make do and mend for tougher times

kidcat

Just a quick reminder that insurance can be paid via credit union (at least in our area and surroundings too), if you are a member of the credit union its worth looking at, put simply you take in your written quote, they pay it in full and then you pay by equal installments saving the interest of the pay monthly option with the insurance company.

Our credit union offers similar schemes for purchase of large items too, a friend has paid for her washing machine that way.

Have spent most of day in bed, got up and got kids to school stopped for cat food then went back to bed, have cancelled all tomorrows meetings which I feel so guilty about, I was supposed to support one mum at a meeting with school and authorities, but as I feel like I am being burnt at the stake and am finding breathing increasingly painful I felt I had no choice.
I have asked dad to take DS to school tomorrow and enquire about funerals etc which means I can call doctor for an appointment. Our surgery has apparently changed systems again (at least one a month for six months) and we are now back to the call at 8am and hold for half an hour to get an appointment. Which if I am taking three kids to school I simply cannot be on phone for half an hour at 8am.

Cheated and bought pizza for dinner tonight, had parents evening for DD6 so wasnt sure how late I would be. Slightly concerned head has ideas for me now too as on my way in I was chatting to a new governor who I had a training night with last week and she commented to head on how much help I had been and how much knowledge I had, both generally on governor stuff but also that school too.
Head was stunned and asked why I hadnt stood for parent governor so I was very honest ( I really am burning alive so any idea of dressing up stuff is way beyond me) and said I hadnt fancied coming last to a load of yummy mummies or their wonderful bank manager husbands. She left me with the words, we will talk in Sept about what we can do!!
Now I really want to help and enjoy working with schools but I am not sure I can fit anything else in.

OH has just admitted that when he had a sub from work he got more than he admitted, (I already knew!) but am still furious so have told him straight that I am taking kids away solo for a break. Now to find somewhere really cheap within distance of lego windsor and harry potter tours. Have clubcard vouchers for lego and was thinking would drop eldest two at Harrys for the day while I take littlies somewhere else. Then we can all do lego together to finish.

Possession

Kidcat I've got a feeling the Harry Potter thing only lasts three hours, and you have to book date and time.

GreyQueen

Oh dearie me, I have "met" the Honey Stove on YouTube and I want one. I want one now.

Well, it will replace the planned-but-not-yet-executed purchase of the Kelly Kettle and be so much more versatile. And it packs flat.

I'm a complete sucker for practical stuff which packs into small spaces. You can cook on it's grill as well as boil kettles or pots. All together now......sausages!

I'm continuing to make various manoevers which will help me (hopefully) come through troubled times in the best possible shape. It's all you can do, really; hope for the best and plan for the worst.

Pops, if you want to have a go at knitting, you can get an old handknit jumper and pull it out. Perhaps you can find one at a jumble sale for 20p? I've done this. Sometimes they've gone wide and mis-shapen and been chucked out but the yarn is perfectly OK. You can unravel home-made garments by unpicking the stitching and seperating the garment into panels, them finding the end (maybe have to make a tiny cut or two) and then start tugging. Once you get a good end, it comes out surprisingly quickly then and with a very satisfying brrrpp-brrrp noise.

You're best to wash the yarn, which will be very crinkly at this point. You can wind skeins around the back of something like a dining chair or simply holding the end between thumb and forefinger, laying the yarn in the groove where your thumb joins your hand and wrapping the loop around and around elbow-hand-elbow. Make a skein no bigger that you can comfortably hold in the loop of your thumb and forefinger. Tie off with short lengths of yarn in two places.

Once you've got the skeining all done, fill a sink with warm water and some wool-friendly detergent (or travel wash) and chuck it in. I've seen pure wool which was as kinky as hell relax smooth after a couple of seconds in the water - it was amazing to see. Acrylics will relax somewhat but they hold their kink as they don't have the hollow structure of wool and thus it's ability to recover it's shape.

Wash the skeins by squeezing gently, rinse by squeesing in fresh water, then you can spin off on the spin cycle of the washer or hang somewhere to drip dry. Once thoroughly dry, untie skeins, wrap into balls and off you go with your knitting.

