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

ceridwen

gwynant wrote: »

I agree with that also.

Wondering if this is a spammer? - having had a quick scan of previous posts..

Hafdag367 wrote: »

Thanks for share

This one definitely is a spammer. Dont anyone click on their homepage - it will start to bring up a foreign commercial website. I "ran" quick - when it spotted it was going through and going through...etc...to this website and it clearly is a commercial venture.

ceridwen

Winchelsea wrote: »

ceridwen and silvermaid

Hope you get on all right with the bread. For conventional bread I heat the starchy water in the micro until about right - just above blood heat (do 20 secs, test, do more if needed).

I make a lot of sourdough though, also the "no knead" bread, and they both work well without it being warmed, as they sit for a long time and rise gradually.

Have started keeping a breadmaking diary, trying lots of different recipes, some cooked in the convection oven of the micro, some in the Remoska, and I take a photo of the batch as it cools. Then I make a note of how it came out - taste, texture etc. (Don't know why I do this - am I obsessive?!)

Nope - not excessive at all. Just maybes planning on writing your own cookbook one of these days...;):);):rotfl:

Reet....I'll have to make that "heat up half the starchy water to boiling point then in a saucepan" - as I got shot of my microwave and would have to make that my own "note" in my personal cookery folders (ie designed for "apres le Deluge - aka Oil Shock)" Will do..

I'd be interested if you do have a little thing in the back of your mind re "One day maybes I will write a cookbook or two".....

My own "one day maybe..." is centring round working out cheap/healthy/ultra-variable (ie if you havent got this filler food use that one, if you havent got this vegetable use that one etc) and capable of being done with only the most basic modern technology. The experiments re using car windows and conservatories as makeshift replacement for dehydrators is coming up (leastways there are plenty of conservatories in my part of the country - though I've not got one...darn it.....).

Winchelsea

No ceridwen - I hadn't thought of a cookery book.

I did plan though to write a book called something like "Baby on a Budget" when I first retired (from being a community midwife). Made loads of notes and wrote a few sections. Left that on the back burner for too long though - books with similar titles started appearing! The hole I'd identified in the market was already being filled. And now I've filled my life with other things!

Seakay

redlady_1 wrote: »

I have blight!!! :eek: So sunday will be spent sorting it out.

We have also found another house but who knows. We are up against all the others who lost out on the previous cottage. The road is busier than you would think for a village but it is a compromise for the dream home. It's down to the angels now. I would need to sort out more curtains and be super thrifty as its a thatch with single glazing. Luckily it isnt listed

I'm sure you are aware but insurers for thatched properties few and far between so v expensive plus it does tend to be very dusty. Plus rethatching should happen aprox every 20-30 years. On the other hand great insulation and overhang over windows means cat can sit on sill without getting wet. (my sister currently renting a thatched property)

Mardatha - good to see you back; would you share your recipe for thyme cough syrup please? sounds like something good to have in for the winter.

oldtractor

Welcome Back Mardatha, hope you continue to improve. Take Care and take it slowly hun.

ceridwen

Seakay wrote: »

I'm sure you are aware but insurers for thatched properties few and far between so v expensive plus it does tend to be very dusty. Plus rethatching should happen aprox every 20-30 years. On the other hand great insulation and overhang over windows means cat can sit on sill without getting wet. (my sister currently renting a thatched property)

Mardatha - good to see you back; would you share your recipe for thyme cough syrup please? sounds like something good to have in for the winter.

...and insurance costs are higher than other houses

....and they are more prone to going up in flames than other houses

I do admit to liking the look of chocolate box houses myself - and went back into a website several times studying one near me before I persuaded myself it would NOT be a good idea...:(

redlady_1

Thanks very much. Yes, we are aware of all of the costs. Given where I live currently it is a dust magnet and I am pretty house proud so no problems there. Thatch was not an essential part of the house buying but it just happens that this one has a thatch - which originally it wasnt! So an offer has gone in and they are very interested however, the OH has to sell his first.

I currently have red currant jelly on the go and am waiting for the dough to rise for pizza and muffins.

Oh and Mardartha - I say Pah to your tomatoes. Because I have potatoes!!! :cool:

Larumbelle

My dad used to have a thatched bungalow, when he came to sell it it took longer to sell because apparently mortgage companies don't usually lend on thatched houses, you have to get a specialist mortgage. Obviously I don't know whether you have a mortgage but even if you don't it is worth bearing in mind that it might be longer to sell in the future... sorry if you know all this already!

Also his insurance cost an absolute fortune, not just buildings but his contents insurance too, and I think that was a big factor in his moving somewhere more practical.

Mrs_Veg_Plot

Have been to see the allotment we are going to be babysitting for the next year and its fab. All of the raised beds are in place and producing appart from one which needs double digging and manure adding. There are soft fruits and palasade (spelling) apple trees two sheds one for tools and one with seating, decking and a gas stove. There is also a nice seating area next to the fire pit.
Can not wait to get started.

mardatha

*ignoring the potato woman completely*
I haven't got a written recipe - I just infused thyme (min 20 mins in boiling water, can do it in teapot) - stir in honey until it tastes bearable, and I add lemon juice and/or glycerine sometimes if I have them. Either way you cant go wrong with thyme as long as you don't drink the whole bottle !