Preparing for winter II

oldtractor

Summers coming at last!

mummy2jack

Been lurking on this thread for a few weeks now and thought I would pop in and say hi ...So hope you don't mind me joining in.

The last 2 winters in Kent have been really bad and last year we got caught out a few times without heating and it was awful! actually I was starting to worry about this year as due to money problems I cannot afford to use my heating anywhere near as much as I did last year, since reading this thread I have picked up lots of tips on how to manage... so thank you all so much, this coming winter does not scare me so much now.


So far I have got:
2 x fleece blankets for our bed & DS's donated to me by my mum
Got 3 throw overs for the living room from a jumble sale 50p each
a beautiful thick lined door curtain from freecycle ( last year my hallway was freezing so this will keep the chill off.. just waiting for DH to fit the curtain pole)
I have replaced the curtains in DS's room with thick lined ones
Got a thicker set of curtains for the patio door from my mum
A tea cosy from a jumble sale for 20p (for some reason we only use the teapot in the winter months)
2 x Hot water bottles (Just another one to get for DH)
Bought 2 table lamps out of the loft...I really do think these make the living room seem more cosy)
Bought lots of candles ( again I think when lit they make a room feel cosy plus I need some in just in case of power-cuts as we had a few last year)
Sorted a medicine box out, just need to buy lemsip and throat sweets

Nearly got a box sorted for the car...this is a must as last year DH got stuck for 2hrs in the freezing cold because of sudden heavy snow fall, just got to add a torch, blanket and gloves

Got lots of soup, pasta, bread mixes etc so won't go hungry if we get stuck in home, just got to add some powdered milk to the stash.

Still got to get

Myself & DS a winter coat
Wellies for DH
A fleece all in one sleepsuit for DS
Dressing gown for DH
A flask
Want to make some foil covered cardboard for behind the radiators,
Gas for the camping stove
A wind up radio
Slippers for DH & DS
Hat, scarf and gloves for DS
Thicker curtains for our bedroom

Think that is about it, hopefully all the above will get us through the cold winter months! x

Fruball

Welcome mummy2jack :wave:

annie123

tugrin wrote: »

Guys I need some advice/stroke help with my hands!!! I dont know if it's because Im getting old (boo hoo) or whether it could be the drugs Im on but EVERY time I go to do anything - even get the hoovr out etc I mange to nick myself or somehow produce an irritating tiny cut which then proceeds to sting and irritatingly bleed everywhere. Drama over I NEED SOME REALLY COMFORTABLE AND STRONG gloves that I can wear almost all the time.
Rubber gloves make me very sweaty very quickly then I get little itchy blisters which eventually burst - d'you think neoprene would be just as irritating. I have those white cotton tings you get from chemists BUT they get filthy.
This is actually stopping me from doing stuff now - please rack your brains!!

My nan had a stroke a few years ago and that left her unable to grip things securely. She's in a care home now (she's 88) and she still uses the gloves below. They dont make her hands sweat and she can grip a cup without dropping it.
The care home are so impressed they have recommended them to others there. They are a fabric base with the palm and front of the fingers dunked in latex basically. Might be worth a try for you?

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=053906&Trail=searchtext%3EGLOVES

Dustykitten

Chirpy sending love to you and your family at such a hard time.

Toots I wish a fire was a good idea for you but they are a lot of work and if you don't have 'free' wood costly too. I hope you can find a solution x

We are having a few mild days here but I will not be distracted by that! ASDA had some great brushed cotten PJ bottoms and a lovely knitted cardi/jacket which is the perfect match for my cord skirt. Both items for £24 which I thought was very good.

Plans are mainly on getting the garden sorted out for winter this week.

sparrer

Chirpy thinking of you all.

There's a new store, Family Bargains, just opened in a nearby town. I popped in there yesterday just to see what they've got on offer, many named goods which were ridiculously cheap and customers were only allowed a max of three each of some item. I spent £30 and bought 30 items, including the main prize, 3 x packs of 4 Andrex for 99p each . That brings my stash up to almost 50 - best part of a year's supply as there's only me . Loads of de-icer, got a couple although I do have some left from last year. 100 Lancashire tea (not quite as strong as Yorkshire but nevertheless 2/3 cups to a bag) for £1, got 3 of those.

Lots of other bits for the store cupboards, and maybe i'll go back in the week when hopefully it'll be less manic in there, to get more tea, de-icer & so on. Even taking the price of petrol into consideration it will be cost effective.

So pleased some of the northern shops are gradually moving down here and realising we need bargains too. We're not all millionaires in the Home Counties!

kmiller4

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Kathy, that sounds yummy - do you know if it would work the same with oat flour (I'm wheat intolerant, love bread and really struggle to come up with anything).

I'm not sure about using oat flour instead-- i've only used wheat flour myself. Perhaps someone else will have some advice for you. Sorry I cannot be more helpful

Cheapskate

Angel_Jenny wrote: »

Reading up on the preparedness challenge on http://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com/ made me think of this thread. I wish I lived in the countryside! I would love to have chickens but we aren't allowed them here and I think the dog (Jack Russell) would probably chase them. Not giving up on my vegetable garden dreams though even if my "patch" is teeny tiny!

I write to a couple of Amish ladies as pen pals - now they know how to prepare!! They all seem to be busy canning all their produce at this time of year to last all through Winter. They even make their own cough medicine and cordial drinks!

Frugal - I HATE spiders!!! I just had a Daddy Long Legs in my room and I hate those too - they just fly right at you! There isn't much that I am not scared of though.

This sounds really interesting - how did you start doing this, and how would I go about doing the same? I'm sure they have lots of experience and advice about preparing for winter, and about their lives in general. Feel free to PM me if you can't/don't want to give details in public!

A xo

squeaky

kmiller4 wrote: »

Note—regular all purpose white flour can be used for making bread, but bread flour makes a much better loaf. If using regular AP flour add some vital wheat gluten.

Gosh! That's a new one!

I never realised that you could buy gluten to add to standard plain flour.

Can you point us to a good source, please?

How much do you have to use per (2lb) loaf? How much does it add to the cost per loaf?

Angel_Jenny

Cheapskate wrote: »

This sounds really interesting - how did you start doing this, and how would I go about doing the same? I'm sure they have lots of experience and advice about preparing for winter, and about their lives in general. Feel free to PM me if you can't/don't want to give details in public!

A xo

I knew a girl on an internet forum who "went" Amish and I was writing to her then to a couple of friends of hers.

You could try writing in to Family Life (Amish magazine) and asking for a pen pal. Old copies still pop up on eBay every now and then.

It is lovely to here about their lives - they seem so busy and yet so contented! They are fascinated by life in England. I guess if I think of a country I can Google it but they don't have that option!