Twinky

Biological washing powder or liquid has enzymes in it that are supposed to break down organic material, specifically, body stuff like sweat, urine, excrement (kids or incontinence, anyone?) and will also remove everyday stains, fat and dirt more easily from the laundry. So perfect for dealing with kids and cats, as it should break down the urine and completely remove the smell and remove the temptation to do it again in the same area. They don't have any difficulty in using the litter tray. They do drink a lot so use the tray a lot and if it is not up to their standards, they will either wee directly in the bath (the tray is by their choice in the bath) or Tuxy will come and yell her head off at me until I work out what she wants and deal with it. As it's a white carpet I keep a square of some other carpeting on it just where a foot often goes to get elsewhere. One day I was in my kitchen and moved towards the sitting area and Tuxy moved away very smartly. I looked down and there was fresh wet on the little carpet square, which I found strange as I didn't recall spilling anything. It was only when I went to mop it up that I realised she had done it right there and then, practically under my nose. And then jumped away, looking all innocent. Grr!!!!! Any other suggestions, anyone?

Well you could always add some birthday greetings on the thread in Open.

Now I see, I put my recipe on your thread on In the Kitchen, too. It's dead easy.

GC, two interesting recipes. Both make the sauce separately. The recipe I posted includes it as part of the whole process so the pudding is deliciously sticky (as demonstrated at last year's Texas BBQ). Video Jug is pretty cool for recipes. They are usually simple and it's nice that they show you all the weapons you'll need to make the recipe. Sometimes they go into overkill and it's always worth a look at the comments underneath the recipe to see what others have thought if they have tried this particular method.

Sticky Toffee Pudding (This is a totally weird looking recipe, especially the bit about making the sauce. But "stick" with it!) The recipe is pretty good natured and flexible in the amounts. For Americans, please note 1 oz is about 25g and 500ml is about 22 oz liquid, rather more than a US pint. For the sponge: 100g dark muscovado sugar 175g Self Raising flour 125ml full fat milk 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract (I never bother) 50g unsalted butter For the sauce: 200g dark muscavado sugar 25g unsalted butter in blobs 500ml boiling water Preheat oven to Gas Mark 5/190deg C and butter a 1 1/2 litre (3 pint?) capacity pudding dish. Combine 100g sugar with flour in large bowl. Pour the milk into a measuring jug, beat in the egg, vanilla and melted butter and then pour over sugar and flour, stirring with a wooden spoon to combine. Put into dish. Sprinkle over the 200g sugar and dot with butter. Pour over the boiling water and transfer carefully to the oven. Set timer for 45 minutes, though pudding may need 5 or 10 minutes more. Top of pudding should be springy and spongy when it's cooked, underneath is a rich sticky sauce. ================================================ Comment: You will need a fairly large dish as the water on top stands proud before it's cooked; and the mixture rises quite a lot after cooking. We made this with chopped up dates mixed into the sponge mixture, which added a really delicious flavour. No doubt other fruits (sultanas?) or perhaps nuts could be added to give extra interest to the flavour. The vanilla essence could be substituted for coffee or other essence to complement other fruits and the taste of the sticky toffee sauce.

I put a recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding on this forum about a year ago. I will see if I can post a link. That's when I find the recipe.

