The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

London_1

My freezer is almost empty and will be defrosted next week then I will spend a day batch cooking to fill with stuff for the winter I am running everything down at the moment as I'm away on holiday two weeks tomorrow but will do a 'big' shop when I come home in mid July
On the news this morning its said that food prices will be at least 15% higher this summer, where will it all end I wonder. On the report it says that folk are eating out less and having less take aways and cooking more at home with less waste ,not a bad thing I think if it gets you through the cost of living crisis.
I virtually never have a takeaway at home and only rarely at  my DDs, I have cooked from scratch for the past 60 plus years and have zero waste in my house for anything edible.

But then I prefer my own cooking and enjoy doing it.
 I hate waste of any kind but then I was brought up in the 1940s when wasting stuff was seen as not only unpatriotic, but almost the eighth deadly sin  

Prepping for the coming winter will definitely be on the cards for me 

JackieO xx

littlemoney

cuddlymarm said:

Hi guys
This is where prepping comes in handy. It finally came to a head last week at work when it was hot, busy and extremely stressfully. I’m 60 and have been struggling physically for a while, We had 2 members of staff to run the shop ( less than half of what is needed) They had let the staff run down to nothing and now can’t replace them cos no one wants to do it. The office has promised transfer staff for weeks but when the time comes they send them elsewhere. 

So I did my sums, checked we can manage and then gave my notice. We can manage on OHs money and I’ll look for something after we come back off our holiday in July. I have savings but they will be a last resort.
But we have plenty of food in and I’ll manage on very little until I’ve a new job. 

Anyway I’ve 3 shifts to go so I better get up and get on with it.
Have a lovely day and enjoy the sunshine 🌞 

There are 4 million unemployed and lots of vacancies. I know some of them  are unable to work due health issues, but all 4 million can't be that ill. Why aren't they working and doing all these jobs.

MrsCD

cuddlymarm said:

Hi guys
This is where prepping comes in handy. It finally came to a head last week at work when it was hot, busy and extremely stressfully. I’m 60 and have been struggling physically for a while, We had 2 members of staff to run the shop ( less than half of what is needed) They had let the staff run down to nothing and now can’t replace them cos no one wants to do it. The office has promised transfer staff for weeks but when the time comes they send them elsewhere. 

So I did my sums, checked we can manage and then gave my notice. We can manage on OHs money and I’ll look for something after we come back off our holiday in July. I have savings but they will be a last resort.
But we have plenty of food in and I’ll manage on very little until I’ve a new job. 

Anyway I’ve 3 shifts to go so I better get up and get on with it.
Have a lovely day and enjoy the sunshine 🌞 

Same thing happened to me @cuddlymarm
I was running a small shop on my own with 15 mins break all day, if someone could be spared from the cafe, sometimes no break. I too was struggling health wise, so I handed my notice in almost 7 years ago. I'm now almost 64 and haven't regretted it at all. We manage on DH's pension plus state pension as I don't get mine for another couple of years. We cut our cloth according to our means and live a good life!

pelirocco

littlemoney said:

cuddlymarm said:

Hi guys
This is where prepping comes in handy. It finally came to a head last week at work when it was hot, busy and extremely stressfully. I’m 60 and have been struggling physically for a while, We had 2 members of staff to run the shop ( less than half of what is needed) They had let the staff run down to nothing and now can’t replace them cos no one wants to do it. The office has promised transfer staff for weeks but when the time comes they send them elsewhere. 

So I did my sums, checked we can manage and then gave my notice. We can manage on OHs money and I’ll look for something after we come back off our holiday in July. I have savings but they will be a last resort.
But we have plenty of food in and I’ll manage on very little until I’ve a new job. 

Anyway I’ve 3 shifts to go so I better get up and get on with it.
Have a lovely day and enjoy the sunshine 🌞 

There are 4 million unemployed and lots of vacancies. I know some of them  are unable to work due health issues, but all 4 million can't be that ill. Why aren't they working and doing all these jobs.

