Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

EmberJ

Bluegreen, my mum has all of it for her teashop, she does catering for events too so shes said she will provide it. we dont have a budget as such, but I dont want to spend more than I have to. We are now considering a Middle Earth themed wedding, but I doubt our families will turn up in fancy dress. Currently have lamb stock simmering away on the stove, it smells lovely. However I have been a little misbehaved and spent about £100 in argos on kitchen and dining room things. oh well, it will all be used a lot. When i used to live with my nan, we had the scrap men every saturday morning, i used to hate the "any old scrap iron" call. My nan always kept the formula tins from my cousins milk too, and she has an old quality street tin on top of her kitchen cupboard with all sorts of sewing things in, often stuff shes rescued from clothes that were delegated to the rag box. up until about the age of ten, we used to have a man drop round once a fortnight selling stuff out of a suitcase, the kleeneze man maybe? I'm unsure, I'll have to ask my nan. we use to get pop delivered to us too, in glass bottles, and if we returned the bottles clean, we would get a discount on the next lot of pop. I remember I used to play for hours in the back garden, or on the field up the street. as long as we were in yelling distance nan wasnt too bothered. my aunt and uncle are only ten and 11 years older than me, so i used to spend alot of time with them, usually my uncle, as my aunt worked alot. I have alot of fond memories of staying with my nan and her late partner on the weekends, we got up to all sorts. I remember clearly, my uncle snapping the dustbin lids off and hosing them down to use as sleds in the snow, and another family on the street had kept their old bath and used that. It was all great fun. my aunty laine used to come round with rabbits sometimes, that she had caught with her ferret and nan taught me how to skin and clean them to cook. she also showed me how to kill and clean a chicken ready too, very useful skills. sometimes her late partner and my uncle would come back with fish, but i didnt like cleaning those, the eyes creeped me out.
em x

meritaten

JackieO wrote: »

The National Dried tins sort of silver grey with blue lettering on we had one left that did as a biscuit tin for years, biscuits didn't last long enough in our house when I was small I had two strapping great brothers and I was the Tail-end charlie, a skinny shrip of a thing with hollow legs and long pigtails :):) My Mum used to say "No matter what you eat bairn, you look like a bag of bones left out for the dog"
(I wish it was like that now :):)) The soda scones were delicious and melted in your mouth leaving floury trails round your chin any left were toasted for breakfast on Monday morning as the baker didn't come till mid-morning on Mondays
Can't remember the last time I saw a bread van, or even for that matter a milkman.I think the corner shop will soon vanish and my grandchildren won't have these memories ,only faceless automated tills in big supermarkets where you not only do the work of the cashier, but also bag everything up yourself. They'll have the customer stacking the shelves for them shortly :):)
all of the callers of my childhood have vanished .The coalman,Kleen-eze man who sold stuff from his suitcase, the onion seller who came now and again and was a touch of the exotic as he spoke virtually no english but knew to the penny how much Mum had to pay for his huge french onions.even the rag & bone man who gave you a cheerful looking golfish in a jam jar in exchange for any old bits of iron or junk.I can even remember the gas man coming to empty the meter of shillings and Mum getting a few shillings back in some sort of rebate (treat of jam doughnuts for us kids then.)none of the super efficient shops where in a clean and sterile place you buy the groceries now.even market stalls are slowly vanishing.

Jackie - we still have a Bread Man call, and a 'Potato Man' (who also does illicit trips over the water and sells fags on the side), Kleeneze AND Betterware catalogues come through the door every month. There are a couple of milkmen who deliver in the street but mine gave up his round last year. No 'Sionny' onion seller though (Sion is Welsh for John ) The rag man now has a van and a sound system and you don't leave anything valuable in the garden if he is around! the blessing is that you can hear him streets away!


my first home was with OHs uncle and as I put all the Ten Ps in the meter, I got the 'rebate'. the guy would empty the meter, count it, then calculate how much was used against how much was paid in - always got a decent amount back.


