It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

mardatha

Is blowing a howling gale up here today FG, no sitting out in the swing today...:(

annie123

Sorry to the Scottish mice, but its 30c here, clear blue skies, and I'm a happy bunny at last:j
Inside painting the hall still today, whist paint drying, pop outside for R & R and a nibble at a strawberry or 2
S*d any money/family/health problems etc, today is my day off from worrying:D

mardatha

I have finished the hall and started the spare room. The plan was to do all the paintwork pale silvery grey, which I did and it's nice. Then the hall a pale lavender, which is nice. Then the room a pale sweet pea pink.... (This is all free tins of paint I got given, hence the sameish sort of colours).
Sooo I started to mix the stuff for the room. Did a squish of this and a glop of that, and then tried a swatch on the wall. Got to the 3rd time, and it came out a HORRIBLE shade of pukey blue-pink. Remember the lipsticks you used to get like that ? made you look like you were dying of TB ...
His nibs comes wandering through and says ... "Ooooh I like that !"
:eek::eek::eek: So when he wasn't looking, I slopped half a tin of chalk white into it and now it's going on the bloody walls, I canny be assed with any more mixing ! :rotfl:

elizabunny

It's 30c and has been sweltering here today, I feel like I'm melting. Struggled around in the garden a bit, DH was supposed to be repairing the gate but the football got the better of him and the repairs were put on hold. Love your idea mardatha for using the building bags! I think the way things are going alot of us will be growing our own. Nipped into Wai**ose Friday to get some bread flour and I noticed they were selling Broad Beans for £3.99 per kilo!! I bought my BB seeds for a couple of ££ and we've been eating the beans for over two weeks now, a nice big bowlful each day. Also picked first cucumber today. Have read somewhere that you can still germinate parsnip seeds on wet kitchen roll for use in the winter. So I tried this out and after about a week, I see some of my seeds are sprouting little roots, so I'll be popping those into a space somewhere. I See more and more of our lawn disappearing as DH has plans for yet another raised bed so that will make 5. Much easier on the back though, afraid I'm no good when it comes to scrabbling about on the ground. I think I'll try collecting some of my own seed again for next years crops -have had some success with this in the past, anything to save the pennies. I seem to find myself constantly questionning the hyped up prices the supermarkets are charging.

ginnyknit

I always try to grow the things that are luxuries in the shops but cannot resist a few spuds - however the seed potatoes were so cheap at Wilkies we ended up with a big bed full again, then they started popping up in other places. I dug the first up yesterday for scrunched up roast new spuds - you know boil them then squash them drizzle with olive oil and roast for a while. The taste was superb and the prices in the shops mean that spuds may well be a luxury item now.

Am off for a bit of a stock up tomorrow - I have 20 pounds extra to spend thats not been absorbed into the budget, so may get a couple of vest tops too. After my trip to Mr M the other day though I may just get fed up in Mr T and live on beans on toast!

mardatha

Ginny, I had £30 extra and I decided to get some make up with it , went today to Boots. Got what I wanted, from the cheaper counters, went to till. ALmost fainted when she said £33 please. The price of everything is getting ridiculous. And a turnip was £1 in Sainsburys !!!

sammy_kaye18

mardatha wrote: »

Ginny, I had £30 extra and I decided to get some make up with it , went today to Boots. Got what I wanted, from the cheaper counters, went to till. ALmost fainted when she said £33 please. The price of everything is getting ridiculous. And a turnip was £1 in Sainsburys !!!

Oh doesn't leave me much hope today - I am at my due date on Thursday and realised yesterday that there is nothing immediately edible in the house for boyfriend or Ben to nibble on when I go in to have baby so today I'm going to be on a price hunt to see if I can get some bits and pieces with the £20 I have ---- there is £35 in my purse but that has to do us until the 6th at least and £5 of that ideally needs to go on the gas meter!!!

So will be nosing through cupboards in a minute to see what I already have and making a food plan, then will do school run, pop to town and have a day cooking/baking away.

ceridwen

On Elizabunny's comment about digging up the lawn earlier - I kept a link to this (short-lived) blog about someone doing exactly that:

http://ourpintsizedplot.wordpress.com/

to show what can be done with a tiny front garden.

SAMMY - good luck with the babe-to-be...

smileyt_2

Hello, hope everyone's ok, quiet in here today!

I spent yesterday evening on the allotment - planted 3 courgette plants, 13 minipop sweetcorn, 7 tomato plants and sowed some french beans. I will get some produce this year if it kills me!! I need to do some cleaning up in the house but feel the need for a siesta. Life's too short to clean when you can either be out in the garden or siesta-ing. Later I will clean, when it is cooler.

I've now been waiting nearly seven weeks for JSA to make a decision on whether I can have any money or not. I am ekeing out my savings. Have submitted 3 job applications in the last 3 weeks and heard nowt. Oh well, at least the weather's good - I'd be moaning if I had to sit in an overheated building!

Enjoy the rest of the day. I ;m going to finish reading my 'Speedcleaning' book that a friend bought me. I think she's trying to tell me somethin lol! She's not a gardener so she doesn't understand :rotfl:

kidcat

Just popping in to say good luck to Sammy with the baby, have been inspired to have a go with some lettuces and carrot seeds after all your tales of home grown wonders. We had some lovely lettuce last year that was the easiest ever, and I had really planned on doing more but knowing we were moving but not having dates etc put paid to all but the lettuce. This year we are in a similar position and praying we will move again so only a few bits this year. But next year we are so hoping to have our own place and my dad had agreed to help me build some veg beds