make do and mend for tougher times

bluebag

Byatt

So sorry to hear about your sister. Read all you can about it and ask many questions.

It's a heartbreakingly difficult disease to manage, make sure you get all the help you can.

Don't forget that you need to care of YOU first, or you won't be fit to help those who need you.

Wishing you all the very best.

prepareathome

becca-2012 wrote: »

was "the hunger shame-tonight".

Thanks watching it now
:T

[Deleted User]

free patterns for blankets and throws
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Byatt

Just want to thank you all for your kind thoughts and helpful suggestions, I am really touched. :A
I went to see her again today, and at first I thought, oh, she's much better, but that was only for the first five minutes or so, I don't know why, I am so in the dark about this illness. We were talking about my dog, and I showed her a pic on my phone, and then out of the blue she said, but what's happened to C, (a dog we had back in the 70's). I blurted out that C had to be with someone who could cope with her, and she said, oh no, why, and I said she was too boisterous. She really thought we still had C at home. I felt so bad because I'd messed up. I should have said C was fine. I know she will forget when I see her again. I truly never thought I would have to deal with this.

One good thing is she is loving towards me right now, so I can cuddle and hug her, and I hope that continues. I am so sad.

Fuddle, your bread looks fab, and hubby is very wise! They do surprise us at times!

Take care all of you. xxx :A

kidcat

Wow what a marathon reading session.

Byatt - sending hugs your way, life is so cruel sometimes xx

Smiley - yay got to love a tax refund. Please get yourself a treat too! x

We have been to the zoo today, I was up early and organised, my parents decided to come along too- I tried the tactful, no really we are fine thank you, moved to the please go out and enjoy yourselves today and ended with really we will be fine, looking forward to having a day out alone!! None of them worked!! Thankfully the days rest yesterday and the careful prep and planning this morning paid off and all the kids were on the whole ok.

Taken me ages to post this - having dramas with group again, leader/chairperson has left at best sarcastic messages on my facebook post, at worst they are nasty. A few of the group have messaged me again trying to support me - but are all as confused as I am at her attitude, and all trying to work out exactly what she thinks I have done to deserve it.
Have made the decision to withdraw from the group in order to preserve my sanity! As I have said to the people who have messaged me - I will not do conflict or confrontation, I have been there done that one and have several of the T-shirts, and am not going there again.

So am sending hugs to everyone tonight - the tougher things get the more important it is to stick together, Theres a famous saying I am sure which says I may not agree with what you say but I defend your right to say it - and to some extent that has always been a theme here, we may not always agree ( and what family does) but we all support each others right to say it.

fuddle

kittie you know what I wear doing my chores? A pretty apron mainly pastel/floral. I'll be keeping my holey/threadbare leggings for the housework (that's where the apron comes in, hide the thunder thighs ) long sleeve plain tops. My grandma always wore a woollen skirt and tights when doing her housework. Bless her, I remember come the end of the week there were no pleats left in the thing. That's something I do a fair bit of actually, skirt wearing with tights, the skirt lasts longer out the wash and I only need to soss the tights through.

I've been coming up with my capsule wardrobe list. The thought of surviving on a few pieces is scary. The amount of carp I have though is really very bad. I was thinking about doing on of those cash for clothes things but then I felt bad because I should donate it to charity. I've had a taster of selling on ebay this week, in a bid to replace the bit of emergency fund money I used for the halo oven.

I'm ashamed to say I have never crocheted a blanket. I really should and would like to. I think the prospect of buying lots of wool at the same time worries me i.e. the cost.

monnagran

The amount of posts in the last 24 hours is phenominal. I was planning to be in bed an hour ago!
So much going on.

Byatt: My heart goes out to you. My mother suffer from dementia for about 8 years before she died and it was horrible. She didn't wander or get aggressive but was very quiet and passive and my wonderful father, being from the generation of men who had nothing to do with domestic affairs taught himself to cook, clean, wash, iron, and even sew - although he was very relieved when I introduced him to wundaweb. He kept mother home with him until a month before she died and tackled everything with humour and patience, and he wasn't a patient man! I've never admired him more.
I don't think I ever really came to terms with the idea that she didn't know who I was and when she died we all agreed that we didn't mourn because we had actually lost her years ago.
I hope that you and your sister can have some time of closeness before she retreats into her own little world.

I love the idea of a capsule wardrobe but have a snowball's chance in hell of ever achieving it. I also have a jumbled selection of clothes gathered from the four corners of the charity shop and any sales that might be happening. And my clothes tend to be bought on the basis that I can get into them rather than for any satorial reason.
Perhaps when I lose the 4 stone I've been struggling with for the last 60+ years it will happen, and yes, I've heard that pigs are landing at Gatwick.
I've started my store cupboard in a small way. My worry is that I do a lot of cooking for the Drop-in - flour, eggs and stork disappear like snow in summer - and I wonder what we will give them if there are bad shortages. At the moment the churches in the area donate food for us, there is a box at the back of every church for people to put their donations in, but if people run short I fear that the donations will dry up. We feed between 25-35 people every Sunday and I don't think I can keep that number going. Still, I buy an extra bag of flour and sugar every time I go shopping and the boxes are slowly filling. But now tea! I suppose we can only do our best.

I really AM going to bed now.

ginnyknit

Smileyt - :j:j:j great news, hope you buy yourself something nice, you deserve a treat x

Byatt so sorry to hear your news, sending hugs and wishing you strength to get through.

Got 2 kg of strawberries for £2 today, all prepped and frozen ready for jam making. OH's birthday so he went swimming with Dd and co and came back exhausted and slept a couple of hours then we went out for lunch :T bit of a splurge does you good. had a week of making things and fixing things so am pleased. Blackberries out and ready to pick so thats a priority this coming week.

Hope everyone is going to have a peaceful stress free weekend, hugs ginny

grandma247

Pah I couldn't shut down without saying what a great result re the food storage idea and the HA.

Someone gave a talk last night about bug out bags and said we should keep enough water in each bag for 3-5 days. I sat there shaking my head. People have no idea how much water they actually need for that length of time. I intend finding the money for those filtered drinking bottles you posted the link for.

valk_scot

fuddle wrote: »

I'm ashamed to say I have never crocheted a blanket. I really should and would like to. I think the prospect of buying lots of wool at the same time worries me i.e. the cost.

Kemps is good for bargain yarn, very good indeed sometimes. But again, who says you have to buy it all at once anyway? Keep your eyes open in the charity shops for yarn (usually thin stuff on cones, but you can use it double or more), buy a few balls on offer and get going. Many blanket patterns like ripple stripes or granny squares look good in all sorts of odds and ends.

One particularly good pack for bright crocheted blankets btw is the Lucy pack from Stylecraft. It's based on the colours used in many of the blankets on the Attic 24 blog. It's acrylic but that means very washable and great yardage, plus the colours are lovely. Good buy and you'll get a blanket out of one pack easily.