Preparing for Winter V

Laura_Elsewhere

Winter preparations are still going on here, steadily.

We defrosted the freezer so I know what I do and don't have, and we worked out what works best for how to use it - it's a rented flat and the fridge-freezer is smaller than most as it's not full-depth. We have started to use it more and more efficiently. One thing is to freeze pasta-sauces half-way through, as there's a point where everything that takes time is in the pan in the right order, browned or softened as appropriate (onions, celery, garlic, herbs, mince: that kind of thing) and if we freeze it at that stage it takes up less room than if I add the passata and freeze it at that stage. As the passata lives in a tetrapak, it's easy to store those in another room. So in winter I can take out most-of-a-sauce, just add the passata and simmer for 20 mintes while I sort out the pasta and salad bits, and there we go. Almost-ready meals! Same with soups, quite a lot where you do the complicated bits and then add stock, so I can freeze those at the middle stage.

I'm washing winter woollies, as well. I have to do those slowly as the flat has so few drying-places even in summer, but they will all be done.

I'm getting Mr_Elsewhere to put up a shelf in the high dead space over the front door, to slide flat lightweight boxes onto for our hats and gloves and scarves. Again, I'm looking over all those and washing or darning or whatever as required.

I've also bought new boot and shoe soles online, and the right glue, and have been overhauling many of my leather shoes and boots, while I'm living in plimsolls all summer! New soles on the soles (no?), Blakey's segs (you can buy them online, hurrah!) on the heels, and plenty of polishing to feed the leather and build up water-resistance.

I also have the fabric for two new fine-wool skirts, so I'm starting to plan those with great pleasure...

I'm looking forward to it...

mardatha

I'm currently sat at the fire knitting xmas socks drinking tea and eating a jam sammich. Outside it's raining like Arks are going out of fashion and the forecast is the same for tomorrow. Out the back are the wettest sheep I have ever seen and a deafening chorus of lambs moaning to their mummies that they are wet cold and NOT HAPPY. Ahhh the joys of the Scottish summer...

parsniphead

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

NaughtySpot (is this by any chance the puppy influencing your name?!)

"and the rain really gets me down"

I'm almost the opposite, as I often love rain... I wonder if there are any ways you can start now in summertime to change your view of the stuff?
I think there are three rain-situations:
1. you have to be out in it as you go to your day's work, so if you get soaked, you'll stay soaked.
2. you have to be out in it as part of your day's work, so if you get soaked, you'll stay soaked.
3. you have to be out in it but will get home at the end of the being-out, so can change.

For 1 & 2, all I can suggest is investing in the best waterproofs, but for 3, which is my own most common one, I think there are ways you can think differently that make it worse or better.
I do almost all our shopping, on foot (because my bike needs hauling out of the weeds and cobwebs, oops), and can get sodden in wet weather as each shop is a mile or more in three different direction. It's probably similar to having to take a dog out once or twice a day.

For mild weather like now, I concentrate on having comfortable dry feet and keeping my face (specs!) fairly dry. The rest of me can get rained-on and it doesn't matter. I wear bare arms if it's not really cold, and shorts or loose trousers or skirts. Then on getting in, I just hang up my damp clothes and they dry quickly.
For colder weather I wear real wool jumpers which have a fuzzy 'halo' of hairs on the surface. For most rain, that 'halo' keeps the rain off the jumper, so I stay warm but also dry. When I get home, I take off the jumper and give it a sharp 'whip-crack' shake on the stairs of the flats, and that takes most of the rain off. Then I generally just put it back on again and it finishes off drying by body-heat
For real deluges, I cut up a brightly-coloured Ikea shower-curtain to make a rain-cape I also have a wrap-around over-skirt made from dark green rip-stop nylon which is brilliant as I often go through woodland footpaths as shortcuts and my skirts would get soaked from the undergrowth being wet!

Mostly, the over-skirt and a wool jumper do the trick right through the dark wet months, with decent footwear. And a hat, of course! Dry head and dry feet, always...

The other thing you could try is having deliberately-chosen Nice Things to come back to. Is there a hot drink you like? What about setting it up before you go out - clear the comfy chair, get out your favourite mug, put your thick woolly house-socks on the radiator, choose a good book and out that by the chair, put out a plate and knife in the kitchen, and then when you come in, you towel the pup dry (with his towel, not your nice heated one!), take your boots and hat off, towel anything you need to, then put the kettle and your socks on and make your hot drink, toast a slice of bread, butter it and lots of jam, and then pad through to the comfy armchair and curl up for ten minutes with a good book, toast and hot drink...

Might that kind of thing help? so going out might still take some determination, but coming home you think of the warmed socks and the smell of the hot toast and the way the butter melts and the tink-tink of the spoon as you stir your drink...

I love this. To have something to look forward to when freezing cold is the best. Its the cold, dark mornings with 5am starts which i dislike, especially knowing most normal people are still cosied up in bed. I love autumn and the dark nights though.

Its been very on and off today with the rain here. I just managed to get back from the park before it started again.

I'm doing lots of work on my house and want it as cozy as possible for the winter. Hopefully by next year i will have new windows which are not singled glazed.

Lindlou

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

I made some elderberry syrup, after finding out that it's got solid modern scientific evidence as a virus-killer, especially for respiratory things, because I used to be plagued by head-colds, persistent coughs and horrible sore throat. I keep a 500ml bottle in the fridge and have a teaspoon morning and evening at the very earliest signs of not feeling right in any cold-y way, and it seems to be doing the trick. The only cold I've had in the last year has been a summer cold that caught me off-guard! Also, I've given smaller amounts to various friends/family who couldn't shake a respiratory thing and it seems to have helped them too (I certainly have several 'orders' for some while I'm making it this year!)

