The chap visited this past weekend and it reminded me of the visiting GIs from the war era. He wooed me with chocolate, wine and cans of soup from the black market. Yes, I strayed from my own rationing guidelines this weekend. But when we sat down together to watch a film with our coffee and small chocolate bars, I didn’t feel any guilt. In fact, I appreciated the treat a lot more than if I wasn’t sticking to rationing 90% of the time.
My purse wouldn’t approve of this weekend though. Money does disappear very quickly if you are constantly popping in and out of shops for “a few bits”. Luckily, my purse was unaffected, as the chap’s wallet came to the rescue. But it doesn’t make financially sense to continually spend in the way we did this past weekend.
After seeing the link on Sue’s blog, Frugal in Suffolk, I listened to the episode of The Food Programme and then discovered Claire’s blog, Eat for Victory, and read her blog. I found I had a lot in common with her morals and virtues concerning food and rationing. She actually allows herself £5 a week to spend on “Black Market” products and I thought about adopting this approach myself. I don’t really have £5 to spare each week, so I think a glass of wine and a bit of choccie every now and then won’t hurt. As long as I stick to my principles of little waste, making food stretch and efficient shopping, I think I’ll be just fine.
As for today, I’ve spent the majority of this week’s budget this morning. I sent parcels and cards for upcoming birthdays and celebrations, as well as collecting my rations for the week. There is some major cooking going on today, in preparation for a busy week ahead. I shall be sharing my culinary adventures and experiments over the next few days. No more contraband products for me!
The Domestic Storyteller 