Just wanted to wish you all a happy/ Merry Christmas... Pigs and I stayed up until 6am watching Mr Bean(old family tradition) we didn't get out of bed untill 5 pm 🤣 I did a gift exchange with my lady friends. I got a lovely home made tortiere pie.its a classic French Canadian staple. I looked it easy on the booze this year. I'm not as young as I'd like to pretend...

Edit: I bought a vacuum cleaner instead of scotch lol


Gypo, I wish you a gentle holiday season. I know it's a rough time for you... I do hope the girls got to see you 😊

Best of the season to you, too, Frank, and Pigs.

But don't go getting all grown up and sensible on us!  A vacuum cleaner indeed.

Cheers, Frank.  Saw my eldest and Grandaughter on Christmas Eve.  Did the usual phone-around amongst family on Christmaas Day.  All well and healthy.

My gran had a cylinder vacuum cleaner and my uncle, who loved messing around with electrical 'toys', added an extra switch so that it would blow all the dirt back out again.  A useful trick when it was aimed into the rubbish bin outdoors.

But he forgot to reset it to 'normal' and Gran got mad as hell at him when it didn't suck up a pile of spilt flour but blew it all over the kitchen instead.

She forgave him eventually, but it took a few days ;-)

He also rewired an electric clock so it ran backwards, and created a reverse clock face for it.  It was surprisingly un-intuitive to read the time, because we're used to the left side of the face being minutes to and the right being minutes past.

As they say, Gyppo, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

Quote from: Jo Bannister on December 26, 2024, 04:17:22 PMBest of the season to you, too, Frank, and Pigs.

But don't go getting all grown up and sensible on us!  A vacuum cleaner indeed.

Opted for a corded stick vacuum with a powered brush. The last cordless vacuum was utter garbage. I'd vacuum a quarter of my living room before the power started dropping. Bad enough that the charging cord was proprietary,meaning I couldn't just buy one anywhere...

Gyppo,why am I not surprised 😁 that little modification sure came in handy,so long as the switch was in the correct spot 😁

Quote from: Jo Bannister on December 27, 2024, 08:54:03 AMAs they say, Gyppo, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

I got it from both sides of the gene pool.  Never stood a chance ;-)

Gran never had proper oven gloves, but she made herself a padded oven cloth, and periodically replaced the stuffing or patched it with other bits of rag as it wore away.

She also made a six inch square tightly knitted cotton yarn 'pan  holder' for lifting off hot lids, and for the 'damned milk pan', which had a plain metal handle which got too hot for comfort.  But the cloth used to hide itself, so she sewed a little magnet into one corner, so it would always hang on the metal side of the oven where she could just reach down and find it without looking.

Not so much 'labour saving' as 'hassle prevention'.  She could get 'proper mithered' if things weren't where they were supposed to be.

As kids we could borrow almost anything, as long as we put it back where it came from.

I look at the way I have my kitchen set up, with tools hanging from the side of cabinets in easy reach but well out of the way and see the same mindset at work.

Er - I make oven-cloths like your gran's.  Those waffle tea-towels are excellent for the job - two or three layers of that and you could pick up anything.

Quote from: Jo Bannister on December 27, 2024, 03:37:58 PMEr - I make oven-clothes like your gran's.  Those waffle tea-towels are excellent for the job - two or three layers of that and you could pick up anything.

My eldest makes hers from layers of denim from old jeans.  One Christmas nearly everyone got oven cloths for a present.  I didn't because "You've got your posh silicone oven gloves."  So she knitted me a camouflage dish-cloth instead.

Yes, apples and trees spring to mind again ;-)

Now that's a fantastic way to reuse old jeans!

Denim's good stuff for re-purposing ;-)  I use an old jeans leg for a spud bag.  Much better than leaving them in the sweaty plastic bag from the shop.  Keeps them in the dark so it takes longer for the eyes to start sprouting.

Nothing fancy.  Just sew up the bottom of the leg and then roll the spuds up inside.

Very occasionally I get a bad/damaged spud which goes 'runny'.  When this happens I just put the empty bag  through with the next 'hot' wash, and dry it outdoors to get rid of any soap powder taint.

Quote from: Gyppo on December 27, 2024, 07:19:37 PMDenim's good stuff for re-purposing ;-)  I use an old jeans leg for a spud bag.  Much better than leaving them in the sweaty plastic bag from the shop.  Keeps them in the dark so it takes longer for the eyes to start sprouting.

Nothing fancy.  Just sew up the bottom of the leg and then roll the spuds up inside.

Very occasionally I get a bad/damaged spud which goes 'runny'.  When this happens I just put the empty bag  through with the next 'hot' wash, and dry it outdoors to get rid of any soap powder taint.

I stay away from potatoes packaged in plastic for that very reason... Years ago in my old place, the indoor temperature (summer) was always 15 degrees hotter than it was outside. I quickly learned never to waste money on those giant bags as they spoiled from the humidity.

We live and learn, don't we, Frank?  If we don't there's not much point in living ;-)

Quote from: Gyppo on December 28, 2024, 10:25:49 AMWe live and learn, don't we, Frank?  If we don't there's not much point in living ;-)

*Bags of rice* but yes mate, we live and learn. Some times the hard way 😜