really old style living?

zarazara

how lovely!I have had success with getting those pots of herbs from the supermarket and potting them on into good soil. Chives,parsley etc. You could try sowing beetroot,chard and chinese greens such as pak choi,also florence fennel.

Nickitree30

Hi all, have been lurking here for a couple of weeks but finally had to come out of the woodwork to post this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluebellimages/3166470751/ for Mardartha. These sheep are part of the artwork near me, they graze on hills shaped like pyramids that overlook the M8. I'm loving this thread so much, nice to 'meet' so many like minded people, although between this thread and MemoryGirls 'Make do and mend' am spending far too much time reading and not enough time tidying etc. I have second baby on the way (first one is now 11) and am desperately trying to declutter before she arrives. Also desperately trying to curb craving for raspberry vodka I've just made for C word pressies. Looks reaaally nice tho. Might have to keep a little back for wetting baby's head.
Take care everyone.

mardatha

Oooooh ! now if you could just borrow a collie and head them south east....! SOCKYPOCKS FOR EVERYBODYS XMAS !

annie123

Here's a great site full of old style living ideas, might be of interest to some of you here:

http://oldfashionedliving.com/

No mention of sheep yet though!

Charis

babychick wrote: »

fold the flowers inside a piece of tissue paper and pop between the pages of a book - then pile up lots of heavy books on top, you'll need to keep adding weight to make sure the flowers dry out properly. failing that - i'm sure 'proper' flower presses could be made - have a go0gle and you'll see what I mean? Hope this helps a little.:o

If some of the flowers have chunky heads (like thistles) you can cut a lot of the bulk away from the back, to allow the press to do its work. This has made me want to do it again http://www.google.co.uk/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=pressing+flowers&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=xLBaTJGnN5TNjAfzg-neAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDYQsAQwAw&biw=1680&bih=882
http://www.flowerpressing.com/

mardatha

OOoh lovely site. have saved for xmas pressies

Charis

mardatha wrote: »

I havent a clue how to make pictures out of them. Is it easy ? Would it make a pretty & unusual present ?

To make a few flowers go a long way, you can make bookmarks out of plain white thin card. You can write on them in silver or gold pen, then laminate them to preserve them. They last for ages because they're usually out of the light, in a book. Most printers have a laminating facility if you haven't got one of your own. They can be done in a sheet and cut up with a guillotine. If you buy your own laminated sheets you can arrange individual bookmarks with a gap between them so that when they are cut up they have a transparent border, if you prefer. Another nice touch is punching a hole at the top or bottom and adding a tassel.

http://www.creativepoppypatterns.com/stitcher-resources-making-miniature-tassels-tutorial-pxl-8_53.html (nicest tassels out of many pages I googled) Or if you really want class http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tassel-Making-Beginners-Enid-Taylor/dp/186108062X

mardatha

This gives us a whole new skill and range of ideas for xmas, thank you!
I only started this thread a couple of weeks ago (I think) and look how much you've all got into it. I am SOO proud !
Is anybody still watching the Escape in Time programmes on BBC iPlayer ? I am loving this - and amazed at how many of the Victorian skills you lot in here are still doing. Isn't it amazing to be doing the same things that our great and greatgreat grannies did before us ? Gives you a feeling of timelessness that is magic.
Today they were making cider and talking about pear cider (perry). It looked amazing ( but you need a Victorian cider press to do it!) They also made spot cream from onions and honey - thank god I'm past the age for spots cos I dont fancy that much ..:D

Gigervamp

I need a fruit press. There are a couple of perry pear trees in the top field. The pears are too small to do anything else with them (about the same size as crab apples) and it seems such a waste not to use them.

RAS

Hi m

Ciderrrr. Hic.

You can use a proper scratter and a press or for small quantities, a bucket with a central blade to mash the apples and a car-jack press work well.

The masher is just a bucket , a circular piece of ply nearly as big as the bucket with a hole in the centre. Thread a piece of bar with a thread on one end through the centre. To the threaded end add two nuts, either side of a piece of straight sharpened metal. Stick the ply over the bucket, attach your drill to the other end of the bar and whiz. You need to cut the apples into pieces - say quarters or eighths but it makes quite a mess of them. Lift and mix the uncut bits into the middle and scrat again.

Will try and find some piccies.

Our urban harvest group had too much apple juice and not enough time to pasteurise it so 4 gallons got made into cider. Was good.

Here is a carjack press http://www.ukcider.co.uk/wiki/index.php/How_to_make_cider

And here is a commercial apple crusher - second pic shows how it works. http://www.wineworks.co.uk/product/pulpmaster/