Help calm me. House buying and selling stress *Part 9*

I wish octopus could get my gas smart meter connected, I have the meter but it is on the ground, surrounded by soil so I have to kneel and crouch to read it. I put two rubber rectangular slabs there so I would not get my knees wet. They were expecting a part and that was months ago. If one day, I cannot get down then they will have to send a meter reader here

Anyway, in spite of the tonne of extra washing this month and me finishing with the td, I still used fewer units than this time last year. It must be due not using the oven much. The air fryer helps too. So now I have £36 left in octopus, which is not as bad as expected. I am tempted to increase my dd a bit but will put some £ into my safety net savings account instead.

Raining right now, I had been hoping to get out cycling or I will turn into a blob. A walk into and around town will suffice, trouble is that I will have to hold my nose walking past the upmarket (with upmarket prices) bakery at the far end, there will be queues and delicious smells to tempt

Morning all, happy Saturday

My son is coming for a quick lunch before he visits his best friend today, then I'm going to church to see the choral society my friend sings in. Not my scene but I'd like to see her. I went food shopping last night and wanted to get her some flowers - I wish flowers could be treated more gently. So many of the bunches I chose had flower heads snapped off, or were dry because the buckets had run out of water.

I hope Octopus come to fix it soon karmalady, mine is outside and quite low too. Glad you have some credit. I spent £35 last month on gas/electric, and hope to have a few hundred credit before autumn. I've increased my DD to £140.

Oooh fresh bread, I can't resist. I have only had two slices this week in a purchased sandwich, but am managing to avoid it, I remember it was a lot of points on Slimming World. Not dieting, just trying to reduce the amount I eat.

oh bread, I do love bread, I manage to restrict myself to half a slice for mid morning break, hm rye and wholemeal. On sundays I have 2 slices of thin crispy granary with butter and marmalade. My sunday treat the small pleasures. It used to be a newspaper and croissants, when there were two of us

It has been pouring down and will be on and off until 12 so I have unearthed a raincoat bought for kendal rain, 1977. Made in the uk by three jays in broxbourne. As good as new and covers me from head to calf. It was not expensive as I could not afford expensive but is very well made with taped seams

Gardeners qt, how to stop big bloomed roses from drooping down. At last, now I know, stop pruning so hard, which was initially meant for exhibition roses. Just tops and flopping stems off next winter and I will be expecting even more roses but smaller and lighter

I bought roomba when husband was alive, so it was about 2013. Still runs perfectly, I bought a new battery from ebay a few years ago. Very much cheaper over time than a cleaner, all I need to do, in his working spaces,is dust tops and skirtings and they only get done when I notice. He is cleaning my living room now

Oh yes I did notice slower draining in my shower this morning. Maintenance required. Took the gubbins out and was being blocked even with my short fine hair. A brush out in the hole then a dollop of bleach in boiling water. Rinsed 30 minutes later. Gubbins cleaned and replaced. This maintenance malarky, it cannot stop or it will lead to problems

shandy I think credit is the way to go, I know they will have the money but at least it is out of sight and a good buffer

Never did I think I would get myself another slow cooker but I had a space and I did. It was that thinking about energy bills and I have some 500g packages of meat in the freezer. I did some research and got the morphy richards easy timer 3.5l. You set the time and it adjusts the heating as needed

It was also the slaw that I made in my heavy magimix processor this morning, I got that magimix when there were two of us and my kitchen was larger. It was in a cupboard and is heavy so it is staying out in the kitchen. My boiler service man told me I had a cooks kitchen,so it is and I make no apology

I am very glad that I never got rid of the magimix when I was on that downsizing spree, prior to moving. I use it a fair bit

I've been looking through the Sarah Brown Vegetarian Kitchen book and thought about buying a pressure cooker again. I used to have a very ugly aluminium monster, might have to buy a modern equivalent.

shandy I did see combo cookers, which are both a pressure cooker and multi cooker. I have had my pressure cooker since the children were at school and it is still going strong, I replaced rings and valves a few months ago.

That book was one I had umpteen years ago, also the rose elliot books. My first book was a skinny little book called thrifty fifty and by golly it got me through the very tough times in the 70s/80s. A main course for 4 for 50p. The next book I had was called simply delicious (the red cover). She had me making lovely meals, main and a pudding. The children still fondly remember butterbean pie with cheesy crust and grated apple with honey and soya cream

I don`t honestly know how we would have survied without her. That was also the time I used labelled envelopes for money, all filed in my underwear drawer. If we had a little left over on a friday then we had a video, tea from a trolley and maybe prawn cocktail crisps to go with the dainty sandwiches. Everyone loved cosy friday

Thing is that many of my era were already prepared having gone through the post rationing years and we knew what to do to survive

Karmalady best method of cleaning and de-clogging any sink including showers, is to put some Soda Crystal there, then white vinegar, give that a chance to work, burn through whatever is lower down, then after about five minutes wash away with boiling water. Bleach will do little in getting rid of any rubbish in there.

