OS ways and Poor Health

pollyanna_26

Fuddle WCSs post has just reminded me of something . You may have read many on the thread sitting down to do the tasks they can manage .
I have had a perching stool for many years which was supplied via physio together with a board to go over the bath . They can be temporary or permanent loan . The stool is height adjustable so can be use at different surface heights . I have used mine mainly at worktop height for prepping veg etc . I have found it also good if the sciatica flares as it is the only way I can sit down at all . I imagine nowadays the loan service is under a great deal of pressure but if you think it may help you at the moment it could be worth discussing with your doctor . It keeps your body supported in an upright position with less strain than sitting on the sofa or a chair and I find it less tiring than a dining chair . If it isn't for you perhaps it may help another on the thread .
polly

Toomuchdebt

I thought I was going to sleep really well but instead I am still awake. Too emotional today. I took my dd to London for her uni course. The driving tired me out. She's my second dd to leave home but I coped much better last time when I was well.I have a kitten sat on me purring which helps. Next door are having a party as usual...I'm getting so crochety with noise these days. Next time I move house I'll be looking for a detached house!!

[Deleted User]

A grandaughter stayed last night, age 8 who survives well on minimum sleep, arghh, came in to tell me she was awake 4 times during the night, so am feeling tired today. I am making apple pies with her today and I know I will only need to show her everything only once. She can prep veg and could easily put everything in a slow cooker. I don`t think we always give children credit for what they can actually do. I remember well at 9 that I could prepare and stuff a rolled breast of lamb for cooking. I was the oldest girl of 7 siblings and by golly I was typical girl reliable, at 9 I made cakes, peeled veg and so on

A couple of helpful tips for speed and for `those` days: to freeze a batch of prepared crumble for any toppings, no sugar so cheese could be added and I also freeze grated cheese and again these are things that children can prepare

westcoastscot

Kittie we home-schooled, and one of my children was was very unwell - if the children didn't help with cooking, cleaning etc it would never have gotten done! We shared it out fairly, deciding that between us, and buddied up for bigger jobs - it worked well at the time, and they are now grown adults who can house-keep, budget and cook!

I seem to be getting tireder and tireder since starting this new job in May, even though it's much "easier" than my last job. I'm only 20 hours a week, over 5 days. I sleep quite well, but know I don't eat well enough - am a tea and toast person when I'm very tired - and certainly don't exercise enough. I really want to leave work, but am aware of the thinking around working as long as you can being healthier, and I can see what they mean. <sigh> Am scrimping and saving as much as I can to give me the option to retire at 60 (i'm 56 next month) - my retirement date for state pension is 66.5.

I picked up a good book at work - Living a healthy life with chronic conditions - it's very interesting, and looks at both specific conditions and the common issues for living with chronic illness - fatigue, depression etc. Quite a motivating read!

Have a good day, and be kind to yourselves. Kittie enjoy your baking and hope you get time to sit with your knitting later on.

Toomuchdebt hope you manage to rest and relax today.

pollyanna_26

Good morning all . Kittie I only had 2 younger siblings but growing up in the fifties it was the norm to be involved in both cooking and childcare if you were the eldest . On reflection the younger 2 escaped very lightly :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I started learning to cook kneeling on a kitchen chair at a very young age and could cook a roast by the age of 7 . I don't know how that would go down nowadays with H&S . Mum would make a list and I would trot off to the local co-op with the younger ones in the pushchair . Saturday morning if mum could spare the cash would see me off to the Saturday morning childrens show at the local cinema still with the younger ones . My family had allotments back then so I was involved in growing and cooking from scratch . I really resented it all in in my teens but on reflection it gave me the best preparation to cope with future difficulties including keeping the mortgage paid after the toxic ex husband was ejected once and for all .
Freezing plain crumble mix is something I haven't done for years so thanks for the reminder . I use one of those hand gadgets ( cheap as chips ) to blend the fat and flour . Can't remember what they're called but will look it up .
I grate a lot of cheese when able with the GG grater for freezing but recently I keep an eye out in my small local coop for when they do a 2 for a low price on ready grated cheese . They sell a number of types including a spicy chilli one . Very handy for the freezer and I can stock up .
polly

pollyanna_26

PASTRY BLENDER. Just had a google and found them online . Still very affordable . Mine has a wooden handle and is years old . They now have s/s versions with a silicone handle which looks very disability friendly , not very os but may try that .
TMD I hope you feel a little better today . I used to struggle to hold back the tears on back to uni days and dissolve into a soggy mess afterwards . I think the effort of traveling really worsens the effects on us and that is why I admire those struggling towards retirement - you are exhausted before you even start work . Cats are a great comfort at times like this and seem to sense your mood and can do empathy very well - either that or full ratbag mode
I forgot to thank ELONA and WCS for the cooker advice . I have remembered I have a portable halogen hob still in the box - welcome to my world ! There is a massive plan and a complete kitchen including sink in various cupboards and the garage . Memo to all never marry a man who thinks he's Handy Andy and Tommy Walsh only better and mainly with the aid of copious amounts of alcohol decides to rip huge tiles of the walls wrecking the walls in the process . Still waiting for a time when real life leaves me in peace long enough for it to be sorted .
polly

lessonlearned

The turbo head for the Henry arrived yesterday. My DS2 did the hoovering and has been singing it's praises. He's 30, 6ft 3 and very strong and fit but even he complaind about hoovering being heavy work with the original head.

So if he struggled then I'm not surprised that those of you with health issues find it so difficult.

