It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

Charis

mummysaver wrote: »

Actually came back to post the muffin recipe I said I would the other day! This gives great soft muffins, they keep pretty well and freeze well too.

225g s/r flour
2 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
100g caster sugar
1 egg
250ml milk
120ml veg oil

Preheat oven to 200c/gas 6, mix dry ingredients together, mix wet ingredients in a bowl then pour into the dry ones. Stir until everything is just mixed, about 30 secs, batter should be lumpy but with no visible flour. Fill 12 muffin cases 3/4 full, bake for 15-20mins. Muffins are cooked when tops are lightly browned and they feel springy.

You can add whatever flavourings you fancy, choc chips, raisins, nuts, or cranberry (add 180ml cranberry sauce and decrease milk to 230ml).

Thank you so much for this recipe mummysaver. I had a couple of elderly apples and an overripe banana lurking in the kitchen tonight, so I grated the lot and made muffins with your recipe. Delicious! Much better than when I have previously tried to make muffins, which always seemed to end up mostly stuck to the muffin case. It was an interesting experience grating a banana too. :rotfl:

ceridwen

mummysaver wrote: »

Ceridwen - the grow thing looks good, I've seen them advertised in gardening mags, looks fairly substantial and very space saving. Can I ask what you're planning to grow in there? As for growing more than you need I'm sure you'll be able to barter or freeze or preserve excess produce, after all isn't this what people used to do, grow extra to swap and to see them through the winter!

Well - I studied the depth of the trays that come with this thingy and thought "Hmmm...look pretty shallow...but how many different things can one grow in that sort of depth (ie 4")?". Went off and investigated and then duly listed things that can be grown at various shallower depths on my 2nd blog - ie:

http://mygardeningnotes.blogspot.com/

and what I found (and duly listed) as suitable for 4" depth was:

basil
chickweed
chives
claytonia
coriander
corn salad
lettuce
marjoram
oriental greens
pansies
radishes
rocket
salad burnet
welsh onions.

So - I decided that didnt sound like a bad number of things and catered pretty well for me wanting a large portion of salad every day ideally. So - duly ordered it and the plastic cover and fleece cover - thinking "all year round".

I belong to a LETS Scheme - so there might be some scope for "trading" anything excess I end up producing through this. But - ultimately - I'm quite prepared to "barter" generally - even give surplus away. I'm very emotionally "invested" in living in a stable society - and part of that is that everyone gets enough to eat in my book.

Primrose

Ceridwen - you might also to experiment with growing the type of tomatoes which grow in hanging baskets which don't contain huge amounts of compost. Last year I grew a variety called Tumbling Tom in a shallow pot. They are a cherry tomato and come in both red and yellow varieties. You would have to be careful to ensure the compost didn't dry out and add a weekly dose of liquid fertiliser as soon as the fruit start to appear.

sunflower76

Well today it l;ooks like the 'crunch' has caught up with me. MrS came home with a letter saying that he needs to go in tomorrow at 2:30 for a meeting to discuss what can be done to avoid his redundancy. His whole team has had the same letter and it looks very grim indeed. As if it isn't bad enough, it's so galling that instead of holding the meetings on their premises they've hired out an expensive hotel to do the deed. What an utter waste of money.

I don't see that many of them will keep their jobs, if any, as the whole place is shut tomorrow while the meetings take place and they are normally open 7am - 11pm. I've told him to go in and offer reduced hours or even a job share as some money is better than none.

I'm not as shocked as I thought I'd be, we've managed before and we'll manage again, although I'm not really sure how! I think that without this board we'd be in a much worse position so I thank my lucky stars that we have already cut back a lot.

We have an allotment so, should the worst happen, I shall send him there when he isn't actively looking for a job. If we can't afford veg then it'll have to come from there! He hates anything to do with it so if nothing else it'll encourage him to find real work!

