It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

sammy_kaye18

Hello all
I have been absent from the boards for a while but you know when they say it never rains, but it pours.....well we have had a proverbial sh&t storm this end. 
Husband got covid, kids and dogs struggled with the heat, in laws were poorly, sister in law moved house again, my phone broke and I didnt realise how much of my every day life used a phone and how many things need double verification which usually ends up being a text message and now £95 lighter for the fix - here I am again! 

@London_1 - dont forget when you go to the library and on days out that if you take your own flask - not only do you have a warm drink to warm you up but you could also put soup etc in it to take lunch with you as well. Wish I lived nearer to you because my door would always be open to you or any of my MSE friends! 

Ive been doing well with my growing my own veg. I harvested my first cucumber today - have two on the plant that will be picked fairly soon and another load that look like they are going to turn into cukes soon so I will be well stocked - especially since thats from one plant and I have another 3 plants I need to find homes for as well! 
Runner Beans - I managed to grow all of 2 of them! Swings and roundabouts. 
Carrots, Radish, Lettuce, Peas are all done so far. 
Tomatoes got fried in the greenhouse so I have put them outside in hope that I can salvage them with a good rain.
Peppers seem to be quite happy in there though. 
Did try sprouts and cabbage but I think I may have lost them to the butterflies etc. 

Hoping to go out and forage some blackberries so I can put them in the freezer as well with the intention of making some jam and adding them to crumbles etc. 

Have been looking at the cost of living news reports though and Im glad I have been slowly stocking up on food items etc and building a pantry. Im also hoping to make some gifts for family that will be herb gardens etc - or herb pots. I found cheap seeds and am planning on painting up some terracotta pots with herb names on them. Practical and frugal and hopefully will provide them with some flavourful meals.

Also have been washing all our fleece blankets, cleaned the kids duvets whilst the weather was at its hottest, cleaned the sofa cushions and have been making small adjustments to the house to start us with the heat proofing ready for winter. 

How is everyone else doing? 

mandy47

sammy_kaye18 said

Also have been washing all our fleece blankets, cleaned the kids duvets whilst the weather was at its hottest, cleaned the sofa cushions and have been making small adjustments to the house to start us with the heat proofing ready for winter. 

How is everyone else doing? 

Sorry to hear about your run of bad luck hopefully things will pick up for you and yours.

I've washed everything possible this last couple of weeks to make the most of line drying.
Blankets are all done, winter weight dressing gowns, quilts and pillows. I soaked my stained oven gloves in napisan overnight and dripped dried them. They look almost new again. Even the dog bed was washed. 
I have a 20 degree 30 minute eco wash on my machine so it was all done as cheaply as possible.

Managed to get 6 blocks of YS lurpak today for 99p each. That's cheaper than the SM own brand that I usually get. Managed to find room in the freezer. It's rather full with produce from the garden.
Made 4 jars of blueberry jam with our glut of homegrown berries. Our best crop yet from one bush

YorksLass

Welcome back to sammy_kaye18 (sorry to hear of your recent woes) and JackieO (you've been missed).

Mandy47 - well done on the 99p Lurpak.  At that price,  if need be I would have changed my meal plan and taken something out of the freezer to make room!

The local blackberries are progressing well and ripening nicely but I think they'll be a bit smaller than usual because of the lack of rain.  They seem plentiful though so I'll be out there soon (probably next week) to pick some for jam and crumbles.

It's cooler here today but much more comfortable so I enjoyed my walk to the Co-op for a TV guide.  I used my two weekly MOCs - all 30p of it - on a bottle of lemonade for DH (his treat) and a savoy cabbage (no fresh veg left at all in the fridge).    I also got two ys items - a bag of x6 pears and a pack of breaded ham for sandwiches.  Less than £3 spent so I'm a happy bunny.  

euronorris

maisie_cat said:

London_1 said:

Rarely bought anything ,but to her to be able to ride on a bus and not worry about being bombed was a treat so one day we would got perhaps to Forest Hill which had a wool shop she liked ,another to Woolwich which had a street market for excellent veg. By the time I was 10 I knew most of south of the river in London and its bus routes like the back of my hand . 
So this winter I shall do as my late Mum did and get out and about on my local buses and find somewhere different if I can to visit  

That reminds me of when we were children and used to get the bus from Woolwich to Farnborough, Kent which seemed like a rural heaven to us. We also got the bus from Woolwich to central London for a day trip window shopping. The Woolwich ferry back and forth was another free "trip"

I grew up walking distance from Farnborough in Kent 😁

I've done the odd bus journey to Blue water in the past, but my goodness it took the longest route ever, and was only once an hour. I haven't been there in a long time now.

