A productive week at Tilly Towers

Hello readers I hope everyone is well and enjoying the summer school holidays. We are having lots of fun here at Tilly Towers. On Wednesday we had a day at home as we had to wait in for Brad to be picked up for his 10 day camping trip. I am missing him immensely especially as I am unable to speak to him on the phone ( no technology allowed ).

On Thursday we went to the library to log the 3 books Brandon has read for the summer reading challenge and he got his first little prize a mystical maze poster and some stickers. We chose 3 more books which will see him complete the challenge and receive his 2nd and 3rd prizes. We also took out a couple of DVDS Gnomeo and Juliet, and Happy Feet 2. On the way home we stopped off at the park where the children had a good old play and a good run about. On Thursday evening my friend K popped round for a chat. It was lovely to have a good old gossip and giggle. We ate 9p cream cakes, drank tea, and put the world to rights.

On Friday we popped round to see K. She mentioned the night before that she had a blackberry bush in her garden that was brimming with berries and we were welcome to come and take as many as we wanted. By the time we had finished we had 1kg of blackberries and that was just 1/4 of the bush. K told me that I'm welcome any time should I want anymore blackberries. K also has 3 very large plum trees in her garden and has told me that as soon as they are ripe she will let me know so that I can go and harvest some. We sat and chatted for a while over a refreshing elderflower cordial and K gave me some tips on growing fruit and vegetables in planters. After my chat with K I feel a lot more optimistic about having another go at growing some of my own next spring. When we got home the boys and I snuggled up and watched happy feet 2 whilst sharing a box of 9p cheese straws and a bowl of homemade popcorn.

On Saturday I decided to use my haul of blackberries to make blackberry jam. This was my first time making jam and I thought it was going to be a lot harder than it was. It was actually very straightforward and thanks to my reader Trudie for the tip on how to check the jam is ready to set it was a great success. I think the worst part was when the jam decided to spit at me a little bit but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed the process. I have given my next door neighbor a jar as a thank you for all the empty jars and lids she has given me and K a jar as a thank you for the blackberries. I also have 2 large jars and 1 small jar in the fridge for us.

Today we did a spot of yellow sticker shopping here's what I got and what I paid.....
A bag of lambs lettuce 9p
3 x bags of casserole vegetables 9p a bag
16 x bags of Apple slices 0p ( cost negative due to a pre promotion )
2 x warburtons Paddington bear sandwich slices 9p a pack
2 x 2 fresh cream finger doughnuts 9p a pack
2 x 2 lemon swirls 9p a pack
A pack of 4 yum yum doughnuts 9p
A bag of 6 sugar ring doughnuts 9p
12 x bags of melon and grapes 0p ( cost negative due to a pre promotion )
Total cost £1.08

When we got in we had yellow sticker sandwiches for tea. I had a ham and cheese baguette 39p, Ben had a bacon chicken and sweet corn sub 39p, and Brandon had a salmon and cucumber sandwich 25p. We also shared a 9p box of glazed ring doughnuts between us whilst watching back to the future ( which is just ending as I write this post ).

This week I hope to get some ice cream, laundry detergent, and biscuits made for the troops to enjoy during their second week of the school holidays.

What have you all been up to ? How are you managing to entertain the kids on a budget ?

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx