Freecycle and similar websites

Its the dogs' lucky week. Just collected a carrier bag full of frozen raw meat and sardines for the dogs. It was a struggle squeezing it into the freezer as they're stufhfed with people food.
Also had a message from a local OLIO volunteer who offers me her unclaimed items. Bread, vanilla crowns, crab sticks and 6 packets of salad leaves "for the animal". I'm not sure what "animal" she thinks I have, it used to be a chicken and once I took it for my brother's tortoises, now it feeds the wormery and hotbin.
I've heard it said that surplus food isn't waste if it is composted. Its only waste if it is incinerated or goes into landfill.

IN came a very large box of CDs - mostly classical and jazz. I'll work my way through them and pass on those that I don't want.
Also IN came some stationery - folders, wallets, paper etc for organising my junk, I mean documents.

Yesterday a bottle of beer was left at one of the holiday homes.
Today Bob has gone over to Oban, collecting 2 x 200m rolls of underfloor heating pipe. Not free but very good price. On his was back he’ll be doing a detour to collect a brand new oven. Someone has brought it, never fitted it and is now selling it? I really don’t understand how that’s possible. Not complaining, it’s awesome for us. It’s well under half price. I just don’t get it.

Yesterday a bottle of beer was left at one of the holiday homes.
Today Bob has gone over to Oban, collecting 2 x 200m rolls of underfloor heating pipe. Not free but very good price. On his was back he’ll be doing a detour to collect a brand new oven. Someone has brought it, never fitted it and is now selling it? I really don’t understand how that’s possible. Not complaining, it’s awesome for us. It’s well under half price. I just don’t get it.

Ooooh, I do love a bargain, no matter who benefits. I'm more surprised at anyone leaving behind a bottle of beer. Would never happen in our family.

Yesterday a bottle of beer was left at one of the holiday homes.
Today Bob has gone over to Oban, collecting 2 x 200m rolls of underfloor heating pipe. Not free but very good price. On his was back he’ll be doing a detour to collect a brand new oven. Someone has brought it, never fitted it and is now selling it? I really don’t understand how that’s possible. Not complaining, it’s awesome for us. It’s well under half price. I just don’t get it.

When renovating the house I I bought a masive arrray of kitchen stufff  very cheaply from someone who was having a complete change.An eye level oven and grill came with it and because I had hired a large van I took everything, I fully expected to have to buy new oven and white goods but when I opened the oven door, all the user manuals were there and it was spotless. I don't think it had ever been used!  12 years later I am still using oven and it has never missed a beat!

IN yesterday came a set of silicone stretchy covers for containers and cut fruit/veg. Very handy for the pot of yogurt that no longer have clip on lids and for leftover food in dishes.
Also IN came a steamer with 2 separate containers, not one on top of the other but side by side. This will soon become an OUT as its much bigger than I thought and will take up too much clutter space in the back of the cupboard
OUT yesterday went a large bag of toiletries and a couple of books for a domestic goddess (Bake Off and Christmas crafts). They were needed as much as the bath salts and bubble bath in the toiletries bag!
IN today came some leftovers from the OLIO lady - 2 bags of carrots, 2 tubs of taramasalata, sandwiches and custard crowns.

IN today came 11 cookery books, all vegan or veg based and I only had one of them already - Hugh Fernleaf Watsit's River Cottage Veg Everyday. Great book, weighs a ton!
Not sure why I wanted all these books as I never follow recipes. I do pick up ideas from them though then forget to put them into practice when I have the ingredients. Wonder what I'll Not make tonight?

I've just been to the £5 x2 Pantry and was chatting to one of the volunteers after collecting my "shop". She was off to a food wholesaler to pick up more donations. She had no idea what they'd be until she got there - sometimes it was a car load full and other times she wondered why she had bothered to go, because there was so little.
She had actually done a £5 shop for herself today but, normally, the volunteers wait until the end of the session to take whatever they need, especially the fresh stuff that won't keep. She said that some people who go there only want ready meals, they seem unable to cook from scratch.
Last week they'd had some enormous potatoes donated, too big for jacket potatoes, and they had soil on them. People didn't want them because they were dirty! Are we living in a world where people have lost the connection between a bag of chips and a freshly dug potato? Worrying times.

Unfortunately yes.
I remember about 12 years ago working in a hotel garden with a big veg garden to supply the kitchen. On one occasion, I very proudly presenting the boss/ owner/chef a beautiful head of broccoli that I’d grown in there garden. This thing was perfect. ( something I’ve managed to repeat for myself luckily   ) . The son was in the kitchen and quite proudly admitted he wouldn’t eat it because it wasn’t wrapped in plastic from a supermarket    . But he did admit it looked the same but without the plastic and supermarket label! 

It kinda makes you lose the will to live! You can’t argue with stupid. 

(Which brings us right back to canning things out of cans     )

Living abroad as a kid in Taiwan, we had access to the American Px, the equivalent to our Naafi. One American woman wouldn't eat any eggs that didn't come from the Px. She wrongly assumed the Px eggs were imported alll the way from USA and that any local eggs were unsanitary and contaminated. When you think of where an egg comes from it beggars belief how she thought it sanitary or otherwise. I believe mum put her right.