Its tough, it will get better and guess what its freezing brrrrr!

ceridwen

Sorry to hear about those problems Kezlou. Thanks to Gailey for explaining about the costs of moving within the rented sector - as I have no idea and my first thoughts were "I'd move - from what Kezlou says about the state of the house" - but I guess it would cost hundreds of £s then to do so????

How does the rent level compare to equivalent properties in the area? Its been MANY years now since I lived in rented accommodation - so I remember that Fair Rent people were around back in those days (but didnt know whether they still are) and knew that they didnt necessarily put rents down - they could equally well say that they were okay or maybe even put them UP (ie if they thought the landlord was charging less than the local "going rate" for equivalent property). So - it would be well if you are thinking of going down that route to check out comparable properties and see how the rent level compares with yours.

sammy_kaye18

Morning all

Just as I'm feeling better the weather turns to absolutely sh........ Its gale force winds here and I mean gale force - my washing line is now entangled round my neighbours so I will have to attempt to salvage that later although cant see too much missing from it so hoping I wont be off trying to find jumpers later today. Last time I forgot stuff on the line I saw a neighbour a few days later wearing my favourite top - ggggrrrr................ didn't have the heart to go and ask for it back though.

Ah well. Holly actually had a fairly good nights sleep too - got one of these fleece blankets that pops into a sleeping bag off my mum - and tried her in it for the first time last night - put her down in just her baby grow as wasn't sure how hot she'd get but she seemed happy and went down at 11 (not in sleeping bag) woke at 12 (put her into sleeping bag after a little feed), slept until 4am, small feed again and woke up at 6. fingers crossed if I put her down in her sleep suit tonight in it she will be warm enough and sleep through! Although I bet by saying that Ive jinxed myself now!

Also now is the perfect time to get well and truly back on the OS band wagon. Had a phone call yesterday that Josh (step son) main Xmas present has come in. His mother in buying him an XBOX 360 (dont see the point whenhe has an original xbox, a wii, playstation and a DS! :eek:) and we were TOLD to get him a Kinnect (its a sensor like a wii has that you go in the game through) and she had helpfully already told Josh he was having it and daddy was buying it. So I have 2 days to collect it before it gets put back on the shelf to sell and its one of the must have toys for this year so it will sell straight away but Owens not paid until the 24th so I said when Im paid on Thursday I'll pay the remaining £98 and use the £22.50 I have on a gift card from trading in games but on the condition that pay day I get to use his credit card to finish off Ben and Hollys Xmas stuff. So now on Thursday after paying that, £24 to nationwide and £10 I owe my mum I'll be left with the royal sum of........£48! to last me 11 days. :think: Think some home baking may well be in order and a few whoopsie hunts!

Did manage to get a few good deals yesterday from coop even with the strictest supervisor on - went over and it was about 10 minutes before closing and they'd just found some bread that was up that day and not reduced - so I asked if I could have it (said Ben was duck feeding today with grandad) and was given a full size Braces Wholemeal loaf for 5p. Its not in freezer and will keep Owen in sandwiches for the week. Apart from that freezer looks quite bare! Thing of diced beef, pack of mixed Mr T value veg, a small ginsters reduced to 20p steak and onion pie and some chicken thighs. Although I like my freezer like that because now if I see some good whoopsies I can really stock up!

For the love of god I will heat proof my house today too! Even had boyfriend suggest last night putting up net curtains again and getting new curtain rails and heavy curtains because he could feel a draft and didn't like it.

right well am off for now. Think another cup of tea is in order.

kezlou

[Thats the thing with moving ceridwen it costs an absolute fortune and even after paying admins fee's etc your still not guaranteed the house. Amdinistration fees are also non-refundable so your just pouring money, literally down the drain.

In my area, rents are high i know a family up the road who pay twice the amount of rent that i do. But they house is in mint condition.So the Fair Rent people would suggest to the landlady to put the rent up.

So right now were just hoping that this other house comes through and then i'll hand my notice in.
The house i'm currently in, is't through an agency, i saw an ad in the paperand phoned up. So its literally just us and the landlord with no outside agency involved, which things a lot cheaper.

But i still don't think i should have to pay for the maintenance of the boiler, the cheeky get.

So i'm going to come back form my exam and crack on with decluttering the house. I'm determined to get sorted, even if my leg plays up, it has to happen.

kidcat

I suppose the other thing you could do is suggest an independant gas maintanence contract to maintain the boiler, it should be considerably cheaper than British gas.

NualaBuala

Good to hear from you Greent .... that sounds like progress. It's great that he is getting counselling but what about you - are you getting enough support? Take good care of yourself.

Pollys, so sorry to hear about your Dad too. Hope he won't have to wait too long to be admitted.

I'm so sorry to hear about your son's GF Annie123. Surely that must be in breach of employment law ... but maybe it is different for trainees? I think it would be worth contacting Citizens Advice though. I think it's wonderful she doesn't wear make-up. You see so many people who would look better without it. I've noticed on a lot of ads or TV programmes the top make-up and hair stylists often have an understated look Hope she'll be ok, the poor pet.

I seem to be coming down with something - felt really awful and fluey last night but a bit better this morning, just sneezing.

Hope everyone is doing ok. Have a great day everyone.

Hugs,
Nuala

Primrose

kidcat wrote: »

Tinned pineapple works ok in a jelly, or it did in trifle for me last week. But fresh will never set.

