Preparing for Winter V

cornishchick

I am hoping to keep growing swiss chard and baby lettuce leaves on my windowsills indoors. seems to have been working well since march, so I should have a few fresh leaves every week, planting boc choy and winter spinach beet in the garden this week, and I've dehydrated courgettes and few bits to make to 800g jars full. they can be added to stews and things. need to seal the gap between the floorboards and the skirting in the dining room. noticed a real draft in the last lot of windy weather. still need to get my shed roof recovered and sealed or all my tools and stuff will be ruined.

boultdj

Hurry up and get it done by the sound of the weather forecast, here in Lincolnshire we are now under a yellow weather warning for storms for the next 3/4 days, fingers crossed they are wrong as my fruit trees are loaded with fruit, and that's with us picking it!

VJsmum

I take my hat off to those sweltering in a kitchen.  I'd just rather be out in this weather - winter comes soon enough and we're forced to be inside a lot more.  But, as said  upthread, i love summer and loathe winter so want to make the most of these beautiful days...

I should probably embrace the whole hygge thing more - the installation of our woodburner should help.  Incidentally, i spent a back breaking 5 hours helping to chop and stack wood yesterday - we can help ourselves to some of it tomorrow though.  I've discovered muscles that i'd forgotten about.  I have some spinach, swede and sprouts growing and may shove in a little more winter veg - mainly to see what happens.  

Laura_Elsewhere

I started making Xmas presents this week - knitting for both parents, so it has to be started now, really. We're hoping to drive up and see them as a day-trip, maybe in October, but it will be a while before My Intended is recovered enough for a 600-mile round-trip... but it would be good if I have the Xmas presents made in time to take those up with us. Sewing things for nieces, which is always quicker. 

@boazu - I think you're absolutely right. We can't rely on all sorts of things we've come to rely on: between losing trade deals so we are lower in priority for other countries, to importers here being hit by Covid, or exporters at the other end, or producers or sellers or, or, or...! 
Without going down the Full Prepper route, I think it's just common sense to look at how we live, and try to stop living in a 'Just In Time' way... 

annieb64

I'm  stocking up on things to make food more interesting  over the winter-dried mushrooms, pomegranate  molasses,  artichokes  bottoms etc.I have several packets  of dried chesnuts bought last December  which are still well  in date  Next time I go into town I'll  check the Polish and Indian  grocers  for jars of blueberries  and tins of mango  puree plus large packets  of spices.

VJsmum

Jars of blueberries?????   What is this witchcraft - are they as nice as fresh or even frozen?  or are they to put in something...  

annieb64

I've  only seen them in the Polish grocers and they don't  always have them. They are probably more like tinned than fresh. I did get some jars of cherries  from Poundstretcher last year but have not seen them since. They were really nice and less than a pound a jar. Wish I'd  bought more.

[Deleted User]

Laura, it's always seemed sense to me to use what is in abundance in the summer and autumn to make things to see us through the winter months and hopefully through the 'hungry gap' to the start of next seasons growing time. We've become so used to everything being at our fingertips in the shops all the year round that I think people have forgotten why our ancestors kept well stocked larders of home made foods. It's really only in the last century or so that barring war, famine, flood or pandemic illness we've had the security in food to not have to rely on our own endeavours to grow and process most of what we need to live on.  I think that is changing with climate change, unrest in many countries and the pandemic which has been predicted as overdue for at least the past 20 years. It will be a different world that we'll have to get used to and I think we'll all have to learn how to live in it and with it from now on. Without as you say going down the full prepping route we've lost so many skills that our grandmothers would have been taught from infancy and we're going to have to relearn them if we want the sort of life that isn't subsistence level, it won't be easy but it can be done.

Greenglockenspiel

I’ve been making the most of various online sales and special offers to start buying Christmas presents, and also got the ingredients for mincemeat in my groceries this week so will make a load of jars once it’s cooled down a bit! If I’ve got any dried fruit leftover I’ll make some bara brith too 😋 I agree that hygge is going to be important this winter, as well as ensuring you have enough vitamin D supplements and I’ll be trying to make sure I still get outside for a walk at least every other day because I don’t think it will be good for one’s mental health to be cooped up for the whole winter especially if working from home as I am.

Nargleblast

Thanks, Greenglockenspiel, for reminding me about home made mincemeat. I haven't made any for a couple of years, and it is so much nicer than the readymade stuff. I think just a jar for our own use in mince pies, plus a couple of jars to give as presents. I agree there will definitely be a Hygge feel to this Christmas.