Preparing for winter III

Fruball

Its definately chillier here than it has been recently - At a guess, I reckon we could see snow in about 3 weeks - but I am no expert At least if I tell myself that, then I stand a reasonable chance of being ready for it when it comes.

I still need to

Get rock salt
[STRIKE]Lag that pipe outside [/STRIKE]:eek: Done :T
Turn off the outside tap
Saw wood so I have a store, rather than sawing on demand
Collect more free wood from forest
Make a woodstore - got greenhouse shelving so will use that with tarpaulin
Put curtain rail back up in living room - not as easy as it sounds
Get taller fireguard
Tidy garden and patio, and front - looks like steptoes yard round here atm
Cut grass asap when dry
Figure out what to do for a loo if we lost water supply :eek:
Get a rug for the kitchen and hallway
Finish insulating back door with bubble wrap and window film then fit a long net curtain, well gathered to hide it I have done the bottom half of the door and its already made a big difference.
Make more papier mache to plug the last small hole in outside wall
Get food and drinks for the car kit and check torch in there still works

I've got a camping stove and plenty of gas
Got loads of food in, bit short of meat, but freezer is small so can't keep a lot
Got extra duvets to go under us on top of mattresses and they could be stacked to make a makeshift mattress if we had to sleep downstairs in front of the fire
Got loads of candles
Got bottled water
Keeping car full with petrol in case of being stuck somewhere
Anti-freeze topped up in car
Ordered loads of coal to be delivered on Sat



I love it when this thread gets all busy and chatty Its been too quiet of late Welcome to the lurkers and newbies - get posting!

That will do for now - I am going to go and do one thing off my list before I pick the kiddies up

shirleymarye

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Am in the middle of a big dilemma ..... only have around 3 months supply left of one of the cats dry food which means it'll run out at the beginning of Feb at the best (they tend to eat more in the winter too so it will probably realistically run out in January). It's gone down quicker than expected as other other cat has started to eat it too!

Have been looking around for offers so I can get online while still at home but not found much TBH. PAH did BOGOF a few weeks ago and got some of the other cats dry but stupidly didn't get any of this at the same time (I would've had over 4 months at that point and funds were a bit tight to buy both lots).

Have found for £48 with a freebie massage centre (I'm a sucker for free things) and I've a 10% off voucher which is only valid for another 2 days..... but I've found elsewhere for £44 so the voucher is really only saving the difference which is a bit annoying.

However, if I run out and have to buy locally, it costs £56 so a bit of a difference.

I'm only at home another week so option of hanging on for an offer is really limited .... (especially since PAH have changed courier & now need a signature which is very annoying as I used to order loads from them)

Why is nothing straightforward - honestly if I took as long with my own food, I'd starve!:o

I have a cat who only eats dry food,usually Pro Plan Purina or Hills,I have ordered from Pet Planet and Zooplus but at the moment I have been ordering from Viovet as they were a bit cheaper,my other cats also eat the stuff as well besides the pouches so it goes down quicker than it used to! I have found some one local who will deliver cat food,not tried them yet as I suspect they don't do Pro Plan duck and rice (Sandy's favourite) but they say they will deliver all weathers also food for me if I can't get out in the snow :j So I may wait for the snow to try them out as I am stocking up at the moment with food for fur babies and me:)

shirleymarye

My heating went off last night,(gas) the boiler was leaking water as well so had to call them out this morning,the chap wasn't very long coming out to me and soon fixed it,it's a very old boiler,over 20 years I believe and am supposed to be having it replaced shortly along with radiators. I noticed that although the heat was off all night,over 12 hours,it was still 22 degrees in my flat before the guy turned up,it was only 12 degrees outside. It's only a small flat which is double glazed but I do have a broken cat flap in my door! I put a curtain up a couple of weeks ago to cover it also letter box and it seems to have made the place much warmer,especially since I stuffed the bottom of the curtain (duvet cover) with old cushions! I have now gone round and turned down the radiators to either off or very low to see how it goes now,2 of them can't be turned down as they can't replace the valves so have to be on full blast or off! Can't wait for new heating system but don't know when it will happen!

tugrin

I agree Frugal - we have all been a bit quiet of late, where is everyone I wail when I log on!! The rapidity of the sun going down has done its usual for my spirit and I have yet to receive my magic waking up light from Hong Kong - but then I supose it is a long way and they did say 12 - 24 days and they have shipped so fingers crossed that it comes at the weekend.
I have serious budget issues this month due to old vets bills so prepping has kind of stopped although I am doing a bit of cooking to make quick meals in the evenings. Am using some of stores but am cooking enough to freeze at least one other portion usually 2 so I dont feel as if Im making too much of a dent.
Has anyone got any ideas how to keep lower part of the face warm - I have had freezing teeth and nose all day today and I cant knit well enough to knit a nosewarmer!!

shirleymarye

I decided to keep a supply of water in case the water is cut off for any reason,it's happened to me twice here and they do bring bottles round but I thought maybe I should have some as a standby,I have decided when the 2 litre milk bottle is empty then I will rinse it out well and fill with water. Maybe keep 3 or 4 bottles which is only for myself. Just a thought even if only to flush the loo now and again when bottled water turns up!

tumptyteapot

tugrin wrote: »

Has anyone got any ideas how to keep lower part of the face warm - I have had freezing teeth and nose all day today and I cant knit well enough to knit a nosewarmer!!

you could make a snood from an old fleece jumper, just cut a tube out of the middle, or if it is big enough the upper part of the arm. I wear a scarf all the time, or deep big polo necks.

prepareathome

shirleymarye wrote: »

2 litre milk bottle is empty then I will rinse it out well and fill with water.

Just keep an eye on them, they leak after a while.

shirleymarye

prepareathome wrote: »

Just keep an eye on them, they leak after a while.

Thanks for that, If not milk bottles then empty water bottles!

Sunnyday

Frugal wrote: »

Figure out what to do for a loo if we lost water supply :eek:

http://www.thebrowncorporation.com/products/bog-standard :D:D:D:D:rotfl::rotfl:

SD

prepareathome

Sunnyday wrote: »

http://www.thebrowncorporation.com/products/bog-standard :D:D:D:D:rotfl::rotfl:

SD

Or if you are a meany like me a bucket to pop into said toilet - make sure it is clean first ( toilet that is), a packet of cheapest cat litter but must be chalk type not wood, poop bags and a cat litter scoop.