Kidcat, that's interesting. I do remember once having a lot of fresh fruit salad left over after a family event and this had fresh pineapple in it, so I decided to try and stop any apple in it going brown, to set the whole lot in a jelly. But of course it didn't set at all because of the large pineapple content. Was the tinned pineapple you set in jelly in a sugar syrup or its own juice, or doesn't it make any difference? I'm wondering what it is in the tinning process which destroys the enzymes which prevents it setting. Possibly the fruit is heated quickly to a high temperature in the can to sterilise it and this makes the difference. If this is the case, perhaps putting the fresh pineapple in boiling water for a few minutes would do the trick. Must investigate this theory further if only for my own edification.

PS Have just Googled this problem and found this information on a site somewhere for anybody who is interested:

"The reason a pineapple gelatin won't set with fresh pineapple is due to an enzyme - bromelain (sp?). It's called that because pineapple belongs to a group of plants called bromeliads. This enzyme, like all enzymes, can be inactivated with the application of heat. Bromelain breaks down the amino acids (proteins) in the gelatin. Tinned pineapple, or canned as Americans call it, has been heated to a high enough temperature to inactivate the enzyme. You can inactivate the enzyme by boiling the fresh pineapple in some of its own juice or a small amount of water for a few minutes."

parsonswife8

I had to resort to some Vick's First Defence last night as my nose and sinuses were playing up.:eek:

Feeling much better after a good night's sleep, although I did wake up quite often with pain in my hip.:(

DH is on yet another run to the tip, but we are now winning the fight with the loft and it's contents.:rotfl: It is completely insulated, but we need to pack some things back up there and there is still a mountain of things in the spare room to go through and dispose of. We are getting there slowly but surely.:T
As for being fired for not wearing makeup, what a poor excuse to get rid of someone. I would get advice and take the matter further, but that's just me. That was just not right.:mad:

kidcat

The pineapple was a sainsburys basics fruit cocktail, it was in the food parcel we received last Christmas so I was just using it up. I knew you couldnt use pineapple in jelly but when I threw the trifle together I just went by memory as to what my grandad used to do when he used tinned fruit, so threw the fruit cocktail in and then the rest. It was only a bit later I started to worry when I remembered that there was pineapple in fruit cocktail and it occured that maybe when grandad made them the tins didnt have pineapple in them? But when I checked the jelly had set fine. On that basis not sure if i was just lucky or if there wasnt enough pineapple to cause a reaction, or if the tinning process makes it safe. But if anyone can shed some light on it that would be good.

GOt DD4 off school yet again today, she was awake all night so I sat up with her and then as I was racing to get everyone ready for school run she was sick again. Had to call dad to do school run which means that others were probably late again, this will throw this afternoon off as the two eldest will get a detention for being late (apparently the fact we live ten miles away and that my dad had to travel from twenty miles away to get here and take them doesnt get them an exception from detention!!), no idea how I will manage the afternoon run, but assuming it will be a case of transeferring DD into car along with bucket and towels and hoping for the best. Will mean leaving her in car outside DS6 school while I collect her as the other two who would normally be able to sit with her will be n detention.
What I dont get is why schools make it so hard for families to get kids into school, it was almost tempting this morning to keep them all off as that way no detention, no hassles at pick up, no angry texts from school that they are late and requesting my full support in getting them to school on time!! (What do they think I am doing every morning?) I am exhausted having not had a proper nights sleep in over three weeks and putting one foot in front of the other is an achievemnet some days!! Feeling constantly headachey and nauseous last few days too.

On a positive note I have managed to get most of the kitchen sorted this morning and all animals are fed and watered. Got six loads of washing for today but it looks fairly blowy outside so may well throw one load on airer outside back door (easy to grab in if it rains) and save a load from the drier - although the drier does heat the whole house so I dont feel so guilty about using it.
The heating engineer is meant to be here tomorrow - he did a bodge job last week to stop leak as it turned out the leak was caused by his not repairing the tap he should have repaired a year ago!! So we have him servicing the boiler and gas fires, fixing the tap in itchen and the pipe too, replacing taps and toilet seat downstairs, and sorting it so that when I heat the water the radiators dont come on upstairs. Oh and making the two or three radiators that dont fully heat, actually work.. Best guess is that he will be her for hours but at least it will be done.

Primrose

annie123 - that's a horrible thing to happen to this young girl. I'd be very tempted to walk into into her hairdressing saloon with a big banner saying "Trainee sacked for not wearing make up" and say to them "You have a choice. You either reinstate the young trainee you've just sacked or I'll stand outside your shop with this banner until you do.... and I'll phone the local paper to come and take a photograph of me." Sometimes the odour of bad publicity or ridicule is the only thing which will make some of these stupid oafs back down.

Or you could get a few friends to ring up the saloon saying they were customers and were horrified that they were victimising a young girl like that and that they wouldn't come back for any more haircuts until she was reinstated.

mama67

kittie wrote: »

Bake then halve. Scoop the insides out put in a bowl and and save the skins Mash with pepper, butter and grated cheese and maybe some nutmeg and then beat a little with a spoon. Spoon into the empty skins. Cool and open freeze. Then pack in poly bags

Thaw and grill when needed or bake frozen

My children loved these but I haven`t made them for years and never frozen them but I`m sure it will work

The US forums etc seem to mention these alot called "twice baked potatoes" they freeze and then thaw and eat as a regular midweek easy dinner