Preparing for winter III

Eenymeeny

Frugal wrote: »

Eenymeeny... got an image of you doing kermit impressions now

Hi Frugal, apparently it was Kermit's nephew Robin who sang Halfway down the stairs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGFR3zz12p0
Still good though eh?:rotfl:

beanrua

Eenymeeny wrote: »

Phew! If you miss a day on here you fall right behind don't you?
Thanks for the helpful advice for the cold hall, which seems to be the same as some of yours, no room for visitors! That's why we put the door in to the kitchen, at least we can 'overspill' into there.
I've added a curtain to the door using a wire and shower curtain rings. Great idea and it seems to be working as a temporary measure. I lit a couple of lanterns on the landing last night (only place there is any safe space, and the temperature went up from 12 to 14 degrees so that's progress if we get really cold weather. I think that the main problem is outside walls and a loft opening above the stairs. (I can feel a draught if I sit on the stairs. (Not that I make a habit of doing Kermit impressions!) Thanks again for all of your useful ideas though and the reminder that I have some of those cosy-toe socks which I'd forgotten about and am wearing now...:D:T
Btw for some strange reason Winter Solstice is listed as the 22nd... at least it's a move towards lighter nights:)
How did your trip go Confuzzled? Hope that you had a nice time:)

That def sounds like progress - bit of heat! Not sure if you have slow cooker and perhaps it's not suitable to use it in hall but it def helps keep places warms and cooks dinner at same time.
This is the first year ever I have been prepared for winter - where is it?? Is somebody having a joke because I'm now so well prepared - I want to test my preparations to the limit. And I so wanted snow after my garden had to be dug up cos of the mains water leak and it's all covered in muck and I thought a good fall of snow would clear it - on the other hand I better be careful what I wish for - I just might get it.

MarilynMonroe_2

I found my old thermal vest the other day, what a difference it made! I'm going to stock up on more next year and also some long johns.


I'm also going to have to try this bubble wrap on the window idea I think, the passage window is old single glazed and I think it could be causing quite a bit of the coldness in the passage (not to mention theres an empty house next door so no shared heat) ... my only problem with that is theres quite a bit of condensation and unsure what would happen with it trapped between the window and wrap?

Have been putting dd's normal socks on her and then her fluffy slipper socks and she's been fine.

The only ones really feeling the cold seem to be my cats but once the snuggle down for a sleep together they must be heating up. Theyre getting old and soft!

Eenymeeny

Thanks Beanrua, don't worry, I'm sure that we'll get snow in January and you'll be all prepared eh?;):)
The slow cooker is a good idea. I used it last year to heat up the cold back extension which doesn't seem bad this year for some reason. Maybe all of this house snuggling is starting to pay off! OH said that it was lovely to come in from backshift to the smell of home-made soup!:T
MarilynMonroe, Home Bargains had thermal vests for £2.50 each recently if that's any help? Nice and long;):)

tryingtobethrifty

Ida_Notion wrote: »

Good idea. We can all exchange tips on keeping cool, share thrifty home made ice lolly recipes and spread the word when we encounter sources of cheap patio furniture, sun lotion or bug repellent. And just in case it gets too hot to go out even in the shade, we'd better all stock up on toilet roll too

I'm not sure us Scottish people on the thread will be able to join this one:rotfl:
Too hot even in the shade - I just don't understand:D

Confuzzled

Eenymeeny wrote: »

How did your trip go Confuzzled? Hope that you had a nice time:)

it went quite well thank you for asking!

it did rain a bit on monday so we did our indoor things first and by the time those were done it had stopped raining and was dark which means you can enjoy all the lights more anyway. it wasn't that cold either and i'm pleased to say that whilst i am sore and a bit swollen now my knees and back only started really acting up right before we left on tuesday evening so that went brilliantly.

we also had a lovely conversation with a homeless man, bless him and we had given him some money, had our chat and were walking away. then we remembered we had some left over pizza with us from pizza hut and we went back to offer him some, bless his heart he was crying because he'd had such a miserable day and as he said 'you were just so nice to me and treated me like a human being and i really needed that' made me tear up too and you should have seen his face when we gave him 2 slices of pizza and some garlic bread too. bless his soul a very nice man just down on his luck.

