Going old fashioned with polishing

 Remember this?

Its the sort of thing my mother would have had in her cupboard and I can't even remember why I brought it but it must have been at least 8 years ago judging by the price label. This week it was dug out of the shed and came it to its own!

To explain. We have been renovating our en suite and my one insistence was the radiator had to go.  It was a alongside the loo and so close your thigh got burnt if you stayed too long in the winter. Husband says he is getting a smaller loo (at great cost more than a standard one) but can't move it over.   So the bathroom suite and radiator have come out. In our good environmental ways we re cycled (Free); the loo and washbasin, which beside size had nothing wrong with them, via the local Facebook group to someone's daughter renovating a very down at heel house in a very deprived area of the nearby town.  But the radiator was a bitty tatty, mostly as you could never had maintained it as to was too close to the loo!

Over a couple of days I spent a couple of hours washing it off, using the above to give it a shine and using the wet kitchen foil trick to renovate the chrome.

It went on the Facebook site and was soon gone. 

I was impressed with the deep shine of the Silvo wadding on chrome ever since I have been wandering round the house putting a lovely shine on all bits and pieces - bathroom radiator, taps, chrome legs of TV stand, chrome light switch covers, door handles, oven handle........  Obviously nothing silver in this house to practise on as we not rich enough for anything in precious metals beyond the wedding ring!

Better shine than I have got for years with any of the spray stuff. Can't beat the old fashioned ways can you?

Mask washing?

 Hi

Saw a bit on day time TV the other day about mask washing. They did a bit of practical/people science research about putting mask in a bag after use, wash frequently etc but then came out with something new. The new bit lasted all of 15 seconds and I have not been able to find any follow up to the point made by the on screen "expert". I wish in all this Pan-dy talk of statistics, strategies and rules that they would spend a bit more time on details!!  

Anyway, the point was in washing you need to use NON BIO washing powder. It has an ingredient that breaks down the fatty element of the Covid micro. BIOLOGICAL powder does not do that apparently. Two reactions.

What was the ingredient?

What am I using?

Had a look on the shelf above the washing machine and I seem to be a NON BIO user. Vaguely remember giving up Bio as it was too harsh at one stage? Years ago. Usually I go on price!

Had a look on internet and can find nothing to back up that comment/claim. In fact a couple I read almost says the opposite!

https://www.biggreensmile.com/article/bio-versus-non-bio-laundry-detergent-whats-the-difference.aspx

https://cleanandtidyliving.com/difference-between-bio-non-bio/

Did I mis-hear the broadcast? (on that new BBC morning programme - only saw it as indoors decorating!)  Anyone heard anything?

Autumn Harvest

Gathered the ingredients today for Chilli and tomato jam. Its perfect way to use up late season harvests. I looked up several recipes online and then made up my own as I lacked fresh ginger, star anise and other fancy stuff.

Spent a good half hour (while waiting for parcels from husband's on line spending spree) dicing as much as possible. And washing the neglected jam making saucepan. (Have not indulged in jam making this year as we never finished last years or the years before!).

Put on for a good boil but it did not seem to go sticky? Added some more brown sugar, liquidised and re boiled. 

Ah well. It will still zip up some scrambled eggs over the next few weeks.

I have also been on and off the village Facebook page as I offered these things for FREE today.

We are altering our en suite and took out this perfectly good suite to put in one a tiny bit smaller. The built in "room" by previous owner is only good if you are a stick insect. Seemed a shame to take to tip so I hope someone wants to reuse them.

Haircuts?

 Where do you stand on the haircutting issue in our Covid world? We both went once in August and felt quite safe as the national rates were low, extremely low in our county, and the procedures were all in place. But the "joy" of the occasion was spoilt by about 25% by the whole safety process and the lack of buzz about the place. Its just a local one room establishment but it is always busy and chatty. Also the price had gone well up (from £17.50 to £21.00)!

Another advantage is the cost. I just looked at the accounts and last year we spent £215 on hair cuts between us. I know its not a lot, some people pay more on one visit but its a lot for pensioners. This year, so far, we have spent £33.28 which includes a packet of old fashioned hair grips! 

Its time to think about another appointment. Though we are sad not to support the local business we have both decided as the infection rates rise, and  local schools and food factories have reported cases, we are going to give it a miss.

