What Preps are you doing this week? Part 9

[Frnc]

. I have to factor in a kidney stone diet, which is hard enough without factoring in cost as well.

I feel your pain with the special diets! It is one reason I tend to bulk buy. We are all on a very strictly gluten free diet but also corn/maize/xanthan gum/glucose syrup free and chicken/egg cause problems.
It leaves me with a lot of ingredient reading and a tendency to panic when a known safe item either gets a recipe change or disappears from the shelves. If it comes to rationing I don't know what we would eat as I imagine that if things get bad I could imagine conversations like this.

"Oh you're confirmed coeliac? Fine. Here is your GF pasta ration."
"But it has maize in it."
"What do you mean you can't eat maize? Maize is safe for coeliacs so stop fussing and take your ration or do without."

One of the hardest things is salt. Virtually everything is loaded with it. I have to get one type of cheese from a specific shop (Sainsbury's Emmental). There's one pizza (Sainsbos 12" cheapo £1.09). I've not found low salt bread. I have to have plenty of fibre but avoid food high in oxalates, which includes wholmeal stuff, so I get the 50/50 bread. Quorn products are all full of salt.

[rik_uk3]

Make your own bread and omit salt although salt does help 'bind' the bread so perhaps stick to making flat bread or 'Irish' soda bread which is fine salt free.

[Frnc]

Make your own bread and omit salt although salt does help 'bind' the bread so perhaps stick to making flat bread or 'Irish' soda bread which is fine salt free.

Thanks, will look into that.

[Arzosah]

I just needed to post some paracetemol to my sister, she's got a non-covid virus thats really laid her flat. And I had to scrabble about for really old stamps to make the £1.45 it now costs to send a large letter 1st class So I've just spent a ridiculous amount of money to buy lots and lots of stamps from Royal Mail - and of course they're all the bar-coded ones (oh, with the Queen's head on too). I spent big to get free delivery, which is the same as having a free large letter 1st class stamp, £1.45, and I bought:
- 40 2nd class
- 16 1st class
- 4 1st class large
- 4 2nd class large.

Cost just over £50. I'm in shock but hopefully this lot will do me till Christmas *next* year. My cash flow is okay, so I might as well buy them now - they went up really steeply earlier this year, and I wish I'd done it then, but I didn't.

[GeeGee]

Bought more gas canisters ...
Power banks
And lanterns
And .... the electricity is off ...alarms blaring all over ..everyone out on doorsteps ..wont help ...
So out comes the camping gas stove kettle and pans and will be making tea that way today
Battery operated radio is on
Northern piwergrod are on it they say ..
..
Good trial run for what I expect to happen a lot

[Yorkshire Andy]

Bought more gas canisters ...
Power banks
And lanterns
And .... the electricity is off ...alarms blaring all over ..everyone out on doorsteps ..wont help ...
So out comes the camping gas stove kettle and pans and will be making tea that way today
Battery operated radio is on
Northern piwergrod are on it they say ..
..
Good trial run for what I expect to happen a lot

Can't beat a dry run

Alarms bearing is a sign they are not maintained the panel battery should support and supply the system, it's when that's fubar the bell box battery kicks in and you can't shut it up without some ladders and a hammer / screwdriver

Ps eat the ice-cream before it melts

[Yorkshire Andy]

Well I've hit a bit of a milestone I've now got solar lighting of some form in every room in the house (bar the bathroom due to risk of damp damaging the lamp but I've got a light ready to deploy if needed for now it's going to be in the chicken coup to extend their laying time

There's a set of these in the living room and kitchen..

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0B5Q2 ... asin_title

Each lamp contain 2x 18500 cells and are warm white both on full power together rival the room mains light they've also got various modes such as low then high on detection of motion which is ideal for the kitchen low level lighting till you walk in and it gets brighter .. having two lamps I can use one against the other so on the long nights I can effectively give each light 2 days charge between use flicking between the two lamps and as if by magic I put one on full at 7am and ten to 11 it's just shut itself down ..... In a grid down situation it'll be on low power ...

