• melbaboutown@aussie.zone
      0·
      2 months ago

      Was it just a mouth guard or CPAP style mouthpiece? Google is being confusing.

      I’m aware a sleep specialist to check for sleep apnoea is probably out of financial reach but maybe it might help to get your adenoids checked to see if they’re enlarged, check if it’s from your nose being congested, and elevate your head and upper body more while sleeping to try and keep your airways clear. Maybe even try side sleeping if you usually sleep on your back.

      (Sorry if this is crossing lines. I just possibly deal with sleep apnoea myself. Wake up gasping.)

      • Catfish@aussie.zone
        0·
        2 months ago

        A guard, not cpap. Apparently I sound bad enough to need the latter, but doubt I could tolerate it. Anything touching my face is bad.

        No worries about lines. I actively asked

        • melbaboutown@aussie.zone
          0·
          2 months ago

          Yeah, I can’t stand things on my face.

          I guess propping yourself up really well, potentially changing sleep position and checking out your airways might be some help.

          Have you ever tried napping semi-upright on a recliner or (if too expensive) a beanbag?

          I tried the foam wedge pillow from Kmart (also trying to prop myself up to read or draw) but it’s pretty mid, a bit soft and too low so it doesn’t sit me up enough.

          I avoid sleep apps due to privacy but they might give some feedback about which of the strategies are and aren’t any help

          • Catfish@aussie.zone
            0·
            2 months ago

            Sleeping tilted is tricky. I’m a side sleeper, and really fussy about anything touching face or feet. Most obvious thing would be become thin again, but I can’t do that on a single Tuesday with a credit card

            • melbaboutown@aussie.zone
              0·
              2 months ago

              Yeah, same. Maybe the crappy foam wedge that your shoulder can sink into with a pillow on top for your head.

              Uhh… yeah drs love to recommend weight loss for everything and maybe some people it might help?

              But I am thin so it’s not the magic bullet they think it is (and treating it as such often misses underlying conditions)

            • StudSpud The Starchy@aussie.zoneEnglish
              0·
              2 months ago

              Love it when Drs say to lose weight 🙄 I lost weight and it didn’t help any physical ailment I have tbh. Went from ~85kg to currently ~62kg and my periods still suck ass, I still snore and grind my teeth like it’s a biological pestle and mortar, and I wouldn’t even say I’m healthier now than I was when I was heavier.

              I hate anything touching my face and feet also, so I get ya. A mouth guard makes me feel like I’m suffocating, and I sleep in the fetal position so I always have shoulder pain. Id try some of the suggestions Melb gave like different positions and propping up, and if that doesn’t work perhaps a Dr visit that doesn’t involve a CPAP/mouth guard. Not sure if relaxants would help or make it worse.

              Is it affecting the quality of your sleep?

              • Catfish@aussie.zone
                0·
                2 months ago

                It’s affecting Boyo’s sleep. I have to presume mine also if it’s that bad. But this horrid jelly thing isn’t the answer. Let’s see what this 30 day return policy actually is…

  • CEOofmyhouse56@aussie.zone
    0·
    2 months ago

    If one is slowing running out of gin should one now move onto Gentleman Jack & coke or ouzo & raspberry. Choose my adventure. Tomorrow is a write off.

  • StudSpud The Starchy@aussie.zoneEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    The nap was a bad idea, but I guess I needed it.

    Grounding myself with the cat, though I’m floating away.

    Writing here helps, sorry for dumping a lot :/

    • melbaboutown@aussie.zone
      0·
      2 months ago

      Don’t be sorry. I’m not sure the affordability or availability (or quality) of counseling these days, but I hear good things about EMDR?

      I’m sorry you’re going through this. Let Mickey be a comforting friend

      • StudSpud The Starchy@aussie.zoneEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        Emde is a therapy I would like to try - mostly just finances and the fear of retelling and reliving it that freaks me out.

