THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

ancientofdays

GQ those are the same foot and ankle exercises I'm meant to do daily, following surgery, but I must admit to doing them as often as I remember. But instead of the bum one, which I do anyway without the locking because I didn't like the idea of not being able to get up without using my arms, I also have to do standing on one leg, on the ball of the foot. I'm allowed to touch the wall for balance but not to hold on.

I am hoping that they might hold some of the arthritis at bay.

moneyistooshorttomention

kittie wrote: »

Difficult, I have failed somewhat. It has to be something that occupies the mind and done in small hops, literally. Things to look forward to and I failed in that because my looking forward was as far as the sweet nibbles. Reading, was hard to concentrate, knitting ditto, talking on the phone lasted not that long, star jumps now and then for seconds. Cleaning was not needed, MK was not being inspired. Weaving on an inkle loom was good for 30 minute stretches.

Sewing an item of clothing would have been good, so maybe in my preps next time. Last year I had a kit to make a spinning wheel, took me days, similar would be good next time but something smaller. Something with a beginning and that shows progress to a finite positive end. The most exercise I got was a few star jumps and stomping down stairs for impact exercise plus pulling an exercise band now and then. Should have left my rebounder on the landing

Baby boom next december

LOL at the thought of a baby boom 9 months later:rotfl:. Though struggles to get my head round why that happens in this day and age (ie quite some time after the 1970s - the Pill/abortion etc etc). But then I'm someone that would have gone "right hubby - you know we decided on child 1 in early 30s and child 2 at 2 years later. Shall we put it down to start trying at, say, May/June?" if I'd wanted children:rotfl:.

I've "let myself off the hook" of making many "personal plans" - after, yet another, year of house renovation. Now the house itself has been done - it's time to make some plans for "indoors times" and I'm rather wondering about what I can do that's useful (ie rather than just a time-filler - which I'm not keen on). Something I can "pick up and put down" etc. So - I've got myself a few cheap secondhand books on learning French. I was surprised to find what odd bits of it have stuck in my brain from schooldays and they reckon it's 500 hours for an English speaker to learn French from scratch. Duly accummulated a lot of suitable websites re bits to help learn it for free and I figure I'm sorted for next winter and thereon.

Still thinking about whether to do so or no - but something to occupy the brain and with markers that indicate progress made - eg can hold basic conversations/got to "O" Level stage (I only got CSE Grade 2 in it)/got to A Level stage is being contemplated right now...

fuddle

We had took our eye off the fuel for the stove Bob. We would have lasted approx 4 days and then heat would have been an issue. Heatwise for the future we're going to get some fishing bivvy candle lanterns and replacement candle stocks. I don't know much about them but they're used by fisherman who night fish as a light and ambient heat source. A little research needs to be done but it's an idea for us.

Top and tail wash yes as we have portable gas canisters and stove. Much more, no.

Food, yes with the wood stove and I have been learning more about in/on stove cooking. Food preps include dehydrated food stuffs. Also that gas stove. Oven and hob are gas but if electric is working we have a microwave.

I think we would be ok short term but definitely not comfortable and definitely couldn't sustain it. Still a lot to do here.

Good on you money. It's great when we find something that we're inspired to learn that is useful too.

[Deleted User]

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

LOL at the thought of a baby boom 9 months later:rotfl:.

There actually was a baby boom, after the 1970s power cuts.

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I was surprised to find what odd bits of it have stuck in my brain from schooldays

I remember virtually nothing from school French lessons.

I've had several tries at learning German, but it's really hard.

Karmacat

kittie wrote: »

I just noticed the yellow ice warning here and over much of uk, yaktraks are useless on black ice. Its down to ground temperature then.

Why are they useless on black ice, kittie, please?

fuddle wrote: »

I am beginning to wonder if clearing snow exacerbated my yet to be medicated and only just discovered heart condition. I cleared the shared path on Tuesday. Now I would prefer to just leave the snow to accumulate because at least it's something to grip too and a softer landing if I do fall but my neighbour is 70 this year and insists on clearing it. It makes me feel guilty so I did it.

Long story short I'm still dealing with (although gradually getting better) right sided chest and shoulder pain. My heart can't cope with the amount of blood going through it in normal times so shovelling that snow was acstupid thing to do. Although a blessing as I'm now on beta blockers and don't have to wait in the investigation stage any longer, I have had a shock.

So sorry to hear this, fuddle but if you take notice and make the recommended changes, you can be fine - my Norfolk rellie was your age when he had a heart "event", and now, more than 30 years later, his heart is fine.

