Preparedness - the continuation thread

maryb

Will the knowledge of the newer methods actually be useful? Those of us who are old enough to have taken O levels know that they tended to have a lot more content in them so it's not as if you have never covered the subjects

And that is not to denigrate GCSEs by the way. But they are different although you have to work just as hard to do well in them.

maryb

Wow Mrs M what a steal! Will you make more? If the energy situation gets iffy we have enough quilts in the house from DD1's foray into quilt making to ride out any power cut!

And it is a bit worrying that no government for the last 20 years has had any coherent energy strategy. I wonder what difference leaving the EU will make. Politicians won't be able to hide behind Brussels as an excuse going forward and we will be able to give state aid to build up our own infrastructure

FairyPrincessk

MaryB, he says he does 5 secs for enough for one round of toast. When I 'soften' butter for cakes and things I tend to weigh it and put it in a dish and then do it at 10 second intervals, give it a swirl and put it on for another 10 secs whilst I'm getting other ingredients together. I can then stop it at soft or keep going for melted for other recipes. This also keeps it from getting so hot in the middle while the edges remain cool that it explodes and gets butter all over the microwave :eek:

mrs-moneypenny

Not sure I'll do another quilt that big Mary but I really enjoyed making that one, there are several crocheted blankets fleeces and duvets around the hou so we wouldn't freeze in a power cut either.
I did cse's as I left school at 16 (mum needed the board money) so never reached the dizzy heights of Olevel education he said my level3 in maths and level2 in English lit is good enough and still stands as a qualification. I know I've struggled to help my kids with math homework when they were highschool age so that's the bit I'm NOT looking forward to, it's way moved from my comfort zone.
I'm confident helping the kids understand the primary maths and because I've been in the classroom for a while now can happily help them with all their stuff. Read somewhere if you can't explain it to a 6 year old you don't understand it yourself so I'm happy I'm ok at that level.

maryb

Well if you've got nothing to lose, you might actually enjoy it as a challenge? There can be something very satisfying about really getting to grips with a subject

maryb

FairyPrincessk wrote: »

MaryB, he says he does 5 secs for enough for one round of toast. When I 'soften' butter for cakes and things I tend to weigh it and put it in a dish and then do it at 10 second intervals, give it a swirl and put it on for another 10 secs whilst I'm getting other ingredients together. I can then stop it at soft or keep going for melted for other recipes. This also keeps it from getting so hot in the middle while the edges remain cool that it explodes and gets butter all over the microwave :eek:

Been there, done that

pineapple

DWhite wrote: »

Sometimes things happen, the world goes boobs up for a while, but there's always a solution.
All part of life's rich tapestry

I'm a believer that if you open your mind to possibilities and change then the future is more likely to be positive.
Many years ago after my relationship of 10 years went belly up and also I was transferred to a job I wasn't keen on, I surveyed my empty nest and decided the universe was telling me something. So I sold up/gave up everything and booked on a 7 month trans Africa trip with a bunch of complete strangers. I was no spring chicken and my next door neighbour actually said 'But you can't do that'! But I did and it turned out to be one of the best things I ever did.

milasavesmoney

Happy Happy Birthday to you Cheel! Wishing you a wonderful day and a fabulous coming year!!

ivyleaf

Happy Birthday cheel

maryb

pineapple wrote: »

I'm a believer that if you open your mind to possibilities and change then the future is more likely to be positive.

I am a Taurus and temperamentally disliking change. And I am naturally a bit fearful and used to be prone to catastrophising. But about ten years ago when we were facing the second big round of redundancies in the space of a year, I decided to face the future with courage and dignity. I made myself think about it calmly and decided there would always be tasty food to eat because I can cook and I have a well equipped kitchen (though this was before my storecupboard days). And there would always be books to read from the library. I have never been a great one for clothes - I literally wear them until they are fraying - and I had enough.

That transformed the way I felt about the situation then and has made me much calmer ever since. During the financial crisis in 2008 I felt grave but not scared.

And I feel that way now. I am really concerned about DD2's job prospects for when she graduates next year since the graduate recruitment season will start in the autumn while everything is still a bit up in the air. And I feel desperately sorry for people who are losing their jobs now as a result of all the uncertainty. But I do think we have a chance to make something positive come out of this. There are encouraging snippets in the news about other countries wanting to do trade deals, including China (though whether that is entirely positive I am not sure). And some American politicians (other than Trump) are also making encouraging noises. At least we will be free to act in our own interests