We did a lot of this in my childhood home in the 1970s as you couldn't get the cheapy acrylic yarns which became very popular later on. I've worn and loved many a reconsituted jumper. One of my favourites, which I wore until I could squeeze into it no longer, was made from pulled=out baby knits in soft pastels made into narrow stripes of yellow, white, pastel pink and pale blue. Forty years on, and I can still recall it's look and feel exactly.............:)

Do have a go at knitting as it's great fun and it can be as easy or as complicated as you want to make it. One of my pals specialises in sitting in rough pubs knitting and drinking whiskey up in Scotland, but then again, he's an eccentric with the proverbial b.alls of steel...........:rotfl:

ETA Spiky, if there any buckets of beer to be had, I shall be drowing my sorrows as I mourn for my runner beans, not feeding it to the blessed SLUGS. They'll get cold steel and consider themselves fortunate I don't have a malevolent streak or I'd be contemplating salt...........:P

kidcat

Possession - thanks for that reminder, I sort of knew but had forgotten as it were.

smileyt_2

Kouzapastella I had a similar experience to you with redundancy (except they gave me more notice). I was utterly, utterly miserable in my job and hated it. When they told me I was being made redundant, I excused myself and went to the ladies, cried with the shock for a minute, and then realised they were paying me to leave! It was the best thing ever for me as I had become so miserable and had such low self-esteem that it had become all but impossible for me to look for another job. I hope you enjoy your time out.

Well, I went swimming tonight. Legs, heart and lungs fine, arms as weak as pipe cleaners! To think I used to be able to swim a mile! It was the most expensive swim I've ever had as I lost one of my gold earrings :mad:. Will be off back to the pool in the morning to see if the cleaners found it in the changing rooms. One of my neighbours has lent me a gold earring (I can only wear gold as I'm bloomin' well allergic to everything else) to keep my hole open. If I don't have any luck at the pool, I shall have to buy a pair from Argos. I haven't had my ears pierced long so if I don't wear earrings the holes will close. It's money I could do without spending, though. I did enjoy the swim and will be going again, but this time I'll superglue my earrings to my ears! I do need to swim or do something as I am 'spreading' and if I carry on at this rate I'll need a wheelbarrow to carry my stomach round in by the time I'm fifty :eek::eek:!

Kidcat good for you for telling the Head how it is! And how you don't swing for your OH is beyond me. I was wondering if any of the autism charities would have a holiday home you could use for a few days?

Off to pootle round t'net for a bit before bed. See you all tomorrow. Sweet dreams.

Popperwell

It's cold in here and I have been(not good glued to the pc for hours)but I have been getting my music into some kind of order.

Will grab a cup of coffee, maybe have a burger in a bun with some lettuce, tomato, cheese and go to bved where it will be much warmer.

Listen to the radio and catch up on a couple of tv programmes via the internet...

It rained again today...of course it did...

May have to do some of the shopping tomorrow...you know...kettle, rucksacks and/or shopping trolley and then look into my other ideas, wind up radio/lanterns, lighter, butane gas, flints...

Popperwell

Morning Everyone...

Blue sky but for how long?

Well, it's official according to Farming Today on Radio 4...carrots will probably cost more because of the weather and will be short and dumpy...get your tinned or frozen carrots asap...

SpikyHedgehog

Blue skies here too, now washing the only wool blanket I have so its ready for winter, then DS2's wet sheets can go in, & hopefully DS1 will put them out when done.

DS2 was making a shopping list for me last night, & we debated pull ups. The ones he was talking about are the disposable nappies for older children & the idea is they can pull them down to go to the loo if they wake up. he also has washable ones, but they're not comfy for his chubby legs. I really don't want to go back to pull ups, I hate the landfill issue & don't like the cost. & we'd still have nights where they'd leak, so I still had wet sheets...

Possession

SpikyHedgehog wrote: »

Blue skies here too, now washing the only wool blanket I have so its ready for winter, then DS2's wet sheets can go in, & hopefully DS1 will put them out when done.

DS2 was making a shopping list for me last night, & we debated pull ups. The ones he was talking about are the disposable nappies for older children & the idea is they can pull them down to go to the loo if they wake up. he also has washable ones, but they're not comfy for his chubby legs. I really don't want to go back to pull ups, I hate the landfill issue & don't like the cost. & we'd still have nights where they'd leak, so I still had wet sheets...

My DS had to wear pullups till he was about 8. We had tested the water before (so to speak!) but he just couldn't wake himself up in time to get to the toilet I think. Once he seemed more ready we only had a few accidents and now never do. Unfortunately it seems boys have this problem frequently....

mardatha

Bet there's a run in Basics and Smartprice tinned carrots now. They'll be like tinned tomatoes soon.
Does anybody know anything about clingfilm?? I use it only to wrap soap with, and some kinds won't cut easily with scissors. That drives me totally insane as I have to stand and wrestle with the bloody stuff for hours, as I use fiddly little bits and a lot of them. Are there different kinds of clingfilm?
I've cleared a kitchen cupboard out and am filling it gradually with tinned potates- Sainsbugs Basics are 19p and edible. Count so far is 10 - but they have a use-by date of 2015 so won't go wrong. If the ME is bad and I'm knackered then it saves me standing peeling them.