Okay, here is my problem. Tuxedo likes to wee on the carpet. I had a nice red carpet that someone gave me, in the same area. I think that may have been urinated on by a previous animal. Anyway Tuxy started to creep behind the armchair and wee on it. I would clean it up as soon as I realised but she obviously did it a lot more than I'd noticed and eventually I had to throw the carpet away. I cleaned the area very thoroughly - surface is those plastic/laminate fake wood floorboards. I washed with floor cleaner, scrubbed and left to soak in biological wash powder, rinsed off and sprayed with bleach, rinsed off and sprayed with vinegar (to kill the smell of the bleach). So there shouldn't have been any residual smell. I now have a nice white carpet, very good quality, nice and thick. And she sneaks off and does a little watering of that from time to time. This carpet, though smaller, is heavy and would be difficult to wash. I could leave it to soak in the bath for a while but there are obvious difficulties in drying it. I don't think it is wool, but it probably has a proportion of wool in it. The slight smell of cat wee isn't inviting or pleasant on opening the door into the house. This has got to be a bit of a habit; it is not because she doesn't know where the litter tray is. She does, and uses it properly. This is either "marking" as the dominant cat, or stress (separation? boredom? fear?). If either of them is stressed, it ought to be Crypto, as Tuxy attacks and chases her for no reason other than playfulness (probably not perceived as such by Crypto!) but Crypto is not the culprit. No reason to suppose there are any health issues. Websites suggest putting a litter tray in the area but I don't want to do that because it is in the "sitting" area of my room and I don't want to encourage either of them to use it for a regular toilet. I put a strong smelling product supposed to deter cats down in the area and she just did it on top of the smelly stuff. I understand it might be a stress-related thing but she will sneak off and do it while I am there, not just when I am away for a few hours. Does anyone have any suggestions, before Tuxy (at least) gets turned into a pair of winter mittens?

Suggest you wash it well before using...the oregano, that is.

My cats are now two years old. My Halloween cats... that's when they were born. Crypto is still unhandled. Well, unless you count the one occasion when I picked her up and she was soooo scared and tore me up in her desire to get away. Yet she enjoys a neck scratch/fondle and loves to be near me. Tuxy can occasionally be grabbed and made to settle on my lap. She loves her neck being scratched and blisses out once she has relaxed. Once captured, she will eventually settle (ten minutes?) on my lap and then she will start "needling" my arm and purring. And then suddenly she realises she is enjoying it and leaps up to get away. Tuxy has the most persistent high-pitched mew when she wants something. This is accompanied by her peering intently into my face. Then it is a guess as to what she wants. Usually food, water, or to have the litter tray cleaned. Today, however, it was because she wanted to play. Crypto makes happy chirruping sounds which may or may not relate to what she is amusing herself with. But for the first time yesterday she gave a tiny mew when I was about to eat my evening meal. And tonight I heard a tiny shy mewing sound but it wasn't Tuxy's persistent whine, but rather deeper, so perhaps Crypto is finding a voice at last. I have had the harness on Tuxy one more time and left it on her for a while. I have not been tried to take her outside, perhaps that was too many new experiences all at once. She is not keen at all on the harness. She must be giving off bad "fear smells" - something I don't pick up on - but when she is nervous or frightened, she may remain still but Crypto will set herself off hissing and arching her back at me. Very odd. They have refused the food they usually eat (supermarket generic kibble) but devoured a free sample of the most expensive Purina One. So now they are on Go-Cat which they think is lovely. They eat three times as much of this as their other kibble. Guess I musta been starving them. Or maybe they have the confidence to be picky. What was nice recently was that a friend who I don't see often came round to visit, and both cats showed themselves readily and sniffed at his clothing and shoes. They wandered around with tails happily erect and not hiding at all. It doesn't seem much, but that's the yardstick that I have to measure by. My friend was amazed and said it was the first time he had really seen them; they have usually been rushing to the nearest hiding place. I have a problem with them which I will post separately.

Was fossicking around in Wikipedia tonight and by accident discovered that November 4 is the birthday of ... Craig Martindale. Whilst hesitating to wish him a happy birthday (much less, many happy returns :unsure: ), I thought it might be interesting to consider what one might say on such an occasion. So, Craig, if you're listening: Spend a few minutes of your birthday reviewing what your life has become, and asking yourself if you want the rest of your life to be more of the same. Give yourself a happy birthday by acknowledging in the depths of your soul how unhappy you became and maybe still are, and repenting of the evil you did. Use today to start afresh and (even though you hate New Year Resolutions and called them "a recipe for failure,") make some decisions about how you can make amends. For a birthday present: a big bundle of humility. You may get some compassion, too. Now the waiter will bring some fresh coffee and try not to spill it down your shirt.

