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

meanmarie

Welcome back Nuala....did pm you but your inbox is full...glad things are going well for you at present....agree that people seem to be 'settling' to having less in their pockets, but feel sorry for the people who are losing their houses.

Roseanna...sorry to hear about your cat...one of mine disappeared when we adopted DS2's dog but still hope that she will come back.

Mardatha....know what you mean about heat...take care of you.

Grey Queen...have a good holiday

Marie

Gigervamp

kittie wrote: »

the sept forecast was accessible this morning and all I can say is batten down the hatches, particularly in the north.There is a nasty month ahead.

Ok, it must be getting bad if September isn't looking good. It's my birthday month and has always been good to me because it knows I hate grey skies, cold and rain. It has always been my buffer between summer and winter.

<stomps around petulantly>

Gigervamp

Sorry for the stomping.

On a serious note, I've been catching up today and saw that unfortunately, a few have lost or are losing loved ones, human or furry. I send my love to you. Grief is a hard thing to deal with, so just be kind to yourselves. Take things a bit at a time and know that there will always be someone here whatever time of night or day to talk to. (((hugs)))

ceridwen

ROSANNA

As you said - "intelligent anticipation" is the thing with pulses actually. The easiest way is to soak a whole packet overnight, cook up the next day and then batch up and put the batches into the freezer until required.

Of course - there's a bit more intelligent anticipation required the "other end" of that - ie taking them out of the freezer in time to defrost and add in to whatever one is using them in.

??Not quite sure whether they can just be added in to a casserole, for instance, straight from frozen?? - so perhaps someone else knows the answer to that. I always painstakingly remember to leave them out to defrost for a while first...

DRINKUPPRETTY
Sorry to hear about OH's job loss and the fact that those "destined for a boiler" savings look as if they're going to have to go to help out until income coming in is "steadier".:( Its really annoying too to find money that has a "destination written on it" gets taken by something else cropping up - and the only consolation is that "At least there IS some money there to help cope - even though its meant for something else".

Pink.

ceridwen wrote: »

??Not quite sure whether they can just be added in to a casserole, for instance, straight from frozen?? - so perhaps someone else knows the answer to that. I always painstakingly remember to leave them out to defrost for a while first...

Hi ceridwen,

If they've been soaked and pre-cooked beforehand pulses and beans are fine to add from a casserole straight from the freezer.

Pink

mambury

Gigervamp wrote: »

Sorry for the stomping.

On a serious note, I've been catching up today and saw that unfortunately, a few have lost or are losing loved ones, human or furry. I send my love to you. Grief is a hard thing to deal with, so just be kind to yourselves. Take things a bit at a time and know that there will always be someone here whatever time of night or day to talk to. (((hugs)))

well said Gigervamp.....PS I love Giger's work too.....

drinkupretty wrote: »

OH just lost his job, I am currently not working as about to start back at uni training to become a social worker. We still haven't saved enough for a new boiler and what we have saved will probably be used to tide us over until OH gets another job. All I can say is thank god the freezer is full and that this winter is going to be interesting without central heating!

Hugs.... http://www.homeheatingguide.co.uk/warmfront-grants.html
The link might help.... a few years ago a friend who was in a similar position to you got their Oil fired bioler replaced free of charge..... Got to be worth looking at.

Not a lot to report today other than the little jacket for Edna (the hen) didn't stay on, but Ernie (my roo) seems to be leaving her alone and the cut is healing.
I am wokring tomorrow and Sunday and I start my college and volunteering next week so I shall spend the day preparing for the kids to start school next week, I might even indulge iin some crochet and xmas planning..... I can't beleive that my youngest is starting school full time next week, it only seems like yesterday she was born...... a cliche I know but very true to me.

Hugs to all who need them, expecially those that have lost loved ones....

HariboJunkie

Morning :hello:

Belated birthday wishes SDG31000. :beer: What a lovely family you have.

Stay warm Mardatha. xxx
What awful timing Drinkuppretty. Take care. x
Any luck with your red tape Red Doe?

