Scarlett O'Hara

Well that looks good I'll go to the supermarket this week and get something similar, thank you!

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Neapolitan

Get warmer water, vinegar, a bucket, rubber glovesand sponge, blotch out the stain using warm water and vinegar applied with a sponge, let it air out then flip over the mattress.

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Burning Down

Will that get the smell out too? I'm assuming the vinegar will neutralize it at least a little bit.

The Batlord

Well, to anyone who cares, my cat died last night. I just buried him in the front yard a couple hours ago and my mom planted an Azalea bush on top.

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Trollheart

**** man, so sorry. It hurts so much when one of your pets has to go. At least you didn't have the heartache of having to watch the vet put him to sleep. You have my sympathy. Seriously. I love cats.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

VEGANGELICA

Nice thread idea, Domestic God.

And I agree absolutely about never rubbing a cat's face in her urine. One of my sad memories is that when I was a child, my cat starting peeing in corners of the basement and my mom rubbed the cat's face in the urine. I can remember my poor cat trying to pull her face away and my mom holding her around the neck and body, forcing the cat's nose down into the urine. My mom thought she was doing the right thing to "train" the cat, but it obviously wasn't.

In retrospect, I think my cat may have had a urinary track problem and/or I wasn't cleaning her kitty litter box enough when I was a child and it was my responsibility to do so. Poor little cat. I failed to protect her.

I'm sorry your cat died last night, Batlord. It sounds very sudden. I hope he didn't suffer. I still miss my cat years later. Her name was Sunshine.

Nag Champa incense smells wonderful, Liz! I never burn it, but I have some stored in a closet where I keep financial files.

I've found out that this is a good way to make bill paying more pleasant. Whenever I have to pay a bill, I think, "Groan!"...but when I open up the closet, I think..."Ahhh!" I've actually started to look forward to paying bills (just a little) because it is an excuse to open up the closet and let that marvelous "Nag Champa" scent and the associated nice memories of the giver wash over me. He called it "Good stuff" and it really is.

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Scarlett O'Hara

I'm so sorry, I totally know what it's like to lose cats, I'm still mourning over them.

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jackhammer

Sorry to hear about your cat Batlord.

As for damp smells (apart from the closing of your legs obviously pointed out in this thread ), there are very few remedies for this problem. If you have uPVC windows in the room you can buy mildew remover and spray it on the windowsill but this will only stop the problem for a little while and not remove the actual smell.

To alleviate the smell, white vinegar in a small bowl is good. When you are out open a window. It may be cold when you get back but hot air versus cold air in the room intensifies damp smells so keeping alternating temperatures to a bare minimum helps.

Next instalment is how to cook the perfect roast chicken, fecking exciting I know but your parents will be impressed when you invite them around on a Sunday afternoon for Lunch just before you ask them for that loan that you have been putting off.

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The Batlord

Thanks dudes. He didn't really suffer, but he had been getting weaker for a long time, and the last few days he just went downhill, so it wasn't unexpected. We had actually had an appointment to put him to sleep the next day.

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jackhammer

As promised, the perfect way to cook a chicken and it's as easy as Madonna in the 80's.

A few simple steps and no fussy preparation is needed.

1) Preheat your oven. This is a prerequisite. ALWAYS preheat your oven no matter what you are cooking in the oven. 160 c (around 320f or gas mark 3)
2) Place the chicken in a decent sized oven proof pan and prepare it accordingly. I baste it it in a little warmed up butter and salt and pepper. Nothing more. A knob of butter over the breast and more inside the cavity.
3) Wrap the chicken in cooking foil and cook for one hour without disturbance.
4) Remove the foil, baste the whole chicken with the juices in the pan and put back in the oven.
5) Cook the chicken for another hour basting it every 20 minutes with the juices.
6) Remove the chicken and cut into the breast near to the edge of the pan as possible and see if it the juices run clear. For a small to decent sized Medium chicken (2 to 6 pounds) it will almost always be cooked already but if not check back every 5 mins or so.
7) Once cooked, remove from oven, cover with foil and leave for 10 mins and then remove foil and allow to cool.
8) Perfect Chicken!

It all boils down to this: Cook for an hour covered in foil (to allow the inside to be cooked) and one hour without the foil ( to get a decent colour and not dry out).

A simple roast chicken can be a thing of beauty if you do it right and if you can't then you really are a ****wit.

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