Preparedness for when

vanoonoo

very frosty here this morning - brrrr

it's the work christmas party tonight - I'll be staying over, near to the venue, but it's about a ten min walk from one to the other so I am really hoping I dont have to walk to my room in party shoes and dress in snow. I'll take my paracord bracelet just incase! I could then fashion an aerial runway / ski lift / rope bridge. always thinking, me

pineapple

2tonsils wrote: »

Latest news filtering through from my amateur forecast friends..... they all say that the UK may well have an arctic cold spell with temperatures in the day barely reaching freezing point and very low temperatures at night.

Thanks. Though it's easy to see why the UK is mocked re the way we handle winter weather, the fact is we do easily grind to a halt and have to prep for it.
In my own little rural corner - already there have been occasions when I couldn't have safely got out with the dog without the Veriga ice thingies. I was already thinking I could do with at least one spare set when I realised a stud was missing off my only pair - plus they are too tight a fit on the new 'big boots'. So I've ordered another set.
Today I'm off on a mad dash for some fresh veg before the forecasted snow (isn't it amazing how so often you crave the very things you don't have ).
It just needs a couple of centimetres to stop us due to the steep and exposed unadopted access lane. As ever, it's usually the same few people who set out with shovels or grit. This was largely me in previous years - not so much out of community spirit - I was just worried about getting to work!
The first winter after I retired I stopped and pandemonium broke out. People were stuck and sliding all over the place :eek:
I don't know how they thought it had been kept clear previously. Maybe they thought there was a 'grit fairy' :rotfl:

mardatha

Tonsils, they're saying next weekend looks good for a lot of snow. Not sure what it's to be today, either sleet or snow here and rain further down. Getting wintry!
My heart goes out to people struggling already who face the Bedroom Tax on top of everything else. Its a gradual drip drip drip eroding your wages isn't it? Squeezing people to despair. I think the time is coming when everybody's going to live on soup and bread - 1926 revisted gawdsake :mad:

missrlr

We are looking to get a lodger in, not ideal as we have a lot of people who come visit and use our place as a base when visiting the UK, but needs must I am afraid .....

2tonsils

Glad the weather predictions help..at least it warns you what you might expect a few days in advance. The latest weather shows the arctic weather extending across to Europe as well and the snow and deep freeze are right alongside us on the map. God forbid that we get snow or extreme temperatures here in Greece as most houses are not insulated, most can't afford the heating oil at 1.65 a litre and the roads would be impassable with just a light covering of snow with no grit and no snow clearers on the mountain roads. It has happened in the past, we once got to minus 10 and it stayed there....the well water and pumps froze solid and we all had to get washed in bottled water...I remember it well...we had central heating , a wood fire and a leccy blanket and it was just warm enough in the non insulated prefab house we lived in!

Went to price an electric blanket this morning and I was shocked at the price.....105 euros for a simple double underblanket!!!!!! I don't thinks so! Have ordered one off Amazon which is like a mattress cover so does not move about , at just 44 pounds , postage paid to Greece. It might take weeks to come knowing our post, but that is worth waiting for in my view.

Stocked up on food as we have a deterioration coming in the weather from tomorrow night (as if the torrential rain/tornadoes and thunderstorms aren't bad enough!). At least the Greek weather service is accurate and precise...for instance telling us the storms will hit us at 8pm tomorrow night and 2am on Saturday. So I went to Lidl and then to the freezer shop for meat and goodies. Had to tidy up the new chest freezer as it was all piled in and I couldn't find anything.

My OH bought a rubber brush with a dustpan last week for the fireplace but hasn't used it yet (he is not allowed near the hoover after burning out two motors with fine ash...) and it was perfect for sweeping up the bits of ice and scraps at the bottom of the freezer. I may invest in another one.....

So now I have a tidy freezer where I can pinpoint things, there are no unidentified boxes of white gunge any more in there and I have a huge pan full of soup mix from bits and pieces out of there that were taking up valuable meat space.

Off to sort out my thermals for the forecast dip in temperatures here from Sunday onwards. My husband has a mountaineering thermal cap that he wears in bed when it gets really cold....we call it his Sherpa Tensing...lol. I know I washed it recently but it has gone missing in action.

