Purdy Bear

Thanks for the heads up on this. My Dad is an insulin Diabetic, so this is not only usful for getting his count down, but also to watch when his a bit low. Thanks again Purdy

Thanks Christy

What is lye? In Hugh McManners book ' Outdoor Survival Guide' he says you can use Horse Chestnut leaves in water as a soap, and also Strawberries for cleaning teeth.

Tampons are now on my list. You are a complete geneous!

Yehp me too!. I get it from my mother, who hid things in very strange places around the house and found it hard to find them again.

Yet another thread to save to my laptop. I use the lemon in water one. I infact use a dash of lemon, a little sugar in boiled water for my first drink of the day, and boy does it give you energy, I dont know how it works but it does. You might be interested in a Readers Digest book called Food that Harm and Food that Heal. It discusses what foods you should eat for certain illnesses and which to avoid, also vitamins, minerals herbs etc. Its a hefty sized book but pretty good. Oh it is available in the Uk, so I hope you can get it in the USA. Iv got copies from our local Charity shops.

I got this advice when I was young: From one that will remain nameless: If the robber sees your tall he looks down low and if your small he looks up high. If your going out, devide your money into two purses/money holder, so if your mugged you give them the lesser of the two. From my experience: If your going to hide valuables make sure one other person knows. When my mother died, we went through her things very quickly and chucked some cold cream tins. At 2am in the morning I woke up and remembered with shock that she had hidden some of the family jewelry in one. So up I got and raided the trash but with great fortune it wasnt in those we'd chucked. We found it the next day. She hid stuff everywhere, in dressing gowns, socks you name it she squirrelled (mostly cross stitch stuff) away. Remember if your clever you can hide in plain sight. I watched an episode of Mentalist last week where the guy had hidden 10 diamonds in a crystal Chandalier/light fitting. Security comes from thinking outside of the box! ps the best places are best kept secret!

The majority of your handbag/purse is filled up with survival gear and not with make-up, perfume, tissues etc.

Turned some old towels into dusters, another one into a kneeling pad for the garden, and some for the dogs. Id love to know what other people use them for.

I used to use washing up liquid at one time, and my hair shone. Im now pretty cheap as I dont have hair due to Alopecia. I dont think it was the liquid as that was about 20 years ago.

I think I would faint, and be carried away on a stretcher. I would then plead total ignorance or amnesia but still end up peeling the potatoes. LOL

My Grandmother (a cook in service) and my parents were all around during WW2; here's some of their rules/stuff they passed to me: Never buy a food unless it does at least two meals. Buy at the time of day (usually just before closing) when food is reduced in price. Stick to your budget Always pay your mortgage first. Gran used to bake on one day and then freeze/put it in the larder to keep for later. Now the food: Look at the price of chicken - is a whole one cheaper then wings etc.? You will find boneless chicken is more expensive then that with the bone. Just get with your butcher skills, and de-bone it yourself. Mince is a Godsend. Make up shepherds pies and freeze them. Always leave the skins on the potatoes - they hold a lot of carbs and nutrients. If you're really poor and do peel them, keep the skins and add them to a thick stew broth (people lived on this in concentration camps). Stews are great, have a roast one day, cold meat the next and what's left heat up in a hot gravy with vegetables in a stew. I don't like curry, but this can be done in the same way. Stir fries are good, with limited meat, and lots of vegetables and a little rice. Stewed fruit is another good one. Get some large cooking apples, make a pie, stew some and both can be frozen, some can go for breakfast and some for a treat. We have markets and farmers markets here in the UK, also the Womens Institute (WI) do food/plant sales where you can pick up cheaper food. The WI are a mountain of growing and cooking knowledge. Cake can also be frozen, do small sponges and freeze them, so if you are desperate for a treat you can get a small one out at a time. Look up the BBC food website (www.bbc.co.uk/food) to look up the following recipes: Toad in the Hole (sausages in a batter) Shepherds Pie (Mince and potato) Cottage Pie (Mince and potato) Baked Potato/Jacket Potatoes (Roasted in the Oven) Rock Cakes (Like a scone with currents in) Victoria Sponge (Classic sponge) Fruit cake Trifle Fruit Crumble (stewed fruit with a cake like topping) Jam Tart (Jelly/Preserve in a pie case with lattice on top) Jam Roly Poly (Jelly/Preserve in a pastry roll) The last two are wonderful ways to use up pastry when you've baked a pie. You can make little ones that fit a muffin/cup cake tin. Any jam can be used, but do be careful not to put it on the sides of the tins, as it will burn, and also when you get it out of the oven, make sure they cool well, as they are extremely hot. Good Luck Patricia PS have you thought of doing food swops, with neighbours and friends, to give them things you no longer want etc. PPS Also get to know your local edible wild food, in the UK we love our Blackberry bushes that grow on the side of the road, the fruit is awesome with apples etc.

