2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Cherryfudge

CapricornLass said:

Well.... my mum just liked buying things, I guess.  She was interested and involved in so many things, and she had the income to spend on them, although I'm beginning to think that possibly in the last couple of years, she got forgetful about what she actually had bought, or couldn't get to it. I mean, I've inherited nine dishwasher cleaners, and seven pre-washing sprays from Sainsbury, four bottles of Barkeep's Friend and two powder versions , a pack of Fairy gel pod thingys - and its not all been emptied yet.  Jim bought home a black bin bag full of toilet and kitchen rolls, and I think I've liberated about twenty bars of toilet soap.  I will use it all eventually, but I reckon it could take years.  But there was no way I was going to let my sister just stuff it all in the bin, which is what she wanted to do!

I'm coming towards the end of a similar saga, @CapricornLass - four and a half years so far! The house is likely to change hands in the next few weeks but DH and I are still making trips over there to clear. This latest visit has yielded a massive tooth, two beautiful tablecloths embroidered by my Mum and a letter which might or might not be a clue to a long-standing mystery. I too have rescued spare soap and cleaning products galore and had to bin uncounted boxes of sticking plasters that had lost their stickiness. Many hundreds of pieces of paper have been sorted one by one and decisions made, several hundred books and ornaments have been either kept or sent to charity. I had no room for more furniture but my sister found enough to furnish a whole house and still left the old house reasonably full apart from not having a sofa!

Yesterday's find was an old case of the type you see in 1950s dramas being carried by a professional such as a doctor. It's not huge but disproportionately heavy. Knowing where the tin with homeless keys was, I started searching and found the right one on my third try. I'd love to saddle-soap the leather of the case but the fabric inside is dirty and coming to pieces so I may not do so.  

I do think people don't see their own possessions as others see them, and it's easy to keep on buying habitually without really looking at what's needed. At least the extras won't go to waste. If you love the cloak, hold on to it: I have a fur coat that I remember Mum wearing when I was four. I'll not wear it but I'm certainly keeping it!

Liverpool_Anne

@CapricornLass, just the fact that it is not the sort of thing you would wear to tescos would make me keep it and wear it everywhere . The older I get the more I think you should just do things / wear things that make you smile and not give 2 hoots what other people think, though I have total confidence that Laura will be able to wave her magic sewing needle over it and produce something fabulous

PipneyJane

Cherryfudge said:

CapricornLass said:

Well.... my mum just liked buying things, I guess.  She was interested and involved in so many things, and she had the income to spend on them, although I'm beginning to think that possibly in the last couple of years, she got forgetful about what she actually had bought, or couldn't get to it. I mean, I've inherited nine dishwasher cleaners, and seven pre-washing sprays from Sainsbury, four bottles of Barkeep's Friend and two powder versions , a pack of Fairy gel pod thingys - and its not all been emptied yet.  Jim bought home a black bin bag full of toilet and kitchen rolls, and I think I've liberated about twenty bars of toilet soap.  I will use it all eventually, but I reckon it could take years.  But there was no way I was going to let my sister just stuff it all in the bin, which is what she wanted to do!

I'm coming towards the end of a similar saga, @CapricornLass - four and a half years so far! The house is likely to change hands in the next few weeks but DH and I are still making trips over there to clear. This latest visit has yielded a massive tooth, two beautiful tablecloths embroidered by my Mum and a letter which might or might not be a clue to a long-standing mystery. I too have rescued spare soap and cleaning products galore and had to bin uncounted boxes of sticking plasters that had lost their stickiness. Many hundreds of pieces of paper have been sorted one by one and decisions made, several hundred books and ornaments have been either kept or sent to charity. I had no room for more furniture but my sister found enough to furnish a whole house and still left the old house reasonably full apart from not having a sofa!

Yesterday's find was an old case of the type you see in 1950s dramas being carried by a professional such as a doctor. It's not huge but disproportionately heavy. Knowing where the tin with homeless keys was, I started searching and found the right one on my third try. I'd love to saddle-soap the leather of the case but the fabric inside is dirty and coming to pieces so I may not do so.  

I do think people don't see their own possessions as others see them, and it's easy to keep on buying habitually without really looking at what's needed. At least the extras won't go to waste. If you love the cloak, hold on to it: I have a fur coat that I remember Mum wearing when I was four. I'll not wear it but I'm certainly keeping it!