This soda crystals/white vinegar process should be carried out regularly as part of cleaning process to ensure nothing every does clog up - (weekly or monthly or six weekly), -not wait until it actually starts to be slow draining away. This will work on kitchen sinks, baths, showers and even outside drains.

My son and DiL have just left to make their way back up to Cheshire. Lovely time with them, and the weather was so very kind to us for our lovely trip to Wells yesterday. They treated me both to lunch out at the Cathedral and then a meal at a local very good Italian restaurant last night. They also showed me something I knew about in joining my laptop to my television to play things.

Evening all. Have had a horrible day with a tummy bug, I think it's going now, good old loperide!

Thanks for the book recommendation karmalady, I'll have a search for it.

I keep meaning to buy the white vinegar Franbern, not sure where it is in our supermarket. When all the carpets and underlay are finally up, I need to mop up all the mould, I do have an old mop I can chuck afterwards. Glad you had a nice visit with your son.

I do hope you are feeling better this morning shandy, take it easy today while your body recovers

The new slow cooker looks good, there is a metal bowl with it, the two I have had in the past had ceramic bowls. Size appears good for use and storage. Lets see if I can make some casseroles that taste nice, they all used to taste much the same. First run today, a goulash and I am looking forward to the slight warmth that is generated in the room and the lovely all-day cooking smell. My rooms really do stay warm with a candle so I am anticipating that the cooker will save a bit on heating, I am estimating for 8 hours, will be approximately 1kwh. The pressure cooker would be cheaper to use for just the meal but I want to factor in some room warmth.

I do like making my ready meals, which is the purpose today. I just need to add the veg, which I can do easily via my microwave steamer and I do them for the actual meal

The wind was awful yesterday, really quite stormy. My tall crabapple tree is only 2.5 years in the ground and has already developed a substantial trunk but by golly it was swaying a lot. The base by the angled stake looked steady so I put another rubber tie on. There is some pressure on rootballs in the wet ground and in full leaf. I am hoping that the root system is in proportion to the size of the tree. We were camping by the west wales coast during the fastnet gales, so storms are not unheard of during summer

Morning all, overcast and rainy here.

Better now thank you karmalady, was OK after 9 pm ish. Same stomach pain as with the bad tummy we had in Egypt, ouch, it did hurt.

Interesting the slow cooker will save money considering how long it's on. I did jacket potatoes in the oven for over an hour and wonder how much that cost, no idea! Didn't like them, the skins tasted odd, will go back to microwaving.

We had a lot of wind too yesterday, it was so strong I looked up the speed and it said 16 mph, I think it was more here. Not enjoyable walking the dog. The plum tree here is well established but I think the vendor pruned it for the sale - it's grown huge long branches now and looks strange. I remember in the 80's a girl at work was on a Christian camping trip in Wales, her camp was swept away in the storm waters then. Just off to look up fastnet gales!

I am unable to eat the skin of baked potatoes (yes, I know the best part), so I am always quite happy with doing these in the microwave. If I have a visitor I will do theirs in the microwave, then take out and wrap it in foil for about ten minutes to crisp up the skin.

We were very fortunate with the weather here all weekend, particularly as it was the airshow weekend. Sunny and warm enough to have patio door open all day. Can see a lot of this diplay from my Living Room or balcony.

I was very tired yesterday and did spend a lot of the morning dozing after my son had left for home. In the afternoon had a surprise visit from a friend of over 60 years. He was visiting one of his children in Bristol and came to see me, (bringing a jar of honey from his own bees in Norfolk). Made a really great finish to the weekend.

Shandy white vinegar is in all stores alongside malt vinegar.

I have to say that I only use my compact slow cooker during the winter months. My meals in the spring and summer are nearly always salad - but do love my chicken casserole done in this little machine when the weather is dull and cold. Can't say that I have ever really noticed any 'heat' coming from it.

Nowadays I never batch cook, preferring to make every meal fresh when I am going to eat it. With modern machinery can do this so quickly and easily - and do not to want to use up precious freezer space with pre-prepared meals. I do keep a large supply of frozen vegetables in there, alongside some fish and chicken -and can make up a very nutritious cooked meal in about ten minutes.

