The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

elaine241

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55952108

Damn!! Just read that article and it says east Wales is due snow! I must admit I have avoided the tv and news today and the last forecast I saw looked like it was mainly in the east side of the country. Not including Scotland and the more northerly areas on the same latitude as Denmark, they are more than capable of dealing with snow. Ok not necessarily very deep snow or blizzards but compared to London and the home counties ability to cope, they are head and shoulders above!
When I lived in Sussex it was hilarious how some people panicked at literally a couple of cms of snow. I was used to getting about in all winds and weathers so snow never really bothered me. When I had my little  106 hatchback I loved driving in snow. I literally rallied round corners in the country lanes whooping with delight! I had to feed and check my horse who was in a field several miles from my house, well that was my excuse and I am sticking to it!

Snow here is great fun too! Last week when we had snow I was towed behind a quad bike, at speed, whilst sitting on a large builders bag with hay in it! Flying round the field in a circle resulted in quite a bit of drifting! If we wake up tomorrow to snow I will be repeating that particular bit of lunacy!
Just to add a bit about prepping, I have made bread today, have enough UHT milk to last for days and will only venture out to walk to the local village shop if emergency wine and chocolate are required! Hope everyone stays warm and cosy!

MingVase

Not arrived here yet but up north is getting a pasting. Scots weather forum going mad   I do love snow.

thriftwizard

Hatches duly battened down & greenhouse closed up! We hardly ever get any snow here now, so I'll be surprised if anything much happens. There was a bit during the Beast from the East, but it only stuck around for a couple of days. 

Just thinking, it will actually affect us less than the BFTE, even if it turns out to be worse or goes on for longer; OH is working from home now, so wouldn't have to stay put at work & sleep on conference room chairs after watching the Italian footy on the projector screen. DS2, who ran 5 miles from here down to work that day, and straight back again after being photographed at the firmly-locked gates to prove that he'd actually turned up & therefore had to be paid, is now safely married, living elsewhere & they're now expecting their first. Both also WFH. DD1 has a week's holiday & DD2 is still studying at home. Because of lockdown, we are well-stocked-up & I shouldn't need to trot out to buy any food until next Thursday or Friday, though the dwindling supply of ground cardamom is causing a little concern. The chickens are all already under cover so their little toes won't freeze, and the cats will just get some extra sleep, curled up on the sheepskin in front of the fire.

However my Iron Age Horse Beans have just started coming up in trays in the greenhouse, which is tiny & unheated. I may need to find some space for them indoors; wasn't it slightly warmer in the Iron Age?

littlemoney

The snow in for East Anglia has been down graded from an initial up to 10" to 2" - 4" inches. I was looking forward to a large amount of snow as I did need to go as well stocked but could go out for the sheer fun of being out and walking.

3secondmemory

@pollyanna_26

I was dreading going out today for my jab. It’s much harder walking in the cold, let alone when it’s slippery but thankfully it was an astonishing 3° here when I woke up. 

Separate to that, I’ve got mask face and eczema on the back of my hands, one elbow and both my main pressure points. I’ve never had eczema before so this is a new one. I’m using hydrocortisone sparingly twice a day but contemplating using a dressing soaked in coconut oil once that is totally absorbed- or is that a big no-no? Obviously I can’t keep using hydrocortisone forever

littlemoney

Woke up to no snow this morning.

thriftwizard

No snow here either! And not even a frost, and the wind is still westerly. Well, it either will or it won't, as they say round here. On with my attempts at shibori dyeing, then...

[Deleted User]

No snow here in Gloucestershire, yet, the forecast is for bands of cloud right through the day that might give flurries and we're currently 2.3degreesC outside. Going for a decent walk this morning with OH as it's going to get quite a lot colder through the day and overnight and we might just want to light he stove and stay in the warm.  Wood supply holding up very well and hopefully will see us right through t the end of the cold weather.  We thought we'd got in more than we had real need for but it's been colder than normal this year so maybe we have the right amount.

mothernerd

3secondmemory said:

@pollyanna_26

I was dreading going out today for my jab. It’s much harder walking in the cold, let alone when it’s slippery but thankfully it was an astonishing 3° here when I woke up. 

Separate to that, I’ve got mask face and eczema on the back of my hands, one elbow and both my main pressure points. I’ve never had eczema before so this is a new one. I’m using hydrocortisone sparingly twice a day but contemplating using a dressing soaked in coconut oil once that is totally absorbed- or is that a big no-no? Obviously I can’t keep using hydrocortisone forever

I have eczema and dermatitis. The dermatitis is a reaction to many cleaning and especially oil based products so I stick to products I know (non-bio, no perfume etc) and quail every time I see the words 'new and improved' blazoned across a pack because 9 times out of 10 I will never be able to use that product again. Favourite perfumes have to be stopped after about 5 years as I start to react to them. The eczema is more of an emotional thing but makes the dermatitis rocket out of control - in the week between my grandma's death and her funeral my hands went from absolutely fine to being little red claws but cleared up within days.

