make do and mend for tougher times

mcculloch29

High time for my introduction then - I've loved reading everybody else's. I'm 54, I'm from South Wales originally - Fairwater in Cardiff for those down there too - but have lived in the North East of England since 1985, firstly at Catterick and now in the same town as Pops. Ethnically I am Eastern European, Mum was Estonian and Dad was Latvian.

I have the great luxury of being able to work from home, I am an adult education tutor, qualified to teach in various subjects but the chief focus is literacy and numeracy. I currently e-tutor in Maths for one of the world's largest education companies and I've been offered some work in equality and diversity too. When my children (see below) were growing up I also worked from home as a registered childminder.

11 years ago I retrained as a tutor and since then have fitted in various teacher training courses, plus a part time degree in adult education. I worked for colleges, a community healthcare organisation and various other training providers, usually on an hourly paid basis, until I landed my latest job in Nov. 2009.

I'm long-time happily divorced with a DD who is 34 tomorrow, she has DSoIL, 40ish and DGD 11 and DGS 9, lives in a nearby small town famous for its railway links. She works for Ald!. DS 29 last week still lives at home for now (he left and came back) and works for a mobile phone company.

I love live music - son is a semi-pro musician, guitar - and love social history and all things OS. I was born with mild cerebral palsy which didn't have much effect on me at all until my hip wore out with my slightly wobbly walk, and I now have bad arthritis, and walk very slowly with a stick. I get round this outdoors by riding on a trike - three wheeler bike- that is so vital for my independence. I also have a 'granny trolley' for bus shopping trips.
Arthritis has stopped me gardening, but DD has an allotment and is involved with a community gardening project. I adore animals and am sad that the arthritis prevents me from owning a dog. Son has two corn snakes, since my children were quite small we have had a long line of much-loved pets.

I believe in pampering myself - in an OS way of course- I don't sunbathe, it ruins the skin, and try and watch my weight, which is hard as I love cooking. Clothes - well, have had to stop treating myself from the X Catalogue shop, have wardrobes full ....

I absolutely love watching sport as well - loved the Olympics and can't wait for the Paralympics to start. I lease a tiny share in a racehorse, Angrove Rumbaba, who is the only coloured horse (he is brown and white) to have been placed racing under rules in the UK. 'Rummy' is beautiful and following him has given me a lot of pleasure.

There is so much more.. I love competitions, used to win loads but now get my freebies mostly from Amazon, I'm a Vine Voice as a trusted reviewer on the site, and they offer me 'stuff' to review, mostly books and electrical equipment.

I used to do loads of crafts but not so much now, as the stuff tends to take over your house and life if you let it! I still have the pleasure of looking at and using all the things I made.
Phew!

GreyQueen

boultdj wrote: »

:DYou'v just reminded me of a bloke I use to work with at the factory with that description, only thing is he alway's use to wear a t-shirt saying it's not a bald patch, it's a solar panel for a sex god:D

A pal always used to say that about her OH.

meme30 wrote: »

Intro:- I'm a 54 year old born and bred Geordie from Newcastle currently living in a pit village near Durham, There's me, a grumpy but well loved DH, 2 grown up and fledged DDs and Sil's and three rather wonderful grandchildren, with one more on the way! Favourite pastime is sitting in a field doing nowt...and reading a [STRIKE]bit[/STRIKE]lot of MSE.

PAH:- Stop beating yourself up pet! You do what you can and that's all that matters.
Always look on the bright side of life de tom, pom de tom te tom! Bet you're singing it!
You forgot to add in your intro that you are the Champion Slayer of HA's!:rotfl:
GQ:- has the current Champion Slayer of Snails title of course!:p

Naturellement. My kill is over 500 in recent weeks and I'm limbering up for more.

Fuddle, runners are dead easy to grow and I never failed until this year when several secessional plantings were eaten to burgery by the snails and slugs. I normally steam mine and eat as a hot veg. I think you can also chutney them?

SpikyHedgehog wrote: »

I have the rusty radiator problem, & got some kurust to paint on first to cure the rust - you put on paint afterwards & I haven't used it yet, but it didn't cost a lot.

A heating surveyor told me kitch and bathroom rads usually rust because of the dampness in those rooms. The remedy is to rub the rust off with wet-and-dry paper and touch in with radiator paint. I've even seen the paint in the poundstores. HTH.

Intro....hmm. I'm pushing 50 and single with no children (yippee!) but catless (not so yippee but don't have a suitable home for one). Live in southern England in a small city where I work in the local authority call centre which is hard work but endlessly entertaining because people are downright weird around here and fascinating. I work p/t due to several chronic health probs inc ME.

My hobbies are my allotment and hanging out with pals, reading and attending to matters OS. I'm the butt of many gags up here about about hoarding tinned tomatoes and FB pies under my bed. Which isn't strictly true; I have tinned rice pud, peaches, sweetcorn, tuna, kidney beans and a few other bits under there, too. Thank gawd for the valance.