I still have my old (1960's) pressure cooker. Actually, it is in my garage waiting to be taken to a charity shop (although I think it might be more suitable in an antique shop). Over the years I have replaced the rubber seal (and have one spare to go with it), and the steam valve. When children were small, this was in use nearly every day, soups, cheap cuts of meat tenderised as stews, steam puddings (meat and fruit), jam making, etc. etc. They all remember it steaming away happily on the hobs cooking nearly everything. Really have no use for it now.

I always have to pull myself together once 21st June is past - as the days start to get shorter instead of longer. Have to remind myself that still have a good couple of months of summer left to enjoy. Not being a tennis fan, I do not much enjoy Wimbledon fortnight as it interferes so much with my usual tv programmes. However, I do know that I will love the Commonwealth Games in a few weeks time, and other people will resent the amount of time given to those. So....Give and Take.

It is the mass that is heated up which affects the cost of running an appliance, it is called thermal mass and a normal oven has a substantial mass compared to a lightweight metal container as in the MR slow cooker. Hence the considerably lower cost of running the slow cooker and that one with the lightweight metal dish will be cheaper to run than the old style heavy thick ceramic dish

My mum had a pressure cooker, one of those where you had to watch the valve on top very carefully. It was very good for old fashioned pea and ham soup, always one of the favourites and made with soaked marrowfat peas. 1978, I had the same soup going in the equivalent old fashioned pressure cooker and the valve blew off, the thick soup covered the ceiling. Modern PCs today are very safe but you still need to keep and eye on to keep the pressure at the correct value

I do like that I have the main part of several meals on the go at once, it gives me time to pursue my hobbies. I was always classed as very good cook but in all honesty it was something I did because I needed to. I dislike slaving away in the kitchen

I remember my Mum's pressure cooking exploding too, I was always scared of them after that.

I don't like being in the kitchen, but my daughter does, I'm glad. I think I've already told you I recently bought her a blender, and sent her the Joe Wicks Veggie 15 minute plan. Even if she doesn't have time to cook when she's on a heavy film schedule, I hope she can at least make herself a nutritious smoothie. She's just put a picture on Instagram of them walking through fields near the coast, I'm glad she is relaxing.

so much pressure on young people today.My three have all gone down to 4 day working, they did the sums and decided quality of life was more important than slogging for the five days. They are all active and often outdoors. All three did undergo horrible work-related stress in the past and all due to insecure and bullying line managers

SC is behaving very well, the sides are just touchable with hands and the top is too hot to touch, it is like a mini room heater. I shall have to look for veggie/vegan meals for this as I cannot be doing with eating meat more than once a week or small portions twice a week but I am wanting to use it perhaps every other day during the cold months

That's good your kids are taking time for them, karmalady. My husband gave his all to his job, and his company didn't even send flowers when he died. Thirty years of 80 hour weeks, even when he was medically retired at home he did 10 hour days.

I empathise shandy, my husband also very long hours plus lots of evening functions plus 40k miles a year driving. I think this ruined his health, all those fumes and all that stress, worse when he was a director and had to open two offices from scratch. I have to be open and say that I am glad he went first, he could not have coped with what has happened in the last two years. I am much more mentally resiliant

My pressure cooker never exploded. People were very scared of them though, as the did make so much noise. I think there were far more of these cookers packed away unused (usually after one use only), than were ever in use. However, for me it was a wonderful pot. Never had the slightest problem using it. Often would have liked a second one. I even still have the original little user booklet that came with it.
I can remember when I was trying to get a spare part I was asked for the machine model no and had tell inform them that this was before such things and it was just Prestige Hi-Dome Pressure Cooker.

I could not use this one now, even if I wished to do so as it would not go on my induction hobs. But with microwaves, slow cookers, etc. really no need for it any more.

I still have several item to pass on/sell from my old kitchen. Sold my larder fridge (could have sold that about ten times over), the small counter top oven, and gave my combi microwave to one of my daughters. Have electric pie maker, counter top water heater, food processor still to go. I have kept my steamer, although not sure if I will use it often. On worktop I have toaster, egg boiler, soup maker, slow cooker, small electric grater/chopper and Kenwood mixer. I have always felt that kitchen machines that are packed away get minimal use and it is best to have those you wish to use always easily available.

Re-posting my post from another thread as applicable here too. Hoping for some advise:

Allsorts

DSL,
Yoga, you seem to have been unlucky with your upstairs neighbour, he sounds a very bitter man, can you live as you are or will you consider moving again? If you are otherwise happy is there a way to screen his unsightly garden off? It’s so difficult when you move home you could have lovely neighbours each side and one of them could move.

