Get a grip woman!

IzzyBee

I’m 30 plus years but no further forward he is very good at dishing out orders and putting everyone right not that anyone takes any notice and don’t get me started on his hoarding and untidiness if he got his way everything would live in the middle of the table he got a great big pack of tablets and when I came in they were on top of the fish tank when I asked why he said because you complain when I put them in the middle of the table if he is trying to drive me nuts it’s working 😂

Sayschezza

I have a OH like that too. I have mentioned before on this forum that if he dies first his headstone will bear the inscription ' I just put him here for now' as that's his favourite saying.

IzzyBee

I think I’ll have to pinch that inscription 😂

Suffolk_lass

shangaijimmy said:

Don't take this as a certain solution but apparently popping some cardboard in between the back of the freezer and the wall stops the freezer going into safety/shutdown mode.

Ooh, thank you - the one outside at the moment is possibly the original we bought when we moved here (16 years ago) and went outside when the plastic shelf runners started to go brittle and snap. It is time for it to go to be recycled and I am going to order the replacement today and try the cardboard as we don't have any insulation sheet (Kingsland or Celotex) without asking the local builder (he gave us off-cuts to go in the beehive roof) but I do have two or three really strong cardboard boxes and I reckon they might do stuck to a sheet of ply. Very MSE!

themadvix said:

Couldn't agree more about emergency pizza (although it's more like beanburgers/fish and chips here, but there's a Coop five mins walk away if emergency *pizza* is specifically required!). Glad all was not lost!

I have a small amount of fish frozen but DH always turns up his nose when I offer it - yet he often chooses it when we go out (used to go out!) and I think it is the legacy of his childhood where the whole house would smell for a day afterwards....

Karmacat

SL, you've got insulation sheets on the roof of the beehive?  Interesting!  Will you take them off in summer, or do they actually shield the bees from heat as well?  They must, actually, mustn't they?

Suffolk_lass

That's a good point @Karmacat - not sure and I will check. They are fitted inside the roof, with a take-away box sized hole in the middle so we can swap the box of emergency fondant over without them getting cold. I also bought a perspex crown board (that is the top board, under the roof) so we could see if all was normal through winter when you can't do a proper inspection. They do seem to have moved up to the top which has the greatest warmth.

I made some chocolate brownies without nuts to use some eggs, then I made oat things - like hobnob-flapjacks and then texted my neighbour who is working so hard at one of the hospitals asking if he was allowed to take them in. When he replied to jump at it and say there are a lot fewer thank yous and treats this time, I went out and made a lemon cake too (half the Mary Berry traybake recipe) and I now have one of those really big Jacobs cracker selection boxes full of homemade treats for him to take in tomorrow.

Another neighbour managed to get me some seville oranges so I will be making marmalade today - I probably need lemons but used them in the cake 👩‍🍳 - I might try without...

Dead time of the month financially, but I must pay for the oranges (I have sugar - bought in case bees were hungry)

themadvix

I think you might have problems getting a set without the lemons SL, they provide a lot of the pectin (I believe). Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.... you can freeze the oranges  though if necessary.

Suffolk_lass

I've got some pectin in sachets and a bag of sad limes so was hoping this would work. I might have a sad lemon too. I really need to write in my book which recipe we like - I've made them all now I think! - my Preserving book was bought on Waterloo Station in 1986 one evening when my train was delayed (in the days when WHS had a tray of cheap reduced books at the front) - it has almost got family treasure status now.

That's a good idea to freeze some... Just need to take a view on the chest freezer re-org before the new one comes Monday

themadvix

Reckon you should be fine then with the extras - and the lime will give it extra zing!

 It sounds like a good book! I used the Riverford recipe that came with my orange and lemons - I’m nota confident preserve maker, so straightforward works best for me.

Suffolk_lass

I hope so. Currently got the peel of 1.6k of oranges in a pressure cooker with 3 pints of water and all the insides, 2 limes and 1 lemon cut into quarters in another 4 pints of water in the simmer oven for a couple of hours. then I will strain the pulp, slice the peel and make in the traditional way with the option to add pectin in powder form if needed. I've also go the aga cook book (2 editions - 2003 which is mine and a 1997 edition my friend gave me - the recipe and method in there looks really straightforward (with the tip that you warm the sugar on a warm spot on the top of the aga before you add it)