Weekend Preps?

[DoYouRememberJustinBobby]

I thought it would be interesting if we had a regular weekend thread where we talk about the prepping we are up to each weekend? I hope that's ok?

Here's what I have planned (and done) so far:

• Clear out guttering on extension (if there is blockage it leaks through on our dodgy extension and makes that entire corner of house cold and wet for winter)
  
• Buy AA batteries to keep in car with our smaller torch.
  
• Print out copies of insurance (house, car, life, contents, pets) details for our quick exit bags.
  
• Use last of blackberries to make and store jam.
  
• Take train to work on Sunday and walk the route back. It's about 6 miles and I'd like to see how long it would take me when carrying all of my work and gym gear.
  
• Take our boys to wilderness class. Hopefully learn as much as they do, they have some impressive knot skills and are learning to identify "useful leaves".
  
• Finish knitting a blanket for our bed with my bargain bag of 20p charity shop wool.
  

Which preps are you working on this weekend?

[dobbythefuckingjizzelf]

Yesterday we did a little more on building our fox proof permanent enclosure for the chickens, just need to order a couple more rolls of the mesh and bolt the framework to the concrete edging before i can do any more but should hopefully be finished within the week

Today's job Is working on the second part of our heating system which is powered by a back boiler on the wood burner and will work completely independently of the half that is installed already which heats the rooms we use most and runs off a wood burner in the kitchen

Then once that is up and running properly I have a third system to install which will cover every room and be oil boiler powered

Earlier in the week I got our generator change over switch for the main electric supply into the house wired in to the main feed after the meter and before the distribution box, thanks to a planned 5 hour power outage for some work replacing poles or cables nearby, had every thing ready to go and an electrician waiting so as soon as they cut the power off we re routed the main meter tails from the meter which did go to the distribution board to the switch and put a second pair in from the switch to distribution board

Means once the inlet socket is in place I can plug the genny in and flick the switch and we go from mains to generator quite easily and nothing to mess with running extra cables in to the house or anything like that

[cozietoesie]

That electricity switch over was quite nifty, dobby.

Out of interest, do you have any generating capacity which is non-generator?

[dobbythefuckingjizzelf]

We also have solar but they were installed by a company that did the free solar when feed in tarrif was high so they get the roof space to use and we get the free electric with no install cost but they are wired through a box which is grid powered so they shut off if the power supply is out so they don't back feed and shock someone, never bothered me at the time as we were just happy to get free solar

I am sure with another change over switch somewhere there out put could be 'T eed' to a battery bank and invertor which then provided the feed they need to keep the power from them flowing even when mains power is off and the generator change over switch would isolate everything from the mains anyway even if the generator was off

You have given me something else to think about there Cozie am sure there will be a simple way of doing it once I have had time to study it and work things out, with the addition of the solar then the quiet suitcase generator I have would probably run the house on minimal requirements quite easily, although if not then the big diesel one probably puts out enough power to run 2 or 3 houses without a problem. Just haven't had chance to work out its diesel consumption yet to know how long the 500litres of red I have stored would last.

[cozietoesie]

It would be good right enough if you could incorporate the solar properly.

[DoYouRememberJustinBobby]

dobby It sounds like you had a great weekend of preps there. Will you use the back up on a regular basis/need to to keep it ticking over? Sorry I have no idea how these kinds of things work but I am fascinated.
We are having our back entranceway/boot room area rewired and I did wonder about having some kind of back up system put in then.

We managed to get everything apart from the wilderness classes done (stupid D&V bug doing the rounds) and I feel bit more confident that I can make it back from work on foot with my laptop and gym gear at about 1 1/2 hours when I'm in decent health.

[OhtoblazeswithElvira]

I am planning to do some basics:
Take copies of passports for the OFRS
Organise food stock
Research what is likely to go up in price with Brexit and whether it's worth stocking up now
Reassess batteries / torches situation
Double-check the car winter box
Get quotes for getting our fireplace up and running. DH has finally come round after me discussing nagging for the last 2 winters
Veg patch and fruit trees harvesting / pre-winter maintenance

[DoYouRememberJustinBobby]

Great list oh

My list for this weekend

• Clear out orangery (I mentioned in another thread the original plan was to knock this down and extend the house but we've put the extension on hold for a few years in a bid to pay down the mortgage and save some cash. We think in the meantime we may as well use the space for fruit and veg)
  

• Buy extra dog food. (Our dogs usually get through 3/4 of a dry food bag per month, so I'm using the extra 1/4 as a way to build a shortfall for them)
  

• Read half of my candle making book.
  

• Bottle the cider in our cellar
  

• Dehydrate the last of our pears
  

• Pop some blankets in the car
  

• Research (and hopefully buy) the best extra locks for our awkward living room windows.
  

• Go through my sewing kit and check what needs restocking after a busy summer of sewing.

[cozietoesie]

It's good to that someone still sews.

[cozietoesie]

good to see

[OhtoblazeswithElvira]

JustinBobby what do you do with the dehydrated pears? Can you eat them as they are or do they need rehydrating?

