Preparedness for when

metherer

That reminds me, must find the camping towel to put in our kit. Thanks for the reminder folks!

We've been through the budget tonight, worked out where we were going wrong (hubby forgot to make all his transfers (grr)) and there should be some left each month for preparedness. First on the list is a fire blanket and extinguisher.

Cheapskate

pineapple, I'm with you on the taxi thing, I'm not too far from you, so I feel your pain re the ethnicity of some of the drivers!

Kids broke up from school Tuesday this week, so have had a few lazy days, worked all day today, off to the local beer fest tomorrow - scrummy, if the weather holds up! :rotfl: Come Monday, though, I'm doing a major stock take and re-think of preps of all colours. We had a few electricity cuts recently - some caused by works, but some unexplained - so thinking more about non-electric preps. We live in an area where these are almost unheard of, so it's got me thinking more - forewarned is forearmed and so on.

GQ, according to my dad, paternal grandad (who'd been at sea in one way or another from 14 until his death in his sixties), older sailors still did that in living memory. He thought nothing of eating mouldy bread or cheese, even without the bits cuts off!! He had a cast iron stomach by all accounts.

A xo

daftmummy

Hello everybody may this lurker join the chinwag?
I have read this tread since it started and have wanted to post as I have enjoyed it so much and find it so helpful.
I'm a stay at home mum with 2littlelegs under 7 and a self-employed hubby. I've haven't been able to work due to ill health but I'm slowly getting there.

I am in the minority with my peers ( sadly only the other mums at school are my social circle, I know need to get out there more hence joining here ) who knows how to make jam and :eek::eek:knows you can buy YS food and freeze it:eek::eek: kid you not!
Going back to someone who said about the pineapple my hubby was the same until he met me. Now after all these years says I can sniff reduced veg at 10 paces.
I am learning to ignore the mum from school who works at my local express store who asked I must love carrots as I picked up a few bags of reduced 8p carrots ( I never clear the shelves as I believe in the "yellow sticker god" of share and share alike that someone may leave some for me when I need it more than them )

I get my and kids clothes from CS and carboots. I cut my cloth accordingly as we have to and we manage. But still find it hard when I hear other people talking about being skint when they buy loads of things without a second thought, have sky tv and iphones ect ( sorry little rant )

But wanted to share that I have brought a bread maker for £3:beer: that had full instructions, its big and I brought the stuff just need to read the instructions and do a bit of research and use up my stash of 14p bread and bingo x

I have enjoyed this tread and look forward to reading morexx

wondercollie

My pantry has proved it's worth the last two weeks. Well apart from the night everyone wanted Japanese, so Beef Teriayki was the meal of choice.

According to the son who is raiding the freezers I'm getting low on bread and they don't want to try the breadmaker. Can't blame them really.

My apple crop is smaller this year (the tree doesn't really produce nice apples) so I'll make applesauce next month. The rhubard is on the second crop (I'll stew it and freeze the jars). My plum tree is full but the plum crop is always iffy. The fruit splits if it hits the ground and is useless because the collie lies there and licks them all.

We are going away for nearly a month during the winter and my sons will be here with wondercollie. I've told the spousal unit I'm not leaving them grocery money, they can use the pantry and gasp, spend their own money!

GreyQueen

Welcome to the madhouse, Daftmummy, the more lurkers who decloak and contribute, the happier we all are.

It amuses me to think of MSE forums as a bit like the Borg; we are a collective brain and if you don't know the answer as an individual, you can bet your last YS loaf of bread that someone reading on here will know, and be kind enough to share, sometimes in minutes.

Was having a convo at t'office (work in local govt at a low level, not exactly minted IYKWIM) and some of my colleagues are having to make adjustments to living on 1-and-a-part-time wage with kiddies instead of a DINK-y income and finding it very hard. Doing your own lunches and batch cooking came up.