I put a garden gate up Allsorts but as it's a low fence [didn't want to appear too unfriendly] he has asked my son on a daily basis to do jobs for him, it's really bugging me, I've bought a trellis with artificial leaves on that I will attached over the top of the gate and hope he finally stops pestering us, wish I'd bought a taller gate now. He doesn't talk to me, turns his back on me, but is buttering my son up so as to get him to do jobs. We didn't move in to be his daily free maintenance services. It makes me reluctant to ask my son for help when he has already helped our neighbour. I wonder what the next job will be. I gave him a leaflet that came through our door [so he would have got one too] saying 'garden maintenance, no job too small] but still pestering my son every day, even on Sunday! Can't relax in the garden without him asking for a job to be done!

I do want to move Allsorts but can't afford to as cost me 11k to move 4mths ago! A student of mine is down sizing and wants a place just like mine, [ground floor with garden] she said she'd viewed one, same set up as mine, with a split garden, I said don't buy it My garden is big even so; about 20ft x 75ft, with another small plot of land right at the top, which is what I'm working on now, making into a rock garden with archway and concrete garden sit at the entrance and a garden mirror right at the back with louvers.

Hope you are feeling better today Shandy sorry to hear how badly your husband was treated [or not] when he passed away.

Thanks for tip on cleaning sinks etc Fran I'll give that a go.

Karmalady your children are doing the right thing with a 4 day week and enjoying a bit more family time. A lot of people are thinking this way after the lock down. When I choice my now carrier 20yrs ago, the pay wasn't a living wage, but it was what I loved to do, so I relied on my savings to get me through the years.

On the theme of work; My son is on a course to be a, wait for it... a lorry driver! As you may remember he was a mathematical scientise for the M.O.D and had he's works in the papers, but had to stop work after he had an adverse reaction from the 'Swine flu jab' He said he just wants a simple job and driving round seeing the countryside sounds good to him. His first job was super stressful!

Morning all, sunny and not as windy today.

Yogi, I am sorry you've got this horrible old barsteward as a neighbour. As far as moving goes, a house I saw at £400K in 2019 has just come up again at £600K - your flat will have increased in value.

Ask - or tell - your son to stop doing jobs for him. This neighbour is never going to stop asking as he thinks he's onto a good thing. I would have loved to have had someone to do the jobs at the station for free. I wonder how the previous owner managed him.

Think of his requests over the four months, and ask the other neighbours for the numbers of people he should have been paying - handymen/plumber/gutter cleaner etc, and in future just give him the names/numbers. Be very assertive, it isn't a reciprocal arrangement, you have nothing to lose.

I do agree yogi, time to be assertive, not engage in any way. When asked just say no and walk away, I realise that it is your son who needs to do this. I love that your son is training to be a lorry driver, it is what one of my delivery men did, to get away from the stress of delivering umpteen parcels. I am so sorry about that bad neighbour, it is so much pot luck when it comes to neighbour relationships

Horribly windy again today, I think flaming june has come and gone this year

The change in season has well and truly happened, it is palpable. The pale green has turned to dark, berries ripening and so on. Very heavy clouds in the sky earlier, I went to shops with raincoat in bag and sunglasses on head. Now it is raining and there is cloudcover all over.

It was a good start to the day, finished a dress I was making. I had 3m of blue cotton fabric, very old buy and have made a top and dress from it, wore the top all day yesterday, very nice to wear. I only have a couple of jackets left from ready to wear and a few t shirts from lands end a while ago. My wardrobe is now all hand made. I am also now american size 12, compared to american 18 two years ago. I only have a few more gaps to fill, including a pinafore dress that I cut in cord a few months ago. The dress I made was the second one in that pattern. It is a utility dress with a nod to the 20s. Collar, pockets, short cuffed sleeves, slipon, waisted. I saw the exact same dress in a window in frome last year, over £160 made in quilting cotton, not the same cotton as mine.

Coffee right now and then machine cleaning and a quiet day ahead, as in not busy

It's horrible here - but not as bad as France, I've just seen some posts and photos about golf ball sized hailstones that have damaged houses/injured people and ruined the crops in the SW.

Was just about to go to the beach with the dog, but the tides coming in, I'll go later when it's going out. I had to leave early yesterday, the tide was coming in with dead guillemots dotted along the strandline, three in a very short space. So sad. DEFRA have only just put a notice up, it's been going on for over a month, dreadful. I lost respect for them during the Foot and Mouth here in 2002 when I saw the dreadful way they were operating Shoot on Suspicion in a field near me. We were stuck on the bus and saw it all.

Good you have your own ethical home made wardrobe karmalady. My daughter buys from an ethical company called Lucy and Yak.

It's my late Mum's birthday today, she'd have been 87.