"Hello, Sidney"

But still interested in feeding yourself? What if I told you that there’s a woman with a blog who had to feed both herself and her young son…on 10 British pounds ($15/14 Euro) per week?

Let me tell you a thing.

This woman saved my life last year. Actually saved my life. I had a piggy bank full of change and that’s it. Many people in my fandom might remember that dark time as when I had to hock my writing skills in exchange for donations. I cried a lot then. 

This is real talk, people: I marked down exactly what I needed to buy, totaled it, counted out that exact change, and then went to three different stores to buy what I needed so I didn’t have to dump a load of change on just one person. I was already embarrassed, but to feel people staring? Utter shame suffused me. The reasons behind that are another post all together. 

AgirlcalledJack.com is run by a British woman who was on benefits for years. Things got desperate. She had to find a way to feed herself and her son using just the basics that could be found at the supermarket. But the recipes she came up with are amazing. 

You have to consider the differing costs of things between countries, but if you just have three ingredients in your cupboard, this woman will tell you what to do with it. Check what you already have. Chances are you have the basics of a filling meal already. 

Here’s her list of kitchen basics. 

Bake your own bread. It’s easier than you think. Here’s a list of many recipes, each using some variation of just plain flour, yeast, some oil, maybe water or lemon juice. And kneading bread is therapeutic. 

Make your own pasta–gluten free. 

She gets it. She really does. This is the article that started it all. It’s called “Hunger Hurts”.

She has vegan recipes.

A carrot, a can of kidney beans, and some cumin will get you a really filling soup…or throw in some flour for binding and you’ve got yourself a burger. 

Don’t have an oven or the stove isn’t available? She covers that in her Microwave Cooking section. 

She has a book, but many recipes can be found on her blog for free. She prices her recipes down to the cent, and every year she participates in a project called “Living Below the Line” where she has to live on 1 BP per day of food for five days. 

Things improved for me a little, but her website is my go to. I learned how to bake bread (using my crockpot, but that was my own twist), and I have a little cart full of things that saved me back then, just in case I need them again. She gives you the tools to feed yourself, for very little money, and that’s a fabulous feeling. 

Tip: Whenever you have a little extra money, buy a 10 dollar/pound/euro giftcard from your discount grocer. Stash it. That’s your super emergency money. Make sure they don’t charge by the month for lack of use, though.

I don’t care if it sounds like an advertisement–you won’t be buying anything from the site. What I DO care about is your mental, emotional, and physical health–and dammit, food’s right in the center of that. 

Here’s an up to date link

Hi, thanks for letting me know, I’m aware there are several sellers on etsy and on instagram, tiktok, their own janky sites, etc. It’s a truly pervasive problem in our community right now.

And I’m tired of it. I’ve been urging people to keep fandom free for a while now, but it honestly feels like screaming at the sea. In the past few days alone, several dramione authors have pulled their works from ao3 and at least one has left the community altogether. 

I’m not going anywhere, nor are my fics, but this abhorrent behavior is extremely disheartening. I started participating in fandom and sharing my writing because it was a fun hobby. So while I won’t be pulling my works, I can say that those who are out here commodifying my stories have made me simply want to participate less. It’s no longer fun if my extremely limited free time is spent reporting shops or fielding questions about commissions. I have lots of stories I’d love to still share, but it’s taking too much of my energy to deal with all this and then I find I no longer feel as inspired to write and share fics. When my stress relieving activity starts to become the source of stress, it’s time to pull back. 

If you are a reader and you do come across these shops, please report them. Unfortunately, I have no other recourse that wouldn’t involve me revealing personal/private information and again, the entire reason I participate in fandom is to have a fun, silly time writing about two idiots kissing and to read others’ stories about the same two idiots kissing. 

shadow & bone s1 canon au — arranged marriage au

upon her discovery as the sun summoner, alina starkov finds herself presented to king pytor and queen tatiana, and they inform her that she must wed. refusing at first, alina nearly escapes the little palace in the back-cart of a merchant's pony. but soon after, alina meets her the one to be her intended, her husband, as well as her off-and-on mentor: general kirigan. and he is as irresistible to her heart as alina is to his.