No T Words mentioned at all - a fresh start

[Deleted User]

FTM - I think you could still sell on made things like jam and chutney without any problems and to be honest they are by far the likliest to make you a profit. Well done on selling the clothes and pushchair nice to have a buffer against what life throws at you isn't it? I think you would be legal with the allottment veg etc if you bartered it for other things - a friend of ours traded off his courgettes (about 60lbs of the darned things) for a free meal three or four times at the local restaurant who were delighted to have them - might be food for thought? The thing most people like is pickled onions home done - bit of a palaver doing sacks of onions but reasonable to buy in and very easy to sell on - If you can stand the smell! Cheers Lyn x .

[Deleted User]

I must admit that I tossed and turned a bit last night and it is all down to a short sentence ie if Israel fires at Iran then we will not get any oil supplies. The general potential oil problem has been in my mind for a while now and I felt like starting a new thread, similar to but different from the `tough` threads. It was like that sentence confirmed what I didn`t want to admit, even to myself. So now I am thinking of ways in which we (uk) might be hit and it isn`t just prices but availability of most things, manufacturing, energy, travel, all sorts of things. It will mean going back 70 years or more to living how we used to live but we no longer have the resources or skills or nuclear families to enable that.We no longer live close to work places and so on and so forth. Mmmm, time to put my resourceful hat on again

We have been re-vamping our house and contents insurance as we took a policy out too quickly when we moved. We have an eco house so it doesn`t fit any standard build and I had the heebie jeebies about us not being properly insured. I managed to find a specialist thank goodness so we are going down that route. We also worked through every room to get the contents value and :eek: we worked out that the actual value was nearly twice as much as we estimated. That was a real shock.

[Deleted User]

KITTIE - I have been aware of the 'oil problem' for a number of years now, I have run the gamut of emotions over this, mainly with regard to peak oil, but any reason for shortages will have the same result and life will become difficult for us all. I have adapted the house as best we can to allow a modicum of normality i.e woodburner to cook on, ozpig for garden, kelly kettle if on the move and a firespout(pocket portable woodburner that comes to bits and folds flat). We have adapted the diet and eat lots of dishes other people would think really wierd, have done courses to learn skills that would be useful, have done flint knapping, cordage from nettles, prehistoric cookery, foraging, full on survival course, daughter has also done leatherwork, basketry, bronze castingand we both did victorian cleaning. It gives you a tendancy to make mental salads from the hedgerows wherever we go but I think we would not be as worried if it happened as we would have had we not prepared ahead. I think we have to hang on to the fact that industrialised civilisation has only been around for a few centuries and mankind managed to survive for an eternity before that without the so called necessities of modern civilisation. It is imperative that the old skills are kept alive but there are many modern adaptions that would make life sweeter , little things like the two flowerpot fridge would make such a contribution to comfort. The difficulty would be people panicking and trying to stay out of their way until the situation settled down a little. Start a thread, you might find there are many of us who are concerned about the same things, and at least it will raise awareness for those who still have their heads either in the clouds or the sand! Cheers and good luck, Lyn.

[Deleted User]

Thanks mrsLW, I`ll have to think very carefully on how to word the intro. On the one hand the uk and world economy is looking very positive and on the other hand there are these thunder clouds. Trouble is that turning back is an impossibility for most people ie tiny homes and tiny /or no gardens, massive increase in population, no comradeship in the local community. I don`t want to frighten people but I do feel that awareness needs to be raised as now it is very different to 2006

On a very pleasant note now, if you haven`t seen bakecation then I would recommend you iplayer it. I just had it on and it is one of the most uplifting and funnily gorgeous programmes ever, as well as inspiring. Dh watched it after me and I could hear him chuckling

[Deleted User]

KITTIE - It is a frightening concept on every level but, I think it would be much better to be aware of it before it becomes a reality and prepare as much as you are able, we're a resiliant species and very adaptable in most situations, its just that most of us don't know this!!! Its easier to be prepared than to be caught out - folks will be grateful!

flowertotmum

Morning all...what a grey day..have got laundry out so fingers crossed it will dry...our new fence turned up today..its a bit bigger than we thought but it looks nice...i have just made my own carpet freshner..wow it smells gorgeous...i can smell it in everyroom..thanks to that new online mag that was posted on the OS board...now i am going to clean my bath using a grapefruit thats a bit past its best...hope that smells lovely too...

