The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

Floss

Thanks Polly, I'm the other side of the M6 from Tatton, with a garden that needs some tweaking to make growing space and a lot happier 😁

Thriftygifty

Well homeschooling is going ok so far, I am sooooo relieved DS is home and we are hunkering down, just DH going to work now he is staying as safe as possible and popping into my work to collect paperwork so that the children and I don't have to venture in, fortunately my work is understanding. 
A order came today, as far as I know there isn't limits however I didn't really order anything of qty or standard stocks as we have enough and we have a veg box so only get potatoes. Custard powder, red potatoes, 4pk of beans, shampoo were all sub, we got 7 little tins of beans rather than 4 large which made me chuckle as they are for my parents, they still struggle with subs.  Ibuprofen was unavailable.  I have noticed recently that A subs are things from their own brand rather than branded products, I cant remember what it was that was sub the other week but it was completely different to the item ordered but A branded and I know they would of had the same item branded, I guess it is costing them money now the subs with the volume of online customers, I wouldn't be surprised if they start doing what Morries does and you have to pay the difference for a sub if it is more expensive. 
DH says the school traffic is really busy in the morning and we had a strongly worded email from the school saying just because you are a keyworker keep your child at home if you can ie it's your day off or you have other childcare, they basically said it wasn't worth the risk of catching Covid, this is the first time I have heard the school say school isn't number one priority, looking at DS zoom lessons there are 30 odd kids on it which means there are 25 odd not counted so they must be at school or not able to zoom. I know some of the kids on the zoom list are key worker children who will be going part time, the numbers don't add up but there is large attendance at school.  DH said after the school traffic has gone and not inc vans and lorries, there are a lot of vehicles with elderly in them just driving here there and everywhere.  
I have no faith in this lockdown based on our neighbours activities, one has guests from up country, what can you say, we shall be keeping our distance! 

short_bird

Onebrokelady said:

VJsmum said:

Well done, mary on the preps foresight.  Glad you and DH are negative and hope daughter's and sister are well now.

I am not anti-vaccine.  Blimey, if i were offered it today (and it didn't impact anyone more in need) i'd have it; i'd willingly take part in any trial.  What i don't like is government manipulation to make themselves look better (IMO) at the risk of, for example, my 88 year old MiL (who has only had the first dose) being ill when she needn't have been because they are now making her wait for the second.  Ditto my Sister, sister in law and niece who are all nurses and now may not have full protection.  

There was a story in the news yesterday about a nurse who had tested positive three weeks after having her first dose of the vaccine, apparently she was quite ill and then passed it on to her family who were also really ill 😳

Do you have a link for this story, please?

pollyanna_26

euronorris said:

Pollyanna - have I read that right? You're paying for a bundle that should include 250 mins, but it's cutting you off after only 30 mins or so? If so, have you called them to try and resolve the issue? It sounds like a cap has been placed on, that you should be able to remove (or at least change to 250 mins). Sorry if you've already tried this.

The Tesco deal sounds good! Especially if you can like to your club card and get points for it.

Limits definitely in place again. I was updating an order last night. Wanted 4 tins of tomatoes. Nope limited to 3. With an offer of 4 for £1.30....that you can't take advantage of. Lol. But, you know, I can order 3 packs of 4 tinned tomatoes and end up with 12.........I only added one pack of 4, as I don't need that many, but honestly. Not logical in the slightest.

I've just seen this euronorris. Looking at the times I was posting again when you were.

I have called them a number of times and their reply was I was getting 250 mins. I needed a smartphone and all sort of packages I should sign up to. After the final attempt I went to the O2 shop and got a similar reaction.

My mobile is purely for if I need to make a call when I'm out of the house. 2 or 3 very short calls and I've run out of call time.

While dd has been shielding at her boyfriends since the beginning of March we've kept in touch via email. I use my landline phone for calls as all uk calls are free with my BT package but dd has a degree of nerve deafness and a phobia about talking on the phone. Her GP has been emailing her rather than phoning as he's aware she's lip reading when he talks to her in the surgery.

Her boyfreind is working on the new NHS site and as he's been allowed to work from home since early March along with the rest of the team. That's why she's there with him and the cats. She'd have retreated under the duvet if she'd been stuck here through the months. She can handle a quick ring me a taxi I'm outside Marks call but other than that email is our norm.

On the prepping side. I nipped into my little coop a few days ago after seeing the weather forecast. No fresh tomatoes at all and little other fresh veg or fruit . There are farms just up the road from here who supply the coop. The tiny tomatoes were still local when I picked some up a couple of weeks ago and other local veg was well stocked. Most is grown under glass or similar so the seasons normally stretch.

There were lots of toilet rolls, canned foods etc and plenty of cheese. I'd mentioned a while back I couldn't get wholwheat pasta or seeds of change pasta sauce but they had the pasta sauce . No limits on amounts so I stocked up on that and there was plenty left for others.

