Preparing for Winter V

VintageHistorian

I don't think it'll be a particularly cold winter as such but I suspect it will be a mild and wet one, probably with flooding like a few winters ago I agree that it feels like it's starting a lot earlier, although maybe that's just because the earlier heatwaves have made us anticipate a hotter July than we should really have?

Lucy5781

Cheapskate wrote: »

The original 30s windows we had were beautiful, but so draughty and inefficient, especially as our house bears the brunt of the weather due to its position. The leaded tights are being encapsulated and put back into the new windows soon, so we'll still have the original prettiness that sold us on this place 21 years ago!

The little both need LOADS of winter clothes, not having bought any for the last couple of years, but I'm tightfisted (see username :rotfl:), so already hunting bargains.

I was gutted as an 18yr old when we lost our original 1930's leaded lights to double glazing back in 1999. I was out the day we had it done and got home drunk, tired and in much need of the bathroom at 4am to find a new front door on the house that I didn't have keys to..... Thankfully my 17yr old brother had fallen asleep on the front room sofa and I was able to bang on the new windows loudly enough to wake him up to let me in

With regard to kid's winter clothes.... Personally can't ever recommend the charity shops enough. I've bought DS (who's not yet 11 months!) brilliant winter coats through up to age four for £1 each out of our local charity shops. Including Next and Regatta as well as George, F&F and TU.

I've stopped working now so whilst I had my last few months of pay spare I stocked up on a few years of secondhand 'everything £1' clothing for him to avoid that being a big issue on our budget. We're also trying for a second so if we have another boy obviously we're sorted already and if we have a girl, we've not got to worry about new clothing for both of them. Plus my SiL has had two girls in the last two years so, handmedowns aplenty there!

Lxx

Eenymeeny

I love Autumn and those beautiful poetic descriptions posted by some of you are really making me feel the drift towards it! But I've just had a sharp jolt as a family member has asked today if they can visit at the end of August. (The same people who had a really disappointing holiday with us in March due to bringing airplane flu with them!) So I'm praying that Summer lasts at least into September and would it be too much to pray for an Indian summer? Maybe I should have some of Nagleblasts' magic potion handy!
Here's another one typing in the light of the monitor, time to get up and put the 'big light' on I reckon!

Laura_Elsewhere

Moneysaverme wrote: »

I want to find elderberries too and make that magical potion to keep the lurgies away.

Mine's a bit different form nargleblast's - I have tried adding various spices and things like honey, but then I've had problems with it starting to ferment and I really don't want broken glass everywhere from exploding bottles, let alone that it tastes pretty vile when fermenting... I've also had problems with syrups that have added extras developing little floating islands of white mould.

I also don't use alcohol - if I'm having it several times through the day, starting in the morning or overnight, I really don't want to end up half-cut without being aware of it!

Mine only uses elderberries, water and sugar.

You want the berries really ripe - as I said before, you want them Rolling Stones 'Paint It Black' black!

The stems have a lot of tannin in them which can add a bitter taste, so what I tend to do is put the sprays of berries in our big pan with an inch of water and put the lid on and simmer them at the lowest possible temp for just 3 minutes or so. Then they've typically softened enough to use a fork to just wheek them off the stems without bits of stem breaking off and staying as they do when you try to de-stem them raw.
Then simmer them with just enough water to nearly cover them, for twenty minutes or so. Rig up a clean tea-towel, or a jelly-bag, or a (clean!) nappy-muslin over a bowl - I have a small plank that fits across the bath and simply tie diagonally-opposite corners of the cloth over the top of the plank to make a bag beneath, hanging over the bowl, and then any splashes go in the bath and wipe away - this stuff can stain your nice white surfaces, be warned! Also the cloth you use will probably never be quite the same again in colour (unless it was purple-grey to begin with...).
Leave it to drip overnight. Avoid squeezing it, just take what drips, nice clear black liquid.

Next day, measure the liquid. To each pint of liquid, add a pound of sugar. Sainsbury's do the cheapest granulated British sugar, in the 5kg bags. Stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved - tap a wooden spoon on the bottom of the pan and if you hear a crunching sound there is still sugar to dissolve; look at the back of the wooden spoon and you'll see gritty little grains if there's still some left.
When it's all dissolved, bring up the heat to a rolling-simmer - you are NOT making jelly, so don't boil, don't worry about a jam thermometer, don't worry about a setting point. Just let it lose water steadily.
Meanwhile, wash a clean bottle or three with good screw caps. Heat your oven to 150C and put the clean wet bottles and lids (lids upside down) in the oven on a baking tray.

