Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 7 August 2022

Lindy - thank you for the story. It made me laugh ... and not much else was, at 2.00am when I couldn't sleep. I have a cupboard a bit like that in my kitchen, not as large as yours, just a floor-standing smallish cupboard but it's stuffed full of 'stuff'! I haven't been to the back for ages ... One day I must take everything out. I can see packets of pasta, porridge oats, tins of tomatoes ... oh no, I really can't analyse it at this time in the morning ... but I WILL INVESTIGATE!! Who knows when?!?!?

I'm sleeping very badly at the moment. Yesterday afternoon as I tried to catch up on watching programmes I have recorded. I switched on one about how to improve your sleep - woke up at the end! Well, perhaps I should just keep that on a roll? It worked like a charm.

What a great tale, LINDY ! It's amazing how things just take over. My cupboard under the stairs ( known by all as the Harry Potter cupboard ) is a bit like that.
PAT - I beat you by an hour or so - I was reading LINDYs tale just after 1 am !
Stay as cool as you can, everyone except AQ !

LINDA – Oh Oh your Cupboard saga - I can only laugh. But it did bring back memories of our Mouse in Kitchen Cupboard event. We had pots, pans, casserole dishes & empty plastic containers and miscellaneous “stuff” stacked on dining table & eventually the overflow on lounge floor; for weeks. Unlike you, no food. I cannot face the decision on the Maybe Discard stuff. There is always tomorrow, next week, next month. . .

PAT - I sleep better watching TV on lounge than in bed. Too often I wake up in midst of next program, thoroughly confused as to what is showing. Curious, the storyline does not follow. . .

Long phone call last eve from Dau who is recovering. She managed a gentle walk with her dog. Her OH left early morn for work trip, away until Saturday; hope no plane cancellation. I have offered help but she is reluctant to expose me to any nasty bugs.

AQ -- It did remind me of your Mouse in The Kitchen tale.... Glad your daughter is recovering enough to get out and get some fresh air.

My OH got one of his important phone calls this morning at 8 30am! So only one to go, now. Unfortunately it's the most important one, about how much we owe on our energy bill, as we're in dispute with our supplier, Nothing to do with the current energy crisis, although that will be bad enough, when it starts to take hold. Yesterday we sat in our red hot garden discussing how to cut down on our energy in the coming winter. How to keep warm and how to cook our meals - think I'll have to use our slow cooker more, as it uses very little power but has delicious results.

Glad my tale of woe hit a chord with some, I think a lot of us have such a cupboard! My OH, being of a quite different mind set, would never have such a problem, as he is a thrower outer! However, he is not averse to regularly asking me "Do we have any so & so?" and looking hopeful that I've got something squirreled away!

LINDY - A few folk that I know have a dry fryer and use it for so many things. But the better ones are quite expensive, so the initial cost must be weighed against the savings, if that makes sense !
I know that OG has solar panels so their electricity is cheap to free, I think. My late stepdaughter had the newer ones. It cost her over £7000 to install them. I don't know how long it took to recoup the cost since they had gas central heating.





I have two solar panels but they are the older ones, been here for donkeys years and just make hot water. They are, as I said, old, and I still need to use my gas boiler to get the water to what I consider to be a good temperature !

We looked into solar panels a while ago __ my OH computed that it might take 20 years for them to pay for themselves, and we don't expect to be on the planet, let alone living here, by then! You have to be realistic at our age. Some of our neighbours have them and good luck to them: they're younger than us.

I have one of the cheaper air fryers and it makes yummy chips and roasted veg. Don't tend to put meat in it, but might try it. We'll consider turning off one of our two freezers, as once we have munched our way through my OH s home grown veg by New Year, it's less essential. Saves on petrol, though, if we run out of bread or milk!

Yesterday I received my RSPB Christmas card order!! It's cheaper by 15%, folks, if you order soon! Did seem strange to be studying robins in the snow at the moment, though. Now I'm ready for the winter, LOL!!

I have been shopping whilst it is still “cool”!!! It was lovely to walk past the freezers in the supermarket. Rant coming - - - - - -
Tescos have reduced greatly the number of “manned” tills and have increased the number of self check out points “conveniently “ putting in little trolley parking bays. There were huge queues for the 2 yes 2 “manned” check outs so, reluctantly, I went to one of the self check outs. There was even a queue for those because, of course, it takes much longer doing it yourself!!!! Didn’t they think of that???? I only had a small shop this week but with a trolley load it would have taken ages. I felt very disgruntled when I walked out. I do not like this “modernisation “ I just feel I am doing people out of a job by using that method of checking out which, I suppose, is what Tesco want - fewer people on the wage bill. End of rant. Sorry. Will be back later to reply to other comments.

Sorry about the over use of the Exclamation Mark lately!!!!!!!

Rusty -- Don't even get me started on that one.........

In full agreement.