I'm 63 too (waves at maryb!!!!) with chronic fatigue, and I did do a bit of snow shovelling, but a very bit - a path 20 feet long or so, just enough to unload our van. I regard myself as just tipping out from middle aged, and only in the last year or so This all made me think of the Thomas Hardy poem https://interestingliterature.com/2016/12/02/a-short-analysis-of-thomas-hardys-i-look-into-my-glass/ which I am dismayed to find he wrote when he was 5 years younger than me and maryb :rotfl: but then I thought of J Alfred Prufrock, listening to the mermaids https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/44212/the-love-song-of-j-alfred-prufrock-56d2233846c6d

Luckily, even though I wear my trousers rolled, the mermaids include me in their chat, every now and then :rotfl: I'm not 63 in my head, not at all :cool:

[Deleted User]

fuddle wrote: »

I don't know much about them but they're used by fisherman who night fish as a light and ambient heat source.

Of course, paraffin lanterns put out a fair amount of heat, in addition to the light.

As a child, a friend lived in a house which had an outside toilet, and they used used to leave a Hurricane lamp (set on low) in there, during the winter, to stop the toilet from freezing.

moneyistooshorttomention

This is me wimping out re German. I'd like to be able to speak German - but we never did that at school. We did French and Latin.

Latin isn't a lotta use imo:rotfl: - though it may be why I was pretty much able to translate a menu for myself whilst in Italy on holiday with Italian friend one time. Was proud I didnt need to ask her what everything meant:)

There's a list of languages I'd like to be able to speak - French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, one of the Scandinavian ones (probably Swedish) and the "odd one out" being Arabic.

Makes logical sense to think in terms of one that I've done before though doesnt it?:) - and I believe there's a U3A French group or two here (ie another reason to learn it - meet more people).

moneyistooshorttomention

Karmacat wrote: »

Luckily, even though I wear my trousers rolled, the mermaids include me in their chat, every now and then :rotfl: I'm not 63 in my head, not at all :cool:

Me neither - but admits that how old I am in my head varies from several hundred years to several thousand years old - but that's another story entirely (ie I do feel a lot older than I am physically speaking). Very weary - after many centuries would about sum it up for me personally.

Re heart events - and I'm from a family absolutely chock-a-block with heart events all round. My father had a triple bypass about 30 years ago now and is still around (at 90 years old). My mother had a heart event (ie heart attack) a few years ago. My younger brother had a bypass decades ago.

Now - my father no longer has any "will to live" left. Nor has my mother. They both want to Go. So - if two people who both have lost the "will to live" are still here these years later (ie the only shred of "will to live" either of them has left is they both want to "go together") = someone who does have the "will to live" can carry on for decades imo.

westcoastscot

hi Guys,
Interesting to read back
BOB - hope you're feeling better?
FUDDLE - I have a similar issue due to repeated chest infections, compounded by my particular type of arthritis
I'm home now - was away in the north of England, but very happy to be home. I'm 57 but have aged quickly since my diagnosis (2009), I'm finally accepting of that (most days) and have made the decision now not to travel again in winter. My life is much smaller than it was 10 years ago, but I find I have to look after myself if I want to stay as well as I can be.
Prepping wise, it's just the life I've always lived - I'm lucky that I have the stove with back boiler as main heating, which can run on pretty much anything, and I always stock up on wood and coal over the summer. I can cook on it if I have to, and if the elec goes off I use a kelly kettle in the fire bed for copious hot water. I tend not to go out past the garden when it's bad, but bringing in coal and wood, talking to the chucks and pottering outside well wrapped up for 10 minutes at a time helps with cabin fever. I have a good store of food.
I'm fortunate that I can easily work from home if I need to.

Cabin fever is difficult to manage - I have lots of little projects on the go, sewing, knitting, crochet, papercrafts, and I save programmes to watch as a treat - I don't watch telly most of the time, except a little in the winter. This period of bad weather i've enjoyed All Creatures Great and Small box set, and the Hannah Hauxwell DVDS. I try and keep to my routine of getting up and going to bed at regular times, which helps, and having structure to my day stops me sitting for too long.

I've been through a period of uncertainty for the past 18 months, but think I've settled on a path forward and will begin to make adjustments to my home environment and worklife to facilitate that.
Shall be very happy to see spring - seed catalogues anyone??? :-)
WCS

[Deleted User]

Having visited (and loved) Berlin, I'd love to be able to speak even a moderate amount of German.

If I could introduce myself, book into a hotel, order a meal and a drink, buy something from a shop, and have a chat with someone, I'd be pleased with myself.