Back to Getting Stuck in Part Four

Sorry this was originally meant to be a weekly report, however this post is effectively a two week-round up as some days I did not manage to achieve much. It is what it is.  Therefore for the best part of this second week will be concentrating on food matters before getting stuck back into house things although of course there will be odd smaller projects dealt with as I go along and as I can.  I am also waiting for some laundry starch and also a new ironing board cover before I can filter in tranches of vintage laundry items and getting them washed, starched and ironed before packing them away into storage in one of the poly tubs.

Tuesday:  

Not very well today and therefore have taken it easy.  Think it is the aftermath of last week's efforts and also the change in temperature with the weather.

I have started off this week by prepping up an outline meal plan to make things easier whilst I am busy working away in the house.  Trying to keep things simple and not really doing any extras on the cooking front this week until I am a bit clearer in the house.  Opening up some space has helped but I do not want to feel over-whelmed again if I can help it.

I am working a little bit each day in the back bedroom as well.  There will be a separate set of posts in this regard moving forward somewhat along the lines of the Getting Stuck in posts.

G had moved some stuff in front of the tumble drier the other day which meant it could not be operational.  Have started with removing that stuff and sorting through it as I have the start of a lot of washing to do.  Missy has also had an accident and so bedding etc has also to be laundered.  Now have that on.  Washing machine about to be made operational.

Now to start wading through the laundry pile and getting things clean again.

Got the dog's bedding out the way with and the tea towels, dishcloths and hand towels for the kitchen all washed and dried.

Have been pottering tidying things in-between everything else.  All the laundry is now in a pile for going through.

Main Meal/Tea

Prepped tea we are having a Beef tray bake with additional roasted veggies and also a Chilli and Cheese Beef melt for tea.  Any veggies left over will get used to make the base for some soup for me.

Plans for Wednesday: 

are to sort out the study/computer room/craft room and get that stripped out and washed. My desk looks like a bomb has hit it and so this evening has been spent in sorting and tidying things up a bit in order that I can get straight on tomorrow with the cleaning.  Once all that is done will go back into the kitchen and the bathroom.

Wednesday:

Computer/Study/Craft Room clear out to get things back under control in here.  Managed to get half way through but in reality this is likely to take longer especially as all the bedding is going to be washed as well.  I am going for a more stream-lined working environment in here and intend to only bring stuff in to work on it.  If and when not working on it, will go back out again. Especially as I now have the storage trunk for the UFOs.  Will keep at this room until it is completely done and back to be functional.

Thursday:

I had to take today off as I hurt so much from all the efforts the other day.  My hip and back have been particularly affected with standing on my feet all that time.  So I listened and sat and just pottered with non-physical jobs.

Tea was the Sweet and Sour Chicken, Prawns and Beef and Back Bean dish for G served with a little rice.

Friday:

I met with a good friend and so this first part of the day has been a leisurely and gentle one.  I received a gift of Seville Oranges for the first batch of Seville Orange Marmalade to be made this year.

I also bought some more Hemp Powder and some fresh Turmeric whilst out.  I have not used fresh Turmeric before but my friend has told me to plant some to grow my own so I will, after a little research.  I was thinking of starting off a homemade Fire Cider - a bit late I know but something I have been wanting to try for a while.

Saturday:

I have had to take a day out as I hurt so much and only achieved minor pottering, some washing to add to the ironing pile.

Sunday:

Another pottering day.  I did not feel like doing very much apart from cooking.  I therefore set too and cooked a full very large roast chicken, homemade stuffing and bread sauce.  Everything from scratch.  Turned into a really lovely and tasty meal.

Monday:

More laundry and more pottering.  Nothing substantial.  Just having to have a few days out.  Going to concentrate on some food projects that need dealing with for the next few days.

Tuesday:

A General pottering day, where there were "Thunderstorms" a quiet agreement to totally disagree.  I cleared all the washing and drying up.  Had washing on the go and was getting it dried as I went along.

I had to do some service work on the Tumble Drier which is a Condensor Drier and extremely efficient.  Every so often though you have to wash the main filter out and get rid of all the fluff that has got into the main filter.  A signal for this is that the drying does tend to need a little longer than usual.  I therefore set too and stripped that down, got it dried off and then back into the Tumbler to carry on with the drying.

A little later on I found my ironing board cover outside the back door.  I had not heard the delivery driver come to the house.  I therefore decided that now was as good a time as any to get the new cover and pad onto the board.  I also took the opportunity to service the ironing board as well.  De-fluffed it, washed it all down, and oiled the moving parts.  Then eased the cover and pad onto the board.  I had in part ordered a new cover as I had found that the cats (when I had had multiples) had been using it to sharpen their claws on and there were one or two rents in the fabric cover.  It is currently in the washing machine as I am going to use this as my template for cutting a couple of more covers and pads for the board so that I can keep them continually refreshed.

I have also started off a Central Home Measurement and Requirements list so that I have it to hand whenever I am out and about and want to check measurements.  I haven't got a clue where measurements are concerned and especially if there is no imperial measurement shown on the item.  Although I have grown up with both measurements I tend to use the Imperial Measurements by choice.  Told you I was a Luddite!

