A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

gailey_2

ginnyknit wrote: »

Oh Gailey don't the most frustrating things happen, sounds like my house. We have no back exit from the garden and once got trapped in house by 2 huge dogs that were mating in the front garden - very nasty male dog - we were stuck in for hours! Have to laugh now but at the time it was awful as the kids were due home from school.

WCS I only wrote down the basics for the shawl as the printer doesnt like me :rotfl: so will try and translate them into a readable pattern asap.

Glad im not the only one ginny knit.Dogs sound scary.
oh well i hate morning school run anyway

lots things frustrate me about this house

its shrinking

fire and the door

been waiting 8months for new carpet
been waiting 3months for them to sort out corner cupboard in kitchen

annoys me we spent lots our money lasy year putting down woodflooring, vinly tiles, repainting.
yet landlord wants to spemd nothing up the rent and agents charge us another £72 admin fee seems like a battle at times.

Would love a dog but cant have one
back patio doors are dodgy
back gate is on its last legs.
we could go out in event of fire
but pation like obstacle course and narrow path means cant get buggy through.

To make my day

toddlers napping
baby wont sleep
5yearold bored, making mess and missing her daddy.

daddy rings saying hes stressed, busy , having bad day and will be home later dont know when?

Trying to be supportive but bit fed up of it.
even when hes off hes snapping and not spending quality time with them.
Im shattered as he does not pitch in at night
all 3kids, bills , money,food all down to me.

hes got job interveiw this week but unsure if he really wants it, if he will get it and being retail how secure it maybe?

Carissa

Gailey, it sounds as though your landlord could do with size ten boot up his backside! Go through your tenancy agreement and see what it says about his responsibility for repairs, and possibly the timeframe in which he should be doing them. You never know, there may be something there, and if he delays any work needed you may be able to withhold some of your rent as he isn't keeping to his part of the contract.

Our last landlord was a joke. The house was damp throughout and we spent our money doing what we could so we could make it better, but the mould would soon grow back... He would come along, look at it, shake his head and promise to get his builder onto it, and then forget all about it.

When we left 2 months ago, he actually charged us £350 for the damage the damp had caused because it needed redecorating. We decorated and decorated but it still came back through so we gave up in the end. Wish I had put one final coat of paint on it now though, as we were relying on that money for Christmas. Oh well!

trifles

Hardly watch TV unless a serial I'm interested in like' Great Expectations' or 'Earthflight' and even then I have a bit of sewing in my hand.I much prefer the radio as I can potter about cooking etc.-and avoiding serious housework:DOccasionally I watch progs with advert breaks,but only so I can do chunks of cleaning during them!
Like the other poster who has a huge stash of craft products I have loads -a great weakness of mine. I was thinking of giving them away but decided to keep them as supplies are becoming more expensive. Luckily,most of my friends like hand made cards etc.,and as living costs become more expensive I will probably rely on my stash more.Any excuse not to declutter .Maybe equipment punches etc could be kept-also paper can be inked or chalked over if white going yellow.Have resolved not to buy any more supplies or magazines this year:)
Have had some time off this week,but have done very little.am ashamed to say,in fact have slept most of it.No good reason for this-but probably hibernation mode.
I am trying to think of this difficult period we are all going through as a sort of 'war survival' minus bombs.I find that if I can think of 'making do' as a creative response and get satisfaction from simple pleasure then it can make the sense of bleakness in January and in
day to day grind at least brighter.The cameraderie in this thread certainly is a valuable support:A

gailey_2

Can I ask everyone a question?

its new year well day 8 of 2012
everyone has ambition expectation that this year be good
that you will make positive change
that you will be happp positive mood.

But every time see news/read paper its all gloom
other forums are bit doom and gloom too.

I want to be in a happy place.

I dont think the weathers helped my mood last week or so
have done loads and had days where felt like achieved not much.

Sometimes simple things like the house annoy me as should be straightfoward.
Its always seems like a battle for landlord/agency top do anything in good time.

The first week of new year had to contend with
grumpy baby
tantruming toddler

moody stressed hubby whos not here much.

keep thinking it has to get better

but then creeping thourghts in back of mind say what if it doesnt
what if it gets worse.

Going through finances should make me feel better as more in control.
however it just stresses mne as figures dont meet up and I wonder what to cut next?

In order to keep grocery bill down its a lot of work shopping around and trying to do even more cooking.

yesterday I cooked chicken broth/sopup from carcass and made fairy cakes.gave me nice oldstyle glow of happyness and satisfaction wish every day was like that.