I spent hours last night topping and tailing 3 and a quarter pounds of red dessert gooseberries - went to make jam this morning and my jam sugar had disappeared! OH had only filled the sugar canister with it!!!! so my tea and coffee for the last few days has had added pectin! wouldn't mind if I had run out of ordinary sugar - but I had some and its kept in a different cupboard to the baking and cooking stuff! its with the teabags!


edit - forgot to say I also harvested nearly two pounds of raspberries - so prepared and open froze them - there are more to ripen and I would prefer to make one large batch of jam. the blackcurrants are nearly ripe (my son refers to them as the 'Ribena' bush) I also need to pick more rhubarb - some of that will go for rhubarb tarts, but I want to try making a chutney with it - I love tart fruit chutneys with cold meats. I think I have done well considering I only have two bushes of each variety! btw - I started out with one green gooseberry bush and one red dessert one - but ALL the gooseberries were red!

Lynplatinum

Hiya all

Well have very little to do here - and you are all being so industrious!! I feel a bit guilty and lazy here - yep I know that I am supposed to be on holiday but its a bit strange - I have a house to take care of, yet I dont want to take the Mick. so for example I found a recipe for apple, sultana and cinnamon muffins - now I know there are fruit and veg to eat up - that's fine but going and using up baking ingredients feels wrong! My friend would probably tell me it would be fine but that's how I feel. So I will be going shopping tomorrow to get some protein (probably salmon and chicken) and, if I can find some, small quantities of flour to do some baking (apples are amongst the items I ve been asked to finish!)

Today me and the dog went for a walk along the beach and while it started out OK - if grey - then the 'weather closed in' as they say down here - i.e. it started to rain - but we didnt mind :j

Later it brighten up and, as I promised, (although I wasnt asked to) I went out into the garden and pulled weeds and deadheaded roses etc - her garden is truely lovely but how she does it all I just dont know - that much would drive me nuts! It also is not a garden that produces anything (except some pretty flowers and some foliage for her flower arranging) - when I had a big garden I always grew my own and even now I grow all my own herbs - and this year, inspired by Cheerfulness, I am having a go at tomatoes and peppers and courgettes and thanks to GQ growing my own salad leaves! :A

Strange how one can be really close to someone and yet they do things differently! anyone else had that experience??

Candlelight - I love the sound of your granny!!! I too am tiny (4ft 11 and 3/4 inches) and I have one son of 6ft and several of my surrogate sons are also of that height - if not taller - their favourite phrase of mine is 'bend down here so I can clip you round the ear!)! It make em stop being daft and laugh instead! :rotfl:

Nite all - busy and unusual day faces me tomorrow - shopping!

nursemaggie

Lynplatinum I love that phrase perhaps I should use that on my DS as I am 4ft 9in and my DS is about a centimeter short of six foot.

I do like the sound of your holiday with the dog to take for a walk. I used to visit friends on holiday and take their dogs for a walk. I used to wear them out at the rate of 2 to 3 a day.

I used to get asked, "what have you don't with our dog he has been flat out for the last three hours?"

vulpix

I would like a holiday dog too.The only people i know well with a dog have lap dogs that have never been on a lead or taken out of the garden.

Things cracking on a pace here.My cousin came and took loads of gravel yesterday,and stayed for ages which was nice.Two other people have enquired about it but there will be plenty for all comers.

I painted the brown pvc bay window with the special paint,it will need another coat but it has already made a massive difference.I also undercoated the dark stained wood window bottom in the bay and then carried on and did all the skirtings and door frame.

Em,the wedding sounds lovely and personal,keep us up to date with it please.

The ragbone man used to give us balloons and a donkey stone for the step.We still have a milkman and a fish man and a coal man.I don't know of a breadman or any of the other delivery "men".Our old breadman used to also sell clothes in the back along with bread and biscuits.When I was little in the 60's we had sikhs coming to the door selling from a suitcase,my Mum always bought the tiny bottles of perfume just to buy something because she felt sorry for them.

Today I am going to go to the craft club in the village for the first time.I am a bit nervous,I don't know why,it will be fine.

