How to Get Through The Tough Times The Old Style Way.

GreyQueen

Wow, what a fantastic bunch of peeps you are to help me out of my uninspired cooking rut re the chicken thighs. Thank you all. :T

ChocClare I am totally dribbling at the thought of your recipe and will cook it tonight as it seems to be idiot-proof and thus suitable for an absent-minded cook like yours truly. Look for feedback tomorrow or possibly open the window to hear me going "Mmmmmmmmm".

I shall have to get to the other ones is due course as I have a feeling that chicken thighs might be a regular addition as they seem to be excellent value for money, and I do love a bargain.

Shegar I'm really sorry to hear that you're having such a hard time and wish I could make it better. (((Hugs))).

I have just been called "an old cow" *by a customer as she put the phone down on me. Brave of her. :rotfl:Do you wanna come across the country and call me that to my face, sista? I totally despise people who think it's OK to abuse call centre staff like me.

Anyway, the sun is shining and I have some errands to run and its only one more day until the weekend. Catch up with y'all later.

* I was being nice. And its "middle-aged cow" anyway.:D

scotsaver

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Is there any sign of any big garden pots at Poundland or similar? I'm back off to the city on Friday (more bleeding expensive dental treatment :eek:) so I could get some if there are any. Thanks

They had loads in our P0undland at the weekend, was quite impressed with the Gardening section, loads of Gloves, tools, pots, seeds etc etc so well worth a look.;)

born_blonde

Annie, on the geriatric mum front I was 44 when I had my first and only child. Rarely saw the same Midwife twice and horror of horrors I wanted a home birth. The Consultant sent me for every test she could think of ( even the staff commented )and seemed disappointed that they all came back as normal or average. In the end after being in labour for 24 hours at home I reluctantly went into hospital and had Robin 12 hours later. I left hospital 7 hours after with a perfectly normal boy.
Just do what you think is right for you and your baby.

Pitlanepiglet

scotsaver wrote: »

They had loads in our P0undland at the weekend, was quite impressed with the Gardening section, loads of Gloves, tools, pots, seeds etc etc so well worth a look.;)

Fab thanks, now the dilemma, do I take the car into town or try to drag a stack of pots back on the park and ride bus!

born_blonde

Just in case you haven't noticed there is a thread for free seeds on the Green fingered Money Saving.

ChocClare

GreyQueen wrote: »

I've always thought blackthorn and hawthorn were two different scrubby trees but may (pardon the pun) be completely wrong about that.;) And isn't it funny that gorse flowers smell like hot coconut.......

Blackthorn and hawthorn are indeed two different shrubby trees.

Blackthorn gives you sloes with which you can make sloe gin

Hawthorn gives you...hawthorn berries or haws. Birds eat 'em. Yes, yes, I know you can use them to make bramble jelly and I believe they are useful medicinally for cardiac er... stuff.... but wouldn't you rather have the gin? :rotfl:

Hawthorn wood is very good for fires, incidentally. I say this because a couple of weeks ago there was a rather pretty child driving a tractor with nasty-looking attachments down all the lanes, cutting the tops off the hedges and I did think about collecting up all the bits but sadly they all fell in the fields for the farmers to collect. DD enjoyed herself making phwoar faces in the general direction of the Pretty Child though. I suppose he MUST have been sixteen if he was driving a tractor - DD thought he might be worth getting to know anyway...

Thank you for choosing my recipe btw! It is pretty idiot-proof, I must say and strangely enough, it's the recipe I'm asked for most when I've given it to guests. Not important guests, obviously, but you know, friends and family staying for the weekend. And they then go off and serve it at dinner parties, so there you go. It's one of those dishes which tastes far more difficult than it is, if you see what I mean. Actually, I quite fancy it now...

kitschy

Bit miffed

Got me a bright purple Dylon machine pack (and the salt), followed the instructions to the letter, and very disappointed with the results. At first, my dressing gown (pale pink) went a really vivid purple in the washer - yippee, thinks I. Now it's on the spin and it barely looks any different to when it went in

I bought the dye to save buying a new dressing gown, but it looks like it might have been a false economy.

bluebag

During the war and rationing my Grandad used to pick the very tender tips of the Hawthorn bushes and dry the leaves, he used to mix this half and half to stretch the tea ration.

Told ya I had a head full of useless information

ChocClare

Shegar, sorry to hear you're feeling so overwhelmed, and who can blame you? It is very difficult to have to look after someone day in, day out.

Can the Stroke Association not help you? I know they do offer local services - see here It may be that that was precisely what you were talking about in your post, in which case, my apologies!

You MUST NOT feel guilty about requesting help from social services. That is precisely what they are there for, particularly as your DH had his stroke so young. I spend a lot of my day talking to (usually) elderly ladies about how they are finding it difficult to cope because of their husband's dementia/physical disabilities etc etc and they all have in common that they feel that they SHOULD be managing without help, which is just ridiculous. I always tell them to take whatever help is on offer - very few of them are qualified nurses, and even if they were, they wouldn't be expected to work a 24-hour shift.

Did you DH belong to any professional organisation before his stroke? Was he in the services? Was he a Mason? I ask because there are all sorts of charities which exist to help former members who have fallen into difficulties, so there may be other avenues open to you.

You take all the help you can get, my girl!

rachbc

Goodness Annie - I have heard some horror stories about midwives - a friend of mine used to rant about hers and I raved about mine - turns out they were one and the same lol. Shocking that you've only just seen one too - what are you now 4/5 months, is that standard now due to cut backs?

I have day off tomorrow and my OS mission is to start getting the garden in order - rake the leaves, clear the dead stuff and get my lidl apple tree in -need to organise getting my old ornamental cherry taken out and replaced with an eating cherry! Hopefully have someone who will cut it down in exchange for beer- and then we'll stack it an season it for next winter's fire