Nice People Thread Part 9 - and so it continues

vivatifosi

Spirit wrote: »

If I am facing impending reduced circumstances I may well be grateful for such advice, or tealights in plant pots, or fleece blankets. micheals will be my guru.

I can heartily suggest a holiday in Florida. Not only will you be warm for two weeks, but the stores over there are so full of winter bargains that you will be able to stay warm forever.

Colombia outlets in Florida regularly Sorel sell snow boots (keep feet warm at temps down to -20C) at about 20-30% of retail. I bought mine for about £30.

This last trip, I bought a down filled coat. Now I might walk down the street looking like the Michelin Man, but that is fine, because I will be warm as my coat is rated to -17C. And then, when I get home, I can wear that and my boots and not put the heating on. Or alternatively I can lay under my down and fleece rug that I bought last year for £20. That too is very snuggly.

I've even bought walking poles for getting up and down my hill in the snow there. And a $2 pair of ear muffs. Why these things are for sale in Florida is beyond me, given that it never snows there, but I am glad that they are.

I will however confess that I do actually have the heating on at the moment. I don't like the cold very much.

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

No, no freezer bit. I've never had spinach - don't fancy it
I like the pongy greens: cauli, cabbage, brussels, broccoli.

In the past I've had dinners that were just 1/3rd of a cabbage - with gravy.

I love all of them. I adore spinach. Creamed spinach ( milky baby food again, but savoury this time) is one of my favourite things to eat.

Bit like you with cabbage, I quite enjoy for supper just steamed broccoli and oyster sauce. I always used to hope for leftover cabbage for a meal for me, now I hope there isn't any so I avoid temptation:rotfl:

zagubov

lostinrates wrote: »

Some chicken is actually a quite pronounced taste. Some of our dual purpose bread cockerels have been almost gamey, the brown meat is properly brown.....not just dark white, and the breast is a bit puny tbh. But the flavour is......incredible. It doesn't really taste like 'chicken'.

Maybe I've been eating the wrong chicken.

I read ages ago (probaly got his wrong) that we tend to eat female animals or young males as testosterone in some adult males animals can exaggerate the flavours to the point where it's inedible. I certainly don't think the flavour of chicken or turkey touches the flavour of duck. Never tried goose, I'd expect a waterfowl to be fatty and highly flavoured.

Wish I'd tasted this though.

LydiaJ

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Went to GP, who said I was probably deficient in ever vitamin, and certainly anaemic, so he's given me a prescription for some pills. Can't get them until tomorrow, though.

Isaac was angelic, managed to shut up the entire time!

Hope you manage to keep them down, and that they give you back some of your energy. And well done to Isaac. :T

Spirit wrote: »

Mmm what happens for the next car ..she saves up, she borrows commercially or bank of M&D? What would NP do?

vivatifosi wrote: »

BOMAD with (at current rates) about 3% interest.

That way she gets a better rate than from the bank and you get a better rate on your savings. Win/win.

I'm not a great believer in giving loans to even close family without building in some interest, unless I was very close and it was a crisis as there is always a loss of opportunity with your money.

I agree with viva. BOMAD with interest for a win/win. That's how I paid for my present car when somebody kindly wrote off my previous one for me and the insurance payout wasn't enough to cover the cost of the replacement. (Although actually that was just adding a bit onto the loan I already had from the BOMAD at interest for buying the quarter of my house that wasn't paid for by LNE's life insurance etc.)

Spirit wrote: »

If I am facing impending reduced circumstances I may well be grateful for such advice, or tealights in plant pots, or fleece blankets. micheals will be my guru.

Fleece blankets are excellent. You can wrap them round yourself during the day, and then at night you can take them under the duvet with you for extra warmth in bed. (Although maybe you don't need to do that if you have another person in the bed providing body heat.)

lostinrates

zagubov wrote: »

Maybe I've been eating the wrong chicken.

