HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[Cathy]

Thanks Moh, I will have to buy some cork coasters. No champagne corks here, haha.

[Stanley]

Never heard that one before, if I ever start to get leg cramps I'll try it!
If you have a garden or back yard gate, close it! Might sound bleeding obvious but have you ever noticed how some people never do it? I simply don't understand it......

[Cathy]

Worst scenario is that it could attract opportunists. If you go out the back, make sure your front door is locked and vise versa.

[Stanley]

I agree with you Cathy. It arose with me recently when Jack peed in a neighbour's back yard and she complained to me. I told her I couldn't stop him peeing but she could, all she had to do was close her perfectly serviceable back yard gate. She was not happy but I notice she is doing it now.....
I once had an opportunist thief and ever since then have always had my doors bolted, if not locked, even when I am in the house.

[Tizer]

No matter what UK law might say, when you live in a farming village you keep your gates firmly latched or you're likely to end up with a cow browsing on your lawn and the farmer won't have any sympathy!

[Stanley]

A garden is like a herbalist's shop to them. Does them the world of good! I have no sympathy for them.... As the old farmers used to say of strays, "They'll be all right. They have their mouths with them."

[chinatyke]

As the old farmers used to say of strays, "They'll be all right. They have their mouths with them."

Another pearl of wisdom from a farmer.

A friend who was a farners son at Raistrick near Settle once told me a story that one of their "beasts" escaped and he and his brother couldn't catch it. They returned to the farmhouse and confessed to their Dad. Their Dad just said "Look at the weather, it's snowing. Get your tea, lads, no hurry, we'll bring it back later." Apparently the crazy bull ran 9 miles. When they located the bull it was stood quietly, half frozen and like a lamb.

[Stanley]

Lovely China. It illustrates the fact that if you live close to Nature you have to learn to live with time and it can be a friend. You can't speed a cow's gestation up or the length of time it takes to milk them out, time becomes the enemy when you move into 'modern society' where so many confuse activity and speed with action and efficiency. There is always a price to be paid for speeding things up. Question is, who pays it? Classic example is 'time and motion' study of manual workers. You can get more work out of them but is it as good and does it cause 'burn-out' in the end?
So my tip for the day is 'work slowly but with purpose'. There's a good video on Youtube of a wheelwright building a spoked wheel.... he doesn't hurry......

[Tizer]

There's a good video on Youtube of a wheelwright building a spoked wheel.... he doesn't hurry......

I mentioned elsewhere that I was reading a Richard Fortey book, `The Wood for the Trees'. It's fascinating to read the ways in which different types of wood were used, e.g. a chair was made using beech for the legs and back but elm for the seat., several different woods were used to make a wheel.

[Stanley]

Elm, Ash and Beech Tiz..... There's a chair-maker as well on Youtube..... Not only environmentally friendly but incredibly long lasting as well.
"Slowly and with purpose".....

[Stanley]

It's a personal preference but I hardly ever clean out the pot I brew my coffee in each morning. I think the coffee tastes better when the inside of the pot is seasoned. No danger of bacteria, it gets scalded every morning and there is no milk put in there. The same applies if you use a teapot.

[Tizer]

Elm, Ash and Beech Tiz..

If I remember it correctly, Fortey said "Elm for the hubs, beech for the spokes and ash for the felloes".

[Stanley]

Ash for the spokes Tiz because of it's resilience and Beech for the felloes because of its density and toughness. Favourite wood for tool handles is Ash or Hickory if its available. In an axe or similar it has shock absorbing qualities. Elm also used for piling because of its resistance to water. Lignum Vitae is a good tough material for bearings that are under water, like the stern gland on a propeller shaft on a boat or the foot bearing on a vertical water turbine shaft, in that case, simply a Lignum Vitae sphere.

[Stanley]

Always check inside your boots when you get them back from the cobbler's! I found a carrier bag in mine yesterday that must have been there for a year at least! Good job there's plenty of room in them.

[Stanley]

If you have a relative or friend who is bad at communicating, don't give up on them because it's always you who has to initiate contact. Be patient and keep trying. That's how siblings and best friends lose contact with each other.

[Stanley]

Tiz, looking back to the wheels...... Have a look at THIS and the next video on Youtube. Well worth a watch, these are the biggest wheels I have seen in a long time!

[Stanley]

If you have a large document to transcribe, the best plan is to do the first transcription by hand on A4 pad. Much easier to deal with when you come to the keyboard!

[Stanley]

I found out yesterday that there is a flaw in this household tip..... When I came to write the transcript down longhand I found I have lost the ability to write legibly! I haven't got enough control over the pen..... I had to deal with transcribing direct to the keyboard.

[Tizer]

That's probably happening to all of us because we're not writing by hand so often these days.

[Cathy]

It's a bit like when some school students leave the school system and they can't spell correctly. It's partly because when they text on their phones, the phone automatically brings up words after they have tapped in two or three letters. They recognise the right word and tap on it without actually having to spell it themselves. Eventually they forget.
I do a lot of xwords and that keeps my spelling good.

[Stanley]

I think you are both right, it's the old story, if you want to keep it, use it! I do my best in other areas to stay engaged and practised, I can't see me finding time for handwriting exercises! My old school teachers would be appalled!

[Tizer]

Cathy, the automatic filling in of words as you write has another unintended consequence. Some people don't know the meaning of words well enough and they click on the wrong one, or they like the look of a word and choose it even though it's wrong. Looking in a dictionary gives you the meaning but `auto fill in' doesn't.

[Stanley]

I refuse to use it! My spelling is quite good largely I think because of the amount of reading I did as a lad. (including the comics which were superbly accurate language!)

[Marilyn]

I have a dear friend who is older than me and tries her best with text and emails, but often what I get on the receiving end is quite strange due to predictive text ( and partly her eyesight, I gather). I often comment to Febby that it's like communicating with the twighlight zone!
The other day I got a text saying "what is moron?"
I replied "an idiot"
She replied "I need it for a recipe".
Turns out she was asking about Mirin.
Such texts have me in fits every few days!

[Stanley]

I had to look it up..... I see it's an 'essential' Japanese rice wine used in cooking. Have I been missing something?