Live on £4,000 for a year - 2009, Part 3

Frugaldom

Skint_Lynne wrote: »

Walking boots and waterproof coats are coming along with me.

Now you're getting the hang of it! :rotfl:

Raft race isn't much to see, as the start is about a mile up river, where they all start at the bridge as soon as the high tide turns. (And get pelted with anything that anyone can find - mud, eggs, flour... :rotfl:) and then we all have to wait for them at the (tiny) harbour to see who first rounds the bend in their makeshift rafts. Several will have sunk, fallen apart, capsized or just drifted aimlessly in the wash caused by the 'lifeboat' - it's probably a complete contravention of every health & safety law ever written, but then so is the bonfire and torchlit procession when the kids with live flames can set fire to the person in front or behind them in the street procession. :rotfl:

See you soon, enjoy the drive down and so far, so good with the weather - it's stayed dry so far.

shaz_mum_of__2

Thanks Nyk

Mil has a depressive psychotic disorder highs and lows she has also got a nasty side and has in the past been violent towards loved ones (this thankfully stopped years ago )...............she is on medication but dementia has made her fogetful and repetitive

I feel guilty for not having her live with us but she is so in your face i have to be realistic about coping with her .............it is really weird because on a day to day level she functions quite normally for an 82 yr old she cooks she clean she can get on the right bus despite having moved from her home of over 40 yrs to a completely different part of the country.

When she gets in one of her moods though i give her a wide berth ....hubby can cope but i try to rationalise her behaviour or she upsets me ...............then she is all remorseful later and wants forgiveness which i find hard.

We are so pleased we managed to persuade her to move nearby otherwise who knows what she would be like


Anyway it's not all bad she can be really nice and has a wicked sense of humour too

Keep telling hubby i hope its not genetic though...lol


bags packed for cinema trip and packed lunch for after as the weather seems to have faired up..fingers crossed

Shaz

lyndasharp

SL and Nyk, have a good day!

Congrats on the new arrivals (babies and chickens ) and hope they are all doing well.

Sft, hope you are feeling better today, and I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

We spent a very productive day yesterday sorting out the garage, and as well as filling up the bin we found 2 boxes of car bits that we can sell. One item sold last night, so have already made £65 :j We've also found new homes for the two engines, though they have gone for free as they need some work, it will be so much better having to squeeze round them all the time.

whitewing

shaz,

Don't feel guilty. My MIL is perfectly normal, but the strain on DH's and my relationship when we had her living with us last year was unforseen and immense. It wasn't her herself, just the extra adult. Even though it was only for a few months, my relationship with MIL has never quite recovered.

Now that she has her own place, a 10 minute walk away, it is much easier to support her, and she is happier. I know your situation is different, but you're right that you have to be realistic on what you can cope with.

bails,

Archie is a fantastic name. Congratulations to you all.

Much more I wanted to say, but I can't remember who said what. I'll look again later.

Frugaldom

whitewing wrote: »

bails,

Archie is a fantastic name. Congratulations to you all.

Much more I wanted to say, but I can't remember who said what. I'll look again later.

Oh, I knew there was something else I had missed out my posts! Sorry, Bails! Congratulations to all concerned, especially auntie and uncle.

Re the having another adult living in the house - I'm bad enough with HS and DS at times but when DD had to return home to live for a while, along with DGD, things could get extremely tense, to say the least. It's not that I was pleased to see the back of them, but it's a strain when you constantly feel like you're treading on eggshells :rolleyes: You should see what happens if my parents are here for a few days. :eek: Suffice to say, they are staying in a hotel when they visit for DD's wedding. :rotfl: Sorry mum & dad (mum could be reading this), love you really, but couldn't live with you now I'm supposed to be all growed up n stuff.

lingojingo

wow, what a lot to catch up on!

Congrats to all who deserve them, twice to Bails :rotfl: Being an auntie is lovely, you get to spoil them and give them back, and the job looks fantastic - lots of pictures needed when you get back.

Hope the weather stays good for the raft race Nyk, nearest I've been to that was an amateur corracle race in Wales (those things are ridiculously difficult to steer).

We now have 2 mini tomatoes on one plant, and tons of flowers on the rest, and the potatoes and the peppers, so hoping for a good harvest eventually.

Can't remeber what else I was going to say, so please don't anybody feel left out, i did read all the posts and think of you!

andromache_2

Hello Lovely to read all your news! I'm very excited about the SL and nyk meet today and bails's auntiedom, placement and job interest and SF being on holiday and aeb finding more out about her triplets and natalie's chickens and everyone on this thread for being so fab

... can you tell I'm a little hyper today? ...

Getting lots of work done at the moment which means I'm earning a lot and not spending much (Though some money may have fallen out of my purse earlier in the week in the Oasis sale, taking me over my already fairly generous clothes & shoes budget; some budget re-jigging needed there!)

... speaking of which, I'd best get back to it :cool: I'm being paid to edit a whole load of articles which need to go to the publisher's on Tuesday so speed is of the essence!

Love to you all xxx

sophiesmum_2

Good morning frunchkins:D
Quick update from me now I am back in the land of work and internet:rolleyes: Spent the past week getting more stuff sorted at the cottage.Put up a metal arch over the front gate, need to grow something over it now:rolleyes: My little veg corner behind the shed is progressing, the veggies I started off in the raised beds are doing well, with the exception of the cucumber plants which are just about hanging on although there are two little cukes appeared so not dead yet;) Added a few more beds this week to fill up a space there and also put down some weed control fabric and bark chippings between the beds, hopefully this will help make it low maintennace. Had to redo one small corner after a mischievious lamb thought it would be fun to pull the black fabric through the fence - this has now hopefully been moved far enough away from edge of fencing:rolleyes:
Thinned out some of the salad leaves and radishes I had sown and tried to transplant a few but think this was not successful so am expecting most to die off, but will leave them till next weekend on the offchance that a few survive.

Beds are looking more like this now


We also had another load of the reduced price decking planks delivered and between us OH and myself, (with only a little swearing!) made a huge 4ft square compost bin complete with lid, which is now at the back of the garage and filling nicely:D the beans in the troughs along the garage are starting to grow well too, and hvae been netted to keep some of the snails away.


We also made a 4ft x 3ft logstore so we can start getting prepared for the winter


More of the planks were used to make a couple more raised beds and two small planters, but there are still several left which will be utilised to make more beds on our next visit - mostly for fruit bushes and a couple of troughs for my proposed herb garden.
The veggie growing beds are contained within quite a condensed space so far so still lots of garden area to be developed yet, hopefully the next few visits should see the chicken house and run transported and then I can relieve NYk of some of her feathered friends:D (before she rehouses them anyway in the new compost bin:rotfl:)
Enjoyed a quiet week pootling about doing stuff in the garden and house. Rubberised a chicken to make roast dinner, sarnies,salad, chicken curry,and more sarnies;) made a 6.5litre slowcooker full of carrot and lentil soup using the chicken stock which did us lunches, and made a loaf in the breadmaker each day to use with soups, sarnies and toast for brekkies etc. Cooked more lovely meals in the remoska.
Not a lot achieved indoors but time enough for that when the bad weather arrives, did put up some flat pack stuff, took delivery of a cooker, had the new freesat aerial installed,picked up a gas bottle from camp site for OH's barbecue,spoke to landlord about bathroom plans, and organised a plumber to install a shower next month (immersion heaters and baths not economical at all:eek:)
Oh and i also joined the local LETS group and attended a little meet with Nyk so now plotting what I can contribute to the group in terms of cooked/baked goods etc.

Have just about caught up with everyone's posts, congratulations on new babies, new chickens, holidays with bfs, voluntary work, and anything else I have forgotten.
Hugs to all those who need one xxx

grandma - thanks for the pm have downloaded successfully xx

SL - sorry to have missed you today, hope you have a great visit, fancy doing it again next weekend?? minus the raft racing of course

Think that's about it, need to go and update totals. Catch you all later.xx

Frugaldom

CW - Haven't seen you on over the weekend, just wondering if everything is OK?

I'm just waiting for SL to arrive. So far, so good as far as rain staying away is concerned, I've not known the race to be cancelled yet and certainly don't want this to be the first time it does.

Andromache, good work getting the editing work! Well done! I used to be editor of a newspaper, hence the 'media' part in name, and it has stuck for years. I can't help but be tempted to read everything and absorb it before editing and proofing it, though. You get to learn loads of interesting snippets despite the deadline pressures.

whitewing

sm,

Intertwining roses and clematis for your arch. It'll look and smell lovely for when I invite myself up to see you.....:)