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

Winchelsea

Red Doe - you could try this. I use it, and it makes a lovely loaf:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/27/sourdough-recipe-dan-lepard

Here's another useful link re starting off:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/14/make-your-own-sourdough

Good luck!

(Mine has been going since January - a mere baby compared with some people's starters.)

flowertotmum

Hi all..
IOIWE..congrats on the first round..fingers crossed for next wk..((hugs))...
Love and hugs to all that need them at the moment...have a mum hug from me((((hug))))...

Welcome to kimsmum..you'll love it on here..i lose many an hour(rollseyes)..lol.

Well not much to report..i have been busy doing my chutney..crikey the house smells lovely...sold some eggs to an unsuspecting postman on saturday haha his face was a picture..poor chap will just throw my post from the gate from now on just in case i ambush him...
Weather has not been too nice today,,chilly and windy..tots have been good though..we made clay yesterday..going to paint it tomorrow..tots made lots of love hearts and hand prints..i then spent rest of the day scraping it of the carpet..nevermind..
Hubby and son went to lotties and got a trailer full of spuds from just 2 rows..they are currently being dried out and will be put into sacks tomorrow..he also brought home another 4 cabbages and 6 more cougettes disguised as marrows...

I am half way through ferns scarf for school..just need a hat to match..and bobs your uncle all done...

How mean am i..as a treat i let the tots sort my button tin out into little jars..they spent hours putting red in one then blue etc...thats fun for them and free entertainment for them..plus i got my buttons all sorted..lol..
right off to bath my top button sorters haha..
take care all..
love ftm

kidcat

Suzi- dont feel guilty - better you tell your DD now that you arent coping and she has time to make arrangements than to allow it to fester it would only damage your relationship - trust me I know.

having been to a funeral of a grandparent today I am beset with all sorts of feelings about our lack of relationship - what saddened me the most was that at every other family funeral I have ever been to there was a feeling that I was not alone and that we were all in it together - sharing memories that we had of the deceased and times spent as a group in some way, yet today I was alone with my memories a sthey were not shared with anyone else. then I realised that my father and uncle were the same - no shared memories at all. Its so sad and I am now full of determination to give my kids and extended family more times together in whatever way I can.

7_week_wonder

I've just managed to read back whilst waiting for the pain-killers to kick in after my trip to the dentis. He's a lovely dentist, but I'm feeling a bit delicate after the injection etc,

Softstuff - that muffin recipe sounds yum. It's been copied into my "things to try" directory.

Welcome to kimsmum: I mainly lurk, but am holiday this week so have got plenty of time to join in the chat.

wmf: I went to the mosque kitchen when it was doing the food at the Ethical Christmas Market on Castle Street, but never actually made it to the open-air restuarant.

ginnyknit: I think you are doing completely the right thing finding out about wills and things. It definitely makes things easier for everyone concerned.

And whilst we're on the subject: I would really recommend everyone letting people know what you would like to happen with funerals and stuff. And, if you can, find out what your nearest and dearest would like. Fortunately I had this conversation (whilst slightly tipsy if the truth be known) with my parents a few years back. I wrote it all down and then put the paper in a safe place. What a blessing that paper was when my dad died a couple of months back. We we're able to give him exactly the funeral service he'd wanted and it really reduced the stress at a time when your brain might not be function properly.

But back on the OS front - has anyone got a tried and tested recipe for rowan jelly? I'm going to have a go at making some tomorrow as our neighbour's (who is out of the country for several months) tree is groaning under the weight of the fruit.

ceridwen

short_bird wrote: »

Thanks for the clue on the Hoarding Mum programme, I now know what to look for on Iplayer!

My 2 bob's worth on ways of defining the "correct" weight! Last time I looked, there was a tendency to look at waist to hip ratio (waist 10 inches smaller than hips for women) and a desire for overweight patients to lose 10% of body weight which can help tip the balance away from type 2 diabetes and heart issues. Of course, with the tendency of body fat to migrate to the waist with menopause, the waist to hip ratio can be a beggar to achieve.

Have a good week, all.

