make do and mend for tougher times

Possession

Smoosh, glad the freezer stuff can be stored.
PAH, that's awful and you should be so proud of the way you have managed everything.
Jem132 I hope the water holds back for you, do you have anything you can transform into makeshift sandbags? Unfortunately I know all too well about partners never being seen because they are working such long hours, even though that seems far from my life now.
Fuddle have you just had really heavy rain? A damp patch like that doesn't just suddenly appear overnight unless there is a reason. Have you checked inside and out for any cracks/missing pointing around the window?

jem132

Thanks grandma that's a good idea they do know what he's doing watching for him on the news lol iv put sand bags at the door I am thankful that dh keeps most of his work supply in a contaaner in our back yard so iv been and borrowed some from there and used his wet extraction machine that was needing a safety certificates on it to sick all the water out of my porch lol I have been busy doing nice things in the boys rooms so they will be happy and hopefully forget they haven't seen daddy put up there skull lights and made them a sea shell wind chime out of the shells we collected from the beach on Friday put there warm snuggle blankets on there beds and hotties plus a new book each hopefully they won't be too bad and I am making there favourite tea and trifle .I have also put up all my flecee blankets at all windows and bk door its lovely and toasting in hear now except my hall with don't have a radiation in only a storage heater wich I refuse to use its too costly my kitchen don't have one ethier its always cold in there too..

rosieben

I've been re-freezing bread and products since the 70's - I read it was safe to do so in the Home and Freezer Digest, great little mag.

There's some interesting information from the US Dept of Ag here about refreezing, its safe as long as it's thawed naturally, (ie not in the micro etc); someone, thriftlady I think, also posted a link to a Birds Eye page where they said much the same thing.

eta: sorry it was Charis who posted about the Birds Eye info which was more about how long to freeze food

eta Here is thriftlady's post

[Deleted User]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

oh I so want to send you a group hug, so many horrible things happening to so many of you and PAH you are such a shining caring light

I`ve been a bit more on the shtf thread as I feel I don`t have much practical to offer you, only os stuff. I have no experience of skanky landlords, rough neighbours, bad schools,dealing with the social and so on. I feel that at this stage I can only stand back and light candles and hope that the bad things go away for you

I went to costco the other day and there is a huge saving to be made in many food items for us, ie all nuts, dried fruits, lemons etc at least 1/3 on most. Lemons were interesting when I came to prep for dehydrating. I saw that prog about wax on lemons and decided that I would take more drastic action to remove, so used warm water and a bit of washing up liquid (I use bio D which is more organic) then rinsed well. The water went grey and manky after I used a scrubbing cloth on the fruit. Then slicing showed me the thick pith on the large lemons, I also did one sainsbury lemon and the pith was thin so the actual inner fruit was the same size on both. The lemons were 1/4 cheaper in costco comparing numbers of fruits

The ditches and local canals and rivers were full to the brim yesterday and I had a phone call from the power network people re power cuts so put my shtf plan into action and it worked well, even though the cuts never materialised

Sunny now and windy so am flying through washing today and doing 20 min washes when possible and have also dug out wool jumpers. Unfortunately parts are wearing thin and there are some spots on the pale ones so am trying a last ditch attempt with some magic stuff I had in. They will be ok for a few weeks or for housework but I want to get the spots off and will be reinforcing the thin underarm patches. They were cheap enough from woolovers so have had my money`s worth anyway, it is just that they are so comfy and easy to wear

grandma247

Wow jem you have been busy. I feel guilty now. I need to get off the computer and get something done. I have hoovered in this room but thats all:(.

I did defrost my inside freezer yesterday but I need to sort out the food later. I just put it all back in in bags temporarily. All of it was kept in cool boxes while it was being done.

Not able to do a lot today as bil coming over.

FUDDLE read here here and here. I noted that damp is classed as a potential health and safety issue.

kidcat

Jem ((hugs)) I agree with grandma, if you explain how important daddys job is it might help, as for the leaky door I would throw all the dirty washing down to help soak it up. Hope you get it sorted soon.

possession good luck to your hubby its so hard getting the tone right.