Possibly  because they don't pay a living wage

newlywed

pelirocco said:

littlemoney said:

cuddlymarm said:

Hi guys
This is where prepping comes in handy. It finally came to a head last week at work when it was hot, busy and extremely stressfully. I’m 60 and have been struggling physically for a while, We had 2 members of staff to run the shop ( less than half of what is needed) They had let the staff run down to nothing and now can’t replace them cos no one wants to do it. The office has promised transfer staff for weeks but when the time comes they send them elsewhere. 

So I did my sums, checked we can manage and then gave my notice. We can manage on OHs money and I’ll look for something after we come back off our holiday in July. I have savings but they will be a last resort.
But we have plenty of food in and I’ll manage on very little until I’ve a new job. 

Anyway I’ve 3 shifts to go so I better get up and get on with it.
Have a lovely day and enjoy the sunshine 🌞 

There are 4 million unemployed and lots of vacancies. I know some of them  are unable to work due health issues, but all 4 million can't be that ill. Why aren't they working and doing all these jobs.

Possibly  because they don't pay a living wage

Or childcare costs mean they will be worse off than on benefits?
or they are overqualified and therefore not hired?

in my case having been made redundant some years ago, i couldn’t even volunteer as there was a long waiting list for that, couldn’t get a lower level job as no one believed I would stay long. It can be very frustrating when all you want to do is work. 

LadyHarriet

newlywed said:

in my case having been made redundant some years ago, i couldn’t even volunteer as there was a long waiting list for that, couldn’t get a lower level job as no one believed I would stay long. It can be very frustrating when all you want to do is work. 

I had this too - redundant in my mid-fifties and got turned down for that very reason 'oh, you'll leave when something better comes along', 
A couple of times I even got feedback that I was better qualified and with more experience than the person who would be interviewing me *sigh*.

Karmacat

littlemoney said:

There are 4 million unemployed and lots of vacancies. I know some of them  are unable to work due health issues, but all 4 million can't be that ill. Why aren't they working and doing all these jobs.

There's also the reality that the vacancies are miles and miles away from where people are living, and are either general labouring (so, don't pay enough for people to both live and to travel to the work) or else they want a different skill set.  We aren't infinitely interchangeable.

Northern_Tribe

littlemoney said:

cuddlymarm said:

Hi guys
This is where prepping comes in handy. It finally came to a head last week at work when it was hot, busy and extremely stressfully. I’m 60 and have been struggling physically for a while, We had 2 members of staff to run the shop ( less than half of what is needed) They had let the staff run down to nothing and now can’t replace them cos no one wants to do it. The office has promised transfer staff for weeks but when the time comes they send them elsewhere. 

So I did my sums, checked we can manage and then gave my notice. We can manage on OHs money and I’ll look for something after we come back off our holiday in July. I have savings but they will be a last resort.
But we have plenty of food in and I’ll manage on very little until I’ve a new job. 

Anyway I’ve 3 shifts to go so I better get up and get on with it.
Have a lovely day and enjoy the sunshine 🌞 

There are 4 million unemployed and lots of vacancies. I know some of them  are unable to work due health issues, but all 4 million can't be that ill. Why aren't they working and doing all these jobs.

@Littlemoney where did you get the 4 million figure from? I've looked in the ONS statistics but can't find it. This is a genuine question so it would be very helpful if you could provide the link

Thank you

Jazee

Current official unemployment is just under 1.3 million.

RAS

On a completely different topic...........

I cut back my grape vines hard last winter. They are now producing flower buds and I'm pinching the tips out. I've always felt that this was an awful waste, so I hunted (again) for any recipes for vine tips.

Found a braise/casserole recipe in which they are included and adapted. So simmer briefly and drain. Dice an onion and then add a tomato, herbs and the vine tips. Stew until tender. It is only the top 6-8 inches that is tender enough.

They are surprisingly acid so the recipe includes a little sweetener (grape molasses but I used honey). I think it is better made with fresh tomato than tinned. Need to play with the herbs.

Good with fatty meats but think chicken would also benefit from the acidity. It was a good with last night's pasta into which some soft cheese was stirred at the last minute. 

Or use in a casserole or braise with strong flavoured or fatty meats as per the original recipe. 

But basically a free side dish, or ingredient that would otherwise compost. if you have a seasonal supply of vine tips.