I share my household with a bunch of cannibal pod spiders, Gollum the Slowcooker and Henri d'Vac (who are all real) and Nurse/Nursie/ Nursey who is a figment of my overheated imagination. She's to be collectively imagines as the offspring of Atilla the Hun and Nurse Gladys Emmanuel from Open All Hours. Gladys, I mean, not Attila (or was that the fanfic version.....?). Nursie had taken on a half-life of her own and has gone up to visit with SDG before now.

My ambitions for the coming months are to finish my dissertation on your species, whereupon my spaceship will be coming to take me home.

I have been to a carbooty today and have bought a M & S top, some candles, a bag of plums and 2 Woolworths stainless steel cutlery drainers. One of which I shall use for cutlery and one of which I shall use as an improvised stove on my lottie/ in event of zombie apocalpse, whichever should happen first.

Well, gonna have a little more t'internet then Mum is pointing me at a cupboard which has got out of control and eaten some of her fave tubbywares, so I'm on a mission to recover them. If I don't reappear tomorrow, pls call the rescue services as I may be stuck.

PS; If you haven't worked it out already, I'm also a bit cracked but harmless with it.;):p:o

lisakay_2

Fuddle, you probably will need an airlock thingy at some point, but in the meantime, pierce a little hole in the end of a balloon and stretch it over the top of the demi john. allows air out, very little air in and keeps the fruit flies out too.

had a quick read up, but just off to start my chilli jam now before the chillis are no good. x catch ya later xx

meanmarie

Hi all,

I am a 67 year old retired civil servant, married to OH 71 for 42 years and have 7 grown up children....1 in Australia, 2 in London, 2 in Cork and 2 living nearby, I also have 5 wonderful grandchildren.

I live about 25k from Dublin in the house my great grandmother was born in, I knit, crochet, cook, read and swim as hobbies....do a bit of gardening, OH does very little as he has heart problems and thinks that he should rest! I make small amounts of jam as since the children fled the nest there is very little eaten.

Marie

fuddle

Thanks for the balloon air lock idea, it'll get me over night anyway. Much appreciated.

Just took one of my blackberry jams from yesterday into next door as a thank you for giving me the jars this morning. She was over the moon. I got a hug! A nice feeling.

The fruits of my labour... literally!



I found some elastic bands but please excuse the childs hair bobble

I am cream crackered! Had the new Ikea catalog posted through the door so going to sit with a cuppa, relax and regroup before I make fairy buns with my sproglets

kidcat

Fuddle they look lovely.

Beetlemama

Hi, I'm 42, married for 13 years to DH who is 60 and we have a 9 y/o DS (we were late bloomers) who has Asperges (though he didn't talk until he was 2), partial hearing loss and dyspraxia but none of it's made a blind bit of difference to his life except he rides a full sized adult trike because he doesn't have the balance for a bicycle even with stabilisers. He's a die-hard gamer and a straight A student.

DH is a Dr and was retired through ill health the year I met him so I am the one who works, he doesn't claim his pension because he's too young and I went part-time two years ago to spend more time with the boys. I'd rather say "Do you remember when...?" than "I wish I could remember."

We're pretty poor but we're ok with it because it was our choice, we get DS pretty much what he wants as far as we can but we don't buy things for ourselves really, we chose this life, he didn't, so we try to make it as normal as we can for him. I don't mind cos people throw away perfectly good clothes and furniture that I snap up, and we say "new to us" is new enough. I bought a great big squashy green leather sofa and recliner arm chair in the recycling shop for £35 two weeks ago, and a brand new pair of trainers from Save the Children for £2.50 last week. Good deals.

We live in East Anglia with two black Labradors (one sane, one not), four hens and a cockerel and a scattering of tropical fish that all have names.

Hello, nice to meet you all

mama67

fuddle wrote: »

I love Bon Maman jars, you lucky thing.

I just make do with those cheapy ones but I would like some red gingham lids and I would like a nice sticker for my preserves too. Actually that's a good idea - tomorrow i'll ask the girls if they want to make a label for the jam.. if I can't have chic, i'll have kiddie

Fuddle, have a look at www.jamjarshop.co.uk they have lovely lids and they're not too expensive either.

[Deleted User]

Hey FUDDLE - love the jars - the heart shaped labels are so pretty - Tres Chic!!!!!

mama67

intro - 45 SAHM/dinnerlady at the village Primary, partner to Dh 47 for 20 years with 2 Ds 17 & 14, living in rural/coastal Lincolnshire, small village, one pub , primary school and church. Both boys are sports mad and play for football teams, DS1 is also a football referee for both adult and junior leagues and DS2 also does MMA and is only one belt away from a black.

I enjoy cooking, reading, knitting, sewing, card making and also our recent addition in the last couple of years of a veg garden, although Dh and the boys do the heavy work.

I also seem to spend far too long on MSE.

DH is also on verbal notice of redundancy on 31 Aug; so we have all the rigmorole of that to contend with.