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

Pooky

Morning all

Another gorgeous morning here, bright blue skies and a slight breeze. Got the back door wide open so no heating required here yet.

Got a bit of a cooking day ahead of me, didn't get the soup made yesterday so that's today's job, plus some pasta salads and pasties for lunch boxes this week. DD1s anaemia seems to be back so I'm going to do some super-de-dooperly iron rich soups for her. She's had iron supplements in all forms from the Drs but they give her crashing headaches (they do the same to me) so I need to up her iron intake in her food. Shes not keen on dried fruit which are iron rich but she loves my curry sauces which have (unbeknown to her) raisins and dried apricots in...I just whizz them up a bit so she can't see them.

Ginny - scones at 11pm? Early midnight snacks?

greenbee

Pooky - my anaemia is back and ferritin levels are too low to deal with through diet alone (interestingly, anaemia itself causes headaches), but I have been given advice on diet - branflakes; lentils, kidney beans; chickpeas; blackcurrants; poppadums; bombay mix - all these come up fairly high in iron. Bran flakes particularly (other fortified cereals are also good, but they are by far the highest).

I just need to get my high-fibre diet (ground linseed with everything, and SW Dyno Rod soup at least once a day!) sorted so I can increase my iron intake to the recommended dose :cool:

kidcat

My anaemia is always there but sometimes worse than others I can't handle the supplements either so always try to adjust my diet. I am usually really boring though and go for steak and broccoli or asparagus. May borrow both your ideas to help.

Its very wet and windy here today and DD7 has a birthday party to go to a local hotel. It's usually a huge affair and very expensive, parents are expected to stay and lunch is provided. I am so behind with stuff though I would really appreciate being able to leave her and run but having chatted with the mum yesterday she really expects me to stay, she was telling me how she is having huge problems at the moment and how she feels.

Another run in with OH yesterday after I made a really stupid stupid mistake. I miss fuelled the car. Had to have it towed into our garage and it needs draining etc. He was flipping because I made him go sit and wait for the tow so that I could come home and carry on with kids stuff like DD7 dance class etc. He didn't enjoy cleaning up my mess it seems, I pointed out that I feel like that all the time when I have to clean up his mess. He didn't appreciate the comments.

I know it was a stupid mistake and I should have been concentrating more and taken more care, but I am just grateful I noticed before I started it so it is only a case of draining it rather than a big repair.

PRINCESSX87

Morning everyone.

This cold has really knocked me for six. I don't ache, instead I hurt everywhere. The cough is driving me insane!!

The house is a complete tip! that's another thing that is driving me round the bend. Not sure if I can hold out until tomorrow when its just me home to do what's needed.

I'm going to make a list of everything, and see which is easier to start off with.

Hope everyone is okay.....Glad to see the thread getting back to normal. Can we keep it that way now please peeps....

nuttyp

Morning everyone, I was greeted by OH hovering downstairs at 730am. He had already put the washing machine on with all of his work clothes, and put the washing up away from last night. I know I am lucky that he helps, he has also mowed the lawn and is now washing my car. I would wash it, but my attempt always leaves it looking like a zebra.

Well I have just made a cooked breakfast of eggs bacon and mushrooms with a slice of toast. I washed up afterwards too, so I do my fair share.

We are off to the next town later, need to take my phone to CEX to get £50 for it. Have checked on ebay and they don't make much. We also need some bits from the poundshop. Then its a trip to the woods for pinecones and home. x

Take care in the winds everyone x

PRINCESSX87

Well done Mr nutty!! lovely man! xx

FairyPrincessk

For those of you looking for some tasty iron intake, try making some hummus. Chickpeas and the sesame seeds that make up the tahini are both very high in iron. If you dip in raw vegetables the vitamin C will help you to absorb it. I've just been researching as my dad has low iron.

ginnyknit

Hi Pooky, I made a big bowl of mix for pastry the other night, I hate doing a little bowl at a time, so put the rest of the dry mix in the fridge and decided to cook it last night so OH had scones to nibble on. His appetite is poor but will often pick up a scone, with homemade jam of course.:D

Kidcat, hope you get a rest today and well done for getting Oh to sort the car out, its time he pulled his weight.

Im feeling a bit odd today, its like I have a lead weight inside me so am going to have a snooze now that Dgs has gone home. Its wet dark and chilly here.

kezlou

Thanks for the info everyone regarding the iron, i suffer from anaemia and i'm pretty ds2 is anaemic to. I had no idea chick peas and dried fruit had iron in them, guess what were going to be having later .

Kidcat just ignore him, my OH has been like for months, its like walking on egg shells.
OH is the one who normally does this, he just keeps topping the tank up with diesel till he thinks it outweighs the petrol. Then drives around in it. Two guys from the RAC and AA told him. Advice is when the tank gets down to a 1/4 fill it up with diesel and drive around and do the same again. Last time it took a week to drain it.

Mrs_Veg_Plot

Morning all. It is very cold and windy here today, have got the towels in the wash in the hope that it does not rain.

I am going to do some more glossing today and will hopefully finish the hall today. Just the stairs and landing to go then it will all be finished. I am going to see if my work diary has a gap in it somewhere so that I can book a days time owing and get it done. The radiators are all undercoated but it is too cold to keep them off so that they can be glossed, the drying time of the gloss is 16hrs.

Visited MIL again last night we chatted about making sure she had everything she needed and talked about a few temporary adjustments that are needed in her bungalow whilst she is on crutches and she seemed quite happy with the idea. I also broached the idea of us doing her shopping and (depending on the times of the care visits that are booked for her) sorting out her evening meal. MIL wants her main meal of the day at lunchtime so I suggested she asks the morning carer to get one of her frozen meals out of the freezer in the morning and pop it in the fridge for her. For her evening meal she wants fruit and sandwiches which will be very easy for me to sort out for her. I thought that I could make her some nutritious soups that can be heated in the microwave as well. She did admit that she is not looking forward to being confined to barracks to start with so OH and I will bring her to our house a couple of times a week for a change of scenery.

DD2 went to a Halloween party last night dressed as Beetlejuice and she looked fab in her homemade costume and her makeup was amazing. I am impressed that she pulled it all together including the fake blood for £12 as opposed to the Beetlejuice fancy dress costume she was looking at online for £25. t just goes tot show that my money saving ways are rubbing off on the family.

Rubber chicken week this week. I will kick it off with a roast dinner today and decide on the rest of the meals up as the week progresses. I am however really looking forward to homemade chicken soup for my lunches at work next week.

Spoke to DD1 yesterday who is at uni and renting a house with three other girls. They have just had a letter stating their gas is going up by 10%. The company that owns their house has about 20 student properties in the city and I doubt the owners will change their gas provider but have suggested that they ask anyway. Their grants will not stretch far enough to cover a rise like that. They are being very good and only using the heating when they really have to but they are even further north than us and it is cold enough here.