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

Hippeechiq

Fab news about your eyes Maryb :T
Pazu poor you hun :grouphug: labyrinthitis is truly awful. A bad bout leaves you feeling like you've been in a washing machine on top spin......horrible, and it can take a good while before you feel "right" again, but I hope you're soon on the mend.

I'm a big fan of £idl and I can't fault the quality of anything I've bought from there, and it's where all my meat comes from - bar my sausages....I'm veeery picky about my sausages.

This weekend they have chicken breast on offer - which I intend to bulk buy - and although it is still a very good offer, the pack size is getting smaller and smaller.

I've been buying chicken breast from them for over a year, and last year this time the pack size was 606g. In Jan/Feb the pack size went down to 575g and now it's dropped to 540g. It really gets my goat! Do they think we don't notice?

It's like 1L bottles of squash/bleach/fabric softener, etc., A lot of those have gone down to like 980ml....the list of items this has happened to is endless and it's insulting that, as shoppers, the SMs think we only see the price, but don't actually realise we're getting less for our money.

.......kicks soap box into corner

smileyt_2

Glad I'm vegan!

Tonight I thought I could smell gas. Phoned the emergency gas number and a lovely man came out to check. Unfortunately my gas cooker has been condemned. My parents have offered to buy me another and I am going to have to swallow my pride and let them (I am 41 and it really goes against the grain, somehow) - they have refused my offer to pay it back when I am back in work. I know I am lucky to have someone to buy me a cooker and I am grateful to them and I actually will pay them back when they are not looking!!

I have visitors coming this weekend. Luckily one of them is a 12 year old boy so he will think it's very exciting to be cooking on a camping stove :rotfl:

I've not had a good day, really. Tonight in the park my dogs started running towards a puppy, but came back as soon as I called them and got nowhere near the pup. The owner panicked though, shrieked and tried to drag the pup through a gate, and ended up slamming the gate onto the poor wee thing. It cried and yelped for about 20 minutes whilst I held it firmly but gently and when it stood up it couldn't walk - I don't think his leg was broken but I think it was badly sprained and bruised as he kind of spun round with the force of the gate . The owner said he thought he was being attacked by pitbulls - one of my dogs looks like a small labrador and the other is a corgi-cross and neither looks remotely like a pitbull, and they weren't growling or acting viciously and they came back on command. The man was a Somalian and was obviously terrified of my dogs even though they then sat nearby whilst I nursed the poor pup. I can't get the pup's shrieks out of my mind. It panicked because its owner panicked, and it pooped itself It was obviously in shock as well as in pain. I did stress to the man that he must take it to a vet straight away.

I feel absolutely awful and cried afterwards and felt sick, because the pup's cries tore at my heart so. I got the impression that the man was scared of dogs other than the puppy (it is very rare to see a Somalian with a dog, in my experience, as usually they are scared and/or their Muslim religion seems to prohibit it). I feel so sorry for the pup, and wish my dogs hadn't started running towards it. But they came back on command, which I issued as soon as I saw them start to run. There was no need for the man to panic. I have never seen another dog owner react like that, and I have seen plenty of real dog attacks in my time (sadly). I do hope the pup will be OK. Poor little thing. When it stood up and tried to walk and was obviously only able to use three legs, the owner panicked again and started shaking its lead and shouting at it to sit, sit, sit because he didn't want it to be hurt any further. He kept trying to give it dog chews to calm it down. Fortunately he phoned a friend, who had dogs herself, and she came and seemed very down-to-earth and kind, so hopefully the pup will have been taken to the vet. I explained briefly what had happened and she didn't seem surprised that her friend had panicked. She wrapped the pup in her jacket as its owner didn't want to pick it up because the poor thing had pooped itself.

Sorry for such a long post. I am still upset about the whole incident and still stunned by the owner's reaction Oh, I do hope the puppy will be OK and was taken to the vet.

ETA - it was late afternoon and the vet's might have been closed, which is why I am wondering if the pup was taken to the vet, not because I think the owner was uncaring enough not to take it!

EstherH

Oh Smiley what an awful experience for you. Try to think of other things and get the poor puppy out of your mind. It wasn't your fault. Your dogs are obviously well trained to come straight back on command. You did what you could.

ginnyknit

Smileyt you did everything right and if the mans friend was a dog person I am sure she will make sure it gets to a vet, Puppy must have soft bones like a baby so I think it may be ok. Please don't worry too much. You must be proud that your dogs did what they have been taught by their caring Mum x

Oh poorly at the mo but jut popped on to see how you all are.

Pazu hope you get over the labrinthytis. A friend of mine had it last year and had to ring me at 3 am as the hospital had chucked him out and he didnt know where he was as he is new to the area. He couldnt even get up the stairs to his flat when I took him home and he is a BIG chap. He did recover quite quickly with a bit of Tlc from me and mine and hasn't had a problem since - luckily.

Got my Mr T vouchers so off to stock up as soon as Oh recovers. Ds got a voucher for nappies too so will get her a stock in - of course the offer finished or I would have got them for peanuts!

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

(warning - the following might be a bit TMI if feeling fragile or eating)

Having the worst week in ages, innit weird how everything happens at once? Hope this is my lot for a while now... I've written it down and posted it here in the hope it will get it all out of my system...

Although none of what's happened is actually THAT *close* to me (as in: it's not immediate family/friends etc), it's affected me quite badly, I had bad anxiety last night and barely slept a wink. Having a glass of wine this eve, might actually get some downtime later...

