Watch out for vampires

Hi. Just a quick look in tonight. I've spent the day sewing, got a line full of washing out blowing in the wind, washed a mountain of pots, and took a dog a walk. The quilty thing is almost finished, so I'm going to need to find something else to take to Craft and Chat Club tomorrow. Think I might make some patchwork cushion covers, I've got lots more fabric I can use.

Anyway, I'm off out in half an hour. Going to The Baths Hall to see Vampire Rock. I got the ticket ages ago, sort of fancy it, not sure. Here is a clip, think I should be dressing up for it, maybe not. I am in the middle of the front row, don't think I will have a problem hearing it, might be deafened by it, ha ha. I'll report back tomorrow.




Here is the web site
http://www.vampiresrock.com/home/

Toodle pip

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Body heat

There's a lot of talk at the moment about the rising cost of gas and electricity, and with winter approaching keeping warm is on everyone's mind. Naturally people are worried about how they are going to pay their bills, and are looking for ways to cut down their fuel consumption. I think there is another way to keep warm apart from turning the heating up. We all know about insulating our homes, wearing more clothes, taking a hot bath, and having hot drinks throughout the day, but I think there is a way of acclimatising our bodies to deal with the drop in temperatures.

If you think about where people work, indoors, office, shop, factory, all these places put their heating on for the comfort of their employees. No one would be happy with sitting at a desk in an office all day wearing a coat and hat. On the other hand, they go to work wearing lightweight clothes and expect the heating to be turned up because they are cold. Surely there should be a happy medium, wear thicker clothes and turn the heat down a notch or two. I think central heating set to a tropical level is making people soft. Their body then gets used to having heat blasted at it throughout the day so when they go home, they have to turn their central heating up high because they would shiver.

If your body gets used to being mollycoddled with constant heat, it forgets how to cope when it gets cold. I expect in five hundred years time people will all have their own heated personal bubble. It will be kept inside their heated garage, it will have wheels, so all they have to do is step inside and take themselves to work, where they will park it inside an underground heated park, and get the elevator up to their heated office. They will have no contact with the awful British weather, and their skins will be a sickly grey colour and their lungs will be under used and need extra supplies of oxygen. Their immune system will be zilch, they won't have one. Fantasy maybe, but you never know what will happen in the future.

Now look at the people who have hard lives living in cold climates, those that work outside, work the land or keep livestock. Think about the intrepid explorers traipsing through miles of snow and ice, those who live in cold countries. What have they in common, they move about a lot, and their bodies generate their own heat. They get acclimatised to their surroundings, and become toughened up to cope with cold.

Now I'm not about to tell you what to do, you can draw your own conclusions, but what I will say is, you can get out of your chair and move about, at least for ten minutes every hour. All right, I will tell you what to do. Don't sit all night every night glued to the goggle box, huddled under a blanket. Get up, walk around the house, walk the dog, go for a walk even if you haven't got a dog. Get your arms and legs moving, dance and jump up and down if you can. Generate your own body heat and keep it trapped close to you underneath your layers.

OK don't jump on me, I know there are people with limited mobility, and they will have to devise their own methods for moving the able parts of their bodies. If anyone is confined to a chair but can stretch arms and legs, then do it.

I am so glad that I had a lifetime of working outdoors, doing a physical job, I now find that I can cope very well without much heating. The only time I suffer is when I spend time in a building which is centrally heated. Some of my friends houses are stifling hot, I can only manage about twenty minutes. On the other hand I visit someone who doesn't put their heating on and we both sit there in our coats, ha ha. He is fine and so am I. The library is too hot, the bank is too hot, and the shops are too hot, I have to come out. My sinuses get blocked and I feel groggy and start yawning.

I don't live much differently in the winter than I do in the summer. All the interior doors in my house are open, I like all rooms to be the same temperature, don't like shutting myself in a hot room then having to go into a cold room. I move about a lot in the house, constantly up and down, doing something or other, and keeping busy. All I do is wear more clothes. I'm about to double up on the curtains again, as I do every year at this time. Get the spare sets out of the cupboard, and hang them over the ones already up.