@Cherryfudge, if the exterior of the case is intact, may I recommend Lakeland’s Urad leather cleaner?  It is very similar to - if not the same - stuff that my sister used to use on her saddle for an (almost) effortless polish.  You just sponge it on and leave it to dry.

- Pip

Cherryfudge

PipneyJane said:

@Cherryfudge, if the exterior of the case is intact, may I recommend Lakeland’s Urad leather cleaner?  It is very similar to - if not the same - stuff that my sister used to use on her saddle for an (almost) effortless polish.  You just sponge it on and leave it to dry.

- Pip

Thanks Pip, I do have some saddlesoap but I've heard of the Urad before and we are near a Lakeland so I may just find myself wandering in...

The exterior is pretty good, I'm pleased to say. My sister thinks her daughter may want it so I might fetch it back for her. Lovely though it is I really have no use for it, and no space either!

Laura_Elsewhere

I've got a flurry of eBay purchases winging my way, all coupon-free, hurrah!

As I'm now 52, I have noticed thus far a) that I very often wake up at 5:30-6am, wide awake, ready to get up, and b) that I am just starting to become aware of occasionally feeling really quite warm. Not as drastic as what I've seen described in tv programmes, re hot flushes (have you noticed they've suddenly become "hot flashes" in the last few years? They always used to be hot flushes...) but quite distinctly on the warm side for a short period. 

So... for a) I have started knitting a 4-ply cardigan in two-round stripes of cream and chestnut, using wool I already have. It means hours of fairly undemanding knitting, so is ideal for when I get up at5:30am and have a couple of hours in the sitting-room! 
And for b)... I've tracked down and successfully bought 3 camisoles (2 buttoned, one pull-on) and four shirts, all in 100% pure linen, and all M&S so good quality at that! 
I shall convert most (all) of the shirts to short sleeves, and wear them over the camisoles, thus making me decent outside sans bra, but also making my clothing thermoregulatory, which should make life a lot easier if these do gear up to be as drastic as many people report   (My mother sailed through the Change so I'm hopeful!)

Laura_Elsewhere

Here's my first three camisoles and one shirt - another camisole (white with bright blue flowers all over it) and two more shirts (white with pink stripes, but in a different pink and different stripes from the camisole; and deep vibrant rich bright orange!)

Total of four camisoles and three shirts, all M&S, all 100% pure linen, most of them visibly unworn, two allegedly 'worn' but I can't see anything to indicate it, and for under fifty quid  

First thing is to unpick those weird frills from the yellow and the pink-striped camisole straps, and then consider whether to remove a few of the uglier flowers from the cream camisole. Finally, for this lot, decide whether to leave the yellow shirt long-sleeved or (FAR more useful to me) chop it to short- or cap-sleeved. Advantage of chopping the sleeves off is that I then get some linen to make co-ordinating face-masks

I hate sage tea, and would prefer not to take meds unless I have to - matrilinear history is of generations of women just sailing through the Change so I'm optimistic - but splurging 50 squid on eBay on four camisoles and three shirts will give me a lot of excellent thermoregulated clothing....

MrsCD

Laura, I was told about Black Cohosh for hot flushes by a friend at work. I also started using soya milk on my cereal each day and got through without any major issues. Everyone is different, so it's whatever works for you. I still get hot feet, but I think that's inherited from my Mam!

Cherryfudge

@Laura_Elsewhere, those look great and are a good forethought. I remember getting cardigans instead of my usual jumpers because they are easier to take off or wear open depending on the temperature. That said, I got off fairly lightly.

I think I'm with you on shortening the yellow sleeves. You could do quite a bit with all that fabric!

Liverpool_Anne

@Laura_Elsewhere I also got off quite lightly, soya is a good suggestion in whatever form you like, it was recommended to me by my GP and as I am veggie it was easy to incorporate into my diet being just about the only meat substitutes available 20 years ago, I hit the change quite early and resisted all attempts to prescribe hrt etc. after a 3 month trial that sent my blood pressure through the roof. I still sometimes get warm at night but always have the bedroom window open even when it's snowing and stick a leg or arm out if I get too warm.
The tops look great, just what you need and I have to admire your dedication to tracking them down, I always get fed up trawling through the posts even when using filters I seem to get loads of stuff that is just wrong

maryb

I got off extremely lightly thanks to the Mirena coil.  I had half a dozen hot flushes after it was taken out and that was it.  But they weren't nice.  It reminded me of when I was a child and my mother used to warm my vest in front of the fire.  I always found it a bit suffocating to put on