Not pasties as such, but I have made meat pies. And apple pies. And lots of other pies. Some pasties have the "seam" along the top and some, along the side. No doubt there is a traditional way (Cornish=on top, I think) but hey as long as the content is good, so what, teeth don't have eyes to see where the seam is!

Bump for benefit of people joining in last few months.

Ain't that true! Feel free to vent. Write a poem about that, too. The "Event of Venting."

I visited at Gartmore several times. The people there were nice, but there was a funny sort of atmosphere. I hadn't been around places or TWI long so didn't recognise it for what it was. People didn't like to do things and always felt the need to refer back to him. This may be typical of the sort of thing that happened. Bear in mind that Gartmore is way out in the wilds of Scotland. It's a long way from anywhere. There isn't any public transport unless perhaps there is the odd local bus which trundles round various villages and thence to the nearest town. Believers from London used to go up to Scotland for the weekend. They would come up the motorway from London and zip up to Scotland (what is it, 800 miles?) sometimes calling in at Birmingham to pick up believers from central Birmingham. Then continue up the motorway. I lived in a little town 30 or so miles north of Birmingham. The motorway skirted round this town and there was a junction close to where I lived. It was about 1 mile to walk there. I arranged on several occasions to be picked up at this junction. What it meant was that the bus scooted off the motorway, pulled over and I jumped onto the bus, and it went straight back up the on-ramp. Not a big cloverleaf - just straight on and off. Very simple. Time delay: maybe 60 seconds. If that. So I would be waiting out at this junction at between midnight and 1am. Or later. Unworried, all alone, and it was dark. No problems. They would drop me off same way, straight off the motorway, drop me, and then straight back on. Minimal delay. I would walk home. Again, this would be maybe 1am. I asked for nothing special, just drop me off. Even though it was only a mile to my home and on major roads with no difficulties of access, I didn't ask to be dropped off there. No worries. I paid the same fare as everyone else, including those coming from London. One time I was up there. I became aware of a row that was going on. The WoW who was undershepherding me was getting very agitated, and eventually said I would be going home with someone else. Turned out that whoever organised this bus trip had now refused to drop me off at my M'way junction. No, they would not pull off. It would mean special treatment/favour for me and if they did it for one, all the others might wonder why and also want special treatment and to be dropped off at their homes. But - they would take me down to Birmingham and I could make my own way back from there. Birmingham? At 3am?? I don't even know if there would be a train service back to my town - and what time would I arrive there? And have to get home from the station? How to do that?? Crazy!!!!! Thankfully, a carload of believers - not sure where they lived, and I didn't even know them - went at least 50 miles OUT OF THEIR WAY in order to drop me at my mother's home where I planned to spend a little time. I believe half my fare was refunded to the WoW, who then gave it to the people who gave me a lift home. Not sure, he took care of everything. I find this utterly incredible. If the bus folks had said they were unwilling to do it NEXT TIME, well, that would be something to think about. But to "dump" someone way out in the boonies.., or take them off to some huge strange major city where the bus station is never nice even in the daytime, and dump them there at night... Not sure how many times I went up to Gartmore after that. I think there must have been one time, but a carload of believers picked me up and dropped me off. They stayed with me overnight, or we all travelled off one time and broke the journey in Manchester. Maybe they stayed with me on the way home - long time ago now. What has this to do with Chris Geer? Well, he was running all Europe from Gartmore at the time, and was therefore the head of the organisation. This is the kind of controlling directive that came down from there. Must do it same for all, or else. I don't know if he was directly involved, or if it was just part of the ethic of the time. I already thought CG was pretty arrogant and uncaring. This incident didn't help me feel any better about him. Somewhere - love and compassion had been left behind. Oh, this must have taken place some time between 1986 when they bought Gartmore and 1988. I think my WoW friend was in the E-Corps in about 1986. He didn't last long there. No details.

Brits do like pies and pasties! Did you see in the attached article, they used to be "dinner" one end and "pudding" the other? (I've never had one like that!) A good pasty is very good. A bad one is all pastry and no filling. Have you tried making any, GQ?

