Preparing for winter II

annie123

Eenymeeny wrote: »

is there something that you wish you'd stocked up on and didn't? or just that you wish you'd bought more of?

Coal, enough for a fire all day/evening for 4 days.

Sitting here yesterday, eking out the dregs at the bottom of the bag with no other heating as my boiler broke.
Could have had to order a part today, get in on Monday, so a long weekends worth as a minimum.
Living in London I don't usually worry about it buying it, as I have a petrol station 4 mins away that sells it.
Not that I want to carry 10kg bags back by myself in the snow/ice and of course they could have sold out.

Hubby brought home 2 bags last night and will get some more over the next couple of days and will keep it in the garden and keep the coal scuttle by the fire full.

nicki_2

Eenymeeny wrote: »

is there something that you wish you'd stocked up on and didn't? or just that you wish you'd bought more of?

Hot chocolate :rotfl: I buy the smart price one and when I went to buy some last tuesday they'd sold out which is virtually unheard of :eek: Also more tissues but that could be because DD has a stinking cold!

Something I do have to look at is getting DD some more Pjs...she's either outgrown or I've shrunk them in the drier

Good news: We have our boiler fixed. It was a reset job and despite me trying all sorts yesterday I couldn't get it working. The plumber arrived, read through the error & reset EVERYTHING on it and managed to get it working again :j:j He's also shown me how to do it. He said the user guide (which I couldn't get my head around) is only legible to lawyers so he doesn't blame me resorting to phoning him :rotfl::rotfl:

[Deleted User]

annie123 wrote: »

That's a lot of taps, must include isolators too.

I hope its something simple that he can fix tomorrow for you.

The pressure can drop because of a leak in the pipes as happened to us 2 years ago. Our leak became apparent when we noticed a tiny wet patch on the ceiling below. The pipes weren joined properly and the connectors blew apart. All this happened in the space above the ceiling and under the floor in the room above. No plumber would touch it until we had stripped the carpet and raised the floor and that took a joiner because of the way it had been put down. Absolute nightmare and don`t expect emergency insurance people to help as they are useless

I would recommend looking for little water leaks before turning the pressure up (easy) via the taps under the boiler. All of us should know how to drain the ch system in an emergency. I have had to do it twice and dh had no idea what to do

rachbc

Things I hadn't thought to get in but will...i'm going to get a few cheap new activities to stash away for when the kids have cabin fever and are fed up of being out in the snow (though this doesn't seem to happen ds 12 who would be out from dawn to bedtime if I let him)

and some kind of jaw wire to stop me eating my own body weight in hm cookies to 'keep warm'

and more kindling - plenty of logs but the kindling is all gone - hate buying it and difficult to collect when its a foot under snow!

parsonswife8

Eenymeeny wrote: »

Thanks for the bird feeding advice and I was just thinking that they are a fussy lot around here! A neighbour has so many feeders and tables here that we call it Birder King!

My DH has been putting seed, nuts and broken up fat ball on a metal tray under the table in the garden.

We've had pigeons, the robin and various other birds coming to eat from it.

Charis

marmiterulesok wrote: »

I've just read this article about Laura Ingalls Wilder that you and Nuala-Buala might find interesting:

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/26/little-house-on-the-prairie-ingalls-wilder

Thanks for that, Marmite. I loved the series and this gives a whole new angle to her life. I named my daughter Laura, possibly inspired by the series, which was running at the time. Perhaps I was hoping for a compliant child. The only similarity to LIW is that she's short, though the rest of our family is taller than average.

fedupandskint

I have a nice grippy car again - just made me realise how much lack of grip I had last week before the tyres were changed. Feel more confident now driving in these conditions. I thought it was my confidence that had disappeared because of how the car felt on Tuesday - turns out it was the tyres plus me!

Lesson learnt for next winter - get the tyres checked earlier before November

NualaBuala

catznine wrote: »

(((hugs))) Nuala and many thanks for the warning!

Thanks Catz ... feeling better today but was upset yesterday. All sorted now and the pipe is mended, lagged plus has an isolation valve, and is drained with the tap left open. But the plumber warned it still wasn't burst-proof going on what he's seen. I count my blessings though - I'm glad that it wasn't inside the house!

marmiterulesok wrote: »

I've just read this article about Laura Ingalls Wilder that you and Nuala-Buala might find interesting:

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/26/little-house-on-the-prairie-ingalls-wilder

Oh thank you Marmite :A - I'll enjoy reading that.

Eenymeeny

Thanks too for the link about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Marmite. I've learned a lot about her. I used to love the series (and Michael Landon:o) it was Little Joe from Bonanza wasn't it? Now I want to watch them all again. I always used to cry for some reason, can't remember why? I haven't read the books but I'll have a look at the library next time. (New MSE resolution, STOP buying books!):T

Confuzzled

turns out the small bird finally did start eating out of the feeder, there is seed debris in the snow beneath it. however i decided to spread about half of what was left in it around the snow where i put my makeshift feeder/frisbee and leave the other half hanging up. i really want the wee birds to eat too

hmmm it's been a good few days since we've had any snow of note and the main road has been clear all that time, how long do you think it's reasonable to wait before i call and complain for them to come plough our street? nothing in this area has been done at all!

i had planned to try and get a taxi in here today but that damned neighbour with their rv now has it parked right in the bleeding middle of the wee parking area so no one can get in and turn around and our other neighbour can't get out! and then had the cheek to tell me it was unreasonable of me to expect the council to plough the road which they did last year and they will have to do this year if they plan to collect rubbish at any point!

i'm starting to get grumpy and cabin fever which could easily be resolved if i could just go get my telly... i also can't get any food delivered thanks to council/neighbour

ok rant over... at least the birds are happy

ps anyone wanting any snow you're welcome at my place, bring a shovel or preferably a plough and have as much as you like!