i told him that it's sad to say but many people don't want to pay any mind to him or other homeless people because so many of us are just a few missed paychecks away from that situation ourselves and that's very scary so acknowledging people in his position means we have to acknowledge we could be there too through no fault of our own.

at one point we both gave him a hug and it was so nice to know that we'd made him feel like there are still people out there that care, in my opinion we came away from those conversations with more than he did, in fact i'd say it was one of my favourite parts of the trip, it made me just the bit more thankful for what i have and it was wonderful to see my daughters compassion (rather than pity) and help him see that at least some people still see his worth as a human being. i'm not a saint by any means but that just felt really nice for all involved.

the next morning we had snacks and some fruit leftover (i always buy or bring things to have in the hotel room and on the train) and i had bought a new hat and some umbrellas. we put the old hat, a pair of gloves, an umbrella and our uneaten treats and fruit in one bag and went in search of another homeless person to give them to. my daughter had thought of this and i thought it was brilliant. we did finally find someone in a warm spot where i thought we might. she had to wake him up a bit to give it to him but he seemed pleasantly surprised despite being groggy, that was enough, just to know he'd have a little something in his belly and a warm hat and gloves (he had neither). again another high point being able to help

other than that we played games and ate yummy food and my daughter made another friend by offering her last slice of pizza to the hook a santa stallholder:p we came back the next day and she remembered her and gave her a big hug! last year she was offering all the stall holders her chestnuts, big smiles all around!

we picked up a few nice things including a new furry hat with ears and 'paw' mittens attached (can be used as a scarf too) the wee one was a bit jealous even though i'd just gotten her something similar off of a groupon deal! i figured this could be my birthday gift to me as i rarely spend anything on myself and my birthday is coming up soon.

we saw a few puss n boots and happy feet 2 and ate some nice food and just really enjoyed ourselves and the weather was grey but reasonably warm so all in all i'd say it was a brilliant and much needed break! today i'm relaxing a bit then tomorrow it's major house cleaning and wrapping presents and then some baking over the last few days before christmas

PHEW!

jamanda

Confuzzled, the world would be a better place with more people like you. Congratulations on bringing up your daughter as you have to be caring and sharing.

Confuzzled

jamanda wrote: »

Confuzzled, the world would be a better place with more people like you. Congratulations on bringing up your daughter as you have to be caring and sharing.

aww thank you *blushes* just trying to do the right thing, many a day at work all i needed to keep me from crying in despair was one kind soul and somehow there always seemed to be that one person so i try to pass that along.

as for my daughter i cannot take all the credit, she has always been very generous, in fact for a long while TOO generous. rather than allowing her to eventually feel like she was being taken advantage of (and thus ruining the likelihood of her retaining her compassion and generosity) i've helped her channel that generosity into more productive and focused giving.

where she would have given away her last sweetie and toys now she will still happily give them away, keeping her favourite toys for herself and perhaps asking for a bite of the sweetie , giving but not giving so much as to spoil it in the long run, i think that's a bit more reasonable

jamanda

Confuzzled wrote: »

aww thank you *blushes* just trying to do the right thing, many a day at work all i needed to keep me from crying in despair was one kind soul and somehow there always seemed to be that one person so i try to pass that along.

as for my daughter i cannot take all the credit, she has always been very generous, in fact for a long while TOO generous. rather than allowing her to eventually feel like she was being taken advantage of (and thus ruining the likelihood of her retaining her compassion and generosity) i've helped her channel that generosity into more productive and focused giving.

where she would have given away her last sweetie and toys now she will still happily give them away, keeping her favourite toys for herself and perhaps asking for a bite of the sweetie , giving but not giving so much as to spoil it in the long run, i think that's a bit more reasonable

I still think you both need a halo and wings.

Hope my grandkids grow up like that. They are nice kids but not that nice as yet.

toottifrootti

NIce one confuzzled and miss confuzzled - its nice to know there are still people who try to care for others and like you said - there but for the grace of God go I.......