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

monnagran

Am sorting out the knuckle dusters and boxing gloves as we speak.
Cake sounds like a good idea.

x

nuttyp

HI all, SQ have you tried online. I think Tesco have an outlet store on ebay for seconds of that helps. Also if you sign up to the sun+ website you get a free hudl. It costs so much per month, but may help???


I have the hudl and its great, its ok for me to do facebook and play a game or two!!


Work was ok today, meeting went well and then I had to be an independent witness at a disaplinary meeting. It was hard to stay there and here what deception had taken place. some people are not honest.


We think we have found a dog for mum, its 11 months old and a rescue pup. He has never had a proper home. We are taking mum to view him tomorrow night. fingers crossed x

Pooky

Evening all

Possession - fingers crossed on the mortgage!

Monna - I'm intrigued with your chimneys.....

Nutty - Hope the meeting with the puppy goes well.

SQ - I'm hearing good things about the huddle. Might be worth checking your local "ga-me" and "c0e0x" stores as they have traded in items for a decent price (they give a 12month warranty too).

Feeling much more with it today - DH told me he was taking me out today so out we went - just a few hours and a lovely visit to "hobby craft" which was great. We're off to France tomorrow too so I'll have had a couple of "pulling myself together" days. Looking forward to a trip to the French supermarket and wine shops, it's a real "it's nearly Christmas" sign to me as we do it each year.

DD1 is full of herself this evening - she's really upbeat, a great change from a few days ago - I'm not sure the vitamins have helped that quick but I think the fact that she told her BF how she's been feeling and he's been a bit more attentive has helped lots.

Going to head off to bed in a bit with a big mug of tea and a new crochet project, the ultimate in relaxation!

mrsdwhite

Hi all, hope you're all well and avoiding too much Christmasy stuff?!
Off to catch up on the thread in a minute.
I'm in a more positve frame of mind now, I had a few days where I had a chat with myself and decided not to let the !!!!!!s grind me down. It will be a tough few months at work but the people leaving have turned into a rot that we will be so much better off without in the long term. Interviewing 3 people on Wednesday for full time hours, fingers crossed they're suitable and we can employ them all! I've decided to pull my finger out and put some more hours in to relieve some stress from hubby (he's the manager and has to do the full time hours) until we find a deputy. I won't like but needs must.
Got a busy month coming up out of work as well, my weekends will not be my own for a while now by the looks of it. Guess it's better than not being wanted at all?
Off to get a cuppa and a catch up on the thread

Softstuff

philphil1 wrote: »

Hi all,

Sorry to butt in as a stranger..

This curry sounds lovely, have you tried this in a slow cooker?
If not do you think it would work ok?
(maybe an 8 hour cook, with the chickpeas added half way through? Guessing!)

Thanks!

Hi Phil! You're not butting in, you're very welcome.
I don't own a slow cooker (keep debating it, but nowhere to store one). The only thing I'd be wary of is how liquid it is, it does take a bit to reduce down. In theory it should be fine, it's only a variation on a stew after all. And the chickpeas are just added at the end to warm up, not really to cook. Wouldn't want them in that long.
So not much sense in that answer, sorry!

Still recovering from the op, but the scars are looking really neat (considering asking my surgeon if he has a sideline in breast uplifts!). Hubby has man flu, worse still I think he's given it to me. I swear when I sneezed before I could feel all my internal bits rise up and fall down in a new jumbled order. Maybe if I sneeze again they'll right themselves....

Softstuff

Phil, since I wasn't much help with the slow cooker query, I found you another recipe (I'm assured it works very well), for something that I would try if I had a slow cooker:

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/08/not-refried-beans/

kboss2010

Possession wrote: »

I wanted to bypass the charity shops because I'm not convinced the money is put to best use TBH.

I completely agree with you, Possession. But I see charity shops as less of a bonus to the charity and more of a passing on the bargains to fellow cash-strapped shoppers as a thank you for all of the stuff I've saved on over the years.

I also avoid the chains in favour of the locals. To me, a small amount of money like sales of second hand goods will make a much bigger difference to a small local charity than to the huge money-making machines like Oxfam, BHF, Cancer Research etc. and I also think they're starting to take the mickey a bit with their pricing.

Softstuff

Bored poop-less here and not *really* supposed to be cooking. So went into the kitchen and made the easy lemon pickle from Jamies 30 min meals . Couldn't really believe it would work, but it does and it's sour-spicy-good.

Chop up a lemon into lil bits, heat 2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp turmeric and a sprinkle of chilli flakes in some olive oil, throw in lemon, stir. It sort of thickens, it's done, refrigerate it.

I tasted a bit immediately and was impressed. A nice quick side pickle for a curry. Just the thing to make a simple chickpea curry look that little bit better.

philphil1

Softstuff wrote: »

Hi Phil! You're not butting in, you're very welcome.
I don't own a slow cooker (keep debating it, but nowhere to store one). The only thing I'd be wary of is how liquid it is, it does take a bit to reduce down. In theory it should be fine, it's only a variation on a stew after all. And the chickpeas are just added at the end to warm up, not really to cook. Wouldn't want them in that long.
So not much sense in that answer, sorry!

Thanks for that I will probably give it a go even if it means leaving the lid off for a couple of hours to reduce down, although not sure if that will just let all the heat out! If \I do I will report back here

Softstuff wrote: »

Phil, since I wasn't much help with the slow cooker query, I found you another recipe (I'm assured it works very well), for something that I would try if I had a slow cooker:

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/08/not-refried-beans/

Never tried anything like that before, but looks like it would be good with a pack (or 2 ...or 3!) of tortilla chips!

Thanks again

savingqueen

Just popping in to wish everyone a good day. I have the dentist after school run, just a check-up but I am feeling far more anxious about it than usual. Be glad to get it over and done with! Have several shops and supermarkets to visit in a loop and anything else is a bonus. Stayed up lateish last night to get stuff done and feeling it this morning. take care SQ