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

born_blonde

Mardatha. do they wear tin hats ? ( The chickens - lovely visual place, I'm thinking of "Oh what a lovely war " at the moment - with chickens).

Hardup_Hester

Hi
To find my blog, click on my user name & then click on Find Hester's Home Page

Seakay

taurusgb wrote: »

I always hated celery eaten raw in salads so rarely bought it. Having bought some for DH -who ate 1 stick then left the rest to go soft in the fridge - I decided to use it in cooking (I HATE waste!) and was amazed at just how much flavour it adds to sauces and soups.

Can't imagine not having it in the fridge now and it's as important to me as onions and garlic

Someone else may have dealt with this (very behind in reading this thread) in which case apologies, but if you cut off the root of the celery bunch and put the stems in a jug/glass of water then they will not go limp but will stay crunchy and crisp for a week or more. You will save room in the fridge and even if you don't eat it the leafy stems will make a decorative show on the table or countertop!
Do change the water once a week or so and trim the base of the stems if necessary to ensure they stay fresh

7_week_wonder

mardatha wrote: »

the back garden looks like the Somme, with chickens.

Tell me about it! I'm feeling guilty at the moment: I thought everyone had laid this morning so I shut the hen house to keep broody hen out. Then I just went out into the garden and found one of the poor girls had had to lay her egg out in the run (in the mud:eek:) cos I'd mis-calculated: bad 7ww!

But inspired by you lot I snuck out when the sun was out for 1/2 an hour and was determined to weed the veg plot. Guess what - once I got rid of the weeds I found a few carrots, a row of beetroot and 2 fennel had actually germinated. And there was me cursing poor germination. I'm hoping we might actually get some dry weather this weekend so I can make a wee bit more progress.

Hope everyone's bearing up ok

chirpychick

I wish i could catch up on this thread but its huuuuge and so overwhelming so if its ok ill just keep up from here as id like to be involved in the discussions as i feel like we are just clinging on at the moment and i lose my job in 2 weeks friday so im a bit anxious about how we will survive but i have a few health issues so im going to be a housewife for a while and that means really looking after the purse strings :S feel a bit worried but ive been reading this board so much and ive got so many things ive learnt which im putting into place.
So *hi* hope to get to know you all better

LittleBrownFrog

Goodness!! I feel like I need to schedule visits to this thread four times a day in order to be able to keep up!!
Laurumbelle - nothing to add to everyone else's advice, just a hug (I'd send a jug, but you already have one from Broomstick ... maybe a mug would suit you, but you probably don't want a bug ... ok ... I'm stopping now). I really hope you can get some common sense from your employers.
I'm just avoiding looking at the garden any more than absolutely necessary. We're moving soon, and I know that the new owners are going to be trashing the garden by digging and building etc etc, so there doesn't seem much point in working too hard on it. The chickens are doing a good job of eating pretty much everything anyway :rotfl:... we do have nasturtiums and mint though, apparently unpalatable to chickens (well, my chickens anyway).

Off topic - but it's my one year Henaversary today - exactly a twelve-month since we got the chickens. It was *much* sunnier this time last year - I remember it well, I ended up with sunstroke after waiting for the AA to come and fix the tyre that exploded on our brand new car (literally delivered an hour before I went to get the chooks)!

ceridwen

:)LARUMBELLE - I agree with the others. Its a real "bummer" that your employer is treating you this way. B***y annoyed on your behalf - as I have some idea of JUST how hard you had to fight to get your life on track back in the first place and think it showed a lot of guts to "move on" from the way things were for you:mad:. Dont know exactly what sort of condition it is that you have that makes sitting down awkward? Would you feel it was possible to give us a few details of this - in case any of us have any ideas on this? I am wondering whether its down to the sort of posture we all have to adopt to sit in conventional chairs - and wondering whether one of those sorta "kneeling" type chairs with no back would "work" for you instead?? Hope this gets resolved for you and I think its very mean-spirited of your employer not to at least think in terms of swopping desks between you and some other employee - so that you could "sit" up by a wall and no question of "blocking anyone's light" - shame on that person for raising such a quibble....

