Preparing for winter II

Fruball

GreyQueen wrote: »

Was having a conflab with my friend and neighbour SuperGran yesterday and she mentioned Thingummy, one of our neighbours who slipped on the ice outside Shoebox Towers and broke his arm, which called to mind another neighbour who fell and broke her ankle just outside her own home. This was last winter. The gal was about 30 and the bloke about 50 so they're not the stereotypical frail elderly.

I remembered several near-falls on compacted and then-frozen snow and that was just getting between home and workplace, which is only a 10 min stroll across the city centre. Had a sobering imagining of how awful it would be if I'd bust a limb and have decided Yaktrax are a definate purchase.

I have also told my pensioner parents, who had a terrible time skidding around on foot last winter, that they will be getting Yaktrax at Xmas as well as more conventional stuff as I don't want my oldies falling and hurting themselves.

A pal who works the ambulances tells me that day 3 of a big freeze up is when they start getting the frail elderly brought in with broken bones. For a couple of days of bad weather, people hunker down, then they run out of milk and bread etc and venture out and that's when the accidents happen. So, good idea to encourage the elders to perhaps have a carton or two of UHT milk in the cupboard and maybe bread in the freezer, should they own one, so that they're not driven out before the thaw.

If I fall over I normally land on my rear which is so well-padded all that suffers is my dignity, but I shall skip around in my Yaktrax (never even heard of them before reading here, thank you for posting about them) and feel that I have prepped for emergencies.

Hope everyone had a prep-tastic weekend and that all your parcels arrive on time.

I just bought some Yaktrax Pro from the official website and having read what you have written, I feel much less bad about spending the money... so thank you for that

Its just not worth the £25 considering just how difficult life would be as a single parent with 2 DDs(5) and no family to help out if I were to fall and break a bone or two :eek: on the ice...

I read tonnes of reviews on a*mazon etc before deciding to go for the larger size as some people the same size (5.5/6) as me had gone for medium and they were perfect on their boots which of course are bigger than shoes. I have an cheapy pair of ice grips which work ok on my trainers but are just not stretchy enough for my boots. My old ones are similar to these so they are very affordable - just make sure you get a larger size if you intend to wear them with proper boots rather than shoes... http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B004AQVZNG/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

kirsty822001

brrr,,wet miserable day from about lunchtime onward,,managed to do a couple hours in the garden,,kinda winter prep, cleared a small bit to plant something to eat over winter.
Sorted out dd wardrobe, charity bag and ebay pile. OH finally (after 2yrs) fitted a window sill in our bedroom!! That should stop the draft as there were gaps and bits which he sorted. He also mentioned a friend of his told him he can get him bags of kindling (carpenter) so that means 2 things,,one OH is starting to plan for winter maybe?! the other he knows that this will make me very happy!! He cant light the fire to save his life but he IS learning about what to burn etc.

I think last year he was so pleased if he got home and the fire was lit, to help warm him up,,he works outside most of the day and he aches all over in winter.
Felt like winter this evening, sat in kitchen with my daughter we started a jigsaw listended to radio 4 and then had apple &blackberry crumble and custard with our fleeces and slippers on!!

Apples were from neighbours tree,,she said they are cookers but they are bland not sour infact hardly any taste??
Also used foraged blackberries so it tasted all the better,,have made blackberry jam and frozen loads for crumbles a couple weeks ago. Had 3lb plums given to me so made jam last week. Froze 1lb for cumble in winter.

Today friends brought me 8 courgettes,& 2 huge courgettes (are they marrows now?) loads runner beans,2 lrg leeks,4 large beetroot & a bag cooking apples!! I am so pleased! Gave them 2 pots jam and some chutney will make them a crumble/pie as the lady doesnt know how!!
Have a good weekend all.

lindseykim13

Oh sugar! Thanks to whoever posted about the hot water temp settings and then the poster who pointed out legionaires was a risk! I had no idea and have had the temp set at 30 something for months now. Hopefully a lucky escape as have wacked it back up to 60 now! Thought i was preventing the little ones scalding themselves with the hot water. Although from the websites i have looked at i'm sure we have a combi boiler and bit confused now as to if it's only a risk for those with immersion heaters. Anyone any the wiser?

