Preparing for winter II

Churchmouse

GreyQueen wrote: »

Hi, there was a reference to someone asking this one page back but I haven't been able to find the original question to use the quote button.

If the edge won't stay put there is one option which we used fairly often in theatre; Velcro.

Most of us think of it as being both halves on fabric but you can put one half (the hooky one is best) on wood and the fuzzy half of the Velcro stitched along the curtain edge. You would't need to do it in a solid strip, you could do it in lengths of about 3 inches, gap of similar, and then on. Sew the fuzzy bit to the curtain then mark on the door-jamb where you want it to go with a pencil and stick it on with something like UHU.

I appreciate that bits of Velcro might be unacceptable to many people as part of the house rather than on a theatrical set but thought I'd offer it to the threaad on the off-chance it might be of interest to somebody. You can get white Velcro so if you have white gloss woodwork it shouldn't leap out at you.

Oh, and Velcro is very strong and will usually outlast whatever you attach it to, so I always salvage it and keep it in my sewing trove for re-use. It's surprisingly handy stuff to have around. HTH.

Further to this you can buy velcro as "stick and sew", where one half is self-adhesive to go on a solid surface and the other to sew to fabric. I used it some years ago to attach a valance onto a bed for someone. If I remember correctly it is the hook side that is self-adhesive, so you could just do as GQ says using ordinary velcro if you wish.


Must type quicker lol, beaten by Gigervamp

elgar_2

Just thought I would share this...hope nobody minds....

As the last few days have felt so autumnal here in Perthshire, I made some lovely roast lamb with all root veggies cooked in same pot and a red wine gravy (dont drink wine but dont mind it in cooking! no idea what to do with the rest of the bottle!)...and apple pudding and custard.....made me think Ah winter isnt so bad if it tastes this nice and cosy!! Flats now roasting having had oven on..its like a heater of its own!!

Need to get curtain pole up over door at some point soon!!

Elaine P
(no longer Elgar..more like ElPet!)

I_luv_cats

The nights are drawing in... Surprising how soon it creeps up without really noticing.

I have my "Yak Trax" ready if I have to navigate snowy n icy paves!!!!

I think I shall have to get out my 'Snug Rug' this year with 18% or so gas price rises!

I'll have to run limited Bahamas nights in.. (bath, washing machine on and drying clothes)

My moggy is starting to sleep on the end of the bed, there ready to sneak under the duvet as the temperature drops !!!!

shelley_crow

Poundland do packs of different sized key fob batteries. We found this out when our key battery died and we couldn't find anyone with a spare one. We keep a pack in the house just in case.

Talking of poundland, they do the silver thermal blankets to keep in car pack, £1 for a pack of 2.

Justamum

elgar wrote: »

(dont drink wine but dont mind it in cooking! no idea what to do with the rest of the bottle!)

You can freeze leftover wine in ice cube trays and just pop them in whatever you are cooking.

We don't drink but a few years ago a friend gave us a bottle of wine for Christmas. My DH doesn't want me to use it in cooking because it's quite a good wine, but won't it just turn to vinegar if we don't use it up?

Justamum

Just had a thought re the car emergency pack - if you forget to include some carpet you could just use the car mats in an emergency.

Confuzzled

elgar wrote: »

and a red wine gravy (dont drink wine but dont mind it in cooking! no idea what to do with the rest of the bottle!)

freeze it in an ice cube tray then put in a freezer bag til needed!

yes i've freezer on the brain lately, so much in fact that i've ordered frozen assets to help me with recipes for filling up my new freezer when it arrives

i've also been doing inventory on my fridge freezer cupboards and stashes to see what i still need foodwise for my winter stores... i'll wait a bit longer on the curtains so i can use them to warm my lap as i sew everything together i had to wear my slipper boots off an on today so it may happen sooner than planned. i'm hoping the rain holds off tomorrow, i washed a bunch of rugs the other day and it's been raining or seriously threatening to rain since so i'll have to rewash and hang as soon as i can (they will stink before they finish drying in the flat)...

one thing i won't midn about autumn... when the grass stops growing so i can stop mowing it! a silver lining :rotfl:

rising_from_the_ashes

Many thanks to Confuzzled for the wellie socks tip - have added a pair to the wellie boots order and I'll keep an eye out in "cheapie" shops for some fleecy liners.

Also, thanks to GreyQueen, Gigervamp and Churchmouse for suggesting velcro for the door curtain - I actually have some white sticky round bits:j (found when I was clearing the garage out a few days ago) but would never have thought of using it for the door curtain.

One more "problem" solved and without any money having to be spent - ohhh, I like it!:D


Finally managed to get some lino for both bathrooms today (holey carpet just now - yuk) have been trying to replace them for a couple of years but it just always slips down the list of priority spending. Spent more than I wanted to but I guess £50 to do both isn't bad (I'm really showing how much I've changed, I would've spent that on each without thinking about it a couple of years ago:o) and it should hopefully reduce drafts a bit! DM coming up next week to help me lay them.:D

Rainy-Days

We have removed one big thing from our list and now added another. The gable ends of the house have wood, which in fairness have probably seen better days (south west facing and gets loads of sunlight and rain). When I cleaned everything all out allot of the paint started coming away. OH is going to now get the big ladders up and sand those right back. Any areas that may have gone a bit rotten he will pull that out, fill with car body repair stuff and then repaint over the whole lot. It will look so much better, but as he says we can't really leave it until the rest of it rots and drops off we need to do it now. So that is a job that will be dealt with in the next four weeks or so. He will probably do that when we get back from holiday. Many years ago he used to be a painter and decorator and got City & Guilds qualifications so he wll make a good job of it!

The snow shovel has been dispatched should be here Monday . I told OH tonight what I had got him - he just laughed and said we will need to keep that up in the shed for the time being, then just before the snow comes in, get it and put it in the garage. The idea is that he will open up the garage door and start dealing with the snow that way, he said they are not good if you have walked on it and compacted it down.

I don't know about the rest of you but I feel so much more confident about this winter than I ever had the other previous winters. I said before that we were prepared but no where near like we are going to be this time around. Probably because although we have done some things to get us through and cope, this year has been a mammoth push to get everything protected, painted and put away. I just feel so sorry for some people particularly the elderly who find maintenance problematic and not able to prepare.

THIRZAH

I finally got DH to order two snow shovels this evening-one to keep in the garage and a folding one for the car. If I'd ordered them he probably would have said that they were the wrong sort of shovel or something like that!

We are having new windows fitted so no more ice on the bottom of the patio doors this year, I hope. We're also having a porch fitted as the hall was like an icebox last year.

I've got some new boots from M&S-bought on a boiling hot day two weeks ago.If I'd left it till the cold weather comes they probably would have sold out.

I want to get my Christmas shopping done early this year so I can give my sisters the presents for their families when I see them in early November just in case we have another bad december. I'm also stocking up on knitting wool and books to keep myself occupied if we are snowed in again.