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

Larumbelle

I've had a bad day today, been in bed much of it, in pain. Took some painkillers and they promptly made me sick. This afternoon OH decided to be helpful and cook me some lunch... he thought a full english might make me feel better! :wall: Not what I would ideally serve up to someone feeling queasy, but I suppose it was the thought that counts. I felt ever so guilty because even the look of it made my stomach turn!

Feeling a little better now though :A so I'm just pottering around a little. Another of my notebooks sold on Dawanda :T Only £9 but that's not the point, I'm still thrilled when anyone actually wants to buy my stuff. I've had a few more ideas for upcycled goodies I can make and sell. I've got all the junk I need so I have a few projects to keep me occupied over the next couple of days.

[Deleted User]

I`ve got to go back and digest the posts again, lots of good stuff as usual.

I am jiggered, never mind my plan for stages of different things to do and it has been hitting 31 today

I went to the allotment and realised that the broad beans were ready and so I picked and picked and am 1/3 a way up the stems from the bottom, then watered with a watering can and fed comfrey liquid to different crops and turned my shallots and garlic and picked a marrow that couldn`t wait and 2 courgettes and 6 carrots. Then cycled home and weighed my beans, now they aren`t taking a lot of space on the allotment but they are comfrey fed and have been de black-fly-ed twice so are very healthy, they weighed 5 kg. I couldn`t believe how productive they are, amazing.

So I had to pod and blanch and just got on with it. 1 minute and into iced water, using half the bag of ice cubes I was saving for g and ts. Spread out to dry on t towels and then vac packed in 1 meal packages for two, 3 in a vac bag. I had to do this as my freezer is groaning and vacuuming saves a lot of space and stops freezer burn. That`s 12 protein bits stored for winter and I think I`ll get at least another 17 next week. Oh I hope the runner beans hang on, I haven`t stopped for breath, then again the upside is an easy winters cooking as the prep is done

I am getting bordeaux mixture tomorrow as I fear blight is imminent as we are forcast a few days of rain and it has to be sprayed on before blight happens. I have 2 lovely rows of maincrop potatoes to protect. I`ll be protecting most of the tomatoes with holey polythene as usual

I had a lakeland delivery on friday and had some white wizzard and it is very good. I needed to find a way of putting the sparkle back onto a pale cream reclining sofa and chair that I have had for 6 years and used that. It has come out as good as new and even dh noticed.

I am sitting here eating chocolate, grhhh I`m not hungry but need the fix. What a day!!

added: re candula petals, I am going to make an oil infusion to start with, good for healing skin

ChocClare

Today I have worn myself to a frazzle, but achieved loads, so quite pleased.

Also, I ate my first ripe tomato. So ha to you mardatha with knobs on (only not really, 'cos I know you haven't been well) Also, you're probably sick of the sight of tomatoes by now, having probably consumed POUNDS of the things!

Spent a *fun* hour sweeping rat poo out of the shed and then poisoning myself by watering every surface liberally with Jeyes fluid. I can now breathe again, but it was a bit mustard-gas-y in there for a while. DH has put the shed up high on two breezeblocks (well, several breezeblocks, obviously, but two layers high ) to stop the little bu%%ers getting back in the shed.

We live in a thatched cottage and found Liverpool Victoria were by far the cheapest for home insurance. We didn't need a specialist mortgage though ???? not heard of that before.

And our cottage isn't dusty. Well, it is, but that's because I don't dust - I mean, it isn't NOTICEABLY more dusty than our last house.

Spidery - OH yes. We are the spider capital of the western world. Dusty - not so much...

HariboJunkie

gailey wrote: »

Ps just seached.

thanks haribo junkie/flowertot mum and kidcat-nice to be missed.

Glad you're ok. Take it easy. xxx

Larumbelle wrote: »

Had a bit of a shocker this evening. I'd been vaguely aware that my friend had 'met' a USAF pilot serving in Afghanistan through a dating website. !

Hope your friend is ok. xxx

mardatha wrote: »

Am feeling partly human today, HUGE thanks to everybody who kindly missed me

Glad you're on the mend. xxx

Choc Clare, I make alot of omelettes and fritattas in the summer, the added bonus being that they are good for using up odds and ends in the fridge and can be veggie or not as required. What about jacket spuds. They freeze ok. Will keep thinking for you. x

Am exhausted and heading for an early night. Hoping for both a cash injection and an injection of energy early in the week.

ps. Redlady. I thought you were coming to live near me?:p:D;)

mardatha

O god noway CC, I couldnt live in a house with spiders. It's either them or me. One of us has to die !!!

