Botanical blunderings on a budget - good life starts here.

Keiss_21

Morning all, sounds like you have skipped Autumn completely Pippi and have plunged into the depths of winter...it's going to be a long one methinks!

You talk sounds great: infomative, yet fun. I am always one for bribing folks with food.

When I ran the after-school gardening club I used to bring in bread and various jams/jellies/marmalades to munch on at the end. It was also a great way to get the kids to wash their hands before heading home. Many discovered home-made jams for the first time and discovered lots of different flavours they'd never tried before. I used to sell jars of my preserves to the parents, and put the money back into the club to buy more seeds/compost/plants etc. Win-win I'd say!

MrsMoo2U wrote: »

sorry for this hijack but Keiss I just came across this blog post and thought of you and your knitted coat
http://kandipandi.blogspot.com/2011/10/golden-hands.html

Thanks for the link Mrs M. Lovely designs there, but others :eek:
I have decided to give up on the coat, I have not heard back from the lady who wants it made. I have rung her three times and left messages each time. I will take the pattern and her details back to the shop where she can pick them up ....can't believe how much I worried about doing this!!

It has made me think about what I should realy be charging for things though...still in a quandry about pricing things for my craft stall in November (27th...less than 8 weeks to go :eek::eek:). Got the official booking form yesterday...£20 a table, it is a big event, and the table money is going to the local playgroup. Now have to work out how describe what I make/sell succinctly...have a great tendancy to waffle...can you tell

So off to get the bread underway before getting the sewing machine up and working. Dare I put the washing out....yup, but double pegged today!

Have a lovely day all...if you can! x

redsquirrel80

Really interesting thoughts on the boundaries between things people do for fun/ when you do them as a job....

Your teaching sessions sound great - the main things I picked up from the presentations course yesterday were that 99% of people feel nervous, you never look/ sound as bad as you think (video yourself to prove this!) and practice, practice, practice makes it better (if not perfect).

Keiss - shame about the coat, but good news about the craft fair, sounds good!

Cheery_Daff

session sounds fab Pippi! :T :T Well done you! :j :j :j And sounds like you're sorting out boundaries too xx

Pippilongstocking

Keiss I'm sorry about the knitting project too. Re pricing - how about lay things out and think if it was your friend who made them, how much you would tell her to charge? When we had a cafe/craft shop (me and my chum) we both made things and she'd suggest lots for my stuff and nowt much for hers, whilst I'd do the opposite, eventually after much drinking of coffee and alot of bartering between the two of us, we got to a decent price. Its a wonder we managed to sell anything! Therefore if you can't do that yourself, can you ask anyone to help you wrangle a bit to get a proper a price? Or look on etsy/ebay etc and find prices for similar things.

Gardening with jam sounds like an ace idea. I may pinch that. Its turned into winter here - I may ring the lady -she's not expecting me today but be nice to say, um if I come today I'll die of the cold, be blown off your hill and mish up your lawn. I'll come when its dry.

Red, hey up me duck - videoing - oh my I don't think so - practice though = good advice, I'm glad everyone feels that nervous, or is that just mean of me? Mr Cheery and I had an excellent talk about it all - him being a musican and all that - we've alot of similarities in our professions rather oddly - difficult when many folk do things for fun/free - we both do alot of extra 'networking/free' work which may or may not lead on to things - its only when folk pursue projects you can decide/make your professional interest more firm.

Right if I'm indoors I need a plan. Work emails and might attempt a bit of web work, after all its part of the patch work and its been sorely neglected lately.
ETA - cheery - we both know how rotten I am at that, but MR cheery chat really helped - thank him for me xxx And you of course, I don't think it was that great (the talk) but no one died and they ate cake. Perfect result I reckon.

lucielle

Cake and chatting about plants what could be nicer?
L

redsquirrel80

I thought the same about videoing, but I have done it for my flute playing and it wasn't as bad as I thought.. I also feel massively self-conscious about standing in a room talking to myself, but I'm thinking if I want to be able to do these things... eurgh.

We had some interesting chats about the similarities with acting/ music too (one of the trainers was a singer), and about how you could think of presenting as 'putting on an act' - puts a bit of distance there that might make you feel safer. Also that nerves are GOOD as long as they don't get out of control. Lots of things to think about, not sure I've processed it all yet hence wittering on.. :rotfl:

Pippilongstocking

lucielle wrote: »

Cake and chatting about plants what could be nicer?
L

I think bread and plants nicer, but I've learnt from you lot that people like cake (very odd) and therefore I've provided cake. An evening of blethering on about pH, soil structures, fertilisers etc - not alot of fun - but we did eventually get on to carrots and other exciting roots

Hope you're well, must lob myself over to your fence and send you the details for visits in the land of the big old stones and more old stones and of course, cows.

redsquirrel80 wrote: »

I thought the same about videoing, but I have done it for my flute playing and it wasn't as bad as I thought.. I also feel massively self-conscious about standing in a room talking to myself, but I'm thinking if I want to be able to do these things... eurgh.

We had some interesting chats about the similarities with acting/ music too (one of the trainers was a singer), and about how you could think of presenting as 'putting on an act' - puts a bit of distance there that might make you feel safer. Also that nerves are GOOD as long as they don't get out of control. Lots of things to think about, not sure I've processed it all yet hence wittering on.. :rotfl:

I'd be hiding behind the camera, talking to myself - :rotfl:

I think its why I wear hats alot - hides more of me!!!

Well done on learning new stuff - the being 'someone' when teaching (eg acting) is a bit easier than being yourself somehow - I keep deflecting to the guru chap - (he's not in the room anymore, but if a bit nervous I say well, guru says we do it like this, like I'm learning too (which I am/have) so that makes me feel more like I'm sharing than talking at folk.

Brekkie - mother and son day today - he can make the brekkie , hmm what will I ask for......he's learning how to make stew today to turn into a pie later - another one for the book of stolen recipes.

Called the lady and we talked about the garden, told her I'd need a couple hours to get it sorted for winter (which she was OK with) and we talked about bulbs which she's now asked for a quote for.

More work yay :T and she didn't expect me out in that today - :T.

troglodyte

Morning!

Haven't quite caught up with everyone yet but just wanted to post this link (if I can make it work) - a local person offering the sort of thing I can imagine you doing, Pippi.

More later - hope you're all having a good day so far.

Pippilongstocking

troglodyte wrote: »

Morning!

Haven't quite caught up with everyone yet but just wanted to post this link (if I can make it work) - a local person offering the sort of thing I can imagine you doing, Pippi.

More later - hope you're all having a good day so far.

Oh wow thank you - that is like what I'm developing but she's got it so simple - thank you

And our rates are similar

:T

Appreciate the time you've taken - question did I send you any Tolmiea *piggy back plant* last time - it would do well with you indoors if you're as shady as you've mentioned -

I'm assembling a peedie parcel for you.

MrsMoo2U

Great link Trog.
Morning all. Just rushing through, have prepared for my teleconference in 10mins. I am chairing so cant be late and thought I would pop head over fence.

I always act when I am presenting. I still have delusions that I will be like Richard wotsit off One Foot in the Grave and be discovered at a ripe old age and become famous. Might help if i joined an acting group. I love the idea of the tin of beans. See you are finding your own style. It is all about finding little hooks and connecting with people I think. Mind you at my WI presentation on Monday one lady at the back fell asleep whilst knitting very funny indeed when I went round the back of the audience to talk and my booming voice woke her up and she tried to pretend she had been awake all of the time. Mind politics can be boring.

Catch up later.