make do and mend for tougher times

SpikyHedgehog

prepareathome wrote: »

Sammy kaye a good few years ago my council tax payment vanished - I was then paying by standing order, they will not let you do this now - and even though I could prove via my bank I had paid them, they told me they didn't have it, it never arrived so I had to repay. Then a kind person in bank told me most council, HA and big businesses that take payments from many people to pay accounts with them have one big holding account where money goes if for whatever reason the correct ref number is not with the payment amount ( even banks have this as payments can turn up sans correct ref so not end up in your account) and told me to demand the council check this. I did and while I was on the phone after muttering and grumbling the guy I was speaking to checked and found my payment - I knew date, amount and time I had made it ( not sure if time is needed) - but they were able to match up those with a payment for that exact amount paid as and when I said and so they then put it on to my account.

So tomorrow I would be asking them to check their holding accounts giving the the date and amounts and seeing if they can find your payments as unless someone daft person has paid your money into someone else's account, which happens more than any company would like you to think, or someone is committing theft that is where your money should be.......

If not turn up at their offices with local paper or tv company in tow that should do the trick - fingers crossed.

Hugs and Love

I'd forgotten till PAH posted this, but we had a problem with the electric company about 10 yrs ago - I'd paid the quarterly bill by cheque at the post office, but the electricity company had put the wrong sort code or account code on their bill, so the money had gone into banking space & got lost. It took battling, but they eventually found it.

bonnie_bumpkins wrote: »

fuddle another idea for your girls... my mum used to give me and my sister a bucket of water and a paint brush each; we were asked to 'paint' the side of the garage, of course the sun dried it quickly so we painted again... and again... Would work on fences, patios, anything really :rotfl:

You can write your name too :-) the kids at work love it as there's no worry about it being ' wrong' cos it vanishes so quickly. I used to sometimes add a drop of paint when the boys did it to let it last longer.

& on the water theme, soapy water is great for washing stuff - toy cars, dolls/dolls clothes, garden furniture, each other...

I loved making mud pies.

elona

Thanks everyone for the offers of tuition but I was thinking of being a fat lady (without the ability to sing)

I had no idea how talented others were or how many unusual skills were around. May just send DH to circus instead as a grump!!

fuddle

Thank you for the imagination tree link. Im going to go investigate that now

I love the only boring people get bored and going to try it out, probably sooner than later.

I'm having one of those nights. I woke in a hot sweat having had a nightmare. Such a silly story. DH's tyres were slashed and we needed flour and water to fix them, only the flour was in the cupboard in the house and we were in the car on the drive. DH had to brave the nasty people throwing wellies at the car while the girls and I hid under fleecy blankets. Yes, I know... wrong to call it a nightmare :rotfl:

First job of the day (when the sun comes up) is to stitch my bra. :cool: The boning popped through last night and as I need something sturdy :eek::o I need a decent bra, and they cost money. so I have to make do and mend. I've seen the day when I would have thrown it away mind.

The itinerary for today is:

Woodland park picnic, getting lift with friends.
Field walk with Alfie dog and foraging for dandelions.
Make dandelion fritters and dandelion tea with petals.
Make ice cream with yoghurt.
Ransack the recycling so girls can make models.
Fill sandpit lid with water and washing up liquid for bubbles, throw in bottles, sieve, colander, jug etc for water play (thanks for the idea)
Watch Turn Back Time from last night so eldest can see what it was like when mammy and daddy were born ('79, I just squeeze in )

Also going to look up how to make flask HM yoghurt. I've done HFW 'radiator yoghurt' but not a flask version. Now I know you can make ice cream out of it... oh, the waist line :eek: :rotfl:

ETA: HFW homemade yoghurt in case any one fancies it.

fuddle

I have made my yoghurt. I had to guess the temperature as I don't have a thermometer. I think it might have been too hot and curdled. We'll see at about 2pm.