I now have longer hair (almost pony tail) and just recut my fringe. This morning I trimmed my husbands hair and if I say so myself it does not look half bad!!! 

Clearing out stuff

 Been going through the shed each day and sorting out one item to bin or use. Last week it was the ends of 3 pots of Garden shades outdoor paint stuff.  Just enough to run a fresh layer of colour over the garden bench and brighten it up. Made a feature of the mismatched colours.

After 3 weeks the shed looks half empty. Amazing what can be achieved with just a simple action. There are a couple of drawers in the house I must do the same to. Just one small thing each day. 

 

Washing at 60C?

So for years we have been encouraged to do our washing at lower temperatures and machines and detergents are all designed to operate at 30C.  But now we are told 60C to kill Covid virus and to clean home made face coverings.

Strangely very little advertising or comment on this sudden turn of direction. 

No adverts (YET) for detergents guaranteeing bio destruction.

No adverts (YET) from clothes brands saying garments will wash and wear well at the higher temps. 

No mention of costs for hard pressed families - apparently it could add up to £5 a month to costs!

No screams from the ECO warriors as we turn up the dial and use extra heat or put on extra loads.

Limited mention of this washing advice by mainstream broadcasters (as far as I have seen/heard).

We will be making an extra load if we do go shopping etc. I am insisting "going out clothes" (as my Mother would have designated out "best" dresses) will go straight on a hot wash along with face covering/masks on entering the house. Along with shoes off at the door and coats hung to air in outer passage. 

I am feeling very old fashioned these days.

When writing this blog I came across this advice - https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-8225325/Should-wash-clothes-60-degrees-help-beat-coronavirus.html

The bit about not leaving the washing in the machine is so true - it does tend to make a particular smell if you do that doesn't it?

Scrubs and scarecrows

Completed another round of scrubs for Norfolk NHS appeal. A nice pattern top and red trousers this time which were actually easier to sew than the standard plain blue! Compared to some valiant sewers who did 30 or 50 sets I only did a few. And they were making XL and XXL and I was only doing Small. I am wondering if there are only a few small staff?  Anyway the need seems to have passed and they are "pausing" for June.

Once free from the scrubs I converted my dressmakers stand to scarecrow duty. The village is having a 2 day scarecrow festival/trail at the weekend. Trouble is every time I go in the log cabin it scares me!

Must remember to give it a mask. I found something to do with all those plastic carrier bags I get with Click and Collect and home deliveries at the moment (even though request do not use) I used them to stuff the arms!

Not a great picture but tried something new for lunch today with salad (overcome with lettuce from the garden this week).  Flatten some puff pastry (brought, obviously), score a line about an inch in all round and pick the inner square. make an red onion "sauce"  from 2 red onions, brown sugar and balsamic or other nice vinegar (I used cider vinegar) . Put on the square top, top with nice bacon and crumbled feta cheese and bake. I sprinkled a bit of dried basil but would be nice with fresh basil if you have it.  

It was really nice. And all the ingredients were what was left around the kitchen/fridge this week!

Gloves, price rises, lupins, weight

Found my mother's gloves (see blog a few days ago) and wore them when I cycled to get some milk locally to last till the supermarket delivery comes in a couple of days. Very comfortable and a lot better than sticky sweaty pvc things. Washed with mask on getting home.

While I was waiting in one aisle for someone to choose from the limited range of cereals I noticed a big bank of tinned tomatoes. Wow. There were many gaps on the shelves but plenty of these. Then saw the price 75p a tin!!  I have never paid more than 38p for tinned tomatoes and usually around 28p for own or cheap brand (these were definitely cheap brand judging from label). No wonder they had lots and I checked on getting home Sainsbury's still charging 28p.

I then got to the eggs. 6 packs at 95p, 12 packs at £2.00.  Of course I wanted to buy two 6 packs.  Not allowed. To have 12 eggs you had to pay the full £2.00 as a customer could only have one pack of eggs of any size. Grumbled but their eggs taste better than supermarket so got some till I go meat shopping at the local butcher where there are some nice fresh local ones worth paying for.

It has been horrendously windy and this lovely lupin had 50 flower stalks/buds to come 2 days ago.

Now I have a fireplace full of large jugs and a big display of lupin flowers.