MrsCrafty

lindseykim13 wrote: »

Oh sugar! Thanks to whoever posted about the hot water temp settings and then the poster who pointed out legionaires was a risk! I had no idea and have had the temp set at 30 something for months now. Hopefully a lucky escape as have wacked it back up to 60 now! Thought i was preventing the little ones scalding themselves with the hot water. Although from the websites i have looked at i'm sure we have a combi boiler and bit confused now as to if it's only a risk for those with immersion heaters. Anyone any the wiser?

Legionaires is only a risk if you have stagnant water. So if you have water sitting in a tank for weeks at a time and then use it for drinking etc, you could possibly catch it.

I would be 100% sure that you will not get Legionella from a daily run tap.

squeaky

splodger_seedswapper wrote: »

did you know that by spraying vinegar on your windscreen at night it won't freeze up so badly - i used vinegar throughout last winter and had to use very little de-icer

this cold season - i am going to try vinegar on the screen - then cover with newspaper - as i reckon that should work well too - and hopefully all i will need to do is peel back the paper each morning (i haven't tried this before - and the paper might need a vinegar soak - but i'll try anything that saves me money and helps the environment / uses less chemicals)

Also have your largest watering can handy. Take the spray rosette off, fill with COLD water and use that on screen and windows.

There's no risk of a temperature shock shattering your windscreen, unlike using a kettle full of hot water, and it's equally effective. Even at the worst of times one can's worth will usually do all windows. When the front screen is clear - pop the windscreen wipers on to swish away the last of your water.

Tip: Start at one side of the windscreen and start pouring a steady stream... walk all the way round the car doing windows as you go... by the time you get back to the front the water will have (mostly) done its job... so use the remaining water to finish off any tougher areas. Only on the very worst of days will you need to go round twice before "tidying up" or need a second can full.

Rainy-Days

Well last night in bed, I could hear it absolutely hammering it down with rain. I know the garden needs it though but it was distinctly chilly last night and not pleasant this morning. It is cold grey and miserable at the moment.

We have the odd tin of de-icer in the garage but we don't use it to be honest because both cars have heated front windscreens and my car is locked away in the garage anyway, but thank you for posting that because it is very, very good to know where the cheapo deals are.

I stood in the bedroom window this morning and looked at the shed, which has been wood protected a few weeks back. I feel a bit smug for having done it when I did and also the gates as well which have lovely pools of water on their new coating of paint. It was worth all that hard work and effort even though my right shoulder and arm gave me pain for a couple of weeks afterwards.

I am holding off using my new slippers at the moment. I shall get them out when the weather does turn in October. My old ones went in the bin last night having seen better days, the faux fur lining was gone and holes were developing inside. I have some other old Next slippers which haven't had the wear so I am using those for the time being to keep my feet nice and warm.

If the weather has now turned it is going to be a very long cold depressing winter.

I wonder if Craghoppers are watcjing us - they must have twigged whats going on, on here as these companies have trends of what is a best seller!

CH27

It's chucking it down again:(
I think i'll make a cottage pie rather than the light lunch I was planning for friends.

redlady_1

GQ - are you sure Yaxtrax work on ice? I thought they only worked in snow but perhaps I am being dim.

Rainy-Days

Today might be a good day for checking for leaks on sheds and garages after all the rain we have had it will show up any weak areas then you can get them fixed pronto before winter sets in!

tugrin

My Trevor Bayliss wind up eco lantern has just arrived!! Its a fantastically sturdy looing and feeling piece of kit with a charger for the car too - much better than the rather cheapo lookin lantern I got last year which was not that cheap to buy and broke first time i dropped it. This one claims to do an hour for 3 mins of winding after a full charge in the car I do long journeys to work (when not off on sick leave waiting for a diagnosis!) so I figure I can charge it on way home from work and it can also be my torch as it has a hook for hanging of holding. I am going to use this instead of lamp during evenings by telly to save electric so I can feel less worried about using electric heating this winter instead of the stupid open fire. Will let you know if its worth the £18.50 from Amazon.