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

[Deleted User]

GINNY that is so lovely that Princess and DGS are bonding, dogs are amazing at getting people to respond to them and she obviously understands to be gentle and loving with him, I hope they form a really close relationship and that DGS has added security by being her friend, just beautiful, Cheers Lyn xxx.

Mrs_Veg_Plot

Mum and Dad came over with three very large bags of cooking apples for me. This means I can clear some of the blackberries from the freezer for apple and blackberry jam making. I have a very large freezer but it is absolutely crammed full at the moment (we have done well out of the lottie). I can not decide if I should go down the canning or the dehydrating route. I know some of you dehydrate your produce. I have had a look at dehydrators and they are either around the £50 mark or jump up to £200. Are the cheaper ones any good or would it be better to save up for one of the dearer ones?

Does anyone on here use a dehydrator?

Lovely news Mrs LW

katieowl_2

Evening all. It was baking day again today. How blooming quick it seems to come around again! I feel carp. There seems to be a bug going around and I'm brewing it. I cut back on what I made, gave up early and now I'm in bed with my doggles.

Apparently DD and the baby sproglet both have the lurgy and the other DD. Lovely.

Ive got one more night of B&B booked next month, and then I've decided I'm going to set up all my craft stuff and sewing
in the B&B room for the winter. There is good daylight by the window. Plenty of sockets for the iron, overlocker and maching, TV and heating if I get too cold :P Hope that if it's all set up ready to go I might be a bit more motivated. I was given three huge bag of clothes last week, of which DD took a bag, I've sorted one bag of tiny things for one of the other market traders and her daughter, and over the weekend made a start on two hats made from t-shirts. They are like those 1940s turbans (Did Fuddles Avatar have one?) I bought one in a CS recently and thought those would be easy to make, so made a pattern and had a go :P I'll bung on a picture when it's finished. I get very morose I don't get time for more sewing/crafting. I bought the overlocker for my 50th and I've only used it twice. I need to order some thread, e-bay looked like a good bet? There is some fab upcycled stuff in a shop in Cardigan at the moment, and she's got kids stuff too. I really want to have a go!

Made the boys forage for their own dinner tonight, and did the same yesterday, so that all the odds and ends get used up. Going to treat my self to some sausages in the market tomorrow that are GF, as I made a nommy GF yorkshire pud the other week, and I have been fantasising about a GF toad in the hole :rotfl:

OH came and pushed the trolley round the supermarket on Sunday (Rare event!) and he nearly died :eek: when my shopping in Mr T came to £70. I had £15 worth of market stuff in there, and burger all else. Yeah I said...it's a shock isn't it!!! Most of it was reduced, and there was a lot of cheese (they eat so much cheese!) but that was reduced too. There was no meat either! It's really shocking how quick it mounts up these days!

Kate

Mrs_Chip

Evening All!

Congrats Mrs LW!

No hangover, I can officially drink again! I'll not go mad, these days I prefer a diet coke anyway!

It has been a lovely warm, sunny day here, a perfect autumn day.

Kate - Bookers do a very good mature Welsh cheddar, it's £4.99 a kilo, and comes in @ a 2.5 kilo block. It is very very good, and £5 is my target price for buying cheese.

Still no shrew, pesky thing knows to avoid the trap now. I might give it a few days and try again, are shrews like goldfish?

Pooky

Katie - after a lot of soul searching I gave up my dining room table and set up a desk for me and my hobbies (DHs computer desk was already in there). Having my machine set up means things get done rather than put off.....I put the thermal linings in my curtains last week but two pairs needed altering.....I measured, pinned, sewed and hung all in an hour.....previously they'd have sat there for another month until I dragged the machine out.

Giving up my dining room took a lot of doing though, I ended up buying an extending table for the kitchen so I can still seat 8 if needed but the whole psychology of giving up one room just to make room for my hobbies was mentally hard. (in reality we rarely used the dining room in favour of sitting at the kitchen table).

