Preparing for winter III

Oog

I started preparing last week by buying some new wellies which I was really pleased with, fleecy linings and all, until I realised that they don't work...

Somehow, the right one allows moisture to leach in (at first I thought it was my sweaty foot!). Can't see any holes but had it sitting in a tray of water and, yes, it's damp inside. I only walked on dew sodden grass so they are going to be useless in puddles and snow.

Can I find the receipt ANYWHERE? No....

Rainy-Days

Well after someone mentioned yesterday (mentioning no names but you know who you are ) I thought right I will get the top of the garden cut right back and then put protector stain on the fence. Well what a job I got scratched to pieces and I looked like I had been tangoed with the fence stain :rotfl:but anyway it is done and it looks fab. We are still going to cut everything right back in the garden but that is a job crossed off the Spring to do list.

I have to say that everything externally is completed now, all done. The only thing as I say is cutting back and also putting the food out for the birds. We don't feed them through the summer because there is plenty of food about and berries as well so I kind of like to encourage them to find their own food, it's only when we get the first frosts and things become tough that the fat balls and peanuts get pressed into action!!

I popped into town first thing and got some wall flowers so I shall put those in later on in the week when we get rain.

I have switched our electricity online they recon there is a saving of about £100.00 to be made so thats done! I shall get the washing done and out of the way tomorrow because it looks pants weather wise for the end of the week!

triticale

Ziggy8083 wrote: »

Need to input my meter readings on web. We pay a fixed DD every month but are never anywhere near the payment so have a big credit balance. Is it worth asking for a refund or using it to pay for winters fuel usage?

Hi Ziggy,

I recently asked for a £70 refund from my gas account which had built up due to significantly lower usage that they had estimated I would use. The way I saw I had more important uses for that 70 quid than letting them 'borrow' it for free!

Only drawback is they may increase your DD slightly after a refund - although if your winter usage is likely to send your balance over then this is obviously a good thing!

When I made the decision to request a refund, I compared last year's winter quarter usage and made sure that my payments would cover a similar bill without the extra credit balance.

If you are certain your DD payments will cover winter, then get the refund, but if you're unsure and would have any trouble covering a larger than expected bill, it may be best to leave the credit where it is.

Rainy-Days

abwsco wrote: »

Got the radio on at work and Asda are advertising winter car stuff such as de-icer on 3 for 2. They were telling people to be prepared and buy now. Have they been reading here:eek:

Selfishly hope I can get my de-icer before it sells out.

It could have something to do with this headline about snow and ice. The frosts are going to hit all of us by the weekend apparently

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2044601/UK-weather-Get-ready-SNOW-HURRICANE-temperatures-drop-18c-Friday.html

supasick

hey guys,

i bought a litre of UHT milk from tesco's and glade scented candles are on offer at £2 each. i got a 'winter berries' candle. smells gorgeous!! Stocked up on lemonade (18p per 2lt bottle in tesco's). Next job will be buying a bag of salt for the drive and getting some slippers. I like prepping for winter although its tough cos i'm on benefits and money's tight. Oh and i'm taking serious advantage of the sunshine and have been washing and drying clothes like mad. Can see the bottom of the laundry basket!!!

Rose_Crow

Ooh shiny new thread! Got to read back 8 pages as I've got left behind a little bit!

Bad news - the person we were going to get the 2 large round bales of hay from, can no longer provide them. This is not great, as now we're going to have to buy small bales (which cost more in relation to the large bales) and my sister and I can only fit 2 bales in the car at any time. We can't get it delivered as the providers won't deliver up our byway. Imagine in the winter our girls can get through a bale a day when snow is on the ground, plus they'll probably have half a bale a day on normal winter days, then that's quite a few bales! Still, no point moaning about it, we cleared the feed room (ex- field shelter) so at least we're organised in there and need to start buying hay from this week. Could do with one of those little trailers, however due to ageism neither of us are allowed to tow without taking a test - hmm, anyone who passed their driving test before 1997 seem to have the ability to tow a trailer without training yet younger people have been deemed incapable of doing so, another way to extort more money out of us?! Anyway, we don't have a car with a tow bar anyway so that's out. Nevermind :doh:

tugrin

grn. -could they just deliver a load of small bales to the end of your by way and then you could ferry them up 2 at a time.? I passed my test before then but you really would not want to trust me with a trailer!!!!!!!!!!