I know people say money cant buy happyness but feel rubbish as very few of my real freinds seem to worry like I do and seem to spend loads more some days I wonder where did i go wrong with the budget.
Being here helps as realise im not the only one but reading freinds fb statuses makes me wonder how they do it.

Being in lidls/farmfoods less stressful than big 4 as worry at checkout its too much.
now try add up on calcualter as go round anyone else do that?
wanted to spend £20 in lidls yesterday and spent £26 dident get huge amount of stuff
even lidls going up on some things

with food going up
losing tax credits in april
wages not increasing as much
energy going up
rent going up.

feels like I worry too much

at moment we cant move
we have no savings
we live a basic frugal life even cut school dinners.

Anyone else feel same?

Maybe im just sleep deprived . feeling very lethargic today.
Think hubbys home at half 6
dident manage to sort party out as leisure centre not answering their phone
tea is unknown and not started and havent defrosted anything im so crap.
right now thinking toasted sandwiches would that be bad?

Byatt

Hi Trifles, I really enjoyed the Great Expectations adaptation. Not a huge fan of Dickens, but have read the book a couple of times. Maybe it was just me, but I thought this Estelle didn't have the charisma that would have made her such an obsession with men.

Carissa, I have damp problems but my place is 200 years plus.. The worst part I find is the smell of damp on everything and it worries me that people notice it, but I have got used to it. Mould grows on all my wooden furniture; it's gross. Ugh. Was your deposit with held to pay for the paint. That seems excessive to me. Especially as he knew it was a problem. Looks like he was painting over to con other clients. Sorry about your DD tripping; that's the kind of thing I do!

Lavenderbees, I don't hear anything other than the bubble wrap. Not a thing even when there was a great big gap in the loft flap thingy. I could mention it to the landlord. The house has a communal loft, as it was one house at one time.

Byatt

Gailey, you have a lot to deal with and no matter how much we love our children, they can be hard work. Plus your hubby is stressed and not able to be as supportive at home. I do know what that is like because ex worked long, unsociable hours and I was left to do everything else. And I guess I missed talking without it being all about money or work or children. As for other people; well I always found they were either living beyond their means or had extra support from family. Wish I could say the right things.

Toasted sarnies will be just fine.

Mrs_Chip

Gailey - take a deep breath and stop for a bit! You are trying too hard to be The Perfect Mum, and she just does not exist outside american TV ads. You have a lot to deal with, you can only do so much before you burn yourself to a frazzle, which will help no-one.
Have a :grouphug:, make yourself a cuppa and have a bit of a chill!

I used to think I was the only one who had all these thoughts of inadequacy and not being able to cope, but I now think it is how most of us are, we always seem to find something to worry ourselves about. Does not mean our concernsa are not real, it just means our response to them can get a bit out of proportion as we try to deal with things in our head.

A good positive day today - weather was mild and wind-free so we had a good session with the incinerator in the garden, now all the scrag ends of tree have been dispatched. This is a great step forward as I can actually see the ground, so can now start preparing the soil for planting. I will need to sort out where the raised beds will go (garden on a slope so need to terrace in some way), then can start moving the bags of soil liberated from the back of the garden into them. Feeling quite positive about being able to grow our own veg, so will try to focus on that!

The garden was full of birds - Mrs OG feeds them in the garden below ours, so our garden is on the flightpath. It was lovely to hear the robin singing as the sun set - magic!

JIL

shelley_crow wrote: »

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Has anyone tried Nigella's ham in coke but used other cuts of pork instead? Not a huge gammon fan and this seems to be the cut that is used the most.

I havent used coke but I often slow cook a pork shoulder joint in cheap cider. I dont eat meat but those that do say its lovely.

mardatha

Gailey, you're trying too hard. Chill xxx The kids aren't starving; the house keeps the cold & rain out; you've got a husband who loves you; the kids are growing up all the time you're just in the worst phase and that will pass. BREATHE!!
And spring is coming!

prepareathome

mardatha wrote: »

Wish I could get more organised re cooking - one thing you cant do with bad ME is organise nice meals. It always ends up a sandwich or bacon & egg.

That is the reason I am now going to SW these past few years to many sandwiches instead of proper meals so am trying to ensure when I cook I do enough for at least one other meal and freezing it. Then at least just have to throw it in the oven, so far done this nearly every day this week. Hubby not a cook and will just throw in a pizza, quiche or open a tin on my bad days, but I am not a lover of those things so end up just eating sandwiches but fingers crossed no more.