Soldiering on..

 Hello all,how are you all doing?

Isn't it weird how life has had to drastically change over the last few months.

Back to the 70's way of life for us. No heating on unless absolutely necessary and we have been really good and only had it on the once which honestly was like hitting Nirvana.

We have had to turn off the dehumidifiers..which means condensation and the dreaded Mould. We have invested in a window vac and a drying pod and heated airer. So far so good. I have used my tumble drier a few times but nowhere near what i used to. I wash every few days and make sure it's a totally full load before i do it. 

Every morning we dry windows and clean them. Any Mould that appears is blitzed there and then.

We all have big jumpers and slippers. I have also put extra blankets on the beds with big thick throws as well. I have 2 in the living room which i pop on in the evenings if i feel chilly.

Currently we are considering buying electric blankets for the girls and ourselves. I would rather be warm in bed and be cozy.

We are as a family using significantly less electric than this time last year..according to my meter reading. It is still a bloody jaw dropping amount on the direct debit every month. And i refuse to get into debt because of the greedy and frankly bloody ridiculous planning on the part of the government who expect us to pay huge amounts for very little in return.The utility companies should be absolutely ashamed and be investigated for why they weren't prepared instead of passing the cost directly onto those who can barely afford it. We have also prepped for blackouts. I have plenty of candles and 3 very bright L.E.D. lanterns. We brought home the gas ring from the allotment so we can at least make soup or porridge and a cuppa.

I close up early every night and it does make a huge difference. I am so glad i paid a little extra for thermal lined curtains. You can literally feel the cold just get cut off.

On to the food situation. I have switched to the Just Essentials range at Asda..it saves me quite a few pounds every time i shop. We are actually eating better as we have to plan like crazy to make sure nothing is wasted. My son has been bringing home yellow sticker bits and bobs for us. Mostly i freeze them or if like the other night and it was Sticky Toffee Eclairs, we had them with a nice cup of tea..delicious. Gorgeous treat.

I have been separating sausages for when we have a fry up and rolling my bacon into balls and freezing separately..popping them in a bag and just taking however many, we need instead of freezing the entire packet and having 2 rashers left over. I have split my packs of mince in half and flattened them out and froze those..there is enough mince in that packet for a nice meal bulked up with veggies.

I have been for the last few months adding 1-2 extras to my shopping for Christmas. I have a nice little stash in the freezer and also a box upstairs with biscuits, chocolates, crackers and sweeties. I got 24 cans of Lemonade for £4 from the discount shop and also a nice bottle of alcohol-free sparkling rose for Christmas Dinner..it sells for £4.99 in Morrisons i paid £1.50.

I also have nearly all my present shopping done. The girls told us one morning over breakfast that they would be happy with whatever we get them and didn't have a list as they don't really need anything💕, we have got them a few nice bits and bobs and one thing we knew that they really wanted. 

If i hear one more sodding politician say we have to get used to this way of living i swear i will explode. I  have no sympathy for them at all. We don't see them freezing their arses off in the Commons at question time or having to watch every sodding penny and as for putting decorations and party food on their expenses that is seriously taking the mick.

I do hope you are all ok and coping.

Love you all

ftm🌼