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

ginnyknit

Todor Rose, how are you doing now the shop is closed? I hope things are going better for you, it must have been a lousy time for you - bloo&^ recession.

CBHM you sound as if you are thinking ahead and starting to plan. Obviously it will take time but as you see many on here know what you are going through. Its good to have this quiet little place to clear your mind on isn't it. There are lots of things out there waiting for you when the time is right and MSE can give you lots of suggestions of places to find furniture etc. A friend of mine taught herself to decorate and her confidence was low ( due to a bully of an ex -recognise the story?) I told her as long as it looked ok it didnt matter and if anyone commented then they werent worthy of her friendship. She has gone from strength to strength and still come to me for advice but gets the job done.

As for shabby chic furniture thats the whole point it doesnt need to be perfect, its meant to look like its been knocking around for years:rotfl: If you look on the shabbychic thread there are lots of examples of what people have done with a pot of paint and some new handles. I don't know what area you are in but start looking round the charity shops and see what out there. We have a list in Manchester of places that help when you are starting from scratch so maybe theres one for your area.

Mardatha am off to do that sunshine dance for you, its dull here and cool but not as bad as where you are. Oh my Mum sends a hug, I have been telling all about my friends on here and she loves it!

Emptynester

This thread moves so fast it is hard to keep up, but it's so worth it! Loads of good advice and support. It's lovely to realise there are so many folks out there who don't/can't waste money.

I have borrowed some John Harrison books from the library after hearing about them here and they are very useful.

I have also borrowed Metric Pattern cutting which is great. Having had a good look at Metric Pattern cutting I will be buying it following the link a kind OSer provided on here. Their link offered it at a much lower price than any I had found. Mind you the book will then be kept for winter as I am too busy gardening at the moment.

Gardening is a newish hobby for me but I am becoming more and more interested in growing food (yes I went food shopping yesterday lol). I have ordered the grow something to eat everyday book from am**on after reading about it on here and am really looking forward to it arriving.

I also appreciated the idea of using 'standard' rice for puddings instead of 'pudding rice' which seems to have become a luxury item.

I can't think of any tips to offer today but I wanted to say hello and thank you for the things I have mentioned. Thank you for lots of others that I haven't mentioned and thank you for being such a supporting community. :T

Best wishes to all
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ChocClare

Kimitatsu wrote: »

Does anyone know where I can get instructions to make a herb wheel? All this talk of herbs makes me feel that I should extend the herb garden and putting them in one place would be a start! If I can get an idea of how to make it them I can adapt it into a raised bed as my knees are rubbish and kneeling down is not happening :rotfl:

A herb wheel is just literally an arrangement of a circle or hexagon into segments, with the different herbs grown in each one, so you can lay it out anywhere.

If you have trouble kneeling, how about buying a kids' paddling pool (Asda have them for £3), putting it on something at an appropriate height, making a couple of slashes in the base and filling it with compost? The segments could be marked out with string, bamboo, or even little pebbles. Once the herbs were established, you could always replace the sagging plastic edges with some of those logs on a roll that they sell in Wilko's and Lidls for edging.

Might be a talking point anyway!

Can I just say what a lovely post the one I'm quoting from was? The monsters under the bed bit was great! I was trained in NLP years ago (worked in market research) but had never thought of it as a way of dealing with anxiety, as we concentrated on its use in marketing/advertising/understanding brands and what consumers want etc. I must look into it again, as I've forgotten everything I learnt, and I'm a great one for going over things again and again in my mind, so thanks for that.

CBHM, (((hugs))) to you and don't worry about dribbling! Even those of us who've never been in the same boat can empathise about how scary your situation must seem right now. Are you able to post any concrete list of what you need help with - we're all being a bit woolly about suggestions, not knowing EXACTLY what it is you need yet. Perhaps you haven't reached a stage yourself where you're able to make that list, but you can rely on us when you do :grouphug:

VJsmum

redlady_1 wrote: »

Oh yes...having just restored my cottage I can tell you lots about these people! Dont think that by feeding them and giving them cups of tea they will do a better job - they wont! You do get what you pay for so dont scrimp. It will cost more in the long run. Make sure you get references from people who they have done work for before (as you are having major structural works). Go and look at the work. Also, they work on a different time zone. If they start getting funny because you want to see their work, then step away. Tradesmen have big egos and are quite happy to show off their work if genuine. Make sure they are someone with a good reputation. It sounds obvious but my worst mistake was in getting so desperate for a carpenter (after 9 had come to quote!) that I took the one who wanted the job...I knew nothing about him. A very big and very costly mistake. Keep your eye on what they are doing but make sure its subtle. If you leave them alone you may find they will try and fit other jobs in around yours. Make sure you have a definitive time scale and also get a written estimate, not quote. Ask whether they have factored in for any problems that may arise. Make sure you have some extra money put by just in case. Get a local guy so if anything does go wrong you can get him back (yep, learnt that one!) and also I would go for a company. Just my preference and dont forget that alot of quotes exclude VAT so double check. Make sure that you agree to pay them in stages upon completion of the building work. Finally, nip to Tescos and buy something called "patience". I hear it can be invaluable in this situation!!! :rotfl:

Good luck. I seriously do not envy you!!!

