Preparing for winter III

Fruball

Sorry if you have seen this elsewhere, I posted in the wrong place to start with!

Woke up *very* early this morning and it was quite chilly... Going to pop to Pr!mark for some wintery bits for the kids.

They both need gloves
Will find a fleece blanket to cut up for scarves
Slippers for both
Slippers for me
Fleece for curtain/blind lining/making

EssexGirl

Fruball wrote: »

I would say fleece panels - you can attach them to the door and to the window around it. Cheap and easy to do. You can get self adhesive velcro which would probably do the job fairly well and you can remove them in summer

I have a similar back door problem but my door opens onto the cooker so it would be dangerous to hang a fleece there :eek:

Velcro, why didn't I think of that? :eek:

bossymoo

Hi all
Bit chilly today brrr!
Just been browsing some older threads and someone mentioned if you use a tumble drier, adding a big, dry bath towel into the load (absorbs moisture) reduces drying time. And when checking for draughts, fridge magnets are very good at covering draughty keyholes in doors

Becky_2

Well pleased with my winter preparations today. 2 of our neighbours have been cutting several branches this week from a massive tree.

I went out in our garden collecting "left overs" from those branches. I managed to fill a whole banana box with kindlings and around 10 logs for our log burner (3 fairly large branches had fallen on to our side of the fence). We have also been given 2 big sacks with logs for the winter.

Thanks Essex girl for asking the question re: the back door, we have a similar one so I shall also follow the tip from Fruball (thanks for a great suggestion). Getting fleece panels and velcro will be my next winter preparation.

Rainy-Days

I have noticed that the lawn has started to slow down on it's growing now. There is heavy dew on the ground in the morning as well - sure sign Autumn is well on it's way.

This week is forecast to be pretty horrible weatherwise - lots of rain but apparently we have a reprieve on Tuesday - so that will be a good day to get any jobs done outside.

I have done small amounts of winter prep this year. Need to get both of the horses new outside medium rugs with necks, they have had their other rugs for a few years so they are due for new ones. Need to get some of those fleecy socks from Primark as well as they are such a boon for me to have inside my wellies.

Fruball

Last year I used a small piece of masking tape on the back door lock and just peeled it back when I needed to put the keys in!

It was cheap, efficient and I only used 2 pieces all winter as they re-stick

Anyone remember when I plugged up the hole in my back wall about 2 or 3 years ago (where the DW plumbing came out there was a gap all the way around)... I plugged it up with papier mache using newspaper and the kids PVA glue as a temporary measure and it is still working great!

Treated myself to new PJs and Slippers in Pr!mark today for the princely sum of £10.50 - perfect for snuggling down in what feels like the first autumnal evening of the year

MrsCD

pigpen wrote: »

There are 10 of us here and my son with diabetes has his supplies for that and also different medication as a lot contains sugar which we can't count for so we get different stuff for him. I have 1 with lowered immunity and on growth hormone replacement so we need to keep on top of her and OH catches every sniffle going and I can't stand man-flu .. and the 2 littlies are teething! :eek:

Wow, no wonder you need so much. Sorry if I came over as rude - I didn't mean to

pigpen

MrsCD wrote: »

Wow, no wonder you need so much. Sorry if I came over as rude - I didn't mean to

no, you didn't.. I just didn't want you thinking we are a house full of addicts!

We have so much medication in our fridge I had to buy a second for the food!! DS3 has a Pampers box on top of the fridge with his room temp/spare stuff.. it is crazy!

And do you know when I needed a sticky plaster last week we didn't have 1 in the house!? How typical is that?

kmiller4

Its been a couple of months since I posted. The weather is still quite summery over here today it was about in the low to mid 30's (C) and staying quite warm at night as well. We have had the central air conditioning on the past 3 days.
Later in the week it is supposed to get a little cooler (30C) due to some anticipated rain from hurricane Issac coming up from Florida.

Money is not as tight as I had previously anticipated with OH being out of work 3 years now. We managed to pay off the credit cards and one car. Other car and another small loan will be paid off in the spring leaving just the mortgage (6 years left) and household bills (gas, lights, cable, phone, internet, insurances, groceries and sundries).

We actually are in quite good shape for the winter. Freezer is still quite full, as is the pantry and the shelves in basement. Some things are left from last winter and some are replacements for things used. We still have over a cord of firewood in the basement due to last winter's mild weather. The gas (heat) bill even went down considerably because of low gas consumption.

My two springers are doing well. They have settled in very nicely since we adopted them about 16 months ago. Kitty spends most of her time hopping from bed to bed (and sometimes a chair) looking for the ideal napping spot.

I am back to work as the university started back last week for students. Summer flew by-- I'm not quite sure where it went. I had the rotator cuff (shoulder) and carpal tunnel (wrist) operated on end of May and spent most of June recovering from that. Have been seeing Physical Therapist all summer as well.

I hope that some of you remember me and that all of my friends across the pond are well.

Talk to you again soon!

Kathy in central NY

herbily

nicki wrote: »

Speaking of yaktrax DD is in a ladies size 6 shoe (:eek:) and I want to get her some but no idea what size I need to buy. I was looking at getting her the pro traction ones as she's got so much walking to do to and from school as well as out with me for work. Plus as she's still recovering from a broken knee (just building up the muscles now that have wasted due to being in a cast/brace since JUNE!) the last thing I want to risk is her not putting them on properly and falling. Am I right in thinking I get her a small?And then me in a size 7 would be the same? Will also have to remember to make sure they go over any school shoes I buy her later in the year (she's been instructed to wear trainers until at least half term due to the amount of walking she'll be doing).

It really depends on what type of shoes you're going to be wearing with your yaktrax - I take a size 7, but if I'm going out in snow I'm wearing walking boots or wellies, and a size medium in yaktrax is perfect (I've got the Pro sort, with a strap across the front). For your daughters school shoes, a small might be OK, and the size guide on the packet says that small fits "Euro Women's 38-42.5", which is size 5 to maybe a 9? Personally I think the upper limit is a bit optimistic.

I don't know if you can find an outdoor shop anywhere near you that does them to test out first?