7 Week wonder, lucky you with all those plums. This week I've made plum chutney and plum and ginger jam, both a huge success.

Plum Jam from How To Store You Garden Produce by Piers Warren (Green Books)

3kg plums
1 litre water
3 kg sugar. (I divided these measurements by a third and got 4 jars of jam)

Wash plums, cut them in half and remove the stones. I kept them in as they contain the pectin and fished them out at the end. Make sure you count how many there were.
Heat the water and simmer the plums until tender.
Keep simmering and stirring until pulp is thick then add the sugar (I added chopped fresh ginger at this stage too)
Stir, boil and keep boiling until setting point.
Jar up and seal.

The chutney recipe is from the same book but I haven't time to type it out just now. Will do so later. xx

mardatha

Muffinman yes we know, we are watching the meter and counting the units
Gigervamp a good stomp does heat you up does it not? I do a very good petulant stomp meself!
It's dark its cold its gloomy and its wet outside ... and the RV is a whole big dark gloomy cloud of his own the in the corner. I have stereo gloom.

GreyQueen

Dropped in on SG after work yesterday with a couple of bits from the shop and saw she's now got a tubi bandage from ankle to mid thigh on the afflicted leg, although she is managing on one crutch not two since Tuesday. Turns out she hicked out to her car and made it to her church yesterday and when she got home there was a message from the hospital who'd X-rayed her when she went to A & E after the accident on Sunday.

The gist was that although they'd told her categorically at the time that there was no break, they've reviewed the X ray and there is a small fracture on the left side of her left knee and could she come back in, please?

SG, who was a nurse all her working life, is not amused; in fact, she is spitting tacks. She's not the first person I know to be sent home from that particular hospital to walk around on a broken limb. One old boy of my acquaintance was sent home from a major teaching hospital across the region with a broken neck despite being X-rayed. He is long-retired but was a man of considerable influence in his career and still knows a lot of so-called "important" people and had a personal phonecall from the chair of that hospital's trust (a nationally-renowned individual who was also a personal friend) to sound him out as to whether he intended to sue. He had no such intention but was amused that this person would use their connection to try to head that one off. He suffered no permanant harm and shrugs it off.

Roseanna ((hugs)) re your poorly cat. They get their little paws into your heart, don't they? My life is measured out in the Family Cats, mostly one-at-a-time but with some overlap. Most were rescues and they were all beloved and as soft as butter. May she have as easy at time of it with her loving family as possible.

SGD, I shed a wee sentimental tear at the story of how your loved ones got you the mixer. It's so lovely that they pulled out all the stops to make it happen and what a continuing joy that will be to use.

Sorry to hear that your heating and hot water is down, Mardatha, that's wretched at any time but coming into a Scottish autumn.....Have the housing association said why it'll take so blimming long? I would have thought that they should have done it faster bearing in mind healt problems? ((hugs)).

Well, the fridge is slowly emptying of food ahead of the holiday and boy, have I eaten some weird combinations this week...if there was an OH or kids in this household I suspect there would have been mutiny in the ranks by now. The poorly fridge will be switched off whilst I am away and I'll shop for a new one on my return. I'll be away for just over a week and booked an additional day off work at the other end.

Ostensibly, this is very sensible as I will have come in from a very long drive the previous evening and will have laundry, shopping etc etc to catch up on but my real motivation was to have time to catch up on MSE Forums........I think I'm an addict.:o

Right, must go do some stuff as have to work for a few hours then come home and finish my travel prep as off first thing. I'll pop in on breaks today to see what is happening then see you all in 10 days, weather permitting.

Have a good weekend, one and all, and don't type too much or I'll never manage to catch up........:rotfl:Laters, GQ x

bonnie_bumpkins

mardatha wrote: »

Gigervamp a good stomp does heat you up does it not? I do a very good petulant stomp meself!

How does the petulant stomp compare to the Sunday ponce Mardatha?