Botanical blunderings on a budget - good life starts here.

Pippilongstocking

I've £26 quid left in the bank and when I say bank, I mean in my overdraft - um, I mean both banks I've two overdarfts - nowt left in one, £26 in the other of them (?!).

Credit cards (2) are almost maxed as of today when I paid the garage. One 2200 limit, one 1000 - whoops

Thesis mailed today - I get my life back after 4 years of post grad study. Thank you all who've supported us!!!

I've been on Mse for a while, cleared my main debts but racked up a fair bit since finishing writing up - not had a full time wage since Oct last year.....:eek:

Oh and my life.......................

- single mum, two gorgeous kids, one dog, 10 chickens and a cockeral and a tempermenteral campervan!{and an Mr Flowers who lives 300 miles away most of the time)

- I'm a gardener - anything you're worried about let me know and I'll try and help!!!

- no income on the horizon but an interview next week (p/t job)

- I don't want a full time job lifes too crazy

- I've half a polytunnel which I need to put up, half a plan and no idea if it all will work

- growing a bit of food on my windowsills

-Oh and I live on an island in the north of scotland - frozen north - a bit windy!

- I do a bit of a blog (link on my profile) - working on a website to try and keep me writing!

And of course £26 quid in the bank...........................with a bit of blundering and a bit of flowers - surely it will all be OK?

Please tell me it will be OK?

Well the rents paid for this month - we've food in the cupboards - we'll eat and be cosy!



Welcome to my blunderings with botanical (flowery) good life intentions!

EssexHebridean

Ooh! New diary!

£26? You're rich! Well, rich-ish.....once everything is taken into account! Those hens will help I'm sure, and as you say, you have a roof over your heads and food to eat...what can go wrong?!

Looking forward to reading the next installment of the great Good Life plan Stripes - I've absolutely no doubt it will be every bit as fun and inspiring as the last bits.....!

Pippilongstocking

Welcome welcome welcome - loved the jumpies

Thank you EH - how lovely of you!

Pippilongstocking

A plan EH?

Um, I don't know if I have a plan - um, thats normally bobs department

I've more of a fingers crossed - kinda eyes shut kinda a deal

That will work right, I know I can grow stuff - I know ebay works - I'm hoping other work will turn up, I'll also fit up a chimney if needed! :rotfl:Turn my hand to anything me!

And you're right - £26 positively rich.

Progress tonight - after the glory of mailing thesis was Mr T for half a dozen loaves of reduced bread (25p each), a packet of chicory (30p) and 6 x 5p packs of grow your own tomatoes

Now, I know - my windowsills are bursting - but if this polytunnel goes up (somehow by finding money this month or so for the cover etc fingers crossed) they will fit in it and 5p for 3 plants makes them very cheap.

I did rescue them - honest guv

I guess I'd better start relisting on ebay and boxing up eggs - there are a few downstairs - need get them into work tomorrow!

No rest for the wicked eh?

Keiss_21

Fantastic news about the polytunnel..can't wait to see it...next month...now that is exciting!!

Still pondering whether I can seriously make some money from plants too...managed to sell 10 more peppers today. :T So I have nearly found homes for all my excess peppers, the last will go next Monday. Then I can just worry about my own plants!

Really looking forward to all your wonderful words of wisdom here on this new thread.

Have a blissfull sleep tonight, for tomorrow you shall garden! :j

Pippilongstocking

Keiss I can show you how I mail stuff - works OK for me - that way you might be able to mail plants about the UK if you wanted to - otherwise I'd say look at your local market and do local carboots and sales

Folk that can grow stuff for others are quite skilled and folk like to buy plants - the big horticultural companies charge an arm and a leg - a personal touch goes a long way!

Not sure there will be wisdom on here but plenty of enthusiasm on a budget!

Tomorrow _ full of potential!!

I've plants to list on ebay and other things to pot up!

