'Spend your time doing inexpensive and free things instead of shopping.' suggests minimalist Leo Babatua (25 Mar).
This reminds me of 'poor week'.
We used to have what we called poor week at the end of some months when money was particularly tight. It sounds awful, but in fact it was often fun (we were never without the necessities - poor is a relative term!) But we'd announce 'OK it's poor week, what can we do that's fun and doesn't cost anything?' And the girls would come up with ideas - we'd go to the park and picnic and make things and plant seeds and fly kites or do jigsaws, go to the library and visit anything that was free, and put up a tent in the garden and....
We'd avoid the supermarket and dig deep in the back of cupboards and the freezer inventing meals and strange sandwiches from whatever was there. We'd make soup and bake bread and scones and, everyone's favourite, bramble and apple sponge pudding, and make popcorn, and homemade lemonade and (the girls like to remind me of this) we once picked nettles from the hedgerows, wearing rubber gloves, to put in nettle quiche - disappointingly, it didn't taste of anything, but I'm sure it was good for us! There was quite a bit of grumbling about that one (I think they were afraid their friends would see them) but on the whole we had a lot of fun on poor week, and ate rather well.
I think the Pick And Choose was invented one really poor week, the day before pay day - we just put everything that was left in the cupboard, fridge, vegetable basket and the fruit bowl onto the table - it was the oddest mix, but beautifully arranged on our best dishes, with napkins and a candle. We told the girls to help themselves to a 'Pick And Choose'. They thought it was really special and it became a favourite kind of meal! I really don't think they knew that it was created from sheer desperation....
This reminds me of 'poor week'.
We used to have what we called poor week at the end of some months when money was particularly tight. It sounds awful, but in fact it was often fun (we were never without the necessities - poor is a relative term!) But we'd announce 'OK it's poor week, what can we do that's fun and doesn't cost anything?' And the girls would come up with ideas - we'd go to the park and picnic and make things and plant seeds and fly kites or do jigsaws, go to the library and visit anything that was free, and put up a tent in the garden and....
We'd avoid the supermarket and dig deep in the back of cupboards and the freezer inventing meals and strange sandwiches from whatever was there. We'd make soup and bake bread and scones and, everyone's favourite, bramble and apple sponge pudding, and make popcorn, and homemade lemonade and (the girls like to remind me of this) we once picked nettles from the hedgerows, wearing rubber gloves, to put in nettle quiche - disappointingly, it didn't taste of anything, but I'm sure it was good for us! There was quite a bit of grumbling about that one (I think they were afraid their friends would see them) but on the whole we had a lot of fun on poor week, and ate rather well.
I think the Pick And Choose was invented one really poor week, the day before pay day - we just put everything that was left in the cupboard, fridge, vegetable basket and the fruit bowl onto the table - it was the oddest mix, but beautifully arranged on our best dishes, with napkins and a candle. We told the girls to help themselves to a 'Pick And Choose'. They thought it was really special and it became a favourite kind of meal! I really don't think they knew that it was created from sheer desperation....
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