It was getting tough in 2006 and the workhouse still threatens us in 2011

Mrs_Veg_Plot

gingervamp and silvasaver thanks for your info. They match the cherry plums in the picture :j. Will leave them in the freezer for now. I have some leave comming up in august and plan on making them into jam and chutney when I have more time. I think I will collect some more yet as the tree is full of them still and I hate to see them rotting on the floor. I think like me people do not know what they are and leave them incase they are posinous. It is a shame really as they taste great.
greyqueen I forgot to thank you for the recipe you suggested and will be making that soon.

Have now put the leeks in their final growing bed. Have sown more beetroot and borlotti beans in the space cleared after the onions came out (just to use the space really). Runner beans are ready to pick and the yellow courgette is now producing baby courgettes. Have planted more beetroot, lettuce and pakchoi on the allotment. There is a large patch of blackberries near to the allotment that I plan on visiting next week. I hope there are some left. I can not get there this week as it is a busy one at work and my daugther is 18 on Friday and wanted a family party at home which I am doing the catering for. Have tomorrow afternoon and Friday off so will do the house work tomorrow and the cooking on Friday. I can not believe I am going to be the mother to an 18 year old. Where did the time go?

I love this time of year

lizzyb1812

Smileyt - good idea about the mirrors, will have a hunt around. I'm sure I've got something in the MCI Scheme that will do the job (MCI = Might Come In...) I've been thinking about dehydrating blackberries too - I've got a dehydrator (basic model) so I'll definitely be having a go at some point. I assume they'll turn out like the berries in those "red berries" cereals? Might turn out to be nice crunchy snacks like those expensive dried fruits in health food shops?

I know EXACTLY what you mean about spending a bit of a windfall then having to find the money for an emergency bill. I think it comes under Schedule 3, Part 7c of Sod's Law :rotfl:. Sorry, not laughing about poor chick's unwellness, and good for you for doing the right thing by her.

grandma247

some info on dehydrating blackberries here and here

smileyt_2

Thankyou grandma247 - I can't wait to get started now!

short_bird

Hi, can someone with food freezing experience nip over to the bolognaise pasty thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3385996
and check the advice I've given? Ta.:D

ginnyknit

Smileyt, a dehydrator - wow I bet you are going to have fun with that, if blackberries do dry I would love you to do some for me. I am going on Sunday to check the blackberries on the cycle path so will let you know if they are sweet enough.

Its amazing here, just look back 2 or 3 pages where people have asked advice and 2 posts later some-one has posted a link for the solution!

Had a better day as it progressed, the scrape on our car washed off it was just paint dust. Took Dgs to see the fish at the animal feed shop and met a dear friend. Went and got his passport pics signed by another old friend so he can go and see his other grandparents in France. Oh and I forgot I had changed the pin number on my cash card and thought the bank had cocked up again but it was me - luckily OH reminded me before I rang and made a pratt of myself :rotfl: Have decided after all the recent stress (banks, DSS, cars, ...) That this weekend as I don't have DGS I am going to be nice to myself and do something lavish like buy a cake and the Sunday papers and be lazy.... bet I don't

Winchelsea

Mrs Veg Plot - I remember that week in 1993 very well, but have to say it does not seem 18 years ago!

My granddaughter was 18 on Monday - and I was the midwife who delivered her! My DD3 was having her first baby, and when she was getting past just niggling I said "Don't go in yet - have nice relaxing bath first". So she did, and she and DSIL were up in the bathroom for ages, playing soothing music and topping up the hot water. Well, she relaxed so well that after a bit DSIL shouted down to tell me she wanted to push! I told him to ring the hospital, and they told him not to drive her in but to call an ambulance, which he did. By the time they arrived, she was pushing well, and it was obvious she wasn't going anywhere. The ambulance men looked very worried and got out their manual!

It was obvious they had no experience, so I told them I was an off-duty midwife, and they breathed huge sighs of relief and passed me a pair of gloves. Shortly afterwards I delivered our beautiful DGD, just as the community midwife walked in!

