Preparedness - the continuation thread

maryb

Drat, posted in reply to a post on t'other thread.

Sorry for the confusion

Think I need go bye-byes, night all

daz278

hope the new and old threads work out

maryb

It takes me a long time to get to bed, as I do a quick trawl of the sites I follow regularly

And I just had to post this link to Frugal Queen's latest post. She says it all

https://frugalqueen.co.uk/

greenbee

Thanks for the link Mary.

Lots of sensible points there. The ones that resonate with me are about exercise instead of shopping (I've been slack on the exercise recently and spending has been less controlled), over paying the mortgage so that overheads are minimised in future (I'm desperate to finish the house mostly so I can start attacking the mortgage) and saving up for stuff rather than buying on credit.

GreyQueen

Morning all.

Was catching up at speed and grinning at the idea of greenbee and family having to drink wine and then misread VJs Mum as writing a thesis on Chilcott and the footie, which struck me as a tad unusual.

Oh dearie me, shouldn't be allowed online until I have ingested at least one pint of tea.:rotfl:

money, I was going to suggest mint, too, as it's so useful for cooking, as a tea herb and as a digestive aid, but you're ahead of me there. Have you thought about growing herbs which are useful to keep insects out of your home (if such a thing is ever a problem, of course)? There are various herbs which have traditionally been used for this purpose.

Righty, off to see what the newspapers have to say. Have a good day, folks. GQ xx

maryb

I posted a link to Frugal Queen's blog last night. Her determination to clear the debt that saw them refused for a smaller mortgage when they wanted to downsize (yes you did read that right!) was inspirational. But she doesn't really do stockpiling, other than wood - well you have to stockpile wood.

But she's still a prepper to my way of thinking, because she foresees a time when they will no longer be able to carry on working, either through redundancies or just plain burn out and she wants to make sure of a comfortable retirement

mrs-moneypenny

Morning all
Thanks Mary, I read a lot of Philippa Gregory books and often wondered what 'small ale' was. You've confirmed my guess that it was weaker rather than less in quantity.

Drizzly here so can cross watering off my list of jobs before work. Got to nip college and hand my application in later so just got that as filled in as I can.

Have a good day all, will catch up later

pipkin71

GreyQueen wrote: »

Have you thought about growing herbs which are useful to keep insects out of your home (if such a thing is ever a problem, of course)? There are various herbs which have traditionally been used for this purpose.

Are there herbs which would keep flies at bay?

I hate using the sprays and the tape is unsightly but flies can be a problem in summer. We do have a mesh at the back door but with the dogs in and out they still find their way in.

maryb

I think lavender planted in tubs near the door is supposed to help. And they don't like blue paint. That's probably why it's such a traditional colour for kitchens.

I always smile ruefully when I see glossy pictures of yellow kitchens. Must be a complete nightmare.

Pennyroyal is also a traditional insect repellent, particularly for fleas. It's hard to get hold of though because it can be used as an abortifacient.

moneyistooshorttomention

The "insects in home" scenario consists of noticeably often spotting large spiders lurking in corners here - a quick swat deals with them. So that's not an undue problem personally.

My thinking is more along the lines of prevention and cure of illness. The more I look at it = the more worried I get about the state of the NHS. Even down to smaller issues - like having recently found I was being told that what turned out to be an inadequate amount of iron in my blood was perfectly adequate. Supplementation with suitable type of iron later and I've realised that awful modern phrase of "managing expectations" is probably being found useful in the first place by them. Don't admit there's anything wrong with them - and you don't have to spend money on dealing with it (nope - my own is being spent instead:cool:).

So - I am becoming increasingly aware we all need to do what we can ourselves to cover our health needs (whilst acknowledging that some people have serious problems - and that can only be met by some "serious medical drug-taking").

Hence - wondering what people have found to be THE most useful ones worth giving space to in their garden. In my own case - after that rosemary failure - then I have to bear in mind as well that they need to be happy with West Wales wind and rain. Hopefully happy with the clay soil as well - though I could, at a push, give them their own little "sphere" by putting them in compost in a pot. I do have plenty of room for pots.