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Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 08 Oct 2019, 03:56
by Stanley
Old rhyme...
Four seeds in a hole
One for the rook and one for the crow
One to rot and one to grow.

During night manoeuvres in Germany in a very hard frost I found out how a light tracery of twigs and branches over a fox hole could protect against frost. The same thing applies to tender plants and even outside water taps! The lightest protection is surprisingly effective.

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 08 Oct 2019, 10:24
by Tizer
Close proximity to rocks or masonry also gives protection. They retain some of the day's heat and emit it at night.

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 09 Oct 2019, 02:17
by Stanley
That also gives shelter from any wind which is an important factor. Mid-terrace houses like mine get the benefit of this, shelter and only two outside walls. End gables and detached houses haemorrhage heat. Back to backs are even better off, only one outside wall in mid-terrace.

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 10 Oct 2019, 03:42
by Stanley
Still thinking about the effects of wind. You cool your porridge by blowing on it, the same applies to houses. I remember reading an account of how the early settlers survived in American States that got very hot in summer. This was before the days of air conditioning of course. A favourite ploy was to build a space under the house open to the prevailing wind. This didn't do a lot to reduce the absolute temperature but encouraged air circulation in the house which helped a bit.
Interesting to bear this in mind when looking at the older houses in Barlick. Having complete freedom where they built and how they oriented the house they are almost always built with a plain gable end facing SW into the prevailing wind and the front of the house is then facing SE where it gets maximum sun during the day. They also made maximum use of folds in the ground to get the house as low as possible. Actually, this plan was used much later when possible. East hill Street is oriented like that and we get full sun all day, in this case on the back of the house so that is where we all live.

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 10 Oct 2019, 09:19
by Tizer
Stanley wrote: 10 Oct 2019, 03:42 ...they are almost always built with a plain gable end facing SW into the prevailing wind and the front of the house is then facing SE where it gets maximum sun during the day.
Our old house in the Somerset Levels was built in that orientation. It was the standard way for Somerset longhouses with their rooms running end to end, rather than in a square configuation. You had doors joining the rooms and providing a pathway for air. Cool in the summer but a bit prone to cold drafts in winter!

Do you remember in the pre-fridge era when we used to put a wet towel over our milk bottles to keep the milk fresh? Cooling by evaporation. That's one of the reasons trees and hedges are a benefit - their transpiration is cooling, was well as their ability to take out pollutants such as nitrogen oxides.

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 11 Oct 2019, 02:43
by Stanley
And a perforated zinc sheet walled meat safe outside where the wind could get at it. A wet sack over the top in summer cooled it down.
Mind you, when I think of meat safes I think about my mate Ted Lawson who as a lad worked for Colonel Clay at Malham. Mrs Clay came to him one day and asked him if he knew where the brace of grouse hanging in the meat safe had gone. He told her yes, he'd found them with maggots dropping off them and had buried them in the orchard. Mrs Clay said he had better dig them up, they were the Colonel's supper that evening....

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 11 Oct 2019, 09:49
by Tizer
Perhaps the Colonel found the maggots more digestible than the grouse.

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 12 Oct 2019, 02:40
by Stanley
I have often noted that a depraved appetite seems to be the preserve of the 'upper classes'. I once picked up a load of hay from an old estate near Ripon and in the dairy noted a pan of Jersey cream that was well over the hill. When I commented on it he said that was how his lordship liked it and the butter they made from it was even worse. Hanging game tenderises it because the connective tissue which makes the meat tough breaks down before the muscle so there is method in the madness but there are limits!
Labradors are prone to depraved appetite, they will eat anything! An old cure for slugs was to leave cabbage leaves with lard spread on them round the garden, the slugs collected on them. The lady who gave me this tip said that in her case her Labradors ate the cabbage leaves, slugs and all!

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 12 Oct 2019, 09:13
by Tizer
My cousin has a Labrador and we're well aware of it's wide range of tastes, although it's favourite is carrot. That's quite normal compared with what it tries to eat when out for a walk!

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 12 Oct 2019, 09:22
by Marilyn
My son's Labrador LOVES Pizza. The word Pizza cannot even be spoken in the house without the dog doing loop the loop and going crazy. She knows! And she will knock you down to get it too!
She also loves Carrot, Cheese, Tomato and Apples.
She loves hot chips too...