Can I ask about thermometers? I am after one for jam making as well as the yoghurt. I have seen a Tala thermometer on amazon for £6.72 but this milk frothing thermometer is half the price at £3.42 (both with super saver delivery)

Would this work for jam and milk heating for yoghurt do you know? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Craft-Frothing-Thermometer-Stainless/dp/B000Y9NRMA/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1343193152&sr=1-1 or am I best of investing in a Tala one?

mardatha

So now I know I'm the most stupid boring person on the planet

mardatha

Forgot to say - anybody affected or at risk re the DWP incapacity changes, should maybe watch this -

Dispatches. 8pm, Channel 4
“Using undercover filming, reporter Jackie Long investigates the shocking processes used to assess whether sickness and disability benefit claimants should be declared fit for work.”

Disabled or faking it? 8.30pm, BBC2
“Panorama investigates the government's plans to end the so-called 'sick note culture' and their attempts to get millions of people off disability benefits and into work. In Britain's modern welfare state, millions are being paid to private companies to assess sick and disabled claimants but is the system working? Or are new tests wrongly victimising those who deserve support the most?”

Pooky

Fuddle - one that I used to do with my kids and the childminding ones during the very long holidays was buy a roll of lining paper (or an old roll of wall paper - check the charity shops for them). One day we'd draw round them all lying on the paper, then they could colour, glitter, paint them and we'd pin them up on the fence to dry....then on different days we'd make different clothes/accessories to match the wether on that day....so a beach theme with buckets and spades, an umbrella and wellies day, I just blue tacked the new things on each day. Was a great on going project.

Another one was water down some paint, roll the paper out and draw a start and finish line, a blob of paint at the start and a straw each, the winner was the first to blow their paint down to the finish line.

The same roll could be used for some really messy foot print painting (keep a big bowl of water nearby for washing hands and feet - best done in as little clothes as possible as its very messy and the paint gets sloppy so watch out for skiddy feet and painty bottoms)

Mrs_Chip

Morning All

Quick post for Fuddle - no, that one only goes up to 100c, ok for yoghurt, too low for jam. But for both you really don't need a thermometer, the yoghurt can be tested with your finger (needs to be blood heat, so as long as the milk feels neither hot or cold it is about right) and jam you can test for with the crinkle test.

Right will now finish the rest of this post!

ETA - in fact I made jam at the weekend and used temperature to check setting point and it didn't set - I had to reboil it and using the crinkle test worked fine!

Malfiore

fuddle wrote: »

The itinerary for today is:

Woodland park picnic, getting lift with friends.
Field walk with Alfie dog and foraging for dandelions.
Make dandelion fritters and dandelion tea with petals.
Make ice cream with yoghurt.
Ransack the recycling so girls can make models.
Fill sandpit lid with water and washing up liquid for bubbles, throw in bottles, sieve, colander, jug etc for water play (thanks for the idea)
Watch Turn Back Time from last night so eldest can see what it was like when mammy and daddy were born ('79, I just squeeze in )

Also going to look up how to make flask HM yoghurt. I've done HFW 'radiator yoghurt' but not a flask version. Now I know you can make ice cream out of it... oh, the waist line :eek: :rotfl:

ETA: HFW homemade yoghurt in case any one fancies it.

This sounds like a perfect day!! Hope you have fun

[Deleted User]

Morning Toughies, it's going to be another really hot one here - the sky is a clear pittiless blue and it's hot already.

I have just come in from taking the lurcher for his morning walkies, we left the house just before 7 o clock to get him round before the heat built.

Now what is the most unexpected thing you have ever seen lying on the pavement in your patch? I was sorely tempted this morning - there on the pavement, in the most respectable road in this village was a fully inflated WHOOPEE CUSHION - I couldn't stop laughing, peoples bedroom windows were wide as it had been a sticky night - but, I was very good - it was only 10 past seven so I left it for someone else to have fun with later on. How restrained was that ?

Have fun with the foraging FUDDLE - if you have any dandelions in the garden that haven't been Alfied, you can put an upturned flowerpot over them and the leaves will blanch and you can use them in salads - how OS is that? It takes a couple of weeks for it to work and the leaves get very pale - food for free!!

SAMMY KAYE - feel so much for you, hope that you can get the problem sorted out. Big corporations are soul less and uncaring - but just remember the David and Goliath story - give them HELL!!!!!!! Good Luck!

Have a good day all, going to put out the washing now Cheers Lyn x.