Keep checking the simmering syrup so it doesn't boil or scorch. You an't over-cook it, which is useful

When it's changed to a gloopy syrupy texture, rather than runny liquid like black water as it starts, then take it off the heat and let it stand for a few minutes. Take the tray out of the oven and mind your fingers
Use a funnel and fill the bottles well. Screw the lids on firmly while it's all still hot. Leave them undisturbed overnight to cool fully.
Store upright in a cool dark place. I keep my open bottle in the fridge all year, and it doesn't seem to have any problems.

I also make rosehip syrup in the same way, which is another good healthy one and blackberry syrup which is lovely with fizzy water as a cool drink or with boiled water as a hot drink.

I looked up about Vitamin-C because we're always told not to boil vegetables too much or we lose their vitamin-C, and it turns out Vitamin-C is not destroyed by boiling, but it IS water-soluble, so if you boil veg and throw away the water, yes, you have indeed lost the Vit-C, but if you are boiling fruits and making syrup then you're keeping all their Vit-C. It is also damaged by air-exposure, so best not to leave cut fruits lying around in the open, as a general thing, or they lose their Vit-C!

Anyway, that's my black gold - Elderberry Syrup, good to fight against viruses, especially respiratory viruses, and a very cheap and easy thing to stock up on!

(You can also make jelly or fruit cheese with elderberries - it's a very distinctive flavour. I love it, as I grew up with Elderberry Cheese made every year. No idea why my Mum never picked a blackberry or any other wild fruits, but always went out elderberrying - I like to think it was her County Durham family habits)

[Deleted User]

I used to freeze ripe elderberries for winter syrup, saves having to do it all as of right now

Its a miserable day today, grey wet and enough wind to blow the rain against the windows. I took some more from the allotment this morning and my freezer is groaning but come winter, then I`ll be smiling. I am trying not to go down the bottling route this year and am trying to make do with one tall freezer, I want to leave the small overflow garage beko off. I am going to have to do a mega freezer sort out when this manic time is over, the drawers are going to be mighty heavy though

Even one of my apple trees, bountiful, is almost ready for picking in earnest. I took some off today and made 16 small pots of pureed apple and 4 trays of single portion baked apples. Its the apples that tell me that autumn is coming, when they are over and the nuts are ready, then it is hibernation time and feet up knitting and relaxing

mardatha

I've taken the decision to offload my swanky huge american f/f onto my youngest son, in exchange for him getting the bl**dy thing out of the house. Took 3 men to get it in, and since then we've had a new smaller PVC back door fitted, so god knows if it'll ever go out. It uses a lot of electricity and it doesn't stay cold in powercuts - that's why I'm getting rid. It does look smart lol but that's all. So I'm on the hunt for a good one that will stay cold when the power goes off.

[Deleted User]

Bleurgh!!!! it's feeling like winter out there today, it's very wet, cold and miserable and the house feels 'dank'.....what a difference a day makes! Last evening I actually noticed at around 8.30 the lounge was dark enough to need the standard lamp on, not really dark outside but just crepuscular light and it see be getting to that point in the day just a tiny bit earlier every week. doesn't it?

fuddle

It's definitely closing in. I feel it with the darkness indoors too but specifically in the very early hours when I can't sleep where I feel the cold. I feel it on my feet so the socks are having to come out in the summer holidays.

We didn't really get a marvellous early spring this year so it's ringing alarm bells in terms of the growing season. I'm trying to learn how to garden and already I see 'sow this now if you're in a milder climate or in the south'. I'm not so I'm going to have to learn a fool proof what-grows-well-in-a-shorter-growing-period-in-the-North and stick to those basics, learn it well and learn their foibles.

LadyhavershamLost

Very autumnal here in Berkshire... Smallest child is wrapped up on sofa in blanket - she isn't cold but needs to be snuggled! Ever so gloomy outside and quite breezy. We went for a walk earlier to collect a parcel and picked enough blackberries for a crumble. There are an awful lot that are ready to pick plus an awful lot still very green.

Next doors apple tree is laden with fruit - shall pillage it in the next few days - they don't use it and it is awful seeing the fruit go to waste. There are far too many for us to make use of so do some clever swaps with my green fingered chums!

Eenymeeny

fuddle wrote: »

It's definitely closing in. I feel it with the darkness indoors too but specifically in the very early hours when I can't sleep where I feel the cold. I feel it on my feet so the socks are having to come out in the summer holidays.

We didn't really get a marvellous early spring this year so it's ringing alarm bells in terms of the growing season. I'm trying to learn how to garden and already I see 'sow this now if you're in a milder climate or in the south'. I'm not so I'm going to have to learn a fool proof what-grows-well-in-a-shorter-growing-period-in-the-North and stick to those basics, learn it well and learn their foibles/QUOTE]
This is where 'Beechgrove' comes in handy, they're always at least a couple of weeks ahead of Gardener's World...;)