We have smoked fish for lunch today with boiled potatos and peas..with rice pudding for dessert..yummy..
right i'm off to prepare it all...
love
ftm

[Deleted User]

FTM what time shall we arrive? love smoked fish and as for rice pudding, it's my idea of heaven! Glad your new fence has arrived ever considered doing espalliered (oh heck I cant spell the perishin word ) fruit trees along the back of it, or a couple of thornless blackberries or a grape vine? Might as well make use of all possible growing space yes? - Or maybe I'm just plain greedy!!!!!

flowertotmum

Hi ya..MLW..table place just for you and extra rice pud coz you had to come so far..that ok...
Unfortunately the fence is for front garden..we have espaliers in the back garden..and will have more when we get rid of the conifers...

Just had to have a word with my neighbour but one...he keeps parking his huge van in front of my gates..i cannot get out with my pushchair and i don't want to scratch his van and end up with a bill..he moved it again but begrudgingly..wouldn't mind but the next door neighbours park there too and always leave me enough room to get in and out...he nevers does...fed up with it tbh..its not his van that bothers me its his attitude..he seems to think he has every right to park in front of mine and not his...nevermind..i will call council if he carries on..i am no doormat.
Right got some ironing to do and then vacumn upstairs..all nice and fresh for the weekend...
love
ftm

[Deleted User]

Oh boy extra rice puddin - woweee!!!!!! We use the fence in the front garden to grow an ornamental grape which is edible and I make grape and apple jelly in large quantities every autumn. Lovely to put a spoonful in casseroles , really helps give a depth of flavour! Guess we're lucky to be set back from the road a few meters but its jolly difficult when folks do park on the pavement as the road is busy at school times as we're on the drop off/pick up loop - council involvement would be good, do you think they might give you a single yellow line? - they did here in front of folks driveways solved the problem in one! I have invented the chocolate orange rice pudding, make mine in a double saucepan 2oz rice, 1 pint skimmed milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon orange essence (I use lakeland), stand saucepan in the bottom boiler and heat till top is simmering and cook until rice is soft as you like it. For extra naughtiness sometimes add a couple of squares of dark chocolate to melt in at the end - its addictive!!!!! Mmmmmmmmmmmm! Lyn.

scottishminnie

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

! I have invented the chocolate orange rice pudding, make mine in a double saucepan 2oz rice, 1 pint skimmed milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon orange essence (I use lakeland), stand saucepan in the bottom boiler and heat till top is simmering and cook until rice is soft as you like it. For extra naughtiness sometimes add a couple of squares of dark chocolate to melt in at the end - its addictive!!!!! Mmmmmmmmmmmm! Lyn.

that sounds fab:) - I have a 75% full bottle of essence of orange blossom water which I've been wondering what to do with - I wonder if I could try it in rice pudding? I wish I could even remember what on earth I bought it for!

I managed to pick up some whoopsies in Asda tonight - a small bag of sliced leeks and a small bag of mixed veg (broccoli, mangetout etc) and a pack of mushrooms for 10p each. I wouldn't normally bother with pre-prepared veg but I stir fried them along with some fresh noodles (they were a splurge at £1) and for 65p each hubby and I had a huge wok full.

I'm hosting mother's day dinner and had intended to make key lime pie however there wasn't a single lime to be had so i bought lemons and will make lemon tart instead. I then got home and remembered I have a full bottom of key lime juice which I carried home from Florida at the start of the year so i didn't need limes anyway - sometimes I wonder where my brain is!

I felt things were terribly pricey tonight but I couldn't quite put my finger on anything specific. That rather bothers me as I like to know exactly what I'm buying and where I've spent extra.
Tomorrow will be a big spend day as I'm off to the butchers and fish shop to stock up. Lemon sole used to be my favourite fish but it's so expensive now I tend to stick to haddock. It's fine for what I tend to make and sometimes I will buy salmon or tuna steaks for a change. I bought frozen marinaded salmon fillets in Costco and they are absolutely delicious - very large and juicy - so will be bauying them again.

My neighbour who has a huge garden, even bigger than mine, has invited me to pop in over the weekend and help myself to some daffodils before they get ruined by the wind and rain so I will have a lovely jug of daffs on the kitchen window ledge. Then I know spring really isn't so far away:)

I'm off to iron some bed linen now -much as I love my pristine white sheets they are a real pain to get the creases out of!