At the supermarket I also had to avoid the bread, cakes, biscuits aisles. I know it is depressing what with the Daily Dose of Doom at 5 pm every night (4pm at weekends)  but getting through it with an extra snack is not the answer. Put on 7lbs since lockdown. Must be firm with ourselves. No comfort eating. After all obesity and stage 2 diabetes and our age are against us already.  Luckily the strawberries growing under cover with the lettuce are all doing well so its salad and fresh fruit for dinner all week!



 

Spring visitors

if I could catch these blighters I would ......   (tell them about social distancing??)

ANTS

Two or three at a time appearing in kitchen. Been wiping down surface with smelly stuff, put sugar away (in fridge), checked outside wall for nest, still can't get rid.  

Mind you in checking outside I noticed kitchen drain blocked. There followed a smelly half day of digging out a blockage. So I should thank them for making me go round the corner of the house!!

There are worse things to worry about today.

Our Children on Whats App group this morning. All city dwellers and finding supermarkets empty and somehow they have all decided to become bread makers again as they are stuck at home so are swapping tips. Apparently no yeast around - we discussed sour dough!  They are channelling their great grandfather who was a Master Baker and ran a bakery all through WWII. 

Our other spring visitor was a surprise bird. A very young thrush appeared complete with some fluffy baby feathers. He stayed for some mealworms. Don't see many of them.

Draining "board"

When my husband re fitted the kitchen with his bespoke hand made units and thick wooden top round a ceramic sink we could not work out what to do about a draining board.  We have a dish washer but there is always some odd thing to put down wet.  For ages we managed with a plastic box lid but it got scuffed and dirty.

The other day one of those catalogues of household "stuff" and "things" came with the seed order and I saw the answer!

A plastic draining "board" with a lip to run water into the ceramic sink. A tray to hold things up and a cutlery box. It works quite well.  If I had an option I would want it 1" smaller all round as it would fit better in the space.

So those catalogues are not a waste of paper and time after all!

Opps, really bad hording.

We've brought a GroPro to use making videos for our YouTube channels. Yeah! But it means more leads and tech in the house. I went to find a label to put on the lead and would not get mixed up with the hundreds of others in that big box under the desk.

Put my hand in the stationary drawer and located some pretty coloured ones. Errrr..... Do you recognise these?

Yes. They are. Labels that used to go on those 31/2" hard shell computer disks! Invented 1981 and lost to progress by end of the 1990s.

Now that is a really really bad hoarding habit.

Milk jug/ turning into our mothers?

The one job I insist my husband does everyday is make me a pot of nice coffee in the peculator at 11am. We then sit together and share our interest in the news or something on YouTube (or sit in the garden). For ages he has been saying he find the plastic big jugs of milk a bit difficult with his arthritis and I argue back we use so much milk in custards etc that we need the big supply.

Last week I conceded we needed a milk jug "like our mothers used to have". So I went to the charity shop and found one for £1.50. Filled at early morning tea making it lasts all day for cups of coffee and tea and saves getting the big supply out.

It reminded me that my mother and aunts would gather round a kitchen table with a pot of tea and milk in the jug of course, for that daily catch up!!  Husband's mother was dead posh. Her tea set matched.

Gosh, turning into our mothers for sure.

Paper towels and rags?

Yesterday found myself tearing off yet another paper towel and thinking that roll is fast disappearing at over a £1 a time.  A few minutes later I was at it again.

Why not use a rag? I know why. Because what's left in the rag bag needs to be cut up to smaller bits and the scissors are.... somewhere. So today I went to the "cupboard of doom" and took out part of an old double duvet, some washed out pyjamas and emptied the rag bag of the other big bits and standing in the very sunny conservatory for 20 minutes converted it all to usable squares.

Win Win all round for not too much effort! I have some cleaning tasks today that can be done at no cost of sponges and paper towels and later on my husband can top up the bag in the shed kept there for woodworking oils and other messy tasks.

(And that is a space created in the cupboard of doom for more stuff that needs to move on too when we get to spring cleaning).

The paper towels can be on hand today to mop up the left over sauces from the commercial brands of lasagne sauces. The tomato is a complete pain for staining if a drop even looks at the wooden kitchen counter top, the tablecloth and the white ceramic sink!  May have been a good offer at the supermarket and a quick dinner make while we are both still down with the flu but the fall out is a pain.

Simple ideas!

