The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

euronorris

It is really tough at the moment. The cold and darker months definitely don't help, but I think one of the more difficult things is that it feels like we've been locked down since October (ish). Whenever the tiers were introduced and we could no longer go to one other persons house (for us, that was just my MIL and her husband). We never got to tier 1, and then we had November lockdown, still weren't in tier 1 etc. We didn't see family at Christmas, and then we had the start of this lockdown which is harsher (as schools closed). It's really, really hard to see any light at the end of this tunnel. We have been good. We have followed the rules. We haven't taken part in things like 'eat out to help out' as it didn't seem like a good idea to us etc, but we're still locked down for months on end because of the decisions of others and poor choices by the government.

We don't want much. Just for DD to be able to safely attend school, and to be able to see MIL. That would be amazing right now.

Instead, we are doing our umpteenth craft project with DD. Trying to keep things interesting and fun for her. Made slime this weekend. Have seen a craft idea to make flower pictures out of egg boxes and pipe cleaners, and a little ribbon. God, just anything different.

thriftwizard

Sorry if I can't resist a gentle nostalgic laugh, Euronorris; my grown-up kids have been howling with laughter at my attempts at shibori dyeing this weekend. (If in doubt, or bored, make something!) But the good thing is, having spent vast swathes of their younger years making models, art, wobbly hand-stitched bags, lumpy clay candle-holders, violent pink glittery Christmas bells out of eggboxes - all of them much-treasured to this day! - they are all makers of one sort or another now, from competent dressmakers & bakers through guitar- & music-making to intricate origami models. One makes his living writing music, and another has been a well-respected Etsy seller though she's having a break just now. So all the glue and goo and parental frustration is worth it in the end.

Onebrokelady

elaine241 said:

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!

My daughter won't go anywhere if its snowing, bearing in mind that we are in Devon so at most only get a few inches if that 😀 I used to keep a horse and remember having to go and sort him out when we had the bad snow in the 70s, I remember it came up to the tops of his legs, the field was in a valley and the herd had gone to the bottom to seek shelter instead of using the lovely field shelter at the top of the hill, getting them to come up was a night mare but we had lots of fun sliding down the hill on feed bags 😀

Floss

@euronorris I know how you feel - i didn't do "eat out to safe the world" as the restaurants I saw locally did not feel safe to me so I stayed at home.

I have friends & family who I haven't seen for a year, I haven't yet met the2 new babies in my family and as someone who lives alone and has been working at home since mid-March last year, I have found evenings & weekends most difficult as that's when I see people. 

I would be happy for life to be as it was in October - wearing a mask & carrying sanitiser whilst being able to eat out or go for a beer, able to visit my sons, able to meet my friends & workmates.

Onebrokelady

elaine241 said:

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?

Please elaborate on what an Iron age horse bean is? I have never heard of them. Unfortunately horse beans when you keep horses and have a gelding mean entirely a different thing!! I will leave it to the braver ones to google horse beans + gelding + cleaning!
I was feeling pretty down yesterday so in good gardener style I went to the poly tunnel and sowed seeds. I have salad leaves x 2, all yr round lettuce and parsley sown in the borders of the tunnel. Along with red/white onion seed, leeks early and winter variety, summer cabbage, early beetroot, yr round cauliflower and celeriac which is in the propagator. 
Today the wind here goes straight through you, a lazy wind, one that won't go round! I quickly fed the dogs and hens wrapped up warm, dug some potatoes and beetroot for dinner and scuttled back to the fire. Not before I had spotted "my robin" watching me , so I managed to find a handful of worms and call him over. I always leave feed out for him in the feed room but worms were a welcome treat. No snow here, almost feels too cold for snow!!
I am hoping to get chilli, early toms, and aubergines sown and put in the propagator once the celeriac has germinated. I think I need to invest in a grow light. I have been looking for second hand one on line but the only once come with their own grow tents and extra equipment. I do not need to grow marijuana so a plain led light will do! 

