Preparedness for when

westlothianlass

Hi all,
I'm very excited, currently stewing the first rhubarb :jalong with some frozen strawberries and it smells fantastic (though I do say it myself:rotfl:).
Treated myself to kitchen medicine and hedgerow medicine by Julie Bruton seal and I'm very impressed. Lots to learn and take in.
First seeds have been planted up which is a lovely feeling.
Lovely to see new peeps, as others have said it would be lovely if you stuck around, the more batties the better:D
Enjoy your sunday no matter what your upto (though I take my tin hat off to you if your doing housework :eek:)
WLL. Xx

pineapple

jk0 wrote: »

Anyone read this on Zerohedge yet?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-03-08/guest-post-ukraine-crisis-just-another-globalist-engineered-powder-keg

Excellent find!
The worrying thing is that even if the usual cannon fodder on all sides refused simultaneously to be drawn into traditional conflict (like that's going to happen anyway) these days a relatively few people could cause global chaos. - whether it's through manipulation of markets, power, energy or whatever.

vivatifosi

GreyQueen wrote: »

Vivatifiosi, I'm a redhead with the typical lily-white and easy-burning skin. I can get a bad sunburn in 10 minutes even in a British summer and am beyond paranoid about keeping the moles on my arms covered anda sunhat on. Shorts? No way, Jose. Paranoia helped by living in Scotland in the 1980s when they had major public education campaigns on. My mother has also been treated for a non-cancerous skin cancer, the kind popularly known as 'rodent ulcers' which can cause a lot of tissue damage if left untreated.

Sensible outlook. It took me a while to adapt my wardrobe mind. I started covering up and then passed out with heatstroke instead:o. My cousin has basal cell carcinoma (rodent ulcer) skin cancer and you are right, it can be very unsightly if it isn't addressed. A couple of my Aussie rels have skin cancer. It is taken very seriously over there.

GreyQueen wrote: »

A handful of years ago, I was in my pottery class and the next lady over, a very pales-kinned woman in her sixties with a lovely complexion, had her sleeves rolled up, as did we all. There, sitting in the middle of her forearm was a classic example of a malignant melanoma. It was large and irregular, it was purple in parts and scarlet in others, and even crusted in one area from a slight bleed.

I'm NOT medically qualified but it ticked all the boxes and it was all I could do not to scream. I asked her quietly if she'd ever shown this mole to her GP? She said she hadn't. I suggested quietly but very very strongly that I thought she should show it to the GP without delay.

That was the last class before the Xmas break and when I saw her again it was several weeks later. She told me she had thought about what I'd said and about 2 weeks after, had gone to the GP. He'd taken one look and sent her straight up to the hospital. They'd taken one look and cut it out (at the point we were having this conversation she had a deep conical wound in her forearm where the mole had been).

They'd tested it and it was malignant melanoma and she was going to go back in for a secondary surgery to take out a large oblong chunk of her forearm. We lost touch about that time (we were only acquaintances) as I stopped doing the class. I just hope that they got it all and she didn't die of it.

You may have saved her life. Never underestimate what you did. Bear in mind that even with melanoma, if caught early enough, the survival rates are very good. Thankfully the new drugs for worse forms are better too.

GreyQueen wrote: »

So, I applaud your sig line and anyone who'd denigrate it is, IMO, being ignorant. If it looks suss, take it to the doctor. And if you're still suspicious, take it to another doctor.

Thank you. I appreciate it. Mine was initially spotted by my aunt, who told me to go get it checked out. She hasn't had melanoma but her son got his diagnosis on his 21st birthday. He's still here and healthy in his 40s.

vivatifosi

pineapple wrote: »

Plus there are degrees of prepping - there isn't a magic line where you qualify for your 'prepping badge'. In fact the qualifying level is simply being awake and aware - right through to the few living a life of total self sufficiency.

Thanks pineapple. I don't really consider myself as a prepper as such, more someone who likes to be prepared for most scenarios:o. On the one hand I can't understand why someone would want to survive to live after an apocalypse, on the other I can't understand why someone wouldn't have a toilet roll mountain in their cupboard or at least a 1 month supply of food in the house at any time. Maybe it is hard wired. My dad is a great forager and my mum can make a meal out of anything. My brother is a one person A team who can make anything out of anything and I married a man who is so good at security that I think I married a ninja.

