Preparedness for when

daftmummy

Thank you all the welcomes, didn't pop back till today:j
Took hubby and little legs for a walk yesterday and they manage 5miles. On the route there was a huge house empty for sale, they have plans to knock it down and build a 10bedroom house it was all over grown. We sat on the side paddock and had our picnic. There was a "redhot poker" plant gone to seed so took a few as I know next week they are knocking it down and wont save the plants.

I have a "bugout" car in there are little sections for storing spares in past was filled with nappies,wipes and babygrows ( we went out for the day to the seaside when eldest was a baby and stayed the night without hassle as I had spares in car for baby and adults;) )
I need to restock as water and snacks has been used ( already have car travel kettle teabags and sugar etc) and snacks have run down. I always have drinks etc in car following being stuck on the motorway for 2hours with a teething screaming baby! always have calpol in car since that day:eek::eek:

I'm happy as I'm off camping in wales with my friend and her family end of month!! she was a star and searched on t net and found a great family friendly site for all our kids. We are working out food etc as I know I could do food cheap and will BYO drinks ,snacks etc for kids on day trips. Were having electric hook up in one tent to keep it cheap and splitting the cost.:j:j so excited as the kids will play together and make it easyer.

I'm doing quorn spagbolly for dinner and filling it out with carrots;). When things was tight last year I asked hubby what he wanted for dinner he said "anything without grated carrots and porridge oats " . Well it kept us fed and the wolf from the door so who can moan.

GreyQueen

Hmmm, I've bookmarked that site, that might be a goer.

I've been busily doing my job today, assisting the public to access public services. It occured to me that even on a lovely summer's day like today, S is hitting the F in various parts of Provincial City.

Drains are collapsing, clogging, silting and having insane stuff poured down them, such as a lot of cement. Bits are falling off trees. Trees are falling over. Things are breaking and getting repaired or replaced, other things are getting their routine maintenance.

Utility company workers are beavering about, digging stuff, updating stuff, mending leaks, running water treatment plants. Private householders are doing DIY or having their hired help do stuff. Commercial owners are having stuff done, there's activity left, right and centre. Raw materials are being delivered into suppliers both retail and wholesale across the area.

A city, even a modestly-sized city, is a lot more that lots of buildings standing close together. Every inch is mapped, owned and accounted for. It's not a natural feature that pavements are level and roads smooth. It's a constant effort to keep the lights on and the water where is should be.

A built environment is a very artificial world, something which approaches the complexity of a living organism. Take away the microbes tending to it, even if they are oft-derided elements like the water or power companies, or the council, and things start to go wrong very quickly.

If you'd like an idea of how quickly, I'd recommend A World Without Us by Alan Weismann. I've read it and shall re-read it, it's that good.

If we had a Last Light situation, with mass depopulation due to famine, the cities would become no go areas for more reasons than the potential of marauding gangs. Underground structures would collapse, taking roads into holes. Esp here, where we have some old mine workings from centuries ago. Most are unmapped and collapsed roads and buildings aren't unknown atm. Imagine the leaves being unswept and piling up into a slippery mulch, trees rooting. Brambles are sending out arching canes threatening to hook across the cycle ways and footpaths...... nature is always trying to take ground back.

It fascinates me, anyway. But I'm prolly a weirdo.

westlothianlass

Hi all, trying to master the keyboard on my tablet so I can post but my fingers are all over the place .
Welcome daftmummy :T lovely to have you in the gang.
Welcome back holiday peeps, glad you had a good time.
I need to go and make bread and tea but I'm rather enjoying lying back on the sofa with my feet up, aaah well, hope you all have a good night and if your reading this hester hope you feel better soon x WWL X

[Deleted User]

daftmummy wrote: »

There was a "redhot poker" plant gone to seed so took a few as I know next week they are knocking it down and wont save the plants.

Plant it at your peril.

daftmummy

may I ask why bedsit bob? it wasn't from a haunted house?

My garden is baron at the side due to having to dig nearly everything out to tackle a nasty vine constantly coming from next door ( anyone with a 70s childhood would remember it on most walls and disused areas ) the one with the white trumpet flower.

[Deleted User]

Because, they grow like crazy, and are indestructible.

Once you've planted them, you will never be rid of them.

GreyQueen

daftmummy wrote: »

may I ask why bedsit bob? it wasn't from a haunted house?

My garden is baron at the side due to having to dig nearly everything out to tackle a nasty vine constantly coming from next door ( anyone with a 70s childhood would remember it on most walls and disused areas ) the one with the white trumpet flower.

Yup, that's greater bellbind, one of whose country nicknames is granny-pop-out-of-bed, aka HELLWEED, which tells you all you need to know about its growth habits.

Big white trumpet flowers which close at night. Horrendous stuff. I have eliminated it on my lottie with effort but it is on the one beside mine (derelict lottie) and climbs up the shared fence. It's a serious pest, like regular bindweed on steroids.

pineapple

GreyQueen wrote: »

Big white trumpet flowers which close at night. Horrendous stuff. I have eliminated it on my lottie with effort but it is on the one beside mine (derelict lottie) and climbs up the shared fence. It's a serious pest, like regular bindweed on steroids.

I think much the same about borage. I've never forgotten a gardening book comment - 'Borage is lovely if left on its own to drift in a blue cloud in a corner of the garden'.
Well they were right about the blue cloud. Except it was a constant fight to stop it drifting all over the flipping garden :eek: Plus I found the leaves peculiarly repulsive. Eventually I got rid completely

daftmummy

yep hellweed fits it. I lost some of my plants as they just twisted round it and dug up the others as it appears to be coming under the fence from next door. We didn't have it until a new fence was fitted by next door:mad::mad:. I have been turning the soil with hand tools to dig up the roots to stop the spread but still only now getting to grips with it. Hence going to put it to battle with redhot poker once I move my blue bells buils and one other plant I have left. Then my plan is to attack any roots I find then "roundup"so next year I can replant and grow.

My growing was limited to strawberries, sugarsnap peas, broad beans. The rest was attacked by slugs:mad: slugs are a dirty word in my house lol.

Need to sort the bug out supplies in car and check my tins dates today. And shampoo carpets from kit from my friend:T

Sunshine4

Well we have gone through all the food cupboards only a few things near date so they have ben brough forward to be used first.

It took us longer than we though as I only can use one arm at the moment so not much help. So I did the lists of what we had and what we need.

First on the list of what we need more of was Rolled Oats my OH wold be lost without it as he has porridge every mornng.
So we got 8 1kg of rolled Oats so he okay all through winter plus some more sugar 4 bags.

We are going to do this every week just buy a few things at a time then we should be stocked up and then it wont be so hard on purse.