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

hornetgirl

Positive vibes coming Mr Fuddle's way.

Re breadmakers - our kitchen is very cold at this time of year (mostly outside walls), and I was getting very poor results with the BM in winter. Thinking it could be something to do with the temperature, I moved it to the floor of the airing cupboard, and it worked. Bread comes out beautifully all year round AND I have one less thing cluttering up the work surface in the kitchen. Result

mardatha

Kimsmum wrote: »

Have you got plenty of sweeties in

Liquorice toffees. And Sainsbugs coming at 2 with pink shrimps.

grandma247

here is why onions make you cry

I stockpile to save money, as a hedge against price rises and as a hedge against redundancy. Also we are trying to pay off our mortgage so even on a short week we can overpay because we have food already bought. Bad weather is another important reason for me because I fell two years ago in the snow and it scared me so much that I will not go out if it has been snowing as a broken bone at my age will be awful.I have friends who have broken bones and they have never fully recovered.
Even if you don't have a bread maker get some packs of bread mix or flour and yeast so you will have bread in bad weather.

PIC that is a wonderful idea to have your friends over. Perhaps you could also find a convector heater with a control dial on it so they can have heat in one room? You might be able to get one off freecycle. Leaving it on all the time on low and keeping the door shut is cheaper than filling the tank.

Fuddle is your washer 1200 spin or higher? if it is then using the dryer will be better than putting on the heating and risking mouldy walls. You can stop the dryer just before they are dry and hang the clothes up if you want to. A spin dryer is also a very good investment because it gets more of the water out so it speeds up the drying. You just spin till you see only a drip coming out then take them out of the spinner,shake and dry or to get more creases out fold and put in the basket till next day and then dry.

ragz you don't need to compromise on healthy foods. Buy dry or tinned beans and pulses to add to dearer meats or have vegetarian food.
You could use tinned veg in stews and soups. Also sprouting will give you extra nutrition and if the kids don't like them whizz them up before adding to something at the end of cooking.

vjsmum she must think you are good company or she would not want to stay, it may be comforting to her to be with others she can relax with.


"I strongly suspect that the products originate in the same factories and are identical under the wrappers. Could you decant into jars before he sees it and tell him it's the T one even if it's not?"
Exactly what I was thinking GQ. My dh once worked at a factory that made cotton wool balls and all they did was change the bags so the dearest ones were exactly the same as the cheapest.

Desperatehousewife I used to love knitted tabards. I still have some patterns so I will put them on my very long list to knit. I have seen some lovely sleeveless jackets on Annies Attic too so I am going to get a pattern off there and some yarn I saw on purple lindas craft site.

Gq you could put the breadmaker under the table with golum and if they breed their offspring could be very interesting indeed. Actually I might have a think about that. I have already sussed out I can use the slow cooker to heat already cooked pies by taking out the crock and lining the bottom with foil and using the low setting. I leave the lid open a crack so steam can escape and the pastry does not go soggy.


gardenia I would add the milk at the end of cooking and just heat it through before serving. I found this and there are some nice ideas for things I would never have thought of and recipes too.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Fuddle.... Hope you DH gets the job fingers crossed

Emmad5689...could you just wrap them up in loads of clothes when they go to bed? If they kick off the covers then at least they will be warm with loads of cloths on, I make mine wear vests and they are teenagers now (!)

Just got in from walking the dog, ice on the ground and wind is biting but I had 5 layers on so toasty and just sitting having a cuppa having just mpooed the foor with stardrops and a splash of zoflora disinfectant winter spice flavour so it smells all xmassy in here especially with the bread baking in the remoska..

I am contemplating writing xmas cards today but only for a select few! I hardly send any now but there are one or two I must, my mates dad who lost his wife last year (I found out that mine was the only card he put up on the matlepiece with the family one so no pressure...) and the lady down the road who looked after her hubby for years and lost him so is now on her own.

xmas tree got put up at the weekend by the kids so it looks nice in here, the old bogbrush one that I bought 20 years ago for £20 always meaning to get a better one but its lasted well and doesnt owe me anything. I put the trees up at work last week and they were more flimsy than mine even though they were from M and S so I'm hanging onto this one (even though its leaning a bit...not bothered tho') I went past the veg shop today and a smallish one was £29 what a waste of money, I'd rather buy some meat (does that make me tight?)

