Crepey Corner

[DukesOfTripHazard]

Where the cool and the discerning hang out. New one.

Chat now, innit.

Re freezer: Turn off, move food to cool box/put outside, place a pan/pans of boiling water inside and towels on the floor, close the door then you can use a plastic spatula to chip off the ice once it's loosened a bit. It's very rewarding!

Do not be tempted to use anything metal i.e. a knife for that way disaster lies.... those walls keeping the gas contained are very thin....! :)

Thank you Keynesian. Can I use the hairdryer to get things moving a bit round the edges, please?

When I do mine I use neighbour's freezer to put my stuff in.

And Yes... be very careful about the scraping bit... DH lost patience and took a bread knife to the (very thin) walls and punctured them. The gass hissed out awful quick.

You could but be very, very careful of the drips!

For future defrostings you can buy cans of 'stuff' that melt the ice!

I put roasting tins with boiling water in mine (once emptied!) The ice drips/drops off pretty quickly. And I hack a bit with a table knife

We have 2 freezers, so I swap my stuff around, but TBH I don't think it takes me long enough for anything to defrost!

Wrap all food in newspaper to help it stay frozen. Saucepans/roasting tins of boiling water and shut the door, you will hear the ice dripping...attack with wooden spoons or car scrapper. Takes no time at all and food doesnt defrost.

God we are an impatient lot aren't we!

Defrosting freezers. That's a job I try to avoid if at all possible. Ditto big pans of hot water and a hairdryer. And lots of absorbant stuff on the floor.

Yes BTM, I'm still going to the Christmas bash, but tbh I paid my money and haven't really given it much thought since. No doubt I'll soon get round to debating my clothing choices on the thread. Too much going on at home......

Lastly - Orangina - where the devil have you been?!

I've been busy, and not on MN a lot.... plus I lost you all! Still haven't read the thread, too much work to do..... (moan groan). Is there another meet up being mooted?

You mean you.....have a life??

There's the MN Christmas Meet-up on 26th November, in London, but there is talk of another crepey convention in January. Just talk, mind you.....

Thank God it's Friday Had the last two days from Hell at work, so off out to the pub asap!

DS back from his PGL trip - sounds even more exciting than when DD went - quad biking and having trounced everyone at fencing, he now wants to do that too !

Lord. I have found what I want for my birthday. But it's £290. For the past two years, I've eschewed using a purpose-made changing bag, thinking them hideous and overpriced. I've made do with a £2.99 thing from Tesco, plus handbag, and rued the lack of a bag that can be used for both oneself and the offspring.

Now I've found the answer. Goddam it.

I won't indeed, ruby, but have yet to get through the potty training years, with attendant 15 spare sets of clothes, 23 bags of shitty trousers, etc, in the bag.

And then I can use the lovely thing for swooshing around town being important and interesting.

I'm watching that one on ebay!

Nah, Herbs, both of mine dod potty training dead easily - virtually no wet knickers / pants and I don't remember any shitty ones.

So you just want it for swooshing round town

No no no, Herbs, you are absolutely forbidden to spend that sort of money on a changing bag.

Trust me, there will come a time in the not-too-distant future (and I mean not-too-distant) when you suddenly realise you can leave the house unencumbered by wipes, packs of raisins, spare pants, and all the other baby-related detritus. It will be a joyous, golden moment.

That's when you spend £280 on a bag. A lovely, compact, stylish, impractical but gorgeous handbag, with room for nothing more than a phone and a lipstick.

C'mon, you'll be fine with a crappy old backpack. Only a couple more years to go....

I am clearly doing something wrong because whilst I no longer have spare pants and nappies in my handbag it is not unusual to pull out a Lego figure, ds game (and stylus), a lollipop and several massive attack, or star wars game cards......
But, yes the good hags are right that is just plain silly money to spend on a change bag.......

Step away from the bag, Herbs, and do as CV says, there's a good girl.
If you have a big bag, it will still end up with bits of children's shit in it - lollipops, bits of paper, coloured pencils, the odd thing from a party bag. I found a yoyo in mine the other day. A nice wooden one, but still a yoyo. Which doesn't go with my image of champagne swilling lush serious career woman.

I used to fly a lot with DD1 when she was a baby, and discovered to my delight that changing bags don't get weighed at check in (they were weighing hand luggage at the time), so I used to stuff it with books and toiletries, thus keeping my official hand luggage to a minimum.

Herbs, buy DS a small, cheap backpack. And get him to carry his own stuff in it. That's what I did with both of mine, although admittedly I am a Bad Mother. And then he can carry his own spare pants in it (which is all he'll need) when bigger too.

Glam beauty ed reports great things of Levi Curve jeans, btw, who was it who had them?

This posho changing bag thing is all very new, though. When I had DS, changing bags were all lilac quilted things with elephants embroidered on them.

I still find random things in my handbag, too. The other day I found a pair of football socks (from a weekend footy-boot-buying trip) and a half-eaten Starbucks cake, wrapped in a napkin (waste not, want not) which must have been in there for a couple of weeks.

Levi Curve jeans! On paper, these should be the solution to my perennial gaping-waistband problems. I went to a Levi shop a couple of months back to try a few pairs on, but I was being harrassed by DH and DCs, who had reached the end of their shopping tethers, and couldn't devote enough time to it (trying on jeans is a drawn-out process at the best of times, but the Curve jeans which come in three "curves" and a gazillion sizes, took this to new levels). Ten pairs in, I tried on two pairs in the same size but different colours, and they were so ridiculously different in fit that I stomped out of the shop in a fury.

I think you need a Nice Young Assistant, CV. Also, obviously, to be shot of tedious accoutrements such as partners and children, none of whom really appreciate the need (especially for a Lady of a Certain Age) to try on 101 pairs of jeans before suddenly finding the one that make her look fab.

Okay in a moment of madness I emptied my bag...
Purse
iPod
iPhone
Two books
Lollipop
Ds stylus
Three pens
Pencil
Bookmark
Work pass
House keys
Work keys
Bus pass
Jar of face cream
Small telescope (think small plastic party bag size)
Letter re smear (studiously ignoring it)
Conference name badge
Headache tablets
Spare set of headphones
Glasses
Gloves
Small notebook
Lego darth vada
Pair of socks (worn - ds's)

This pile of crap may explain my bad neck and obviously indicates my handbag is TOO BIG

The only jeans which have ever fitted me properly are Gloria Vanderbilt and Liz Claiborne. I think Liz went bust and Gloria not available in Yoorup. I have some H & M ones with a split on the pocket and some of the M & S 12 quid ones. Both of which keep falling down. I appear to have lost a small amount of weight.

MrsS, you have this problem a lot with thinking you're fatter than you are, and buying clothes too big, dammit. You need to come to terms with your shrinkage!

Either that or eat more cake, of course. That'll get them getting snugger.

My bag also contains vast quantities of receipts from Bloody Monoprix.

I have just realised that I have ordered five cheesy classic Christmas fillums on DVD from Amazon. Is this excessive? It should keep my mother quiet, as last year she complained that There Is Nothing But French Television. In France! Fancy! Bastard Foreign French People Only Broadcasting in French! How Very Dare They!

I am putting off going to Monoprix...