Weekly Roundup Sunday 12 October to Saturday 18 October 2025

There has been quite a bit happening here this week just not much to show for it.  Things are moving very slowly but bits and bobs are being done in the background.

Sunday

What a cold night, came upon us all of a sudden we were not aware that temperatures were due to nose-dive and we had our first "frost" -4 degrees C last night.  We could not work out why the heating kept coming on overnight but were grateful for it all the same.  It was only when I looked at my phone to check the temperature, that we realised that we were in frost territory. 

This morning first thing, we went to get eggs.  I came back with a tray of 20 XL eggs and a standard tray of 30 eggs for cooking, baking and general eating. I shall get another tray in a week or so and perhaps use them for a bigger batch of pickled eggs as well.  

We also came away with a small bag 10kg bag of Mozart Potatoes which are a red skinned variety (which I prefer if I can get them i.e. red skinned potatoes).  I had not heard of this particular variety at all and so did some research on the Internet.  The link to the information I found is here:

Information on Mozart Potatoes

They are supposed to be a good all-round variety so shall test them out this week.

I would have bought a large sack by choice, however with the renovations of the Under the stair cupboard, I have no where to store them at present.  When the cupboard is complete, then we shall go and get a bigger sack and then it will be stored in its usual place under the stairs. At least I have a supply of potatoes (albeit a smaller one) of potatoes moving forward. 

I do not keep onions in the Under stair cupboard at all.  A net of onions is kept in the main Pantry.  The onions give off a gas which ages the potatoes before their time so I do not keep them together as ideally we want the potatoes in particular to have their natural storage time.  They do not make good bedfellows!

I do so find having access to a regular supply of eggs and potatoes in bulk tends to see us through quite a lot of meals during the winter months. together with onions, milk, cheese, vegetables butter, a little Sunflower oil and Bacon.  Quite a lot of simple dishes can be achieved that feed you really well and it is a way of keeping the lid on the food budget as well.  It is something I have done for many years and it has seen us through no end of issues over the years.  These are the staples ably assisted with the ingredients I have on the Pantry shelves and the Preserves store.  Good simple food is what gets you by when pennies are tight.  Meat when pennies are tight is bought monthly and then deposited into the freezer although I do like to do a separate meat shop that effectively fills at least two drawers in the freezer and with careful use gets us through to the end of the month.  Sometimes we have stuff left over and that is the start of a separate stash of meat items that can be built up.

Needless to say I did not get into the kitchen today but I have managed to do a little sorting of some other items.

Some of the eggs may get pickled as well as G likes a good pickled egg.

I also started tackling the washing up which I have been trying to get to for two days.

We are not having a designated Sunday Dinner today although there is the Pork or Venison in gravy should himself change his mind to which I could just add a few fresh veggies.  I cooked G Fried Egg and Chips.  I did not fancy them and will sort something out later.  To tell the truth I am not that hungry.

Later on I nipped to the shop to get some Cat food for the cats that still regularly visit my garden.  The little black one has got past his nervousness and is still a bit jumpy came to me out of nowhere last week and now comes running to greet me and have a bit of a fuss. Seems to want a lot of fuss as well as the food.  It has taken me a while to get this close to him, so I think that there is an element of trust there. Lovely little cat and was in a bit of a state before I started feeding him.  The other one tends to yell and holler at me for food but will not let me anywhere near him extremely cautious, but I cannot say that I blame him.  Have not seen anything at all on the lost pets site, but they still come the pair of them.  I feed them once a day of an evening.  Both of them seem to have put some weight on to what they were but the little black one does not have much weight compared to the black and white one.  I will keep an eye out for the pair of them moving forward.  When they first started coming there was a regular fisticuffs between the two, but I have started talking to them and they both understand that they have different areas to have their food in (the scraps tended to be over the food even though there are a few dishes out) and I usually manage to get them to go where I need them too without too much scrapping. I also have a resident hedgehog and food is left for him as well!

Monday

Plan for today.