I chipped in with my twopennorth about YS labels and was looked at as a bit bonkers. Never mind, I shall laugh all the way to the Bahamas, as we say in this neck of the woods.

wondercollie, glad that you're on the mend and that the mancubs haven't burst the budget.

Gotta run, family incoming in mins and heading to lottie. Catch ya laters, GQ xx

daz378

venturing on to local precinct soon for a bit shopping , tins etc , bought some batteries yesterday... checked use by dates ok until 2017. My rotas seems to be a lot of lates of the 2pm.....10pm type.... yet my slow cooker gathers dust.... need to buy some tupperware ... what i dont eat in freezer... more appropriate for winter stews and curries .. maybe hang fire till then..... hope your all enjoying the clement weather

pineapple

daftmummy wrote: »

I get my and kids clothes from CS and carboots. I cut my cloth accordingly as we have to and we manage. But still find it hard when I hear other people talking about being skint when they buy loads of things without a second thought, have sky tv and iphones ect ( sorry little rant )

Welcome daftmummy. Anyone who calls themselves daft will fit right in! :rotfl:
Agree about the clothes. Got a brilliant Sue Ryder not far away and sometimes they even get new items donated with the price label still on!
Other than that it's chain store cheapies.
As for bread I make my own - without a breadmaker - but there again I'm not catering for a family. But today I was out of bread and couldn't be *rsed with all that kneading and proving palaver, so just rustled up some soda bread.
Omg sun has just appeared. Time to put out the stuff I got to annoy my Hyacinth Bouquet neighbour - the latest being an imitation wood chicken... :eek:

Butterfly_Brain

Wondercollie, lovely to hear that you are well on the road to recovery.

We went to a place called the watermill yesterday, it is like an old Dickensian village, I could have spent hundreds of £'s if I had hundreds to spare :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:They had an old washing dolly an outside wooden washing trough, an old wicker shopping trolley, mangles and lots of other useful olde worlde things We had a really lovely day and the weather was gorgeous until last night when we had a huge thunderstorm and it it lashed down, on the plus side my water barrels are now full again :j

ginnyknit

Pineapple, is it the Sue Ryder at the bottom of the hill from Bronte parsonage? I always wanted to do a relief manager stint at that branch but never managed to wangle it

After my break in Lincolnshire I am happy to say my prepping was tested and worked fine. Hubby was ill on and off but I had everything necessary secreted around my person (well in the car boot) and when we lost power during the storm I was sat sewing with my head lamp on, I looked a picture but no one else could see me I did have to buy a little shopping but got Ys at the Co Op. Just before we left home the big fridge freezer was in darkness :eek: bit I didnt panic just checked the obvious and it was the socket, whipped out an extension cable, plugged in another socket and Bobs your Aunty! ..and breathe..... thus I forgot a few things I had bought to take with. Didnt buy a single bottle of juice on the road as I had chilled bottles ready made up in the chiller box, that alone must have saved a fortune. Even managed an extra night as the owner offered us a bargain as the cottage wasnt needed till Saturday and I had enough food to cover it.

It obviously wouldnt work for a family as you would need much more stock than we took but it meant we got the holiday we needed without hitting the savings.

metherer

Ginnyknit - sounds like you had a cracking time. It definitely pays to be prepared.

Daftmummy - welcome! My colleagues are cut similarly to the other mums at your school gate. Reduced? Must be something wrong with it. BBE dates are gospel. Um, no, not in my house. The bits I took out of our emergency box, even those 2 years out of date, are being put into use as normal groceries.

Just been harvesting raspberries, and came in with a tub that would have been 5 or 6 quid from Mr T. They are going into the freezer now, and in a couple of days there will be more ready to harvest. Thinking Apple and Raspberry Crumble.

The strawbs are on a go slow at the moment.

Hubby and I were talking more about prepping last night. We've now got candles and hand pump torches in each bedroom, which seems like good timing given the weather forecast again.