Struggling along as best I can

kayannie

I made the decision a few months ago to not ever again buy supermarket honey as most of it comes from countries abroad & I want British, preferably local, honey. I've found someone selling honey from their own hives - it's a few miles from where I live but in an area I visit every month or so. The difference in taste is amazing!
KA

joedenise

Another here to gets local honey but I'm lucky as my DD1 decided she wanted to keep some bees so I don't even have to pay for it anymore.  I don't use a lot of honey so it's only a couple of jars a year at the most.  She keeps her hives in her in laws garden a few miles away so fairly local.  They have a huge garden so lots of flowers but of course no one really knows how far the bees fly to collect the pollen.  It just tastes like it used to when I was a kid (our neighbour kept bees when I was growing up).

@nannygladys - it might be worth keeping an eye on free cycle or similar to see if you can pick up a bread maker either free or very cheaply.  Probably worth it even if your BM works this weekend so that you have a spare if it doesn't work in the future.

Sun_Addict

I used to have a bread maker and my loaves used to be like bricks if I used proper bread flour. I changed to just ordinary cheap flour and the difference was amazing, so much lighter. Might be worth a try. 

nannygladys

kayannie - I can't wait to try the honey but I still have some in my stores so I need to check the dates and use in order. 

nannygladys

joedenise - I do look on the local fb page and I've been to the big charity depot as they sell electrical goods but I haven't seen one yet. I still haven't tried another loaf yet but I will soon as I would like to make a fruit loaf for toasting.

nannygladys

Sun_Addict - I've had more than one brick  but this one was a very lobsided one !! but I will use the strong flour first and if it doesn't work I might try ordinary flour as well. Thanks for the tip

nannygladys

Well I just pressed the wrong button and deleted the post I'd just written so the short version is the weather has been horrendous here and we had a mini tornado, there's loads of trees down everywhere and there's still a lot of clearing up to do, as besides being hilly here we have lots of small woods /trees and many are no longer standing, its devasting really as it is one of the nice features living here, and now in places all you can see are fields with only few trees still standing. Personally I lost my plastic greenhouse even though it was tethered down and its skirt buried and bricked all around it, my wooden seed house has been damaged but I should be able to mend it with some more polycarbonate and my beautiful garden swing which was covered and anchored down ended up upside down and in pieces but I gathered all the bits up and managed to put it back together again with only a little damage and being covered in mud which will be scrubbed clean when the better weather comes back. So I got away with very little damage really, some poor people have damage to their houses, cars and garden fences, and the council are gradually getting the trees sorted. I hope they will plant some new ones when the clearing has been done.

It's pay day tomorrow so the new budget will be put in place and hopefully I'll be able to save something towards the the bits I need doing in the front room and anything else that is needed. I still have a couple of pounds in my purse, so I managed to last and that will be going into the change jar. That's it for now as I just want to have a look at the menu plan I've made for the next few days, I should have enough fresh veg in to last the next few days and I still have plenty in the freezer so it should be ok, I hope I don't get bored with it 
Nannyg

Cherryfudge

It must have been horrendous where you are, @nannygladys. I'm glad you're unhurt but what a shame about your garden and all the trees. I remember from the great storm in the 1980s how resilient the trees were, though so many were lost. In one place some were left lying where they fell and in spring they came back to life, but with the leaves at 90 degrees to how they would normally be! And there's the Sycamore Gap tree, which is sprouting despite having been vandalised. So when next spring comes, what's left of the trees will put forth new shoots and begin to fill the gaps again.

Makingabobor2

Glad you didn't get too much damage. 

nannygladys

Cherryfudge - I really hope some of them can grow back but I went to have a quick look and many have been pulled out of the way and already chopped up! but perhaps the ones deeper in the woods will be left and can regrow.