I need to go and get some Lard in bulk from the shop.  I have a load of Chestnut Mushrooms to preserve which I sourced on offer and I need to get these processed as soon as I possibly can in order that I have access to mushrooms when the pennies are a little tighter.  I need to source some Oyster Mushrooms as well.  

The Lard is also required for Pastry making.

Butter is also needed as I am gearing up to make the Christmas cakes and gathering items together for that purpose.  Making this earlier allows for a decent "feeding" period after the cake is made.

If I can get these organised then that will be another thing off the list. I am proposing buying in bulk and some of it is going into the freezer as well as using a fair bit for their allotted uses.

I did not get to the Cupboard under the stairs today.  I think it will be Thursday or Friday before I am able to do so.

Tuesday

G is going fishing for the day.

I telephoned my cousin and caught up with him.

I went to Home Bargains as I need to stock up on Tea Bags.  I keep in a good supply of Tea Bags with them being stored in a large old glass Sweetie jar.  I try and keep large supplies of things that I use on a regular basis in order that I do not have to worry about going shopping every few minutes on what I consider the basics and only have to top up every so often as a result.  This method is used on a whole range of basic ingredients such as sugar, flour SR and Plain and bread and pasta flour as well as lots of other ingredients.  I have loads of items to ensure that if I need to or want to I can make things from scratch.  Better to be prepared.

I also need to buy in Sunflower oil for the chip pan.  Only £6 for a large barrel bottle at Home Bargains.  So will be going back on the food front for several items very shortly.

In respect of autumn decorations last year I promised myself for this year two glass pumpkins (large ones) for the table.  I intend to use one as a sweetie dish and the other for biscuits or treat bars like Kit Kats. This year that is all I have been able to afford for Autumn, but there is always next year.  I had hoped to buy in a few autumn inspired mugs.

I also bought in the first of new Christmas decorations for this year which consisted of two large Hurricane Candle Holders, two smaller ones with decorated wreaths around them, a couple of plain wreaths for the larger Hurricane Candle Holders, two large Green Wax Candles in the shape of Christmas trees.  I also bought in 12 red Napkins at £2 per pack of four.  I have popped up a separate post about this.

I have also bought in a new small glue gun and replacement glue sticks, some PVA Glue, white acrylic paint, to deal with a couple of crafting projects which I will talk about in more detail shortly.

There were a few more decorations that I would not mind, but it depends on whether I have the pennies to do so.  At least I have a few items that I was looking for.  There is a Gingerbread tree and a Driftwood tree that I would quite like but will see what happens. There were also some Star Lanterns with artificial candles in them which I liked.  I am very attracted to Tree ornaments generally, I have a small collection but would like to add a few more in different genres.

Wednesday

Since the weather changed I have been very under-the-weather, feeling very tired and cold all the time and definitely pleased to get to bed at night and under a warm duvet and blanket. Yes I have quilts and blankets!  I got really cozy last night and overslept as a result which meant that we did not achieve an early start.  I think I will be dragging out the hot water bottles soon.

I had to go out for a short while to go and get the animal food and other bits as the babies had run out of food.  They are now stocked up for a little while on what is needed.

When I came back I went to the shop and picked up two reduced pizzas for £2.50 each.  One we have had for tea tonight and I added some Salami I had in the fridge and some fresh pineapple and it went very well and Tea was very tasty.  Quickly followed by a tin of peaches and some cream for pudding to finish off.  They went down nicely too.  A nice simple tea.  I am going to get some mince out - probably in the morning and let it defrost and then set too and make a Cottage Pie either tomorrow or Friday which should last us for two evenings and warm us up in the process.  One Hot meal a day in the cooler weather feeds the body and the soul.

Therefore not much achieved on Wednesday.

Thursday

We had a very rough night with Missy.  Neither of us got any sleep and so are feeling a bit bedraggled today. She is now flat out and I think G will be nodding off soon.  Meanwhile, I do not have that luxury and I have to get on mostly doing insignificant things that all add up at the end of the day.