I am all for gadgets that make life easier - whether or not we suffer from muscle and joint problems. My fibromyalgia is now much improved but I still take the easy way out whenever possible.. Anything to avoid a relapse.

One of my best kitchen gadgets is a food processor that chops, slices, grates etc. I use it to blend flour and fats for crumbles and pastry. Not that I make pastry these days.......

I no longer eat any grains at all. I make a "crumble" type topping using nuts and seeds. However I do make up batches of crumble topping for the family and like Kittie keep them in the freezer.

I know it's not technically MSE or particularly "old style" but for those of you struggling with knife work and general food prep then a basic food processor would perhaps be a good investment.

LameWolf

fuddle wrote: »

How do you all cope with feeding your family when your energy levels are low?

I'm fortunate in that there's only the two of us, and Mr LW is pretty well house-trained, as he lived on his own for 12 years before we met.:o

Unfortunately we don't have enough freezer space for me to do much in the way of batch-cooking; and we don't have a garage, or I'd have a 2nd freezer, but we cope.

Before he retired, he would prep the veg for the following days' dins and leave it in water (me and knives is not a good combination - I even dropped a knife on my bare foot the other day, was lucky not to get cut) and he always tackled tasks that are simply beyond me now at the weekend.

Nowadays we tend to be in the kitchen together, so he does the cutting/chopping and I do the rest. And I make unashamed use of the food processor.

I bought a pair of bar chairs from Arg0s some years back; one lives in the kitchen, the other in the bedroom. Serves the same purpose as a perching chair (well it suits me, wouldn't work for everyone) and I bypassed Social Services.

I've opted to buy my own equipment since I moved in with Mr LW, because I couldn't cope with the intrusiveness of SS when they came to evaluate me prior to that. But that's just me - I don't cope at all well with strangers in my home; and I can afford to buy it myself.:o

I'm a great fan of gadgets to aid me (and keep the dreaded Home Visits from SS at bay) - ok so some of it's not terribly old style, but needs must, and all that.

pollyanna_26

LL Good to see the turbo head is helping . Mine is so much a part of Henry I never thought to point it out . So thank you Larumbelle for that
WCS I hope you can manage to leave work asap . I listened to all the advice that work is preferable but in the end it was impacting badly on my health and I believe had I gone on much longer I would have not been able to continue caring for my daughter . I know I damaged my health much more than had I done the sensible thing sooner but like yourself income was very much a worry . Times were beyond tough but we got through and I don't regret early retirement now , I do regret the damage caused by not being mindful of the need to consider my health .
Fuds I've been thinking about your post . Lots of things come to mind but some of them don't sit well with the budget .
Cubed meat or Chicken joints with fresh or frozen pre chopped veg .Microwaved rice or pasta with sauce your husband could prep for you to reheat . Leftovers could either make a filling rice or pasta salad with some protein and tinned or frozen sweetcorn , peas ,sliced peppers etc .
I use the bags of brown rice sold in supermarkets as you can remove them intact without trying to drain first . I had a look before and discovered they can be cooked in the microwave too .
The salads would be ok for your husband although I suppose you also have the cooler weather we are seeing today . A chunky tinned soup and a substantial filled sandwich or roll would keep him fed .
If necessary the pasta sauce could be from a jar ( mse heresy here }
It all depends on which way would work best for you both . If he has the time and energy to do the prepping of sc meals or even things for the microwave you could still have mince meals , like chilli , bolognaise etc and stews and thick soups . Knowing your fondness for the home made dumpling the sky won't fall if you use a packet mix but that is one the girls could make as they're pretty canny like their mam x
I hope you're enjoying your little break in the caravan now that was serendipity .
KITTIE Wrote in detail elsewhere on the threads about steaming her food when she was trying to keep eating . I think it is good information for this thread . So when you're ready Kittie - no pressure :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Need to resume my day of doing a bit , coming on here and other things .
Later polly

lessonlearned

Re working into and beyond retirement etc.

All the evidence suggests that work is good for us, physically, emotionally, socially and of course financially. But I don't agree that it should be at the expense of your health and well being.

I feel very sorry for those who are having to struggle on purely for financial reasons when ideally they would be much healthier if they could just pack it all in.

I have known several people who retired early - early 50's for health reasons. Then after a few years of rest and proper medical care they were able to return to work - admittedly usually either part time or in a different kind of role.

Just because someone is ill doesn't mean they have to be on the scrap heap. Often just taking a step back and getting the correct treatment and care is all it takes to get us back on track.

My dad had two massive heart attacks when he was 55. He retired, rested, got fit, caught up with himself and then went back to work part time self employed when he was 60. Carried on working for another 15 years and loved every minute of it. He only gave up to become carer to mynmum. He's now 90 and still going strong.

I was one of the lucky ones, I got my pension at 61 years 4 months, just 8 months before my husband died.

The years of stress being my husband full time carer played havoc with my health, wrecking my back, fibromyalgia, GERD and IBS.

My husband died 2 years ago and mum 7 months later. I was practically prostrate.

It has taken me 18 months of rest, carefully playing around with my diet, gentle exercise, lots of Physio and I am finally pain and med free. Well almost......my recent car crash (my fault:rotfl:) has set me back due to whiplash injuries.

I could not have achieved all this had I not been retired. I honestly don't know think I could have carried on working.

As I say I consider myself extremely fortunate to have "got lucky" with being elegibile for my pension. I doubt that I would have lived to see a pension age of 66.

I feel so angry that so many women of my generation but who are just a few years younger than me have been treated so badly in regard to their pensions and who have to battle out to work when they should be taking care of their health issues. .