I had a visit from the Supervisor of Midwives, as she suspected we might have planned it, but realised all was as it should be. But because I was out of my own area I had to notify my intention to practise in that one, and my own Supervisor was notified. A bit of a palaver - but otherwise an amazing experience.

But where have those 18 years gone?! My DD made her a DVD out of lots of old videos of her as a baby, toddler and beyond, and it was quite a tear-jerker I have to say!

Happy Birthday to your DD!

ceridwen

smileyt wrote: »

I've been accepted onto the tenants' involvement panel of a local social housing association consortium today. Hopefully I'll be on the green group so I might have some input into energy-saving measures for tenants, and possibly stuff like solar panels. I might push for new builds to have inbuilt pantries too.

.

Congratulations on that:T May it go well with you on that. Summat is nagging at my memory re social housing - think its called Bedzed?? Try googling that - and it will come up with some very "advanced" social housing. I have an idea that some of these housing association new-builds have to be built to "better" (ie more environmentally-aware) standards than private housing yet has to. Theres some pretty high standard social housing now around.

on a non-environmental front - maybe you'll be able to put in some input about noise insulation standards too? We wouldnt all have to be so worried about what the neighbours are like if it was the norm to have detached housing - but as such a high proportion of us have to put up with flats/terraces/semis then it soon becomes blindingly obvious JUST how many selfish people there are around - as neighbours noise comes through the floors/ceilings/walls (delete as applicable). None of this is necessary - as places CAN be insulated well enough that it doesnt matter if the neighbour is selfish and noisy. My theory is that as architects earn decent money personally that they have finished "climbing the housing ladder" and are living in the detached level of housing - and forget what its like/maybe never knew what it was like to be forced by inadequate finances to have to live in attached housing and are therefore oblivious of how selfish/noisy some neighbours can be and the level of resultant disruption.

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Re home-made dehydrators - I've stashed

www.dehydratorbook.com/homemade-dehydrator.html

and a secondary one:

www.rawpaleodiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/JerkyDrierInstructions.pdf

I stash all sorts of this type of info. away - ready for if I personally can ever use it on the one hand and The Future generally on the other hand (seems like we are entering that Future now...).

EDIT: my memory didnt deceive me - it is Bedzed to look up re that advanced standard social housing:

www.bioregional.com/what-we-do/our-work/bedzed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BedZED

ceridwen

Yikes...just had a quick look at "The Independent" newspaper online and it says the anticipated NHS rationing has started - people in some areas needing hip/knee replacements won't get them unless they are in severe pain. People in some areas needing cataract operations won't get them unless it severely impairs their ability to work (errr...hellO...the agegroup concerned are not likely to be working still...do you think they count voluntary work as "work"?).

Goes off to work for the day even more blindingly aware that its necessary to have a reasonable level of savings (ie in case of having to cover the cost of operations ever that the NHS should pay for) ....weary sigh....wonders if NHS trusts that still pay for "luxury" treatment are more likely to cover the cost still of "necessary" treatment....

Off to read up on yet more budgeting tips later....

Softstuff

I'm off out storecupboard shopping in a bit. In an unusual twist for our supermarkets here, they're reducing items I actually use to rockbottom prices this week (rather than ready meals, crisps and expensive treats). Feel as though I'm in the twilight zone.

Things such as rice, split peas, beans, lentils, all manner of mexican staples (tacos, nachos, tortillas) are all 30-50% off. Even toilet rolls are down (I buy in bulk when they go down to 33c on special, but this time they're down to 25c a roll!). The good pasta is down to $1 a pack (the smartbuy stuff is 69c a pack, but you can really tell the difference), and tinned tomatoes are on offer too! (NO GQ, I won't post you any ).

I spent half the day clearing a large space in the wardrobe, so now I'm dragging hubby to carry stuff to fill it. I was going to put some of my tax refund away for Christmas, but figure the savings I make here will mean I can put some by week by week for that. Wish me luck!