A Better Day

 There are always bonuses and silver linings to each and every day.  Today  has been a much better day all round.  I have also been out to do a little shopping.  We sneaked out whilst Missy was asleep.  She hates being left and usually howls if she realises we are missing. The awful plaintive wailing that does not cease.  She is an old lady and has an attachment disorder as well as being slightly deaf.  She starts to hyperventilate and gets herself in a real mess if we are not there.  Really too late to do anything about and it has only come on to any great degree in the last couple of years.  I think the biggest part of this is down to the fact that she does not hear so well.  Today however, mission was accomplished and she was still fast asleep when we got back wrapped under her blanket.  Indeed she growled at me when I was checking to see where she was, because I had disturbed her.  From where I was looking I just could not tell where she was.

We nipped out to Waitrose for a mini top up on some items that were needed. I had run out of cheese and we needed some for our evening meal tonight as I had planned on cooking up the mince I had left and making a big Ragu mix.  The first to be used on Spaghetti Bolognese and the second to make up a Lasagna for another evening.  If the weather is cold tomorrow we will be having either a steak pie or indeed a stew.

I do when I can get away from shopping at the Co-Op which is the nearest shop to where I live but their prices are I think expensive for what they are, which is one of the reasons I prefer to use the Butcher for meat.  Even if it is for cheaper cuts.  I like Waitrose which is about 20 minutes walk away, and which I am quite happy to walk to but if the pennies are not in the pot to go shopping we just buy the actual items we are out of to get us through and then sort things out later on.  I cannot carry stuff these days and a lot of the items I do shop for are bulk items which is why I often need a trolley and help in getting stuff home.  Equally I do use a lot of the cheaper stores especially for tinned goods like B & M when I can. I did buy a few other bits as well, but the ones mentioned are the ones of note for this shopping trip.  We still need to pay a visit to the Butchers and also the Veg shop.  I have no particular loyalty these days to supermarkets. There are certain items in different shops, and I shop on that basis.  Today, I managed to get some of the bits that I needed, but thought that I would mention the following:

Waitrose at the moment have an offer on for Twinings Breakfast Tea Bags.  Co-Op have been charging £6 a box.  They are on offer in Waitrose at the moment at £3 a box.  Twinings is my preferred tea with Yorkshire Tea following a close second.  I came away with two boxes.

I have been paying at the Co-Op 95p per kg bag of sugar.  If you can locate it, the larger 2kg bags of sugar are a better buy.  For the 2kg bag, at Waitrose they charge £1.35 per 2kg bag a saving of 55p per bag.  That is quite a saving especially if you are buying 3 to 4 bags or more at a time.  That saving could be going to something else.

This is the flour I use for breadmaking in the Bread Machine.  It is the Waitrose Canadian Extra Strong Bread flour which costs £2 per bag of flour  - 1.5kg but in the bread machine it makes for a better rise from my own experience.  I managed to get the last bag on the shelf today.  It is a popular flour.  

If the Canadian is not available I will use either Essential Waitrose Extra Strong Bread flour 1.5kg at £1.50 per 1.5kg.

Or:

I also use occasionally their Leckford Estate Extra Strong Bread Flour which is £2.40 per 1.5kg.

Finally, we also bought to go with the cheese some Hovis Digestive biscuits.  These strictly speaking are a normal eating plain biscuit however we prefer them just with any type of cheese and perhaps a bit of chutney or chilli or onion jelly.

Just a few bits, and as I say not everything that was bought but it has topped things up for the time being.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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