Thursday thrift....

Entertaining essentials.

I was thinking back to the early days for His Lordship and I and how little money we had. Our first mortgage, a wedding to pay for, two children with a third soon to follow!

We rarely went out together-we just couldn't afford the cost! With no family nearby we couldn't even afford to pay the teenager down the road to babysit-in fact, we would book my mum a year in advance to stay for a weekend in Decmber so that we could both attend a work Christmas Party!

Sounds like a dull life doesn't it? Nothing could be further from the truth! In those days we had far more dinner parties than we do now!


Friends seemed to love coming to our house for a 3 course meal-all cooked from scratch with very cheap ingredients!

Our street at the time resounded most Saturday nights with lots of laughter as we took turns gathering at one home or another-sometimes it was bring a dish, at others someone or another would host us all

In the years since then our income improved-and at times we became "busy" with the number of social outings to attend. Our children are no longer at home, so babysitting isn't an issue!

Now however, I find playing host at home much more satisfying. Once again I am enjoying cooking those meals for appreciative friends & family-these days the young children playing in the house are our grandchildren and their friends and I couldn't be happier!

It doesn't take much to pull together a meal for people and in this colder weather something cooked in the slowcooker is always a hit!

Pasta, roasts, curries-all relatively cheap to provide and please most! Homemade Pizzas are usually met with enthusiasm by younger generations-especially if they are allowed to assemble them!

What do you do to entertain on a budget?

Sufficiently slow..

The morning sun is shining through the kitchen window and the jars of green tomato pickle are cooling on the bench. There are scones freshly baked, washing drying in the breeze and we have enjoyed bacon and eggs for breakfast-eaten outside alfresco.....there may be better starts to a Sunday; but I doubt it!

Yesterday was spent mainly in the garden- His Lordship mowing whilst I pulled out the tomatoes and harvested pumpkins. The tomatoes yielded enough ripe fruit to make 4 jars of pasta sauce and 3 kilo of green-which has provided us with 6 jars of spicy green tomato pickle.

I was musing yesterday and what constitutes "sufficient"..or "enough". I had read an article which was discussing some millionaires and whether or not they were satisfied with their accumulated goods. I was saddened to read that the vast majority of those interviewed for the article never felt satisfaction-they were always feeling as if they had to buy something..a boat,car,house, jet.........something,anything.

I'll settle for breakfast in the sun thanks!

Routine ramblings....

Wow, long time no post! One of our daughters has been contracting in early labour for over 2 weeks now-with no progression! This has meant we have spent a bit of time at her place ( 4 hrs drive each way..) for moral support. At this oint in time she will be having a C section later this week if there is no progression. Mum & baby have been monitoring well, although mm is a tad tired!

Easter saw us welcoming visitors and we had a relaxing few days together-complete with a visit from Easter Bunny for our grandsons who were here.

At times like these our normal routines get thrown out of whack-and it can be far too easy to slip into the convenience of consumerism.....and I will admit to a couple of takeaway meals recently! :)


However, I am pleased that I'm still managing to continue with some of my self sufficient principles. Currently one of my slowcookers is filling the kitchen with the tantilising scent of pasta sauce-using up the last of the season's tomatoes. I have pumpkin seeds drying on the kitchen bench and some tomato seeds soaking in water to be drained & saved for next season.

Also on the kitchen bench is a jar of lemon peels & white vinegar-infusing the next batch of citrus cleaner. I get a sense of satisfaction now when our son & his family ensure that citrus peels go into the jar!

We have also bought a whole lamb from one of our neighbours-slaughtered and dressed for $100-much cheaper /kilo than buying from the supermarket or butcher!