Preparing for winter III

jamanda

Tugrin - re bottling apples.

No - I don't faff if I can avoid it.

Chucking sliced apples in a boiling sugar syrup (2 cups water to half a cup sugar). Bring back to boil but don't boil fruit for more than one minute. Fill sterilised jars making sure no air pockets. Seal and turn upside down until cold. Then store right way up.

Parents have road tested some and my Dad (who doesn't praise) said to Mum "these apples are perfect aren't they". So, so far so good and are supposed to keep well. Can't remember where I read how to do it, whether it was on here or in one of the books somebody on here made me buy :rotfl:

And I still haven't made the ****** door curtain, and even DH came in waving a copy of the DM with the forecast minus goodness knows what temperatures. I've felt cold all day today, which is a bit worrying because it isn't really cold yet.

pinkmami

Last week in October!? Half term!!! Kids will be occupied!

mcjordi

Frugal wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Nice one IOIWE!!! You could clear a path to my house

Mcjordi - Pleeeeeeeeeease make one from a lawnmower and post pics - My late Dad was an engineer and his first 'motorbike' was a pushbike with a lawnmower engine attached I bet he could have made a snow blower with a few bits and bobs from his garage :A

Blimmin chilly here today - might just light me a little fire :D:D

Can't remember who posted the link to the DM HERE but :eek: I really need to ramp up my winter preps now... Going to make a daily to-do list for this week.

To the batcave...... now where did i put my elbow maccaroni and glue on sparkles......:p

tugrin

Jamanda - this sounds fan-blooming-tastic!!!! I thought you might be doing all that stuff where you have to put the filled jars in boiling water until all the botulism is dead ec etc but now I think about it that was probabl without sugar; your way sounds a bit like jam so must be as safe as jam!!!! Im going to try it tomorrow with the last of my apples!!!! Thank you.

Now I am convinced twiglet does have 8 horses 'cos she hasn't been online all day SO she must be grooming.mucking out and exercising the octet!!!! I want to come and see them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jamanda

tugrin wrote: »

Jamanda - this sounds fan-blooming-tastic!!!! I thought you might be doing all that stuff where you have to put the filled jars in boiling water until all the botulism is dead ec etc but now I think about it that was probabl without sugar; your way sounds a bit like jam so must be as safe as jam!!!! Im going to try it tomorrow with the last of my apples!!!! Thank you.

Now I am convinced twiglet does have 8 horses 'cos she hasn't been online all day SO she must be grooming.mucking out and exercising the octet!!!! I want to come and see them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do a big batch of slicing apples into salt water, then rinse them just before chucking them into the syrup. I also sometimes squirt a bit of lemon juice on (out of a bottle) into the syrup/apple mix to keep them nice and white.

Yes, I thought the other ways were a bit like stuffing mushrooms too.

Rainy-Days

External Preparation - 2 Week Final Countdown.

Lift any plants that will perish this winter, such as cordylines and palms, wrap them in gardeners fleece - cheap from Poundland - and well protect in either a shed or greenhouse.

Plant any bulbs that you have

Final cut of the lawn by 21st October

Remember the birds, fall balls and peanuts! If you can make water available as well, it will freeze but keep on smashing it during the day

Cut back shrubs in garden

Keep on top of the leaf fall, if snow comes on top of fallen leaves it is going to be deadly.

Buy your snow shovel now, both Halfords and Homebase have them in, if not try Amazon and chose Supersaver delivery for free delivery.

Drain off and cover over your outside taps - leave the tap open.

Buy salt now dishwasher salt is good, anything less than -10 and it probably won't work.

Bring your dustbin as near to your door as possible. The bin men might not collect if the weather gets too bad, but neither do you want a trek to the bin to put out your rubbish either!

Sort out your car kit and your fluid levels. Make sure you have plenty of de-icer in - you need some in the car and some in reserve.

If you have garden pots that are not frost resistant deal with them right now.

Dog jackets are a good investment especially if pooch has a short coat. They will feel the cold as much as us. Also get their sacks of dog food in.

You are going to need to keep a list handy for pharmacist shops, despite your best preps, antibiotics and other things cannot be stockpiled. Find out who your late night pharmacist is and keep the list handy.

Plastic sledges are being brought in by Halfords now, not just for kids you know, they make a fantasic aid to pile your shopping in for pulling home. The last thing you need is walking home on slippery dangerous footpaths, wobbling about, you are safer concentraing on your walk and pulling your shopping behind you. Keep an eye on it also for potential thieves as well!!

Make sure your wellingtons and all external footwear is waterproofed and ready to go. Thermal insoles can be bought from Wilkinsons and also spotted in Poundland is the memory foam insoles too.

Get gutters done and out the way.

Any exterior lights if they are broken get them fixed, if they need a special light tube, get it in now and buy a spare for back up.

