make do and mend for tougher times

kidcat

SDG - everyone I knew was going on about 50 flipping shades, so I downloaded it, its dire, so poorly written you could drive a bus thought the plotlines. But friends of mine are all "ooh I wish I knew Mr Grey" - I think I have upset them as in my mind its a toxic relationship built upon abuse. (NB I am not saying that BDSM is an abusive group I am saying the book is built upon abuse) I have enjoyed reading the parody sites much more

Fuddle - good luck with your sowing.

Kittie - the plums sound gorgeous, I am definitely going to sign up to costco this year.

Bonnie - sending you good thoughts for your interview and to everyone else with interviews this week.

Katieowl - I think your dentist means he can only take your tooth out when he is sure its infection free, I had terrible time with a tooth last year and that was what I was told.

PAH - I recognise that crown!! It is indeed beautiful and got to be in with a good chance of winning.

Today I had coffee with a friend - it lasted all day!:o

DS went to school happy this morning, practically danced in - in fact he raced me across the yard!!:j:j:j ANd when I picked him up all the staff were beaming, he has been brilliant all day!!:j:j
Had governor meeting tonight and Head was dancing along the corridors, SATs were back and up so she was thrilled but she said the icing on the cake was that DS had been so happy today, she said she had forgotten how special his smile and laugh were.

For anyone that shops in Ald! I have discovered that our store reduces items first thing in the morning and that Tuesdays are the best days too - so worth watching.

DD17 had to return to GP today as steroids had just not worked, they have given her antibiotics and more steroids but have told her if she hasnt picked up by end of week they will admit her.
DS14 is back off with a chest infection and school are having an apoplexy, I admit its unfortunate but I tried to explain DD is on her third week with same thing and that we are trying to avoid him getting as severe - their answer was we break up next week can you not send him in, after all it doesnt matter if hes sick in the holidays!:eek::eek::eek: I wont repeat my answer.:D

Re the cake saga, I have spoken to another member of group today and she is going ballistic that I have been put in this situation, so after loads of thinking I am going to take the cakes and if noone comments I will say nothing but if anyone comments I am going to say that the cakes are my thank you to the members of group for all their support and that I wouldnt feel right selling them!!

Ellie83

kittie wrote: »

I had thoughts just now after I heard about the 1968 floods, what would I do in limited time? well toilet and plughole stopping is a priority, then taking stuff upstairs and figuring out that it would be easier to claim for solid furniture so would be best to concentrate on moving small stuff, rugs cushions wool and books etc horrendous thought

I had the same thought yesterday, although I do live on the 1st floor (coach house). If one day we get the house we want, all my treasures will go upstairs, especially my books and my craft things. Then in the event of flooding, I grab my pets They say all animals can swim but I seriously doubt they would like that

MrsRogers wrote: »

We are working so hard at the moment to try and save.. we desperatly want a family and have paid off all our debt and saving every single penny so if/when we do finally get pregnant I can be a stay at home mum/ very least part time.


spk soon hugs to all xx

How old are you Mrs Rogers if you don't mind my asking? Of course you don't have to reply I am only asking because OH and I are in the same boat, except that my maternity cover comes to an end in August and I still have nothing for September (as we are relocating for my husband's job, which is a very good job for a very good company). We really would like to start a family but I would not want to have to work full time until the children are much older. So we are saving as much as we can. But sometimes I wonder if it won't be too late when we're finally "ready"......

Possession

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

The proper method of tempering is a faff with heating and cooling the chocolate using a thermometer, but here is an easy way I have seen used on TV, seems to work fine!

Yes I used that method but the bloom was awful, no shine at all. I used melted Thorntons easter eggs so I wonder if it was the chocolate that was the problem.

westcoastscot

ginnyknit wrote: »

Have decided I am trying too hard with all this pennypinching and need to relax more. I think its a reaction to struggling with OH's illness's.

Ginny I've found myself feeling like this more and more - a combination of worsening personal health echoing one of my children's long term health issues (I always used to reassure myself that I could do anything so long as I had my health), being single in my 50's with no financial provision and the current economic climate. I have to step away and remind myself how fortunate I am, in that i've coped with so much over life I have a lot of skills and resources to fall back on if I need them, no real need to be over-cautious - it can spoil your life today thinking too much about problems yet to come.

Losing my mantra about my personal health has left me feeling vulnerable though - it was a bit like an invisible cloak!!!

WCS

fuddle

Kittie what is an R4 ans R5? I'm taking it as a whole load of terrible rain at the end of the month? Worse than we've seen as late?

I don't think my friend was being too mean when she called me a battle axe. I think it was a quick quip around the idea that I'm turning (in her mind ) into a grumpy old woman, a fighter, an independent warrior woman lol She's still in mid twenties and we don't read from the same page at all. There's hope for her yet

Mrs_Chip

Possession - could be the chocolate from Thorntons was not sufficiently high in cocoa solids, but I'm no expert (apart from in the chocolate eating dept :rotfl:). I have seen professional chefs use this method though, so would give it a try with some good quality chocolate.