The staff were refilling shelves so not as bad as I feared. The only odd thing was the side till was open as usual . I usually put my shopping through there. A neighbour  had asked me if I could get his lottery tickets so I got them then went to put my shopping through. i was asked to go to the only main till to pay for the rest of the shopping . Only the one till and a long socially distancing queue. I had a taxi waiting outside to take me home and had told the driver I wouldn't be long. 1 hour after going into the shop he was patiently waiting , He'd turned his meter off and I had to push a large tip at him as I knew he'd lost work waiting for me. Lovely Polish guy with smile on his face.

pollyx

euronorris

No worries Polly. We all have busy lives and it's easy for posts to get missed in the back and forth.

Sorry that O2 have been worse than useless for you! It sounds like getting a doro with tesco would be perfect for you! 

Phobia of speaking on the phone is not that uncommon. For various reasons. My DH will avoid the phone unless absolutely necessary, or I refuse to do something for him because I've got enough on my plate that day. But I make 95% of all calls. I don't mind. I'm quite happy to talk on the phone.

I ended up with a 24 pack of loo roll last week as all other options were out of stock! Thankfully it seems the stock levels are a bit more normal this week. Not that I need anymore! Haha

thriftwizard

One quick thing - my Mum had a Doro, which she hasn't taken into the residential home with her as she has her own landline, and when I was looking for a smartphone for my brother so that he could visit her (it apparently does have to be a smartphone, not just a mobile) I discovered that the Doros are in fact smart! Not swipey, but perfectly capable of dealing with QR codes, the WWW etc. In the end we decided that he needed a decent camera, as he's usually festooned with photographic equipment that always takes him too long to set up ever to catch an impromptu shot, so that would be something he'd use & enjoy, so we found him a secondhand Samsung, which he is indeed enjoying & using. But the Doros are technically smartphones.

pollyanna_26

CornishChick i hope you manage to arrange your test through work and all is ok.

We had a bit of a panic at the end of Nov. Dd was flaring very badly and had been unable to have the Methotrexate for a number of weeks. Flu injection was booked but I had to phone the practice manager on Nov 27th to cancel and explain why. my laptop had shown the black screen on the 26th so unable to email dd. Tried their landline but with her BF doing conference calls etc no reply. Quick call on the mobile brought no reply either and then the call credit ran out. I got a long message to my mobile on 30th Nov. Sorry  I haven't forgotten you and a long list of her symptoms including temperature, sore throat , breathlessness etc. She and her BF had just sent off for Covid tests. Everything she'd  said could have been covid or flu. Although she always has her flu jab she has often still had flu and with the Asthma , Compromised immune system etc it hits her hard.

I tried phoning their landline but no reply. Ended up phoning eldest dd in Yorkshire to ask her to email or text youngest. She spent a lot of time online to dd asked if they were ok etc then called me back on the landline to let me know they'd taken to their beds.

Got a message on my mobile from youngest . Courier had brought her test out next morning and collected same day. BF had to wait longer. When she'd ordered her test she was asked if she was extremely clinically vulnerable and had been on the sheilding list. She explianed she was and still shielding on Drs and consultants orders. That info seemed to have speeded things up.

Her BF has no health issues and his result took longer. Both clear thank goodness. Their symptoms could be flu and as they were fit for nowt for a while it probably was. On a positive note she has manged to avoid Norovirus, She's always a perfect storm through Autumn and Winter but no Norovirus so far.

Something we have decided is when and if some normal returns face masks will stay a part of our life for Dr and hospital appts. We've used an antiviral and antibacterial hand foam over the last few years whether at appts or out and about. Opening doors with elbows wasn't new to us nor was socially distancin or exit stage left if someone started coughing or sneezing with no tissue or hankie in sight. Things can be modified easily . Our GP has her hidden down a corridor in flu or norovirus seasons away from the waiting room.

Hope all is ok CC.

pollyx

Serendipitious

Very wise to keep to the precautions afterwards, Polly. I've been using hand gel for years, originally due to less than adequate public loos on UK holidays, then in the last decade for work, just being on the safe side between clients, although it can never substitute for a good hand wash with soap where proper facilities exist.

And I haven't touched a lift button or similar in years and years.

I do wonder though whether there will be a sudden increase in ordinary colds etc when this is all over, as the natural buildup of immunities from brief contact with others must have diminished a bit with all the hygiene measures.

Doveling

No aubergine or fennel in my t*sc* order but it is veganuary so that's possibly why, maybe just run out.

greenbee

Doveling said:

No aubergine or fennel in my t*sc* order but it is veganuary so that's possibly why, maybe just run out.

That could well be it - and it's difficult to get an idea of whether there's an issue based on missing/substitute items from one particular store. 

Ocado have said that there might be shortages of some product lines as manufacturers are making changes to deal with sickness/self-isolation.