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

redlady_1

Er, what is handfasting please??

maryb

betony wrote: »

I must admit, I prefer real butter, too. My OH INSISTS on Lurpak Spreadable, even though, as I pointed out to him, it's made with butter and VEGETABLE OIL and isn't 'pure' butter. It's also from Scandinavia, where the milking cows are kept indoors most of the year and fed on cereal concentrates. This is not a natural diet for them and the reason why Lurpak is so pale in colour - it's the chlorophyll in green vegetation which makes it a golden colour. It's been proven that butter made from milk from organically or grass-only-fed cattle is higher in 'good' fats than that from cattle fed cereal concentrates.


p

I knew for years that transfats were bad for you but I didn't really focus on it because they say saturated fat is bad for you too, and I eat butter and make my roast potatoes and pastry with lard - so there!

But recently, I don't know why, I actually did some proper research and was horrified at precisely how bad they are. And the replacements that the food industry are "voluntarily" introducing (before they face mega class action lawsuits in the US) don't seem to be any better.

So I'm making a conscious effort now to get the most healthful food I can. I can often get organic butter on offer and that is the first choice but otherwise it has to be grass fed at the very least. The two most easily available brands of butter that I know are largely grass fed (ie only brought in in really bad weather) are Kerrygold and Anchor. New Zealand doesn't allow the routine dosing of cattle with antibiotics whereas I don't know about Kerrygold. But Ireland is much nearer so lower food miles. Decisions, decisions.

maryb

ChocClare wrote: »

Congratulations on your handfasting HH :T
Happy Birthday BB! :bdaycake:
and last but not least

Congratulations on your anniversary, ftm - 25 years, eh? I've got my 25th coming up in August (if I haven't killed him before then ) - all the best people obviously got married in 1986...

We bought a house together in 1986 but didn't get married until 1988 - does that count?

mamaninie

2 gardening questions if anyone feels like helping a family of complete novices:

1) our apple tree (4 yrs old and inexpertly pruned) is literally groaning under the weight of fruit which are all ping pong ball sized - should we try to support the branches, or thin the fruit at all?

2) how do you know when spuds are ready to harvest - some of my compost bag ones are starting to flower? Cleverly I've chucked away the leaflet which says what variety etc they are

ta in advance!

xx

ceridwen

lizzyb1812 wrote: »

Ceridwen - like these?

http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=4067

You could use the seeds and/or grow your own future supply!

Lizzy

Thank 'ee:D. That looks like what the book was mentioning...'reet 'y'are...I can see another order coming up...followed by another spell of guerilla gardening:D. That was seriously well reviewed for some common ailments amongst other things...

ceridwen

redlady_1 wrote: »

Er, what is handfasting please??

pagan wedding...

...and congratulations Hester...

trifles

Have not caught up with the thread due to long shifts stint,so please excuse me not replying to posts having concerns or needing support.
On Saturday received an unexpected communal flat bill for nearly £500:jAll necessary stuff needing attended to,just stunned I didn't know!
Tried to work out how to sort this out-like many people funds low as have had to use reserve savings lately. Brainwave-raid jewellery box for anything gold to sell!We're talking here of broken bits of chain,fashion disaster jewellery,including a dreadful pair of gold hoops I bought in Italy many years ago that looked ridiculous on me but at the time I thought made me look very 'dolce vita' but no self respecting Italian would have worn:rotfl:Not exactly family heirlooms and none of any sentimental value whatsoever or that anyone I know would be interested to have.
With a clear conscience,I sallied forth into town to see if I could make a dent in my bill.
I felt a bit Victorian Maiden fallen on hard times(ridiculous for a middle-aged woman built like a classic operatic diva) as I shopped around gold buyers.Seriously,if anyone else is considering doing this,there is a HUGE difference between traders.I expected Fagin in some of the smaller shops I went into,but found prices there very fair compared to some of those advertised on TV.
Went home having made a respectable dent in the bill considering the tatty bits that had been lying useless for years and didn't throw out just because it was gold.Wouldn't recommend this for whole pieces as probably Ebay etc better.
Will manage,with a sense of humour and lots of porridge and soup:D and decent coffee!
My hero Oscar Wilde was so right!

mamaninie

scottishminnie wrote: »

Today's question from me (which I meant to ask yesterday but forgot) - what could I put in the loo cistern instead of buying the little blue/green circular tablet things?

I like to have something in there but fed up spending about a £1 for one of these things

I find those blue thingies stain the loo by clinging to the limescale so it makes the loo look grubby! I haven't used one in years. I try to swish and swipe the loos most days (usually manage every other day at best!) I just use a little squirt of ecover surface cleaner quite diluted in a spray bottle and some tissue to wipe the seats, outer areas etc (a microfibre cloth would be more economical but is too icky for me) then once flushed I bog brush round a squirt of ecover loo cleaner. I bought it in a 5L container when it was 1/3 off on Natural Collection website - I think it will last me about 2 years....... My loo seems quite clean I think

I'm sure I read on the US flylady emails that she just uses leftover bits of soap in the bog brush holder so that she just swishes and swipes with a soapy brush. That seems quite old style to me Soap is soap I suppose!

lizzyb1812

Mamaninie - my apple tree is in exactly the same state. Some years it has a bumper crop, some years not so good. It will be fine to just leave it - no need to prop it up or take off any apples. You'll probably have noticed it has already dropped lots of very small apples - it's called the June Drop and it's the tree letting go what it can't take on to maturity. So just assume it can carry what it has now got on it.

Potatoes - lots of different opinions. When did your spuds go in? Some say 100 days from planting to lifting, some say 18 weeks, some say lift after the flowers have gone, some say leave until the foliage flops over or even until it dies back. If you have plenty of plants you could try just lifting one to see what you've got. Or have a "furtle" - ie carefully stick your hand down the side of the plant and see what you've got. Theoretically the longer you leave them the bigger they'll be but the early picked small ones are delicious too

Loads of threads re potatoes on the gardening thread where some real experts hang out with the newbies.

HTH

Lizzy

trifles

Brightest Blessings,Hester,on your handfasting.May the Lady and your Gods bless you and your partner xx:beer: