the daydream fund challenge thread

stitching_witch

Hi everyone

I've been reading the posts every day but not said much as I feel a little lost somehow.

I went to visit a colleague for the first time and whilst she was busy with the farrier I had a good nosy round - her suggestion, not me being naughty!

As well as the stables and paddocks, she has a field for the horses, a massive kitchen garden, an orchard, woodland area and a bit I would call a garden type garden!

I suddenly realised it was exactly what I was looking for, except I would have goats instead of horses. Mind you, horses might be a good bet as the farrier was gorgeous!!:D

As I currently rent our house and DH is due his next major operation on Thursday I can't see us ever buying a smallholding - or even a cardboard box! We haven't got a property to sell and we're too old to start now unless we win the lottery. And the silly thing is I REFUSE to do the lottery as I think it's a waste of money!!!

Sorry for the rant, just feeling a bit disheartened today.:o

Rummer

Stitching Witch, try to keep your chin up! It sounds like my idea of heaven (especially with the horses) and I have very little chance of fulfilling my dreams of owning a home like that. However I am going to do my best with what I have at the moment and you never know what the future may bring!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

stiching witch..we all get down days.. and i have been there on many a day, crying my heart out and really feeling low...as rummer said you never know what the future brings...

tattycat's idea of baby targets is brilliant... so it doesnt seem like such a huge target to get to..

you are in a brilliant situation with renting, as then when you DO get enough money, you are not tied to selling a house..and you will have no chain ....which is a great plus when buying a house...as the seller dont have to wait...thats the way i would think anway..

I love your sig...and you have a great amount in there..:T:beer:

come on spill the beans what/how have you been doing to add to your dream fund?

Dont feel lost...we are all here for everyone.... even if its just to find out what we have been doing out the garden etc... as this is also a great learning curve on growing and looking after some land...and even getting the most out of growing in pots like the pot guru MRSM:D...( oooo heck not NOT that type of pot)

RUMMER.... how have you been doing? wise words....whats the weather been like with you?

Rummer

Hi CTC I have been better to be honest hence the lack of posting! Loads of unexpected bills and the awful weather has meant that I have hardly been out in my garden for the last few weeks. At the moment I am looking out at my completely flooded potato bed! I suppose that is all part of the joy of gardening lol! Glad to see that you have added so much to your fund!

bonsibabe

I am sooooo chuffed with my bargain barrels (4 for £20!) They got all wet in the rain today and hubby called me over to have a sniff (?) and i was almost pleasantly squiffed with the aroma of whisky! So they are proper barrels ... I want more lol. But will have to decide what is to be planted in them andwhere they will be situated in the garden!

Hubby has re-situated the shed so it is now almost permanently homed ... till the garden is properly done. The rain has pretty much stopped all play at the moment. But OH has seen a sign just up the road from us stating plot for sale and it looks like a HUGE plot. I'm hoping it doesn't have any permissions on it as I would love to buy it and we could get permissions and just build something ourselves. It would take a few years but at least we would be our own completely but we have to phone the guy first and see how much he wants for it.

Hopeing you are all well!

Am off in a wee bit to do some serious writing! I definitely need to earn some serious money to pay off the debts and add to the daydream fund.

Happy saturday to you all xxx

stitching_witch

I've just got back from planting 15 strawberry plants down at the allotment and I'm really touched by the support from you all.

I joined this challenge right at the beginning when there were only a couple of us here. It's great to see a little community gathering speed!

The fund is what is currently in my "Share save" account at work. I pay in £50 a month for three years and can't touch it so I know it is safe there.

I must get some sewing done as I can charge £100 per corset after costs, but as I currently work 7 days a week and have the allotment too I don't get into the sewing room much.

I'm not quite as good as MRSM, but I have got a mini greenhouse full of seedlings - 60 brassicas, tomatoes and flowers too and also trays on most of the windowsills in the house. I need a bigger house as I'm running out of windowsills now!