My tomatoes are coming thick and fast now, with courgettes and cucumbers too. I'm going to pickle some of the cucumbers I think, as so many are ripening at the same time.

I think I will go and gather some apples from the Orchard by work tomorrow lunchtime, and go blackberry picking at the weekend 😁

Living_proof

I was born in Farnborough Kent rather a long time ago!

annieb64

Just noticed on our town FB page that the Age Concern centre is running an "Meet, heat, eat" session during the winter. If anyone is struggling it might be worth checking out your local centre. Ours is for people over 50.

Spendless

Got pages to catch up on. Work and life has got in the way, have just read Jackie's return from hol post mid July.

I was reminded to come back to this thread when I read this sad story this morning. Mum hospitalised after skipping meals to feed kids may have to start begging - Derbyshire Live (derbytelegraph.co.uk)

I said pages ago, that parents skipping meals in order to ensure their children were fed was a health risk. I compared it to a nature documentary I'd once watched where Mummy Polar Bear and Cub get stranded from the mainline and when she discovers some food, she eats first before cub does so that she has the strength to care of the cub. Ok the human young is likely to have friends/family/social services to step in in case of emergency but the principle remains the same. I hope this lady was given some cheaper dietary advice re low irons. I have to watch DD with that one as she's vegetarian  and often add lentils to something. 

DD bought herself a water bottle, just a plastic lightweight one from Tesco that she keeps in a separate bag to her main one and that seems to be working well. She's been getting a lot of break-outs on her face has tried a couple of different things, so I suggested she booked herself in for a facial at a beauty salon she's been to before. There they identified that she has got a build up of make up on her skin. This has been caused by her job. She's an actor at a tourist attraction and puts the make up on for the characters she plays. I suspected she was cutting corners when removing it. Beautician also said one of the ingredients in the make up brand she has to use was also contributing to the problem. DD came out with a skincare routine given, advice and some samples and wanted to eat a salad. Knowing I hadn't got enough at home to make something up, I suggested that she bought a meal deal from Morrisons salad bar, but it was closed - to be fair it was late afternoon/early evening. Instead I said oh just pick up whatever you want and didn't pay attention to the prices of the deli pots of various pastas etc , £21 later including 60p for one of their carriers!  Won't do that one again! 

newlywed

I recently bought a double walled stainless steel water bottle that is meant to keep drinks cold for 12 hours.  I am quite impressed since it cost £5 from £ land and way cheaper than many other similar ones I have seen.  

I am wasting less water as in the morning it is still drinkable from when I fill it up before bed. 

sammy_kaye18

mandy47 said:

sammy_kaye18 said

Also have been washing all our fleece blankets, cleaned the kids duvets whilst the weather was at its hottest, cleaned the sofa cushions and have been making small adjustments to the house to start us with the heat proofing ready for winter. 

How is everyone else doing? 

 I soaked my stained oven gloves in napisan overnight and dripped dried them. They look almost new again. Even the dog bed was washed. 

Im not even joking but my son has had a duvet that I think might of been his first duvet - hes now 18! - and when I say it was practically black - it was disgusting. I mean it could of probably walked itself out of the house and survived a nuclear holocaust and still been intact. I put it in the wash this week with a good scoop of powder and some vanish and it has come up white again. Really didnt take long to dry with the nice weather we have had. 

luvchocolate

newlywed said:

I recently bought a double walled stainless steel water bottle that is meant to keep drinks cold for 12 hours.  I am quite impressed since it cost £5 from £ land and way cheaper than many other similar ones I have seen.  

I am wasting less water as in the morning it is still drinkable from when I fill it up before bed. 

If not pop the left over water in the kettle to boil for your first cuppa