A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

mardatha

Can I ask how you use these Kenwood things? I got £50 off one of my sons for mothers day and spent it on a Kenwood thing at £55. It says feed stuff down that tube at the top - do you switch it on empty and then stuff food in while it's running? What can I make as well as soup? I got it because I make a lot of soup and I get so fedup grating bloody carrots
I really feel for everybody affected by this change in hours thing re tax credits... some people must be frantic. And agree re shops callousness re employing part timers. As the months roll on under this wonderful tory govt, we are slowly and surely going backwards in time. Wonder how long it will take for the majority of voters to notice it !
When they're all locked in the workhouse probly...

GreyQueen

My missing £10 has been restored from when the ATM shorted me earlier in the week. Odd to feel a sense of triumph in getting your own money back but there you go. I spent half an hour of un-shopping yesterday which involved returning various things to various places for exchange or refund due to faults. I'm not hard on my belongings and these were only a couple of weeks old and had just died on me. I wonder if manufacturers are shaving their margins so tightly that the stuff isn't up to much?

Reminds me why I detest shopping for anything other than second-hand books..............:rotfl:

:jmeme30 congratulations on your daughter's happy news. Time to get those knitting pins out..............

I've had a demanding week in my particular salt mine and am looking forward to the weekend after only a few more hours of grafting. Then I shall be beavering away on the allotment as I want to get the onion sets in and soon after that the first sowing of beetroot. There is a spot under the woodpile which I moved a few weeks ago where brambles had infiltrated from next door and set up housekeeping so I intend to get hold of the mattock and take a few swipes at them. It will be just a few swipes, too; mattocks are heavy and I'm a bit poorly but I reckon if I focus the strikes I should be able to get the roots up in less than a dozen blows.

I've been holding off on this particular area in case there was a toad or three hibernating in the ground, but went thru a bit of soil elesewhere where I'd found a toad a couple of months ago (and buried it again) and that had gone so I guess they've all crawled off to the ancestral ponds to make toadspawn.

I always find green peppers rather bitter and difficult to digest and I figured this was because of the unripeness. Good to know the tips about skinning and sweetening, thanks MG.

mardatha I was talking to someone I know a few weeks ago who was complaining bitterly about the changes in WTC which will affect her family so suggested she might want to talk to the MP about this and she said couldn't be bothered, never voted at all, couldn't see the point etc etc. I just smiled and shrugged and walked up the street thinking some people will sleepwalk into the nineteenth century if they don't start paying attention to the world around them..............nuff said.

Hope everyone has a good day, it's definately spring-like here.

VJsmum

Byatt wrote: »

VJ, did you ever find out what the clear liquid was??

Nope! Didn't seem to do any harm though

meme30 wrote: »

I really don't know what to say to all of you who have fallen flat on your faces. Smacks of sheer exhibitionism!

:rotfl:Especially when you have to change your top in front of a load of builders!

New washing machine arriving shortly - the old one finally died in dramatic fashion the other day - water all over the floor as I had to open the door. It was only later I remembered the manual drain tube underneath

I think it still might have been repairable but it is starting to cost over £100 a year to keep going, and the machine is 12 years old so it's time for a new one. Have ordered one with a 7kg drum so it should cut down on the number of loads and it has a AAA energy rating. It is only the third one i've ever had - the first lasted nearly 20 years.

Dad is supposed to be being moved into a lower key hospital as he isn't ill as such any more - he needs intensive physiotherapy to get him back on his feet. It's been over 2 months now and he is seriously fed up. Yesterday my brother was visiting him and collapsed and was taken to a&e to have his heart monitored. But luckily they think it isn't serious and he is just knackered and stressed. I will be visiting tomorrow so I can see how the land lies

DD is off for the weekend visiting her godfather and his (male) partner, they have all sorts organised - shopping, cinema, restaurants - I am "wel jel". We have been invited to afternoon tea to pick her up - I think a morning of baking is happening for them on Sunday! nom nom nom

The budget calculator shows we will be over £200 worse off in the budget. I am not sure if that includes the loss of child benefit. I have to admit, that whilst I am in favour in principle of child benefit as a universal benefit, it was never intended for people like me - whose incomes are reasonable and who isn't kept short by a partner. It was only given to everybody because it was easier.

Oh well, this won't get the baby a new bonnet and if i don't get dressed soon, the washing machine deliverer will see more than he bargained for! :cool:

Have a good day all

smileyt_2

Meme you must be so relieved. Fingers crossed for your daughter that she has an easy pregnancy and a bouncing healthy baby at the end!

Greyqueen when you've done with that mattock can you toss it over here please (no need to send nursie up with it!) as I too have supercharged brambles.

Mardatha I'm pretty sure you can shove stuff down the tube when the thing is still whirring - I've done that with mine. It depends what you've got in there, though - if it's too full of liquid you might find it slooshing out of the top. And this government - :mad: - I keep wondering if there's anything we can do to get them out early. I signed a 38 degrees petition the other day and they were asking for ideas about how to campaign to try and slow down the implementation of the dismantling of the NHS. I actually suggested that someone should root through Ca-moron's past in the hope of finding something so shameful that he would be forced to resign. I know that's nasty but they don't have any morals and sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

Anyway, I am now a lady of leisure as my work has more-or-less finished already for the summer (it seems to finish earlier every year, the bloomin' clocks haven't even gone forward yet!). Luckily I have my young laddie here and I'll have to claim HB. I'm hoping to leave claiming JSA until I have no option, as I really hate doing it. I'd rather live on my stores and the money I've put aside to cover the time I will have no work. I will pick up bits here and there but the bulk of it is over. I'll have a look on gumtree and see if I can pick up casual work like leaflet delivering over the summer.

