How to Get Through The Tough Times The Old Style Way.

modern_millie_2

Hi GQ, often have insomniac moments too, don't know if it's cyclical, I'll try making a note. Glad it's not IB anyway.
Redlady, so sorry to hear about the OBB. Sounds like you have given him a good life with lots of love.
Hope there is some good news on the horizon for everyone facing hard times.

Oh - nearly forgot - calling swede turnip - is it a Northern thing? My mum and dad always did, I'm from the NE originally.

Cheapskate

Hello all

Been lurking on here all week, taken me that long to catch up! So sorry to hear of all the poorlies (human & non-human), redundancies, neighbours-from-hell, etc., but everyone seems to be made of stern stuff and determined to rise above all the carp! Makes me proud to be a very small part of MSE! :j

Bertiebots - was it you who said you're in West Yorkshire? Whereabouts, as I'm there as well?

GreyQueen - I've been up, but not online, since oh-my-god o'clock; shall we all be loonies together? Years ago I worked for a drugs/alcohol help organisation & we often had strange clients at new & full moon times as well, so there must be something in it!

I'm at work most of today, but going to spend the evening looking out all the odd packets of seeds to see what I can plant tomorrow. Managed to get the John Seymour book from the library that someone mentioned - really good and so familiar that I wonder if my mum had it from the library when we were kids.

My shopping bill is going up fast, too, even quite ordinary stuff, so we're going to have an interesting menu the next few weeks to use up all the odd things in the freezer & cupboards. My local butcher is good & can get things like rabbits, sells all sorts of offal & will sell rag ends of bacon, etc., for pennies for soup making - he's a star!

Potato question - I've not bought seed spuds yet this year, is it too late to chit/start planting out (assuming I can still get some anyway)? Thanks if you can help!

Will keep up with this thread - so much help & advice here! :T

modernmillie - my dad was Scottish & he called 'em all neeps,whether they were swedes (big ones) or turnip (little) - & we had them hollowed out for Hallowe'en, too!

A xo

ceridwen

redlady_1 wrote: »

The Old Blind Boy has become disorientated. After a trip to the vets its seems the end is nigh...more vodka me thinks. i hope they have "squishy" and chicken in heaven. The OH is coming to pick me up as I have had a drink so will spend our weekend together as a family.

A totally crap start to the year all round.

Sorry to hear about The Old Blind Boy:(

Is the Fat Knacker going to be okay about this? I dont know if they are "playmates" as well as cats sharing their human owner iyswim? I'm just thinking aloud about whether FK would want another "playmate" maybe?
(hopes you can see this t'way its meant - ie kindly....)

Take care lass ((( )))

Hardup_Hester

Hugs to Pawpurrs & Red Lady.
Grey Queen, Thank you, we find the kids at at school go loopy when it's a full moon & are also when the weather is windy.
Cheapskate you shouldn't be too late to start chitting you potatoes, hubby started early this year but previous years he has started later.
Hester

ceridwen

skintbint wrote: »

cant get over how worried i am as everyone else at work, friends etc doesnt seem to be bothered about everything shooting up in prices and i know they are not any better off than what i am but they just carry on spending, which makes me worry even more about budgeting - is it just me?

Its not just you (and us, of course, on this thread). I'm starting to get report-backs from friends that they are worrying about their jobs. No-one I am friendly with has lost their jobs yet (of those that are still working age that is - as many of my circle are now retired/early retired) - but there is a lot of "reading of the runes" going on amongst those working age peeps and concern that they might lose their jobs soon. I'm "maintaining a watching brief" on my job and working out all sorts of "worst case scenarios" - the "If they managed to find a way to kick me outa my job without any redundancy money" type scenarios. A parade of figures goes through my mind as to "It would take £100 to cover an initial 3 days where no-one paid me, then £200 per month x number of months to retirement to subsidise Dole Money up to enough to live at a "scrape by" level till then".....