[DoYouRememberJustinBobby]

cozie I'm useless with a sewing machine but decent enough by hand. I have been trying to develop skills sewing fabrics like leather and denim in the last year. I rescued a lovely, warm leather jacket a few weeks ago. I found it in a charity shop for £12 and the mending cost only cotton and a new leather needle.

oh So far I have just been using them for pies. Which means I make pear purée with about half our leftover pears and then put the dehydrated pears in with some purée inside the pie.

I have been thinking about putting them in over night oats in the fridge, as I think it would be lovely. I think if I dehydrated them for a little longer they would be good as fruit crisps.

[cozietoesie]

They sound like a candidate to be, very slightly soaked, then chopped up and put in an open tart with some cinnamon, brown sugar and fresh cream.

[cozietoesie]

X post.

[OhtoblazeswithElvira]

Wow that sounds gorgeous... both the pies and the open tarts!

JustinBobby I am the opposite... rubbish at hand sewing but can do a very decent job with the sewing machine. I am hoping to finish a quilt made from scraps between this weekend and the next.

[cozietoesie]

It was a mistake in interpreting a recipe - was done with apples but pears should work with it. The cream and sugar in an open tart go into a lovely gooey fudgecream with the fruit. I'm slavering just thinking about it.

[DoYouRememberJustinBobby]

Sounds ski joys cozie!

oh I want to get into quilting but I wonder if doing it by hand will be very time consuming and frustrating? I don't mind long projects at all, I can work happily in front of a film of with the kids playing in the park but if it is will be dull then I think I'd rather brush up on my sewing machine skills. I have an old singer which doesn't require electricity. Maybe I should actually take time to use if for more than hemming school trousers.

[DoYouRememberJustinBobby]

Ski joys? I think that was supposed to be delicious.

[DoYouRememberJustinBobby]

My weekend preps so far:

Yesterday 18:22 DoYouRememberJustinBobby

Great list oh

My list for this weekend

• Clear out orangery
  

• Buy extra dog food
  

• Read half of my candle making book.
  

• Bottle the cider in our cellar
  

• Dehydrate the last of our pears
  

• Pop some blankets in the car
  

• Research (and hopefully buy) the best extra locks for our awkward living room windows.
  

• Go through my sewing kit and check what needs restocking after a busy summer of sewing
  

The weekend has been more hectic than I first thought it would be as my DS2 forgot to tell me he is going to a party this evening. I had to rush out to get a gift and wash and dry the very specific outfit he wanted to wear in a space of 3 hours.

Really hoping to get through a chunk of this candle book, so I've bunged a quick batch cooked casserole in the oven so I can sit down in get through a lot of the information. I really want to get this skill evolved past teacup candles.

[DoYouRememberJustinBobby]

Our weekend preps this weekend:

• Clear the cellar of junk and organise preserved food
  
• Check which batteries we need to stock up on for winter
  
• Hiking with family and dogs
  
• Make an inventory of our seeds and garden equipment
  
• Buy surge protector for new desktop computer
  

Anyone else prepping this weekend?

[cozietoesie]

Is the cider stored?

(Priorities. )

[Weedsnseeds1]

Made quince jelly, quince chutney from the pulp left over from the jelly and quince mincemeat for Christmas. Persian inspired venison and quince stew for dinner (lot of quinces this year). Went to the shop of wonder (local chain of five or six shops that sells short life / out of date, battered box etc. food and household stuff very cheaply) and bagged many bargains including 2.5Kgcatering pack of Atora suet for 50p, boxes of 50 percent extra free shreddies for £1, flour at 25p for 1.5 Kg, 48 wash Surf for £3 and some 25p treats and toys for the local animal sanctuary.

[DoYouRememberJustinBobby]

Ha yes 43l of cider nicely stored!

weeds They sound like bargains, how will you use it all up?

Our weekend preps this weekend:

• Clear the cellar of junk and organise preserved food
  
• Check which batteries we need to stock up on for winter
  
• Hiking with family and dogs
  
• Make an inventory of our seeds and garden equipment
  
• Buy surge protector for new desktop computer
  

We had a lot more seeds than I thought, which should save us a lot of money our planned gardening projects next year. Found a few holes in our supplies and a few garden tools which could do with updating if I come across any sales or bargains.

[Weedsnseeds1]

The suet is great for stews with dumplings, some more mincemeat, steamed puddings and the odd handful on the bird table. The rest will get eaten and used in due course! The cider sounds great, how did you crush the apples? I ended up using the garden shredder when I made some a few years ago as I realised it was going to take a lifetime using the food processor!

[cozietoesie]

Be careful what you buy, JustinBobby. Good tools are surprisingly cheap these days but you'll likely still find that friends and relatives will have many very decent tools lying around in sheds. Possibly better quality than you can obtain on the market these days. (And possibly even very well cared for. )

[cozietoesie]

Casting my mind back to the way my forebears lived, I think it's worth remembering that you don't have to be experts at absolutely everything. Most of their community would have managed the basics fine - e.g. toileting, raising some vegetables and limited livestock, keeping the place broadly wind and watertight, warmth as needed - that sort of thing.

There were still specialisms though and people contributed to the community according to what they could do. Maybe it was a special knack with birthing, or food, or music or something - maybe it was just uncomplaining grunt labour. It was all valued though.

Cider seems like a good start to me.