THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

ivyleaf

Thank you jk0

Lyn :j :j :j

I seem to be drinking loads, but still began to feel quite unwell a few hours ago and went for a lie-down with the fan on; I expect it helped, though i don't particularly feel much better. I'd intended ringing my own elderly neighbour to see if she felt up to a brief visit, as I've not visited her for a while and had bought her some flowers, but it hasn't happened after all. Hopefully tomorrow. Her DD lives at home and rings her regularly during the day to make sure she and her OH are all right.

VJsmum

ivyleaf wrote: »

Thank you jk0

Lyn :j :j :j

I seem to be drinking loads, but still began to feel quite unwell a few hours ago and went for a lie-down with the fan on; I expect it helped, though i don't particularly feel much better. I'd intended ringing my own elderly neighbour to see if she felt up to a brief visit, as I've not visited her for a while and had bought her some flowers, but it hasn't happened after all. Hopefully tomorrow. Her DD lives at home and rings her regularly during the day to make sure she and her OH are all right.

Sorry to hear it, Ivyleaf. I literally feel your pain, being a bit under the weather myself. I've been having massive problems with histamine this year, blocked sinuses and s nasty eye rash. Certain foods are making it worse, especially (regrettably) alcohol.

I was trying to do a low calorie "fast" day but have had to give it up - the first time I've ever had to

THIRZAH

I can remember my grandmother getting really dehydrated in hot weather. She was of the generation who had a cup of tea with breakfast, a cup of coffee mid-morning , a cup of tea after lunch etc. She never thought about drinking more if it was hot. Fortunately a family member spotted that she was ill and called the doctor.

thriftwizard

My dear old Mum's been suffering from dehydration, and now I'm wondering just how often she's actually been dehydrated rather than actually ill (or suffering from antibiotic reactions) in the recent past? The symptoms are so familiar - slight headache, confusion, feeling rough, dizziness etc. - exactly how she feels when she's going down with an infection. So we ring the doc, they send antibiotics straight away, and two days later she's in hospital with yet another antibiotic reaction... luckily averted this time by an alert district nurse on the phone, & me realising she had 3 untouched drinks beside her chair, including the one I'd made her at 4pm the day before...

She's very puzzled - "But I don't feel thirsty, so I don't think I need to drink!" - so I keep telling her it's down to a lifetime of ignoring signals - you couldn't just drink when you wanted to at school, or at work, or in church, say, so your body just stops listening. Hopefully when she's moved the family will be able to keep better tabs on what she's eating & drinking - the doc who did turn up this time said she's probably malnourished too, having been throwing most of her delivered meals away because, to be frank, they're pretty awful.

So yes, folks, drink! Much more than you think you need...

In other news, keep an eye on your spuds. Sad to say, after one day of dull & humid weather here yesterday, most of the spuds on the 'lotties up our road have keeled over today... OH reports that ours still appeared green & sturdy today, but I'm going to give my tomatoes a roof tomorrow...

GreyQueen

I'm one of those who doesn't feel brilliant in very hot weather and am having to drink lots and take it easy, my workplace is very hot and the only aircon in our entire building is in the server room (!)


A pal does have an airon office in another organisation, their employer had it installed because their PCs were overheating and going wrong, burger the staff............:)


thriftwizard, yes, the symptons of dehydration can often appear to be several things of a different nature and it's reckoned that many elderly do not drink enough, with severe impacts on cognitive function, general wellbeing etc. Part of it may be a fear of being took short and unable to reach the bathroom in time. If we don't drink enough, our kidneys stuggle, we can end up with lymph pooling in our lower extemities and general lack of health. Water is the best, drink other things but have plenty of water, too.



I'm up at Silly O'Clock due to having had to go to bed at sundown (shattered) and then waking up with a banging headache (dehydration). I'm waiting for daylight and then will bike to the allotments to harvest a redcurrant bush. It's far too hot for me until 7-8 pm and I was just too weary to go up yestereve.


I have an inherited pondlet on Plot2 which I am keeping topped up with waterbutt water for the frogs but I am also wetting down an area near the water tank/ stand tap. This has always been a popular frog hangout but the new plotholder whose plot this sits on (next door to mine) has sprayed off all the long grass inc around the tap/ tank and has left a wasteland where there was a frogitat. Froggies are still loitering by the tap attempting to get some moisture and it broke my heart to see several of them pressing themselves belly-down into a patch of moist soil where I'd spilled some water in filling the can


I put a canful of water down the area between the tank and my fence where the frogs like to hide and hope the grass will grow soon. I am also contemplating relocating the pondlet from Plot2 (where is is sitting stupidly in the middle) to the 'flowerbed' on the front of Plot1. This would bring it about 1.5 m from the tap and I could grow plants around it for shade and habitat and wouldn't have to garden around it on Plot2.