KIMITATSU - Honestly don't reckon the "odd" atmosphere in that room is owt to do with me - I'm certainly no angel:cool:. I just cannae figure it and wonder if 'twas summat to do with that former independent single lady who lived here for many years before I came along...(quiet is something the atmosphere in this house would certainly not have been for a substantial part of its history - as it had 7 children being brought up in it at one point - and that was back when it was even smaller than it is now.....).

...and re those Yorkshire puddings. I live in a part of the country where Yorkshire puddings were/are only ever served with a roast on a Sunday....so 'tis all news to me that they could ever be served in any other way/at any other time. Mind is boggling at the thought of having them cold for lunch. Do peeps just let the "Sunday roast" ones cool down and serve them plain exactly as is for that lunch the next day - or do they spread them with summat or what?

I'm still working my way up to trying to have a go at Yorkshire puddings with onion gravy and roasted vegetables for a main meal - and have never made Yorkshires in my life...

GINNY
Not sure - from what you say - whether its your O.H. himself that feels "weary" or his body iyswim. Either way - will keep my fingers crossed for both you and him ((( )))

VJ'S MUM
Keep schtum about that account is what I personally think.:silenced:

LAINEYC
Another vote for that Spanish potatoes recipe please:)

smileyt_2

Larumbel I hope you get it sorted at work. Don't let it go - you have done nothing wrong, and standing at a desk is nothing - it's not as if you are asking to swing from the light fittings!!

Ginnyknit, sending a hug your way too.

Well, I have been shamed and insulted I applied to host foreign students over the summer (adult students who are here on English courses). A guy from the organisation came and looked at my house. He was very friendly and enthusiastic. Anyway, a letter came this morning saying that my house was not up to standard. I know my house is a bit scruffy and a bit cluttered (old carpet, old furniture, old decor) but the amenities are clean! Clean bathroom, fridge, dishes, bedlinen etc! I do have two dogs, and Tessy is moulting, but their literature didn't say anything about pets. None of my furniture matches because most of it is second-hand or older. I did say in my application that the house looked shabby but it was clean. I have a gas safety certificate and an up-to-date CRB certificate. If they wanted Ideal Homes with matching furniture and middle-class incomes they should have said so in their blurb. I wasn't just doing it for the money, either. In my head I had already planned to bake lots of cakes and scones, bread, home-made jam, a welcome card on their bed, places I could take them if they were interested etc, helping them with their homework and their spoken English and grammar. I feel really ashamed. My home is a home, not a show house, and everyone who has stayed here with me has felt very welcome and I have stayed in touch with most of them, including the foreign students I have hosted before. In fact they have all been back to visit since they left - from Spain, Hong Kong and the USA.

Oh well. It is only a tiny thing in the grand scheme of things. Only, some poor student is now going to miss out on the life lesson of how to clean using bicarb and vinegar!! :rotfl:

On the plus side, I picked a one-litre tub full of tayberries this afternoon, so I am going to have a bash at making tayberry jam tomorrow. I am going to look online for a recipe, otherwise I will follow one for raspberry jam as they are very similar. I also harvested about 40 shallots They are drying in my mate's greenhouse as I don't trust the weather to stay dry.

Sorry for the rant. Off to make something to eat now and have another cup of tea (tea level is critically low)!

Butterfly_Brain

JIL wrote: »

I can confirm that as Yorkshire family we always had our Yorkshire pudding as a starter, probably this way we did not then need too much real dinner to fill up. Another thing my mum would do is make the gravy in the bowl with the remaining pudding mix in it, it seemed to thicken the gravy. After the Yorkshire pudding starter which was always a big pudding there was always little ones with the main course. Leftover puddings were served cold with jam on.

Oooh my mum used to give us yorkshire puddings and jam to fill us up when times where tight (which was most of the time when we were kids) and she was a Londoner

floss2

Larumbelle, has your employer offered you an Occupational Health referral? If not, then ask for one - what they say should support you & your unusual working position!