As The Workhouse Approaches....How To Do Everything To Avoid It, the Old Style Way

mardatha

Minnie, we live in a similar place. I tend not to keep too much in the freezers just in case they go off. One freezer is full of flour lol. re heating or cooking, I'd recommend calor gas cookers. I would be lost without mine. Also get some kind of open fire or stove, then you can have one hot room. The money other folk put into freezers full of food, we put into dry goods and tins. And I gave up claiming house ins too, they always wriggle out or make you pay through the nose next time. xxx cheer up pet the summer should get better....canny get much bloody worse! :kisses3:

laineyc_2

The sun is shining but it nippy outside. Spoke to my on the phone. She said the wind yesterday in Fife was really scary but they are safe and have power. Their garden took a bit of a battering.

I really enjoyed my permaculture course at the weekend. It has given me some planning skills to get the best from my garden. They were really nice people on the course.

I have been eating much less meat over the last few months. After mulling over my experiences at the weekend I have decided that I am going to give up meat altogether. I will still have to buy and cook meat for the rest of my bunch. Will have to spend a bit longer sorting out my meal plans this month.

I am going to a new yoga class this evening. I haven't been for a while so I am looking forward to it. It is just what I need to help me rebalance things. I am also enjoying reading the Zenhabits blog.

The garden is looking good despite the lack of rain. I am still new to all and need to get myself a bit more organised.

The gadget let us know our electricity usage is a real eye opener. our evening usage is way to high. We have far too much technology on. I will be rationing the laptop usage, I think.

Softstuff

greenbee wrote: »

But will on the second to put your mind at rest on the cash-flow situation... Today they think the problem will soon be gone, so you should be ok but just keep an eye on things, check your airmen policy and your travel insurance. Take snacks and make the airline hand over a bottle of water so you have some to take off the plane if necessary.

Thanks for the advice and reassurance. The airline would sort me to some extent, it's one of the reasons I fly with them. I hadn't thought about simply asking for a bottle of water though, that's so obvious yet I'd totally overlooked it

And thanks Ceridwen, I dare say if it did come to it that I was stuck down south I wouldn't be stuck for long.

Sorry to hear of your food Scottishminnie, I've felt your pain on a couple of occasions. On thoughts of the generator, it seems like a reasonable idea as a back up. A woodburning stove wouldn't fit into your situation? I realise it wouldn't solve the freezer issue, but it would do warmth, hot water and cooking, and I have a feeling the fuel the generator requires will become dearer and harder to come by long term.

I'm thinking the less reliant we become on services provided to us the better, given that profit rather than customers is king to these companies.

the_cat

scottishminnie wrote: »

I don't have anyone who could take the food unfortunately so I'll just have to wait and see how bad the damage is I guess:(

I'm sure you already know to keep the door shut etc to get the most out of the cold you still have but looking to when power is restored...... bread/rolls can be safely refrozen, anything that is uncooked can obv be cooked and then refrozen. You could probably get a few days use out of stuff now defrosted and chilled for the next few days.

If your food is more HM cooked, prepared meals perhaps you could try to swap it with friends/family for some food that has been kept safe in their freezer (or maybe they could buy it from you if you are comfortable with that). Sell it via LETS, do a wanted/swap advert on freecycle?

Not sure I would justify £2000 on a generator unless it was for reasons other than just the wasted food though. You could get a lot of replacement food for that!

Hopefully you will get lucky and the power will be on sooner than they think.Good luck!

mardatha

Generators are hellish noisy too. I totally agree with softstuff about getting away from having to depend on gas and electricity. Nothing is going to get any cheaper. And always have a backup plan. If you've got a gas cooker then have electric gadgets like slow cooker or Remoska or wee worktop oven/grill. If you've got an elect cooker then have a calor gas camping stove or old pot for cooking on the fire. And the best of all is calor gas + spare cylinders + open fires. Then it doesnt matter what happens
Unless yer chimney falls off....:)

Red_Doe

Mardatha, mind if I ask how much your calor gas cylinders cost? We get charged over thirty quid for one for our wee portable gas heater, but can`t afford one because not only do they charge that, but an extra thirty for the bottle `rental`. That knocks the cost of one cylinder up to over sixty quid!

PaddyPaws

Another possible backup solution for powercuts (if you don't have a gas hob/open fire) that won't cost the earth to get setup. We've got a single gas ring that packs away in a box and it takes a small gas cylinder that's about the size of an aerosol. They're not the most economical way of warming things up but at least you would be able to boil a pan of water for a hot drink and still do some 'one pan' cooking. I think we got our's from a camping/outdoor type shop.

When we moved into our house we had no cooker or hob for just over two years whilst we saved up to have the kitchen overhauled so we bought ours to use for those things where you need a hob (also had a slow cooker, electric steamer and combi microwave). Was strange when we finally got a cooker :rotfl:

VJsmum

Culpepper, your son shoulg be able to get results without waiting for a certificate! He could contact his course director, the senior administrator or academic registry and they should be able to give him a detailed breakdown of his results. Failing that there is the head of school or dean of faculty.

Scottish minnie - many things can just be refrozen, bread and vegetables spring immediately to mind. I do feel your pain tho, our electric went off when we were on holiday once and tripped all the switches. the freezer had been off a week by the time we got back :eek:

redlady_1

Short bird...I dont suppose you have a linky for that do you please?

purpleheather2810

Minnie, Jackieglasgow, Mardatha and all others living up in Scotland, sending hugs to you and hope that power outages, wind damage etc is not too bad and does not go on for too long.

I am at home with some kind of tummy bug today. Should have taught a class this morning but have had to cancel it, losing money in the process

I am getting myself tied in knots with the grocery shopping. I'm here, there and everywhere trying to get the best deals and I don't even know if I'm doing a good job or not! Aldi mainly for fruit and veg, but also for non-food bargains, continental meats and nice reduced fat pate; Lidl for similar to aldi and is nearest supermarket; Sains for basics yoghurt (ticks all the boxes - low fat, probiotic, yummy and cheap), basics tinned fruit in juice, good deals on higher welfare meat, free range eggs, pasta; Evil Mr T is coming up trumps for good whoopsies atm but not much else; asda for basics not available in aldi/lidl; home bargains/b+m for crackers, good quality cereal bars, occasional cooking sauces, mayo etc. My brain hurts. Is everyone else doing their shopping like this too? How do you stay sane?!