        I’ll be okay, I always am in the end. Thank you Melb, just for being your amazing self 💜

        • melbaboutown@aussie.zone
          0·
          2 months ago

          It’s ok. I suggested EMDR because apparently it doesn’t always require you to discuss the events.

          But it’s 100% your call as nothing is perfect for everyone, you gotta be ready and finances are a massive consideration

    • Baku@aussie.zoneEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      I forgot to ask you guys on the 21st if you remembered

      I do that every year (except the years I forget, which is most of them)

  • TinyBreak@aussie.zone
    0·
    2 months ago

    Dumb questions, but I got a bunch of gravy beef from aldi. I was thinking about chucking it in the slowcooker with a couple of cans of vegtable stew and a couple of cans of cream of mushroom. then probs some actual mushrooms and water. Reckon this would work taste wise?

    Normally when I do gravy beef I cut a bunch of the fat off, is that the right approach? Or do i just leave everything on?

    • CEOofmyhouse56@aussie.zone
      0·
      2 months ago

      Yeah it’ll work. Still cut off as much fat as you can. Just make sure the beef is covered with liquid so don’t add too much water.

    • Eagle@aussie.zone
      0·
      2 months ago

      A personal preference, but I don’t like putting tins of soup in the slow cooker. I’d put in some beef stock, tinned tomatoes, garlic and veg. Red wine if you have it. Leave the fat on, coat in flour and brown in a pan first. Also fry the onion off too.

      • TinyBreak@aussie.zone
        0·
        2 months ago

        unfortunately i’ve tried this before and wasn’t a huge fan. Cant have onion (or at least, cant have a lot of it) so thats probably where it all went wrong.

        Will deffo flour and brown if first though.

        • CEOofmyhouse56@aussie.zone
          0·
          2 months ago

          No it won’t but the vegies will most likely go mushy. To avoid that add the vegie soup about an hour before it’s ready.

          So fry your meat (no need to flour) add to the pot, add mushrooms, add cream of mushroom soup, add water or the liquid from the veg soup or stock to just cover the meat. Let cook. An hour before it’s ready add the vegies from the soup.

    • MeanElevator@aussie.zoneEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      As others said, skip the tinned soup. Stock or water is best, with ample seasoning. I generally add a bit of Worcestershire sauce and even MSG to elevate the flavours.

      And I’d probably skip the mushrooms too. I don’t think they’ll hold up well in the slow cooker. Fry them up and add them to the final product.

      Generally I’d trim some of the fat, but only after cutting up into smaller pieces and before browning.

      • TinyBreak@aussie.zone
        0·
        2 months ago

        Some, but not all? I’ve tried before with like a pot roast, just some beef and tomatos but it really wasnt that amazing. Was kind of hoping the soup gives it A) a bit more veg, and B) more of a stew flavor. good call on the mushrooms!

        • MeanElevator@aussie.zoneEnglish
          0·
          2 months ago

          Keeping some of the fat helps during the browning. For more veg throw in carrots and celery. Cheap and filling (tasty too). Season the beef before browning too. And be liberal with the flavours. Rosemary, thyme go well with beef.

    • Thornburywitch@aussie.zoneEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      Don’t bother putting in any kind of creamed tinned soup or stew. It’ll only curdle unless your slow cooker is really really slow. Add the real mushrooms for the last hour of cooking along with extra veg. Except for peas - add for the last 5 mins if using frozen peas. For me, I’d use a couple of tins of crushed/diced tomato for liquid, topping up with water or stock or red wine. Trim the worst of the fat off the beef, then brown it before putting in the slowcooker. Brown any onions if using too. If you like a really really thick gravy, add 1 tablespoon of cornflour blended with 1/2 cup COLD water for the last 15 mins of cooking and stir it in well - this will thicken things up but will blunt the flavour, so feel free to use as much extra flavoring as you want if you plan to do this. Blend the cornflour with the water really well so it doesn’t go lumpy.

