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

mardatha

I like silence. And sitting watching nature. Teaches us so much, if we shut up and listen. And I have white feathers too.

Rowan9

mardatha wrote: »

I like silence. And sitting watching nature. Teaches us so much, if we shut up and listen. And I have white feathers too.

Another good one is Sara Maitland's A Book of Silence in which she writes about her own experience of wanting and achieving more silence in her life. Interesting read.

Gigervamp

And the thing with watching nature is that it's calming and soothing. (and, in the case of watching chickens, can be absolutely hilarious sometimes!)

Smileyt, it's a very difficult decision you've got. (((hugs)))

Softstuff

I'm sorry to hear of so many people needing a good hug. SmileyT, they've had far more of a life with you than they would have had otherwise, it wouldn't be unkind to let them go together. Greent, sorry to hear your little fella is down after the loss of his furry friend too, sounds like you're raising a lovely sensitive boy. HariboJunkie, sorry you're feeling down too, hopefully you'll have the feeling of satisfaction soon when some of the jobs are done.

This is the first time in a while for me that I haven't been overwhelmed with broken things in our home. I feel like I'm living the high life :rotfl: Though the new curtain pole did fall on my head when I drew the curtains the other morning, but I fixed it straightaway. And it was my fault.

Hoping that some of the other efforts I've been busy with will work out and start to pay off, but I'll tell you more about those later.

I'm still having a bit of luck with local pick ups on ebay. The latest find is a teak coffee table which matches the teak chairs I bought a while ago to be used as outdoor chairs. I still have enough of the anti-mould treatment and outdoor finish to treat that as I did the chairs too. And I got it for 20 quid! There's no way we could have afforded that kind of outdoor set new (we were on a white plastic chair budget!).

[Deleted User]

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greent

JIL - thanks for that link - I've saved it - there are lots of pigs local to us looking to be rehomed. We're away in October for a week and I'll look at it properly with a view to getting 2 after then - rescue piggies could be the way forward

veggieblob

kittie wrote: »

we are right at the start of a very major solar storm (nasa), one that has real potential of destroying the national grid. This particular storm will be intensifying and will be gradually turning to face earth so that we get full effects in the not so distant future. It really is massive ie 62000 miles across. NG can protect the grid by turning various transformers off, which will leave us without power for considerable periods, so be prepared even more than you are ie think food and drink as well as wind ups. You will see auroras all over the place, including in the south, there was one last night

Here is the report from Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2042428/Earth-cross-hairs-huge-solar-storm-caused-sunspot-1302.html#ixzz1ZAT4mNmg

Charis

ceridwen wrote: »

- upped the home security precautions

Good idea. My sis had an attempted break in early yesterday morning. The idiot left a complete face print on the window and the police are on to it. Main thing is although he took a little propagator from the garden, he couldn't get in.

- dealing with the possible "boredom factor"

You'll find so many interesting things to do that you'll wonder how you ever managed to fit in work :rotfl: You can take up any practical hobby you like, sell or barter your skills to pay for fresh materials. If you're still twiddling your thumbs, there is masses of voluntary work available, in official and unofficial capacities. The next generation needs to know how to cope in a crisis.

Having said that, some members of my own generation are still not aware of what's blowing in the wind. Two real world friends I email daily saw my mention of stocking up on candles and winter things and one said 'I thought - how sensible, and then I thought - when and where is she living - [Charis] is preparing for the seige of Leningrad' I thought I'd better not tell them about my tomato stash. :rotfl:

GreyQueen

Ginnyknit, he was known as Mr Pumpkin (R.I.P) and is now known as Supper, Lunch and possibly Breakfast.........:rotfl:

I got overwhelmed partway thru the pumpkin sesh yesterday evening and sent a distress-text to a pal who is a wonderful cook and asked her to take some of the uncooked pumpkin chunks off my hands....realised that with very little room in the freezer to put any in, I couldn't cook and eat it all in real-time so about half of the remaining is with her now. Can't abide waste. Can almost hear my Mum saying; "Eyes bigger than your stomach!"

I made the Hugh F-W Pumpin Risotto with Crispy Sage and discovered that the amount of butter in it was too rich for my personal palette and ended up feeling a bit bilious. Have frozen the remainder but next time I cook it, I will reduce the butter dramatically. Tonight's misadventures in pumpkinland will involve curry and soup.

The stories about guinea pigs are reminding me of childhood pets. Me and my brother had one each; Mum worked with a woman who bred and showed piggies and these two were pedigree Abysinian (sp?) but each was a bit substandard for the show bench. Mine had an extra toe on her back foot and his was the runt of her litter. Didn't make a blind bit of difference to us, of course; we loved them.

One of the funniest things was the family cat. He obviously was hardwired to chase small rodent-y things but the piggies seemed to be so short-sighted (and perhaps so dimwitted) that they didn't recognise him as the dangerous predator he was, and would go right up to him and sniff nose-to-nose. This clearly messed with his head and wasn't the proper order of events at all, so he seemed to be overcome by embarrassment and would pretend they didn't exist as a coping mechanism. It was hysterical to watch.

:eek: I've been having a bit of a moment once again over the price of loo roll. Can anyone tell me why it is going up so frequently and dramatically? I'm already on the cheapest 2 ply grades so it's not like I can down-brand in approved MSE form to save myself some pennies. Lidl's Floralys recycled in 10-packs had jumped in only a few weeks from £1.37 to £1.58 and is now £1.78. I shall start stocking up as it is far better rate of return on my money than interest paid on a savings account.

I nipped into P0undland yesterday afternoon to see what was hot and noticed that the soap I buy, Knight's Castile, which has been 6 bars for £1 for as long as I can recall has now shrunk to 5 bars. Will expect 4 for £1 by Xmas. I have a fair few by me but will mooch into the 99p store today on the offchance they haven't shrunk theirs yet.

Honestly, I cannot recall seeing price hikes like this in my adult life although I have a child's memory of some of the early 1970s lunacies. And now we have sunspots......maybe I can get out there tonight and see if I can see some southern lights.

I saw some northern lights once in Scotland but they weren't particularly good ones, but we have to find entertainment where we can.

Mardatha and others, I'm in wholehearted agreement with you all about enjoying the wonders of the natural world and not listening to other than the news headlines. My trick is exactly the same.

Well, today the sun is shining, my Mum's oncologist has given her the all-clear one year after her diagnosis, SuperGran is on the mend, I have food and a comfortable bed and will only have to sell a few labour-hours today to pay for it, so I have many many blessings and much to be thankful for.

Love and peas, GQ x

ceridwen

GreyQueen

I figure that loo-roll (the cheapest ones that is) is going up so much because the supermarkets know we HAVE to have it - bar the spong/vinegar method or handy dockleaf method or more Eastwards method (of water and hands - errr..yuk....).

But I raise you - for every can of tomatoes you have I could swop you a looroll:rotfl:. At current count - I have enough in for the next 2 years:rotfl:

I'll be interested to hear further tales of Mr Pumpkin RIP and uses for him - as I've got my eyes out now looking for cheap ones.