Those S bend Banana hangers, oh duh it wont work when theres one. Packets of salad - how long does it take to wash lettuce. Cut melon in packets - they dont cut apples or any other fruit do they! My Asda people who put a packet of biscuits in one carrier bag but leave my freezer stuff in the box loose. They are trying to cut down on the bags used, why dont they just use the American paper bag system. Not doing frozen carrots individually - they do everything else. Baskets in shops with holes too big for the produce. Newsagents who dont like dogs inside but are in the middle of now where on a dog walking route. Drinking glasses with such narrow bottoms compared to tops that they fall over when they have liquid in them. Buses with no safety bar in front of seats facing the front of the bus. Recycling bins so high you could loose an average person in them when they try to clean them out.

All those in the intelligence services, known and unknown. Also those living members of the Special Operations Executive (a WW2 organization).

I have some wild blackberries growing in my garden, which is a small court yard inner suburb garden. Id love to be able to propergate them, or atleast train them. Is there anyone who could suggest how? Thanks Patricia

Does anyone know a herbal remedy or food that helps baldness. I have had it for years and tried various concoctions, but I would love to know if any of you have a secret recipe looked away. I do have Zinc and Selenium deficiency on top. Thanks for all your help. Its very strange, I feel like I have loads of Grandmothers looking down on me while typing this. A awesome feeling it is too.

I went skip dipping today. My next door neighbour had a skip outside, and I just cant resist it, I did ask her permission first. I got the following for free: 6 large wine glasses 2 Pint glasses A tall electric fan 1Cup and Saucer 1 Washing up bowl 1 brand new iron, never used 1 lamp 1 washing up brush 1 extension lead 1 packet of smellies and soap never opened 1 table mat (I thought it was a chopping board) 3 stacker boxes, see through 1 curtain tie back 1 box of recipes by Grandma 1 packet of electrical tie backs 1 ball of string 1 old fashioned M & S tin 1 pack of post it notes 1 lilac plant pot - with plants 1 ornamental plant pot in the shape of a house - with plants 1 large water bucket. I could have got loads more, but I had two companions who took a lot away in a truck. I must get a sticker on my jeans, the phantom up-ender strikes again.

Iv started my Spring clean, it does take me months to do. So I started in the lean too, and found a tropical fish tank heater. We needed to buy one, so now we just need to put a plug on the cable. Oh someone mentioned stale bread - google a delicious British sweat called Bread Pudding. It uses stale bread, spices, sugar and mixed fruit, put in the oven for a few hours and you get a wet cake. Very delicious. It can be eaten hot or cold, sliced up but needs to be eaten in two days. It is very moreish so be warned.

Over last Christmas in my local area we had a huge outbreak of a nasty virus. It put you on your back for weeks, and lasted well over a month. The thing is sometimes it is you who are ill, the prepared ones. I not only had to look after me, but two dogs and my disabled dad. I found the medical profession were all ohhs and ahhs for my 82 year old Dad, but pretty much brushed me off being quite shirty. The thing is don't rely on getting others help, even in the modern day society. I ended up doseing myself up with lemon juice, and paracetamol (which Im not supposed to take). I feel in a Pandemic its about not getting the nasty illness in the first place, and not just praying one has a natural immunity.

Gosh Iv got a lot to get. I have Faraday Torches ( you shake them to make them light), and also some Dynamo Torches (by far the better, you wind them up to get light, my one will also charge a mobile phone, I could read by mine), Dynamo Lamp (can't read by it but lights up the room). All of these I got at a wonderful bargin price on Ebay. I saw a Dynamo/Solar Radio but got outbid. There is also solar powered shavers for the men. Staying cool: make your wrists and neck cold with a cool hanky or flannel or run your wrists under cold water. A New Zealand friend of mine, had wet towels over her as she slept in an empty metal bath when it got very hot over there.

I thought I was bad enough carrying around an Emergency bag. I must take some notes.

I reuse my junk mail and envelopes, infact anything that has a blank page. I just tare the relevant bit off, and put it in a pile clipped together with a bull dog clip. This is then put by the phone, or in my case by the bed for all those awesome ideas I wake up with. I make my own handbags for material oddments from the charity shop. I also do tote bags to match the handbags. I use the bags your papers come in on a Saturday as project bags, or the smaller ones to keep sowing in.