  • Baku@aussie.zoneEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    I don’t know how rude mowing at 7am on a Monday morning (in school holidays) is, but today it’s my house doing the mowing.

    Don’t blame me, they sent some drongo gardener around who apparently has a key to my gates I guess, and he was banging on my door at 7:10 while I was in the shower. Needless to say, he was ignored

    NB: they call themselves gardeners, but they really aren’t. The department hires lawn mowers for all the properties, including ours. They do an awful job and never take their clippings with them (or even put it in the compost bin, like we’d asked multiple times). They basically just come to mow the lawns poorly and then spray poison on anything that looks green. Not a hyperbole. So far, they’ve sprayed a capsicum tree, a watermelon seedling, a patch of strawberries, and a zucchini bush. They were all in the garden beds, with only a few weeds in there (nowhere near anything that was growing).

    • Bottom_racer@aussie.zone
      0·
      2 months ago

      So far, they’ve sprayed a capsicum tree, a watermelon seedling, a patch of strawberries, and a zucchini bush

      Ooh I’d be very pissed off about that.

      • Baku@aussie.zoneEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        This was back before I got into the gardening, when it was just the old LT working on it. He was reeeeeaaaaalllllly pissed, and I can’t blame him. It was my little patch of strawberries that they poisoned though, but I’m not super mad about that because they were just cuttings from a larger patch that’s in a raised planter box. If they poisoned that though, I’d be about ready to throw hands

    • Taleya@aussie.zone
      0·
      2 months ago

      If they’re spraying poison on food plants, you have a wonderfully large stick to start beating with

    • dumblederp@aussie.zone
      0·
      2 months ago

      Disposing of clippings almost doubles the effort of the job. I mow my lawns without the hopper so the clippings are free to return to nature, and I don’t have to stop and empty the hopper 4-5 times.

      • Baku@aussie.zoneEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        Meh, they’re getting paid a pretty substantial amount of money to do a poor quality job. The least they can do is leave the place in a respectable state. It’s not that difficult.

        • dumblederp@aussie.zone
          0·
          2 months ago

          I reckon you’d find their boss was getting paid well for the job. As it’s government work, they charge high and send some numpty to do it because as you know the complaints process isn’t functional.

    • Catfish@aussie.zone
      0·
      2 months ago

      I’d be furious about that. Had a previous landlord ‘trim’ the hydrangeas to 2 inches with a whippersnipper, then creosote the entire fence….

      • Baku@aussie.zoneEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        Ha! I wish. I actually don’t even have the key for one of the gates, they keyed 2 of the gates to the same key, then put a different lock on the gate between the front and back yards, and never even gave me a key to it 🙄

  • Tofu@aussie.zone
    0·
    2 months ago

    Beep Beep 🚚
    🍏🍎🍐🍊🍋🍈🫐🍓🍇🍉🍌🍒🍑🥭🍍🥥🥦🥑🫛🍆🍅🥝🥬🥒🌽🥕🥐🍠🫚🥔🧅🥯🍞🥖🥨🧀🧇🥞🧈🍳🥚🥓🥩🍗🍖🫓🍕🍟🍔🌭🥙🧆🌮🌯🥗🍲🍜🍝🥘🍛🍣🍱🥟🦪🍥🍘🍚🍙🐠🍤🪼🦀🐙 🍗🥮🍢🍡🍧🍰🧁🥧🍦🍨🎂🍮🍭🍬🍫🥜🌰🍪🍿🍯🥛☕️🍵🍺🍶🥤🧋🧃🥂🍷🥃🍸🍹🧉🔋

  • TinyBreak@aussie.zone
    0·
    2 months ago

    first taste is… not great. And thats without the mushroom soup. the tomato and beef stock arnt really complementing each other. will see how it tastes closer to the finish time. Worst case (and I stress, this is the worst case) i can just drain the sauce and serve it with the mushroom soup.