Its lovely to sit and sew whilst DH plays a game on his pc, I pop a pod cast on and we can exist whilst ignoring each other

In other news I've finally mastered the ripple crochet pattern and am about 12 rows into a blanket....which has been claimed (via FB) by a lovely couple that met on this very website. They've moved to Portugal but will be in the country next year and are popping by on their way home.

katieowl_2

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

Evening All!

Congrats Mrs LW!

No hangover, I can officially drink again! I'll not go mad, these days I prefer a diet coke anyway!

It has been a lovely warm, sunny day here, a perfect autumn day.

Kate - Bookers do a very good mature Welsh cheddar, it's £4.99 a kilo, and comes in @ a 2.5 kilo block. It is very very good, and £5 is my target price for buying cheese.

Still no shrew, pesky thing knows to avoid the trap now. I might give it a few days and try again, are shrews like goldfish?

Yeah a fiver's my target price too...they had David's Toe cheese (as its known here :rotfl:) for £5.50 which is pretty good as it's really nice, but they also had loads of stuff reduced to a couple of squids for a big block. Plus they had President Brie on offer so that my lunches for the week sorted.

Kate

katieowl_2

Pooky wrote: »

Katie - after a lot of soul searching I gave up my dining room table and set up a desk for me and my hobbies (DHs computer desk was already in there). Having my machine set up means things get done rather than put off.....I put the thermal linings in my curtains last week but two pairs needed altering.....I measured, pinned, sewed and hung all in an hour.....previously they'd have sat there for another month until I dragged the machine out.

Giving up my dining room took a lot of doing though, I ended up buying an extending table for the kitchen so I can still seat 8 if needed but the whole psychology of giving up one room just to make room for my hobbies was mentally hard. (in reality we rarely used the dining room in favour of sitting at the kitchen table).

Its lovely to sit and sew whilst DH plays a game on his pc, I pop a pod cast on and we can exist whilst ignoring each other

In other news I've finally mastered the ripple crochet pattern and am about 12 rows into a blanket....which has been claimed (via FB) by a lovely couple that met on this very website. They've moved to Portugal but will be in the country next year and are popping by on their way home.

Yeah Pookie, I think that if I can just think I'll pop and do a bit for half hour it will help. Otherwise I use the dining room, and everyone wants the table to eat, because otherwise you have to fend the dogs off if you eat on your lap! I get so fed up clearing it off to the side board, the light in there is awful too, being an old house. I can use my maching on the desk I bought earlier in the year, but I want this overlocker in action, and I know I need to use both machines.

Kate

mcculloch29

What lovely news about Blue Lentil, Oma L-W. Congrats! :j
I was thinking this morning of how my late mum was bowled over when DS was the first boy in the family for 32 years.
She lost her only brother as a toddler and boys were special to her. (It's my niece's 40th birthday this week, she was the first GC for Mum, followed by DD, then DS both at five yearly intervals, which is what triggered that line of thought.)

DS/Dr C. posted his sales from The Bay of E today, all stuff that had gathered dust bringing cash. De-cluttering is cool.:cool:

monnagran

Hi all.

Oh, the fruit!!!!!

In the last three days I have been given 2 sacks and 1 large bag of apples, a very large bag of pears and just now the doorbell went and a chap handed me a washing-up bowl full of plums. I haven't a minute to spare this week, nor is there an empty square inch in the freezers, (remember? Baguettes, pitta bread, ............) The plums are Victorias and delicious. I can't stop eating them and if I don't watch it I am about to be very, very ill.

I think I'll go and fall on my sword.

x

Popperwell

I should get into using up my cheese again(only so I can buy some more):)

I think for the few people I know as Christmas approaches small gifts of jam/cheese from a farmer's market or a specialist shop in a big store. Or cake:p

Perhaps by then I'll be baking something myself.

I wish I had bought more now...a local £1 shop was selling 10bags in a carton that claim that they will keep cheese longer. On the carton it says they have similar ones for bread and vegetables. I suspect they are all the same(so I could have brought more home)I haven't seen them in official H.St £1 stores...