make do and mend for tougher times

Popperwell

Shropshire Lass,
It's mixed reviews on wind up radios, plain or with torches added(whether to go for a DAB one or a simple AM/FM type)and laterns.

Mainly due to how long you get powerwise before you need to wind it up again. Some people have said you only get 10 minutes of entertainment before you have to wind it up again but perhaps it depends on the dynamo and if you wond it longe the power would last longer...

However a bit of research on sites like Amazon(other are available I better say)many of these radios now have solar panels on them so a bit of daylight/sun and they can run for ages without winding up or batteries so they have improved...

The laterns can be quite good as an alternative to torches and are safer than candles, can be carried about and many have twelve LED bulbs in them. Worth considering...

Popperwell

I have two bin bags of light bulbs(the old type and the new)If the LED ones would come down in price and they reckon there is also a new design that could be manufactured we could have cheap lighting that would be brighter than the old types and better than the energy saving ones...

I'll hold my breath...

I only put one light on at night or sit in the dark:p

fuddle

I don't know shropshirelass The one on the right was what I used http://www.bacheldremill.co.uk/products/ It's looking great having used the self raising normal homepride flour. Fingers crossed this time. I've had to put it two bowls as I think it will rise over night and spill out the first one :eek: That's good though

paidinchickens wrote: »

Afternoon

Fuddle I was excited today seeing the postie with my free Kellogs towel yey lol

popperwell Just heard that on the radio, it is making me more determined to save for a woodburner so we are not so reliant on the energy companies.

What have I missed, what is happening with the energy companies? :eek:

Byatt wrote: »

I have found all my knitting needles in CS in the last couple of days or so, and there's still loads there, I've paid £2 for a total 14 needles of various sizes, including some of those bits you use when cabling. They seem very glad for them to go! I also got 2 bags of wool (3-4 pieces), various kinds for £2.

That's brilliant :j Well done on those finds. I'll have a look in British Heart Foundation next time I'm in town.

SDG I love cake too you rotter :rotfl:;)

mardatha

"I make the best banana choc chunk cake and I put the last of the homemade marshmallows in the brownies (along with 3 large bars of chocolate)."

***************
Am packing to move in

Popperwell

Just a few threads back Fuddle. The National Grid that supplies the gas and electric to our homes needs upgrading but the energy companies aren't absorbing paying the cost...oh no...we are so even if you cut back on what you use...they are adding £7 next year to our bills and by 2015 £15 but I have no idea how long we have to keep paying that.

And we all know that even if we use less energy and follow all the tips...the bills keep rising...

Popperwell

I see that the forums are down again at midnight:(Good job many of us are sleeping by then. Mind the last time it was all up and running again quite quickly...:)

I may be watching a bit of TV on the internet then as I don't lose my ISP allowance overnight and can do lot if I had a lot to do which I don't...

grandma247

Here is an article about the rises,

Mrs_Chip

Fuddle - I hope you don't wake up to a dough monster climbing out of the fridge . The extra rise might be due to the SR element. If the bread is very holey, or sort of collapses, it will be due to over-rising - I really don't want to spoil it for you, just in case it does...

I always find the best way to learn is to bite the bullet and do something then learn lessons when it fails - we made so many mistakes when we first started running the van, but gradually each time we make less and less. Basically from knowing nothing about running a mobile van or cooking fish and chips to sell, we are now pretty much on top of things. No-one was more scared of failure than me, or more surprised about how well it is going - so never underestimate yourself Fuds, failure will make you better, and success will make you proud!

[Deleted User]

poperwell, was it you re asking about jerky, I cannot find the post, the thread rolls so fast

I bought the meat, very lean topside and I`ll be able to keep it a few days before starting on it. First I have to cut off every scrap of fat then, I can`t remember, something with salt. I`ll keep you posted when I start

I did find out how to use it in cooking and it just needs to be crumbled in casseroles, soups, scrambled egg, anything. I`m not making a fancy marinade, just adding salt. Gosh what would we do without salt for preserving

My potato boats are now open freezing before packing this evening. I made 52 from 26 baked potatoes, the trick is to add really tasty cheddar. I used sainsbury crunchy and probably about £5 worth. I made them for the freezer last year and by golly they do go down a treat with everyone, I just bake or grill and serve with salad

dehydrating is going well, the marrow has shrunk and the apple rings have remained white. I used vit c in the water. Tomorrow will be carrot slices, next day mushrooms and the day after that is pineapple. I`ll be doing more bananas later, when I see a good price

11 days to the olympics opening ceremony, I`m wondering how much our population will increase after the event and I can`t say the olympics is exiting me yet, maybe when it starts. I feel very sorry for the people getting totally disrupted by this

Pooky

I've given in and brought a camping stove and kettle incase we need them in the winter, whilst we do have a gas BBQ we can use outside if required, that needs to be the last resort. I've also purchased a "pie iron" to use in the fire place. I've got lots of free wood all chopped and stacked in the garage so should we need to (power outages) we can heat water/cook something but the pie iron will be used for toasty suppers around the fire. DDs love it when they can sit and toast marshmallows and bread, snuggled up watching the fire....we like simple things here.

We've been really frugal with our electric consumption lately and our last quarters bill was £19 (we have solar panels so have been really good about using the washing machine etc on bright days). Our gas consumption was low last winter due to burning the free wood I'd collected so hopefully we will have some clear sunny winter days that still produce some power for us.

Had a large tax rebate cheque through today so treated ourselves to a new duvet, the old one was a cheapie and it's not quite square, trying to get a cover on it is nigh on impossible and you end up with lu,ps and bumps, it's also to big to go in the washing machine. I'm going to cut the old one up (I'll machine it in sections first) and make some lap quilts for the winter. Got plenty of fabric to make some pretty patchwork covers so a nice project to get going on.

The rest of the rebate will buy both DDs bus passes for September (one is now £520 for the year!!!!) and I can get all the passports renewed (they ran out last month but I simply didn't have the funds). we live a stones throw from France and can often pick up cheap day trips (£1 each some times) so its worth having the passports up to date to take advantage of a different day out.

I'll bung the rest into my ISA for now but have it sort or earmarked for having a wood burner installed, just need to do a bit more research on the possibility of having it done without ripping out my existing fireplace etc.