Wednesday

Another buzz-free night! I love it! Mini started her fishing expedition early this morning, so I woke up even before the alarm went off. Sadly, it's no longer light at half past five - not dark, just no longer daylight. Time is moving towards the 'drive-in-the-dark' time of year again - not looking forward to that. Not at all! Urgh!

Anyway, yesterday afternoon, I spent some time looking through all the special offers one of the shopping sites has currently: Yuppiechef! They currently have pages and pages of specials! I saw some really, really cool stuff! Best of all, I saw a robot vacuum! Oh, I've seen them on Facebook, in gifs with kitties playing with them - but they just seemed so way outside my budget, I never looked them up! As it turns out, they're not all THAT expensive!

Look for yourself! At first, I was a bit taken aback when I read 'not suitable for carpets' - I think of vacuum cleaners as being FOR CARPETS! But then I read the reviews and people raving how it takes care of pet hairs, cat litter (enthusiastically scratched to land outside the box), etc and I thought: Awesome! Apparently you charge it and then it can 'work' for about an hour. Now just think: I come home, mippies rush outside, and while I'm outside with them, robo-vac cleans a room for me! All I'd still have to do is wash the floors - on it's own, that's not too bad! It's just too much after having swept the entire place ... Plus: It can get under the bed, too, I think!

No, I'm not getting it now! Remember my budget? And how I overspent on my last trip to Spar? First thing I did last night was to update my budget - I haven't had the courage to see the damage of that last trip, yet. Well, if I add the 'unspent' from last month, it's not actually too bad. Still, before I indulge in a luxury, I really should get the vacuum sealer first! THAT will keep food fresher, especially cheese! That starts to grow mold as soon as you open it!

Well, I DID buy some things, though. First, I bought a type of measuring cup. Yes, I do have one, it works, but the 'measures' are really difficult to make out, as they are merely raised plastic, same colour as the cup. The same goes for the ones that came with the bread machine - I'm forever holding it into the light to try and read the measurements ... then fill it, then hold it up into the light again, hoping I don't pour the contents over my head! Anyway, this one is simply a glass tube with a kind of plunger. So, you first set the plunger to the correct measurement, then you fill it! Oh, and even difficult ingredients can simply be squeezed out! I think that will make my life quite a bit easier!

Then I got a butter making kit, from the same company that makes the cheese making kit. Why? Well, it comes with a recipe book and I've not had much luck with my butter making, have I? I think there's something I'm missing - which the blogs, where I got my info from, didn't include. So: ask a qualified person!

That brings us to the fact that I haven't made any cheese in ages! Why? Well, as usual, I rushed headlong into too many things at the same time! Make my own bread, grow my own vegetables, grow my own herbs, make my own cheese, make my own butter ... too much, too fast. That's all! Oh, the cheese was no failure - unlike the growing vegetable part, ha ha! But I didn't get past the simple cottage cheese type ... there's so much more!

I've taken a step back and now, first, I'm focusing on my bread making. And my approach is definitely paying off! The bread I'm baking now has come a long way from what I baked even a month ago! I'm still learning, though, for example that I shouldn't make too big a loaf when I'm rolling meat into it. Because it doesn't keep too long. Well, it SHOULD be eaten the same day, not used for packed lunches for a week! Ha Ha! Also, I should take the meat out of the fridge about the same time I start making the dough, so that it isn't cold when I roll it into the dough.

When I'm consistently making good sourdough loaves, only then will I start to tackle the next thing: either cheese or butter! And I'll take it as slowly as I'm taking the bread making, now!

Okay, so then why buy a butter making kit now? Well, it's on special now. And it'll keep. It's not too expensive, either. And then I got baking paper, which was much cheaper than what I've found at Spar and I treated myself to some Cappuccino's. Little cups, which you apparently just shake (to get froth), pour into a cup, and add hot water. I'll try that!

I'm going to have to re-budget the cat food as well. Firstly with the price increase (which I believe I can cope with) and secondly with an increase in gobbling of the Fit 32. I had budgeted 4kg every 8 weeks - but they finish 4kg in 6 weeks! It's their favourite! So, some re-calculating required.

My grocery delivery can wait till next month - which is next week. I'm already making a list, comparing prices against in-store prices (although that's not exactly fair, since online quality is by far superior! They check every single ingredient, so I really know what I'm getting - unlike the store bought items, where the ingredients read like a chemistry lab report!). I have to compromise, though. If the price is a lot higher than the store, I won't be able to afford it.

Anyway, it's five o'clock, time to go home ...