Preparing for Winter V

sammy_kaye18

Rosetta92 said:

I was just thinking it was time to revive this thread. Good job @sammy-kaye18   For me winter preparation starts when the outdoor shops have their summer sales. It’s a good chance to get fleece lined walking trousers and other warm clothes at keen prices. And I always have a look to see what’s new in terms of solar powered lanterns and other sources of energy in case of power cuts. Anyone think of anything else I should be looking at?

Very welcome. 
P&&mark have some lovely fleeced lined leggings for a few pound as well if anyone is looking for some. 

I have been looking at solar lanterns myself as well.
I actually have solar string lights which are meant for the garden but I think this year I might put them in the hallway and under the cupboard cabinets to offer a bit of extra light if I need it and also a little bit of festive magic if I change the setting to twinkle.
I also found a solar light that was a bulb which puts off considerable light too and I could hang in place of main light in a power cut. Originally brought to offer more light in husbands shed from Amazon but I have in the house atm.

As well as various torches, lanterns and candles.

sammy_kaye18

Laura_Elsewhere said:

I am also knitting family Xmas presents, cosy squishy warm cowls and scarves in brioche-stitch, so I am definitely thinking ahead to the colder months!  

Also, 18 months after we started trying to re-organise the sitting-room without properly planning anything, I have put my foot down and insisted that we spend all our free time for the next two months properly working on it. I want a useable sitting-room to sit in and read or sew and enjoy watching the weather! 

Ive also been knitting some Xmas presents mainly earmuffs but the ones that look like headbands to help keep ears warm for those who dont like wearing hats! Several family members will be getting those this year! 

I dont blame you with the cosy sitting room ask, I have a cuddle chair in the living room that my dogs have taken over (I have 3 dogs and two are bigger breeds) so our other chair has a built on footstool on one end and I have made it clear that during the day come the bad weather that will be my space with a blanket, a book or crafting and a nice hot cup of tea! 

Working_Mum

Primrose said:

This is normally the time when you discover you haven't saved nearly enough jam jars for all that jam making and bottling activity.  Does anybody have any good ideas on what short term "emergency" items of kitchen equipment can be used as temporary jam storage equipment until enough jam jars can be obtained?  Sometimes fruit is becoming too overripe to delay a jam making process as pectin levels reduce.

I picked up a huge box of empty jars from Freecycle - you could post a "wanted" message on there and see if anyone has anything for you?? I tend to collect them throughout the year - I also ask for used ones from friends!

I often use Kilner type jars if I have a big batch and need to pot it up - I have friends who have big families and the kids love my bramble jam!

Love this time of year and prepping for winter starts.

sammy_kaye18

@Primrose @Floss  @fionaandphil

I have frozen soft berries in ice cream tubs before now and then used them at a later date to make things like jam, crumbles, syrup, etc and have never had an issue with them. 

I was wondering though Prim could you pre-make them into some desserts like pies, crumbles etc in the foil containers and then you will have cosy desserts all through the winter as well and youd just need to put them in the oven to reheat at the end of cooking 

@Floss I have set my jams before with lemon juice as well. Its slightly looser but still as yummy. :-) I didnt know you could use Bramley apples to do it though! 

sammy_kaye18

@Laura_Elsewhere
We have a lurcher and greyhound and they are the biggest babies when it comes to the cold (the lurcher particularly) so he has a fleece jumper which he practically lives in all winter and gets it swapped out for a fur lined jumper on extra cold days. The greyhound has some saluki in him so hes not too bad but they all snuggle together on an old duvet on top of their beds in the winter - a greyhound/saluki, the lurcher and then the runt of our pack a chihuahua jack russell mix. 
Both the big boys have fleece or knitted snoods though to cover their ears when we are out walking. 
I bet your niece and her pup will look so cute together. 

Laura_Elsewhere

I’ve gone through my wool cupboard and to my immense delight, I found some deep bright pink yarn, just the colour I need for niece and her hound- and it’s pure cashmere! I shall buy some more yarn (for cowls and hoods, I usually knit with three very fine yarns held together) and I think I shall see if I can find something equally luxurious and then Niece and Hound can stay snug all winter in their cashmere!  

I always, stubbornly, feel August is the first month of autumn- I know, I know, but I go by what the plants do and the harvests are starting now, the fruits are coming along.. I have dry mild weather for a month (even if it’s a cold August, it’s still mild enough) so I can wash and dry woollens, put my tent up in neighbour’s garden to check it over and then pack it away until next summer, get out all our shoes and boots and polish them up to waterproof them, mix up some Nikwax-Cotton and give my canvas bicycle-panniers a clean and waterproofing for the autumn… my trusty old secondhand 15-yr-old Pashley is booked in for a full service and I have the mild dryish weather to deal with a few chips in the paintwork…

maryb

Re wool duvets, I do like mine but it's just a bit too small to fill the duvet cover so slips down.  I sorted it by sewing buttons along the top edge and making buttonholes in some tape which I then sewed into the top edge of the duvet cover.  It was a Baavet.  I also bought a mattress topper from Devon Duvets but was initially very comfortable but developed Maryb and DH shaped hollows very quickly and couldn't be deflattened.  The wool pillows didn't really suit me that much, again they went lumpy and were hard to plump up.  HTH

sammy_kaye18

I have never even heard of a wool duvet but I am 41 atm and peri menopausal and experiencing hot flushes, I couldnt tell you the last time I closed the window! 
Poor husband on the other hand feels the cold something rotten, so I think this year Ill keep the duvet on and put a heavy blanket on top of it for him and that way I can always fit between them and sleep on top of the duvet but under the blanket. Oh the joys of getting older. 
My kids are the same though - DD15 has a double bed, double duvet and about 10 blankets of various colours and thicknesses whereas son prefers to sleep on his single bed with a sleeping bag (he has a perfectly good duvet and several blankets too) so each to their own I guess although I expect if he gets his van working he will be in that more over the winter so maybe hes just making sure its comfortable. 

Cherryfudge

sammy_kaye18 said:

I have never even heard of a wool duvet but I am 41 atm and peri menopausal and experiencing hot flushes, I couldnt tell you the last time I closed the window! 

Just passing on another nugget of useful information I had from @Laura_Elsewhere: in really hot weather (and presumably for really hot flushes too) a woollen blanket is perfect. I have some Whitney blankets (they don't make them any more but they are all wool) and when it's uncomfortably hot, I abandon the duvet and alternatives for one of my blankets.  Wool naturally enables the body to stay at body-temperature and I sleep comfortably despite the heat.

I think it has to be 100% wool though. Mix it with other things and you lose the magic.