It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

Charis

kittie wrote: »

I believe that the first consequence for us, re stopping the 3% gas that we get from russia via the netherlands, is that gas pressure will be lowered.

We only have a rad thermostats and I have noticed today that the house is approx 2 degrees colder. No settings have been changed

Germany for one has started to draw on its stored gas

I had my gas warm air boiler serviced this morning and the serviceman commented that my gas pressure had dropped. 1.5 millibars and they are allowed up to 4 millibars, I think he said, before they have to hunt for a leak. He put it down to the cold weather and copper gas pipes....?:cool:

ceridwen

Oh dear - I can feel I'd better have a looksee at my boiler!

The Russians picked their timing - didnt they? Obviously their weather forecasters are better than ours...

rosieben

I've already posted this on the GC thread, but thought it might be of interest to a few people here

Victorian Farm, a series starting on Thurs 8th at 9:00pm on BBC2; covers food prep etc as well as farming – we may learn something new about making butter

Kitchen Pharmacy is a new series that starts on Friday 9th at 12:30pm on ch 4
Thurs prog looks at anti-aging remedies, probably the least interesting thing for me (way too late! J) but hopefully there may be more interesting subjects in the series.




Edited to say, the Kitchen Pharmacy started today, sorry!

Sylvan

I've just bought that one too mummysaver. I've had to juggle to fit it on the worktop. I'd love a jam maker (and a breadmaker - DS5 thinks I'm mad but I can't knead any more and he's not always going to be around) but can't imagine where I would find the space for it. On 3m of worktop we have the TV (nowhere else to put it), fruit bowl, breadbin, 2 toasters (the boys think it's wasteful to use the big one if it isn't full so they use the one the nice dead lady left us, but it doesn't have wide slots so we need to keep the big one out too), the combination oven/grill/microwave, sandwich toaster, kettle, a mug of pens and the phone - and now the SC. We bought one of those lean mean grilling machine thingies years ago, when the Caravan Club started including electricity in the basic fee. Haven't been away for a couple of years but it's still sitting in there because there's no room for it in the house!

Talking of things you keep on the worktop: I bought a yoghurt maker about 28 years ago and used it constantly for about 5 years, till my mother broke the lid and one of the glasses. I've been wanting another one for ages but don't know where to start. Any ideas? Lakeland do one, but it seems to need some sort of powder that you have to keep buying. Mine used heat, so you could start off with a bought tub of live yogurt and then just re-use the last of each batch to start the next one, ad infinitum.

I'm afraid the sausage roll addiction is entirely my fault. Work, school, shops etc were 20 miles away from where we used to live so it wasn't possible to go home between times. DS5 has ADHD, so was (is) constantly hungry and thirsty. We used to drop teenagers at school and little big brother at playgroup and then walk down to the baker, where he would say "Shrolls pease" (and hold up 2 fingers when the lady asked "How many":rotfl:). We moved, the big'uns left school and the littl'uns were schooled in a couple of different counties, but every time we went back there he used to beg for those sausage rolls. I'm sure it was that, rather than the Science Dept, that really influenced his choice of 6th form (unless it was the fact that GF was going there?):p

Good for you Vanya:T. Hang in there - it'll be worth it.

mardatha, I don't think she will have minded the fire in between everything else so much as minding everything else in between the fire! I really miss my Rayburn but Lurch and the boys certainly don't miss the work. When he was ill DS5 had to get up at 6am to fettle it before school and DS4 had to do it every night (and, always, I had to remember to keep checking whether it needed feeding through the day). And then there's all the soot...:eek: Imagine having open fires in the whole house. You'd never stop!

Thanks maryb. I think I probably didn't do it for long enough. I was so worried it would burn and when it finally started to bubble I started to worry it would solidify and become hard toffee:o. It was runny, but very nice (though Lurch thought it was too sweet - that's a first!) Next time I'll try less sugar (I always forget that muscovado tends to be sweeter) and I'll try to be brave enough to cook it for longer.

Ooh,:T I'll have to check whether Kitchen Pharmacy is on 4OD:T. I wonder whether it'll be anything like the book "The Food Pharmacy".

Gigervamp

VanyaHargreeves wrote: »

Because I am in high school and just starting my GCSEs, I generally need a lot of revision guides etc - these I buy on EBay and charity shops.

I often see revision guides being offered on my local Freecycle groups, so it's worth you trying there.

Keep up the good work!

savingforoz

Sylvan wrote: »

Talking of things you keep on the worktop: I bought a yoghurt maker about 28 years ago and used it constantly for about 5 years, till my mother broke the lid and one of the glasses. I've been wanting another one for ages but don't know where to start. Any ideas? Lakeland do one, but it seems to need some sort of powder that you have to keep buying. Mine used heat, so you could start off with a bought tub of live yogurt and then just re-use the last of each batch to start the next one, ad infinitum.

