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Archive for May, 2013

Bit of Nostalgia today

May 29th, 2013 at 08:51 am

Our city hall has been closed for restorations for past few years, and now is open to the public again. Today I joined my ex-work friends in going to the cheaper restaurant they have there, it's was known as Red Cross tea rooms but a company has been allow to put a coffee shop rest rooms there. It's been laid out just like the old Red Cross tea room without the clock rooms. We had our lunch there today, the menu is limited but eatable, I had feta and spinach quiche and salad plus a mug of coffee. This set me back $14.00 so it's not cheap by any means. Some of the others tried toast sandwiches or scones and cheese cake. Next time if we go again, I will have a chicken salad I eat a lot of toasted sandwiches or soup for lunch over winter so I don't wish pay for something I can make myself. Later we went to look at the other tea rooms that have been put into the city hall, "Shingle Inn" this is a 1920s style one that was pull down to make way for a new shopping centre and was to be put back in the same spot when finish's but never was so the council said they would allow room for it to go into city hall when it reopened and they kept their word on that one. It's so popular that you have to book in 24 hours ahead to go there just for morning tea or afternoon tea. This tea room is the same period as the city hall and all the old fittings have come out of moth balls only thing that not the same is the staff uniforms as old one were not up to safety standards of today. So they have changed them to old fashion 1920s black servant uniforms instead. The original one was colourful prints and long skirts. We worked next door to this restaurant for many years and saw these girls over the years.

Fourth Monthly Financial Summery for 2013

May 22nd, 2013 at 09:20 am

Here is my Financial Summery for April - May period.

I have updated my Excel so here are the figures for last month.

This for period of 28 days each as I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to calendar months so here are the figures that will bring it up to date as its very near the end of next 28 day cycle.

Reviewing my monthly daily living allowance

This is my first review for last month’s budget.
These are the categories for this challenge.

Items === Approx. Budget===Spent

Eating out===$35=====$36.10
Groceries===$125=== =$44.86
Non-Food===$15=======$10.88
Clothes ====$35
Grooming===$20=======$4.98
Gas======$20=========$5.65
HH items===$40=======$70.00
Fares== ====$15 =====$10.00
Entrainments== $15
Garden =====$15
Gifts & Donations ==$35 ===$3.00
Medical & Diabetes Expenses =$70
Misc ======$10
Personal Allowance =$90 ===$20.27

Note only one amount is a No Spend

Budgeted for this period $550 spent $205.74 under by $344.26

No Spending Days 15 of 28 days

Personal allowance covers health drinks , lotto, books, stamps, craft and hobby supplies.

Eating out including meals out with family and friends, we all go Dutch.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month, it was $590.00

[i]Strategy - Do remember what you have stored before you go and buy more of the same.

More FREE food and tomato relish with a kick.

May 12th, 2013 at 09:10 pm

I have been living off my Greek food for most of the week but I couldn't eat the Easter bread fast enough so I had to bin it. Most of it I froze as I was given more spinach pie I now will have lunch for a few weeks. I have been putting on my new relish them.

I made tomato relish this week and will give away some of that as it's too much for me to eat within the time frame, as I can't eat a lot of it. 3 tablespoons of one lot had me going for ECG. As I took a turn going to the doctor's app. for annual check-up. Looking back it was the tomato relish as my blood pressure and ECG were ok! I had a feast on the tomato relish for 3 days and one has all the things I was food indolence (allergies) years ago. Tomatoes, onions, capsicum, and chilli since I haven't had any for the rest of the week I am ok. No weakness in limbs, chest pains, muscles pains, tiredness, back in pain and neck. I only had tomato sauce last night ok today.

So I will go back to my 5 day rotation of these foods again, see if I am off colour again next time, I eat it.

Here is the recipe.
Tomato Relish with Chilli
1lb ripe skinned tomatoes and chopped
1lb onions - finely chopped
1/2 red Capsicum - deseed and diced
1 long red chilli - deseed and diced or 1 tsp chilli powder or to taste
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar - malt vinegar used
2 tsp salt
4 tsp yellow mustard seeds or mustard powder
4 tsp curry powder
6 heaped tsp of tomato paste (optional)*
4 tsp Cornflour (for thickening) and little vinegar or plain flour and little water
Method
Chop tomatoes, onions capsicum and chilli.
Put all ingredients in saucepan and boil for 30 minutes or until texture looks right and you can smell the spices.

*Add tomato paste when you can smell the spices and cook for few minute longer then add cornflour.
Thicken with 4 teaspoons cornflour blended with a little vinegar.
Into a Sterilise Bottles and keep airtight.
3-4 small jars

'Favourite Recipes' Old Charity Cookbook circa - pre 1982- AUS Pre-metric recipe

As we are 4 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon here, I will make the whole recipe into teaspoons. In cups use 8oz cup (227.28ml) - Our cups now are 250ml.

Ant problem!

May 3rd, 2013 at 06:44 pm

I am having a large problem with small ants here that are coming from the gardens it is costing a lot to keep them under control. Some are coming into the house which I don’t want to happen as last year; I lost number electrical items because of ant nests in them. I did put ant bait down but they just go higher around outside the house. I paid few hundred dollars to have them removed last year and it didn’t work for very long just enough so that the painter could paint the outside the house then wet weather came and their came back. I am due for a termite check soon but the meantime I will keep up with my surface spraying that does kill for a short time but they go higher