make do and mend for tougher times

Evie74_2

Another member of the indoor hat and scarf brigade here too - CH will be on for an hour in the morning 6-7am to take the edge off (brr!) and then not again until 5pm. Going to try and switch off at 8pm at first and see how that goes (used to keep it on until 10pm but those days are a thing of the past now). On really cold days and at weekends we'll light the woodburner instead of using the CH. If I can get the curtains lined with fleece and make sure we all have rice bags/HW bottles/lap blankets to hand hopefully we'll be OK.

Evie xx

Pooky

Pops - forgive me if it sounds insensitive but would moving somewhere smaller be more beneficial for you, if you're talking about not being able to afford heat or to eat properly in order to stay where you are then where's your quality of life?

I do appreciate its not as easy as just upping sticks and moving elsewhere but I really do feel that lots of people forget that life shouldn't be "endured".

Fuddle - chicken stock is vile to get up, just when you think you've got it all, you find another greasy patch lurking. I dropped a huge tub of it once and the cats were slipping over trying to get to the juciest bits.

My wonderful parents have visited today, Dad has been on the garage roof sealing and fixing things and Mum brought down over 30 plants for my rather bare garden, all stuff she's grown herself so very MSE. I thought it only fair to cook them Sunday lunch in return, it was delish.

I'm seriously considering collecting slugs for feeding ducks, I had one lurking in a flower pot today that was the size of a satsuma....it turned my stomach.

quintwins

pooky, pom has said there wouldnt be much saving in moving way back a few days ago... the price of houseing is shocking we're very lucky we're staying with family at a cheap rate yet still have our own wee house.

Byatt

Fuddle, regarding the stock, I spent hours one day making a stock, put it in a jug to cool on the work top, went outside, came back in...all over the floor and dog licking it up like crazy! She had pulled it off the work top! I could have cried.

I also wear hats indoors, I've just bought a fetching beanie hat from Spo£tsD!rect for 99p just for that purpose.

How's your trolley? I saw a youngish man today using a basket trolley...

Evie74_2

Just been looking on Ebay for microwave wheat bags - there are some lovely ones for under £5/each including postage. I think I'll be ordering some after payday - I feel I need to get these winter essentials in stock now as this month will be DH's last pay packet until he finds another job :eek: and of course we have no idea how long that will take :eek:

Evie xx

quintwins

Check savers for the beany wheat germ bags, there only £1.99 i have about 4.

kidcat

Thank you all for the support, as for OH he went to work yesterday and there was nothing for him to do (he is still on reduced duties) so he asked for weekend off - which when he came home and found out I was ill he tried to make out it was to help. In reality it would have been less stressful if he was at work, DD and DS were coping ok, and DS14 was actually pulling his weight. Whereas OH has offended them both and been shouting alot!!

Have managed to sit and iron for a little which means everyone has clothes for a few days anyways.

Fuddle - how frustrating, its those sort of things that always seem to send me to tears!

Popperwell - When everyone at school during the winter I will sit under a duvet rather than switch on heating. When they are not at school though house has to be warm for DS8, he has massive sensory issues so cannot function in cold. I consider a chunk of his DLA to be used to cover that though as we keep the house much warmer for longer than the average family. In fact when kids are here in the winter its not uncommon for me to be too hot!

Possession - it sounds as though its similar circumstances and its all so sad.

Popperwell - thanks for the bedroom tax info, it all seems so silly, and I cant see how it helps, realistically if the plan is to free up more houses for families then its older people who are alone that would need to be encouraged to move, yet these plans fail to cover that. Surely offering incentives to move would be more effective. The plan seems like it will be costly to implement and will free up only a small number of homes.

Like many of the current plans it feels to me like a way of punishing people for being poor and needing help. I am also very worried about the trend of demonising groups and turning society against each other - it hardly helps us pull together if we are all too busy attacking each other.

DD picked a bowl of strawberries from our patch yesterday but they are all soggy due to the weather, so I have suggested to OH That we dig up the patch and put the plants in hanging baskets along the fence assuming I can get the brackets up - does anyone know how many plants per basket?

fuddle

Byatt wrote: »

How's your trolley? I saw a youngish man today using a basket trolley...

It's had a week off as got my shopping delivered. I'll take it anywhere but not on the village front street. I'm still a bit iffy about what folk think but it's wearing off. I can't wait till the town gets a decent size Sainburys as it's on that 6 miler. (open Easter 2013 apparently ) Once the youngest is at school full-time in 7 weeks I'll be using it every few days because at he minute it's a killer trying to get back in time for nursery pick up.

Byatt

When I was in junior school, 2 of my classmates (twins) were murdered by their father along with other members of the family. I remember as a school (very small village school) we all went to the church, I thought it was going to be the funeral and was terrified, but of course it wasn't, it must have been a memorial service. Not sure what would happen now, but there was no preparation, no talking about it and certainly no counselling. It was a small village and inundated with the media.

I think about it now and then, but don't know if it affected me long term, I know that probably sounds odd, but we kind of had to get on with it, so I suppose we did. I wonder how it would have been handled today.

Popperwell

Pooky wrote: »

Pops - forgive me if it sounds insensitive but would moving somewhere smaller be more beneficial for you, if you're talking about not being able to afford heat or to eat properly in order to stay where you are then where's your quality of life?

I do appreciate its not as easy as just upping sticks and moving elsewhere but I really do feel that lots of people forget that life shouldn't be "endured".

Pooky, There's something in what you say but lots of unknowns still to be played out and I may be ok yet...we'll have to see what cuts and changes are brought in...

Not much choice around here property wise...I think it will be difficult whatever happens. And many on here are watching the costs of meals, heating etc...

I hope/think no decisions will have to be made before April 2013.