Sylvan, Lakeland do 2 types of yoghurt maker - the Easiyo, where you do need to keep buying sachets of powder, but also they do their own Bulk Yoghurt maker, where you just need milk and yoghurt to use it. I'm going to buy one later this month and other MSE users say it's great.

mummysaver

Good morning ladies, and any men lurking (oh that doesn't sound good does it, lol!).

Vanya - well done you! You don't fancy popping round and giving my dd1 some lessons do you? Bless her, she's lovely but trust her with doing my weekly shop and I suspect we'd all be in a lot of trouble! Your parents sound amazing, moving half way round the world, not speaking the language and setting up what is obviously a successful business - thinking about it, perhaps they could give ME some lessons!

Mardatha - life did used to be a lot more simple, and things were much more family centred, guess we don't really have the local jobs or families living close together anymore. My nan used to have washday, bake day, etc, she also worked full time as a nurse, had 7 children and then looked after all the grandchildren at weekends and holidays, really she must've been some kind of superwoman! I think I've inherited her kitchen attitude, don't worry, throw it together and something edible will appear eventually!

Jamanda and Rosieben - hope you won't mind us all picking your wine making brains?!

Pagangirl - hope you recover quickly. You can grow allsorts on a windowsill, salad leaves are great as you have them to hand and can just keep picking as you need them, herbs work well and look pretty too! You can grow toms and I know Thompson and Morgan sell seeds for the indoor varieties. At this time of year as Primrose said, the light isn't great for much more than mustard and cress or sprouting seeds - don't bother with one of those silly sprouting tiered boxes, a jam jar with a bit of cloth held over with an elastic band works well, bung in the seeds (mung beans/alfalfa/chick peas), soak for 24 hours, drain off the excess water, then rinse them twice a day, they'll soon be sprouting away. They are nice just to pick at when you're watching telly or reading and much healthier than biscuits, and good in salads, stir frys and sarnies.

mummysaver

Sylvan - I used to have a yoghurt maker with glass beakers when the kids were tiny, my MIL thought I was joking when I said that was what I wanted for my birthday when she asked, so she gave me a boots voucher, luckily they sold the said yoghurt maker! It was used constantly, oh how my ds used to love yoghurt, funny cos he hardly eats it now! Anyway what I was getting round to saying was that I make yoghurt most days now and just use a large flask, easy to clean and doesn't take up much room! I use a litre of UHT milk, warmed to blood temp in the mw, pour in, add a small pot of live yoghurt or 5tbsp of old hm yoghurt (does get sour if you do this too many times), then add between 4 and 8 teaspoons of milk powder depending on how thick I want the yoghurt, weekends we have it thick cos it's nice with honey, like Greek yoghurt then. I put on the lid, give it a shake and leave it for the day or overnight. Sometimes it can look a bit lumpy and liquidy when it's poured out, but a quick whisk sorts it out, then I bung it in a lock n lock box in the fridge. I make it at the same time as I put the bm on in the mornings usually.

You can strain it for a couple of hours to get it like fromage frais, or overnight to turn it into a soft spreadable cheese, we flavour it with garlic and herbs! I use a piece of muslin inside a sieve over a bowl in the fridge.

mummysaver

Rosieben, the programmes look good, will see if the kitchen pharmacy is on listen again in a mo, I can multitask lol! The farmhouse one sounds good as well! Talking of making butter, I've asked for some paddles for my birthday lol! Since Christmas I've been buying up reduced cream and making my own butter, well actually dd2 has taken it over now! I paid 40p each for large tubs of extra thick cream, and each one gives 8oz of butter, I just wrap them and freeze until we need them, it's great cos we get through a lot of butter with baking and just everyday life!

Caterina

VanyaHargreeves wrote: »

Am only fourteen so there's really not much I can do to help save money but I do what I can. I am Chinese - my parents migrated here when my older sister was 6 and before I was born. They don't speak a lot of english and run a chinese take-away - not the most glamourous job on earth. However, I really do admire them. When they came to England they didn't know any of the language and didn't have any money, but still they managed to get a stable job and a roof over our heads, so I try to do what I can.
I apply for a lot of free samples that make up most of our luxuries: it saves a fair bit of money if you get bare essentials. I also do the weekly shop for my mum so she has a bit more time on her hands. I try to stick to the BOGOF offers, buy in bulk and own brands only. I use a shopping list and stick to it - I take my little sister along and we get to pick one thing off of the list every other week.
Because I am in high school and just starting my GCSEs, I generally need a lot of revision guides etc - these I buy on EBay and charity shops. I used to do a paper round but it got too much - I would be tired BEFORE school, which is a bad idea.
I try to get good marks in school for hope of a better future - my lowest predicted GCSE grade is a B+. However, I did get a C+ in my last English analysis so....:/

Just going off on a tangent here :L

Vanya you sound like an amazing young woman, I am sure that with your positive attitude you will go far! :T

This was a beautiful post to read, is there such a thing of a "post of the month"? If so I would like to propose Vanya's post for it!

Have a good day, everybody!