tin of tomatoes and a tin of chickpeas between the two mixes and slightly varied the spices that I used so that they wouldn't taste too similar.

Once cooked they looked like this and they were both portioned into single serving sized helpings, and all but one of each was put straight into the freezer.

I had a helping of the rice and vegetables with a breaded fish portion, and then the next night I had the tomatoey vegetables with some tagliatelle.

 It's nice to have a few things stashed in the freezer for quick and easy meals.  But it does explain why my freezer contents never seem to go down. 😄

Sue xx