SDG31000

bonnie_bumpkins wrote: »

That's the spirit!!



:eek: intriguing.... :rotfl:

I have been told unofficially that I may have some sort of interview tomorrow :huh: It's at the CS where I currently volunteer. Not sure if it will come to anything as the days & hours... and even the existence of a paid role... have changed over the weeks, but I'll be prepared anyway.

Remember you asked.......I remember someone telling me at 14 that my Dad killed himself to get away from me, my reply was that he died of cancer and I didn't find him hanging from the rafters. I've heard every fat joke/insult you can imagine, including one "friend's" husband telling me that if she got as big as me he would divorce her :eek: I'm a swot, a nerd, a sl*t and a b*tch apparently. How I get to be a sl*t when no one would ever want to sleep with me I have no idea lol. I now try my best to remember the good stuff and forget the bad.
Good luck with the interview :T

kidcat I'm sooooooooo glad that your DS is doing better at school and hope the rest of the family gets well soon. I'll have to have a look for those parody sites

Ellie and MrsRodgers I had DS1 at 21 when we had no money and DS2 at 24 when we had no money. We still have no money but wouldn't be without them for anything (Well I might swap them for Hugh Jackman )

ginnyknit I think sometimes we just have to relax a little. Constantly worrying about pinching the pennies until they scream gets depressing after a while and leads to more rebellion.

We had an extra guest for diiner so DS1 had to settle for less ham than normal. If he wants it on pizza tomorrow he will have to live with it. I must remember he needs a packed lunch on Friday. It's meant to be his school sports day, but no doubt it will be cancelled due to the weather.

Ok, enough waffling on from me (I haven't had an vodka for a while and opened the bottle to put some in strawberry sorbet, therefore it was fair game Hic ).....sleep well everyone xxxx

GreyQueen

meme30 wrote: »

:)Good Luck to those with Interviews this week.:)

GQ I think we are all hoarders of paperwork. Was talking to a friend today who was exercising her shredder....10 years of fuel bills and tv licences!:rotfl:

I think you're right.

Trouble is, none of the paper I decluttered was stuff that shouldn't have been kept in the first place. It was bills, and banking stuff etc etc. What I have done is consolididate some accounts and archive some stuff (fancy-speak for sealing it up in labelled envelopes).

The bizarre thing is that I am absolutely exhausted, I honesty felt as shaky by 5 pm as if I had been doing hard labour on the allotment. I had to concentrate hard to make sure that nothing important was decluttered and that nothing with ID escaped the shredding pile into the general recycling, which is already in the on-street banks.

Still a bit more shredding to do tomorrow but both it and I were in need of a rest.:o

bonnie_bumpkins wrote: »

That's the spirit!!



:eek: intriguing.... :rotfl:

I have been told unofficially that I may have some sort of interview tomorrow :huh: It's at the CS where I currently volunteer. Not sure if it will come to anything as the days & hours... and even the existence of a paid role... have changed over the weeks, but I'll be prepared anyway.

:T Good luck tomorrow, hope it turns out to be what you wanted. Please come back and let us know how it went.

Ellie83 wrote: »

I had the same thought yesterday, although I do live on the 1st floor (coach house). If one day we get the house we want, all my treasures will go upstairs, especially my books and my craft things. Then in the event of flooding, I grab my pets They say all animals can swim but I seriously doubt they would like that

What gets me about flood advice is how they always tell you to take things upstairs. Doh! Some of us live in flats on the ground floor and although I will be able to run to an upper balcony, I won't be able to take my goods and chattels with me.

Any of us can choose to register ourselves for flood alerts from the Environment Agency, free of charge, by visiting www.environment-agency.gov.uk/floodline.

According to the site, my own neighbourhood is at a moderate risk of flooding from the river but if it did happen, it would be severe. Better control of the river system in recent decades has meant that it is almost 100 years since people drowned in floods in my neighbourhood, but it does have a history of getting wet here. As in being able to get around the streets in rowing boats. I keep a close eye on the river, particularly at certain times of the year.

Because I haven't got an upstairs to move stuff to, I have made an emergency plan in my head about getting certain goods up on the tops of furniture but many items such as the bed would be in harm's way and ruined. Fortunately, I have contents insurance.

Kittie, I'm probably being dense, but what do those codes you referenced relate to, please? Is this Piers Corbyn available to anybody or is it a subscription site?

Well, must browse around on the web and see if blight has been sighted in my region.......

Have a pleasant evening, everybody. GQ x

Mrs_Chip

GQ - you can subscribe to receive an email from Blightwatch to alert you when your area is entering into Full Smith Periods (blight conditions) - https://www.blightwatch.co.uk. Sorry you are feeling so carp

Uniscots97

As many of you know I'm job hunting. Not sure why it came up (as it was nothing like I searched for) but if anyone is interested Amazon are hiring home based customer service people if this helps someone? The details are on their own website.