Preparing for winter II

lizzyb1812

Have caught up with the posts now and saw lots of references to Yaktrax which reminded I bought something similar in a charity shop a while back - brand new and £2 :T The original label on them said £14-99! Checked them out on Amazon and they get good reviews so now feeling more confident about walking the dog in winter.

It's a sewing day today - finishing revamping some bargain curtain finds so that I'll have blinds plus lined curtains in my bedroom and lined curtains in my living room and at front door. Total cost for the whole lot £8.

decogecko

Hi all - been reading and lurking on this thread for a while, thanks to all for posting links, hints and tips for keeping warm/hopefully reducing gas & electric bills.

To do

Buy fleeces and line lounge and bedroom curtains
Get plasterer in to board the bay window ceiling which when window was replaced the plaster cracked.
Put curtain rail up in lounge so radiator is not blocked off to the rest of the room
Replace buttons on winter coat that fell off last winter
Get door put on lounge
Finish knitting my throw

Done

Ordered thermals - collect next week

I'm determined to cut my gas/electricity usage this winter. Whatever savings I can make can go on paying my car off.

rising_from_the_ashes

Frugal wrote: »

Rising From The Ashes - Cottage Pie is made with beef and Shepherds Pie = lamb... Hence the name Shepherd's

My Mum always called cottage pie, shepherds pie and old habits die hard so I do forget and call it shepherds pie sometimes even if its made with beef

Ahhhhh, thanks - in that case mine is Cottage pie too!:o


Well, my delivery from Craghoppers has just arrived - very impressed, ordered on Thursday night!

Trousers are fantastic - lovely and warm and cosy.:j

Perfect fit but a bit long - I find the short trousers just a bit too short so usually get regular which then need taken up (a wee job for DM!;)).

The fleecy top is fab too - very lightweight which is what I wanted to wear around the house/as an extra layer.


Popped to the woods to see how the blackberries are coming along - thought it would be a bit early (I remember picking them during my Sept hols last year) but hoped a few might be ready ..... no chance:(. Fruits are still tiny and green so looks like I may miss them this year which is very disappointing.....

rising_from_the_ashes

Sunnyday wrote: »

I wonder how long it will be before the "Is your heating on or off" thread is being posted on regularly again? With the way the temperatures have been here at night i doubt that it will be long, it was another of my favourite threads last year.

I'm chuckling at this and thinking we could start another along the same lines .....

"Have you worn your fleecy Craghoppers yet"?


I wonder who'll be first!

Mad4camping

Mad4camping wrote: »

Hi all,
I thought now I have read all 277 pages ! I would chip in and thank all of you for your help. Somebody mentioned a bargain at B&Q so off I trotted and and i bought 8 fleece blankets @ £3 each as they are large that's all of our curtains lined.....

I went to Mr M and in the ethnic aisle all of stuff was on special..think it ends on on the 5th. This what we bought. think it end
chick peas 25p a can
chop toms 25p a can
brown chick peas 25p a can
vermicelli noodles 25p 200g

Napolena toms were half price at £1.94 too if you prefer those..
18 loo rolls for £6

For the freezer
meadow park semi skimmed milk 4 pts £1

Well that's all I found yestderday.. I am off to L**dl tomorrow so Who knows..... I am making a concerted effort on the rest of my prep over the next few weeks.

Happy prepping

I went L**dl and I bought on offer a bumper pack 24 Cushelle toilet rolls for £6.99 that beat my bargain at Mr M's earlier in the week.... these were selling like hot cakes... But where do I stack them all :eek:

Mad4camping

me again.. I also bought as a small gamble some cooking bacon....

It was a £1.50 for a kilo from l**dl.

I had a root through and picked 2 packs with less obvious fat... I have just finished cutting it up and preparing it to open freeze. So I can bag it later and it wont be in a mass clump..there is rather a lot. I was really pleased hardly any fat other than what I saw initially. contemplating going to get some more....

I now have plenty of nice bacon for my pea and ham soups and for pasta sauces etc over the next few months

Thought I would share x

Sunnyday

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I'm chuckling at this and thinking we could start another along the same lines .....

"Have you worn your fleecy Craghoppers yet"?
I wonder who'll be first!

Lol, i want some more *stamps foot* but all the ones in my size have gone. I`ll still keep checking though just in case any more magically appear.

Mad4camping wrote: »

I went L**dl and I bought on offer a bumper pack 24 Cushelle toilet rolls for £6.99 that beat my bargain at Mr M's earlier in the week.... these were selling like hot cakes... But where do I stack them all :eek:

Mine are all over the place. Some are stashed in the top of the wardrobe and i have a storage rack in the shed that is full I`d really be better off moving them indoors soon though as one year we had mice in the outbuildings and i really don`t want the little varmints ripping my loo rolls to shreds :eek:

Mad4camping wrote: »

me again.. I also bought as a small gamble some cooking bacon....

It was a £1.50 for a kilo from l**dl.

I had a root through and picked 2 packs with less obvious fat... I have just finished cutting it up and preparing it to open freeze. So I can bag it later and it wont be in a mass clump..there is rather a lot. I was really pleased hardly any fat other than what I saw initially. contemplating going to get some more....

I now have plenty of nice bacon for my pea and ham soups and for pasta sauces etc over the next few months

Thought I would share x

I love the cooking bacon too, i went to look for some earlier today as MrM`s have it but the shelf was empty. I`ll keep looking though as my lentil and bacon soup is a winter warmer that i just can`t do without. I have tried a different recipe this week which is one of Mrs Mcawbers - chicken and sweetcorn soup. I made it with chicken stock and didn`t even put any of the meat into it and it was stunning. I now have two lovely cheap soup recipes that will be firm favourites this year.

After reading earlier i had a real hankering for cottage pie you naughty lot, i`ve been rummaging around and now have a nice dish full of beef stew Yum! I have nice HM crusty bread to have with it too. :Looks like the menu plan is changing over early this year. I just can`t bring myself to eat summery salads when its cold and wet outside much as i love em.

SD

I_luv_cats

Winter is on it's way......... How do I know??

My cat goes out much less now and when does only briefly!!

Started to sleep on the bed @ night and is there now!!!


I think with the energy rises, we'll have to spend more time in bed, I have a 19" telly in there. (be like the bucket family in Charlie & The Chocolate factory-stay in bed when @ home, BUT not cabbage soup though-blow the cat away!!!)

Red_Doe

I know this has probably been asked before, but can anyone give me any experience info on that film you put over windows please? The plastic kind that you tape on then use a hairdryer to taughten. There's an awful gap around my windows, and the glass themselves gives out a heap of cold air in winter, so I was wondering if investing in this plastic film would be worth it. Is it cheap (could only find two on Ebay, around four and half by thirteen metres for around twenty quid I think) and does it last the winter?

jamanda

Red_Doe wrote: »

I know this has probably been asked before, but can anyone give me any experience info on that film you put over windows please? The plastic kind that you tape on then use a hairdryer to taughten. There's an awful gap around my windows, and the glass themselves gives out a heap of cold air in winter, so I was wondering if investing in this plastic film would be worth it. Is it cheap (could only find two on Ebay, around four and half by thirteen metres for around twenty quid I think) and does it last the winter?

It is very good. Wilkinsons sell it and I seem to recall it is cheaper than that. Vision obviously isn't as good as just a normal window, but I reckon it is a lifesaver when you have draughty windows.