Im totally smoked like a yarmouth kipper - the bonfire of all my dire work yesterday has been smoking out the entire village as far as I an tell - I hope not too many people still think of Monday as washday. There is still a HUGE pile to go but it really is very green now so i cant in all conscience put that on in daylight hours.

Made a big decision this a.m. to move into the back bedroom for the winter as the front one is so cold and gloomy. Back one gets all the am light and it just a nicer room. Will swap back when DD comes home from uni at Xmas. I hav never been happy in that room - I dont know whether its the cold feeling blue carpet or the northerly aspect that makes it feel so gloomy, but that is the only word for it. We shall see how it all works out

rising_from_the_ashes

SuziQ wrote: »

It's easy to recognise as it has a large cow all over the packaging!

I am such an idiot ... DM popped up today and took me to Mr A where I went to pick up my normal Lactofree milk and realised that it is made by Arla - so this is what I drink anyway!:o

The fresh is always pretty long dated (the stuff I got today was dated 1st Nov) so whatever they do to remove the lactose must make it stay fresh longer. Did have a look at their long life and .... it was only dated 6th Nov mmmmm.

I did also notice it's gone up to £1.31 a litre:eek:.

It's a bit of a pain as I'm about a 20 mile round trip to the nearest supermarket (none of the wee shops in the local villages sell it) so not ideal in bad weather.

I have got a tub of powdered for emergencies but ....

grn.w.nv do you know anyone with a tow bar & horse box?

I used to help a friend out at shows during the summer and in the winter she'd pick my hay/straw up and deliver it to me.


Well, think we've bypassed autumn here - blowing a gale and lashing rain outside:eek:.

suki1964

grn.w.nv wrote: »

Ooh shiny new thread! Got to read back 8 pages as I've got left behind a little bit!

Bad news - the person we were going to get the 2 large round bales of hay from, can no longer provide them. This is not great, as now we're going to have to buy small bales (which cost more in relation to the large bales) and my sister and I can only fit 2 bales in the car at any time. We can't get it delivered as the providers won't deliver up our byway. Imagine in the winter our girls can get through a bale a day when snow is on the ground, plus they'll probably have half a bale a day on normal winter days, then that's quite a few bales! Still, no point moaning about it, we cleared the feed room (ex- field shelter) so at least we're organised in there and need to start buying hay from this week. Could do with one of those little trailers, however due to ageism neither of us are allowed to tow without taking a test - hmm, anyone who passed their driving test before 1997 seem to have the ability to tow a trailer without training yet younger people have been deemed incapable of doing so, another way to extort more money out of us?! Anyway, we don't have a car with a tow bar anyway so that's out. Nevermind :doh:

You can tow a trailer, its things like horse boxes and caravans you cant tow

If you passed a car test on or after 1 January 1997 you're limited to vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes maximum authorised mass towing a trailer up to 750kgs, or a vehicle and trailer combination up to 3.5 tonnes MAM providing the MAM of the trailer doesn't exceed the unladen mass of the towing vehicle. You will need to pass an additional driving test in B+E if you wish to tow a caravan or trailer combination which exceeds these weight limits.

I use the trailer to take the rubbish to the tip no problem

NualaBuala

Grimbal wrote: »

sorry to pop in and out, but can anyone recommend where to buy salt for gritting driveways from please ?

Hi there, I saw rock salt in huge bags (don't know how many kg) at Homebase - it was €9.99 so bound but bound to be cheaper in the UK. I feel sure you could get it cheaper if you look around though. I thinkwas it but not sure. http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=263883&Trail=searchtext%3EROCK+SALT