Botanical blunderings on a budget - good life starts here.

Uniscots97

Lemon_Tree wrote: »

turkey meatballs which experimentally i will use with a curry sauce to make a curry, i've got no chicken so it will have to do.
garlic bread - just because it looks yummy and we have no nan bread.
lamb shanks which i'll put in the slow cooker for tomorrow with some mint and rosemary. I've never cooked them from scratch but i have high hopes.
Any one coming for dinner then? either today or tomorrow lol

sounds lovely, can I suggest you quarter the meatballs before you put them in the sauce? Thats what I do it means they cook through easier and it looks more .
As for the garlic bread do you have any coriander or garam masala (sp?)? if so sprinkle a tiny bit into a desertspoonful of butter or marg (melted), then pour it onto the garlic bread.
As for the lamb shank make up vegetable stock and tear up the mint and rosemary (roughly chop this to release the flavour), leave the stock to infuse (minimum an hour) then put it over the lamb in the slow cooker and switch it on.

EssexHebridean

Lovely foody ideas there from Uni!

Stripes - adventures were last weekend in Cornwall (Hence the willow piccy on FB from the Eden Project!) and were fab. Next adventure now is our Hawk Experience down in Kent next weekend - haven't a clue yet if we're going to find a campsite and stay over or not but whichever way it goes it should be great fun!

I think I will have to get a supermarket basil and follow your instructions - I'm feeing all left out now, before you know it I'll be the only one on here without a pet Basil to give haircuts to! :rotfl:

Pippilongstocking

LOVED THE WOMBLE LINK thank you very much!!!!

EH - well I'm not the quickest sometimes! Oh, you're going to be a basil buddy great fun on the adventures I loved EDEN - nearly did a placement there for my sins but they botanics couldn't get it sorted in the end - bah!
LT - well done on haircutting the basil and surviving frost bite - good luck with the cooking - I'm coming tonight - what we having?
VL- you arrived less than 24 hours in - you're not late!!!! Thank you I'll be a part time scientist - alot of folk don't see horti as being a science - which I thinks insane as I don't know many folk who could tell you such technical things about life! Here's to us all!
Uni -great recipe idea!
Bob - um darwins has squatters - wondered why peeide was going bonkers this am when putting washing out - um - theres a nest under neath his engine!! Other ideas great - lodger thing hasn't worked due to how remote we are (only one bus a day) - will think on about your other ideas - I've a website being developed to sell directly
Taka - hello! hope you're good and it all feels very surreal at the moment like Triciaxx said - very very wierd - crazy deadlines then a trip to the post office then - um what do I do now?
L - fun - oh yeah I could try and do some of that stuff thank you!!! Here was me thinking - finally I get to clean the house!
Cheri - the lease is entirely in my name so whilst I can technically apply I'm not sure - will think on though _ great ideas about the cover getting up here thank you! I'm wondering if we can either pick it up or work a plan to get it delivered for free to OH and he can bring it here!
GV thank you and hello to you too!

OK today - plan - dd to bus after cuppa (in five mins)

Then wake up - then plan! Off to check the bank. LT in answer to your question do I have to go into the office - I've to file everything and get my life there sorted - don't officially finish until after my viva (long oral exam of scariness) and then there are papers to write. I'm also keen to keep a face there atm cos we're working out evening classes and seeing if I can sneak a bit of time/space in the tunnels at work to help the guy I help teach with. Also I'm invigilating next week so that will be paid work inbetween. But, you're right - I need work out when to go in and when NOT to go in. The garden guy at work and I are hatching a mini-plan - so I want to catch him when I can and he's not always about.

short answer is no I don't get paid directly and no I don't NEED to but atm its potentially good to go and in and forge some links, tidy up and hopefully sideways myself a bit into the hort dept rather than my own dept. They are also talking about me being trained as an svq assessor but I'll have to keep a bit of momentum up to get that underway - it could easily just be forgotten about!

Time for the bus!

Karmacat

Sounds a really good long term plan, Pippi, absolutely. As for the benefits - the site that was mentioned is probably best, the entitledto one, initially. But the rules on couples are weird, I know, and I wish I could help.

My basil had a haircut a couple of days ago, need to do the other plant now

EssexHebridean

Just a thought (and bear in mind I know very little about how these things work) but could Mr Stripes contribution to things not be put into a different pot than the rent? What if his money went into an account fir things like the unexpected garage bill or paying towards the CC's? Would that separate things enough? If you can get paid housing benefit you should definitely claim it - you'll spend enough years paying taxes for others to claim, so always ask for what is rightfully yours.

Pippilongstocking

Today - gorgeous here - most of list done yesterday - now for today!

£17 dd OUT for dentist - need move this one to the middle month when the rest come out
£18 quid charges and interest OUT for maintaining lloyds OD - that will have to be worked on!!!!
£3.77 IN from quidco and £3 from eggs

Not the best start to the day. (but we're slightly almost solvent!)

CC and banks about the same - aside the dd coming out - I didn't get to the bank yesterday to get gamerdudes money but I'll do it today.

Today
Plan for polytunnel at work (I've been asked if I can suggest a crop in it for this year - I'm thinking cutflowers and maybe chillis/peppers?) going to have a read of cut flower production book I've got and put a few species on a list for the chap - strike while iron hot and all that
Bank for gamerchops
Might pootle at charity shops
More washing to do
File stuff at work
Ad on freecycle for scaffold poles
Try and catch brother about helping dig humungous holes for the tunnel (um 20 of them)
Plan a bit of summer tootle -so far have phoned two pals and begged beds/grub they love us really honest
Need make a list for the garden
Go to a house and see what garden help they need been asked to do a couple hours a month for a garden in local village
Walk dog and have an adventure
Pack up L plants
Ebay free listing weekend (thank you uni) - get a few things out for that!
Take in something for lunch
Look for a bookcase in paper/recycled shop
Look at veggie plot at work and do a few bits on it
Begin to sort package for german lodger birthday
Look out a pile of cards and catch up with a few chums
Phone polytunnel company
Phone landlord - and ask nicely if he remembered he said I can put up a polytunnel - and maybe mention its a bit big (!)
Look at rota for extra hours next week and make a plan with someone for doing a bit of (bartered) cleaning - I got given a new strimmer - they need some gardening and cleaning - sounds like a good swap.

Time to get dressed and find some plants!

Pippilongstocking

Morning both of you - good call from you both

I feel wierd about the HB thing - OH money can indeed go anywhere. Will think on - I've not often paid much tax - which is why I feel wierd about benefits - however OH pays LOADs! The other thing is that we live in a truly gorgeous (medium large) size house - we're blessed - I don't mind paying rent to be here - but I know thats hardly sensible. I don't want to be a benefit blaggard - there are folk much worse off than us that need it more. But, thats hardly sensible is it?

thank you gorgeous girls - KC did giggle about the basil - well done! EH - I've sent you a virtual basil

Karmacat

Wow ... good luck with that list, Pippi. Puts me to shame!

NorthernLas

I have my pot and compost and today I shall be planting ... basil

wik

Morning hugs pippi and all xxx

a loverly sunny day here and dad and I are going to attack some of the nasty weeds and try to get the girls to help!!!

Need to have the garden looking nice for the impending invasion from the wild windy north in a few weeks