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

Softstuff

Mrs_Veg_Plot wrote: »

softstuff the choc orange recipe sounds great but how do you prepare the orange?

It is really as simple as it looks, chop it into a couple of chunks and blend it. With skin, pith and all. But remove the little label (I remember to do that now....).

*HUGS* Born Blonde. Nice to see you post even under difficult circumstances, and please stay.

Kidcat, my Grandparents disowned me about 10 years ago. They took offence at something at my first wedding (I didn't know and thought everything had gone really nicely - especially since I hadn't seen them in 10 years at that point). They sent a letter to disown and disinherit me. The funny part is they're the only side of the family who ever cared about money, and were mistaken if they thought "disinheriting" me would be what hurt. Even if they were stinking rich. Now I don't know if any member of my family on that side is even alive, but that's their choice. Families are funny things, and funerals bring out a weird side to some people too.

Chocclare I'm a reverse weeble too. A bit on the top heavy side. My doc at one stage tried to blame my gastric reflux on my being "overweight". But I pointed out to him, I'm not. According to BMI tables I'm smack dab in the middle of good, and I'm a size 10-12 at the waist, but 5ft 9. The simple fact of the matter is that my chest makes me look big. But there's not much you can do barring surgery when you're 34FF. I lost weight previously when I was trying to get reduction surgery on the NHS. The only place it didn't go was my chest, it just started to look comical by comparison. I was accepted for surgery but chickened out thanks to poor reports of the hospital.

ChocClare

The chef at my work was in the same boat, Softstuff. She was in the navy and they paid for her to have a breast reduction AFTER she lost as much weight as she helpfully could so that she was about a size 8 on the bottom half and still a size 18 on the top half! She always says having her boobs reduced was the best decision she ever made, but agreed that it helped she didn't have to pay for it! Like you say though - it wasn't a question of being overweight - nothing would budge those boobs. Mine are the same, sadly! I remember listening to a thing on the radio years ago where Dawn French pointed out that she could fit her head into one cup of her bra. Admittedly, nobody would call her slim, but my (really is) slim friend who is also top-heavy went up to a 36JJ when she was pregnant with her son and she always swears she could carry her weekly shop in her maternity bra :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Uniscots97

On the subject of larger sized bras why do they make them so expensive, the cheaper ones just do not fit.

Rosanna79

How good it is to be back on the Internet on my laptop! The lovely man from Virgin Media connected us up to their Cable Broadband today - it's loads quicker and the phone/ broadband paxckage cheaper than staying with our old provider. As we had a BT phone line and Orange broadband we were having constant problems between the 2 companies' Indian call centres and neither would address the problem . So after 2 weeks of having to use my phone or the local link's very slow facilities it's brilliant to be on the 10 megawotsits etc.... amazing.

Have prepared my first lot of runner beans for the freezer today as we can't keep up with them.. I have a raised bed shrouded in Harrod Horticultural ulatra fine insect mesh protecting my beautiful cabbages. The mesh WAS an investment but it's great to look at such healthy brassicas every time we walk down the garden. OH being a very practical chap has rigged up a frame using plumbing pipe and Fishing rod rests over which this mesh is draped. It's the ultimate organic set up I guess .

Also harvested a load of carrots and haven't really had half yet in a 4ft by 4ft raised bed next to the cabbages. Decided to try growing sweet peppers in the greenhouse this year and this too is much more successful.

OH insists everything is weighed and written down on his latest chart. He's determined we will beat last years total of 250lb weight of fruit and veg...! He convinced me to stop my experiments with purple carrots and green cauliflowers!... and concentrate on more regular stuff..

I still buy interesting cauliflowers at the Farmer's market in season but they tell me one does need a lot of land for some of the crops I would like... As for the purple carrots OH just didn't find their appearance appetising.

I did try turnips which grew very well but tasted disgusting... at least I thought so and gave them to a friend. We tried winter crops, like kale, but couldn't get on with that so give our suburban garden a rest in the winter- seems to have paid off this year.

We've never really fancied an allotment - prefer to go out back and view our 'estate'! which after out tiny East London garden it's a real pleasure to work.. Amazing the amount of stuff we manage to grow.

Whilst it's not self sufficiency it does save a lot on the grocery bill.

Pink.

ceridwen wrote: »

Not sure about people getting "larger" rather than "fatter". Personally - I was born after the War and subsequent recovery period and am basically "normal" measurements in my eyes - ie no "starvation affected me scenario" that I can see.

I have noticed that the next two generations after my own are taller than we were - and, with that, will come an appropriate amount of extra weight. Also - the Pill has made a difference to women (eg bustier than they otherwise would be of themselves) - but I became (permanently) bustier because of the Pill and that never went away once I was able to come off it:(.