Another method of deciding on correct weight I pay no heed to - because with my particular shape I'd have to look like I had a severe case of malnutrition before I ever had a "waist" to speak of:(. So - I ignore that one and judge by whether the stomach is flat or no and theres no bulges over the top of a pair of low-slung jeans. Bulgy stomach and midriff roll = overweight. No bulges = fine.

Another way I personally think is "If I'm studying myself from the neck down front view in a mirror would I think that I have the figure of a young woman in the 1970s" - ie before Britain went Big. If I would - then thats fine and I'm not overweight. I'm old enough that I have the mental "pictures" in my "minds eye" of how people used to look - so dont have to look at photos to see what size the average British person was in the 1960s/1970s.

**************************************

GREYQUEEN
I'll add to your thoughts re the "cadging neighbour". SuperGran sounds like she's someone with a heart of gold - but people do tend to be divided into givers and takers. Actually - I'd say there are 3 categories:
- givers
- takers
- those who "work both ways". They'll give and they'll take and they try to "play fair" either way. That is - start by giving and see what the reaction is and, if it turns out to be that the other person emerges as being a "taker" then its "End of..." and the shutters go down.

Had a little vignette the other day where a strange guy (identified by me in seconds "Here comes a taker - and hes about to ask me for money...") came up to me and looked straight at me and obviously sussed me as not worth spending any more time on and turned straight to a young/reasonable-looking girl near me and asked her instead. I was giving him 2 sentences worth of asking her (whilst visibly looking at him out of the corner of my eyes) before I was going to step in and tell him to stop bothering her. She managed to say "No", whilst looking very embarrassed. I turned to her and said "Thats the difference - he saw I was old enough to have encountered this a lot before and that you are young and look too polite to refuse. I was going to step in in a minute if it was necessary."

I'd say a rough "rule of thumb" in life is the ones who take self-responsibility AND really need help are the ones one really has to watch closely to see if they need help - ie because they are usually the last ones to ask for any help they need.

mardatha

Kidcat, this is why I hate family feuds, it deprives so many people of so much. We should be able to talk things out and get along with family.

ceridwen

mardatha wrote: »

Kidcat, this is why I hate family feuds, it deprives so many people of so much. We should be able to talk things out and get along with family.

Family feuds are indeed a PITA - but they seem to be very frequent and no-one should in any way blame themselves for getting caught up in one if they are quite sure that they have behaved appropriately.

I know that this absolutely IS the case in this instance (ie that Kidcat and parents have behaved totally appropriately) - and think I can see why here (and its absolutely no fault of Kidcat or her parents in any way). We do, however, see some bl**dy awful cases on MSE of where things have gone wrong within families and the poor (by now adult) children have absolutely no option BUT to distance themselves as far and as fast as they can from parents and/or step-parents once they have reached the "safety" of adulthood and the ability to do so.

Once upon a time I lived in sublime ignorance of thinking that no-one would have children unless they really wanted to and were fit people to be parents - and then the blinkers came off......:(

Some people can "work their way" through Big Differences within a family (ie where there is nothing actually "wrong" in either direction - its just that they are very different people to each other and its a wonder that two such different people are close relatives....). Other times - one party in this really isnt "an acceptable person" and contact has to be broken off in order to "preserve the sanity" of one party in this.

Those of us who were either born into a loving/like-minded family on the one hand OR one where there are huge differences but the family members arent basically bad people and can manage to "work through" those differences are lucky. But there are those we all know of where one party is okay/decent sort of person/etc and they've been landed with a "relative from hell" and I just feel so sorry for people in that position if they're a reasonable sort of person themselves and trying to "get their life together" and do understand why they might feel the need to "distance themselves".

born_blonde

Good evening, I don't post very much only when I feel I have something useful to contribute.
However I read every day. I worry about your heating, allotments, pets, children about Super Gran and Mardathas chickens, So I just feel I should share with my virtual friends that my dear Mum passed away today.
At 89 she had a good innings and definitely did not want to carry on in the state she was in.
She was an ex Land Army girl and then ran a Market Garden and then when she got to old to dig a campsite, so would have loved this thread.
Thanks for all your humor it really helps.

Red_Doe

Born blonde, please accept my condolences on your loss. Not much use I know but... (((((((((((huge hugs)))))))))))

catznine

Big (((Hugs))) from me too! (Still miss my Mum) x