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

scottishminnie

I've had a quiet(ish) day. I managed a few hours at the gym but having been at a 40th birthday party last night I didn't feel up to cooking much more than a few batches of macaroni for the freezer.

I harvested some of my red onions today - I've left them to dry in the garage, near the sick boiler, and once dry I'll store them in tights as suggested. I need ideas on what I can plant for the winter - I'll be on holiday for two weeks in September so it will need to be something which can be self sufficient for a few weeks.

I also have another plea - does anyone have a foolproof scone recipe? There are very few things I can't make successfully however my scones have never been terribly good and it's a bit embarassing for a country girl:o

I nipped into Asda this afternoon and was really surprised to find a trolley of whoopsied bread and cakes - nowhere near the food aisles though - more in the homewares. I picked up a Warburtons seeded loaf for 30p (now in the freezer) and was browsing the others when an obnoxious woman starting shoving past, grabbing handfuls of stuff, without even looking at it, and throwing them in her trolley. I think I muttered something about ill mannered vultures as I walked off. I did mention to an elderly couple who were in the bread aisle so I hope they got something.

I had an annoying situation this morning - newly washed white cotton sheets which were unmarked when they went into the machine and have come back out with "yellow" stains. I'm at a loss as to work out what has caused it. It's not the first time either. I haven't had anything stained or realy filthy in the machine so can't fathom it at all. Very annoying:(

Oh and another request - any good recipes for beetroot chutney?

kidcat

scottish minnie - we have had similar with our washing machine, the repair guy said it needs a good cleaning - so I throw a good handful or two of soda crystals into the drum some in the soap dispenser and some vinegar in the softener bit then put onto hottest wash, If its really bad I will repeat it. Usually clears it all.

HariboJunkie

scottishminnie wrote: »

I also have another plea - does anyone have a foolproof scone recipe?

Oh and another request - any good recipes for beetroot chutney?

Scones: I swear by St Delia and buttermilk.

Beetroot Chutney: I made this one last year and loved it.

lora

ginnyknit wrote: »

WCS a bokashi bin is a compost maker of sort. It actually pickles the leftovers very fast and you can use the liquid that comes off it ( through a nifty little tap) as plant food or to clean your drains of algae. Theres no smell and you can compost every bit of leftover food cooked or otherwise, you just add a handful of special bran to the layer of food. I have also just found a supplier of the bran thats very cheap!:T

I have had a fantastic amount of fertilizer from these bins this year and we certainly do not waste any food if we can.:D Could I ask where your cheap supplier of bran is. I have been buying mine thru Amazon and getting Nectar points--bought the bins from Te... to get clubcard points (used for magazine subs as presents) and it was the best price back in April.

scottishminnie

kidcat wrote: »

scottish minnie - we have had similar with our washing machine, the repair guy said it needs a good cleaning - so I throw a good handful or two of soda crystals into the drum some in the soap dispenser and some vinegar in the softener bit then put onto hottest wash, If its really bad I will repeat it. Usually clears it all.

HariboJunkie wrote: »

Scones: I swear by St Delia and buttermilk.

Beetroot Chutney: I made this one last year and loved it.

excellent - thanks both. Soda Crystals and buttermilk on my shopping list for tomorrow. Will report back on the results for both.

Plannning to make the chutney towards the end of the week - looks good.:)

Charis

Back in June I had a water meter fitted and promised to report to this thread, in a previous incarnation, on whether it worked out more economical than paying for unmetered water. My water is supplied by Welsh Water and sewerage is payable to Severn Trent, via Welsh Water. In addition to the water charges I now have to pay a separate charge (payable in advance) for water run off, that's the water that goes from your roof and land to the public storm drains. Most folk* in England and Wales pay that, although it's often hidden in your bill.

My first bill for the first 47 days arrived last week. Water charges for me (me plus student son for the last two weeks) are as follows:

Charge per day for water and sewerage = 43p
Charge per day for water run off = 23p
Total = 66p per day

Charge under old unmetered system = £1.35 per day.

I haven't made any conscious effort to save water apart from reusing water from the kitchen to throw on the nearest patch of garden or lawn. I haven't needed to use the hose this year as I was so frustrated by last year's crop and all the effort it took that I vowed I would grow nothing this year. However I've had a bumper crop of apples and figs and a fair crop of strawberries. Two tomato plants have self seeded and the chives and mint still insist on making an appearance. Leaving a few trugs about the garden catches a bit of rain, which I have thrown in the direction of the thirstiest plants, like the rhubarb, which I forgot to mention.

