Preparing for winter III

D&DD

Just catching up..
Lavendula how did the chutney turn out??
Dark Rev have you made anything yet,hows the machine?

Well done to all the knitters I have a scarf and mitts on the go but its too hot to knit!

By the way thanks to all who recommended the Nicky loo roll I've always been an Andrex girl and it costs a fortune now but couldn't find a good replacement til now I'm so pleased will save us a small fortune

angelaloveschocolate

Rising, thanks for your link and your reccomendation. I've ordered the skinners, never used it before but I'm very glad to give it a try and at a reasonable price too. I'll keep you updated on how they enjoy it. Thanks again and I appreciate your help and advice on this one

Also, I'm so jealous of the good weather you're all having. Nothing but heavy dark skys here and endless rain

shirleymarye

angelaloveschocolate wrote: »

Rising, thanks for your link and your reccomendation. I've ordered the skinners, never used it before but I'm very glad to give it a try and at a reasonable price too. I'll keep you updated on how they enjoy it. Thanks again and I appreciate your help and advice on this one

Also, I'm so jealous of the good weather you're all having. Nothing but heavy dark skys here and endless rain

Same here on the west coast of Scotland.

rising_from_the_ashes

angelaloveschocolate wrote: »

Rising, thanks for your link and your reccomendation. I've ordered the skinners, never used it before but I'm very glad to give it a try and at a reasonable price too. I'll keep you updated on how they enjoy it. Thanks again and I appreciate your help and advice on this one

Also, I'm so jealous of the good weather you're all having. Nothing but heavy dark skys here and endless rain

I honestly can't believe how good the Skinners is and especially for the price - being VAT free does help a bit with that as well.

It's wheat & gluten free (which my boy is intolerant to) and also hypoallergenic:D (Duck & Rice, Salmon & Rice, Turkey & Rice and Puppy only).

It compares really well in ingredients to "branded" foods such as Burns, James Wellbeloved etc which are hugely more expensive.

I used to feed Wainwrights (again a great food) but when the price started creeping up a while ago (now up to £33.50 for 15kg:eek:) I had a hunt around and someone recommended the Skinners - and we've never looked back.

If you've got some of their current food left, mix it in for a few days to help with the transition in foods ....:eek:

shirleymarye wrote: »

Same here on the west coast of Scotland.

It's horrible here too!

It all went downhill yesterday - rain and fog and at least 10 deg colder than Friday (how can it change so much in 1 day!). Pouring this morning too:(.

Plan for today - I am going to finish my shoulder throw.... decided to keep going to the end of this ball of wool - about 1/2 way there!

tessasmum

Thinking about blankets and throws - I bought some of the cheap pale blue fleeces from IKEA for about £1.59 each, with the intention of using them for lining thinner curtains for the winter. I did some of that, but have some left over, so I copied an idea I had seen with some other fleece blankets: if you cut a fringe about 2 inches "deep" all around two blankets placed one on top of the other, you can tie the fringes together in knots and produce a double layered blanket. I did this with two of the IKEA fleeces, washed the resulting blanket and then raffled it at my Macmillan coffee morning on Friday and raised £21 for Macmillan, all from about £3.20 worth of fleece. It makes a lovely blanket for snuggling on the sofa or for an extra layer on the bed. And best of all, for me, no sewing required!!

Ladyhawk

ooh Tessamum that's such a clever idea. thanks!

tugrin

To those of band who inhabt th wild places - 'tis the dramatic souls of the very land that ye see in those dark brooding skies and windswept hills - oft the spirit of the earth doth tramp the land clothed in a mantle of grey-hued wonder.....
Did anyone else hear Wuthering Heights last week? It was on Radio 4 extra and Altho' I loved it at 17 all I could think was - what a load of 'shouty' tosh this time around - still I could probably writ a good pastiche!
5 PINTS of water from sitting room overnight!!!
THank you for th lesson on humidity tho' - it gav me pause for thought and made me realise that I hadnt actually ever really understood it!! I just blithely thought sunny weather = dryness and hadnt taken into account all the realtive moisture around - even from the fully leafed trees at this time of year!!!! Dur - and I used to think of myself as quite a bright spark (age=daft= "be realistic mum").
More garden chores today -sadly after me thinking I had brilliantly and cheaply sharpened my cylinder mower myslf - I seem to have totally messed it up and now it just makes a hideous noise and nothing happens false economy I suspect.

Becky_2

Morning all,

I have washed all my winter jumpers and cardigans this morning. Garden got sorted out yesterday. Cupboards are well stocked up so things are going well.

Good luck to you all with your winter preparations

singlestep

I've been putting my summer clothes away this morning and, now it's a respectable time and not likely to disturb anyone in my building, I'm working my way through some winter linen etc. I really only get the chance to do this on a Sunday. Should the unexpected happen and Scotland experience warm weather, I won't be totally stuck. Once they switch the heating on at work, we will all be roasting, whether it's 20 degrees or minus 20 and so I usually layer up for going to work.

I'm also having to think a couple of weeks ahead as I took a rush of blood to the head (only possible explanation given my cooking skills or lack thereof) and invited one side of the extended family over. I don't know what on earth I'm going to feed all those picky eaters (and that's just the adults :eek: ) without spending a fortune. I don't even really enjoy most of the food I make, apart from soup (maybe, if I choose correctly) and spicy foods (out of the question for them) and even when I follow a recipe it never works out, even after proper cooking lessons. This has to be seen to be fully appreciated - I'm not exaggerating!

Cheapskate

Morning all

It's threatening rain here, but still very warm; our forecast says rain Monday and Tuesday, and temperature down to 12C by Thursday - it'll feel Arctic by comparison! :rotfl:

Got every coat we possess washed that can be washed, all fleeces bar 2, DS bedding on line now. The gardening's been done and DH has gone to the tip with the car loaded to the gunwales! Now I can concentrate on indoor winter prep - stocks are nowhere near what I usually have at this time and got lots of jobs like draught-proofing to do. Having a new boiler and radiators in a few weeks, one external door mending to stop the rain coming in and the exterior woodwork painting. All that will take the very last pennies of our savings, but it's all unavoidable.

Keep reading everyone's lists and adding stuff to mine - at this rate I'll be up 24 hours a day to get sorted cos I'm so far behind! :rotfl:

Today I have to cook loads more Bramleys and freeze ready for pies and crumbles over the next few months, and make and freeze some pastry.

A xo