The Garden Fence - help and support in tough times

pollyanna_26 · 2 March 2016 at 2:40PM

Mar That's very mse a cat makes an ideal head covering in this weather .
I keep hoping you will get some decent weather . You have more patient than I am -- or maybe you rant at the skies on a daily basis .
Take care stay by the fire and hopefully it wont be too long .
polly

fuddle · 2 March 2016 at 2:49PM

polly that is so relevant right nowm Since moving back northwards I am struggling with the apparent 'mild' winter here. I am never without my gloves or scarf. My children though don't seem to mind. So often recently I've begged them to put at least their gloves on so folk won't judge me even though it's er... mild and they don't need 'em.:rotfl:

There's an insight into my judgemental mind right there

but yeah it's really sad because growing up amongst the miners strikes in the 80's our village had so many fathers 'down the pit'. Even in those times my classmates went to school in wellies and wore slippers at school (my grandma would call us pampered and tell me stories about how she would walk miles in shoes in feet of snow, sat in wet shoes and socks all day then did the same home) so I'm aware that the ability to be able to do that for children is very modern but it still upsets me.

mancbird · 2 March 2016 at 3:11PM

Haha! That sounds like a fun trip! We used to live in the NW and had membership passes for Chester Zoo. Such a great day out

I was surprised to see that some of the kids weren't wrapped up warm as we do live in the countryside so being outside in the cold weather is not really new! My kids live in wellies lol

The school is very small and "nice", we are probably one of the least well off families tbh so I would hope none of them go to school hungry

The dryer (and all other white goods) belong to us so we are responsible for any repairs or replacement. If we can't fix it, it won't be replaced.

Parsnip soup is almost ready, smells lush

Had to improvise slightly as we had no curry powder so there is a bit of tumeric, coriander and chlli in there!

ivyleaf · 2 March 2016 at 3:12PM

Softstuff wrote: »

Good grief :eek: I thought it was bad when "lawn" didn't include turf, but that really takes the biscuit.

Why is it people can't be up front and honest? Surely it's better for their business long term.

Not only that, but when the fitters realised they needed to make a hole in the back of a cabinet for the washing machine cable to go through, they just bashed a hole in it with a hammer :eek:

pollyanna_26 · 2 March 2016 at 3:14PM

I agree totally Fuddle . Sounds old fashioned now but my two eldest had a huge silver cross pram -- present from paternal grandparents ., lots of blankets . The two youngest had a far more practical buggy with a warm big fleecy liner and the new snow suits ( think Maggie Simpson ! ) Times have changed so much over the years . I had a good childhood but my Dad had suffered lung damage while serving on the naval convoys during ww2 mainly due to the russian runs they sometimes did . Although he was never unemployed after coming ashore , he had pleurisy and pneumonia each winter with only sick pay to manage on .
I remember one winter going to senior school - a long snowy walk with a hole right through the sole of my shoe . My mum had cried as she cut a liner from cardboard and put it inside .
I don't recall it happening again as normally my dad mended all our shoes . He had cobblers lasts etc which was the norm then .
polly

ivyleaf · 2 March 2016 at 3:25PM

pollyanna_26 wrote: »

Fuddle I so agree about poorly clad children it drives me mad to see adults muffled up to the nines with their children literally blue with cold .I see so many babies ( and this is a wealthy area ) with bare hands sitting in pushchairs . My priority was always a roof over the head , a warm bed , decent shoes ,warm clothes , healthy food and lots of love . They didn't have luxaries in the accepted sense but they had the freedom to have adventures and to use their imagination -- and they had lots and lots of books .
polly

And babies who haven't got much hair yet, with no hats on, in pushchairs with no cover for their feet and legs and no shelter from the cold wind

What are their mothers thinking of?

Floss and mancbird Thanks for that info about condenser dryers not always working in cold conditions. I'd no idea! We have a kitchen diner and there's a radiator in the dining area, so it doesn't get that cold in there even though it faces North.

nursemaggie · 2 March 2016 at 3:34PM

Not just the winter either. How rare is it to see any type of canopy to shield a baby from the sun!

As for not including the the main thing in a quote I would be the one accepting it and then not being able to pay the bill!!!

mancbird · 2 March 2016 at 4:08PM

The parsnip soup was lovely! My toddler refused to try it (ungrateful monkey!) but me and hubby both enjoyed it. Plenty left for tomorrow too

off to pick up eldest from school now and I've left a bowl of steaming hot water in the dryer so we shall see if that does the trick...

pollyanna_26 · 2 March 2016 at 4:08PM

Nurse maggie I'd forgotten the sun canopy on the big pram and the sun umbrella on the buggy . I fondly recall the shopping tray I had under the big pram , quite new to us in the seventies , I walked miles with the baby in the pram and her 1 year old brother on the pram seat . I could just put my shopping on the tray and the nappies and other stuff in the big pram bag . Happy days .
How are you and your son doing ? I thought of you and your storage dilemmas a few weeks ago when I found myself in B&Ms in an area I don't often visit . You may already be doing something similar or it may not be your thing but they had over the door hangers . I've been looking for some strong ones for a long time . I want them for heavy winter dressing gowns as I don't want to drill into the bedroom doors , I've tried a few over the years but they've either been weak or wont allow the door to be closed fully . These are perfect and have three big hooks . I thought they were mdf but are wood and white metal . They had a few designs , mine are coastal colours -- two shades of blue and a white . They even hold sock dryers etc . I remember you mentioning abakhan so I think you're nw too . For £3 . 99 they're pretty good value .
polly

mardatha · 2 March 2016 at 4:30PM

Fuddle I'm a miner's daughter who grew up in a village where everybody worked down the pit. It's hard to forget your roots when you're from a place like that. But it sure as hell makes you tough and determined to look after your children and get by

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The Garden Fence - help and support in tough times

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