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

trifles

Holding you and your loved ones in my thoughts tonight,IOIWE.

ceridwen

smileyt wrote: »

IOIWE sending a prayer and a hug.

Ginnyknit I'd probably fall in and never be seen again :rotfl:I've just ordered a grabber off lakeland - it was in the sale and I had a £3 voucher so I thought, 'why not?' It's a folding one, apparently. So I shall be taking it shopping with me. It will save me having to climb up the supermarket shelves (I kid ye not) to reach items from the top.

IOIWE - also sending positive vibes. Take care.

...now come on Smiley - I believe yer that getting things from higher supermarket shelves is what you want that grabber for;);):). Its so that you can be a bit "independent" in that regard - and not wait for the next tall man to come along and do it for you (ie my usual method of dealing with those tall shelves:)). I'm short enough - that even the next medium height woman will do it for me - if theres no tall men available:rotfl:.

Those grabbers do have their uses though - and I promise that I only have mine if I decide to have a "clear up Rubbage Rampage" round the neighbourhood (they're very useful for grabbing it out of every bush, etc that some lout has thrown it into). But - if push came to shove - then I would be finding other uses for it;)

I have turned a blind eye before now to peeps I know when they've earned the odd few £s "on the side" when on the Dole. I wouldnt find it acceptable for people to do so when picking up £s a week in child benefit or if they were "making a habit of it" (eg having a regular job on top of Dole money) - but the odd few £s for a little occasion or two of casual work or from taking in a lodger on top of Dole money is another thing. I've never had to do it myself (as my times of unemployment were way back and before they cut the Dole as much as they have in more recent years) - but I know it would be something I would have to do if put in that position again these days.

It is a difficult situation - because I do wonder whether the Government has fixed a "far too low to be manageable" level of Dole money specifically based on their OWN assumptions that people will be looking for odd ways to supplement it. Message to Government - people are entitled to be honest and not be put in a position where they have no option BUT to "earn a bit on the side" if they can. Further message to Government "There are a lot of people who cant even find an opportunity to earn a bit extra - and have no option whatsoever but to try and survive on an amount that simply ISNT enough to survive on". <shudders visibly at how awful a situation childless people and/or those with a mortgage are put into and thinks "The worst possible situation to be in must be a childless person under 35/with a mortgage and unemployed for over 2 years". My definition of hell on earth to be in that position....>

[Deleted User]

Imo, I think we having the effects of solar flares and are in a solar storm, The sudden heat, the feeling of unwellness in sensitive people and today our freeview tv is breaking up on several channels and sky news is not sending a signal. Why haven`t we been told?

GreyQueen

ifonlyitwaseasier ((hugs)) and positive healing vibes to your loved one.

Yesterday I went to the lottie after the parents had been and gone (with a parting gift of my extra punnet of whoopsied strawbs and a couple of shopping bags of stuff I'd got for them before the recent price hikes, such as dried fruit just before it went up).

:eek: Doe anyone else feel overwhelmed at times by their lottie and/ or garden?! I was standing in the middle of it all having forty-fits and thinking where the heck do I start, and why-oh-why are weeds so much faster growing than food plants.

OK, that was a bit-of-a-moment, and I rallied and forced myself to strip the bindweed out of the tattie patch, which is always good for a quick gain for relatively little effort as it has multiple strands rampaging in all directions but if you can grab it by the scruff and tug, it comes away. Took a grow-bag full of it to the green waste at the tip on the way home on the pushbike. I have a compost Dalek for the household waste etc and a sort of box/ pile for the big stuff that isn't bindweed/ couch grass/ thistles/ docks which will all arise from the dead despite composting.

Today, I shall pull on my gauntlets and get to grips with the blasted thistles and do as much as I can before the ME wipes me and I have to come home.

I've decided to make some minor changes to my diet which will be both money-saving and time-saving. Trialled them this past week and all went well.

Firstly, as bread is silly-money and I can't always guarantee to find it a whoopsie price and can't always find the will/ energy to make my own, I shall have porridge plus fruit for breakfast daily instead of occasionally and pasta + veg (and this week chicken) for my packed lunch at work (they have a fridge we can use). I did a batch of pasta which lasted me the work-week and worked out at 15p-worth of pasta which I consider excellent, plus I now have the fabby technique of heat-off pasta cooking, which saves the gas bill.

To the kind person who worried about the chicken (sorry, didn't note your name before I started my reply) I've been doing things like this for years and haven't taken any harm yet, but I appreciate your concern. Of course, if I was cooking it from fresh, I'd have the option of freezing it again, but no freezing twice, as my lovely Mum taught me all those years ago. Most of it will be eaten hot for tea today with all the trimmings
(:o it's not a very big chicken).

Well, must have my porridge and whoopsied pineapple, another cuppa, bit more internet, then off to the lottie for a few hours. The horrible humidity started to lift yesterday evening and today is clear blue sky and looks like a scorcher; must do my graft before it gets too hot.

Rowan9

GreyQueen wrote: »

To the kind person who worried about the chicken (sorry, didn't note your name before I started my reply) I've been doing things like this for years and haven't taken any harm yet, but I appreciate your concern. Of course, if I was cooking it from fresh, I'd have the option of freezing it again, but no freezing twice, as my lovely Mum taught me all those years ago. Most of it will be eaten hot for tea today with all the trimmings
(:o it's not a very big chicken).