For 5 years these clamps lay in a box unused because my husband could not reach down for them. When I suggested a change round in his shed to create more space he remember I had pointed out some storage units for clamps on one of his YouTube woodworking channels. There was a fair amount of jealousy as other people have smart new ones, but that aside, he got some ideas. Found some scrap wood and resolved the problem by creating a shelf store that allows easy access up on a wall.

Space created I am now hoping he will get back to work on my plate rack for the kitchen/dinner.

While he was clearing out he tossed this plastic box out.

It seems that all these tools come in hard shell plastic cases. This one had a nice open inside so I have nabbed it to see if it will be of use in my sewing/craft room.

Trying it out for storing the big spindles of thread for my overlocker machine. It least they will be away from damp and dust. Re-purposing rules!

A creative productive start ot 2020

We have a few creative days to start 2020.

I have managed to make two balls in crochet using YouTube instructions. Toys for Jack the cat at son's house.  Ends of left over wool used.

I made a case for my husband's i pad  as he may want to take it on holiday next week and says all electronics have to go in hand luggage. Made it bright so he can spot it in the security trays! Left over fabric used.

My husband made me a nice big cutting board from a bit of left over kitchen top.

And I bottled 2018 brewed wine!  Not sure why I did not do it in 2019; perhaps we were still drinking 2017 and did not make any more? Its a bit like jam - some years you make so much you can't get through it.

Husband is out making/creating space in his workshop for all his planned activities in woodworking in 2020 and I am going to leap on Movie software and make another video for YouTube channel Grow to eat about hedging and shelter belt. Then we are going to do some guitar playing practice. 

 Our new year resolutions:  We are going to be creative in 2020. But it will have to thrifty stuff as there is not going to be a lot of spare money this year with some planned house improvements needed.

You Tube channel - Gardening

I hinted some weeks ago I was experimenting with You Tube and thinking about doing a gardening channel thing from the perspective of retirees who grow things to eat and eke out the UK State Pension.


It all started because my husband, the photographer with lots of expensive equipment, had been saying he would do something for months but could not work out the movie making and editing bit and of course wanted to buy more lovely equipment i.e. a drone. I got fed up with waiting for his motivation to kick in. So I challenged him to a contest. He put movie software on my old PC.  I shot a load of quick bits and in two hours achieved a 4 minute video and added narration and music and uploaded to You Tube. A month plus later he is still hesitating!



Over the last few weeks I have put up 4 videos on growing your own fruit and veg and am working on my last for the year. And I think it may be the best to date its got a few bells but no whistles!. Although they are not very sophisticated as I just use a point and shoot small digital camera held in my hand. I have not Vlogged (as they say) which is talking endlessly to camera. And I don't think that will ever be me!  Only yesterday found out I could put my little camera on my husband's tripod so I can do stuff in front of the camera.

I am not sure yet if it will be worth doing a lot of this, but I do know I know a lot more about growing fruit and veg than some people on You Tube! And there are not many "elders" sharing sensible growing for the cooking pot.

So I called my channel "Grow to eat" which was a mistake, I think, as it comes up on a search along side these body builders who eat to grow their bodies! There is also another channel with the same name, but You Tube did not tell me that and mine loaded anyway. When you do an email address it usually automatically says there is another "MollyB" or whatever, in the system. Strange. 

Other strange thing, my family say I have put on a very posh voice. Honestly did not try to do that. It just comes out like that because I am still self conscience about sitting here with a mike talking to myself!

If you get time please go and look and give me some feedback.  I would be very grateful.


Here is a link to the first video.
(I think, It feels like I am still stumbling in the social media dark forest.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJd0NFZtzIg&t=21s


Now back to some more editing and learning before we go away for Xmas and for a short holiday somewhere a lot warmer than the British east coast in January!!

Christmas game for grandkids = no/low cost

My crochet efforts have led me to my first make! A basket! It was actual a pattern for a storage  pot from my library book on mindfully crocheting but mine was so wide I decided it needed handles added.

I used some wool left over from an abandoned attempt to learn to knit years ago and it was really suitable for using "doubled up" as in the pattern instructions, pink and blue, as one was too thin to be much good.

What should go in it?  I was reading a book last week about re-wilding an historic farm estate in west Sussex and the author explained dealing with the conservation agencies was like trying to get a lot of frogs all to hop into the same pot. Which made me think of a bean bag game the little ones might like as an indoor activity when the weather was bad. So off to the sewing cabin to look through the fabric stash and to look on the WWW for a frog pattern.

Found an 80p bag of cheap rice in the supermarket to fill them and now we have a nest of frogs!

I will let the 6 year olds make up the "rules" of the game and find some sweet treats to be prizes. I was thinking if you get two frogs in a pot you could get a human sacrifice ie a jelly baby?  It sort of leads into a climate emergency theme! 

I shall pop it into the Xmas gift bag - made out of on old pair of their pyjamas!

Winter veg

Finally had a few sharp frosts here. We are very close to the coast so we are a bit of a micro gentle climate.  But cold clear days with sun for a few hours are just wonderful.  Here is the view from the rear of the house - just look at that afternoon sun!

I took the opportunity to bob out to the garden just before this to pick as many veg as possible for the next few days. We are expecting some parcels and deliveries so I am tied to the front of the house to spot the delivery vans.
This was my haul. Bit cold washing the dirt off using the water butt water!!

The big parsnip had 3 or 4 "legs" which took some separating and cleaning up.

 I can never grow swede so I brought one for a beef stew last week and that can go with some of these to make some nice mixed veg soup!

Potatoes are in

Some may think its a little early, but we live in a very dry part of East Anglia and have found if we leave it till  Easter (the traditional time to plant potatoes) then the soil at depth has already dried out too much.

My husband borrowed this hand drawn ridger from our ancient neighbour to make the furrows and then go back down and make the ridges. The sub soil was damp, but full of worms, and the top loose and dry.  We ended up with 5 and a half rows. 2 First early and the rest Main crop. the last row was a mix of all the left over little ones from each of the main crop bags.  That left half a row in this first veg bed. So I re dug it to make sure their was no couch grass, thistles or docks and planted some spinach. Not done this outside before (we have done it in poly tunnel previously) but we were watching Charles Dowdling You Tube on spinach and he recommended this method outside and planting the whole module with no thinning. You pick the spinach leaves at a very small and young stage. So far, looking good but as it has not rained for a few weeks and the water butts up veg end are empty I have been trolling up and down from the house end with watering cans from those butts to bed the spinach in.

In the next plot my husband has planted 4 rows of onions grown from seeds and they are taking well and making good progress.  They enjoy the sunny open area.

In other bits of the veg beds we are trying to be much more no dig. I have been experimenting with putting some thick plastic on top of the autumn dug soil which is already showing invasive weeds - speedwell and thistles.

After 3 weeks I went back for a look. The thistles were up but spindly and loose, the speedwell had lost its grip on the soil and were easy to get the whole thing up (rather than it snapping at the base and leaving the roots to re grow).  So a quick surface turn over and re-cover and I will probably plant some beetroot there as there is just enough space between the brassica netted area and the garlic on the right. We are doing beetroot in the Charles Dowdling method to give them a head start - several in each module and then just plant them as a whole and thin as they grow.

Lots of heavy work this week in the veg garde, plus the fence is finally repaired.

Ok, not pretty and, yes, that metal joining piece is part of a big hinge off the old outside loo door! One day I will paint this side of the fence, or, I am going to cover it with climbing plants. The latter may be difficult as on our side, it is actually an old horse menage with 3 foot of sand under that grass so we would have to make containers at regular intervals to plant in.

Lovely day today and looking forward to some sewing time this weekend.  I have just been to the village to get some bread and on the way back cleared up some litter in the verges, then as I neared our house I wondered what this brown lump was in the middle of the road.

It was someone's MacDonald's breakfast bag!!! It had not been there when I went out 15 minutes earlier. Put photo on the village Facebook page straight away with the hopes of shaming them.

Fence painting

While it is still so dry and warm here I thought I would do a bit of fence maintenance and whack some fencing "stuff" on the sunny side of the house garden fences. We have had the big container for about 2 years and hardly used it as it is a task we try to avoid!

first bit leading into next door's garden took about 2 hours. Looks OK. bit boring. 

While we were out yesterday we saw this on a garden gate.

It may be to stop the seagulls sitting on the posts (and the consequence) but it looked like fun. I have some plywood I had in mind for a similar project so I may copy to stop the sparrows sitting all along here.