Preparing for Winter V

steve6375

I bought my mother a Relaxwell by Dreamland electrically heated 'throw' (other makes are available!).
This is essentially an electric blanket which covers you up when sitting down. She absolutely loves it! It costs a few pence to run and keeps her really warm all evening whilst watching TV. She does not need to turn up the central heating or switch on her electric fire and it has reduced her winter bills accordingly. She has bought one for her friend who also loves it.
If you live on your own, why heat the whole house or whole room when you can just snuggle into a warm blanket? You can also use it as an electric over-blanket on your bed if you don't use it as a throw and it is washable.
P.S. Don't sit on the throw or allow pets on it as this can damage the elements. Also, it is not suitable for people who have pace-makers.

[Deleted User]

I got heated throws for both DDs a couple of years ago, both of them live in Victorian houses with great high ceilings and solid walls so no insulation. Both girls LOVE them, and so do respective cats, it makes a real difference on cold days to be able to switch on the blanket and snuggle and be warm rather than turn up the heating, really great invention the heated blanket!

alice-mary

Hi Preppers,
I saw these on Ama3on today and they are greatly reduced in price. I bought a pair a few years ago and am still really impressed. Only the small-medium size are at the reduced price, so if you are thinking about keeping little feet (think teenager or small adult) safe while walking in snow and ice, take a look!

Alice
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002LWDCCS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1WDB4XP7GS8AL

Rainy-Days

Yesterday it was a beautiful day and so I decided to pack away the patio table and chairs into the shed. Thankfully they fold down. The table and chairs I did about three weeks ago now with Sadolin and it made a beautiful job of them. They had quite a heavy dew on them yesterday moring so I waited until the sun had done it's job and dried them out.

Tidied the shed up in readiness and got the leaf blower brought to the front of the shed as I will be needing that. Back in Northants for about three weeks next week house sitting, so I want these jobs done and not waiting around for when I get back. Just will need to put the cover over the garden bench and weight it down then i am about done.

Car will be cleaned this afternoon and most probably waxed as well.

[Deleted User]

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

I got heated throws for both DDs a couple of years ago!

I got these for my DDs last year, it was very gratifying to see the children go under them when they wanted to be cosy, it was a good present

The last of my summer pots went to the tip yesterday and I left the large black planter buckets out, with permission, so I am sure someone will be re-using them soon. The back is ready for winter, except for one bench outside the french doors. Most bulbs are planted, just doing the others this weekend. The allotment is likewise just about ready, got to pile more stuff into the compost bin before it gets too cold as well as carry on with harvesting. Will be cooking more beetroots in the pressure cooker as they are quite (unexpectedly) nice when frozen and thawed

I gave some flannel bedding to the cs and have replaced with new northern nights, it was hard to use bedding that belonged to dh as well as me. They arrived from qvc today and are just having a quick whizz at 40, to clean and freshen them. I am aiming to get all the washing done today and tomorrow, it is brilliant to still be able to line dry

I feel like a dormouse scurrying around today and already have made 2 malt loaves, macaroons and a gold cake as well as getting washing out and still not mid-day. I`ll just plant a few snowdrops in the raised beds and some 12" narcissi into a pot or two and that really is me done in the back. Shoule all be done by lunchtime as I have got the pots ready

sammy_kaye18

Afternoon all,

Im getting this horrid sinking feeling in my tummy that this winter is going to be a cold one so I need to get my posterior in gear!

Ive made a start on winter planning but am having fun at the minute as I have builders in my hosue replacing the bathroom and the kitchen.....plus side is it will all be done by the end of next week but the downside is everything until now in our house has been electric ( we had a walk in shower) and my only real gas spend was cooking and the heating and even then we had an electric fire in the living room.
Now I have an electric cooker that I was given by my sister in law and we have a bath for the first time in nearly 5 years so I am focusing on making sure I heat proof the hosue as much as possible so our gas/electric spends are kept to a minimum.

