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

flowertotmum

Hi all...how you all doing...
Annie56..watch it monty will have a space all laid oout for chantelle..lol.
Sammy i would vote for the penguin..coz they soo cute and waddle..
Mardatha welcome back..didn't take long..
Well today i have sorted the utility room cupboards for storage for my jams etc..sorted the pot cupboard..put my lovely china in boxes and glassware that only ever gets used for parties and xmas..stored that safely away..got rid of 2 sewing machines.so i now have 1 my trusty jones..got all my jam jars sorted and on hand ,sorted the tots crayons and craft stuff too..had to do that while they weren't here otherwise i would be heading for the bin with them hanging on to my ankles..looks much better and tidier..Made hubby sort the greenhouse and his shed..yes thats right i had my "do it or else i'll do it " head on..last time i did it he almost cried when he realized i got rid of lots of his stuff...
My no tv experiment is going really well..tots are playing and finding stuff to do...i have been reading more so has hubby..last night we sat in dining room all night,i was sewing and he was doing our new budget and planning for the lotties..o yes can i say thanks to the plot holder who threw his fag end into our shed and set it on fire..cheers pal..your a star...fire brigade came and put it out..not much damage and we didn't loose much apart from 2 watering cans..but it could have been much worse..just glad no one got hurt...
Got definate confirmation from barcl*ys today my account is now closed with a balance of £0.00...yay so happy..i'll be £26 a month better off from now.on...thats why hubby was doing budget..factoring in extra money...
On a personal note..my nettle tea is amazing..is does what they say it does..my erm monthly is nothing compared to last one and no cramps either..can't be bad..will keep drinking it..
Got to go tots bathtime..
catch you all later
ftm

ceridwen

betony wrote: »

Hello lovelies :wave: Made bolognese last night, from scratch as usual. Inspired by you people and watching 'Superscrimpers' (which makes you lot look like spendthrifts!) I added loads of veggies, tinned cannelini beans and lentils to pad it out and - it was NOT VERY NICE! Too many lentils - oops :embarasse Going to add gravy next time we have some and call it mince stew

Ah...but....theres Rescue Remedy for food as well IMO - aka pesto. Anything that looks like its going to be a bit "bland" comes alive I reckon with a couple of good spoonfuls of pesto. Any type of pesto - I'm not fussy. 'Twas a revelation to me to find that pesto didnt just mean a concoction based on basil and pinenuts and sold expensively in a jar (though thats very nice and very useful:)) - but can be made very easily and a lot more inexpensively from quite a wide variety of green vegetables as a substitute for basil on the one hand and using walnuts or sunflower seeds as a substitute for pine nuts on the other hand (its the Parmesan cheese and garlic that are key in getting that taste....).

ceridwen

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

To all who suggested ANIMAL ADOPTION

I had looked into it with a zoo thats near my grandmother in hampshire - she works there as a volunteer in her younger days - but was considering an adoption there and he then gets tickets so he can go and visit the animal and it helps provide for him

As far as zoo keeper experiences - I have looked into it too and he is too young yet - he is 7 this year but next year he is old enough to have a zoo keeper day so am going to ask cheshire zoo if he can go with one of their keepers for the day and help out and daddy can accompany him and then I'll go round the zoo with my father/step mother and holly whilst they are 'working'

As far as adoption go the zoo i am looking at offer a childrens pack and they get


now the only question is who do I adopt? so votes please
Isabella the giraffe
Yenna The Tiger
Chico the meerkat
Eva the penguin
Wendy the Pygmy hippo
Endeever the snow leopard

FYI its £25 for a childrens adoption.


JUST NOTICED! For £100 he could have an animal encounter with a giraffe! He gets entry to the park, and 30 minutes to touch and feed the animal. x

Mine's a vote for a penguin - just because I think they're funny the way they waddle round - and anyway everyone picks meerkats these days (well...yep...they're cute too....). So - one vote for the penguins..:)

hex2

Cauliflower is stacking up here too. I usually end up making cauli cheese and freezing it, or some sort of cauli and potato curry. The Delia roasted stuff is nice, see here

We watch very little TV here tbh, and I try and dis-encourage the boys from watching random junk. My parents didn't let us watch much so I have never been a channel surfer, and I want to give the boys a similar frame of reference. Both OH and I spend a lot of time reading, and hopefully the boys (6 and 8) will grow up to do the same. I wonder at what age they will want to rebel against the no tv in bedrooms rule? They go to bed at 7.30 but they are allowed to read for as long as they want to.

flowertotmum - that is awful on the shed, what an idiot, especially given the recent weather.

