really old style living?

annie123

Never, ever, go shopping first thing after not having anything to eat, and thinking 'its xmas, dont be so tight'
I've just spent £175:eek: and I forgot to get any milk:mad:
Thats gonna have to last 6 weeks now, not usual 4, till my next shop.
Why did I buy 12 mince pies? the only one who eats them is hubby!!

I'll still have to buy milk, bread and fruit over the next 6 weeks too.

I like a store cupboard, but even under my kitchen units is stuffed full. I've got 4 more bags to put away.....they can sit there till I've had my tea and recovered from shock.
I wouldn't mind but there's only DH, me and DD, and shes only here 4 days or so a week, and occasional vists from DS.

Did get a turkey crown, £13!!!! for the meat eaters here, my sugestion of a nut roast went down like a ton of bricks!

Right, back to turn my kitchen into a tardis:rotfl:

stiltwalker

Broomstick - I've always frozen lemons in slices ready just to drop into a gin and tonic! You get the ice and lemon all in one. It depends on how you make your honey and lemon drinks but I've found this works fine for me too, I add a slice or 2 of lemon to the boiling water and honey and give it a couple of ticks to defrost then squish well with a spoon and that's enough lemon for me, also means your drink is cool enought to drink straight away without putting cold water in, but if you like your drinks really lemony the only way is to give it a whirl, try freezing some lemon juice in an ice cube tray, can't see why it wouldn't work.

Broomstick

Thanks for that, Stiltwalker. I think I'll add lemons to my shopping list and I'll experiment with slices. It makes sense to have ones in stock that can be put in both hot and cold drinks.

B x

mardatha

I wonder if the Edwardian Farm will do a xmas dinner like they did in the Victorian Farm ? It always makes me feel guilty when I see the huge table covered in lovely food...makes my wee breakfast bar with two plates on it seem dead meangy

ginnyknit

I love the food parts of the Victorian and Edwardian farms, they always do 'ribsticking' food. And their Victorian Christmas banquet looked so sumptious with the greenery and candles - not that you can see to knit with candles:)

I just throw my lemons whole into the freezer Broomstick - in a box though cos they roll out and annoy you! I also chuck bananas in when they go brown and they defrost all mushy ready to go in cakes - see time saving too. My freezers are full of odds and sods like that, pieces of pie crust to go with 'tater hash' so I don't have to put the oven on, bags of roast potatoes too as I always cook a bag full at a time. And of course the pots of extra portions, chilli, stews and curries.Theres always a meal at hand here. I keep meaning to freeze the infamous Twinks hobknobs but sadly they never last long enough :rotfl: One thing I must make a resolution about though - label things :mad: instead of guessing.

Kiwisaver_2

NualaBuala wrote: »

In the olden days, did folks sleep more in the winter? I'd be curious to know what hours they kept. I guess there was a big difference depending on your station in life. But say for farmers/smallholders?

Olden days??? :rotfl: We lived like that in the sixties and seventies before central heating and double glazing was invented. All kids in the same bed for warmth and ice on the insides of the windows. I think it is with the advent of fitted carpets, and the mod cons made us go 'soft' and we now need to be warm all the time. Most non MSE people think nothing of heating their homes 24/7 to a level whereby they can wander around indoors in t-shirts, rather than grab a jumper or a cardi. I know I used to. :rotfl:

You've probably heard it said that New Zealand is like the UK of 30 years ago, and whilst in a lot of regards this is utter rubbish; when it comes to heating houses it is indeed a fact. We're definitely 30 years behind on that score: central heating is seen as a frivolous expense and it actually adds no value to the resale value of a house. Demand is so low that the cost for those of us that have gone a bit 'soft' is prohibitive anyway. It's only just recently been added to the building code that newly built houses have to have double glazing and again people just aren't prepared to pay for it to be retro-fitted and begrudge the 'extra' cost to have this added to new builds. In the Uk people have just become so used to it, that it becomes the 'standard' rather than an extra.

The standard for most here is a wood burner and these won't often be the efficient modern ones that are available today and most abide by the rules that you only heat the room that you are using, rather than heat the whole house. Consequently, most houses here wouldn't meet World Health Organisation standards, are damp cold and mouldy. People go to bed very early, usually relying on electric blankets and hot water bottles, wearing layers of clothes indoors and sleep with a beanie on. The Kiwi attitude to us whinging expat softies is 'Put a jumper on and harden-up!' :mad:

Yeah, stupid me, I thought those sixties and seventies childhood memories might have made me hard enough. My first winter here I was utterly miserable and I simply could not function being so cold ALL the time; living in a so-called modern house built of sticks, with very little insulation, vast single glazed windows and no heating whatsoever. I have talked with people from far colder climates, such as Germany, Russia and Canada and they say the same, they have not experienced coldness quite like it.

It's one thing to be cold for a short spell, but I hadn't quite envisaged how hard it would be going back to the 'olden days', to have nowhere warm to go was a hell on earth. We bought a couple of electric oil-filled radiators which you practically had to cuddle to get any benefit and I would put the oven and hairdryer on just to warm the house. That soon stopped when we got the first couple of electricity bills.

We have since had air-conditioning fitted for the purposes of heating during the winters rather than cooling in the summer. It is said to be one of the most efficient forms of heating, in that you get more heat out than the kilowatts you put in, in terms of power. However, it's still far from ideal and with no double glazing any heat we do put into the house is quickly lost. Thankfully it doesn't ever get cold enough to snow where we are but we do get some very frosty mornings. Once you've known central heating it's very hard to go back and conversely people here who have never known central heating find it too warm and stuffy.

Five years on; I'd still give almost anything for the luxury of proper central heating on a timer.

NualaBuala

Good point Kiwi!
I am a child of the 70s and our heating was broken for ages and even when it was working, it was carefully rationed.

Wow, that's so interesting about New Zealand - I didn't realise the winters are so severe. And severe is all well and good if you're insulated and heated but you'd want to be very hardy to survive that without modern comforts. Yes ... I am soft!

Well I guess I don't need to tell you to wrap up warm now ... but remind me to do so next June!

mardatha

Next year I want to change some things.
I want to start strict proper menu planning, and using all leftovers from one day in the next days meal.
I want to use less meat and more veg.
I want to make soup every day for lunch, as I used to but I slipped. I would like any really OS soup recipes and suggestions please
I need to see if I can cut down more on the food bill !!

NualaBuala

Oooh you are good Mardatha :A Now I wish I could do all that!
I must think of my resolutions. i think it will involve dealing with my addiction to choccy and fish and chips.

annie123

mardatha wrote: »

Next year I want to change some things.

Me too.......................I want to spend the winter in the caribbean:D

If I get my act together and quit smoking, the only area I literately burn money:mad: then that would pay for 2 weeks, which would be a start:)

I do have an e-cig enroute to me to try that.

Back on topic:
My stash of food is too big. I really went overboard the other day, very pleased most of it was dry or frozen goods so it will keep. Under my kitchen units is full, so have some tins sitting in a plastic box outside, down the side by the door.

I'm going to have a go at menu planning too, I think.
As I'm the only veggie I often end up with beans on toast or instant noodles for dinner cause I cant be asked after having cooked for others. Not a problem on non meat nights as they eat the same as me, but doesn't work the other way round!
Its easy to be a junk food veggie too:o
A recent heath scare (which turned out to be not serious) made me realise that I need to look after me, or I won't be around to look after my family.:eek: