What Preps are you doing this week? Part 6.

[Arzosah]

Absolutely Arzosah, done the same meself. Had a couple of days up in Edinburgh at the start of the Fringe and been stuck in the recliner ever since. It's so unfair and really pulls you down.
My main prob is powdered milk, we go through a lot of milk and that's the one thing we always ran out of first in bad weather.

Sorry you're in that state too, it feels incredibly unfair doesn't it.

I have one prep for the "being stuck in an armchair" - my armchair has been an Ikea S shaped one for a long time, and it's uncomfortable nowadays, everything's at the wrong angle. I was going to pay a humongous amount for a high-backed armchair (£700! because I need it for hours every day) but I have a posh village near me, and it's charity shop stocks furniture. Woo hoo! A cream leather electric recliner and stool, only used for a few weeks (woman bought a set and only needed a pair) £145 delivered.

It might be odd to have a leather armchair being used by a vegetarian, but there are two conflicting ethics for me: I needed something easy to clean that didn't gather dust, and if you don't use leather, that's plastic of one form or another. So I got leather.

Friend has reminded me that blackberries are still there, and it's not raining right now, so off I go

[Deeps]

Absolutely Arzosah, done the same meself. Had a couple of days up in Edinburgh at the start of the Fringe and been stuck in the recliner ever since. It's so unfair and really pulls you down.
My main prob is powdered milk, we go through a lot of milk and that's the one thing we always ran out of first in bad weather.

Sorry to hear both you and Arzosah are suffering, it must be really frustrating.

I've got my mum into keeping a carton of the UHT in the cupboard, from experiments (a fancy way of saying I've opened out of date cartons and some flow and some seep) they last about 6 months past the 'date'. I've started using it normally as I always used to keep 6 or 8 cartons but ended up binning about half. I rarely do cereals etc and Her Maj has her almond/oat/soya stuff so no difference. I know others will have different views on the UHT stuff.

[Arzosah]

Thanks Deeps - it's horrible, and also quite boring - the 50 yard trip to get the blackberries has exhausted me but I have to keep *some* level of activity or else I can't sleep at all. Don't know about Lil, but for me, it's a bit of a tightrope. Worst comes to worst, I remember the strapline at Zero Hedge

[Deeps]

Thanks Deeps - it's horrible, and also quite boring - the 50 yard trip to get the blackberries has exhausted me but I have to keep *some* level of activity or else I can't sleep at all. Don't know about Lil, but for me, it's a bit of a tightrope. Worst comes to worst, I remember the strapline at Zero Hedge

Not quite the same thing but I see it with my mum, she's got different issues, not least going to be 86 in a few months but the end result is the same, some days she struggles to walk the length of herself but wants to be as active as she can. You can only do what you can though so boxing clever by prepping is the way to go I guess. Good luck with it.

[Arzosah]

Thanks Deeps. And boxing clever is the way to go, for sure. Your mum's keeping on keeping on, that's great!

One of the ways I "keep on" is having several little internet research projects going on. At the moment, one of them is foraging in relation to lime trees (the old "linden" tree, not the citrus fruit tree). There are a lot in my town, and in summer they're very distinctive. And we were talking on here about chocolate, and this passage (don't know if it's from the old Celtnet or PFAF is about home made foraged chocolate


These days, however, you can make linden chocolate and freeze it for later use (though even when frozen it doesn't keep that well). PFAF has done further experiments:
Ingredients: 500g immature Linden tree fruit (with stalks removed) 40g dried linden flowers a little grape seed oil.
Method: Grind the linden flowers to a powder and set aside. Meanwhile pound the linden tree fruit to a paste in a pestle and mortar (or a food processor). Mix the linden tree fruit with the dried linden flowers and add just enough grape seed oil to make a manageable paste. This is best used the same day but can be kept for a few days by freezing in the refrigerator. For a stronger flavour, with a hint of coffee in it add 1 tbsp ground linden nut coffee.

When I've got all my notes in order, I'll put them on here in a separate thread, once you start looking, there's a *lot* of information. And I have a fair amount of time at the moment

[diamond lil]

Thanks Deeps, I find UHT ok in coffee because the sugar masks the taste, but unbearable in tea. Marvel is gruesome but bearable
My recliner Arzosah is my lifesaver - deep and soft and comfy with cup holder and phone charge thing. Bad days my prep is knitting - I will meet Armageddon feet-on in hand knitted socks
Been Costco this morning and got a good haul of meat, Coffee Mate, and enough butter to bathe in.

[Arzosah]

Good Costco trip, Lil - nice to get it done now (especially seeing the report on Yahoo I just posted to the Brexit thread on here). And I'm glad your recliner is so comfy.

Hurray for knitting! As a teenager, I knitted a very complicated cardigan for my silver Duke of Edinburgh Award

I have a fair sized knitting wool stash and I've been thinking of ways to use it that could count as preps, small things (because of arthritis, can't do too much) but would still be useful. Hats, mittens, scarves, maybe socks, ankle warmers, wrist warmers, face flannel, dubbin polisher, kitchen work surface insulator, kitchen pot handle insulator, baby clothes. In extremis, possibly the whole toilet wipe situation

What else?

[ForgeCorvus]

I will meet Armageddon feet-on in hand knitted socks
Been Costco this morning ................... and enough butter to bathe in.

Great, I now have a picture of Lil in a bath of butter with a pair of hand knitted woolly socks on shouting "Do your worst ! I'm ready for ya"

[diamond lil]

Great, I now have a picture of Lil in a bath of butter with a pair of hand knitted woolly socks on shouting "Do your worst ! I'm ready for ya"
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RIGHT! BRING IT ON!

[Yorkshire Andy]

Managed to get round to screwing some little hooks in the ceiling of the lounge and kitchen

Currently holding fly papers rather than using a drawing pin but the hook will happily take the weight of the candle lanterns or gas lamps should we loose power

I've also fixed the front gate which fell off earlier this week.

New hinges and a spring closer first line of defence from intruders ... A front gate stops them casually in to the garden the face it springs shut has the "trapped" element no easy escape

And it stops little man escaping