So are you going to give it a go, move about more, go out more, go on, worth a try.
Toodle pip    

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Getting stitched up

I was hoping to have the finished patchwork quilty thing to show tonight, but even with my little helper, it is still not ready. I've been working on it for most of the day, with a dog walk in the middle to get me out for an hour or so. I am still walking my friends dog, as he is not up to being dragged around, with a gammy arm which he is not supposed to be lifting. She is a very strong dog.

Anyway, I'll show you where I am up to now. I am using a duvet cover costing �1 from a charity shop for the backing. Here I am trying to cut the edges off to separate the two sides. Heidi nearly got a manicure in the process.   

I had to move some furniture around in the living room to make a space big enough to lay it out on the floor. It's a pale yellow colour with pink flowers. I smoothed it out as best I could, and pinned the corners to the carpet.

In the middle of the sandwich I am using a very old candy striped flannelette sheet. I don't know how old this is, I suspect about 30 years, I'm sure I had it in my first house. Smoothed out and pinned on the backing.

 Oooh, I've got an itch, just a minute while I have a scratch.

Next the top, placing it almost to the edge on two sides, then trimming the excess on the other two sides. Next I set about pinning the layers together with safety pins. I had to buy a packet from the 99p shop because I didn't have enough. I found they weren't going in very easily, they were sticking in the carpet.

So I got a long flat piece of laminated wood and slid it underneath where I wanted to put the pins, moving it across as I pinned. It was much easier to do it this way. I only pinned into the patterned squares because I was planning on sewing only on the plain squares.

 All pinned up and starting to machine sew. Heidi is on hand to supervise.

At this moment in time I am half way through it, so I am going to keep going over the weekend to hopefully get it finished. Looking good so far.
Have a nice weekend. Toodle pip.

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How I keep on track

Hiya peeps, Nancy asked me a question..............

Do you write down every expenditure you make? Do you keep track somehow of all your expenses daily, weekly, monthly and annually? Or is this info "stored" in your head? Sorry in advance if you have talked about this in the past. I've only been reading your blog this year and it's one of my favorites. Thanks, Ilona.
Nancy from Northern California

Hello Nancy.
It�s easy for me, I don�t have much coming in and I don�t have much going out. As long as the outgoings don�t exceed the incomings then I know I am alright. I have been in this house for a long time, so I know pretty well how much I have to pay in gas, electricity, and water. I keep all my bills, I don't pay in advance on a monthly direct debit, I pay quarterly after I have used the services. I never get any nasty surprises like a higher than normal bill because I am always mindful to only switch things on when I need to, and turn them off when I have finished. The only exception to this is I have my computer on a lot, but communication is at the top of my priority list, so I don't mind.

My council tax is paid monthly for ten months of the year, and I pay it in cash. If anyone is struggling a bit they can spread the cost and change it to 12 monthly payments. I can manage my payments, I don't have to pay the full whack, 25% off for single occupancy and a reduced rate as I don't have any savings and a small income. I quite like the two months off in February/March.

I keep my direct debits to a minimum because I don't like the idea of money just disappearing out of my account. If I physically pay for things by cash or cheque it feels more real. I get a paper statement in the post every month which I check. I have a file of these going back about 15 years. I don't do internet banking, I don't trust it and I don't need to scrutinise my account that thoroughly. Thank goodness I am not sailing close to the wind any more, and have a little buffer if I need to pay for anything unexpected. Saying that I never take my eyes off the ball, never say oh stuff it and spend a wad of money. Everything I buy I think about first.

The direct debits I do have are broadband and landline combined. Seems the only way to pay for that these days. I have the car recovery coming out in April, and my hostel membership is �15 a year on a DD. My house insurance is on a monthly direct debit, I don't have a contents insurance. Oh, and I pay Just under �4 a year to put unlimited photo's on my blog. My mobile is on a Pay As You Go which I top it up with �10 in the local shop once every two months. I only used it for texts, and the odd emergency call.

