It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

Gigervamp

mardatha wrote: »

Gigervamp - what did eventually make the OH give in ? I too have tried for years and mine wont budge. We would only need two...:(

I wore him down! :rotfl:

Actually, he'd been chatting to someone online for a while and it turned out that this guy had chickens. Hubby asked him what it was like to keep chickens and he said that they were great. Hubby has a lot of respect for this guy, so I think it was that that finally swung it.

Hubby admits that we should have got them sooner. I have to bite my tongue to stop myself telling him that he should listen to me cos I'm always right! :rotfl:

If you do get chickens though, it's best to get 3 rather than 2. That way if one dies, the other one isn't left on her own as they are very sociable creatures.

csarina

Gigervamp wrote: »

12 loaves a week! :eek: Are you feeding the 5000? :rotfl:

I bet there are wild foods growing near you. Try the local parks. You'll often find nut trees (sweet chestnut and beech) in parks and often there are brambles. Sometimes crab apples too.

I lived in London most of my life and there were loads of foraging places nearby.


With regards to how things are going, I've seen this coming for a few years now and have been badgering hubby about various things to help us become more self sufficient. It took 5 years to persuade him to let me get chickens, but he finally gave in and loves having them now.

I think we might also get the fireplace sorted this year (fingers crossed). At sometime in the past, it was made smaller. I've had a look up inside it and can see that there's a large inglenook behind the fake stone tiles and concrete. We also need to get the chimney relined, so we're going to get our local place that sell stoves to do a survey and tell us how much it's going to cost to get it all done. Might have to bite the bullet and get a loan to pay for it though so that we can get it done before the winter kicks in.

You may not need to get the chimney relined, as long as the stack does not leak smoke you just need a short length of pipe.

Have a look at Country Kilns website and the FAQ, I checked our chimney and we do not need it lined, its fine. They have a really pretty stove on offer just now for £199 it depends how big the room is you want to heat.

Charis

mardatha wrote: »

Maybe the period from the 60s until now was just a blip with an artificially high standard of living ?

I think you got it in one there Mardatha. Buy now, pay later.

It's later.

purpleheather2810

Asda bakery does a similar offer with it's bread. We are big fans of the multiseed batch or the sunflower and sesame batch - they vary between £1 and £1.20 and sometimes they are discounted if you buy 2 or more...

Gigervamp

gailey wrote: »

Looked on c4website kirtsy homemade xmas for siap recipie looks good but quite scary as lots of chemicals but if I can replicate lush I be happy:D

If you want to make lush type soaps and avoid using lye, get some melt and pour soap base. You can melt it in the microwave and add fragrance or essential oils, colours and botanicals. Then you simply pour it into a mould.

narabanekeater

Gigervamp - Weve 4 children and 3 adults at the moment plus often at least 2 extra children come to play. So 12 loaves is a good week really. I try and keep our bills down as much as possible but I worked out that toast is a cheap and filling snack when your feeding up to 6 children at a time. I wont even start about Weetabix consumption or milk as im thinking of moving a cow into my back garden LOL
I have 2 children myself, my brother who lives with us due to his marriage break up 2 (who eat like theres no tommorow and this really does need addressing, and at least 2 children im either looking after for a friend or who have come to play.

Gigervamp

csarina wrote: »

You may not need to get the chimney relined, as long as the stack does not leak smoke you just need a short length of pipe.

Have a look at Country Kilns website and the FAQ, I checked our chimney and we do not need it lined, its fine. They have a really pretty stove on offer just now for £199 it depends how big the room is you want to heat.

Ah, our chimney does indeed leak smoke! Apparently it leaks into the bedroom! (We haven't used it but were told by the previous owners.)

Gigervamp

narabanekeater wrote: »

Gigervamp - Weve 4 children and 3 adults at the moment plus often at least 2 extra children come to play. So 12 loaves is a good week really.

Ah, almost the 5000 then!

narabanekeater

it sometimes feels like itGinger! It wouldnt be too bad if it was a large house but it isnt. I dont know if you saw my post the other day abut finally being able to cook the right amount of veggies etc for dinner but im really proud of myself. I buy sacks of pots from the farm and theyve gone up from £2 to £5.50p for 12.5kg so with them doubling in price cooking just the right amount is a skill im glad that ive picked up. Before id be stacking the plates high just cause ive cooked it. Now leftovers are put into tupperwear tubs and made in lunches the next day. Another thing ive started doing only this week is adding a splash of water to the washing up liquid. DH is very heavy handed with it to the degree I could taste it on the pots so now its been ready diluted especially for him.

lauren_1

Well I think the end is nigh'

Im not feeling very positive today, I woke up to find another new drawing on my ds's bedroom wall, ribena stains on the carpet, the kids have shreiked and screamed non stop at each other and OH has decided to move back to his friends house.

He says he cant cope with the kids (sometimes i too feel like murdering the little darlings) My house is usually very tidy but its like 8 bombs get let off daily, they have no respect for anything lately.

Our tax credits have stopped, we have not a penny to rub together and I am about £40 short for the rent.

His tenancy finally ran out last month so he moved in to my house, merged our benefits etc etc and are still awaiting the first payment....

MBNA have called me 6 times today....i keep telling them to sell my debt on or start recognising buttons as currency, I am just waiting for my tax rebate cheque to come through so I can afford my bankruptcy fee's.....I have repeated the same thing since february and its getting tedious now.