Anyway. Early this week I found out that someone in my block had died. I didn't know her well, she was a moany old moo, but I did (do) get on with her daughter who's about my age (late 30s), and my eldest DD works with her grandson. Well, 3 weeks ago, her daughter told me that her mum (the lady in the block) had lung cancer, they were just waiting for confirmation and results from a biopsy on the tumour they found in her lung. Just 3 weeks later she was dead. Shockingly fast.

So, life goes on. Then last night (Wednesday) at about 9 there's banging on my front door. It was my neighbour from along the corridor, she's got her 8 month old kitten (almost fully grown cat) in her arms. She's freaking out, saying "I need an emergency vet! Have you got any numbers!!" I looked at the cat, it didn't look conscious. I couldn't work out what my neighbour was saying, I thought she was trying to say that the cat had been walking along the windowsill and had fallen off and hurt itself....no. It had been walking on the OUTSIDE LEDGE. We live at the top of a tower block!!! When my neighbour called to get him in, instead of backing up, the cat tried to turn round...And fell.

So there she is, screaming, and dumped this poor silly still-warm cat into my arms. She was saying "He was breathing when I picked him up!!" but he didn't look alive now, was floppy and had a really weird smell about him. His eyes were open but there was no breathing or heartbeat, and his pupils were fixed dilated. DH noticed one leg was fractured. He laid him on the hallway floor and tried to give artificial respiration and heart massage, but the cat started bleeding from his nose, was going cold, and the bladder and bowels let go.

DH wrapped the cat in a blanket and popped him in a box, and gave him to my neighbour, me & her had a bit of a convo about getting him cremated, and I told her daughter (8yrs?) that she had to have the cat in her flat (she wanted me to keep it cos she was scared) because they had to have a proper funeral so they could say goodbye. Then they went home, and I had a good cry. Couldn't sleep cos I kept worrying that I hadn't checked properly, what if the cat WAS still alive? But I knew that was irrational. I just had to work through the anxiety and repetitive images (almost there now).

So then I get up today and try phoning the lady who owns the garden I tend (on a kind of LandShare contract). Not seen her the last couple of times I visited, and assumed she may have her usual hospital appointments. But today her ansafone is full....so I phoned one of her family members, and was told she was in hospital - I can't really say any more for privacy reasons, but she is alive (and talking), although doesn't look like she'll be leaving hospital anytime soon.

So as you can see, not close friends or family or pets, but it's all come in the space of 3 days, the last 2 are a bit close to home, and I feel a bit mental now!!! *wibble*

My Bobby (cat) hasn't left my side, he always knows when I need moggy love :A

(the cat falling/dying has traumatised me quite a lot, even though it wasn't my cat and I know my neighbour and her daughter will be much more devastated than me, it's still a shock and I hate the images I have obsessing repeatedly, and am even more OCD about the windows now.)

EstherH

R.a.I.n.b.o.w. So sorry to read of your week. Hope you can relax and get a good nights sleep tonight.

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

GreyQueen wrote: »

It's my old ailment; thunder headache. I seem to be sensitive to sudden drops of barometric pressure but I was in the basement under artificial light and had no idea what was going on weatherwise. Relieved to find the cause otherwise I'd be worried. Still have a sore head but will rally with a cuppa and the forums before biking to the allotmentino with some ex-bathwater.

I too get thunder-head - have previously been called weird about this! :mad:

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

hex2 wrote: »

I have 24 eggs to use up, but I dont want to make cakes. Time to have a good think about what else needs using up. Not urgent as they have been laid since 20th - so fresh by supermarket standards. I usually give them out at work but no one brings the boxes back so I am not this time.

Crustless quiches (which can be frozen) - approx half eggs to half cheddar/similar hard cheese (any strength/maturity, and low fat is fine), add seasoning/herbs to taste, and any veggies you want as long as you've cooked them lightly before to remove some water content. Be creative, and try to pack in as much veg as you can. Bake in oven (180-200deg) until a skewer can be inserted and removed clean (and the topping is browned). I've even done this (with 6 eggs) in a bread maker on "BAKE" setting for an hour.

These are great for breakfast or for a more substantial lunch/dinner/snack. Can be microwaved to reheat. Delicious and low in processed carbs.

I hope this makes sense, please let me know if you need any more info!

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

kittie wrote: »

cloned meat is being sneaked into the supermarkets by the end of summer :eek::eek::eek:

This absolutely horrifies me as it will not be labelled as such

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/8415170/Meat-from-offspring-of-cloned-animals-to-go-on-sale-in-UK.html

I am TRYING TRYING TRYING to become a veggie - well, a piscitarian at least - and this news just spurs me on.

Doing OK, but I do love a bit of bacon or chicken every now and then...

Trying to imagine aubergine is MEAT...MEAT...MEAT...

(I can't eat Quorn, as it has an ingredient derived from mushrooms, which I am allergic to...but then I'm not THAT sad about it, as it's still processed carp that I've been avoiding for years anyway!!)

Winchelsea

Have just read through from where I left off last time - 5 pages I think!

Have loved all the chat about school days and Chelsea Girl etc. My DD4 had a pair of those bib and brace overalls in bright red - about 1980 I would guess. She seems to be wearing them in virtually every photo from that year.

On one of their washes I found her watch in her pocket AFTER it had been through the whole cycle. As you can imagine, I blamed myself for not checking the pockets properly. When she came home from school I gave it to her, and she was amazed to see that it was going - and of course I too was equally amazed.

But, no, it was better than that - the reason it had been in her pocket was that it had broken, stopped going altogether. But, a good wash in the machine had sorted it out! I wouldn't recommend it as the treatment of choice for a broken watch though!