Friday

I have raided the Freezer again to prepare for meals in the next few days.  Today I have recovered from the freezer, two packs of x 4 sausages to make a Toad in the Hole and also provide sausage for G's breakfast two days running. Toad in the Hole for Sunday dinner. I have also brought out a bag of Pigs Liver to make Liver, Bacon and Onion Casserole for tea this evening.  To be served with some mashed potatoes and a little bit of fresh veg i.e. carrots and broccoli and the gravy from the casserole. That should do nicely for tonight.  There is enough for tomorrow nights tea as well. I will make the Cottage Pie tomorrow.  Will probably eat it on Tuesday night and that should do us for two meals.  

I am not cooking a joint this weekend as I have too much to do as usual and very little time to do it. So a good few meals sorted.  Might also make an Apple Tarte Tatin, a Blackberry and Apple Sponge and an Egg Custard (if not this week next week - I have the ingredients and puff pastry).  Now that the colder weather is here we need that bit more to eat.  I shall also make some soup this week, probably a generic vegetable one as we can have that in the middle of the day and it is easily warmed up, which in turn warms whoever is eating it up.  Some good eating planned therefore for which I am grateful and also I am slowly clearing the Freezer out a little at a time.

Work has started in the kitchen.  Will probably be engaged in dealing with this for the next couple of days or so.  Back to the grind on the Cupboard under the Stairs next week.  I am waiting for the Damp proof paint to arrive.  Once that is here can progress a little more.  Hopefully it will arrive in the next few days or so.  Hopefully (I say this with bated breath) will then be able to wrap this project up by the end of the week and get stuff back in there.  Then I can start on the Fireside Cupboard.  Hopefully this should not take as long to do, especially as I have ordered in a 5 litre pot of the Damp proof paint and have plans to tackle the Cupboard under the Stairs, the Fireside Cupboard, the Pantry and the bathroom.  Realistically, I may have to buy in more paint but these are the rooms that need dealing with.  

Once these are done can get into the Dining room and start in there. This may happen sooner than later as a socket needs updating behind one of the Dressers and the Dresser moved out a bit so that I can access it a bit better.  Whilst the Dresser is out may well take the opportunity to strip the wall behind it and get it tidied up and then the new wallpaper added.  A bit piecemeal but it may be the way to go bearing in mind that we have a lot to do and items have to be moved out of the way to decorate the whole room.

Once things start moving overall should be able to get a wriggle on.  However, I am intent on doing things properly, more for my own sake than anything else and in an effort to get things clean and tidy as well.

G has carried out some annoying jobs this morning (little jobs that kept getting missed).  It is therefore an achievement in itself that these are getting tackled a bit at a time.

As I need to sort the Pantry out in any event, it will get emptied, any remedial works sorted and then the plaster tidied up, Damp proof paint carried out and then a top coat of emulsion.  The shelves will also be sealed and re-painted. Then can get stuff back in and sort out again just in time for Christmas.

There is an outline plan, and am having to do what I can and where I can to achieve it.  Fingers crossed and toes plaited!  Work is therefore ongoing but very slowly.

Liver and onions for tea tonight, very tasty and went down a treat.  I did not use a recipe at all, just remembering what I used to do.  When I checked later on to see a proper recipe, I found the Hairy Bikers recipe, link here:

Hairy Bikers Liver Onion and Bacon

I did everything they did except for Tomato ketchup and I used Pigs Liver! Plenty of gravy and flavour.  Enough for dunking the bread. Enough for tomorrow night as well.  Quite an achievement getting G to eat it in a casserole as he normally prefers it blue.  Equally I do not like it blue but I do not mind it in a casserole.

Saturday

A pottering day.  Did not go anywhere and did not get that much done really in the greater scheme of things.  Sometimes things go like this.

I did manage though to start some of the patching of the plaster in the under-stairs cupboard.  I have a lot to do, but have spent about an hour in there this evening.  A small start, but it is a start.  I am going to try and do a little bit evening moving forwards.  This will move my finishing point, but when it is done it will be done. I am determined to do what I can to do a good job of this (bearing in mind am not used to doing this - but it is a learning curve).

I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Be kind and take care of each other.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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