Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

PasturesNew

Nikkster wrote: »

You need a kitchen island,

I do dislike those, in general.

There's no room for one either.

GDB2222

Would it help to get a short extension lead, so you can put one of the machines elsewhere?

Nikkster

PasturesNew wrote: »

I do dislike those, in general.

There's no room for one either.

There's not enough workspace, in the right places. It's just very poorly "planned", in fact, not "planned" at all, just units shoved into the house so it looks enough like a kitchen to be able to sell the house

I'm sure kitchen islands have come up before on here (let's face it, not much hasn't), but even if they hadn't, I guessed you wouldn't be a fan!

Spirit_2

Drinks offered here. And biscuits. Usually carried out to people working outdoors.
In the weeks prior to my stroke the weather was quite hot. I offered a delivery driver a cold drink. The young guy declined and I had a horrible moment when I thought he might think I was trying to pull him!

Fast forward to post stroke and he was most helpful in bringing in, and placing parcels where I needed
them. When he was leaving he had his replacement with him on his last delivery here. He gave them instruction on how to help me, although it was going beyond the company service level.

tradesmen and others have been co-opted into opening bottle/jars and other "jobs" for me. A chap fitting windows once became an anilmal ambulance when our cat needed an emergency vet and our daughter was too young to drive.

Simple hospitality repaid many times.

Spirit_2

Pn I am looking forward to hearing of your extended meal choices.

GDB2222

I just found this simple gadget on ebay. It's easy to forget that a simple thing like opening a coffee jar is normally a two handed operation.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jar-Bottle-Holder-ideal-for-1-handed-use-Arthritis-Stroke-Rheumatism-/181848510061

vivatifosi

I have a jar opener that looks like a thin rubber strap that you adjust the loop on, then turn the handle. It is brilliant, but still a two handed operation. I also have a jarkey, which is brilliant... breaks the seal then easy to open.

zagubov

GDB2222 wrote: »

I just found this simple gadget on ebay. It's easy to forget that a simple thing like opening a coffee jar is normally a two handed operation.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jar-Bottle-Holder-ideal-for-1-handed-use-Arthritis-Stroke-Rheumatism-/181848510061

When I had broken my arm, I became all too aware it was a two-handed world. You couldn't even unwrap a snack, open a bag of crisps/packet of biscuits. Good for weight control though!;)

GDB2222

PasturesNew wrote: »

The trouble I have with such things is that you get a better "deal" buying 200g jars rather than, say, 100g jars.... and I have very small hands, so the jar lids are on the limit of my hand/finger span, leaving very little room then for grip/strength.

I open jars of, say, curry sauce/jam by using the end of a spoon handle, I slide that up under the lid in any small gap I can spot, then turn it and it pops as the vacuum's broken. Then I can open them.

I bought my dad one of those One Touch jar openers.... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/One-Touch-Jar-Can-Bottle-Opener-Automatic-Electric-Hands-Free-Operation-Kitchen-/311514271192

First jar he tried it on was octagonal or something (a chutney jar) and it doesn't work on odd shapes/sizes. I've 'inherited' it as it seemed daft to chuck it out as it was barely used and small enough to keep .... it's in the cupboard for the day I need it.

It's probably the most financially valuable heirloom I got

That's a neat inheritance, and it constitutes an interesting economic problem:

• If you keep the gadget safely in the drawer, it constitutes capital that you can use when you need it most - perhaps in many years time, or perhaps never at all.
  
• On the other hand, if you use it now, it enables you to buy larger jars which, as you say, are often better value. This will eventually wear the gadget out, thus using up the capital, but in the meantime you are benefiting from savings in the food you buy.

Comparing these two options would require much more information than we currently have (expected lifetime of the device if used, plus annual savings from larger jars for a start), but once you have cracked this problem you are perfectly equipped to apply the same principles to multi-billion £££ projects such as the channel tunnel.

A new career in high finance awaits you, just as soon as you figure out whether to start using your late dad's jar opener. If you don't feel this is your area of expertise, Gen and I will be happy to carry out the exercise for you in exchange for a very large fee.



Incidentally, we don't have a kitchen island in our house. Nor a cape, promontory or peninsula. I feel humbled by other MSE'ers who no doubt have an archipelago in their kitchens.

PasturesNew

zagubov wrote: »

You couldn't even unwrap a snack, open a bag of crisps/packet of biscuits.

I mostly use a small pair of scissors to open wrappings. A little bit of OCD makes me cut open packets, so I have a neat edge in order to then reseal them with a plastic clip.

As I do this as a matter of course, daily, the scissors are always to hand.