I was rumaging in the freezer trying to make some room when I found a tub of frozen cherries from next doors tree last year - looks like they will have a superb crop this year if we get a bit of rain. I still have bilberries, raspberries and blackberries to use too. Time for some sort of fruit pudding at the weekend as I also found a tub of frozen whipped cream. Summer pudding springs to mind.

Another vote for the penguins, my six year old son loves them. Decent toy shop you will be able to buy him a model for a couple of pounds, then he can make a penguin habitat out of polystyrene as part of his birthday.

jackieglasgow

Sammy_Kaye my DS says the snow leopard

HariboJunkie

Sorry I haven't posted again for a while. Just extremely busy.:o

TudorRose I'm sorry about your shop and wish you all the best for selling your stock. x

Annie56. What a shame the poodle's owners didn't put their number on the collar as well of/instead of the dog's name. Well done on getting the midwife job. They're like gold dust here.

I am delighted with the garden this year as it's looking so productive. We have been eating salad leaves and lettuce for a month now and have added radishes and spring onions to the harvest. My fruit bushes are laden, including the two Morello cherry trees which are covered in cherry buds. :j
The greenhouse is filling out with 15 tomato plants of 8 different varieties and the cucumbers are staring to climb. Courguettes, beans, spuds, beets, carrots and brocolli in the raised beds are enjoying the wet and mild weather.:D

The flowers are doing well too, particularly the lilac tree and I have been bringing armfullls of lilac into the house which saves buying any cut flowers.

I am trying not to spend money on the garden this year and salvaged some large pots, timber for another raised bed, old horsehoes which have been painted and put above the doorways and some large old preserving pans which I am growing salad in, all from the local recycling site (with permission).:money:I also spent some time today cutting up margarine tubs to use as plant labels for the seedlings.

Chooks are still laying well (28 eggs a week from 4 hens) and my neighbour is still buying most of them so her money more than pays for all food and bedding.

OH is working VERY hard at the moment. There is still a big contract in the offing but cash flow remains a problem due to late/non paying clients. :mad:

Off to do the dishes and whizz the nettle soup I made earlier to go in flasks for lunch tommorrow.

Take care all.

ceridwen

Flowertot - good to hear that "vote of confidence" in the efficacy of nettles as a remedy for t'wrong time of the month. Rather you than me drinking it though :eek:

Gives me a little bit of oomph to get my cheque and LETS Credit Note off - as I'm booking myself into a shortie herbal remedies course coming up soon.

To me - when I was younger I just used to think "countryside after countryside - oh BORING...." - but it gives me a lotta motivation to get out there these days in the countryside now I'm looking for food and herbs. I go everywhere these days analysing the scenery in terms of "usefulness" - well...it sure gives me a respect for the countryside and every single little bit of "green" I can find that I never had years back - ie when I thought it was all just "boring" and didnt realise just how threatened the existence of any and every "green" space everywhere is by the relentless onward march of concrete.

The joys of middle age - that time of life when one becomes a full-blown NIMBY (aka "Not in my Back Yard").

If I had a car - then I'd be positively proud to have a car sticker saying "I'm a NIMBY - and proud:D".

kidcat

Tudor rose - its sad to hear you are struggling with your business, you worked so hard with it I remember, if you are trying sheltered accomodation and school fairs, its worth contacting brownies, scouts etc as they usually hold fairs etc as do churches as well. I know a few people have really good LETS groups in their area - would that be a possibility for you? Also several people on our freecycle group advertise their various business ventures - some with really good success.

jackieglasgow

Haribo, I bought a standard lilac last year for outside my front door, and it survived the terrible winter, wrapped in bubble wrap tucked behind my wheelie bin. It is in full bloom at the moment and is quite breath taking - I had been scared to prune it, never having had one before, and its a bit mis-shapen, but smells divine :j

TudorRose

Seeing everyones money saving gardening posts I thought I'd tell you what I saw at Morrisons today.
Outside they had a lovely looking display of plants, hanging baskets, trees etc.
Had a quick look as I went in as my eye was caught by some fancy 'trained' (can't think of a better description) conifers in pots which would look nice by a front door or on a patio.
Price? I nearly fell over in shock when saw that they were £55.00 & £100.00 each! From a supermarket! I'd want them personally delivered for that not humped into a trolley then into the back of the car.