As The Workhouse Approaches....How To Do Everything To Avoid It, the Old Style Way

jackieglasgow

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Good Lord, woman! Anything you manage to get done with a newborn plus other kids IS an achievement.

I'd say just brushing your teeth and getting out of your nightie every day warrants a fanfare.

Well said B&T; Gailey you should adopt this as your siggy, so that you need to look at it every day, or better still, the screensaver on your mobile

thorsoak

Please may I join you?

I used to be pretty good at scrimping/saving/making do/stretching food etc , but have lost the plot in recent years - but now I really HAVE TO!

After OH died in January, I've had a long battle to DWP to ascertain just how much of his pension I've inherited ...ho-bloomin-ray - I will receive the correct amount (hopefully!) this Friday, so it will make it easier to budget...the pension pot is showing through the bottom of what was in it - and I have precisely £1.42 to last me until Friday (and I am determined NOT to scrape anything out of the PP if I can help it!)

Yesterday, I was out of bread - so I made myself a loaf . I've got a large garden, with what was a very productive veg plot, so I've just made arrangements to share it with someone else - for a rent of fruit & veggies for me .

stiltwalker

Well due day here with no sign of the little wotsit! About the only OS thing I've managed today is to get 2 loads of washing out onto the line in the wind. Cleaned the house last night so hope that means he's on his way - lol. Going to be completely non MS tonight and treat us to a takeaway - OH has finished work for a month now, he's managed to take 2 weeks hol to go with his 2 weeks paternity so he can help out with DD and look after me until baby J arrives. Even DD getting impatient now, in the bath last night she put her hand on my tummy and said "come on baby" - think OH and I might have been talking to my bump a bit much - lol.

Went out to the local town to see the waterways festival this afternoon but it seems to get more rubbish each year, last year there was a charity stall with cheap veg plugs but not even that this year - think our village's annual duck race will be more fun tomorrow although as we have had the traditional lack of rain in the run up to it (whatever date is picked it's always the same) and the beck is low as usual so think it ought to renamed the duck meander, the first year we went it took 1.5 hours for the ducks to travel about 250 yards with much "helping" from small children and blokes with brushes! Right off to make a batch of muffins for the cake stand the kids from our community group are running tomorrow.

ChocClare

Welcome thorsoak, sounds like you could teach us all a thing or two!

I honestly think community gardening is going to be the way forward - round our way there are lots of retired people with large and immaculate gardens who are going to be less and less able to look after them as they get older - and this, coupled with the ridiculously long waiting lists for allotments means that there could well be some synergy going on :T

My grandfather "rented out" some of his 3/4 acre garden to a professional market gardener - he paid him 25 shillings a year for the privilege of using his land - and my grandmother never had to buy vegetables. So it's definitely worth doing! Just one point - the reason Mr Gollop paid the rent was that, under some old law, if you work a piece of land for x number of years then title of it reverts to you unless you pay rent for it - so it might be worth charging a peppercorn £1 per year or something to get round that. I know this is why we pay £5 per year rent for the land at the bottom of our garden which borders the river.

lostinrates

Softstuff wrote: »

Aww that's so sweet

It seems in my life I get runs of bad luck, then runs of good, not so often the even uneventful keel.

That's how life is for us too. FWIW I'm glad. Although the hard times are harder when they heap on you, I find that this way suits how DH and I are and approach life.

mamaninie

Hi, would just like to pop in here to say hello, hoping to pick up some growing tips and I hope I can share lots of frugal ways to love life with little ones. I work stupid hours for very little take home once childcare is paid for so I want to make the most of the little I have - and OH is heading for lots of uncertainty next year thanks to the Tories perennial dislike of committed NHS workers.:mad:

gailey_2

Well hubby got home early for him around 5 thank goodness.

So passed kids over to him.

small boy wouldent stop crying and settle despite nappy/outfit change, feed and winding? have no idea where my angel baby gone.

This allowed me to

1 put some washing on
wash up dishes but then make more food and create yet more dishes.

I did spag bol from scratch for kids and some for hubby as lost hope over beef stew being ready anytime soon.

put yesterdays roast chicken in pan and boiled it

thisgave me 1half pints chicken stock.
biggish cereal bowl of chicken meat:D

To think so many bin it and I used to so wasteful:eek:Keep telling mam and mates but they think im proper mad.

Right before I poisen family

potatoes seen better days
sprouting but not green
soft and spongy.

cut them up to put half in stew/half in pasties you think we will survive?

Made bread as ran out nothing as nice as warmbread with butter.:D

just pasty filling to do now
make pastry from scratch with 1 nearly out of date egg hate waste.

beef stew to do
kitchen to clean, dishes to wash up.

stupidly exited about coupon programme tonight and possibility of some sleep!

Im not superwoman been stressful as every time start something haveto stop.
having baby in half term thrown me.
Hopefully when eldest in school can get younger ones good routine to allow me to do things I love cooking, saving money and sewing asreally need to be careful with money this year if we want to be debt free.

ceridwen

thorsoak wrote: »

Please may I join you?

I used to be pretty good at scrimping/saving/making do/stretching food etc , but have lost the plot in recent years - but now I really HAVE TO!

After OH died in January, I've had a long battle to DWP to ascertain just how much of his pension I've inherited ...ho-bloomin-ray - I will receive the correct amount (hopefully!) this Friday, so it will make it easier to budget...the pension pot is showing through the bottom of what was in it - and I have precisely £1.42 to last me until Friday (and I am determined NOT to scrape anything out of the PP if I can help it!)

Yesterday, I was out of bread - so I made myself a loaf . I've got a large garden, with what was a very productive veg plot, so I've just made arrangements to share it with someone else - for a rent of fruit & veggies for me .

More than welcome to join us Thorsoak - and welcome.

Hope the pension is all sorted out this week for you.

Now - that garden is a very positive asset you have there. Good thinking Batman (well Batwoman in your case....:)) that you have worked out a Landshare type arrangement with that. Extra food and hopefully a nice new friend into the bargain - win/win:D. I DO like win/win situations:) - so I think that sounds like a very good way to go ...:):T

jackieglasgow

Has anyone come across mardatha today? I see she was online earlier but she's not been in here, I hope her son is OK. (I have sent her a text too.)

ginnyknit

Welcome to the new people, lovely to have you join us, thorsoak I hope all your plans work out after such a hard time. Sharing your garden is a lovely solution.

Stiltwalker sounds like you are getting ready for the off :rotfl:looking forward to seeing pics of your little one.

Had a quiet day as Dgs didnt sleep well due to toofypegs Just realised we have very little food in so going to have to be very imaginative this week but may be a good idea to have the freezers free from all those odds and sods then I can do a load of baking to fill them up till all my lovely veggies grow (she says optimistically)

Not heard from Mardatha, maybe she has gone to visit Ds I imagine that will be quite a drive as she is so far from anywhere. Hope all is well with our dear buddy