EDIT: on a different thought - I had noticed the Full Moon "madness" myself afflicting peeps. Hadnt thought to check the New Moon times - but will do so now. It took ages to percolate through, as it was, that some peeps DO seem to get affected by Full Moons - as I personally couldnt tell you what time of the month it is just by judging how my emotions are (as they dont vary throughout the month - not now I'm past "a certain age" anyways.......). Pre-menopause I knew I had to keep an eye on the calendar - so that I could work out whether my emotions were "real" or just "that time of the month"....The whole "Why am I feeling so anxious/easily upset? Oh yes....only a couple of days until...So I'm not REALLY feeling that way then myself...." scenario. Thank goodness those days are past.

GreyQueen

Morning Cheapskate!

There are still seed spuds in the shops, they've even got them in P*undland and the 99p Store round here. Strictly speaking, none of us need to chit potatoes, commercial growers certainly don't, but it's reckoned to shave a little time off the growing cycle.

Up here in Blighty we're growing spuds outside their natural latitudes so it's a gamble to get them planted at the right time to have them come thru the soil after the last frosts have ended. When that is obviously fluctuates year on year and also depending on your latitude and altitude. I'm in England and not much above sea level, someone 1,000 feet up a hill will have a different set of issues.

I buy my spuds mid-Feb and chit them in egg cartons in the lounge. They are currently sporting sturdy shoots of just under 1 cm. I'll be looking to plant towards the end of March. Although I put them good and deep, and earth them up at time of planting, I have had them stick their leaves above ground in as little as 20 days.

I've booked 21/03 off work and am planning to plant spuds then, subject to weather not being toooo disgusting.

My lottie site has had problems with stray late frosts in mid-May so I keep a very close eye and tuck them under horti-fleece if it's looking dodgy. Frosted tater tops will die but fresh ones will come up from the tuber. However, I like to think of the spud as a little battery with x amount of stored energy for growth, so it it has to generate shoots for a second or third time, I figure the battery is depleted and you get smaller/ fewer spuds out at the end.

I grow seriously BIG spuds on the lottie........will be taking them up at end June/ beginning July (growing Kestrel Second Earlies).

mama67

charlies-aunt wrote: »

Did anyone elses Mum hang the washing out in the freezing cold ? - and bring it in hours later as stiff as a board ? - trousers so stiff they could nearly walk in on their own! It was always cold in the house on those wash days as the massive clothes horse got the prime spot in front of the fire :rotfl: Hard but happy times

I still do do this especially with whites and net curtains. Might be fallicy but the whites always seem whiter after having been out in the frosty air.

mama67

shegar wrote: »

Yes I always had terry nappies too, always came up pure white after a good boiling......but theres no way I could use them as towels knowing what they were originally used for and where theyve been ....:eek:.........yep id use them as floor cloths but that about it.......

They had/have been boiled so where is the problem,they were put back onto baby like that, even now I always do kitchen towels and tea-towels on the hottest wash my machine will do .

redlady_1

Well, this morning I am back at home. OBB has used up another of his 9 lives!!! This morning he is right perky again. He just keeps defying the vets over and over again. He has drops for his ears and I guess because he is blind he relies so much on his other senses that an ear infection has caused him trouble. The vet didnt think they would help (any other vet would have put him down) but here he is! Fat knacker and I am going over tonight (OH brought me back this morning) so we can be with him.

Funnily enough Cerwiden, one of the girls at work, her sisters cat has just had kittens (so cute) so I have wondered...but the Boy is back and I am happy!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Thanks for all your wishes.

I bought a pear tree and plum tree from Lidl, a gooseberry bush and raspberry cane, cold frame, greenhouse and cloches. I noticed this week they have 400gm lean diced steak for £1.99 and 1kg of chicken legs for the same!!! I really do wonder how they can manage it! The seeds I have planted have germinated so need to re-pot them this weekend and they are getting a bit leggy. Luckily enough we have had a frost for a couple of day so the garlic is taking hold - I hope!

My potatoes have gone quite mad! More shoots than you can shake a stick at so I will put in my first earlies fairly soon but in sacks so will bring them inside until the frost calms down.

modern_millie_2

Redlady, great news:D.