I honestly think most people are now overweight because most other people are overweight iyswim. That is - I compare myself with my "minds eye" picture of what people looked like when I reached adulthood. Younger people will have a "minds eye" picture of seeing everyone else walking past them in the street looking fatter than my generation was used to seeing when out walking around.

People of my (baby boomer) generation are simply not used to seeing people that are even obese - never mind grossly obese - ie because there were so few around like that in our early and early adult life. The norm was to be slim to standard size and there were very very few people who were bigger than that.

I guess there are a variety of reasons for this - snack culture/greater drinking culture/less exercise/peoples eyes have been "re-trained" to see "grossly obese" as being "obese"/"obese" as being normal/"normal" size figures as being slim and slim figures as being "skinny". Its also to some extent down to the people we personally know - and I'm still reeling at a comment from an obese man I was talking with recently in which he referred to me as "just right". Huh! I was/still am slightly overweight - and that is NOT "just right" in my eyes...its "work to be done/on the list" in my eyes.

Ceridwen as you repeatedly remind others on this thread to get back on topic, perhaps we could all get back onto the topic of things being tough now?

Pink

ginnyknit

I am sulking - the slugs have demolished 20 kale plants that I had put in a raised bed, all thats left is stalks :mad::mad: However they might still recover :rotfl: and fill the bed for winter when the slugs have all packed and left for the winter.

Think green tomato chutney may be in order as I have rather a lot of them, but its courgette chutney first.

I am going to try the bleach and bicarb trick on a patch of mould on the bath - new bath! I don't usually have bleach in the house as my Mum had OCD when I was a kid and all I remember is the vacuum going and the smell of bleach but some of OH's medical stuff seems to need a good clean and a mild bleach solution seems to work best. He isn't going for respite till next week so I got my dates wrong, bang goes the party I was planning haha. We are at the hospital tomorow so am packing the picnic tonight as its an early one - will have to finish my winter preps next week while he is away.

OOOh chocclare chicks, I would love to hatch chicks but have to make do with dragging DGS to the childrens farm - he will learn to love it there eventually - but I think he may not want to go when he gets to 15 or so.:rotfl:

kidcat

For anyone looking for storage containers theres a deal on Grabbit for some lock and lock that seems really cheap and worth a quick look

kidcat

ginnyknit wrote: »

I am sulking - the slugs have demolished 20 kale plants that I had put in a raised bed, all thats left is stalks :mad::mad: However they might still recover :rotfl: and fill the bed for winter when the slugs have all packed and left for the winter.

Think green tomato chutney may be in order as I have rather a lot of them, but its courgette chutney first.

I am going to try the bleach and bicarb trick on a patch of mould on the bath - new bath! I don't usually have bleach in the house as my Mum had OCD when I was a kid and all I remember is the vacuum going and the smell of bleach but some of OH's medical stuff seems to need a good clean and a mild bleach solution seems to work best. He isn't going for respite till next week so I got my dates wrong, bang goes the party I was planning haha. We are at the hospital tomorow so am packing the picnic tonight as its an early one - will have to finish my winter preps next week while he is away.

OOOh chocclare chicks, I would love to hatch chicks but have to make do with dragging DGS to the childrens farm - he will learn to love it there eventually - but I think he may not want to go when he gets to 15 or so.:rotfl:

For the medical equipment try baby sterilising fluid - I use it instead of bleach for things like that and find it works so much better

ginnyknit

Thank you it doesnt smell as bad as bleach either.

Softstuff

ginnyknit wrote: »

I am sulking - the slugs have demolished 20 kale plants that I had put in a raised bed, all thats left is stalks :mad::mad: However they might still recover :rotfl: and fill the bed for winter when the slugs have all packed and left for the winter.

I just had the thought that the kale demolishing slugs were "Mardathas Secret Slimy Army". If you can say that 3 times fast correctly you win a prize....

ginnyknit wrote: »

I don't usually have bleach in the house as my Mum had OCD when I was a kid and all I remember is the vacuum going and the smell of bleach but some of OH's medical stuff seems to need a good clean and a mild bleach solution seems to work best.

I tend to soak anything medical in dettol, it's good for mould too, and I like the smell. My mother used to be able to get dettol sachets on prescription when she was caring for my Granddad, not sure if that is still possible, but it was a small saving.

I've been making a sort of barley "Stewp" since I was rough, it's easy, cheap and has plenty of the good stuff in, so if anyone's interested:

A couple of potatoes chopped
A large onion diced
A good handful or two of cabbage chopped
A couple of large carrots chopped
2 chicken stock cubes and a large pinch of pepper
Whatever else is lying around veg-wise (turnip, swede, sweet potato, pumpkin, bit of spinach)
A couple of handfuls of barley
If you have any cooked chicken, leftover roast beef or ham bits they can go in too

Put all into a large pan, fill with water, boil until the barley is tender (took about an hour for me). If you leave it overnight it's thicker and tastier.