The elderberries are ripe in earlyish September in Britain usually. I've always made elderberry cheese (like a thick jelly or a sieved jam, no bits in), but will always make elderberry syrup from now on!

Laura, would you mind posting how you made it?

Thanks in advance....

fuddle

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

I made some elderberry syrup, after finding out that it's got solid modern scientific evidence as a virus-killer, especially for respiratory things, because I used to be plagued by head-colds, persistent coughs and horrible sore throat. I keep a 500ml bottle in the fridge and have a teaspoon morning and evening at the very earliest signs of not feeling right in any cold-y way, and it seems to be doing the trick. The only cold I've had in the last year has been a summer cold that caught me off-guard! Also, I've given smaller amounts to various friends/family who couldn't shake a respiratory thing and it seems to have helped them too (I certainly have several 'orders' for some while I'm making it this year!)

The elderberries are ripe in earlyish September in Britain usually. I've always made elderberry cheese (like a thick jelly or a sieved jam, no bits in), but will always make elderberry syrup from now on!

Yip oh yessity-yes-yes. I had previously loved the homemade elderberry syrup and was adamant I would make it last year but ironically after three boughts of pneumonia I just couldn't do it. This year though, it's going to be my armour!

DD and I walked on by the elderflowers (well we picked for one round of elderflower cordial. We had to!) on the school walk over the bridleways. We won't be that way until schools are back in sept and we're expecting to be busy. I would like a vast supply this year so saving glass bottles.

MARDATHA sorry for shouting I can't do bold on my phone. What would you say is best for a clumsy non-knitter who can do the basics but is not very skilled but-is-very-keen! Ok, me. What would you suggest I use to learn again how to knit socks? I have 3 double pointed needles (4 is an option too) or.circular needles? Whadda you use? Whadda you suggest I try with???

mardatha

Join https://www.facebook.com/groups/642084589269882/?ref=br_rs
Maybe get the book too.
Also this site takes you through step by step:
http://www.cometosilver.com/socks/SockClass_Start.htm
I use 4 DPNS, have tried the circular needles but they slow me down too much and I have no patience

[Deleted User]

I have an old pattern book that my friend gave me that was her mum's and in it are patterns for the driving fold over mittens that you sometimes can buy.basically they are mittens that have a fold over the fingers flap so when your driving you can unfold on button them back so your fingers are free and when you get out to walk you can fold the flap back over your fingers to keep them warm IYSWIM I have lots of odd bits of wool in my charity blanket stash and I am going to make some as 'tree' Christmas presents for my two DDs and probably for some of my friends as well.I also have a big blanket to knit for my DGS wife out in NYC as New York winters can be a bit harsher than ours. All of my DGC have got a 'Granny blankey' made for them .My eldest DGS 's one is in his favourite footie teams colours and he has had it since he was 11 and it went with him to the US after they moved there in January I am going to make one for his lovely wife as a present and it will keep her as warm as Danny's one has over the years.

I don't mind the winter but I agree the dark skies can be quite depressing.Its the rain I am not keen on as I have joint pain which increases with damp weather. But nice warming hot HM soup is a good warmer-upper on wet winter days.

I well remember knitting socks for my two brothers when I was small, and loathed it but it was a necessary chore that my late mum and I had to do. Perhaps it was the boring grey wool that made me fed up :):) Mum taught me how to 'turn' the heel and thankfully I have not had to do them again in over 60 years :):) I love knitting and find it very relaxing Just wish I had some gt,grandchildren to knit baby things for :):) but they will come eventually I expect My youngest DGS is 13 now and seems to live in tee shirts and jeans very few jumpers knitted now.but I do knit charity blankets for the Linus Trust, and I recently knitted 145 poppies for a local charity which will use them in an exhibition for Remembrance Day, so I am still busy clicking away .:):)

mardatha

Jackie this is why I got into knitting socks - no family to knit for any more. then I saw everybody was doing socks and decided to try it. Well once you - or a daughter or DIL- experience the luxury of hand knitted socks then you stay hooked and can't go back to horrible shop bought ones.
It was heavy rain here yesterday and even heavier rain today, so I'm sitting here looking for fair isle charts that I can use in socks, cos I'm bored looking at plain ones

Laura_Elsewhere

I use 4 DPNs, ie knitting on three in a triangular round and knitting with the 4th.

the thing I always use to teach total newbies to knit in the round is those arm-warmer things.... a straight tube that covers your wrist and forearm with a slit for your thumb. It's about as simple as anything can be

and you can use any size of yarn or needles... just knit a swatch and measure how many stitches and rounds to the inch on those needles with that yarn. Then multiply that to tell you how many to go round your hand at the base of your thumb, cast on that many, and knit til it's the length you like from forearm/wrist to base of thumb. Then stop knitting in the round and knit flat, back and forth, for about ten rounds, then join in the round again (you made the vertical slit for the thumb) and knit another inch, cast off. Do another one. Hurrah.

Laura_Elsewhere

I shall try to dig out the amounts from last year - if I can't locate the scrap of paper, I'll make notes this year and post it! You can freeze the berries raw, so if your local ones get really ripe, pick 'em and freeze 'em if I haven't posted the amounts yet!

It isn't hard-and-fast but I notice on my local elderberries, when they're really ripe, the whole head of berries hangs lower and lower and the stems go really red.