make do and mend for tougher times

meme30

Popperwell:- We loved the Elgar but the rendition of Jerusalem made me fill up! Equally 'Abide with me' was a real stand alone moment!

prepareathome

I am hopeless at multi quoting always made a mess so not even going to try

Kidcat - how awful you cannot have bushes higher than 3ft, I thought we were bad with front walls and fences only being allowed 3ft max but at least hedges can be as tall as you want - which is why I have planted 100 in front/side garden in the hope in a few years it will become enclosed. The pain will of course cutting over 100m of hedging on its side as it will need to be done at least once a season - really had pruning - to stop them taking over the garden.

I had a cordless hedge trimmer, did ok for the small hedges in back but battery would be going and wasn't good for hard cutting back. I say had as of course son walked off with it and it was never seen again - I know I must get firmer with him as look at now I have to buy another petrol strimmer or find another gardener to do my side garden ( only good thing about the long grass and I mean long, over 5ft in parts) is its hiding my vegetables, no-one walking along can see them any more. When I was taking up some potatoes on Thursday I stood up with my bucket and nearly gave a woman who was walking by a heart attack. She really went pale and then laughed at me seeming to bob up out of no where.

Pops do you have an age concern as they deal with anyone over 50 ( well they did a few years ago as the OH person who came out to see what equipment I needed for my home the second time ( first was about 8 years ago then they came again two years again) told me about them and how they offered different things like shoppers if you are on your own and run small clubs and she explained anyone over 50 can join or be helped by them.

smileyt am glad you are socialising more and mixing with more lesbians but please mix with ordinary woman and men as well if you can - that is one thing that worries me when I see all this gay pride that people are put into boxes and made to feel if they are gay they must only mix with gay people. How are people ever going to fully accept everyone no matter what religion, colour or sexual orientation they are unless we all mix together. I can understand why people prefer it, you can be comfortable with people who are similar no worrying about being different and of course for a lesbian woman no straight men hitting on them positive that a good ~*$"^% will sort them out, which must be awful.

Over the years I have had friends of all religions, gay, different skin colours and I try never to notice these things as its the person, who they are that counts, I try not to prejudge on appearance, which although is a very human thing to do I hate myself for it if I do so and stop myself for they do not make a difference to who that person is inside. I have been on the end of prejudice and its horrible being prejudged by a label.

I missed the kiss, must have been one of the times I went to bathroom but am glad it happened, showing GB is open to the world - bet it didn't go down well in some countries.

I did enjoy the opening ceremony, definitely different from any other for the most part, totally British, I doubt any other country could ever come up with something like that before seeing this one. They still had the moments of bling as you might say - the rings, fireworks, the petals and cauldren. Not to much but enough, not trying to outdo but doing it the British way which has never been to copy others ( on the whole).

Right going to see if I can toddle downstairs - terrible gone 2pm and not done so yet, I want a cup of tea, teasmade needs to go back to Argos as not working and hasn't for a month and I have just not got round to taking it yet, have to get a wiggle on through as the year is up in August from when I bought it. So no tea until I get downstairs or hubby brings me one, but today he came home from work, had his breakfast and is now fast asleep on the couch - I know this as I have been to bathroom a few times since I woke at 1pm and if he is awake he will bring me tea.....

Also need to get to shops, been a good week for NSDs as not been shopping since last Saturday but does mean fresh milk, cheese, fruit and vegetables are running rather low.

Started to pour out there but if I can will take up the last of the potatoes if blight has not got them.

Hope everyone is having not to bad a day.

Hugs and Love

elche1

Hola everyone. I wonder if I may join in?. I did "delurk" about 6 months ago but then decided to change ISP and ended up losing service for about 3 months. Telefonica´s tech support do not speak English despite what they advertise!!- No sooner got back on t´web than my lappy took to drinking wine and succumbed to alchololic poisoning!!! Then with new lappy ( which has a very strange Spanish keyboard.... look i can do Ñ´s ) I find I have 500 plus pages to catch up on......took me flipping weeks!

Let me introduce myself. Have lived in Españia for just over 7 years now. Came here primarily for health reasons having suffered with chronic eczema since a baby......overhere it just disappears . At 54 and 50 both OH and I realised that we wouldn´t find work here but we budgeted that with our small occ pensions and savings we would be OK until state pensions kicked in. Naively I did not realise that I would not get my pension at 60 but have to wait till 67. So that, together with reduced interest and exchange rates, means a certain amount of belt tightening!
Now could I be so bold as to ask the esteemed Mrs Chip a question. I would really like to try the bread recipe as I just find the local bread too sweet but I am confused by "cups". Could you tell me how many grams in a cup of flour and how many mls in a cup of water? I have looked on t´net but just getting myself confused.
Regards to all
Elche

kidcat

welcome elche

Pops - were you registered with your local carers centre, ours has a social group for ex carers as it were, they offer a coffee morning,a lunch every now and again subsidised coach trips and a few other bits too. Most of the group here are male I believe, one of the trips is to Llandudno and has cost £5 and lunch is included too.

Thanks for the advice on hedge cutters, unfortunately I went literally straight from posting and have purchased the cordless one, so it will have to do.

Bobbykins

Pops - if you do decide to have a go at something outside the home, it might be worth checking if there is a "University of the Third Age" run in your area - google U3A - it's a social group for people over 55 and they have all sorts of groups that might interest you. Our local one has walking/singing/knitting/cycling/bridge/whist etc, as well as short courses in all sorts of interesting stuff - languages, science, philosophy, art, crafts, etc.

fuddle

Welcome elche Lovely to have you here. Hope you don't mind us whinging about our weather - we do that a lot ;)Interesting that your excema isn't a problem in Spain. Any idea why? I wonder what 7 years worth of prescription charges would be?