*If you can prove that your water runs into a soakaway and not into the public water system, you don't pay the run off charge. How do you prove it? The water company sent me a nice little form with diagrams of how to indicate where my underground pipes are. In the absence of X-ray eyes I was stumped. I could pay for a survey and look foolish if they strolled up and pointed out that I am obviously connected to the mains. So I called a nice man at the local council, who had a look at the original plans for this estate (over 30 years old and transferred from one council to another) and he was able to confirm that we do have pipework connecting us to the storm sewer. So for anyone else in a similar predicament, you need the planning department and unless he sends me a surprise bill for his services, I think they were free :rotfl:

shegar

I too use soda chrystals in my machine usually about once a month , soda is very cheap to use.......and I wash the soap dispenser drawer quite often , it seems to get quite smelly if not......a hot 90 wash dont go a miss, think most of us use a lower temp wash to save electric too...........sometimes I look under the dispenser draw and it goes black, :eek:god knows why....ive got a water softner in bungalow so I do use quite a bit less washing powder, and not too much fabric softner either..........

On to gravy, if im cooking meat I put the meat juices in a pan and boil then I mix couple spoons of flour with quite a bit of gravy;) add water then stir into to pan and simmer for about 10 mins, oh and I do add 2 beef oxo cubes:D...if its chicken dinner then I add 2 chicken oxo cubes.......luvvvvly. uhmm...:D......right im off to bed, been quite busy again today, its never a day of rest is it?.....I remember my parents and grandparents did very little on a sunday, that was the norm in the "old days".....those were the days when you dressed up in your best clothes on a sunday, wow that take you back a bit....:D and you always sat down to dinner of a full sunday roast every sunday.........im getting to nostalgic now so nite nite to you all.......:)

kersplatt

To clarify to those who wondered. Over 12 years my ex appears to have led something of a double life. He was quick with reasons as to why we never had enough money, always running up debts and credit cards. In 12 years I never saw a bank statement and he would hide bills. I knew that he had cards and that he had debts but I was busy being a mother and qualified nurse. I trusted that like me he was working for our best interests. As I discovered that he was getting threatening letters I gradually took over more and more of his debts in my own name to ensure that they got paid but just as things appeared to get under control more bills and debts would appear. This culminated approx 3 years ago when I took out a loan of over 22k to clear the lionshare of his debts. What I didn't know and only found out a few days ago was that he had approx another 8 cards/loans on the go and would buy shiny gadgets whilst I was on shifts working overtime, feel guilty and then sell them at a loss without me ever knowing that he had bought them in the first place. In the past 4 days I have suddenly understood the level of deception that went on in the relationship. I always knew that he had a tendency to fabricate but it seems that really I lived with someone I didn't really know for 12 years. He is now blaming his bipolar for all of his behaviour which I can partly believe with the flights of fancy and obsession but it certainly doesn't excuse him for any of it.

In the meantime, the past 12 months that I haven't at least tried to control his spending has meant that he has racked up a further 17k which his parents have used retirement investments to clear. He is now paying this off to them at a rate faster than he pays me CSA. He has assured me that no further money will come my way so all I can do is get on with it and work my little butt off to clear it myself

7_week_wonder

scottishminnie wrote: »

excellent - thanks both. Soda Crystals and buttermilk on my shopping list for tomorrow. Will report back on the results for both.

Just to say - I also swear by Delia's buttermilk scone recipe, but I don't think I've ever used buttermilk. I just use skimmed milk and the scones have always had rave reviews.

Please, pretty please, can we lose the rain. Like Mardatha I am getting sooooo fed up with the mud and gloom.

Charis

I had a little OS victory yesterday. Tidying up the garden shed I picked up our largest Thermos flast, which lives in the picnic cooler bag, last used ages ago. It rattled. It wasn't a broken liner as I had feared, it was the plastic base of the flask. Made from brittle plastic it had taken the brunt of an impact and broken into several pieces, so the liner could then wobble, unsupported, from side to side.

I looked up Thermos spares but it seems the company don't carry many. Certainly not for a model over ten years old. The night before, I had replaced my pot scourer, made from scratchy stuff and sponge. I put it to one side because the sponge was still fine. It is now nestled in the space made by the missing bits of the flask base and the liner no longer wobbles about. The repair is invisible because it's contained within the base and all is secure. I do like being able to repair things and hate built-in obsolescence :mad:.

I did buy a new hose for my Henry last week because it would have been extremely difficult to get the end off, cut the hose and reattach the end. I reasoned that if it had begun to split it might well split again as soon as I finished the repair. Maybe the plastic hose had done its job. The new hose was less than £8 and the vacuum works like new. I hadn't realised how much suction power was lost through such a tiny split.