Im paying about £60 a month at the minute on both but I did have arrears so Im hoping to get these down. My husband charges his phone every night, and my son lives on his Xbox but he has been getting more interested in cooking so I am hoping I can start getting him to help me make tea which means the xbox will be turned off for a while at least. Also hes in comprehensive now so his homework needs doing. Another bonus is our kitchen is a kitchen diner so if I get him to sit at the dining table (his little sister will inevitably follow suit) and the heat from the cooker will keep us all warm.

I really do need to get a move on and start sorting so here is my list for today once the workmen have gone.
- bath children/hair washed and onesies (novelty of a new bath)
- find out the fleeces for the sofa/kids beds
- draught excluders for the kids bedroom doors

(although my daughter has taken at the minute to sleeping on the bottom bunk of my sons bunk beds and is quite happy - usually she has a nightlight on in her bedroom and is unsettled for a while but at present her room is being used as a storage room for kitchen stuff) so Im wondering come winter if I can move her into her brothers room and then it would mean I wont have to heat her bedroom.

I have two duvets in the airing cupboard that I might put under the kids bottom sheets to keep them snug in winter too

Also need to sacrifice an old duvet and make a dogs bed for the two dogs who now decided they are friends and wont leave my side.

And I need to stock the medicine cupboard so I will make a list later for what I need.

Any other suggestions of things I can do whilst my hosue is upside down?

babyblooz

If the dogs bed is on a hard floor, then popping some thick cardboard underneath it may keep your pooches a little warmer in their bed as it stops some of the cold coming up through the door.

My auntie used to have summer and winter curtains and they both hung on the same rail at the same time. She used to bring the summer ones to the front in the summer and then reverse it for the winter. She said that the extra layer worked like insulation, keeping the heat out in the summer and the heat in during the winter and you didn't have to store the extra pair so they didn't take up space. Not quite sure how she used to do it but its something to think about.

babyblooz

I've just roasted the teeny tiny tomatoes that were left on the outdoor plants. They filled a roasting tin so I drizzled on a little oil and some basil and oregano and then when they were done I blitzed them with the stick blender, thinking I would have to sieve them to get rid of the pips and the skins, but no, it all reduced to a nice creamy orange mush, so thats a margerine tub full of tomato sauce ready to be turned into something yummy when I have the time and the inclination. Then I chopped up the rest of the green beans and added those to the tub in the freezer. There are still beans ripening up on the plant so we have have a few more before the cold sets in properly.


We have then got to decide what to do with the grapes on the vine. There are loads but we have been hanging on waiting for them to ripen a bit more, which they have done but there are only so many you can eat at one time so it might just be pressed for the juice and then frozen away until we can decide! It will be something for us to do when winter really strikes I suppose!

[Deleted User]

We had a grape vine that produced lots of bunches of deep red but small very pippy grapes and they were just not nice to eat as fruit so I made grape jelly with them every year. Just squish them with your fingers and boil up the pulp until it's cooked then let it drip through a jelly bag (an old pillow case works well if you tie the top and hang it over a bowl) until all the juice is out. Put the juice into a heavy based pan and for each pint of juice add a pound of granulated sugar when the juice in the pan has come up to the simmer. Keep stirring until you can't feel the sugar 'crunch' on the bottom of the pan, add in the juice of 2 lemons and put the lemon shells in too, fish them out at the end. Simmer quite fast until the jelly sets, pop a saucer into the fridge to get cold and when you think the jelly might set drop a teaspoonful onto the saucer and pop it back in the fridge for 5 minutes, if the jelly wrinkles up when you push it with your finger it's setting point, if it doesn't keep simmering for an extra 5 minutes each time until it does. Sterilize some jars in a very low oven and then pot up the jelly, put on the lids and leave it to cool completely. I add a tablespoonful to casseroles, goes particularly well with chicken and pork but it's nice on toast too!

babyblooz

I made some into jelly last year and I do put it into meaty dishes because it really does add something extra to the taste, but I still have some in the fridge from last year. I think I might just freeze it until I've used it up then make some more. Or we might go down the route of making it into wine, although that is a bit more of a faff lol!