Cooking for one (Mark Three)

PasturesNew

Farway wrote: »

PN, those Wright's C & O mixes are damn tasty aren't they?

Yes, smelt much cheesier than I'd expected. Could smell the cheese as I was spooning/weighing it out (as I was only using half the pack today). I just wouldn't ever fancy the kneading bit. Never had strong wrists, have tiny hands ... and never liked the thought of food being pressed down into worktops, even if clinically cleaned (strange OCD obsessions/fears over grit/grime in general)...

Farway wrote: »

I've got cellar envy. Never had a house with a cellar, I'm sure there would be problems but always liked the idea of going down into one, bet they hold more than lofts

While a good one could be handy - the reality is that most have super-steep dangerous stairs and you'd struggle to lift/carry most things into the space at all.... in short ... it'd end up as space never actually used properly.

Farway wrote: »

Dinner, still undecided but I've taken the LO quiche out of fridge which is a start

So much rubbish on TV,for my tastes anyway, I'm going to rejoin Netflix, wider choice of rubbish:)

I just go online until late in the evening, then have a quick look at BBC/ITV to see if there was anything worth catching up on .... there rarely is.

I just "go without" in the main.

Novice_investor101

Well, the banister doesn't need painting after all. Where I thought the gloss had scratched badly actually just wiped off & looks fine now. I may still do the bathroom door tomorrow.

PN, it's an odd little patch - it starts about 15cm away from the kitchen radiator & is about 30cmx30cm big. It's the solid brick wall between mine & next doors kitchen.
There is a much colder wall for condensation to settle on but it never does. I can only think it's to do with whatever next door have on the other side of the wall.

There is another small damp patch in the lounge, just above the skirting in the alcove one side of the big chimney breast. Both sides have been wallpapered, but you can see the slight bubbling on one side. There's no damp smell or anything, so that must be a cold spot/moisture trap too.
I'll see how I get on with the watered down matt paint. The silk paint I use normally clearly can't cope with it.

Faraway, my cellar is a decent sized & fairly dry. It's just a nightmare to get in & out of! The under stairs cupboard has been opened up into the lounge, so a trip to the cellar means squeezing down a hatch....
I don't store anything down there that id need often as it's too much faff getting stuff in & out.

Two scotch pies in the oven as I'm peckish. Tea will be a late one. Might forgo the mash & make hot dogs with 2 frozen sausages & PB petit pains (& a small helping of French fries)

Farway

Novice_investor101 wrote: »

PN, it's an odd little patch - it starts about 15cm away from the kitchen radiator & is about 30cmx30cm big. It's the solid brick wall between mine & next doors kitchen.
There is a much colder wall for condensation to settle on but it never does. I can only think it's to do with whatever next door have on the other side of the wall.

There is another small damp patch in the lounge, just above the skirting in the alcove one side of the big chimney breast. Both sides have been wallpapered, but you can see the slight bubbling on one side. There's no damp smell or anything, so that must be a cold spot/moisture trap too.
I'll see how I get on with the watered down matt paint. The silk paint I use normally clearly can't cope with it.

Sounds like something from next door, weeping water fitting maybe?

The chimney bit could, unfortunately, be the flashing for the chimney on the roof. Is it lead flashing? Old house?

Still undecided on dinner, wish I had my new freezer then I'd pop in & get a RM meal out from the vast assortment:)
In the meantime I think it's deja vu again, quiche & frozen chips

I spotted the two yummy cakes I bought during my hospital visit, looking tempting:o
Must resist, could have one L's satsumas, had one last night, OK but hardly something to rush back & buy more

Wednesday2000

My internet was off for almost the whole day yesterday. I didn't know what to do!:rotfl: I'm not sure if it had to do with Black Friday?

I just had a very late brunch of 2 wholemeal rolls with vegan cheese and mayo. I had a long lie-in and then a walk to feed the birds before that. My husband is coughing a lot now too.:(

Novice_investor101

Faraway, it's definitely not the chimney as I had a full new roof put on when I bought the house 5 years ago. Chimney was checked & repointed then & all new flashings etc. It's also quite a bit away from the chimney - the breast sticks out about 50cm into the room & the walks either side are set back. I think it might just be a bit of rising damp.

The house is a 1895 Victorian mid terrace. Before I bought it it was damp & the lounge floor & joists had all rotted due to the cellar flooding & no ventilation.

I had the whole lot ripped out, the cellar floor covered with a membrane & then concreted so no water comes up now. It feels pretty dry down there, but just that bit of wall seems to hold moisture.
The plaster was crumbly when my electrician was changing some sockets in the same place. It might well just be a bit of rising damp that doesn't really cause any issues other than a bit of bubbly wallpaper. I just ignore it.

Pretty much all of damp/mould/
condensation issues the woman I bought it off had (who was desparate to sell) were down to poor ventilation - ie never opening any windows & blocking air bricks, & lack of maintenance - don't think she could afford to pay for all the work that needed doing to it.

PasturesNew

Novice_investor101 wrote: »

PN, it's an odd little patch - it starts about 15cm away from the kitchen radiator & is about 30cmx30cm big. It's the solid brick wall between mine & next doors kitchen.
There is a much colder wall for condensation to settle on but it never does. I can only think it's to do with whatever next door have on the other side of the wall.

Many years ago I went house hunting with a friend - we went into this miniscule old cottage and in the kitchen the agent pointed to the wall and the peeling paint and said "for over 100 years next door was a butchers and that's where he used to hang the hams" - the salt/salt-water vapours were still permeating and causing issues!

flubberyzing

Well, fingers crossed neither party are hurt upstairs...

I felt pretty blah earlier... I'd taken some sleeping meds last night, which were still hanging out in my system, plus lack of sleep. After posting on here last, I went back to bed for an hour and a half. Didn't sleep, but just rested. Then pottered for the afternoon, and now feel much better. Made a point to drink lots of water to flush the meds out, and am looking forward to my bolognaise. Will turn it off about 6pm, which'll be a solid 8 hours for it.

PasturesNew

Farway wrote: »

.... wish I had my new freezer then I'd pop in & get a RM meal out from the vast assortment:)

While that's the dream.... the reality is you'll never get round to finding that vast assortment... and it'll end up with "more of the same old stuff" again

I think if I had two freezers and planned a "vast assortment" for an empty/2nd freezer I'd do a big shop at Iceland and Asda to really spread the choice and range.

candygirl

Haven't decided what I'm having for tea.It might be a cheese n onion pie, mushy peas n gravy.Not hungry yet though, as have had a toasted tea cake at the Xmas fair

caronc

Good evening everyone,
:eek::eek:flubberyzing sounds like right to do. I hope all remains calm and you have a quiet night tonight:)
Glad the bread turned out ok PN, the Wrights mixes are pretty tasty:)
Good you can get a new part Farway rather than having the faff of trying to repair the shelf:)
Sounds like a smashing evening wort- hope you enjoy it
candygirl a cheese & onion pie sounds lovely:).
Novice - I can can completely relate to random cold spots in old houses, so tricky to get to the bottom of. Has there perhaps been an old cupboard there at some point that might not of been filled in throughly? My neighbours had a similiar problem in their kitchen and only discovered when they built an extension that behind the cold spot there had been a recess that had been mainly filled with rubble behind a thin broken brick layer then plastered. It looked and felt the same as the other walls so almost impossible to detect without excavation.
My BLT at lunchtime was without the "T" as I only realised I hadn't added it when I had sat down to eat it:o. I had it with a small mug of the spicy root veg soup I had made for lunch tomorrow. Dinner is going to be chicken wings, corn cobette, mushrooms and sweet potato wedges.