Then upstairs kids room each have a Philips life light pendant so does the master bedroom and top landing which lights the stairs .. kids room the panel isn't the best oriented but it's charging ....

https://www.homebargains.co.uk/products ... dants.aspx

The wife's convinced I'm scared of the dark

But they will allow us an element of normality in a power cut situation and provide safe reliable lighting no fire risk and even lighting reduces the risks of falls or trips
or rollerskating on Thomas the tank engine and the paw patrol dinosaur vehicle

And offer a small saving on the leccy bill as the kids only think that the light switch only had one position....ON!

If little miss continues I'll be having the fuses out of every appliance she leaves on standby

[Yorkshire Andy]

I just needed to post some paracetemol to my sister, she's got a non-covid virus thats really laid her flat. And I had to scrabble about for really old stamps to make the £1.45 it now costs to send a large letter 1st class So I've just spent a ridiculous amount of money to buy lots and lots of stamps from Royal Mail - and of course they're all the bar-coded ones (oh, with the Queen's head on too). I spent big to get free delivery, which is the same as having a free large letter 1st class stamp, £1.45, and I bought:
- 40 2nd class
- 16 1st class
- 4 1st class large
- 4 2nd class large.

Cost just over £50. I'm in shock but hopefully this lot will do me till Christmas *next* year. My cash flow is okay, so I might as well buy them now - they went up really steeply earlier this year, and I wish I'd done it then, but I didn't.

How much! Don't get me started on RM postman pat granted they want more money but they left a Hornby trainset parcel for my little lad in a blooming puddle of water today (it rained before they left the parcel..) next to the big plastic tote which we have a note to leave parcels in the box (it would have fitted) if not there's a big bin bag for bigger parcels even my Hermes manage to figure it out fortunately it's packaging protected the contents probably due to the polystyrene tray if the begger thinks he's getting a tip this year he can jog on .... And if Tom sees him he will tell him there's no mute on a angry 5 year old

For your sister would the local pharmacy / boots offering home delivery be cheaper to get them to deliver the needed OTC meds?

[rik_uk3]

I gave up on the RM a few years ago due to cost and poor service. I sell a fair bit on ebay and only use courier service these days

[deckard]

Well I've hit a bit of a milestone I've now got solar lighting of some form in every room in the house (bar the bathroom due to risk of damp damaging the lamp but I've got a light ready to deploy if needed for now it's going to be in the chicken coup to extend their laying time

There's a set of these in the living room and kitchen..

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0B5Q2 ... asin_title

Each lamp contain 2x 18500 cells and are warm white both on full power together rival the room mains light they've also got various modes such as low then high on detection of motion which is ideal for the kitchen low level lighting till you walk in and it gets brighter .. having two lamps I can use one against the other so on the long nights I can effectively give each light 2 days charge between use flicking between the two lamps and as if by magic I put one on full at 7am and ten to 11 it's just shut itself down ..... In a grid down situation it'll be on low power ...

Then upstairs kids room each have a Philips life light pendant so does the master bedroom and top landing which lights the stairs .. kids room the panel isn't the best oriented but it's charging ....

https://www.homebargains.co.uk/products ... dants.aspx

The wife's convinced I'm scared of the dark

But they will allow us an element of normality in a power cut situation and provide safe reliable lighting no fire risk and even lighting reduces the risks of falls or trips
or rollerskating on Thomas the tank engine and the paw patrol dinosaur vehicle

And offer a small saving on the leccy bill as the kids only think that the light switch only had one position....ON!

If little miss continues I'll be having the fuses out of every appliance she leaves on standby

How have you set the lights up without them looking a mess of wires?

Nothing wrong with being scared of the dark, especially if there's Lego on the floor. Having almost died after surfing down the stairs on a small plastic slice of tomato, I think some form of emergency lighting would be a good idea here.