I read ages ago (probaly got his wrong) that we tend to eat female animals or young males as testosterone in some adult males animals can exaggerate the flavours to the point where it's inedible. I certainly don't think the flavour of chicken or turkey touches the flavour of duck. Never tried goose, I'd expect a waterfowl to be fatty and highly flavoured.

Wish I'd tasted this though.

We (humans in the west) tend to eat meat bred birds of either sex when they are immature.


We ( as in smallholders) often eat young male cockerels that are not as young as meat birds but not yet big strutting c0ck birds. (In an ideal pink and fluffy world this would be the meat we ate, a by product of the egg industry reared both for great eggs and meat...the French maran in such a bird).


I let mine get to the point they are starting to scuffle. They have a depth of flavour, not gamey or anything like dock or goose. Just like.. Hmmm, what a non salty version of chicken chips ,MIT taste like? (I don't eat meat flavour crisps, I'm clutching at straws.

We think this is the ideal time for a few reasons.

More mature they fight...this is not good. Less mature they might turn out to me female with funky head furniture .....this has happened to us before......cotton eyed jojo was cotton eye joe. some of the rare breeds have quite eleborate head stuff going on and look male. More mature the flavour developes and you actually get some meat, less mature you get (in non commercial birds) very little meat. Too mature its tough.

Its like mutton to lamb....a bit.


Goose is delicious. Lighter than duck, a more open grain meat, not as dark, just as fatty, a more delicate taste but still rich and meaty.

fc123

michaels wrote: »

LED bulbs really helped with the leccy bill and i changed the PSU in our PC that runs 24/7 to a high efficiency one, cost 20 quid, paid for itself in a year.

Girls auditioned for a free place at stage school for a year on Sunday, school have emailed back asking to know more about them so fingers crossed please all NPs.

good luck DK's .

vivatifosi wrote: »

BOMAD with (at current rates) about 3% interest.

That way she gets a better rate than from the bank and you get a better rate on your savings. Win/win.

I'm not a great believer in giving loans to even close family without building in some interest, unless I was very close and it was a crisis as there is always a loss of opportunity with your money.

...yup, best way to do it...why pay interest to the bank when you can pay a bit less to family and they could still get a little more than in a standard deposit account.?

SingleSue

We were a few minutes late for school this morning as I misplaced my car keys, so youngest had to write the reason he was late....

Did he write "Mum lost her car keys"? Nope, he wrote "Freeing the slaves"

Caused lots of merriment amongst the teachers I can tell you.

silvercar

michaels wrote: »

LED bulbs really helped with the leccy bill and i changed the PSU in our PC that runs 24/7 to a high efficiency one, cost 20 quid, paid for itself in a year.

Girls auditioned for a free place at stage school for a year on Sunday, school have emailed back asking to know more about them so fingers crossed please all NPs.

We have reduced electric usage considerably by dumping the old PC and using laptops. Also not having kids leaving lights on, doors open and showering for half an hour helps. Still think the total E + G is above £2500. Since we had loft insulation put in, the house remains warm once the heating has gone off.

Do the DKs need Sunday activities? Do they get any chill time? I would have thought a Sunday commitment stops family outings.

SingleSue

From September 2012 through to October 2013 my electricity was £790.46
From November 2012 through to November 2013 my gas was £331.59.

Gas would have been higher (by about £100 ish) but my boiler is playing silly !!!!!!s after the last gas safety check and so far, they have been unable to get it sorted. I tend to be very cautious over our usage and will opt more for the blankets on sofas and extra jumpers than whacking the heat right up. I also switch pretty much everything off at the socket, only have the lights we need on etc.

Right now, I would kill for some decent central heating, it's blooming cold here (bedroom is 15 degrees) and I feel the cold. We are getting by though before anyone panics, have an electric oil filled rad and a halogen heater which are keeping the children warm and toasty.

Masomnia

All nighter to do on an assignment, but the Ashes is just started! So it's all good Got an excuse to stay up and listen to it.

Hope you're all well.