It will probably be an autumn project now.



Lovely peeps, birds, mammals and amphibians are struggling in the heat, we humans have altered nature so that there are far fewer streams and ponds than there would be naturally. If you can, put out dishes of water for them, to drink from and bathe in. Mum gets a lot of satisfaction from watching the antics of the birds in the pedestal-style birdbath I bought her a few years ago. It's so well-used that Dad has to keep topping it up from the waterbutts.


Stay calm and move slowly in the heat, hot weather can make people fractious and argumentative as well, so useful to bear that in mind when out and about.


ETA: just found this:https://modernsurvivalblog.com/health/prevent-dehydration-with-proper-hydration/

DigForVictory

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

they have found the missing children and their coach alive in the flooded cave system, they are weak but they are all alive.

I share your joy, I do worry about getting them out though. That is a massively non-optional situation & within reason getting food water and school in for a couple of months may be easier and safer than trying to get them out in using new-to-them techniques in Very Hazardous circumstances.
But then I'm an ex-caver and have a "massive respect for terrain".

ivyleaf

VJsmum I wouldn't worry about your diet atm - I think in this weather we've gotta do what we've gotta do

GQ I do feel quite bad that I haven't put water out for the birds, but I have looked at possible receptacles and I don't really know what shape would work? I have shallow bowls but we use those ourselves and I think they'd tip up if a bird perched on the edge. I do have the straight-sided bowl I used to put out for our cat (and "passing trade" as OH called the other local cats) but it has a silhouette of a cat in the bottom which would put the birds off. What shape is best? I do put seed out, but I appreciate they need water.

maryb

We have one of those hexagonal shallow black plastic trays builders use to mix mortar. We use it to clean the grill from the barbecue which is round and an awkward shape to do in the sink. I was thinking it would be perfect as a temporary bird bath

Cheapskate

Afternoon everyone, I'm back for good after several months (or possibly more, I forget) of Too Much Life & Hard Times, and much Falling Off The Wagon. Can't possibly read hundreds of pages I've missed, but delighted for you, kittie, that you've found a new nest at long last! Big hugs, commiserations, love to those 'old' friends I've not read about in ages - hope you're all as well as can be expected.

I'm still unemployed, and now looking at voluntary work as a way of getting some experience and being useful somewhere. Funds are rather low, and I really need a job, so plodding along.

I did my second ever 10K run on Sunday (I know, it was hot, we must have been mad!), and raised well over £200 for Dementia UK - ran in mum's memory. No more exercise like that for a while, though, just a bit of yoga or zumba when it's not too hot!

See you all later

A xx

GreyQueen

ivyleaf wrote: »

VJsmum I wouldn't worry about your diet atm - I think in this weather we've gotta do what we've gotta do

GQ I do feel quite bad that I haven't put water out for the birds, but I have looked at possible receptacles and I don't really know what shape would work? I have shallow bowls but we use those ourselves and I think they'd tip up if a bird perched on the edge. I do have the straight-sided bowl I used to put out for our cat (and "passing trade" as OH called the other local cats) but it has a silhouette of a cat in the bottom which would put the birds off. What shape is best? I do put seed out, but I appreciate they need water.

v I think any old thing will do. SuperGran uses a ceramic saucer designed to go under a planter. Shallow-ish is likely to be best, bathing birdies seem to favour water only 2-3 inches deep. I've seen sparrows bathing in very shallow puddles.


I wouldn't worry about the weight of birds overbalancing containers as most of them are incredibly light. I've seen robins perch on the single upturned opened edge of a compost bag without bending it over and various small birds can cling onto bricks vertically, they weigh so little.HTH.


Nice to 'see' you again, Cheapskate, and I hope the job situation comes good for you soon.


ETA; Am trucking along with my new PC and have brought allmy documents across from the USB drive where they were stored safely. I always recall the comment I read somewhere that data in only one place isn't safw data. I also have hardcopy of my phone contacts in a wee address book, in case of accidents, loss or failure of a phone.


In the current age, with most people having mobile numbers and these being relatively hard to commit to memory in quantity, we could easily lose our only record of an important contact if we're not careful.