We haven't done much over the Easter weekend as Saturday was the start of the cricket season so Mick and Daniel were out all day playing their first match and on Sunday, we packed Daniel up and took him back to university.
While the boys were out playing cricket on Saturday, I did a bit of baking for Daniel to take back with him on Sunday. First, I made a lemon drizzle cake. Can you see all the little holes that I stab in in so that plenty of lemon syrup drains right in to the cake?
.jpg)
Then, I made Daniel's favourite, brownies. This is a Mary Berry recipe and it's delicious, crispy on the outside and deliciously gooey on the inside.
.jpg)
Before Daniel went back to university on Sunday, he decided that he'd open up a tin in which he'd been saving bits and bobs of money over the last couple of years.
.jpg)
He hadn't been able to see what was in there as it's completely sealed and there's no way of getting in unless it's opened up with a tin opener.
.jpg)
I was surprised that he'd managed to squirrel away quite so many notes.
.jpg)
He'd got £95 in notes, £60 in pound coins and £5 in fifty pences. The rest of the coins didn't make up whole bags of what the bank would accept, so he used this money to start off another tin. All told though, there was about £200 in that tin. He's taken some of the money back to university with him and asked me to put the rest of it in his bank account for him. He's not daft with money, he manages his student loan himself, working out his rent, what he needs for food shopping and what he can afford to spend on going out. My friend works all this out for her son and drip feeds him an allowance week by week, but I think it's important that they get used to looking after their own finances, you can't be doing it for them all their life.
.jpg)
So as I said, the house is very quiet today, but it's only four weeks now until Eleanor leaves school. She only has to go back in when she has an exam after that, so the house will, once again, be full of noise.
I love that noise - can't put my finger on it, but a constant background jumble of sounds, just knowing that they are around. Love the peace occasionally too though!
ReplyDeleteI think it's the presence that I like, knowing that they're nearby. I certainly don't miss the noise, the tv gets turned on, then left on when they leave the room, there's singing, guitar playing, keyboard playing, music blasting, the list goes on. I do like my quite time, but I love having them all at home too.
DeleteCakes look very nice Jo I bet Daniel will of been pleased to be able to take those back with him. My daughter quite likes baking and her and her flat mate quite often have a baking session to keep them going. I agree it is very important they learn how to work their finances out for themselves. My daughter was very good the first year not quite so good this but I'm hoping now she has another little job to top her up that next year will be better again. Daniel certainly did very well with his tin. It's surprising how much you can ferret away in them. Number 2 bought me one of those clay pots when we bought the cottage that had gardening fund on the side and it certainly built up a nice little stash by the time I came to opening it to do things in the garden.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Daniel requested some baking to take back with him, he likes to share it with his housemates so I made plenty. I'm hoping that Daniel does as well with his finances next year as he has this year. His bills are included in his rent this year, whereas he's moving off campus next year and he has to pay his bills seperately so it will be something else he'll have to budget for. He hasn't got a job so he's managing on his loan very well. It's amazing how much can be stashed away in a pot if you just keep adding a few coins to it.
Deleteyour bakes look very yummy.....enjoy the peace and quiet!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It took a lot of willpower not to keep a bit back for myself, I'm quite partial to lemon drizzle cake. I've managed to hear myself think today, that hasn't happened very often in the last couple of weeks.
DeleteDidn't he do well? (Brucie coming out in me there!)
ReplyDeleteI love the first day after a holiday when you can breathe again, but my quiet times only last til 4pm. I can't imagine how quiet it would be otherwise!
He did, I think he'll be having a few good nights out in York this term. You'd think the house would be fairly quiet now I've only got one at home, not so, Eleanor's in to singing and music so there's always noise when she's at home. I can't imagine what it will be like when they've both left home.
DeleteSounds like you've trained him well. You'll miss all the noise and clutter, but eventually you get use to the quiet.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't take long when Daniel left for university to get used to him not being here, but I think it will be very strange when neither of them are at home any more.
DeleteI love that you're teaching Daniel (and I presume Eleanor, too) about money this way. It's the same approach I've begun to take. My husband and I always say we aren't raising children, we're raising adults! They need to learn the skills early so that they can be independent later on. Your baking all looks delicious. I'm thinking about baking something in the next few days and brownies are sounding great to me... :)
ReplyDeleteI'm certainly trying to teach both Daniel and Eleanor about money, it's been easy with Daniel but Eleanor will insist that money is there to be spent, I dread to think what she'll be like when she has to fend for herself, but I'm sure she'll manage. This brownie recipe is really delicious, do let me know if you'd like me to send you the link.
