Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

silvasava

Vulpix - would your local council have copies of the plans? Either the planning dept or the building regs dept or both? Also if your house is the same as others in your street the builder may have put the stop cocks in the same places so your neighbours may know. Failing that your local water board usually have stopcocks along the road ( we have one outside our front gate) so you may be able to turn off from there.

camelot1001

I was going to suggest the same silvasava. I've been here 18 months and only just discovered where our stopcock is and it isn't very accessible - in the cellar and then through the rooms! The builders turned it off in the road!

Well, I've turned a corner - all the woodwork is now waxed. The bathroom was fitted yesterday but I would like more tiles so they are going to do that on Monday. With not feeling well the last few days I would have loved a bath! Still, I had a very long hot shower instead.

I tried to paint the bathroom but can't reach the bit over the bath. Someone suggested putting the ladder in the bath but that's a step too far for me. I think I am going to have to give in and get the painter to do it, really annoying as I am more than capable.

Hope you're having a good weekend, it's showery here but not cold.

ArthriticOldThing

Camelot please don't put the ladder in the bath. I ended up in hospital with a fractured spine doing that!!!

LHW99

Vulpix - re the stopcock, I have been in 2 houses where the stopcocks were behind the kitchen cupboards - literally behind, no way to get at them.
We ended up cutting through the back of a cupboard in one house!
Try and trace it by following back the pipe to the cold tap on the sink.

Lynplatinum

Evening All

FP that is terrible!! If this person's behaviour is well known then could you talk to the police about being able to call them when he starts rather than after the event. you dont say (or possibly dont know) if the problem is due to mental health issues or due to drugs/drink. If it is mental health issues - you can get the number of the local 'Mental Health' NHS team and call them when he starts. In either case this is not anti the neighbour but helpful to him as he is possibly a danger to himself or anyone unqualified/experienced who tries either to 'tackle' him or to 'talk him down'. in my life I have been on several sides of this fence - i have friends with severe mental health issues but I have also been on the receiving end of someone with severe alcohol problems. I also kept a watch on an elderly neighbour who had dementia and would leave the unlit gas stove on and be found outside the post office in her nightie at 10 pm with snow on the ground. :eek: poor soul very sad - she had been such a lovely friendly little lady

At all events I hope that you can soon put your garden to rights and that the neighbour gets the help he needs.

On a lighter note - I have been a very good MM&Mr today! I washed the old curtains from the bedroom - one will go to the CS and the others were cut up for rags. Because it was such a nice day I did 3 loads of washing (including curtains). So that's my Make Do ; My Mend was the bureau lid on which the hinge had become detached - i sorted that out by finding in my squirrel like hoard of screws and found one that fitted and re threaded the pin ; my Minimise was that I have started to go through all my study books and begun to throw stuff out. As they say in Red Dwarf (sorry my sci-fi geek is showing ) 'Smug Mode Engage!'

Also cooked meself food from scratch and have loaded the freezer with another 2 meals - I know that September is gonna be mega busy and so they will come in very useful! Altogether that is 4 ready meals + other bits in freezer that should be used up by the end of Sept.
Anyhooo am off to Cornwall tomorrow to look @ another house - back on Tues so need to be in bed earlyish - so nite for now! Frugal onward! :A

[Deleted User]

Just watched the Ann Robinson programme and what a good programme it was.She comes across as quite unjudgemental and really quite a nice friendly lady.The darren chap I wasn't keen on at all,he seemed far too up himself.The hard up lady was lovely I felt like saying why not come on this forum we could all give her a few tips.bless her.

Today we went to Sandown ans had a lovely day on the beach,the boys swam almost all the time and I sat and sun bathed and read my book and just relaxed.Weather started to look gloomy again tonight and its raining again,but not to worry we are all enjoying ourselves,Maybe the movies tomorrow if the rain carries on.
Cheers chums
JackieO xxx
P.s. got quite a rosy glow from the sun today as well :):)

Gingernutty

I had a cotton shopping bag from Cancer Research, part of their Stand Up to Cancer range.

I have trouble carrying things on my shoulder and I needed a shoe bag.

So today, I've cut the handles off, sewn round the top, cut and finished a hole at the side of the bag, bought some cotton cord and, using an old anorak toggle made myself a little shoe bag.

I did try putting the old handles through, but the anorak toggle was too small for them to fit.

I am ridiculously pleased with myself...

iamsalt

Still in awe of the creativity on this thread, but I know it's a place I feel at home.
Picked loads of veg this morning from the greenhouse and veg beds. Veg "bag" rather than box to go to a friend up the road who is very MMM herself, and is so supportive if ever I need a chat. The beans will be blanched and frozen, chillies are being swapped for plums, tomatoes eaten for lunch or made into a sauce for pasta and frozen for a ready meal.

Oh wants a bag to put the fruit in when he makes wine, to reduce the need for straining after and making the kitchen look like a war zone - blackberries leave stains everywhere. I shall look through my fabric stash as I am sure I have some net curtain or calico I could use to make one.
Today, I have already been MMM -washing drying on the line, I cycled to the next village to get milk, and chatted to everyone getting papers etc. next I want to get some of the garden tidy before the rain comes, at which point I will get the second coat of paint on the hall walls so at least the downstairs is done before family come to stay over bank holiday. Well that's the plan anyway!
S x

elona

Second load of washing is about to finish and have at least one other load to do and hang outside.

Plan to hand sew a bit of bunting for youngest later. She is due back today but rather than have her try to get transport late tonight will suggest she might be safer travelling tomorrow.

Realised I have a new role in life as the toilet paper fairy as none of the bathrooms have any :eek: All is now sorted and just had phone call to youngest to say the main street here has flooded and do I know if the bus will still run. She will phone me when she is in York and I should have time to marinate chicken pieces and prepare new potatoes and green veg.

Need to do a quick tidy up and hang out some washing.

[Deleted User]

Yesterday we finally got round to delving deep into the freezer in the garage, we've been promising to do it for weeks.........The bottom layer was wall to wall solid packs of raspberries from a couple of years ago!!! Oh my goodness, this morning I got them in and 4 kg weight plus 4kg of sugar (which I already had) has given me 12 large, over 1 lb size, jars of crimson red raspberry jam, it smells wonderful. We also found more bags of blackberries from a couple of years ago too, so I'm going to make some blackberry chutney I find myself thinking 'isn't it a good thing I NEVER throw away jars with lids' as I had the jars ready to sterilize in the oven and I've got enough to make blackberry chutney and some apple chutney later on when the apple tree is ready to pick. It's a lovely way to spend a wet Sunday morning is making jam!