I will be running a half-hour card making workshop for about 50 people in May. I've never done this before so I'm a bit nervous! My idea was to have lots of my cards on display to give people ideas, but to have materials there so they can make one of a choice of three simple cards to take away. I will be using very basic stuff like card and colouring pens, buttons, sequins, ribbons, pictures from magazines etc as the idea is to get people saving money. Obviously if they want to they can go crazy in the craft shops and spend a fortune! Do you think that will work? Has anyone got any better ideas?

Also I'm going to be making a few things to have on display - a mug hug, sock monkey, knitted facecloth with a design on it, bookmarks etc - to try and give people ideas for a homemade Christmas or birthday.

So perhaps it's just as well I'm not working now as between that lot and the allotment I'll be busy enough!

Sorry to have waffled on - I just wanted to pick the collective brain of the superorganism that is the Toughie MSE ..... Love to you all, no more falling over just to attract hunky men!! xx

SDG31000

Morning All

Congratulations meme30 That is great news If you are a knitter, Aldi have wool on Special offer starting today. The baby wool is £2.99 for 200g.
Enjoy the new washing machine VJsmum. Here's hoping it lasts as long as the last one.
mardatha I assume your kenwood thing is a food processor. I go by the rule of thumb that solids start off in the main body of the machine and the feeder tube is for liquids for general chopping. For grating and slicing it depends on how your machine works. In mine you put a disc in the bowl and them feed things in via the feed tube. Hope that makes sense.

I have to say that I haven't fallen flat on my face for a few years. Last big fall was on holiday with the in laws in Combe Martin. I ended up with a badly sprained ankle and on crutches for the rest of the stay. We were staying on the second floor of a house with carpet that was part sand paper by the feel of it and I ended up with carpet burn in places I don't want to think about because I was having to go down the stairs on my bum.
Today is a friends 40th birthday so DH and I are invited around for chinese tonight. So I just have to feed the monsters. I'm also wondering if I should go and get some wool from Aldi or if I should hold off and only buy wool when I know exactly what I'm going to do with it.
I must remember to get DH to check if he has been paid today and to see if he has gone over the limit for the tax credits. It's only thanks to this thread that I know that the limit for 2 children is £32,500 and not the £26,000 the letter stated :mad:
Time for a soak in the bath now that I have the house to myself. Bye for now everyone xxx

katieowl_2

SDG31000 wrote: »

I'm also wondering if I should go and get some wool from Aldi or if I should hold off and only buy wool when I know exactly what I'm going to do with it.

Hold off...My DD was looking at it in Aldi yesterday, and an nice old lady told her it wasn't very good quality. She said to DD that as you went along the yarn the thickness wasn't consistent and not to buy any....

Kate

Margaret54

Hi everyone:) Haven't been here in a while as I have been busy with gardening and other stuff. I have just finished reading all the posts, which I have really enjoyed as always. It is IMHO the nicest friendliest place ever.
I too have read the book by Helen Forrester twice over the years, and I never forgot it. Truly shocking reading, and I really felt for her, bless her heart.
The weather here has been really nice and we planted out the stuff we have been growing from seeds indoors on the kitchen windowsill yesterday. So fingers crossed they will do very well. we are growing for the first time ever, strawberries:) so feel excited about it all. Dh did the heavy work (Digging) and now the back and front gardens look neat and tidy again.
Hope you all have a lovely weekend and a big virtual hug to anyone who needs one.

stiltwalker

smileyt wrote: »

I will be running a half-hour card making workshop for about 50 people in May. I've never done this before so I'm a bit nervous! My idea was to have lots of my cards on display to give people ideas, but to have materials there so they can make one of a choice of three simple cards to take away. I will be using very basic stuff like card and colouring pens, buttons, sequins, ribbons, pictures from magazines etc as the idea is to get people saving money. Obviously if they want to they can go crazy in the craft shops and spend a fortune! Do you think that will work? Has anyone got any better ideas?

Sounds like a good plan, how about putting the example cards onto the top of an A4 card then putting the materials used to make them on the bottom half IYSWIM? Then people can see what you have used to make the card. Another idea would be to make several different cards from the same simple collection of bits then people can see that they don't just have to follow 1 pattern. Many years ago I ran the hard crafts section of a larger craft shop and was amazed at the number of people who came in and wanted to buy the materials to make exactly one of the sample cards the above were a couple of ideas I used to use to encourage creativity. Never did a workshop for 50 though, that's a huge number particularly in only half an hour. That might turn into more of a demo, have you got some help? Even a body who knows how to cut straight would be useful just to wander round and answer any simple questions. Good luck X

anguk

mardatha wrote: »

Can I ask how you use these Kenwood things? I got £50 off one of my sons for mothers day and spent it on a Kenwood thing at £55. It says feed stuff down that tube at the top - do you switch it on empty and then stuff food in while it's running? What can I make as well as soup? I got it because I make a lot of soup and I get so fedup grating bloody carrots

If you want to chop stuff you put it in the bowl then set it away, if you want to slice or grate stuff you put the appropriate attachment on set the machine away and feed the stuff down the tube. I make pastry in mine, chuck all the dry ingredients in then set it away, once it's mixed together like breadcrumbs drizzle water in through the tube until it all comes together.

For those who have read Helen Forrester's Twopence To Cross The Mersey, I'd highly recommend reading the other three books in the series which follow on from her childhood. I've got the full set and I've read them all several times.

mardatha

ok many thanks ! I'm scared of it lol