Preparing for winter II

krustylouise

frugalfrancesca wrote: »

im in cumbria too

and me as well :j

angelaloveschocolate

Confuzzled, thank you for your reply, such good advice and I've so enjoyed your posts. Actually, to all of you, its great to be able to ask for and recieve sensible opinions. I guess I miss my mother for that. Such a great thread!

princess_skint_a_lot_2

hi there

im normally just a lurker but thought seeing as some of you were also doing it id introduce myself too. Im deb i live in perthshire, i have a wonderful husband 2 great kids, 4 cats 2 dogs and 5 chickens to keep me busy. My husband is disabled and we are on a limited income, so this thrad has been a godsend, as has this whole board, would just like to thank you all for your wonderful tips.

kind regards
debs xx

optimistic

Something i do in winter is have lights on timer switches so that there is always a light on when it gets dark, nicer to come home to and looks as if someones in.;)

Rainy-Days

angelaloveschocolate wrote: »

Confuzzled, thank you for your reply, such good advice and I've so enjoyed your posts. Actually, to all of you, its great to be able to ask for and recieve sensible opinions. I guess I miss my mother for that. Such a great thread!

I miss my mum too, all the ways she cut her cloth to the household budget but made everything seem like a treat. I only realise now that she is gone how much she really did achieve and the legacy she left behind for me. I said only the other day that I am turning so much into her and maybe it being an off the cuff remark, was actually a compliment. I have in many ways taken over the mantle where she left off.

Confuzzled - my own mum had a very dysfunctional relationship with her mother. In fact it is no word of a lie to say that my maternal grandmother was in every sense quite an evil woman and I saw first hand how that affected my mum. I remember as a four year old little girl sitting at her dining room table and being bellowed at that if I did not eat my roast pototoes I would have them for tea and breakfast instead, yet I did nothing to deserve that. I have ony memories of her that are nasty and I have absolutely no recollection of a single piece of decency towards me. Forgiveness is one thing that I don't have in great spades where she was concerned. I understand more as I have got older (I am 42 now!) how much my mum was compounded by her actions. I do believe in the 'other side' and yes I believe in life after death because I have had so much proof. People like my grandmother deserve to do some time with the Devil for the many pacts that they made on earth with him. I bear her no harm, but I don't wish her well either as the rammifications of her very actions continue to reverberate until this day.

redlady_1

My name is Red and I am 42. I have spent 18 months renovating a cottage I bought after having lost all my money in a divorce (yes, women do get screwed over too!) These last 18 months have been a real struggle emotionally more than financially I think and I never realised just how much the house would cost me emotionally. But it did make me go back to the old ways I learnt when growing up. I have two jobs as I am retraining to be an accountant and therefore on trainee wages and am currently doing exams on top of everything else. I have no kids but have FK to keep me company and a very lovely OH.

Oh and I now have a mega woodpile!

tugrin

Hello Red - nice to hear from you. You sound as if you have had a really tough time recently. Is your house at least making you feel positive about you abilities and getting a bit of satisfaction at achieving stuff 'solo' as it were? Bearing in mind I am under the influence of a zzzzzzzzzzz pill - what is/who is FK??

redlady_1

Hi Tugrin. I have tackled things that scared me previously and the cottage is finally nearing completion. I had absolutely no DIY skills when I took it on. It had no kitchen, bathroom nor heating! I would never do it again. But, it was all I could afford and it got me on the market. We split in 2005 so it took me a few years to get the money together to buy somewhere. I am proud of how far I have come but Christ, it has taken it out of me.

FK - sorry, I forget this is a different thread. She is my cat and is affectionately known as Fat Knacker! She spends all her time in winter in front of the burner or wrecking the christmas tree

bluebag

sparrer wrote: »

Is it just me or are others embarrassed to let people know they buy cheap loo roll? Daft beggar that I am I keep a few rolls of the more expensive one and put that out when I'm expecting visitors :rotfl:

Nah, they just have to make do with the cheap stuff in our house. Most of my guests are pretty moneysaving anyway so they know what to expect.

cydney65

Spent the morning lagging the outside pipes with bubble wrap. Don't know if it will work or not, we'll see how it goes.
Toilet rolls are in the garage along with dishwasher salt, cereals and tinned/packet stuff so we will be self sufficient if we get stuck in the house for 2 weeks like we did last winter.
Sorted out first-aid kit for the car and blankets both fleece and space blankets. OH has bought some thermos cups from eBay, which we will fill with hot water when we venture out (we're quite rural). Just need some cuppa soups or similar for the car.
Hopefully I will get the foil windscreen cover I ordered from eBay to make foil backings for the radiators. I'll start with the one in the hall and go from there.
Another Cumbrian here :wave: and another in a civil partnership :wave: I'm 46 and medically retired. We have two grown up daughters and live with our two dachshunds. Our main hobbies are using the computers really and trying to get good deals!
Its been getting right cold here in west Cumbria but we shall resist putting the heating on for as long as possible. Wrap up warm everyone and keep the tips coming in :T this thread is an eye-opener

JulieX