Preparing for Winter V

[Deleted User]

We have several alternative cooking facilities should there be need of them, we have a Kelly kettle which runs on twigs and newspaper from the garden, it is a double walled circular metal sleeve which you fill with water and then light a fire in the base which heats the water from the inside fairly quickly to boiling point, we have an OZPIG which is an outdoor woodstove for cooking on and the most useful is a FIRESPOUT which is a folding square stainless steel 'pocket' wood burner that runs on twigs, small branches, pine cones, in fact anything burnable you can lay your hands on, it has a couple of steel rods that turn it in to a pan support for cooking on and it is a very effective 'heater' for outside areas on cold days. It's extremely portable and weighs just over a kilo. Downside to all these is they can't be used indoors BUT upside is they don't cost anything to run in terms of fuel, they will all work on twigs, branches, etc. which you can forage for!

Wednesday2000

I'm stocking up to buy some tins in my online shopping for my store cupboard. I have bought some tins of soup and sachets of soup (for when I'm too tired to make it fresh) and lots of tins of beans and chickpeas.

I'm determined to like porridge as it is supposed to be so healthy. I bought some chopped hazelnuts, bananas, apples and some tinned pears in juice to go on top. Not altogether obviously, haha.

I really felt the chill this morning as I woke up with a terrible leg cramp in my calf. Ouch, it's definitely time for me to switch to the winter PJ bottoms.

[Deleted User]

I have camping gaz and little gas stove, kelly kettle and a tiny little metal box thing that folds up into nothing, it can use several fuels including the wood pellets that I use for my singing dancing, dependent on electricity, stove. Heating hot water would be fine and then pouring onto those dried instant meals that mrsLW wrote about. Candles will keep me warm as my house is eco, I have a few lanterns, one is extra extra tall, I bought it last year because I have very many dinner candles and I like them safe and enclosed. The lanterns are metal and have metal tops, so act like mini heaters

Main thing because I am sorted indoors, is not to have any outside jobs nagging at me. so I can enjoy the winter hibernation break. At the moment I am pulling, chopping, clearing whatever I can, whatever I notice. Today was putting chopped tomato plants into my hot enclosed compost bin, plus flowers that I cut back and suddenly areas looked airy and better, although not fully finished. In a couple of days I will use the period of dry to get the remaining outdoor vulnerable wood sprayed with preservative. This afternoon I will clean and pack away three solar water features

Tomorrow I may well don mask and gloves and go and do the communal area algae maintenance

For me anyway, outside is almost as important as inside stuff, if I leave it then outside will deteriorate too fast

Cheapskate

Morning, it's a bit dreich up north, but surprisingly warm according to the thermometer. DH was away Fri/Sat night and the bed was SO COLD - he's my free HWB!! :rotfl::rotfl: I had to wear actual clothing in bed for the first time in forever!!

Thriftkitten, I had a look at your socks on the Winwick fbk page (and commented ) - very good! I wanted to start making socks, too, that's why I joined, so will be sorting out wool and needles this week, ready for some spare time early next week.

One day this week I MUST pick elderberries and make MrsL's syrup to stash away, and the last of the brambles. Our plums were all ready at once when we went away last week, so gifted them to DS and DDiL, so they had lots of lovely puds.

As the littlies are not going to school, we have all the time in the world to winter prep our home and selves this year! :j

ETA: Also got plenty to do in the garden, but it rained last night (grrr), so it will have to wait until later today or tomorrow. If the top layer dries a bit, I can at least prune some stuff, and that will expose the underlying stuff to dry out.

A xo

fuddle

We broke down many miles from home yesterday. It got me thinking about DH's winter car box and then, there it all was deboxed and neatly stored with the spare wheel under the boot liner. He's learning! This year I want to add thick socks, gloves and cup-a-soups with the intention of handing him a flask of hot water as he leaves in the am when it's particularly cold.

Re: nostalgia. I was born in 1979 and didn't know what it was like to do without really. My grandma was OS (a miner's wife with 3 children) but my ither grandma appeared quite pampered in comparison. That 'pampered' mentality along with expectation got me in into alot of trouble and the cause of some very hard times. I am the person I am today because of the rough stuff. Nostalgia, in my eyes, is about the journey. I don't look back at any of my easy days with any kind of, well anything, with but the hard days I put the rose tinted glases on and think about achievement, grit and all the things I've learned about self preservation. Nostalgia, for me, is character building.

As of tomorrow we're back on the school walk. I would like to make leaf mould for my new allotment so I'll take a bag daily and gather a few piles as they freshly drop and can see for dog mess!

DD and I have picked and filled the pine cone box in the wood store already but I do need to concentrate on the coal store.

The cupboards are 80% full now but I'm doing the same as you Lyn in that I'm adding just add water mixes. For now it's flavoured sachets of cous cous.

[Deleted User]

It feels much colder today now we've had the rain, the breeze has an edge to it and I'm actually thinking of lighting the stove if it gets much cooler. At the moment I'm off upstairs to put on a warmer jumper though!

Frith

Considering lighting the stove tonight! Older son's shift at the pub has been cancelled so we've discussed a first lighting and some extended tv watching.

It's a Morso Squirrel, for fellow stove enthusiasts! Got a nice le Creuset kettle to boil on it (tk max)

[Deleted User]

too right fuddle, it is the hard part of our journey that gives us the most learning. I have also bought some water mixes for winter and a few tins of soup and a pack of rice vermicelli to make a meal of the soup. That will do me, don`t need anything else. I have been doing masses of MK and sorting because at last I have focussed on the fact that I will be moving, I need to do it now, while I have energy, to my last and forever home. I have put my winter kit to the fore in the garage and my de-icers are ready and I have enough bags of pellets for the stove. I hope to get through candles before I turn the stove on, I have far too many

My son bought a morso stove, I haven`t seen it yet, he is delighted with it

[Deleted User]

Distinctly autumnal feeling to this morning, very dewy lawns, brusque little breeze and that overall 'ripe' smell that heralds the end of summer outside. We're getting lots of apples dropped onto the lawn most days from the big old tree and I made a good batch of apple puree yesterday which is puddings (and breakfasts for He Who Knows) for the next few days. The beans in the garden have gone berserk while I've been Grandson sitting and I shall have to go and do a massive pick and freeze them, not my favourite as they don't taste the same as fresh but the only way to save the crop. We have some good beetroot in the polytunnel too so today I'll cook them and pop them into vinegar in jars for me for the winter, love pickled beetroot (I know I'm sad!). We needed an extra blanket on the bed last night too....winter draws on!!!!!

Wednesday2000

It definitely feels like Autumn here today. I had thought it was just chilly because it was early in the morning, but the sun has come out and it is still feels a bit nippy. I love this season.:)