Keiss_21

Thanks Pippi - think I will have to investigate a bit more. All help gratefully received.

I hope to get to the local market on Saturday (monthly), but helping out at a coffee morning at the same time elsewhere :mad:, so will have to sneak out once I have dropped off the chocolate and beetroot brownies to sell and said "hello" to everyone.

Also helping out with an open garden event on the Sunday...more brownies (making one large tray's worth and each event gets half! ), and taking the last of my toms (Brandywine and San Marzano) for the plant stall I am "manning". Might take a few other plants I hav been splitting.

Would you like some Miscanthus Cabaret? A nice variegated form...and a strapping plant! Might survive up north with the polytunnel to aclimatise in! Let me know and I'll keep one back for you. We had one plant, and so far I have managed to split the clump 7 ways!! :money:

Right, must get to bed soon., it's the second (and last) of my redundancy workshops tomorrow. Today covered CVs; Covering Letters and Application Froms. Tomorrow it's Interviews and Psycometric (sp?) testing...fun??!!!

Night, night x

urg123

Hi PIppi,

great news on the thesis. Just wanted to say that you can and will do it. I'm always so impressed by your ingenuity (sp), determination and very good humour.

I hope you give yourself a massive pat on the back for getting that thesis in. My students always look shellshocked when they come to submit! I wish I could give them all a party for reaching such a milestone!

I look forward to reading your adventures! Hope Darwin features!

Urg x x

maman

:hello: Just called by to say very well done on finisihng your thesis :AWhatever will you find to do with your time?:rotfl:

Greying_Pilgrim

Pippi - wonderful news about finishing off your thesis and getting it posted - fabulous work, congratulations!

I'm very much looking forward to hearing all about the rest of your patchwork life - congratulations again!

Greying

Pippilongstocking

Morning Greying, Maman and Urg - how lovely of you to pop past - thank you for the congrats and Urg how lovely - what a nice person you are! Greying - I've put those bags to good use already so thank you for recycling them to me - I'm sending you a virtual thank you card Maman - um, I'll be on here more (hooray) and I'll be playing around in the flowers more (yippee) - how cool is that?

Peppermint tea this morning! Who's up for a cuppa. Must start saving and drying mint to make my own.

OK the cunning plan (such as it is) is to live from flowers (somehow) and perhaps a p/t job if I can squish one in too. I'm also trying to minimise my wellie boot print on the planet and trying to become rubbish neutral. If, that is possible.

Money update in a mo - tea first!

OK WTFC (working tax family credit) has hit the bank this comes weekly I feel wierd about it - as we're not poor poor but we're entitled to it due to low income but I do fee funny about ti - other folk without kids have to manage - therefore its all gone to Capital one credit card that will go down to 1700.
Other bank is very dodgy - £11 left in OD - the gamer child (boy) has given me his debit card as he owes me £110 - I'll get that into the bank today and put that (100) on the Lloyds CC and get that down to 900

Plan for today

Into college office and begin to clear up debris from thesis write up
Find out if I can help at the Hort dept garden sale at the weekend
Pot up jalapenos and Rosemary which are in greenhouse at work
Do a bit in my veg plot at work but its blowing a hooly - might not
Text chums about eggsn and take some into work
Relist some stuff on ebay
Get Lucielles plants ready to post
Water tomatoes at home
Fill in timesheet for p/t college work done last week
Read local paper hope for free somehow
Email lady about my website very exciting!
Do a bloglet
Pick up a writers desk from the recycling place
Plan garden event for recycling place
Measure polytunnel tubes and find out if I can get the bases here
Get in touch with polytunnel people about a cover - gulp and think about how to buy that soon and get it here - is there a way to avoid the delivery charge
HM dinner - dunno what yet - maybe meatballs - left over from Monday
Walk dog and take some photos
Bank to go to take out gamerboy money and put it into CC

Well thus far thats the plan for today - hope I can make some money (?) and not spend anything