Preparing for Winter V

Laura_Elsewhere

cornishchick said:

it's from jars of preserved stem ginger in syrup. I love eating it and save the syrup for adding to lemon and honey , .
 it looks easy to make though 
 hope that helps. 

I make sticky-ginger cake for the friends I swim with in the quarry- only when the water goes below 10ºC, though, so they're all looking forward to it getting a bit colder (14º this week)- the recipe uses finely-shopped stem ginger and after I'd baked my way through a couple of jars, it finally dawned on me to pierce the cake and brush it with the ginger-syrup as it cools, to make the sticky-ginger-cake even stickier and more gingery- it warms people up nicely   

MrsCD

Oooh, I might just pinch that idea....I love sticky ginger cake and make it for the coffee morning now and again.😁

Green_hopeful

@cornishchick there was some research recently that salt and bicarbonate of soda can reduce the length of cold symptoms and make you less contagious. It was on daytime tv. There is a dropdown explanation on the nhs website but I think it’s easier to use a spray bottle. They tested it on kids and it made cold symptoms two days shorter. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/non-allergic-rhinitis/

GillyLucy

it's from jars of preserved stem ginger in syrup. I love eating it and save the syrup for adding to lemon and honey , .
 it looks easy to make though 
 hope that helps. 

Gotcha - thank you. I use this and love the  syrup too ! Never thought to add to lemon and honey. 

HappyinDevon

Our microfibre towels are working really well for us , dry really quickly even on a grey day/ in porch, much better than a traditional towel in our house .

Nelliegrace

High strength Vitamin D for the darker months. Zinc tablets, Echinacea capsules. Ever the optimist!
Crystallised ginger, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar for sore throats, vapour rub, something for chapped lips and a sore, runny nose. 
Fresh lemons on the weekly shopping list, pearl barley, local raw honey, lozenges.
Whisky, I think there is some still from a raffle about ten years ago. 
Paracetamol if you must, but just the minimum. 

A budget pack of packets of tissues, and a small plastic bag for used ones if I have to go out. Mask and hand gel. Let’s be good and not spread germs.
Soft loo roll instead of boxes of tissues at home. ( Protection for stress incontinence for coughs and sneezes, and a reminder to do the pelvic floor exercises.) 

I have a thermometer, pulse oximeter and bp machine, and batteries. My Fitbit will do a short ECG. They can be very reassuring, but can cause unnecessary panic. The GTN spray is in date- it is easy to forget to check it. 

YoungBlueEyes

I am not a doctor, this is not medical advice. 

Be careful taking diarrhoea tablets - if there's something your system wants rid of *ahem* think twice before taking tablets to keep 'it' up there. Your system knows what it's doing, let it do it  

Siebrie

I love the thyme between my terrace tiles Whenever I feel under the weather I cut a few branches, rinse them, and pop in a mug of boiling water, then drink when slightly cooler.

greenbee

For those with septic tanks - it's worth getting it emptied (if needed) before Christmas, and checking all your inspection hatches to make sure there are no blockages. Blocked drains are always more miserable in winter, and you definitely don't want issues over the holiday period! Checking the drains/waste pipes etc probably applies to those on mains drainage too. 

Laura_Elsewhere

greenbee said:

For those with septic tanks - it's worth getting it emptied (if needed) before Christmas, and checking all your inspection hatches to make sure there are no blockages. Blocked drains are always more miserable in winter, and you definitely don't want issues over the holiday period! Checking the drains/waste pipes etc probably applies to those on mains drainage too. 

And if you;'re cleaning your sink plugholes, do check what the pipes are made of underneath before tipping boiling water down them- plastic pipes are very common now and boiling water cn distort them and cause leaks...!  

Use hot tap water, they're fine with that. I put about a mug full of washing-soda (from supermarket laundry aisles) down the plughole, if needs be dribbling a bit of tapwater to get it to go down. Then I tip in a mug of hot tapwater. You could dissolve the washing soda in hot water and tip that down- either way give it time to work. 
 Leave it five minutes and pour a full washing-up bowl of hot tapwater down, as fast as you can, ie tip it at the plughole if you can. Our kitchen and bathroom are opposite each other so I can fill at one to tip down the other, which is handy. But even tepid water after washing soda will help... 

I try not to put disinfectant down plugholes as it's a bit of a waste of money as well as a bit polluting- unless you're planning to remove the plughole-trap and put your hand down the drain then disinfectant is not really achieving anything. If you want to get rid of a smell, washing soda will be more effective...