.

aha - that was me:p. You would be fine to freeze the chicken once it's cooked because you have changed its initial form. Yes I know that isn't the scientific way of saying it but I've only had half a cup of tea so far! But I'm glad you have done this for years and been fine! I'm loving your pasta lunches. How economical that is!
W

mardatha

GreyQueen - I found my ME settled into a more bearable level since I changed my eating habits. I stick to 3 meals a day even when I'm not hungry- because for years I was never hungry and found it hard to eat at all. So now I make myself eat something even if not much. Always plain old fashioned proper food, no rubbish. No bought stuff, no additives. It has helped a lot although it took a wee while to kick in. I now have some battery power, whereas before I was always drained.

bargainhunterss

wmf wrote: »

aha - that was me:p. You would be fine to freeze the chicken once it's cooked because you have changed its initial form. Yes I know that isn't the scientific way of saying it but I've only had half a cup of tea so far! But I'm glad you have done this for years and been fine! I'm loving your pasta lunches. How economical that is!
W

thanks for that wmf, i always worry about that sort of thing! so once you've cooked, for exampe, chicken breast is it ok to refreeze and defrost at leisure? xxx

bargainhunterss

ifionlyitwaseasier, thoughts and hugs are with you, i hope your family member starts to feel better soon! xxx

Kimitatsu

kittie wrote: »

Imo, I think we having the effects of solar flares and are in a solar storm, The sudden heat, the feeling of unwellness in sensitive people and today our freeview tv is breaking up on several channels and sky news is not sending a signal. Why haven`t we been told?

Sorry Kittie, I posted it on FB but forgot to do it here! There is huge levels of magnetism from the poles too - everything is shifting and next week we have the last of the grand trine of eclipses. Better get your hard hats out!

wmf - I rang SP and they offered me a much better deal, fixed for 2 years (although some people have managed to fix for 4!) so its worth ringing them and then comparing the switch. If you go with SP there is no penalty at all, otherwise I think its £30.

IOIWE - sending hugs to you and love and light to your family member x

Well have been catching up with the thread - its lovely that there are so many people on this now and the range of subjects is superb I have been baking bread like a loony this week as the boys are (again) on a growth spurt and so are eating me out of house and home. Today I need to make more breakfast bars, cake for lunchboxes and more bread I have no doubt but at least I know what goes into it.

Went to pick up chicken from the supplier on Friday and we were chatting about the price of meat and food in general, and he was saying that it will go up again in the autumn, and is worrying about how that will impact on his business. Bless him, I feed the dogs a raw food diet and he keeps all the returns that come back for them as well as the chicken wings that I buy. I also buy chicken breasts and whole chickens for ourselves which are beautifully fresh.

For me skip diving is perfectly acceptable and IMO if you are throwing it away then it will only end up in landfill, and to be honest there are many many homeless hostels which would be grateful for the food which could be donated. It could easily be signed away the litigation rights as it would provide a constant source of food for such charities and as they tend to cook it from fresh anyway, the final call would be down to them. It would lower the supermarkets waste bills so it would be good for them. Always strikes me as a simple solution to a problem!

RL that seems really expensive! Is it an estimated bill or one which has been read? I would query it if I were you.

Going to harvest our potatoes today really looking forward to it and apparently its going to be a heatwave today......it was nice first thing but has now clouded over so we will see!

Jedi - I know it was a couple of days ago but really pleased to see that everything is starting to come together again

Hugs to all those that need it

xx

[Deleted User]

GQ, I went to the allotment yesterday to see what was what and noticed that the best gardener on the allotment has cut all her second earlies haulm down to the soil and there is a white residue all over her maincrops. I am assuming that she has been using fungicide and has had some kind of blight scare. She wasn`t there to ask and my second earlies (charlottes) are big so I also cut all the tops off so nothing is poking through. I think her maincrop are king edwards, which aren`t blight resistant and mine are cara, which are. Anway I am not running out ro get fungicide but I did make sure that my toms were all, bar 2, undercover last night. Humidity here was 88 when I got up so it must be touch and go in many areas just now. It will be soul destroying, for many beginners esp, if blight attacks

I sat and did a rough veggie growing plan for 2012 yesterday as I have too many things squashed into various places this year and some stuff I don`t like that much like patty pans. It`ll remind me not to plant 12 tundra cabbages, which are now gianormous, or 4 kale when I only need two and my red cabbages are huge and starting to heart but I am getting mini ones next year, only I need to be strict with myself or I`ll get carried away

I am getting out all my washed and re weashed lakeland green bags and have started putting produce, like turnips, in them and sealing them as the turnips are big enough now. My fridge is full of little green bags

It feels like the cycle of nature is turning faster this year, we have already eaten some of my blackberries and the nasturtiums are looking very tired. The sun is out already and it looks as though it will build up very rapidly now and I am going to put shading net up where I can. I made grape juice lollies last night as keeping cool today will be all important

I am going to be happy staying in today as I don`t want to get into all that solar radiation

edit: thanks kimitasu, crossed post