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

kezlou

Thanks for starting up a new thread.

Back home again!

Well been planning a very OS birthday party for snips, been asked to make chocolate concrete, hot bread and pizza. So thats the plan so far with lots of cake and sandwiches. So going to make lots of games i.e pass the parcel ready for Thursday.

Lets hope the thread stays open x

great news piglet!

Butterfly_Brain

ChocClare wrote: »

I've just received a challenge from one of my knitting forums to knit only from my stash this year.

*Grabs paper bag to prevent hyperventilation*

So I've started a hat with some sock yarn held double. I'm not going to make any socks out of it any time soon. Although actually...

I've got so much wool that I could start a shop. And I need new jumpers.

Hmm.

Wonder if I've got enough of any one colour to fit my rather buxom frame? Stripes are OBVIOUSLY out.

I think I'll just carry on with the hat for the time being while I think. This time last year I would just have gone out and bought the jumper, so congrats to you all on making me think twice.

I made a jumper some years back and one half I knitted purple and the other half was green

maryb

It takes me ages to finish things but I keep them for ever when they are eventually finished. And hand knitted jumpers are sooo warm.

I've been wearing scarves a lot this winter even inside the house. It makes so much difference to how warm I feel and (touch wood) I haven't had a cold.

Maybe our mums were right - wrap up well to keep well. How OS can you get!!

(But I hated being so well wrapped up I couldn't move - and it was sooo uncomfortable when she crossed your scarf over your chest and took the ends behind your back and tied them in a great lumpy knot!!)

budgetboo

Diagonal stripes are very flattering for most people. They seem to give you a waist where none existed before, must be hard to knit though. My sewing machine has given up the ghost after over 20 years faithful service recently and it's an unknown brand so I'm going to have to replace it at some point this year. I have the urge to make a really girly apron.

At the moment it's all hitting those on disability benefits, an invisible section of society as the disabled and their carers by definition find it hard to mount protests like we saw from the students. If you are on Tax credits - please take a look at the changes now and start planning. I don't think many people realise just how far reaching these changes are yet.

My next foray into "elegant simplicity" is to perfect my mulled Lidl's apple juice recipe for spring picnics. I haven't got it quite right yet (fussy me) but so far cinamon & star anise seem to be the key spice ingredients. Lidls is the cheapest apple juice that tastes of proper apples I've found. A flask of something hot and a bit different to the usual tea or coffee makes it seem more special + mulled apple juice is kid safe. Anyone care to join me in experimenting a bit?

For the summer I want to try and brew "lashings and lashings of ginger pop" so will be tackling this after easter.

NualaBuala

Piglet - hooray! Am so happy for you and your OH that he has a job! :j And fingers crossed you get something too!

ChocClare, I smiled when you mentioned the stripes as I was just talking to my sister the other day about that. She told me that according to QI horizontal stripes actually minimise rather than make things appear bigger! http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/qi/episodes/7/16/
Not sure if that counts as a reliable source! :rotfl:

At the rate I knit my stash would last me years!

maryb

Budgetboo

Someone (apologies but I can't track down who) posted a link to Rhonda Jean's blog, Down to Earth. She's Australian but climate differences apart, she is one of us. She has instructions for making ginger beer using a home grown ginger beer plant, with photos.

I'm sure there's also a thread on OS somewhere about making ginger beer. I think if memory serves me right there is even a thread about making alcoholic ginger beer.

Anyway Rhonda made the point that you should keep it in plastic bottles until you are quite practised in case it explodes!!. So maybe start saving empty plastic bottles now

gillst_2

I've just posted on the pub thread and then realised that things have moved over here. I posted the following:
Does anyone know how to steam in a slow cooker? I have been looking at a couple of the recipies on Weezl's Weblog and they suggest steaming puddings in the slow cooker. How on earth do I do this?
Would be grateful for your help on this

ChocClare

gillst wrote: »

I've just posted on the pub thread and then realised that things have moved over here. I posted the following:
Does anyone know how to steam in a slow cooker? I have been looking at a couple of the recipies on Weezl's Weblog and they suggest steaming puddings in the slow cooker. How on earth do I do this?
Would be grateful for your help on this

It's much the same as how you would normally steam a pudding tbh. There's a post here which gives you step by step. HTH.

Tink_04

Good morning!!! oh i love these threads!!!! makes me feel very homely!!!!

Rowan9

:hello:Morning everyone! Early bird this morning as I've been awake since before 5.This will be a long day!
What a great thread! Lovely to see new folk in here. You will feel very welcome and soon be oldies .
I've been working on cutting down the grocery bill and so far this month has been the most successful. What has really helped has been making a menu plan and sticking to it, while also adapting it if need be for left overs etc. I've also increased the amount of veggie meals we have and am surprised how well this has worked as DH is a meat lover. However, he loves arabiatta (spicy tomato sauce and pasta) which is always our Sat night in front of the telly special. We've had different adaptations of this to include veg from bottom of fridge and if you put grated cheese over the top it makes a change. We've also had more soup. I've up my game with the soup making and have gone back to using my huge soup pot and then freezing portions. It obviously uses the same amount of electricity. I bought bread in MrT - 2 Kingsmill for £1.50 and froze one. I'm making sure we always have some staples in for sandwiches for hunger pangs and I'm also keeping apples and oranges in the fridge so they are cold and more appealing when I open the fridge to see what I can have for a snack(I might be strange).
hhmm what else?
Frugal exercise - went for a good long walk yesterday with DH and DD and also our younger dog. Took a picnic. We really enjoyed ourselves - it was fun to head off somewhere new with a guide book and a map.
Ok, coffee calls now.
Looking forward to catching up with you all when the day really starts.
W
ps - piglet - really pleased for your DH!!