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

fuddle

So sorry to read of little fluffy cat feeling poorly still Pooky.

Monnagran I loved your recount... more, more, more! Please?

Lyn, my elderflower cordial smells delightful already! So looking forward to bottling and then drinking.

Pooky

Thanks Mrs Chip, I shall look into all of those....we have the bisolvon so I'm glad to hear it works. I've tried everything food wise today, I made her some chicken stock, freshly cooked chicken, fish, tuna, sardine and normal cat food. She wouldnt touch dreamies or her hairball treats that she normally scoffs down....liver sticks and lysine chews normally get snatched from my hand but she just wasn't interested.

I've managed to get 12mls of fluids in and will try another 5mls before I go to bed. She's having a twitchy toed, dreamy sleep at the moment so I'm loathe to wake her.

Was supposed to be going out tomorrow as its my birthday but think I may need to stay close to home. She's worth it though.

Mrs_Chip

Pooky I can send you a few sachets of Fortiflora - it's quite expensive, I bought it online and it was £18 for 30 sachets, we are through the worst period with George and he is now eating well again (but still not putting on any weight), so don't need them all.

He loved the Complivit, again not cheap, but when they are not eating 1 tsp is equivalent to a meal.

PM if you would like the Fortiflora!

Hope you manage to have a nice day tomorrow

maryb

I use the River Cottage elderflower cordial recipe as well and it's lovely.

Using citric acid helps to stop them fermenting and luckily the local chemists seem to stock it. I know a few years ago it was hard to get hold of because druggies use it for nefarious purposes but maybe there is so much interest in home preserving now that they are no longer deeply suspicious when a grey haired lady of clearly conventional habits asks for it!

I find I can keep the cordial all year if I process the bottles in a water bath like bottling fruit. I've got a really deep "cuiseur" that I bought in a French supermarket, like a mini dustbin, and it's deep enough to stand the bottles in with about an inch of water over the top. Bring water to boil and keep at that temperature for about 10 minutes.

I save wine vinegar bottles for bottling my cordial (and have been known to nick them from the neighbours' recycling boxes when no-one is around). They hold 500ml which is just the right amount of cordial to use in one go.

VJsmum

Mrs_Veg_Plot wrote: »

One of my favorite memories is the year my sister and I were given navy blue silver cross carriage prams for Christmas. I was so proud walking around the village with it as only one other child had one. Years later mum told me that it had cost a week of dads wages for one and our grandparents had bought the other. We never usually had expensive presents so it was extra special.

Unlike my sister I kept mine and both of my girls used it and they both loved it as no one else had a pram like it. I still have it now up in the attic. Many a time it was used when visitors with babies came (large fertile family).

Rubber chicken week for us. Had a roast chicken dinner yesterday and chicken/butternut squash risotto with salad tonight. I had a chicken salad for lunch at work. Have put the carcass in the slow cooker with celery, onion and carrot and popped it in the fridge. OH will put it on tomorrow for me. Have got some soup mix soaking in water with added adzouki beans, butter beans and borlotti beans.

Now I'm jealous. I always wanted a pram and never got one. No-one could afford one. Though, one year I was offered the choice of a bike or one of these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfjJ24RN-7o

Anyone remember them? That's what I chose

I eventually got my hands on my brothers old chopper bike - that was a great day!

savingqueen wrote: »

Lots of talk about vibrating rainbow colours and swirling chakras which was really not me. I hope no-one is offended but really for me my chest isn't shiny, emerald green inside and my head violet. For me personally a total waste of time as I felt more wound up after the course and mentally thinking of what else I could have got done at home. I like a bit of massage, aromatherapy, meditation etc as to me they seem to me to be more practical, alternative therapies. I'd better apologise again, just my personal view, horses for courses and sorry if I have put my size 6s in it (yet again)

I do yoga quite regularly but have to now leave during the relaxation bit as I lie there drumming my fingers thinking of what else I could do, or making mental lists. Not relaxing at all, so I just leave.

Haven't time to make cordial this week, hope the elderflowers are still around next. I am not 100% sure whether it's the cordial I want or the chance to buy some of those groovy flip top bottles, though.

Popperwell

One day I'll try and make my own cordial but I have some very expensive ones that are lush and I really must use them...don't try and stop me, its my duty:rotfl:

Do you want to see one of the bands helping to entertain at the food festival yesterday?

Swale Valley Stompers

May cheer someone up...

EstherH

Mrs_Veg_Plot wrote: »

One of my favorite memories is the year my sister and I were given navy blue silver cross carriage prams for Christmas. I was so proud walking around the village with it as only one other child had one. Years later mum told me that it had cost a week of dads wages for one and our grandparents had bought the other. We never usually had expensive presents so it was extra special.

Unlike my sister I kept mine and both of my girls used it and they both loved it as no one else had a pram like it. I still have it now up in the attic. Many a time it was used when visitors with babies came (large fertile family).

Rubber chicken week for us. Had a roast chicken dinner yesterday and chicken/butternut squash risotto with salad tonight. I had a chicken salad for lunch at work. Have put the carcass in the slow cooker with celery, onion and carrot and popped it in the fridge. OH will put it on tomorrow for me. Have got some soup mix soaking in water with added adzouki beans, butter beans and borlotti beans.

Still haven't read anything except the odd quick skim for a couple of days but just read this on the last page. I had a dolls pram which was probably silver cross because it was just like a real babies pram. And yesterday we had chicken and today and tomorrow will be chicken and I have soup mix soaking ready to make soup from the carcass.

Esther x

Popperwell

I hope to hear good news on the pet situation...it is so worrying.

I've been having a few days like you Esther but may try something a bit more adventurous...a chicken pie, some vegetables and a kind of cheesy, bacon potato bake perhaps?

Ches

[QUOTE=monnagran;6204542

The milk bottles had wide tops with cardboard circles for lids with a round hole half-punched in the middle of them. School liked us to collect these as we could bind them with raffia and sew them together for place mats....sooooo useful when you were expecting to be bombed to smithereens at any moment.

/QUOTE]

I can remember using these to make wool pom poms.

Ches

Mrs_Veg_Plot wrote: »

One of my favorite memories is the year my sister and I were given navy blue silver cross carriage prams for Christmas. I was so proud walking around the village with it as only one other child had one. Years later mum told me that it had cost a week of dads wages for one and our grandparents had bought the other. We never usually had expensive presents so it was extra special.

Unlike my sister I kept mine and both of my girls used it and they both loved it as no one else had a pram like it. I still have it now up in the attic. Many a time it was used when visitors with babies came (large fertile family).

I am so jealous as I would have loved a Silver Cross dolls pram. Preferably a twin one. I have told the family that even at my age, if I ever win big money I will treat myself. I was a deprived child