I have one credit card. I use it for convenience, paying for accommodation on a long walk, a big shop, and petrol for the car. The bill gets paid in full every month, I take a cheque into the bank for that.

I buy more or less the same type of food on a regular basis, with a few different items thrown in for variety, but these have to be value for money. I don't splurge on fancy food, it takes some discipline sometimes, not to go mad. Expensive food will not taste any better, I will not be any fuller after eating it, and it will not make me live any longer. Nutritious food does not have to cost the earth.

I am constantly checking food prices in all the shops I go in, and making a mental note of where the best bargains are. I keep this info in my head. When I get my shopping home I go down the receipt and write the price on each tin and packet with a black marker to check next time if it has gone up.

When money was really tight I did keep a spending diary, I think these are invaluable if you are trying to budget on a small income. To read it every week and see it written down brings it all home to you how much you have spent. I find I don't have to do that now, because my discipline is so finely tuned I know I will never buy something I can't afford. If someone is prone to picking things up willy nilly while out shopping, and they are struggling to manage, they definitely need a diary.

I have enough toiletries to last me years, except toothpaste. Today I bought some, I found two large tubes of Crest for �1 in Poundland. That will probably last me a year. I had a naughty bar of chocolate today, ha ha, a rare treat. Six squares for 60p, blimey, didn't I splash out. What with chips yesterday, it has got to stop.

Someone asked me about the sesame seed oil that I use, sorry can't remember who. Is it cheaper than regular oil. Well no it isn't if you buy it from a supermarket. A small bottle is about �1.40. I buy a large bottle, 600ml for �1 at the cash and carry. I stock up when they have it in. I love the nutty flavour of it, cook with it and drizzle it on my steamed veg. Soooo tasty.

I hope that's answered your questions, thank you for reading.
Toodle pip.

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Say hello to Anne

Someone was asking about a blog that has disappeared. It has closed. This is a new one in it's place.
http://sweetblondieblueeyes.blogspot.co.uk/
Say hello to Anne, SS.

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A bit of business in Gainsborough, then a bimble

I went to see Gareth this morning, he's the solicitor you know, he's dealing with my will writing. He seems pretty clued up, and he is young and charming, and good looking. It didn't take very long, some updates to the previous will which was ten years old. It's looking better now, changes had to be made. If I pop my clogs soon after I sign it, it will be relevant, but as I am planning to linger on a good few years, I may well find myself in the position of having to change it again. Life goes on.

Anyway, while I was in Gainsborough I thought I would have a look round. I took the scenic route alongside the river to get there. It was lovely and quiet, free of traffic. This is the route I walked at the end of my River Trent walk, the last leg of a 119 mile walk. Driving it today made me think, blimey, I walked this distance. Seemed ever so long in a car.

The weather was a bit dull, but never mind, I was well wrapped up. Marshall's Yard is where the solicitor hangs out, so I had a walk round there first. Britannia Ironworks used to occupy this site. Owned by the Marshall family, it was founded in 1848. The factory closed in the 1980's. Many of the original structures were listed, and these have been refurbished and retained. New architecture has been designed to blend the old with the new.

There is lots of parking in the centre of a big square, all the shops are around the outside. The cost to park is very reasonable, 50p for two hours, or �1 for four hours, and you can get this refunded in the shops when you buy something. I was too mean to pay that, I parked ten minutes walk away in a side street.

The Council offices are housed here.

I hoped the fountains were not suddenly turned on again to drench this little girl. They weren't.

This is one of two pedestrian entrances to the square. The archway design continues all along the perimeter wall to the next entrance further along the road. 

I didn't linger long around the shops, as you know I have no interest in shopping. I made my way to the river bridge, just generally looking around, but searching for Gainsborough Old Hall. I caught the whiff of fish and chips and followed my nose. It's about time I was due a treat of freshly cooked chips, haven't had any for months. Lots of months in fact. This is where the main road crosses the river, I walked this bit on my long walk. It was a bit chilly today, and it was threatening rain, but I didn't care, I had my chips in my bag.