If you have a rear wheel drive vehicle weight the back of the car down with bags of sand to give it extra grip and traction.

Anything externally on the house, brickwork and wood needs to be dealt with ASAP. If you have a broken brick the frost and damp will get in and burst it open.

Check on elderly neighbours daily when the weather does turn ask them to prepare a shopping list for you to collect.

Christmas deliveries for presents will be massively hampered if it gets bad, so think ahead especially for online purchases.

If the temperature plummets your skin is going to be badly affected, make sure you use a good moisturiser, wrap up well, hat is essential!

Some employers may be lienient with working patterns if things get really bad, others may not, so check and plan ahead journeys and where possible try to stick to main roads and not off the beaten track.

Rose_Crow

twiglet98 wrote: »

Glad you got your hay sorted, and got a good deal with the HiFi! My farrier says he has heard of a few people having 50 small bales stolen in each hit - just enough to fit on a trailer, or a Transit-type truck... I need another 50 or 60 to see us through winter but can't afford it at the moment, rent due on the field and barn, feet last week, teeth next week, and 8 rugs have been with the rugwash lady since August. I did do the rugs small enough for the launderette but we haven't clipped and the girls aren't wearing any yet. Meant to get the muck heap removed in summer, it means driving through the field gateway and can only be done when it's dry or frozen, but that's been another unaffordable expense this year with so many car and appliance repairs

DD25 has a hole in her wellies (pink Hunters) and for the first time, I won't be buying her new ones. She is using mine currently, she has more sense than to pinch my ancient dubarrys, but I'm tempted by the Muck Boot Company boots and we could share them if necessary. Might be on my Christmas list!

Thanks Twiglet, I do worry about it being stolen, but it's very well hidden out of the way with no road access, besides we've not got much though it's always a worry. I'll probably bib clip our two riding ponies as they do get roasted when we go hacking with their winter coats on, though will wait until the winter coats are fully through so don't have to clip twice. Hope you can get your muck heap sorted, we used to have a nightmare at our last place. Everything seems to come at once, ours are due their teeth being looked at, and tetanus jabs due in December! Neverending!

rising_from_the_ashes

Rainy - thank you:D, I knew I'd forgotten something and instantly remembered when I read:

Rainy-Days wrote: »

Dog jackets are a good investment especially if pooch has a short coat. They will feel the cold as much as us.

Boots for his paws - they got so sore and cracked last year with all the salt around (and couldn't get any as no deliveries). Off to have a hunt in a couple of mins before they get sold out.

Rainy-Days wrote: »

If you have a rear wheel drive vehicle weight the back of the car down with bags of sand to give it extra grip and traction.

This also works well for very small cars - mine is tiny and although the weight of the engine keeps the front down (it is front wheel drive) the back slides all over the place as it's so light. I tried this last year and it does help.


Unfortunately I can't seem to turn my outside tap off & drain it:(. It seems to have been a bit of a botch job from the kitchen sink pipe but there's no valve to stop the flow of water. I do have a cover for it and have put a lagging cover over the pipe but not sure if there's anything else I can do?


Re working patterns, we have to make up any time lost (either work back the hours in a given time period or annual leave). I have kept a couple of days a/l spare this year but looks like it may be used for phased return after sick leave so ...... best laid plans and all!

Rainy-Days

Rising,- it's just extra things to think of especially now as we are uncomfortably close to the end of this month. If the snow does hit I suspect it is going to be utterly dire and probably, by all accounts, worse than last year!

That headline in the Daily Hell has polarised me more into thinking what exactly is left that we all need to do. I also recall last year that an old lady went to her dustbin slipped and couldn't get up as a result she died of hypothermia I know it's not always possible but if you can get the bin near to the door so that you open it, lean out, chuck your rubbish in the bin and close your door again without setting a foot out into the snow/ice then that has got to be a good idea!

I have said it before I just feel in my bones we are in for a crap winter and last year was bad enough. This year we are wayyyy more prepared than at any time, but you can bet your bottom dollar there will be something!

rising_from_the_ashes

I've got a "bad" feeling too - hopefully it will be proved wrong but would rather be over-prepared (if there can be such a thing) than under.



Has anyone got boots for their dog?
Can anyone recommend any?

I'm looking at them just now - you would not believe how many different once there are, or how much they vary in price (I've seen some at £75:eek:).

I thought I'd found some reasonably good ones for about £23 but then found (in tiny writing) that they're only for use in the dry - what *^*&* good's that!

Thinking I may give these a go http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=54592&dept_id=123 only £12.50 for 12 and you can easily replace one if it tears/gets lost rather than having to buy a whole new set.

He hates his feet "meddled with" so not relishing the thought of trying to get them on at 5:30am!


I did manage to get his winter coat altered a couple of weeks ago so at least that's ready - he hates that too but hoping as it fits a bit better now he might put up with it as he's now ancient and needs the extra protection!