Preparing for Winter V

Laura_Elsewhere

The first one or two blackberries were ripe here about a week early, mid-July instead of the last week, but this is my first handful of the year. From now on I'll carry a container in my bag whenever I go out on foot, for whatever fruits I can find, hurrah.

A sign that the flowering of summer is giving way to the fruiting of autumn...

And still, I can't post a ruddy photo, can I? Bah humbug.

Laura_Elsewhere

This summer, for the first time, I was unable to grow mustard and cress - it germinated and then stayed about 2-3mm long for fortnight, at which point I gave up and tucked it away in the woods for the wildlife to eat.

I can only assume it was the heat - that was when it was 24-27 degrees every day and the news were saying lettuce crops stop growing at those kinds of temps, etc.

I shall give it a go again soon - I bought a load of seeds a couple of years ago, kept in the fridge, and they are mustard and old-fashioned cress, both really peppery and much nicer than the bought stuff! A bit of kitchen paper in the upturned plastic lid of a Nesquick box (!) works perfectly!

LadyhavershamLost

up to 70% sale on items on the regatta website - got 16 year old son a lovely winter jacket for £30 instead of £100. Hope he likes it!

only coat for awkward 13 year to get now.....

Lucy5781

Having stressed over how cold DS's room was over winter, it's been stupidly hot all summer despite black out blind and curtains and it's out of the sun after about 3pm. Fan every night.

This coming winter though, his baby sister will be in there with him, she's almost four months old now and he's already moved to the proper bed (He's two in a few weeks) so the cot bed is free for her.

At least she'll be a bit bigger before it gets really cold in Jan/ Feb, 10mths by then, he was five months when he went in there in mid Feb, too big to stay in his crib in our room any longer!!

Pennydropped

Just taking stock of what I need to do and making a list at the moment. I have the fleece that I pin to the curtains. We've plenty of hats, gloves, and scarves. Winter coats from last year are fine as well. Eldest needs wellies replaced.

I need to go through all the clothing and pass down what's been outgrown, replace what's needed, and generally take stock of what there is.

Then it's just a matter of building up a winter store cupboard, which I've already started.

No garden work needed, thankfully, as we live in a flat.

muffin_man_7

mardatha wrote: »

Fuddle - will you tell me how you do this?
"we'll also be lining the toilet cistern internally to stop the cold water/warm atmosphere producing condensation on the cistern"
because this happens here, the cistern is continually dropping onto the floor.

Mar I had this problem and found that when i put bubble wrap around the cistern it made a big difference as im still waiting to move id been collecting bubble wrap every week when i went to town i also added tbe bubble wrap to bathroom window and the glass on both the front and back door so much better than soggy windows every day hth

wannalot

Hello all

What a great idea for a thread! I must admit, I am not as keen on winter as many many on here are. The darkness in particular is an issue up here. I get very depressed on days when I only see daylight on my 15-minute jaunt to work!

The weather here seems to be turning much cooler and the nights are lengthening already, so my mind is turning to ways to make the winter a bit more bareable. The past few years have really caught me out on the mercifully few occasions when snow and freezing temps have hit, so I want to buy some grit to deal with the path and the pavement just in front. Each year, these freeze very often and the lack of sunlight means they don!!!8217;t unfreeze for days. Does anyone know where to buy grit? I do not have a massive amount of space, so I am just looking to buy a biggish bag which I can keep behind the door in my porch.

Apart from this, I really want to minimise heating costs, so I also want to wash and line dry a lot of throws and cushion covers to add to the cosiness factor of the living room. I have also gathered together all the candles into a basket so I can see what I have (which is a lot!).

I am also debating whether to combine my desire to exercise more and my desire to save energy costs. I might start going to the gym in the morning before work, which would mean I would not need heating in the house in the morning, and I could also shower there instead of at home.

This weekend, I have also decided to create an extra stockpile of food. This is mainly in preparation for Brexit shortages, but would also come in handy for any times when I cannot get to the shops.

Lucy5781

I need to check the wellies I have for DS. He'll grow more before winter and he's actually walking to and from places sometimes rather than buggy etc.

Need to check the snow suits I have for DD. Think I have a 9-12mth stashed but not a 6-9 for over Xmas!!

cuddlymarm

Hi guys
I’m stocking up on winter clothes in the sales at the moment. I got 2 chunky cardigans and a jumper from one of the catalogues for under£50 last week, these can be layered and will last at least a couple of years, probably longer. Then when we get to autumn I’ll stock up on summer stuff.
As oldies we tend also to holiday in winter, cheaper than summer hols and it means the winter has a couple of bites taken out of it.
I’ve started crocheting a throw now the weather has cooled a bit ( my hands got too hot and sweaty when it was hot) and I’ve got some scruffy handknit stuff that I’m going to unravel to add to it. That should keep me out of mischief for a while.
I hope everyone is keeping well and thinking ahead.
Personally I hope winter stays away as long as possible but I do like my little nest when it’s dark, warm and cosy.
Cuddles

My cupboards are now full and I plan to keep them that way.

Primrose

After seeing last winter's snows I think many people will be wanting some well stocked store cupboards. Foe those without a lot of built in storage cupbords, these deep see-though plastic storage boxes often available in bargain shops are ideal. You can cover them with a decorative cloth and keep them anywhere without anybody knowing what,s inside. Just be sure to keep a paper inventory list inside so you can keep track of what you,ve got, and perhaps an aide memoire list of quick & easy meals which can be prepared in a power cut situation