Primrose

Sunflower - so sorry about your news. Virtually every day somebody on this thread is now in the same situation. Do hope your OH manages to hang on in there. But I agree that hiring a hotel and spending money to break bad news is in very poor taste. Really says something about management sensitivity, doesn't it?

savingforoz

Definitely agree, Primrose. Sunflower76, sorry to hear your news. I can only hope that things come right for you somehow xxx. These are very difficult times for so many.

fletch3163

sunflower76 wrote: »

Well today it l;ooks like the 'crunch' has caught up with me. MrS came home with a letter saying that he needs to go in tomorrow at 2:30 for a meeting to discuss what can be done to avoid his redundancy. His whole team has had the same letter and it looks very grim indeed. As if it isn't bad enough, it's so galling that instead of holding the meetings on their premises they've hired out an expensive hotel to do the deed. What an utter waste of money.

I don't see that many of them will keep their jobs, if any, as the whole place is shut tomorrow while the meetings take place and they are normally open 7am - 11pm. I've told him to go in and offer reduced hours or even a job share as some money is better than none.

I'm not as shocked as I thought I'd be, we've managed before and we'll manage again, although I'm not really sure how! I think that without this board we'd be in a much worse position so I thank my lucky stars that we have already cut back a lot.

We have an allotment so, should the worst happen, I shall send him there when he isn't actively looking for a job. If we can't afford veg then it'll have to come from there! He hates anything to do with it so if nothing else it'll encourage him to find real work!

I'm so sorry to hear all the sad news here. I'm playing catchup with the thread again and it's left me pretty sad to see so many of us worried sick, it truly does. There's nothing we can do to help each other, or ourselves, except be there with sympathy (hugs all).

In October last year I took a 10% paycut. All of the staff did. My theory was I'd rather have 90% of something than 100% of nothing. I need my wages, it's that simple. I just pray it doesn't get any harder for us, though I do fear it will. Things are grim and we're not at the bottom. I genuinely believe we've at least a year of this to go. Mervin King does concede we'll come out the other side but he didn't mention when.

Am so sorry to all of you who are facing tough times.:A

*moggins*

sunflower76 so sorry to hear your news. Give him a huge hug as I know from experience when I got made redundant it felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach.

BB1984

It makes me so sad to hear of people losing their jobs
My friend is being made redundant at the end of the month; she's in the same industry as me so it seems even more "real". My company made about 10% of the workforce redundant at the end of November, and I can't see how we'll avoid more before this year is out - the construction industry is being so badly hit. It's horrible seeing my friends and colleagues lose their jobs whilst at the same time feeling relieved that it wasn't me...this time. Luckily my office is in a better position work-wise than the rest of the company, so fingers crossed we'll ride the storm out. I'm one of the "last in" though so I do worry. OH and I have just bought a house and have a big mortgage - and we've been spending a lot renovating the house from scratch. However, we've saved money where we can on the refurb, and have put some by as an emergency fund, which will pay my half of the mortgage for a few months if I get made redundant. Luckily OH is a civil servant so his job is reasonably secure.
Thanks to people on here I have regained my lost OS ways recently, and have been enjoying meal planning and trying out some new tips too - stretching bolognese further by adding soya mince and/or oats (really can't tell!), dusting off my beloved slowcooker (have bought some oxtail for this weekend's experiment), and freezing things I never imagined could be frozen (stilton springs to mind)...!
I think there is a lot of scaremongering going on in the media (and to be honest, sometimes on here too!), but equally we all have to look after ourselves and our families, and be prepared for the worst, whilst hoping for the best!
BB

elizabunny

sunflower76 wrote: »

Well today it l;ooks like the 'crunch' has caught up with me. MrS came home with a letter saying that he needs to go in tomorrow at 2:30 for a meeting to discuss what can be done to avoid his redundancy. His whole team has had the same letter and it looks very grim indeed. As if it isn't bad enough, it's so galling that instead of holding the meetings on their premises they've hired out an expensive hotel to do the deed. What an utter waste of money.

Hello sunflower76 -so sorry to hear your worrying news. As I understand it, the procedure when there is a possibility of making someone redundant, is to give the whole team or department the same letter about the meeting. I am only saying this because that is exactly what happened to DH. Everyone in his department was given the same letter -but only one person was made redundant at that time -although they were all warned that there could be more redundancies at a later date. They are now operating on a 4 day week. I do hope your OH will be ok though. Fingers crossed.