I have also organised a couple of containers for the cat and dog food.  Every so often I am cooking up chicken or fish for them to give them a bit of a break from the just dog or cat food.  They like the Harrington range for both cat and dog as well. This way on I can keep it in the fridge if I cook in bulk for them.  They both seem very happy with the new regime.  Missy has hardly any teeth and we have found that sometimes the food is not soft enough and another time it is congealing in her mouth so that she nearly chokes. As I hand feed her, to get food into her from the side of the mouth where she has no teefs!  She does not seem to be able to get the food down in the normal fashion from the front of the mouth so on the side it has to be unfortunately.  She only lets me feed her this way. G does not have the patience and she does not really take it from him. Sometimes it takes a good hour per meal for her to get down what she needs.  Daft sod that I am, I keep her going.  She is okay in herself limited by old age though which comes to us all. Since she was really poorly and lost a lot of weight, we have managed to fill her out a little bit although she is still not full weight following this regime.  You could feel and see her ribs.  Fingers crossed she is holding her own at the moment though.  Long may it reign.  

It is good to get some of the littler jobs out of the way with.  It is all building up slowly.  Just need the starch to arrive, but in the interim I can start doing a little ironing when I can.  It will be good to get this out of the way with and it certainly needs doing before we think of going down to Cornwall.  As I have said, I am determined to try and get this household back on an even keel even if it nearly kills me in the process.

Wednesday:

Plans for today include getting everything back into cupboards again.  I left the drying up on the counter-top as it was mid-evening by the time I finished this yesterday. 

I have done a lot of washing again and drying.  Nearly at the stage where I can start on the washing in the bathroom a lot of which is vintage linens.  The Starch powder arrived today.  I have purchased 2.5kg for £16 off Ebay as I have been unable to locate it in the shops I go into.  I am therefore technically set to start the process of the washing.  As I indicated yesterday, my ironing board cover arrived which I got on to the board.  I also washed the old ironing board cover and pad. I got that dried this morning, 

I am not feeling 100% again today.  However, I have started sorting out those seeds I can find and have popped them into a box together with some other bits for gardening for the time being.  Not Rocket science and a WIP box (a cardboard box) which can be added to as I find the seeds.  I have every intention of growing some items again this year and I want to start relatively early.

Thursday:

Even less well and so stayed in bed. Think am nursing a cold that has not formed coupled with a chill.  Keep going extremely cold on the inside if you know what I mean.  I also developed tooth ache on top of me being under the weather. So nothing done.

Friday:

Slept late as still under the weather however feeling a lot brighter than I was.  Toothache has subsided and more or less gone.  They say when you sleep you heal.

Saturday:

I have started dealing with the washing pile which is currently stashed in the bathroom in bin liners.  Am concentrating at the moment with bedding and vintage linens (that is what I needed the starch for is the vintage linens).  There are also odd sheets which have picked up cheaply but are very good quality that I will use for backing patchwork in due course.  So I want to get them prepped and sorted up as well and popped into the patchwork stash.

I also have a batch of curtains to deal with (several pairs).  Yet again really expensive curtains that I have sourced cheaply.  I grew up in a family that valued fabric and curtains were always kept.  These are very good quality sateen cotton curtains.  Some of them will be used in due course in the house and some will be used for other projects.  I am a complete fabric nut and always can see the potential in a piece of cloth. 

The girls in my family were taught the basic skills of cooking, managing a home, homemaking, basic sewing, dressmaking and other crafts.  Probably an old fashioned view but it has stood us in good stead and given us the opportunity to work at and increase our skills as we go along and give us plenty of practice.  The result of this is that it has made us as self-sufficient as we possibly could be and for that I am very grateful.  These are life skills and I think all young people should be taught these skills as basics.  Full courses on each being practical skills not six weeks here and there or the odd lesson but full structured courses on practical aspects.  I was lucky enough to go to a good secondary modern school/first year comprehensive, who were of the view that everyone has something to give whether that be on an academic basis or a practical basis.  When we have not had many pennies we have still been able to provide various things for ourselves quite cheaply compared to shop prices.  A lot of younger people these days are looking for courses or night classes and in many areas these opportunities are not available.

However after that diatribe above, I am glad at long last to be tackling this laundry pile. Half of it was dealt with before but I got side-tracked by other things which prevented me finally dealing with this once and for all.  I want to get all of this sorted by March at the latest which is when we will start considering visits to Cornwall. I intend to get the ironing board out and do a little ironing each day.  Today, I have 12 Damask napkins to launder and starch, dry and then iron as well as two single bed quilted bedspreads and two extra large sheets.  They will after airing then be packed into one of the poly boxes.  I am taking things relatively easy at the moment though.

Sunday:

A late start so a lazy day envisaged.  Started off with a full breakfast for G and I had homemade Blueberry pancakes for a treat. I have enough Blueberries for a second round during the week. 

I am going to sit and do some crafting I hope - just taking it easy.  Whether I get to the crafting or not.  Will be a steady day.  Tomorrow will be a different kettle of fish as I have a lot to do.

We are just simply going to have roast chicken for tea tonight.  After the big breakfast each we are not too concerned with much to eat.  It is how it goes and I am a great believer in everything in moderation.

Now hopefully will be able to crack on a little bit this week.  Fingers crossed and toes plaited.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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