Oh bliss, find a bench and sit in the open air and eat chips. They were lovely. I didn't eat all of them, brought some home and heated them in the microwave. All gone now, yum.

Aha, here is Gainsborough Old Hall. I don't know why but I had it in my head that this building was in acres of parkland, that's how it looks in the advertising bumf. Not in parkland, it's quite close to the town centre. It's an English Heritage site so there is a charge to go in. I didn't bother to go and have a look but it says on the web site that it's �4 for a senior to get in. Not so bad I suppose considering there is a lot more to see here than the ruins of Thornton Abbey which is the same price.  

The hall is over 500 years old, and one of the best preserved timber framed medieval manor houses in the England. I won't go into all the ins and outs of it here, but if you want to know more, they have an excellent web site here.  If you click on the Explore button you can take a 360 degree tour of some of the rooms. The community textile project is interesting, and there is a floor plan with photographs.

It had started raining so I did a quick walk round and took photo's under the shelter of my umbrella.

Pretty amazing, don't you think.

 Just across the road is the library. Looks a bit like an old school house.

Close by is this magnificent church.

By now the rain was getting quite heavy, time to go back to the car I think. A walk across the old market square, and had a look in a few charity shops. Didn't buy anything, nothing took my fancy, nothing I needed.

I was home by 2.30pm, and it's still raining. Best spend the rest of the day indoors. It's 'orrible out there. Toodle pip.

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A boring job but it has to be done.

The way I tackle my washing up is this. Save the mucky pots, pans, and utensils for three or four days and stack them on the worktop next to the sink. My pots have very little food stuck to them I make sure every morsel is eaten. I rarely have sauce, when I do I finish off the meal with a spoon to scoop it all up. If I put a splash of oil on my steamed veg I mash in the potatoes to soak it up. Beans on toast and I wipe the plate round with a piece of bread. My dirty pots are not terribly dirty, so I can wash the lot in one bowlful of hot water. I hate washing up water that ends up like a bowl of soup, with all kinds of gunge floating in it, yuk.      

To heat the water I use the saucepan that I used to steam the veg in. It has a baskety thing in the bottom. I heat it on the top of the cooker because gas is cheaper than electricity. I only turn the water heater on in the tank when I have a bath, so most of the time what comes out of the tap is cold. I fill the bath up, turn the water off, and the tank refills with cold water. I only heat the water I use.

My washing up liquid is the cheapest from the discount stores. It's called Easy, with a lemon fragrance, and costs 39p. People say it's false economy to buy cheap liquid because you end up using more of it. I don't, I use it very sparingly because I don't want lots of bubbles. It doesn't have to cut through a lot of grease because I don't eat greasy food. I do use a little oil, but that is all absorbed into the food. I have a few bubbles here, that's because I have a spray attachment on the tap so that froths it up. It will soon disappear when I start washing.

The dinner plates go in first with the cutlery. I often use rubber gloves because I like the water fairly hot. The cutlery is scrubbed with a brush, I hate to see food stuck between the prongs of a fork, yuk, horrible.

All pots are done and stacked up on the drainer. The cat bowls are done last with any food containers to go for recycling. I dry the cutlery with a tea towel and put it away in the drawer, all the rest will stay there for an hour until I put it away. It will dry very quickly because the water was hot.

And so the cycle starts again. My aim is to use the least amount of water, less water means less cost to heat it. A tiny squirt of washing up liquid, a bottle lasts me almost a year. Good for the environment, less chemicals down the drain. Tea towels don't need washing so often because I hardly use them. I wipe the worktops with a dishcloth made from an old sheet, and scrub round the sink as the water goes down the plughole. All done in one bowl of water. No dishwasher tablets, and no gallons of water. Squeaky clean pots and pans at a very low cost.
Toodle pip.
PS Thanks for your support yesterday.

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