Have a lovely day.Vx

FairyPrincessk

Pinkparrot lavender lemonade is very easy--although the weather did an about face yesterday so I didn't end up making any. You'll need infused lavender sugar. You can either make your own (needs to sit for a few months) or buy it. I bought my first jar and now top it up. I use sparkling water and 2-3 lemons or limes per litre. Squeeze the citrus in the jug, add ice if you want and then pour in sparkling water. Add in the lavender sugar to taste and stir gently but well. I usually just make enough for the two of us and we don't mind stirring, but if you want to make it up for a party then you're best turning the lavender sugar into a simple syrup (dissolve in water on hob) so it doesn't settle in the bottom.

If you don't have lavender sugar you can do similar with grated ginger, mint etc.

My first chore today is gathering up all of the washing that is draped all over the house. It was mostly dry when I brought it in last night. I also delayed the last of it given it was raining, so I've a load on now. I'm trying to finish off knitting the back of a cardigan before we leave and a book so will work on both of those today and need to line up the books I'm taking with me to read and check to make sure all toiletries are decanted into smaller containers.

We have a small pile of apples--bought extra while mum and dad were here and I need to do something with them but do not fancy a crumble. Might do some sort of muffins or perhaps just stew them and freeze if I can find a gap in the freezer.

FairyPrincessk

Vulpix--enjoy the craft group! I'd like to join one myself but have had trouble finding one local and at a time I can make.

I'd also dearly love to have a milk delivery but it really just isn't in our budget right now. Honestly when I first arrived in the UK I was thrilled enough by the post deliver through the door. It is the little things, isn't it?

dND

FairyPrincessk wrote: »

!
I'll mix up some lavender lemonade since we have a few lemons that need using up and I have a good crop of lavender this year to replenish the lavender sugar./QUOTE]

Another fan of lavender sugar :j

I just put dried lavender heads into a jar of sugar and leave - apart from shaking a few times to keep mixing the sugar and lavender. I have 2 jars on the go so I an be using one while the other 'matures'
I love it on strawberries or to make lavender kisses - little lavender meringues to either eat on their own :eek: or to sprinkle on deserts.

I do the same with vanilla sugar - a vanilla pod can be used again and again to flavour sugar. I'm also making vanilla essence with a couple of the small pieces of pod. I just put them in a small jar added vodka and have left, shaking occasionally, which I will use after I've finished all the various bottles of vanilla essence that have seemed to multiply i my cupboard

For those with a surfeit of courgettes, or courgettes that seem to have been on steroids and grown far to big, I usually turn those into courgette (marrow) and ginger jam which tastes very similar to ginger marmalade at a fraction of the price. It's also very nice with a little bit of dark rum stirred in just before bottling :beer: (I needed a way to use up some ) I also cut the cost of having to buy in the dark brown sugars by using granulated for just about everything but if the recipe needs dark brown, I add a bit of molasses.

Right, back to lurking and probably a siesta, temperature is forecast to be back up to 36C today and as this has been going on for weeks it has become a bit much.

Love to you all. xx

misstara

Vulpix - hope the craft class goes well. I keep thinking about looking at classes in my local area but like Fairyprincess I think I would struggle to find classes at a time that suited me. Shift work doesn't really go well with set class times

It's a beautiful day here and on my day off as well - practically never happens so I've been sitting in the park for the last couple of hours reading a book and enjoying the sunshine. Will have to head back to the flat shortly and get some cleaning done.

I'm off out for tea tonight with some friends. No idea where yet but one of the girls always checks for vouchers first and then we go wherever we will get the best deal

camelot1001

dND and the others with good weather, can you please share it! I put the washing out and it just about dried, just 10 mins in the drier so not too bad.

Not much happening here apart from builders, electricians, etc - I just want my house back! There was pine cladding on the hall ceiling and when the builders took one piece down the whole ceiling fell in. Just feel lucky that it didn't fall on me. They have also discovered that the joists holding the bathroom up have been cut down to 2 inches so it isn't really that stable. Hope I'm not sat on the loo when it all collapses. Hopefully they will be able to deal with that tomorrow.

Love reading all your stories of delivery folk, I don't have any.