When my next door neighbour replaced her bath with a stunning shower, my first thought was not "what a beautiful shower", but rather "where would she keep an emergency water supply now?"

There really is no hope for me.

ALIBOBSY

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Where knives and similar tools are concerned, you very much get what you pay for, and as you aren't paying very much ..................

We have found Lidl's tools to be a bit better than Aldi, but I hear what Bob is saying. Sometimes you just don't have the cash upfront for the more expensive stuff even though you know it will last longer. That said I have a number of cheap secateurs from both Aldi and Lidl and all are going strong, just a little oiling/cleaning and sharpening and they are fine. In the kitchen I have an icecream scoop and one of those small graters-for parmazan etc which were miles cheaper than others and work fine.

My best buy multi tool is a better quality one though. OH spotted it on sale as the box was damaged a few years ago. Its a Wilkinson sword garden multi tool and has little knifes, saws and small secatuers, it all folds up completely into an onlong which fits into my pocket on my "garden coat"-anyone else have a coat just for one purpose. Mine is an old fleece jacket given to me second hand for free. I used it for a while as a normal coat, but now its perfect for gardening, warm, but not too heavy, easy to move around in and big zip up pockets.

Ali x

pineapple

Back to the subject of malignant melanoma I think it is drummed into us to watch for moles or other suspect lesions which are 'changing'. But I had a teeny spot/blemish on my face which wasn't changing but which never went away. Eventually I consulted the GP who thought it was nothing - because 'it wasn't changing'. But to reassure me he referred me to a dermatologist who straightway arranged a biopsy. Currently I am waiting for the results. Meanwhile my hairdresser gawd bless him reassured me (not) by telling me of a customer who went in about a spot on her nose and who now has a prosthetic nose that she has to put on every morning! :eek:
I felt like a real timewaster I can tell you so it was a b* big shock when the consultant treated it as something that needed to be investigated.
So my message is don't worry about coming across as a hypochondriac and don't necessarily trust your GP to be an expert in this sort of thing.

vivatifosi

That's so depressing pineapple. With mine, I'd initially gone to see a doctor who said it was nothing, but it kept growing and growing then my aunt saw it and said to get it checked out. So I went to the Mole Clinic in London (private), I was there at 4.45pm, they told me to phone my docs and say that I'd be there first thing with a letter and to make an appt. I made an appt for 8.30am the following day and the day after that I had an appt with the consultant. At the consultant appt they said "are you doing anything this afternoon?" and took it out under local the same day. When I went back they did the same for my wide local excision (the second op to make sure your borders are clear).

nuatha

I happened to spend a chunk of yesterday with the local brew-witch and the subject of birch sap came up.
It takes a huge amount of sap to make birch syrup, approx 110 to 1, and it needs a lot of care evaporating off the excess water as the sugars will catch and burn very easily. I've been told that a double boiler or bain marie is worth using when you've reduced the volume by 50%.
The resulting syrup is a dark, rich, spicy caramel.

The reason we were discussing birch sap is that about now is the right time for harvesting it. Her taps on Saturday were dry, so we'll try again on Wednesday, but its generally mid March for collecting the sap. She'll generally get 2.5 litres per tree. Unless its a bumper harvest, most of the sap will go for wine making, but we're hoping to have enough to at least make a small batch of syrup using the double boiler method.

I suspect that the sap will already by rising in Southern counties, if the trees aren't already in bud.

[Deleted User]

The birch sap has risen Nuatha, welkl in our tree at least and any further south from us and you'd actually be standing in the Solent!!!

JKO the seeds will keep forever and are best as suggested kept in a cool dry place in a container that will let them breathe like a paper bag, best place would be an airing cupboard or in a well ventilated unheated room. In times gone by folks kept firelighting tinder in a pouch under their tunic to make sure it was dry and ready to use.

What a magnificent day we have, I've just cooked lunch outside on the OzPig and we ate it in the sun, I made a vegetable satay which was delicious and there is enough to reheat for us tomorrow too. This was a day worth waiting for, hope you've all got it too, Lyn xxx.

craigywv

for the person looking candles have you any independent cheapy shops like the old poundshops, I have one beside me sells 8 lurid green ones for 49p also other smellies ones for 50p maybe worth having a look. my cupboard is full of these get packets every time I pass and they seem to never sell ! prob as colurs are awful. I tried them out and they really good.