MRSMCAWBER

stitching_witch wrote: »

I'm not quite as good as MRSM, but I have got a mini greenhouse full of seedlings - 60 brassicas, tomatoes and flowers too and also trays on most of the windowsills in the house. I need a bigger house as I'm running out of windowsills now!

ahhhhh but MrsM -doesn't work ....and has a sad tomato fetish

Im glad you have been out planting...a few minutes peace in the garden soon lifts your spirits doesn't it :T.. I have just aubergines and courgettes left in the house so soon I will be able to put the spare bed back in its place -once I ahve shifted the 2 tables my seedlings have been living on:p
I have pondered and I know that we can't swap details on here..but towards the end of the year Im going to sort out my seeds and list any swaps on my blog -obviously first dibs will go to thos people I "know" *ahem* ..there will be things that I have found not worth growing in tubs or that we aren't much fussed with -plus things like tomato seeds -I have 20 varieties this year so I can save some and I want some different ones for next year too :rotfl:-
Every penny counts -so if I can share out some of what I have I may as well whilst they are still nice and new;)

Steel_2

Did you ever get that Mortgage Lifter variety Mrs Macawber?

Davesnave

I hope the op goes well for your DH, stitching witch. We all get our down times and I know just how frustrating it can be, but our health responds, and it's always better if we can stay positive.

Although I'm apparently close to that piece of land now, it wasn't always like that. DW and I began our 'escape to the country' long ago, but as we also found ourselves carers for a 92 year old, you can imagine the fun we had trying to find a house for us all, with land, and within a limited budget. To cut a long story short, it didn't happen!
We were also in partnership with two others, and that wasn't working, but they were the ones with the 5 acres....

In the end, we built our nursery business in the back garden, putting black fabric over the lawns and turning any available flat space into somewhere to stand pots. It wasn't ideal, and it virtually doubled the amount of effort needed, but it was made to work. I'm sure our neighbours thought we were crazy, but in the end it was just something we did, like others go surfing or spend time doing endless DIY. We didn't become rich, but we got the whole thing out of our systems!

So, although you can't be exactly like your colleague, who sounds pretty well-off, look around your local area and see if there's something you can adapt, like we adapted our garden. Maybe you could also rent a bit of land, or take over a garden for an elderly person who's finding it all too much? Even an allotment allows a huge amount of self-sufficiency.

I'm all for daydream challenges, but at the same time, it's important to see that you maximise opportunities today too.
At the moment, our money is all going into a pot for a newer van. I'm not sure that we will go on with the plants, but vans are more useful than flash cars, whatever you are up to. And, no, we're not relying on the Lottery to deliver on that either!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Davesnave....you say such wise words...and you are sooooooooo true... we mustnt get so rapped up in what we want, we forget about now.... i must admit this has happened to me in the passed, when we were skint, and had more money going out than coming in... i used to get sooo depressed and ill because of wanting a smallholding ( ye i know it sounds so sad). that yes i did lose site of what i had/got....

so now i am making max use of what i do have.... re-claimed the waste ground by the side of our house... making the most of every bit of space in our back garden.. and now that we had my m.i.l. garden cleared of the trees etc.. slowing just getting the bramble roots etc out of the ground, and just planting potatoes for this year....

I still believe that one day i WILL get that smallholding....as i have said in an earlier post, even if i am on my zimmer frame...lol...

And if the worst comes to the worst.... at least i would have had a load of money saved. for my retirement....and to pay off our existing mortgage..

Today looks as htough its going to be alot better than yesturday... no wind, and its looking quite bright:j so i really do need to get things planted in the garden...

hubby planted (hubby who used to hate gardening but is getting quite involved now without complaining lol) out the sweetcorn yesturday..and was quite pleased with himself...

a week or so ago he put an old car wheel on the wall so we could wrap the hose pipe around it... so we need to brush the rust off it with a wire brush and give it a lick of metal paint. Saved ourselves a fortune as have you seen the price of a hosepipe in one of those reel things:eek:


oooo Davesnave almost forgot well done:T on the good morning you had selling your plants... how many plants did you sell? bet you will be bust now taking cuttings etc to re-blemish your stock...