The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

-taff

Thank you!

Have you got to grips with your slow cooker recipes now?

Si_Clist

-taff said:

Thank you!

Have you got to grips with your slow cooker recipes now?

Wouldn't go so far as to say that, but it's not now the big mystery that it was a few days ago.  Thanks for your help in that thread.

srn

elaine241 said:

Well it seems everyone has worries that they are dealing with the best they can :-(.
I have my own drama where I am hoping for the best but fearing the worst. Yesterday I developed a slight fever, occasional cough and felt like I was going down with a cold. In normal times I would just take the L*msip and man up! But in these extraordinary times, I worried, kept away from everyone by taking my horse out for a long ride and then came home and explained the situation. I didn't sleep very well last night going worrying over where and when I could have contracted any illness let alone Covid. I have been very vigilant, wearing masks, disposable gloves and using anti viral spray every time I have gone off the farm. I have only left the farm once a week since before lock down. The only thing that has changed is youngest son went back to school for two hours a week ago, although again they had sanitiser, social distancing etc and he was very careful. Both sons have gone to school for two hours this week on one day each, and I have gone to town as usual for my groceries. The only thing I can think of is that I have picked up a virus from touching the gates on the farm where people lean on them when they look at the animals, either that or from post or grocery packaging that I haven't anti viral sprayed. 
Either way this morning I have ordered four home testing kits and as we are classed as Key workers, I am hoping they will be delivered quite swiftly, with the results being equally as swift. I have spoken to the doctor and she has said they results come back in two /three days so fingers crossed!!

Elaine, my adult son who lives with us became ill on Saturday tea time, high temperature, feeling ill, no appetite, bit of a cough, we were very concerned as my husband and I had seen our baby granddaughter a couple of days before, we assumed we were safe because no-one in our household had been anywhere for a couple of weeks.  He booked a drive through test for 1/2 an hour later, which went like clockwork, I drove him there because he felt too ill to drive, we both wore n95 masks.  We got the results the next day, mid afternoon, thankfully negative.

He is not working at present, had only been to the shops a couple of weeks ago and done a couple of click and collects for us, so we were amazed that he could have actually picked anything up!!  He was pretty poorly for 4 days, but is now better although no appetite.

I just wanted to reassure you that there are obviously other bugs going around, it's not forced to be coronavirus.

I was pretty impressed with the test centre and the speed of the results.

maryb

Getting the jar lid tightening bit right is the trickiest bit isn't it?  You need it to be able to vent the air in the jar otherwise it won't form a vacuum, but you need the lid held on so that when the vacuum forms, the lid is in the right place and gets sucked down.  I got it right probably more by luck than judgement the first few times but experience gives you confidence

Si_Clist

I meant to say that when you've taken the jars out the waterbath and tightened the lids, have a careful listen to each one.  If it's not sealing properly, you should be able to hear it quietly hissing as it sucks a bit of air in.  If it does do that and re-tightening doesn't cure it, the best treatment we've found is to tap all the way round the rim of the screw band with a small rawhide mallet which we keep for just this purpose.  Usually tapping it straight down around the top surface works best.

One other thing we do on automatic which probably ups the success rate a bit is immediately before each lid goes on, we wipe a fingertip round the jar rim just to make sure there's no dinks in it or anything (like a strawberry seed) sitting on the top which might interfere with the seal.

BTW, anybody reading this who hasn't actually tried any home bottling might be thinking what a great deal of faffing it is and how iffy it seems.  It's really neither - it's just that what you actually do in very little time and without thinking once you've got the hang of it sounds a bit daunting when you write it all down step by step

missychrissy

I I think people are put off making their own wine for exactly the same reason. It’s really easy, it’s just a little know how. I can get 6 5 gall fermenters in my boiler cupboard and 2 or 3 fermenters up on the utility room worktop. They have taps so once ready it’s on draught. I see wine ingredients when I look at your fruit.

littlemoney

thriftwizard said:

Elaine, I was advised to have a test a few week back, after reporting a slight headache to the Zoe study, and it arrived the next day, was picked up the morning after as I'd booked the courier (who turned out to be the postie lad who lives over the road) for then, and I got the result - negative, thankfully! - by text two days later, even though that was a Sunday. Hopefully whatever you have will pass as swiftly & benignly as my headache did.

