really old style living?

Hardup_Hester

Hips? Haws? Rowan?

NualaBuala

I thought I'd come to the wrong thread for a minute with all the happy clappy stuff!

Ceridwen, I know what you mean though. Something similar to Mardatha's approach works for me.

I prepare myself for whatever difficulties seem probable, but I don't overstretch myself in my preparations. I know that might not seem prudent but I have limitations in what I can do - cos of money, where I live, my health etc. Once I've done what I can, I sort of mentally let it go. I think we all want to feel in control but really we're not, we can only do our best. And then I just pay attention to the good simple things that make me happy like the birds singing, the stars, flowers, a crackling fire on a cold evening, a hot mug of tea.

Today will involve quite a few of my simple pleasures ... starting with some fabulous-coloured carrot and beetroot HM soup and then a bit of knitting I think.

mardatha

Its Hawthorn ! LOL could not for the life of me remember it ! if you go to this link halfway down the page is a pic that looks just like the hedges here - and the back road wanders for miles with these hedges on either side, its very red and festive looking.
http://www.nature-diary.co.uk/2004-09-05.htm

meanmarie

Looks lovely Mardatha....there is some kind of a health thing going at the moment about haws....can't remember details, maybe someone else can??

Worrying I no longer do as I can't afford the hassle and sleepless nights....you do your best and, as Nuala said, let it go.

marie

ginnyknit

They say if you have a bumper crop of berries its going to be a hard winter, don't they. But I guess you already sampled that last night Mardatha I hear there were frosts up where you are? I know its already flipping cool here and the fluffy socks are on.

Have been looking for rosehips to make Dgs some syrup but they have all been scoffed, I think the birds will be too fat to fly this year! My chickens really enjoyed the blackberries left after I squeezed them out from jam making and its just occurred to me they would enjoy hips and haws to I imagine, after all the birds eat them and they are ful of goodness - ok off to the end of the street tomorrow to get some haws - got to eke out their chicken feed a bit more

Been doing a lot of make do and mend this week, Dd's windows are long and narrow and mine are short and wide so have re- made some curtains - you know take the tape off, turn them round and put tape on the short width. My Mum made some heavy lined curtains for Ds's room for 4 pounds. All I needed then was some cushion fabric and dug out some red and some cream, so made reversible cushions for Dd, old pillows to fill them and Bobs your aunty and not a penny spent ( not that we had a spare penny :rotfl:)

mardatha

It was really frosty last night but we woke up to horrible damp gloom. Looks like its going to rain any minute ...nothing like a wet monday morning to make you smile eh !
I wanted to ask - when you gather pine cones for firelighters or for xmas, how do you get rid of the beasties in them ? Obviously yu cant dunk them in the sink, cos then you'd need to waste time drying them out.. I once collected some for a xmas basket and the amount of LEGS that came out of them scunnered me for life ! :eek:

Primrose

mardatha wrote: »

I wanted to ask - when you gather pine cones for firelighters or for xmas, how do you get rid of the beasties in them ? Obviously yu cant dunk them in the sink, cos then you'd need to waste time drying them out.. I once collected some for a xmas basket and the amount of LEGS that came out of them scunnered me for life ! :eek:

My mum used to spray pinecones with gold and silver paint for Christmas decorations. She used to first knock them on a sheet of newspaper on the patio, which used to produce a lot of earwigs or woodlice. Any stubborn "lurkers" who hadn't made their escape by them got sprayed to death with aerosol paint!

mardatha

:D:Dgood idea, ta ! lol

parsonswife8

I've still got some pine cones spray painted gold and silver. I've had them for about 20 years.:eek:

Winged_one

I cannot usually remember 9 of the 10 Girl Guide laws (I know they were about being good, and being prepared, and all that malarkey). But the one I always remember and try to live by is "A guide smiles and sings under all difficulties". I am not sure that I always manage it, but I try to maintain a cheerfu outlook on life in general as it's a lot easier to get through that way. (That and preparing plans, and backup plans, and stores etc for all life's emergencies!!)

I probably won't get any sloes after all this year, as we aren't going to PILs until the last week of Oct. They won't have been picked by others (no one there picks them and there's a road over a mile long of bushes), but I reckon they'll be gone before we DO get there. It was really tasty stuff last New Year's except that I'd only made one bottle and I had a stockpile of gin ready for a spare for ourselves too this year (not just one small one to share between 7 adults).

Oh well, clearing out the store cupboards of older foods at present (spent a couple of hours yelping at expiry dates yesterday!), so I have lots of things to use up in the next few weeks (they were BB rather than UB dates!). And a lot of them were baking goods (yyummy!!).