The first daffodils ... and stocked kitchen cupboards

Our first daffodils have bloomed!  In the sun yesterday they positively glowed and really cheered me up.  The crocuses are just showing some colour - another couple of days and I think they will be in flower, and the dwarf tulips are on their way, too.  It was lovely and sunny in the garden, the washing dried on the line in just a few hours, and yet we have been forecast snow in the next day or two.  It's bizarre!

My son and his girlfriend are back from their holiday and are now sleeping off the jet-lag!  I'm so looking forward to hearing about their travels - and seeing the ring ;).

N and I had a really successful trip to the supermarket to do a 'big' shop.  We made the effort to be organised.  N is a great cook but if I ask him for a recipe for a meal, he usually just says " well, I just used what we had".  Not so helpful.  However, we actually made a list of as many meals as we could think of that he makes on a regular basis, and then went through each one and jotted down the ingredients we needed.  By checking what we already had in the cupboards (and they were getting a bit bare) we were able to make a comprehensive shopping list of the ingredients we know we use often.  I don't always enjoy food shopping, unlike N who will happily mooch around the aisles looking for inspiration, but yesterday I went with a different attitude, and have to say I enjoyed the process far more.  We had a good look at different flours for baking, costing out different brands, comparing prices/weights with what is available elsewhere.  We don't have a problem buying the store's own brand and/or value range of products if we feel there is little or no difference in taste and quality.  We shop wisely, looking for bargains and deals on products that we use and need, but don't get distracted into buying things we don't use.  I'm still keeping a record of what we spend from our joint account monthly allowance, and it's working really well.  

I have also started to make a list of all the ingredients and products in our store cupboards, partly as a reminder to me what we use.  I want to keep an eye on prices, too.  A lot of pricing information can be found online nowadays, and that's really helpful in finding the best buys and price comparisons, and therefore planning shopping trips and what to buy, and where.  It's just a question of being organised and being prepared to put a bit of time and effort into planning.  Now we're not at work, we've certainly got the time, no excuse!