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 12 Oct 2019, 09:29
by PanBiker
Our ginger cat Primrose tents for toast, she likes crunchy corners. :smile:

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 12 Oct 2019, 09:31
by Marilyn
Abby ( the Labby) loves toast corners too...with Vegemite or Peanut Butter.

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 12 Oct 2019, 09:38
by Marilyn
She cannot stand the smell of Beer or toothpaste though, and will not come for a cuddle if you have either just drank a beer or cleaned your teeth. For both of those, she sneezes and turns away.

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 12 Oct 2019, 11:28
by Cathy
My cat loves the seasoned coating on some cheese savoury crackers and roast chicken crisps, also tiny bits of strong bitey cheese. When I make homemade chicken and veg soup she hounds me from when I start chopping the veg, all the way thru until I give her some cooked poached chicken from the finished soup. I then get to portion it all up In Peace.
She is like a child in the backseat of the car demanding over and over 'Are we there yet!!'. :(

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 13 Oct 2019, 02:02
by Stanley
Daughter Margaret sauced me one day for giving Eigg the Jack Russell cheese, she said I would ruin her sense of smell. I asked her where she had heard something as daft as that and she said "You!! One day when I gave Fly some!"
You have to be very careful, they have long memories.

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 14 Oct 2019, 03:55
by Stanley
The most usual advice on brewing good coffee from ground beans is that the water should be just below boiling point. This usually holds good but what I have found with my favourite coffee, Machu Pichu Organic, is that having the water just short of boiling, hotter than the usual temperature, works best. So today's tip is, if you use ground beans, experiment with the temperature, you might get a pleasant surprise.

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 15 Oct 2019, 04:05
by Stanley
I don't use social media and so have no qualification for today's tip. Looking at the trouble people get into when using these services I think there out to be an automatic review period embedded in the process. Act in haste and repent at leisure, especially when alcohol has been consumed! What looks like sense late at night could carry an entirely different meaning the day after!

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 16 Oct 2019, 04:56
by Stanley
Today's tip is never set off to post a tip each day! It doesn't half stretch the brain. But, after reading Bryson on the Body this becomes the tip of the day. Make sure that you keep alert and use your brain every day. Latest research strongly suggests that doing this keeps deterioration at bay. If you want to keep it, use it!!

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 17 Oct 2019, 03:58
by Stanley
Never forget that neighbour watching isn't being nosey, it's a sensible reaction to living in a community. This includes talking to them! I love the fact that I am part of a small enclave...

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 17 Oct 2019, 08:52
by Tizer
Our widower neighbour opposite locked himself out of his house yesterday afternoon. He was tending the front garden when a cat went into the garage and distracted him. He went to shoo it out but managed to get locked out with no key. Unfortunately we were in town and his next-door neighbour was out too. Luckily a friend further away had a key but he had to walk there and back. Good it wasn't raining! So today's tip is make sure somebody nearby has a spare key and don't get locked out when they're out too!

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 18 Oct 2019, 02:16
by Stanley
Good advice... I have a fail-safe in place and the kids know about it. John Wilfred Pickard the old GP had all his keys on string round his neck!
Today's tip is not to let current events influence you too much one way or another. We have lives to live so it's no good worrying about things beyond our control. Keep calm and carry on doing your own knitting!

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 18 Oct 2019, 07:56
by Big Kev
Something I read on social media.

That job I did, that took 30 minutes, took me 10 years to learn to do it in 30 minutes. You're paying for the years, not the minutes.

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 19 Oct 2019, 05:13
by Stanley
Very true Kev. The version I heard was the plumber who took a dent out of a hot water cylinder with one blow of a rubber hammer and charged five guineas. The householder asked why so much for one blow of a hammer and the plumber replied five bob for hitting it, five quid for knowing where to hit it!
So today's tip is don't undersell yourself ever!

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 20 Oct 2019, 05:06
by Stanley
Today's top is an oldie. You don't need to spend money to take exercise. An hour a day simply walking at a steady pace in the fresh air does you just as much good as an occasional visit to a gym!

Re: HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Posted: 21 Oct 2019, 03:51
by Stanley
If you are having a 'difficult conversation' with someone, pause and make yourself listen! It's usually because you are thinking too much about what to say next instead of listening!