DeleteHe did so well with saving that money! I know Rob struggled this year (his second year) he underestimated how much more moving out of halls would be. It's a good life lesson for him & one I prefer him to have learnt now than later on in his life. Well done you on baking for Daniel to take back to uni with him, I'm sending Rob back with some chicken fillets next week.
ReplyDeleteI think Daniel's second year will be testing for him, it will be very different when he has to start accounting for bills. Perhaps then, he'll understand what I mean when I ask him to turn lights, heating or appliances off when he's not using them. I do like to bake for Daniel, he's quite a fussy eater so I'm really pleased when there's something he particularly likes and he asks me for it.
DeleteThe older I get the more I appreciate a bit of quiet. I wouldn't like it if it was ALL the time tho'. Your son has done really well to manage his finances and have a bit put away too. he's obviously had a good teacher!
ReplyDeleteGill
I think you're right, a bit of noise and bit of quiet in equal measures. I worked in a bank, or accounts, from leaving school until I stopped working so I've always been the one who managed the money here. I think it's really important to be able to live within our means without getting in to debt and I hope both Daniel and Eleanor live with the same principles.
DeleteLemon drizzle looks very tempting, its one of my favourites. Daniel has done really well with his savings tin, its amazing how it mounts up, Im sure he will enjoy the benefits of a bit of extra cash! Its lovely to have the hustle and bustle of family but its also nice to have a bit of peace and quiet. Xx
ReplyDeleteI love lemon drizzle cake too, the tangier the better. I think Daniel will enjoy a bit of extra cash this term, I know he's got some nights out planned so he'll have a bit extra to spend on them. I do enjoy my peace and quiet but I enjoy having the family around me too.
DeleteI love the fact there's no way of coaxing money back out of that savings tin... It must have been a lovely surprise for Daniel when he opened it! Holidays down here are a bit out of synch with the rest of the country (I've got the rest of this week off). It's a good chance to start catching up with everyone's news.
ReplyDeletePlease pass on my best wishes to Eleanor for her exams. Jx
Those tins are great for saving in, I've got one myself but haven't started using it yet. The school holidays around here are all staggered too, some kids are back at school whereas some are still at home. I hope you enjoy the rest of this week off. Thank you for your good wishes for Eleanor, she's been working so hard for her exams, I for one will be glad when they're all over.
DeleteThe cakes look delicious. Well done to Daniel for saving that amount and managing his own finances which, as you rightly say, is important that they do for themselves. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteThank you. I haven't heard from Daniel since he's been back, but I'm sure they'll have gone down well with his housemates. Daniel has become so independent since leaving for university at the back end of last year, I'm really proud of the young man he's turned in to.
DeleteThose cakes look lush. Edens exams start in four weeks, she's been doing so much revising but it's such a stressful time for them. I can't believe she finishes school in a matter of weeks!
ReplyDeleteI don't know where the time goes, it doesn't seem two minutes since I was waving Eleanor goodbye on her first day at school, now she's ready for moving in to the sixth form. I'm counting down until the 13th of June, Eleanor's last exam. I'll be glad when they're all over.
DeleteWell done to Daniel for saving all that money - and for resisting breaking into the tin before now! Good luck to Eleanor for her exams. Enjoy the peace while it lasts! :o)
ReplyDeleteI thought Daniel would have opened the tin before now, he's done very well to leave it be all this time. Thank you for the good wishes for Eleanor, she's been studying hard so she deserves to do well.
DeleteThe baking looks delicious and if we lived close you could have lemons off my tree.(giggle) I think we should give our children lessons in money from the time they are young and 2 out of 3 of mine are good. Hope Daniel is settled back in and Eleanor enjoys her last weeks of school. Take care.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to have a lemon tree. I think I'd have to make lemon drizzle cake every week just to use all the lemons up, either that or a gin and tonic each night. I think that money management should be part of the school curriculum, so many kids these days leave school without a clue how to go on and that's the reason why many are so bad at budgeting for essentials. I haven't heard from Daniel since he's been back but both he and Eleanor were anxious to get back to university and school, they miss not being there when they're at home.
DeleteI can almost smell the lemon drizzle cake now!
ReplyDeleteI bet they were all very well received back at Uni.
What a lovely amount of savings Daniel had in that tin. He's got his head screwed on has that lad. What a good example you must have provided for him.
Lisa x
Daniel said that the baking was eaten up in no time. Daniel's always been a good saver, his good habits are paying off at uni, he's able to budget well enough to enjoy nights out right the way through term whereas some of his housemates are spending their loans as soon as they get them and are getting themselves in to debt to pay for things they want to do.
Delete