Stay warm and safe folks xxxxx

2tonsils

pineapple wrote: »

Thanks. Though it's easy to see why the UK is mocked re the way we handle winter weather, the fact is we do easily grind to a halt and have to prep for it.
In my own little rural corner - already there have been occasions when I couldn't have safely got out with the dog without the Veriga ice thingies. I was already thinking I could do with at least one spare set when I realised a stud was missing off my only pair - plus they are too tight a fit on the new 'big boots'. So I've ordered another set.
Today I'm off on a mad dash for some fresh veg before the forecasted snow (isn't it amazing how so often you crave the very things you don't have ).
It just needs a couple of centimetres to stop us due to the steep and exposed unadopted access lane. As ever, it's usually the same few people who set out with shovels or grit. This was largely me in previous years - not so much out of community spirit - I was just worried about getting to work!
The first winter after I retired I stopped and pandemonium broke out. People were stuck and sliding all over the place :eek:
I don't know how they thought it had been kept clear previously. Maybe they thought there was a 'grit fairy' :rotfl:

I liked the Grit fairy ...no doubt they think it was cleared by one. I know what you mean about craving what you don't have...last time we got rained in (yes it was that bad) I had a desperate craving for iceberg lettuce and mint sauce...though not at the same time! Then I wanted a jar of cockles in vinegar....it had been years since I had tasted them but I think the thought of the tangy mint sauce set me off on a food association game of my own LOL......NO you can't get them here in Greece....

[Deleted User]

I just finished packing the hm sauerkraut and this one is a lovely pink colour, I used 1 red cabbage and 3 good sized green ones and only the ball headed ones, it is an excellent way of using a cabbage glut. As always it was very worth making and I got 3 crammed litre kilners out of it plus a bit in a box. So they are now under the stairs and I now have 12 of these and 13 jars of brined green beans ranging from 1/2 to 1 litre sizes. Lol some beans were held down under the brine with boiled stones but I managed to find some plastic circle things which do a better job on the later jars. I made a big pan of minestrone today and can report that the brined beans are good, crispy and green. So I will be growing lots again in 2013.

It looks as though my brined plums will be lasting a long time, like my lemons, a bit at a time by the look of it. I won`t be doing the plums again as plum puree bottled very easily and will be nice from excess plums. Salted lemons too, next time will be one small jar.

Great taste but I have to remember to use them and yes salt is in my must have shtf store

Dal again tonight and was lovely, a recipe from
http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Recipes.html

spices of india is one of my favourite shops. Got baklava the other day and it arrived on a pretty little plate, what good value for £2.25. Dh loves them but too sweet for me

2T have you any good ideas for halloumi please? I tend to pop it among roasted veg but there must be lots of better ways

2tonsils

Kittie, the traditional way to cook Halloumi cheese is to fry it in some oil until the outside goes crispy and the inside is soft and chewy. You can also make Oven Saganaki with it.... (or with feta) you just chop tomatoes, onions, a little garlic into an oven proof dish then add mussels or prawns (or in my case both lol) ..sprinkle over a little grated cheese then bake till its bubbling hot. You can use Halloumi to make skewers for under the grill as its firm cheese, I use it with cherry tomatoes and bits of mushroom and courgette.They only take a few minutes to cook.

I have been known to have a chunk of Halloumi on top of a slice of thick cucumber and with a little pickle or an olive on top as snacks....


I love Halloumi cheese...that salty flavour is right up my street....

Confuzzled

kittie wrote: »

Dal again tonight and was lovely, a recipe from
http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Recipes.html

spices of india is one of my favourite shops. Got baklava the other day and it arrived on a pretty little plate, what good value for £2.25. Dh loves them but too sweet for me

i also love this site, found it one day trying to find cheaper tiger balm. their pots are only £2.45 each vs often £4 or higher elsewhere. really good for anyone who aches in winter, i alternate between tiger balm and deep heat when my joints play up, it helps so much

the spices are great too

2tonsils

I guess people here are getting more and more worried about the future...we had an incident happen to us earlier today that really upset us.

This morning we were driving on the narrow road near town when a truck coming towards us forced us over to the side and then we pulled right into a gateway as far as we could, our wheels were on the raised wall so we could go no further. The driver of the van opened his window and hurled abuse at us and then got out of his cab to have a go at my husband, who had got out of the car to show we could go no further over. The van had room to pull through but wouldn't. We were subjected to violent shouting in our faces and lots of racist comments about the Germans and the English. He was shouting that my husband was a b*****d and that he was going to kill him and that he hated us. He only stopped when my husband stood his ground and other people arrived to witness what was going on. I really hope this is not going to become a trend or a way of life here. We took his number but the police would do nothing even if we complained. I am so disappointed... The driver was Greek but not a Corfiot, I could tell by his accent.