make do and mend for tougher times

kitschy

Mardatha - I know I should know this, but what does RV stand for? You can't get a campervan to try bath melts (well, one wouldn't fit in my bath anyhow) but that's the vision I have at the moment!

fuddle

[STRIKE]randy[/STRIKE]:p ratty virgo

Popperwell

Might interest you Paid In Chickens...will be available later on the I-player I should think...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zsdsb

Popperwell

I know there are many reasons for taking a break from things and we all get down but take a look at these posts from a thread that has turned up on the MSE website...


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=54388963&postcount=321


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=54389401&postcount=322

quintwins

How cold is it you'd never guess its July. I'm thinking of stocking up on coal now I have my new £10 coal bunker, I can see it going up in price soon, oils came down in price but is going back up, but as my tank is full that's no use to me.

Am I the only one who likes not being on a prepay meter, we used to have one but I was forever forgetting to put the elec on it and there's nothing worse than waking up having slept in cause your alarm didn't go off with no elec to make a cuppa.

I need to line my bedroom curtains more to keep the light out thn the heat in, I keep thinking of lining them in fleece but there's no muh price difference in that and blackout/thermal lining so just wonder which you think I'd better?

Fuddle we found the exact windows to match our old ones on gumtree for £30 each they were brand new old builders stock still with tape on them, we decided not to buy them and let our landlord keep our deposit, only for him to come back asking for £320!!! Which we paid not the best move on our part.

SDG31000

Morning all

Hello to all the newbies :hello:

and hugs to those facing job losses :grouphug:
PAH Fingers crossed you feel up to going out tonight and have a wonderful time
fuddle we all have days like that. Just do what you can and don't worry about the rest.
grandma247 can I ask about where you are getting your windows from please. Ours are in desperate need of replacement and we definitely can't afford thousands of pounds to replace them.

I'm a brunette, but I'm married to a red head if that counts. I'm also short sighted, I can tell that bi-focals are looming large in my future.

I'm feeling very out of it this morning. I had a lie in until 10am (yes I know I'm a lazy mare), but that's because I just couldn't seem to wake up enough to achieve conciousness. I seem to have patches of sleep where I'm sort of in limbo and not awake enough to be awake and not asleep enough to be asleep.
I have some free stacker boxes coming at some point for my store cupboard, so will have to have a think about what to put in them. I do have about 10kg of rice in there so no shortage of that. I'll have to have a go at making rice pudding with basmati at some point. I'm wondering if investing in a slow cooker would be a good idea. I don't really have space for one and I doubt DS1 will eat most things made in it, so might leave it off for a while.
Today I need to take some bacon back to Mr T. I'm not that fussy about bbds, but I draw the line at eating bacon that is growing and has two weeks left on the use by date. Dinner tonight is going to be gammon and parsley sauce, mashed potatoes and veg. Mmmmmmmm. It's stopping everyone from picking at the gammon and eating it all before dinner that tends to be the problem. Leftovers will hopefully go in pasta and on top of pizza.
Time to go and get dressed and start the day........or at least find more tea.

Love and hugs xxxxxx

Pooky

Quintwins - I've gone for thermal blackout linings and they're great. My kitchen extension has no radiators in and at 18ft x 20ft it's a big room that gets very cold. Its got three huge windows and the back door so I brought floor length curtains for each window and door and full length linings too, it stops the chill from the walls bouncing into the room. (all the windows are double glazed and in good order but you can still feel the cold penetrate)

They do a great job in the summer too (we seem to be having everyone else's share down here) and keep the heat out which stops the curtains/furniture from fading in the sunlight too.

I got them at D*nelm.

Got a pork joint roasting in the halogen oven, it smells divine!

quintwins

Hanks pooky I got my other lining from eBay it's very good and heavy, I have it on every other windows, my mil took what was left to the dress makers for the kids curtains and they ran out so used there own lining charged a good bit for it and its half the weight and you have a Glow on that window we're as their other ipwindow is black so I'd prob look threw my history and get the same again.

Fervent37

Popperwell wrote: »

Hugs to you PAH.
I agree with all that you say...I have had my first birthday without Mum. I am the last in the line so when I go our family tree ends...there isn't any relatives left to speak of...I have lived longer than the time I knew my Father but I'd have to be 110 to be alive as long as the time I knew Mum in my life, I don't see that happening and I wouldn't want to...

I think I'll be buying more tinned vegetables too...and soon...like tomorrow. And it's frightening what's going on...

I don't know how it's going but I have my slow cooker on as I write this with a chicken in a roasting bag, I left the bag open slightly as was suggested for the steam to get out, I didn't add anything just a kind of lemon herb coating. I have it on low heat and so far I'm not sure how long to leave it but as I have heard some meals take 8 hours I am using that as my guide...

So that would be around 10am.

I have one of those radio controlled clocks too, I bought it for Mum and a DAB Radio.

She loved music so I had an mp3 player going 24/7 with all her favourite music playing. I did all that I could

I am sure that you did too...

Hi Popperwell (or should I say Pops as Fuddle does!) I am a long time reader of these threads but don't post as much as perhaps I should. It is lovely that you have joined this thread and I can identify with a lot of what you say. Your top paragraph I think puts us in the same boat. I am the end of my family line too as my husband and I don't have any children and I was an only one and neither of us has any family left apart from my MIL. You are still grieving and will for a long time but it does get easier. bonnie_bumpkins two posts last night were eloquent and summed things up perfectly.

Popperwell

Sdg31000,
Tesco's have their slow cooker selling at £12 if you want one and that is not too much to spend if you then decide not to use it that often.

It is big enough I suspect for most meals but when cooking a chicken I doubt there is space for anything else but I cooked my chicken overnight. So could then do the rest when that is finished. So ypu could do soup, casseroles or whatever...