Horse bean 🤢🤢🤢

Siebrie

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. (Mothernerd)

Stress is the only cause of eczema between my fingers. So much so, that it is an alarm for me if my finger starts to itch; I don't always notice I'm stressing. It helps me do some reflection and gives me a kick in the butt. For extremely stressful times (though I've never stressed anywhere near Mothernerd's story) I allot myself 1 'worry-hour' per day, where I will sit down with pen and paper and just jot down all my worries and then brainstorm/research solutions and steps to take. Everytime I start worrying during the rest of the day I will firmly say 'no, go away, come back at [xx] o'clock!'.

3secondmemory

boazu said:

Having had a day on Saturday of feeling safer for having the vaccination it was followed by the announcement on Sunday that the Astra Zeneca vaccine possibly won't give protection against all depths of infection from the South African variant, thankfully there aren't too many cases known here in the UK but it's a lesson in not becoming complacent about covid no matter how much you want it to be controlled and get a more normal life back than we're all currently living. It's going to be hard but I think we'll all have to bite the bullet and keep on with what is current for a lot longer than we anticipated, no silver bullet but we knew that and it feels a little as though the rug is out from under our feet again doesn't it?  I'm confident we'll find science developing vaccines that WILL be effective against any mutation the corona virus develops but today? is full of disappointment and disillusion and that makes me sad.

I got taken out of the queue for my vaccine on Sunday because I had a very slight temperature and I had to go and sit down and have a chat with the doctor. I asked him about mixing the 2 jabs and he said that the it’s being trialled at Southampton at the moment and the results look better against the new variant. 

I went ahead and had my jab but I had a small blue sticker put on my coat and I was directed to another area where I had to sit and wait for 15 minutes after the injection. Everyone else was allowed to leave immediately if they had someone waiting for them in the car park. I went on the bus so, I guess they were just being ultra careful. 

Progress in fighting the pandemic has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Great news one day followed by a catch the next. I try to be positive but it’s draining. 

My darling daughter-in-law to be has had some bad news. She had foot problems last year and saw a Doctor Who diagnosed severe athletes foot which seemed a bit suspect at the time. They’ve just got worse and worse over time - discoloured, broken blood blisters, no circulation and very painful. She’s just been diagnosed with Covid toe despite not definitely having had Covid - She was poorly and we just assumed it was normal Flu, she was living with my son and he was perfectly fine. She is young to have nerve damage in her feet; the effects of this virus are life changing 🙁

littlemoney

greenbee said:

Thanks @Floss & @maryb - I think we sometimes need reminding that medicine isn't magic. I see plenty of people on the long-covid forums who are angry that there are no answers or cures. It's a natural part of coming to terms with something new and scary, but we need to remember that this is new, and that it will take time to understand both covid and long covid and work out how we live with them.

Long covid has been around for many years. Just ask anyone with a ME/CFS diagnosis. They will have to learn to live with it for the rest of lives which will be very different from the lives they had before. From here on it will be an existance, not living. They will find  supposed friends and family will desert you when they get fed up with you saying a the last minute that you can't do whatever as you suddenly have no energy. Eventually they will stop asking you. I only hope they already have a dedicated other half who will stay and provide support. Singletons will learn they have only themselves to rely on and no one wants to start a relationship with such a person who can't live a life.

Floss

littlemoney said:

greenbee said:

Thanks @Floss & @maryb - I think we sometimes need reminding that medicine isn't magic. I see plenty of people on the long-covid forums who are angry that there are no answers or cures. It's a natural part of coming to terms with something new and scary, but we need to remember that this is new, and that it will take time to understand both covid and long covid and work out how we live with them.

Long covid has been around for many years. Just ask anyone with a ME/CFS diagnosis. They will have to learn to live with it for the rest of lives which will be very different from the lives they had before. From here on it will be an existance, not living. They will find  supposed friends and family will desert you when they get fed up with you saying a the last minute that you can't do whatever as you suddenly have no energy. Eventually they will stop asking you. I only hope they already have a dedicated other half who will stay and provide support. Singletons will learn they have only themselves to rely on and no one wants to start a relationship with such a person who can't live a life.

I understood that Long Covid has a different range of symptoms to both ME  and CFS,  which are each different in their own right. I'm not sure it's helpful to those with diagnosed CFS and/or ME to lump Long Covid folk in with them too, particularly as both ME and CFS are recoverable in some people over time. Long Covid is still an emerging diagnosis.

Karmacat

3secondmemory, very sorry to hear about your daughter in law's situation with her toe that sounds awful.