The OS Doorstep - a helpful and supportive thread in these tough times

monnagran

FP: Attagirl! You are doing all the right things. Take note of Lyn's wise words. Or like a good friend of mine says robustly, "Come along now. Chin up! Tits out!"

nuttyp: It sounds as though your are really enjoying your new job, after all the worries you had about taking it. Well done. The desk sounds great and wonderful to know that you have done it all so cheaply with just a bit of imagination and some good old elbow grease. Also no-one in the world will have one the same.

Today have finally emptied one freezer and it is standing all clean and shining waiting for DS to clear a space in his garage where it is going to live. This may take some time.
The general hilarity about his 'Bird Man' costume is spreading. It has now reached FB. He has also learned that as well as the goose bottom and fairy top he has to wear rubber flippers. He is wondering how he is expected to get a run up to the launching off place wearing flippers.

x

wondercollie

It sounds like the grey and rainy weather is hitting a lot of us. I drove home in the worst of it today. It just started pelting down about 45 minutes from home. Black as night. 110km/hr in those conditions? Don't think so. But I had pick up trucks practically in my back seat because I slowed down to 90.


It was a good weekend away. I'm finding the togetherness of his retirement a bit much at times. When the first words out of his mouth are "what are we doing today?" I want to scream.


I know, one day at a time.


Youngest starts his work experience part of his course tomorrow. He is nervous and snappy. He's got to get 500 hours in before mid September and is worried. He is looking forward to September so he can start earning again. But as I pointed out, it's better to borrow from the bank of Mum rather than a bank for the course fees.


Slugs? Salt the beasts.

Hard_Up_Hester

We are off to visit MIL & SFIL on Saturday & I'm after suggestions, MIL has bladder cancer & after her idiot of a GP treated her for 9 months with antibiotics as he thought she had a urinary tract infection. There is now nothing to be done, no treatment, just palliative care. I'm going to take some ready meals over, SFIL is of the generation that thinks housework & cooking are women's work, a few meals in the freezer would take the pressure off MIL. I'm a bit stumped as they won't eat anything with garlic in & no 'foreign muck'. I can make cottage pie & lasagna isn't foreign, but any ideas what else I can make?
FP, she sounds like a frenemy to me, as the other say, chin up & BGK on.
Hester

boultdj

Hester, how about meat + potatoe pie,mince beef and onion pie, stew + dumplings.hth

FairyPrincessk

Morning all,

She's decided to take a break for a bit so I don't have to worry about any more nasty emails.:T Thank you all, really for your hugs and support. I've certainly taken Lyn's words to heart, as I always do. Zebra is such a lucky boy to have a wise one on his side like a good fairy.

Nutty, that bedroom suite sounds wonderful, but hard work! I always imagine you up like a whirlwind, do you ever get to sit down for a cuppa?

Monna, you always have a way with words :rotfl: I'd love to see the spectacle of your DS, how often do we get to become mythical creatures? Sounds like he needs to practice waddling.:rotfl:


Hester, what a difficult time. Its unthinkable that the problem went on so long without further investigation. What about pasties or pies, and stews as boultj says. I haven't had much luck freezing potato in stew so usually leave it out, maybe some soups for lighter meals, or cassoulet. A few simple puddings might also be nice, you could stew fruit and provide crumble topping separately. A very dear woman in my life passed away several years ago, and she had very little appetite while in the palliative stage. I remember her husband tempting her with little jam sandwiches the size of soldiers, bites of rice pudding and things like that. If your MIL is at home maybe a few things in smaller portions for her so she has something nice and homemade when she has an appetite.

I've had a small OS victory recently--one where the frugal and OS way is also the easiest way. I needed to start swabbing my face with witch hazel to help with some medication side effects, but I didn't have any cotton wool pads, and I was loathe to start buying a new disposable. Plus, I tend to do things like that in the bedroom and there isn't a bin in there. I know myself, I put them down to make the bed or take washing down and end up with a pile over a few days and cross with myself for being untidy. So, I hunted around in my rag bag and came up with some old and worn pyjamas. They've been cut into small squares with pinking shears and are in a little wooden bowl my dad made on the dressing table. When I'm finished I toss them into the laundry basket behind me. The first batch came through the wash yesterday and they've done well. I was worried I'd need to stitch them, but no fraying to speak of. Free, easy and tidy.

Possession

How frustrating. I was storing some big bags of rice and pasta in a big plastic box in a shed, and (unless the mice have super strength) someone must have left the lid slightly off. They have chewed through 2 bags of rice, don't appear to have eaten much but I certainly don't fancy eating it now so they might as well have eaten it all. Grrrr.

FairyPrincessk

Very frustrating! Can you turn the rice into microwavable heating pads for the winter? Can't think of anything for the pasta.

Pooky

Hester - My parents (early 60's) won't eat anything they consider to be "foreign muck" either. Feeding them is a nightmare. They won't eat anything with peppers, onions, courgette, aubergine, garlic, spinach in....no mince (they both say it's bland - well that's just mums cooking), nothing herby, nothing spicy, no curry, no pasta (it's slimy muck) no rice (it's for puddings).....the list goes on.

I either make a pie, normally chicken and veg or just serve a roasted chicken or a joint of gammon done in the SC with a choice of veg and a potato dish. They very much are a meat and 2 veg type.

If I were taking food over I think it would be some roasted sliced cold meats in gravy in a foil dish so it can go in the oven to warm through, some mash in portions.....a few individual pies......it's very difficult, you have my sympathies.

[Deleted User]

Morning Toughies, another stunningly beautiful day here today, I've been on the early morning walk with the lurcha as He Who Knows has had to take the car to the retailers garage, we had a door fill up with rainwater and apparently it's a known fault with the Skoda Rapid as they coat the inside of the door with wax which can melt in the heat and run down and block the drainage holes. Hopefully they can sort it out, thank goodness it's still under warranty!!!

FPK I'm glad your colleague has decided to allow a little distance in the relationship, it will give her time to consider her own actions and motives and even if you two don't resume the friendship in the future it might stop her from treating anyone else in the same way. I'm glad it's lifted your worries pet, have yourself a better day today. I wish so much that I was wise, I'm not clever or wise, I just know a little bit about how people interact and I've been around for a while too. I've learned in life that there are always two sides to any situation, sometimes more than two and that people are not intrinsically evil, just very self centred and in this day and age self absorbed and self indulgent. Sometimes you can fix things and sometimes you can't, I like to help with damage limitation if I can and being outside can look unemotionally at what's happening, no magic wand, just care about you all!!!

HESTER what a horrid situation, your poor MIL and the rest of you too, having to deal with this and knowing there is no fixing her. I know that palliative care is much better these days, I guess you know my youngest is a GP? when she was training to be a GP she had a 6 month assignment to a hospice and said it was the most wonderful place she'd ever been priveleged to work in, she could do the job that needed doing without having to consider cost etc. give the medical care that was needed and make the lives of the patients and thier families as easy and as much fun as it was possible to do under the circumstances. She's hoping that she can become a GP link to whichever hospice is closest to the surgery she's at when she goes back after the baby. I hope so much that you can find that level of care for MIL , it will make it more bearable for all of you as things progress. We're always here if you need to 'say it!' or just share, always caring, always wishing you well, I'm so sorry it's happened!!!

Have yourselves a good day everyone, Lyn xxx.

mardatha

LOL Pooky your parents sound like us! But what can we do if pasta does taste slimey to me and peppers & garlic give me heartburn for hours? And yes rice is far nicer in a pudding, savoury rice is a sort of nothing-type meal. I like real food too! :D Maybe wrinklies are like kids and meant to be picky!