Hope everyone is keeping warm,

suzybloo

Oh Fuddle - what a morning your having - it not your fault, deep breaths! I bought real thick sheepskin insoles from someone who produces them from naturally processed sheep fleeces and they are fantastic in the kids wellies. With them having the natural oils on them they dont dry out the feet, and they serve as a natural insulator too so the cold doesnt penetrate into the soles of the feet. Any moisture on them dries off so quickly too. I would highly recommend them. (got to say they are brilliant in my walking boots too - much better than synthetic soles)

We dont have a lot of snow but it is soooo icy!

wen3

Sending positive vibes to Fuddle let us know how he gets on

kidcat

Fuddle - sending positive thoughts - dont worry about snow in wellies, realistically no matter how much you prepare or think you have planned for every contingency snow always seems to have the winning hand.

Have made the momentous decision today to order a provisional licence for DD and book her some lessons, its going to cost a fortune (£1000) to insure her on our little old car but the way I see it having been so ill, had she been driving it would have made life easier for everybody else. Also as little old car probably wont last many more years, a newer car would cost considerably more to insure her for so taking the hit now is better than later. OH is in shock at cost but as we have a little extra with DS DLA we should be ok. And the advantage is that she can then taxi DS to some things meaning he is going to be able to do more that I just cannot do with him at the moment. So everybody wins is the theory.

PixieDust

Hallooooo!!!!

Not sure where to put this one, so you lot can have it! Am so chuffed with myself because I plucked and de-meated my first pigeons today All by my own self....with a bit of help from a nice man on You Tube. Took me aaaaggeeess...but I did it

suzid

So happy to see a new T thread :T and so many people I haven't met before, though I've still got alot of reading to catch up on.

We put up our Christmas decorations as well this weekend and are celebrating the tree's 30th Birthday:T Another fine bog brush specimen, Woolworths finest at £20, which was one hell of an outlay at the time. Nothing I've seen since would get me to part with it, so many happy memories.

For those who've read my posts before, I'm heartbroken to report that my beloved A1 (ancient one) almost 13yr old German Shepherd dog, died on 26th November. DH had a holiday booked, and I'm sure A1 knew that would be a good time to leave us as we'd have each other to get us through. We've cried, laughed at old photo's, and bought a beautiful canvas photo of him which hangs in our bedroom over his ashes. Never was a dog more loved or more loving, and never have I been so miserable saving money on my spreadsheet, knocking off his insurance, meds and food . Meanwhile our other GSD the Mad Mut is very keen to keep me exercised and amused throwing his ball or pheasant. Thank god for him and all my lovely family to look forward to seeing.

The freezer is at the shoe horn stage so I'm finding I can't bake as far in advance as I'd like - drat! I'll just about manage to fit in the flans I'm going to bake this afternoon, but the mince pies will have to wait as will all the gluten free stuff I'll have to cook for DS4 when he returns to uni in January. At least Mr A is keeping me supplied with challenge coupons and £5 off vouchers since I've been spending the savings card money stocking up for Christmas. It all helps.

Take care all, and I hope you all have a very rewarding day.

fuddle

Hey everyone. Thank you for the propping up and kind words. I am alright now. Still no word from DH. The interview process was 3 hours in total (interview, group activity and psychometric testing) and should be complete by now. I worry because he is really intelligent, he should be higher than what he is but he has dyslexia so when the spot light is on him he wobbles and forgets all he wants to say. I'll never understand it but I have seen the effect of what happens when he's overwhelmed - he just 'goes' behind the eyes and looks all vulnerable and lost.

With us really needing this break I know he's feeling the pressure more than ever. I just wish he would send a text. I guess he's still busy.

My washer is my landlords washing machine and only spins 1000 so they will take longer in the dryer. The annoying thing is I have my own washing machine in the garage that is 1600 spin but the one that is in the kitchen is fitted into the units and the LL doesn't want me changing it.

Off to read up on what is happening re: euro, not that I ever understand it but at least I try.

ETA: He's just rang me. There were 3 of them in for it so 1 in 3 chance. He'll hear within 48 hours the final decision. He thinks he coped as best as he could, he's neither confident or kicking himself. As long as he's alright, I'm alright.