Fuddle - ((hugs)) I know how hard renting can be (will PM you too) if you are definitely planning on moving, you could contact your council and ask to be put on waiting list as your current place is unsuitable, they will then probably enforce your LL making it good. It wont make you the LL favourite person but if you are moving anyway - and at least it would be dry for now.

Smoosh - if you can get to the plug (I cant on ours as they are built in) then I would suggest swapping the fuse from an appliance that you know is working into the fridge plug, if it works then you know to buy a fuse, if it doesnt then its not the fuse! Good luck

Mrs C- Theres a famous quote that I have always tried to keep in mind, no idea who wrote it
“grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
I think it fits the idea perfectly


PAH - water levels are rising all over, my dad struggled to get here yesterday as all the country lanes he uses were under too much water to pass. Thankfully our garden level dropped over night, its building now but if it hadnt dropped it would have flooded in by now.

DD6 left for her trip this morning very excited, am worried about this weather though as its flood alerts all over the area she is in.

DS8 has thankfully stopped being sick and is looking much better,

DS14 went to look at the tutor group this morning and has stayed for an hour, tomorrow he will do a couple of hours and then every day two hours. He seemed ok but am waiting to see what he is like when I pick him up, there are two teachers and only one other child there.

[Deleted User]

fuddle. Can dh borrow a ladder and make sure that the gutters are clear as it is often overflow that can cause damp, look up if he pours some water into the downpipe, there might be flowing water from a downpipe crack. Also check areas outside for gaps and cracks near or above the damp patch, and also around the nearest window. The problem might be pretty obvious and he might just need to put mastic in

stiltwalker

Kidcat - it's he start of the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr (according to google!) - I'm not religious but it has always felt 'right' to me.

Hugs to all in need of one - gosh aren't we all having a time of it at the moment.

Been out to see wheelchair services this morning and guess what? they don't 'do' double special needs buggies and are not aware of any that would be completely suitable for our particular needs - but we can have a voucher towards one to the value of the single buggy they can supply!!! To be fair they are going to have a look around and come back to me, but I could just cry - we can't be the only family with 2 disabled youngsters. Will have a look on the internet later and maybe phone a couple of the charities that help with funding for that sort of thing (Whizzkidz spring to mind) and see if they have any ideas - they may have helped other families in our situation. Right now though it's very early lunch for me and DS before we set off back out to go and pick DD up from nursery. We dropped her off after the appointment and I'm kind of wishing we hadn't as we had to drive through practically a river to get back into the village and I'm kind of panicking about whether we are going to be able to get out again - may have to go the very long way round. I shall be putting the wellies in the car in case.

fuddle

Thank you for all your advice and support in this. Ir really does help.

DH works in tools and is arranging a dehumidifer. My worry is the running costs though, I'm trying so hard to pay off our arrears.

Yes, we've had an awful lot of rain but that outside wall is plagued. You might remember me posting a few moths ago about black/green mould and accompanying fur on my bedroom wall? The landlord still hasn't fixed that and argues it's poor ventilation and our fault. The outside wall is sodden and green.

Our plan of action is to apply to North Yorkshire Council for a banding so we can bid on LA/HA properties. It looks as if our need is very low indeed but I'm going to mention the damp issue. I'm going to take more photographs and record conversations, even record past posts on here as a way of covering our back because I fear the LL may put a stop to us getting our deposit back.

I'm alright. We're keeping everything as it is, won't make any rash decisions but putting a plan in force to move out of here. All saving for non essentials has ceased to try to put a deposit together for any private rental that might have us. To be honest, I would really like to try for a council property. I've had it up to here with private LL's.

born_blonde

Gosh stiltwalker I just had a quick search and there are plenty out there even on ebay but boy are they expensive. Should't they be giving you two vouchers for each single buggy?
Good luck with the floods.