It is a man, right? Sadly I have no claims to fame. Or to rubbing shoulders with the famous. I just have some great friends.

Praying at the golden calf... :unsure:

Hapopy Birthday, Chas. Hope you had a great day, and best wishes for a great year ahead.

Hapopy Birthday, Belle. Have a great day and a great year ahead.

"Groaty pudding"????? Anyway, my specialty is Sticky Toffee Pudding. Emphasis on "sticky" and "toffee". As in all over the floor of the oven. And HotSax just smiled and got stuck in (ha ha) and got it cleaned up. Sorry 'bout that....

Well, just as I was thinking this thread had done its dash, a little birdie has whispered news of the new programs in my ear. The first 2 service programs start November 1. They last for five months. You can sign up to do the following, for approx 20 minutes a day: 1 Speak the Word 2 Pray You don't have to quit your job or move. You can just do it for God. But you do have to sign up. Two more programs will be announced at a later date (perhaps in four or five months time). A Region Coordinator present at the meeting where these programs were announced said, "We are going to look back 15-20 years from now, and see how these programs saved the country." So obviously TWI thinks it can single-handed save the country. You. dear Cafe patrons, on the other hand, may wish to spend the next 15-20 years planning your emigration to another country lest their programs be successful. I mean - WTF? - they are the only ones praying [to which God??!!]? They are the only ones speaking the Word?? This is some special program??? And what a shocking "down sizing" if now all they want is 20 mins a day of your time. But you have to "sign up" to do it. Wonder what else is involved; what sort of a record they might require - list of who you spoke to? Is it "speak the Word" or is it "Speak the Class"? Would they want a tape recording of you praying out loud? Sign up... so that TWI can figure out who is NOT faithful and put the heavies on them, perhaps. Or perhaps, if you don't sign up - you're not allowed to pray or speak the word (LOL)? I didn't hear anything of any initiatives to actually SERVE in the community. You know, just do something nice for people without expectation of reward or signing up to take the class... just serve a meal on Friday night to the homeless, offer to help out at the old folks home down the street, be a volunteer worker at the local school ... perhaps these will form part of the new programs to be announced in the future?

And who is taking their laptop with webcam so that I can join by Skype? :) Thought I would have a mini-BBQ here and invite a few ex-Way, not decided yet. A lot of people may be out for the evening anyway as it's Bonfire Night on 5 Nov and the BBQ weekend is likely to see a lot of public bonfires and firework displays, so people may have other commitments. And it's jolly cold for standing around outside having a BBQ.

Shock and horror. Followed by desire to stick a thousand knives in them. Followed by recognition that they were as deluded as the rest of us and probably worse. Yes, confrontation/closure might be welcome. Maybe necessary. I guess I actually need to be grateful to the person who so meanly and cruelly enjoyed kicking me out, otherwise I might not have left, too much kool-aid. Or maybe I would just have left later and never felt the need to beat myself up so badly afterwards. Relayed to me by another poster, said by someone here: "TWI was like Miracle-Gro for all our faults." If "CrappyMOG" had been a basically decent person prior to TWI involvement, s/he might welcome the opportunity to apologize, being basically decent. If "CrappyMoG" had been a mean and unpleasant person prior to involvement, they probably still would be and would still think they were right (viz some of the splinter MoGs). And I would view their posts as "PosterX" with some suspicion.

Good post, Waysider.

Mary Poppins (former poster here) and her husband Powerfilled have a fellowship. It's full of teenagers. The kids have brought each other and absolutely love to hang out with MP and Powerfilled. One Saturday afternoon (for the kids love to hang out at MP and P's place) all the kids confessed that prior to coming to fellowship, they had all "cut" themselves (unbeknownst to each other). They don't feel the need to any more. However, since they have all 'fessed up to it, they help each other if any of them feels weak and wants to do it again. But what's really helped the kids is simply sharing the scriptures with them and showing them purpose for their lives. What did Jesus do when he encountered a man who hid in tombs and often cut himself? (Mark 5) He cast out the devil spirit Legion. What a jerk your leadership was. (Edited to add scripture reference)