Catching up after a week away, but wanted to add a few points to this (don't know if anyone else has). I teach construction and construction law and contract (have also had an extension built) and can agree with all of the above. Look over the contract the builder wishes to use. You might even try to get hold of a "JCT homeowners contract" which has versions with or without architect involvement. BUT if you wish to impose a contract like this, you are likely to pay more. Also be vary wary about paying any money up front and be very careful about additions, changes or extras and try to get a quote for those too.

culpepper

Afternoon peeps!
We have done our usual food shop today.
DS drove us as he is learning to drive and OH was beside him but really,he did very well and parked perfectly too. We are trying to incorporate his lesson into the usual car usage to save having to buy extra petrol.
Prices are still awful in Asdas but we went to Lidl before coming home and they had big 1kg blocks of mild cheddar at 4.97 and 6 tomatoes for 79 pence,both of which were things I had avoided buying in Asdas despite they were on the list.
Yesterday I bought our saturday chocolate in Poundland as they were doing 3 bars for £1 which is far more like the sensible price I expect to pay now that everywhere thinks they can charge 50p + for a single bar.
Not much else doing this weekend. It is having a go at raining and feels much cooler despite the thermometer still reading 23 c in the house.
Bye for now
Culpepper

dollydaydream07

just thought i'd pop in and give those who might venture into Grimsby a heads up
Stitchers World, near top town market, is closing down due to retirement

right off to go and catch up with what i've missed and might even post about my goings on!!!

BitterAndTwisted

culpepper wrote: »

Afternoon peeps!
Yesterday I bought our saturday chocolate in Poundland as they were doing 3 bars for £1 which is far more like the sensible price I expect to pay now that everywhere thinks they can charge 50p + for a single bar.

Tesco appear to have withdrawn their "Value" chocolate bars in my local branch but thankfully Asda are still selling their "Smart Price" 100 gramme bars of milk and plain chocolate for 30 pence. The plain one is very good, too.

redlady_1

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8557373/Food-chain-at-risk-of-being-poisoned-by-terrorist-groups.html

Found this little gem whilst perusing the papers. Like the cells haven't considered this already??

bertiebots

Scary stuff redlady!
Well hello peeps ....have been lurking latley as I havent really had much to say...but hello to all the new faces . Its always nice to see new friends
The school hols are over tomorrow and its back to normal for approx 6 weeks till they break up again. I have to say I have really missed working at school this week (dinner lady for those that dont know ) and cant wait to get back into a routine...I dont seem to function very well without routine! But many positive things are on the horizon so I have lots to sort over the next few weeks (6 weeks and will no longer be mrs!)

I need to get a grip on looking after myself and eating better etc and am wondering if any of you loverlys have any home made skin care tips. My skin has become incredibly greasy latley and want to make something as a mask/cleanser. I have very sensitive skin and shop baught creams etc tend to bring me out in spots/make matters worse!
I am also looking at improving my diet/and that of the kids as I have got a bit lazy and with the high cost of anything remotley healthy its quite hard at the moment, not to mention I am time poor during the week due to my second cleaning job which happens to be at tea time. So any ultra quick healthy cheap meals you can suggest would really help as I need some insparation. One of our favs is already jacket spuds with various toppings or fajitas (which are expensive due to cost of chicken!). My ds1 also need to gain weight as he is like a string bean so I need to feed him up too!
As always hugs to all (())and have a good day everyone!

ceridwen

redlady_1 wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8557373/Food-chain-at-risk-of-being-poisoned-by-terrorist-groups.html

Found this little gem whilst perusing the papers. Like the cells haven't considered this already??

Like the cells wouldnt also have considered that they might accidentally poison some of their own people with it? I dont think personally that the vast majority of us have anything to fear from "comeback against our Government for getting into middle Eastern wars". We have had people injured - and maybe some of them were ones who were actively protesting against those wars as well .....but, on the grand scale of things then I think I'd be a lot more concerned about the fact that the vast majority of people live on this Planet like there's no tomorrow (leastways - so one would think on analysing their lifestyles....:cool:) on the one hand and the Chinese are waging cyber-war against Western countries on the other hand.

I just simply refuse to sit in a scared little heap all the time about all the ways the "less enlighteneds" might find to disrupt/destroy the lives of the rest of us.

Sorrees...but for right now....I am fed up to the back teeth about constantly being told to be scared on the one hand - whilst the Government and a lot of its other citizens do precisely nowt to deal with the causes of all this fear.

Okays - rant over for the day - as you were...and breathe....