JIL

ChocClare wrote: »

Today I have worn myself to a frazzle, but achieved loads, so quite pleased.

Spent a *fun* hour sweeping rat poo out of the shed and then poisoning myself by watering every surface liberally with Jeyes fluid. I can now breathe again, but it was a bit mustard-gas-y in there for a while. DH has put the shed up high on two breezeblocks (well, several breezeblocks, obviously, but two layers high ) to stop the little bu%%ers getting back in the shed.

i read somewhere that catnip deterred rats, although you may then end up with all the local moggies paying a visit. petshops sell a catnip spray that may smell better than jeyes fluid.

smileyt_2

All this talk of rats - one of the little girls down the street took great pride today in telling me that she had seen three dead rats in the alley all killed by her cat. Three cheers for the cat, I say!

Our street is having a giant pumpkin growing competition (organised by me, for my sins). Half the pumpkins are in the back alley now, and the other half will be out tomorrow evening. There are ten of us taking part. The variety we are growing is Atlantic Giant. I am going to go out and put some slug pellets down in a minute - I'd rather not teach the kids to garden using poisons but otherwise we will have no plants left by the morning! I hope the rats (including the human variety) leave the plants alone. Our alley is gated so if anything happens to the plants we will know it is one of our neighbours. One year we all saved up for hanging baskets and they were glorious. We woke one Sunday morning to find them all gone. We later learned from the police that a bloke round the corner had sold them at a car boot sale, along with other stolen goods. Anyway, if the pumpkins do their stuff, we will have a pumpkin pie and soup night at hallowe'en yum yum!

Saw a man on a quad bike roaring round the streets tonight. He had on a balaclava - the type with just eye holes cut out, IRA style. Must have a very small willy, is all I can say. What a charming area I live in!

Ginnyknit, if you lived close by I definitely would have borrowed your clippers! I am going to buy some new ones this week, the old ones have had it and I can't unscrew them because the screws are in too tight.

Tomorrow is bean-sowing day. Is it odd to be excited about this ? :rotfl:I have two varieties of French beans to sow. Plus I am going to have one last go at sowing courgettes! Kittie, how do you get so much to grow? I am on really poor soil, and without a car I really struggle to condition it as I can't bring stuff down to the allotment. I think I am going to try and sow some green manures this autumn and see if that helps.

Anyway, it's bed-time. Goodnight and sweet dreams!

[Deleted User]

smileyt wrote: »

Kittie, how do you get so much to grow? I am on really poor soil, and without a car I really struggle to condition it as I can't bring stuff down to the allotment. I think I am going to try and sow some green manures this autumn and see if that helps.
!

wd on organising the community growing project smiley

Green manures are great. I put mustard in last autumn but that has to fit in with rotations as it is a brassica. I have been sowing patches of phacelia this year, its very easy to pull out and I use it on the compost heap at the moment. It sounds as though buckwheat might suit your soil
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=373

Things are growing well for me eg my onions were on average about 400g each and I put it down to the comfrey that I planted early spring. I make comfrey water ie I stuffed leaves in a net bag, which I hang in a water butt and dip the can in when needed

I am def not doing as much today, just shopping for bordeaux and then spraying late afternoon.

Flippin well serves me right for stuffing my face with chocolate in the evening, I tossed and turned because of heartburn and woke up early with it. I wish I could remember this when faced with an evening choc craving

Softstuff

I've been whining about how hopeless and knackered our vacuum cleaner is, and the damn thing bit back. It's a cylinder style and when I was putting it away by retracting the telescoping handle, I managed to trap my boob in it :eek: Cue a sore and nasty angry looking blood blister. At least I managed to free myself, I had a very strong image in mind of my doc laughing his head off if I ran in there with it attached.

Bet a nice dyson wouldn't bite me :rotfl:

Hope everyone has a less pinchy day.

ceridwen

kittie wrote: »

Flippin well serves me right for stuffing my face with chocolate in the evening, I tossed and turned because of heartburn and woke up early with it. I wish I could remember this when faced with an evening choc craving

I occasionally get heartburn and had never really found anything satisfactory to deal with it - but I decided to check out my natural health books for ways to deal with it last time and duly took:

half teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
half mug of warm water
teaspoon of fresh lemon juice (could have been lime juice instead)

all mixed up together and drunk down quick and realised the following day that the heartburn must have disappeared pretty much instantly - as I hadnt thought about it again ...:D:T. I'll remember that one in case of future need...