I'm doing the Zoe study and have reported headache but I wasn't told to get a test. Perhaps the rules have changed in the last few weeks.

greenbee

littlemoney said:

thriftwizard said:

Elaine, I was advised to have a test a few week back, after reporting a slight headache to the Zoe study, and it arrived the next day, was picked up the morning after as I'd booked the courier (who turned out to be the postie lad who lives over the road) for then, and I got the result - negative, thankfully! - by text two days later, even though that was a Sunday. Hopefully whatever you have will pass as swiftly & benignly as my headache did.

I'm doing the Zoe study and have reported headache but I wasn't told to get a test. Perhaps the rules have changed in the last few weeks.

They're not asking everyone to do tests. Just people with particular combinations of symptoms and importantly they say "We are also inviting some people we believe do not have the virus." I've had 2 tests through them, and given that the first was at 10 weeks and the second at 18 (and the test site now says it needs to be done between days 4&6 from onset of symptoms) they're not going to expect mine to be positive (I'm also reporting not going out). They also have to wait to be allocated batches of tests.

As well as trying to work out whether symptom analysis can provide accurate diagnosis, they're trying to predict hot-spots, and are also looking into long-term symptoms. 

GreyQueen

Just saw a passing reference in the Indy to launch of a major new study into ME. Hope it gets somewhere, I've had this wretched condition for 30+ years now, developed out of glandular fever. Had it long enough to have run the whole gamut of medical idiocy from 'yuppie flu' onwards.

elaine241

srn said:

Elaine, my adult son who lives with us became ill on Saturday tea time, high temperature, feeling ill, no appetite, bit of a cough, we were very concerned as my husband and I had seen our baby granddaughter a couple of days before, we assumed we were safe because no-one in our household had been anywhere for a couple of weeks.  He booked a drive through test for 1/2 an hour later, which went like clockwork, I drove him there because he felt too ill to drive, we both wore n95 masks.  We got the results the next day, mid afternoon, thankfully negative.

He is not working at present, had only been to the shops a couple of weeks ago and done a couple of click and collects for us, so we were amazed that he could have actually picked anything up!!  He was pretty poorly for 4 days, but is now better although no appetite.

I just wanted to reassure you that there are obviously other bugs going around, it's not forced to be coronavirus.

I was pretty impressed with the test centre and the speed of the results.

Thank you! In fact thank you all !
I have been religiously taking my temperature and apart from a half degree increase at one point it seems normal. I don't seem to be coughing as much today so fingers crossed. My Covid home test kit is due to be delivered sometime today, hopefully in time to get it into a priority postbox this evening. ( before this I didn't know there were such things as priority post boxes for Covid tests!!) I am annoyed that despite my precautions it seems I have managed to pick up a bug somewhere, be it Covid or a summer cold. It just goes to show you how many bugs are out there! I have been thinking that I will have to increase my precautions come the winter as I don't particularly want flu either. I may have a flu jab privately if there are any about and hopefully they choose the strain most likely to be prevalent this season.
I am looking at visors on Amazon as they maybe needed for the winter season. There seems to be very mixed reviews for the same product which is confusing. I am looking at the kmina pro, which does not fold up but seems to be supplied by a company supplying mobility aids and has been made to a good standard. Let me know what you all think? Maybe I am feeling vulnerable and going overboard with the ppe!
Amazon is actually addictive I think! Ok I live in the sticks so anything that delivers free/cheaper than I can drive to buy it seems good. I am busy looking at the rice/beans/flours etc so going full prepper mode. I will compare it with local shop prices to see how cost effective it is. 
I need to go and pick some veg/fruit from the garden, make bread and generally distract myself. I am keeping a record of what produce I freeze/bottle/use , I am sure I will be very surprised at how much a garden can produce.