At it's worst even cold water feels like it's burning my hands. I had a major outbreak before DS1 was born. I had been doing a job that was pure stress, a feud broke out within a voluntary group I was in and my daily work was in the enemy camp and there was lots of extremely petty and spiteful words and actions against me. It was great relief when the contract ended but then I was out of work, dependent on my boyfriend, trying to get his house ready to sell and do major work at mine (mine was paid for by the time I was 25 but it was a shell). I remember going over and over the household budget trying to work out how much using 3 toilet rolls a week instead of 4 would save. I had to wear plastic gloves in the bath and for washing my hair. I remember peeling potatoes with a crumpled up ball of newspaper in my hand as I could only close my hand so far. I had been planning to leave my boyfriend but found out I was pregnant. In between having the test and confirmation I had decided I wanted the baby, if he didn't that was fine, baby and I would manage in my home. He said he did (he lied - when we divorced he said he had always seen our boys as 'my thing' which explained a lot). I also remember bursting into tears all over the nurse at the prenatal class who had demonstrated bathing a baby, I couldn't even use simple soap on myself at that time.

Since then I've done my absolute best to avoid major outbreaks. It's very important to clean and dry areas like between the fingers as they are vulnerable to attack. Even now I'm balancing handwashing and limiting the use of hand sanitiser against not letting my hands dry out. I use moisturiser daily. I have E45 from the doctor (hydrocortisone is kept in the drawer for use in an emergency), use factor 30+ sun cream in summer (I also have the type of eczema which is caused by the sun - I break out in white patches) and various products from brands I trust (simple, nivea, neutrogena swedish formula handcream, antiseptic cream on 'chafed' areas, vaseline or vicks on my heels). I think the coconut oil would work but I would try a phone call to the doctor or pharmacy to check.

Quick check list
Have you used any new or changed products recently? Any presents you wouldn't normally buy? Over use of sanitiser (some products work against the body's natural defences - I'm even slightly worried about my 'furry tongue' in case I am making it worse by eating fruit after handwashing and transferring minute particles of sanitiser into my mouth).
Stop using anything non essential - bath bombs, anything bio (bio is life, it will kill germs but also your own body's protective systems - I'm with Dara O'Briain, if there's dirt on your kitchen floor, the best thing you can do for your toddler is wipe their face in it), especially washing powder - it's on your clothes, your bedding, your towels and never use conditioner in your wash - absolute rule for under 5's but good for most of us and don't get me started on putting unnecessary products in the wash just in case one item is stained (deal with the one item before or after the wash, whenever you find it, but not in every wash on every item.
Are you changing your towels and bedding often enough? Sorry not implying you're dirty but if you are gardening or doing dirty jobs and the towel isn't drying properly between uses (thinking the weather isn't helping atm - drying outside is better for many reasons).
Avoid contact with oil based products (hope you don't work in a garage). I pay extra for one coat emulsion because it limits my contact time with the paint - I've tried painting in rubber gloves and it's clumsy and you sweat a lot.
Stress  I've found eczema flare ups are linked to stress, whether overt (grandma's death) or underlying. When I have too many things to deal with (see paragraph on losing job, moving house, ending a relationship, money problems, loss of much valued independence, unplanned pregnancy - even planned pregnancy can cause problems) I tend to 'park' some of them at the back of my brain - sometimes my brain sorts out the problem, sometimes the problem explodes through my skin, or in headaches. Given our current situation and the secondary pandemic of mental health problems I would suggest writing down any and every thing that is currently worrying you. Put aside the things you can do nothing about, examine them to check that you are not 'catastrophising' (imagining the worst possible outcome), work out what practical steps you can take to make things better (even if it's sitting quietly by candlelight with gentle music playing - self-care is essential). Take some baby steps to improve things.

I hope this helps. If you want more clarity on anything please ask (this is a bit of a flow of consciousness thing, trying to remember things that help and keep it in some sort of logical order.

-taff

Our wood is going down fast here. This winter we've had the fire lit a lot more than we have since we had it installed and I decided on kiln dried wood this year and we've found it burns for longer but that is cancelled out by it being more expensive. We're supposed to having flurries too but the sky is currently blue and white and windy so it may blow over.