Glis glis !

Lots of these little fat dormice live in our loft. They live up there and breed like rabbits and make a terrible racket and are protected so you have to pay 60 pound cage deposit to the council and 15 pounds every time they come to collect one when you catch it ! Our record was 36 caught one Summer, so you do the Maths ! They are originally from Italy but Baron Rothschild who lived nearby released them into the wild round here and they like lofts better than trees. Most of the year they hibernate so then things are quiet but the rest of the time we are regularly woken up by them.

So in the end, we got licensed as pest controllers by Wildlife England and bought our own humane trap ! Now we catch our own and do not pay the council guy to come and do it for us ! It was him that told us it was possible to do that as he was so tired of making his way down our pot-holed drive. The trap came from Canada and as long as it is baited with apple works very well ! I just wish they would stop coming but there is always one that we miss before the hibernate in October and then the whole cycle starts again !

On not getting a dog, yet !

One of the things which Master Shoestring hung on to when he had to change schools earlier this year was the idea that we would get a puppy in the Summer and he would look after it. For many weeks he looked at pictures and read books and talked about it just before prayers. We said that we would  give him dog care equipment for his birthday and then bring a puppy home after visiting USAShoestring next month.

However, as the birthday crept closer and we kept asking what sort of dog and when we should sign up for dog training classes etc. Master Shoestring grew ever vaguer in his replies. Over the past couple of weeks he said that he would have to think about it some more and then last night said that he did not think he was ready for a dog. We asked him why and he said that he was probably still too lazy to look after an animal properly !

In a way we are proud of him as it would have been very easy to make promises and the renege on them and leave Mum and Dad to do all the work. However, we also pointed out that getting a dog might help motivate him not to be so lazy ! So he's going to think about it and let us know when he is ready, but we won't be getting dog care equipment for his birthday !!

Tomato Paste

Delicious homemade pizza with the sauce on the base made with the bargain tomato puree I got on Friday night. This was the only other bargain I spotted along with the onions. The own brand of tomato puree was being discontinued and so was 10p off making it 30p for a 200g tube. I used to buy tomato puree in huge tins from Approved Foods and freeze it but now that Approved Foods are a bit expensive this was a bargain. So I stocked up with enough for a year. It will keep on the shelf no problem and then in the fridge once opened so now I know I can carry on making tomato sauce and bolognaise sauce for a whole year.

I have a feeling that some food prices will creep up this winter so I am keeping an eye out for bargains to stash away now. For instance celery is on offer at 29p a head this week so I will get a few heads and chop them up for the freezer as this is a great addition to winter curries and stews.

Onions !

When I went shopping on Friday night I kept a look out for any reduced bargains. These are getting harder to find as now lots of people know what a good buy a 'yellow-stickered' item can be ! However, at the vegetable shelves I struck good-eating gold, with a whole lot of 1kg bags of red onions reduced to 10p each. I didn't want to be too greedy but it was quite late and so I popped 10kg into the trolley ! One pound for 10kg of onions cannot be beaten.

Some of them are a bit mouldy from being stored in plastic but I shall just cut off the bad bits and use the rest to make delicious onion soup and potato soup, we make this like leek and potato soup but just using onions instead !

Frugality will always be in fashion !

This week have done quite a bit of driving about and hearing the news. USAShoestring is doing very well so congratulated him and consoled Miss Shoestring who is quite likely to lose her job now. One thing is for sure frugality is always a good idea ! Nice to know that you can cope when or if things get tight. Frugality now to help future prosperity is how USAShoestring is managing to fulfil his dreams. Frugality now is how Miss Shoestring will manage her future as she knows she has good choices no matter what happens.

Frugality then and now is how we have been able to help them both !

Midsummer Bonfire

Looking forward to a Scandinavian tradition tonight, a Midsummer bonfire ! We gather up all the debris from the garden, have a barbecue and later on when it gets dark light a fire. Sing a few songs and then toast marshmallows in the embers. If it is a warm night we can star-gaze !

Fingers crossed that the weather co-operates as it has been a bit of a miserable June so far !

Birthday Parties

When we first moved back to the UK from USA we tried to have home birthday parties for our children. It did not work so well as all the parents stayed ! Our picture of 2 hours of cake, juice and party games was not at all what they were used to. The expectation was for professional entertainment and catering including alcohol and nibbles for the parents ! 

We quickly stopped participating, our children when invited to do amazing things were allowed to go but we decided that we did not feel the need to reciprocate. It worked quite well that Master Shoestring's birthday is in the middle of the Summer holidays so he could usually just get away with inviting people home for pizza and a movie at another time. That is what we shall be doing this year too as he turns 14 !

All his friends will be invited over one weekend, they will go off and play football at the local park, have homemade pizza and cake for tea, then watch a movie hired at low or no cost and then go home with perhaps 1 or 2 who live quite far away stopping over for a sleepover. The important thing for Master Shoestring is that he gets to have a fun time with friends, it does not have to be zooming around Silverstone in F2 cars at a cost of £200 per person !

He does really enjoy all the amazing things others do at their birthday parties and we are grateful to the generous families who invite him, even though they know that their child will not get a similar invitation back, but we just do not feel the need to participate in a birthday party 'arms' race and are so glad that we decided this early on !!