Been out bargain hunting (great to get to shops other than the Coop ) and Go Outdoors had little girl fleece jumpers for £3.99 and I also managed to pick up 2 packs of Christmas cards for 49p each. DD mentioned she would like a calendar so when I visit agian next week i'll pick up a cute one for 59p and pop it in the Christmas box. Also put in a http://www.craftycrocodiles.co.uk/ order in for christmas so that's my Christmas budget this month gone. Bought via ebay a fairisle christmas for DH. He'll like that. I'm definitely upping my christmas shopping now. It's how I budget and make sure I don't leave it to one pay :eek:

Meant to be going out to Fairy Dell but weather not brilliant. Watching Cav on road race, waiting for Asda delivery and then we're taking the kids and dog out on the old lines on their bikes (dog will walk) Alfie is going to be seat belted next to the girls... wish us luck as he's going to be very excited :eek:

elche1

Thanks for the welcome kidcat and fuddle. I don´t really know why the eczema goes but we always noticed that when we holidayed here it went within 48 hours. Since I have been here I have never been to the docs with it whereas in the UK I would spend a couple of weeks in one skin hospital or another every other year. I think it is possibly because here we don´t have carpets, all floors being tiled, no heavy curtains to trap dust just very thin roman blinds which are a doddle to take down and wash regularly and all the doors and windows are invariably wide open for probably 10 months of the year. Also no central heating, we have a log burner for heating if needed. And fuddle, I can do my fair share of moaning about the weather....41 degrees here today and friend has just dropped off 2 carrier bags full of plums from his tree so I am off to the kitchen to make plum and ginger jam....I must be mad!!!. Sometimes I get a bit homesick for rain!!!!!
Cheers, Elche

Mrs_Chip

Oooh, I'm 'esteemed' :rotfl: (flaps hands madly and goes *pink*). Never been called that before, I'm flattered!

Hi Elche, welcome ! - 1 cup flour is 150g/5oz, and a cup of water is 250ml/approx half a pint. Hope the bread works for you as well as it does for Fuddle!

Wooo bliddy hooo !!!!!!!!. Just been to see the owner of the garden above ours, and he says we can use it!!!! And he would be happy for us to put chickens on it :T:T:T:T:T:T:T. It is a terrible tangle (but sour lemons and all that, there will be a great blackberry harvest) but will be perfect. He took us the way he has to go to get to it which is to cross a road, up an unmade and overgrown steep path (very steep in parts!), then along and down. Luckily he does not mind us cutting his wire fencing and going in straight up and over from the back of ours. We will need a ladder for now until we can get steps made, HOORAY I can finally get some chickens, so will be asking a lot of chicken related questions .

fuddle

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

Oooh, I'm 'esteemed' :rotfl: (flaps hands madly and goes *pink*). Never been called that before, I'm flattered!

Hi Elche, welcome ! - 1 cup flour is 150g/5oz, and a cup of water is 250ml/approx half a pint. Hope the bread works for you as well as it does for Fuddle!

Wooo bliddy hooo !!!!!!!!. Just been to see the owner of the garden above ours, and he says we can use it!!!! And he would be happy for us to put chickens on it :T:T:T:T:T:T:T. It is a terrible tangle (but sour lemons and all that, there will be a great blackberry harvest) but will be perfect. He took us the way he has to go to get to it which is to cross a road, up an unmade and overgrown steep path (very steep in parts!), then along and down. Luckily he does not mind us cutting his wire fencing and going in straight up and over from the back of ours. We will need a ladder for now until we can get steps made, HOORAY I can finally get some chickens, so will be asking a lot of chicken related questions .

I do a loaf every day Mrs C, there's one on the window sill getting ready as I type. DH had a triple decker bacon and egg using the loaf this morning. He ate the lot! He's not normally a one for HM bread either EDIT: Mrs C have you frozen the loaves before? Just fancy buying more tins and making a couple for the week at one time as opposed to daily usage of the oven.

Envious of you getting chook chooks. I would so love some. I don't think it's going to happen in this house though

Evie74_2

Hola y bienvenido Elche! Lovely of you to de-lurk. Interesting point about your eczema clearing up in Spain - my DH finds the same, and his asthma is always much improved too. Perhaps a sunshine-filled retirement beckons us...?!

I am really struggling without a kitchen now. I admit it. I hate all the mess and the dust and most of all I hate not having a cooker. I have been without an oven for nearly a month, and without a hob for almost a fortnight, and I have another week to go before I have an operational kitchen again. Microwave meals are unremittingly foul (my masterplan to cook my own ready meals and freeze ahead was somewhat scuppered by the untimely and premature death of my oven 3 weeks before K-day) and consequently we are living on ready-cooked chickens from Mr T with an assortment of salads, or micro meals. I have yet to find a palatable one, and I can't believe that people actually choose them when they have proper kitchens with cookers and everything. :eek:

I am getting fatter and fatter (supplementing nutritionally inadequate ready meals with the wrong choices, so completely my own fault) and I feel sluggish and ill because I am eating far more salt and sugar than I am used to. I can actually feel myself bloating as the day goes on and all my clothes are getting tight. I struggled to do up my "fat jeans" this morning so this really does call for drastic action.

I have just been to Mr T and blown £20 on fruit and salad veggies for us to munch on over the next few days - and I am going to make more effort to drink more water in the hope of giving my poor body a break. And I am also going to get back on the diet wagon once the kitchen is up and running and I can cook proper food again.

Rant over. Sigh. Daren't look in a mirror. They're not my friends at the best of times but sheesh, right now it'd be terrifying!

Big Fat Unhealthy Evie xx