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

katieowl_2

ginnyknit wrote: »

DS's girly got a new job and started 1st of May, good pay and was learning the ropes fast then... Friday 9 am she was made redundant and was home by 10 - how disgusting is that. They will never get their new rented house at this rate, its such a shame.

Blimey that's grim - poor kid that will be such a knock for her confidence. I've said it before I know, but I really worry what the future holds for the kids. I MUST stop reading grim news stories, but I was seeing in the DM the DIRE state of Greece and there was a mum there who had given her kids up for adoption as she couldn't afford to keep them anymore :eek: One of the local priest was saying he'd never seen such poverty..and it's never been a 'wealthy' country really.

On a more cheerful note...Nice dinner. Courtesy of Mssrs Co-hop - went in for milk, and came out with reduced raw prawns, £1.25 a packet, made into a thai green curry with some reduced mango, and reduced mange-tout peas, with some rice and some savoury fried bananas (also reduced) Just what I needed to cheer me up. Mancub has been poorly with his bug for about three days, and I think I am fighting it off...feeling very blotchy and a bit woosy every now and then!

Kate

GreyQueen

Bobbykins wrote: »

Now we are back from our hollies, I really need to get started on some proper gardening. It's just been sooooo cold and wet I've hardly anything growing yet - I suppose everyone else is the same. I think I'm going to have to buy some plug plants for my veggies this year because I'm so late with everything. Has anyone any tips on what veggies, if anything, I can still get going from seed this late? Any advice would be gratefully received :)

Evening, Bobbykins (and anyone else) in da thread.

You can plant lots of stuff now so panic ye not. Great time to start off the frost-tender beans (runners, french beans etc) and still time to sow broad beans. Peas can go in. In fact. you can batch-sow peas throughout the summer. If you can find some seed tatties/ allow some shop-bought eating tatties to sprout, you should still get a crop.

In my part of Englandshire (the drier, warmer part) I have tatties just up, broadbeans about 4 inches tall (batch 1), peas in t.p. tubes in cold frame ready to transplant and strawbs in flower. The beetroots sown in late March came up but are still cress-sized and my Dad (elesewhere is the same region) reports the same. It's been so blessed cold that very little in growing. What little has germinated appears to have stalled.

Tomorrow I shall be sowing more beetroot, and carrots, and perhaps parsnips if I end up with enough room. I shall start the runner beans soaking for 48 hours, too. A great tip to speed up the germination of all beans and peas is the 48 hour pre-soak as they'll really race away. I've had soaked broad beans come up in open ground in 6 days..............vroom vroom.

You could be getting salad greens in, but if you want tomatoes and courgettes, it's probably best to buy plants in as it's a bit late to start from scratch. They like a longer growing season than we have anyway. Lettuces are good and radishes are easy peasy (shame I loathe the taste).

Tomorrow, I shall chuck a whole load of date-expired flower seeds which I got for free into a patch of ground, rake them under and leave them to see what happens. They grow or not, as nature wills. I've reserved a small area of the lottie to be a "flowerbed" for one season and will see what I can get.

My strawbs are threatening to disappear under couch grass and the docks so will have to wrangle them free but getting stuff sown has to take a higher priority for me now. Hopefully, the soil temp and the air temp, and the tiny amount of moisture we've had recently should ensure something grows..........

Knowing my luck it'll be docks, couch grass, black medic, horsetails and other horrors. I have also retrieved carpet underlay and 1050s linoleum fragments today, plus nails, tin cans, plastic, Early Neo flint tools and various other bits of trash today.

I've spent the day scrabbling in the dirt and have the fingernails to prove it. Have had some lovely chats with the lottie neighbours and am loosely-planning to go out tonight to Something at a Church which a pal is performing in.

Being as I am a heathen, I'm not sure if either I or the building will combust when I cross the threshold of this church (watch out on the breakfast news on Sunday, peeps) but it'll be fun to see the pal at full-warble. For some reason, I have reached a point in life where most of my mates are joining choirs, and they are trying to get me to come along. I have explained that the only way I could carry a tune is in a bucket, but they will keep on insisting that everyone can sing. I have had to warble in public to demostrate that this is a fallacy...........:rotfl:


All righty, time for some more tea. Nurrrrrrrrrrrssssssssssseee!! What do you mean, you're teaching SDG how to do hospital corners?! You're my imaginary nursemaid, not hers, so get yourself back here RIGHT NOW.

Have a good evening, all.

Mrs_Chip

Evening everyone!

Down in sunny Cornwall. We have had a fab day just chilling on the farm, sitting in the glorious sun. The wind was icy but out of it the sun was very hot - my face is beginning to glow, I fear I should have slapped on some sunscreen. Mr & Mrs OG have joined us from their couple of days in North Devon. The sun is still streaming through the window, it is a beautiful evening. Weather when we both left home was horrendous, so glad it has picked up a bit, and fingers crossed that it can at least stay dryish.

We are IC the six farm chickens whilst the owners are away (they left for Normandy last night) and we can have all the eggs - which means we have 6 a day to find a use for. We will take some home (I will use them to make scotch eggs to sell on the van), but even so it is a bit of a tall order! But it is great collecting the still-warm eggs from the hen-house every morning.

Just had lovely dinner - OH had dibs on a S&K pie from nearby farm shop, and I had a lovely fresh whole plaice from shop at Widemouth Bay. With Cornish new potatoes and wild garlic, yummy.

Hugs for all those that need them - those fighting off the lurgy, struggling with family problems and generally finding life to be a PITA.

SDG31000

Just to let you know I survived my exploration into the teenage boys bedrooms.

I'm now going to have a very large rum and coke and watch The Voice on the lovely TIVO box

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bobbykins

Cor, thanks GQ - I didn't realise there was so much that could still go in from seed.:D

I have some peas, runner beans and dwarf beans left from last year which I will chuck in water tomorrow and then in the ground over the next few days then, thanks for the tip.

I do have a few lollo rosso lettuce already growing on in the porch - from tiny babies I bought in Aldi -and will put them out in another week I think. I will also scatter a few mixed leaf seeds in one of the beds when I (or rather OH) has finished digging them over. For some reason I never have any luck with radishes, even though I love them, so will give those a miss.

I have some carrot seed that I bought for my grandbabies to plant - they love helping me grow things and managed some amazing sunflowers last year, along with loads of strawberries and broad beans. so they can go in too (the carrots, not the grandbabies). Ooh I feel all cheered up now at the thought of lovely veggies, I only hope that some of them will flippin' grow.:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

shegar

mardatha wrote: »

Still here and still reading. Got flu. Feel free to bring me tea and sweeties

Arhh poor you mardy not good, how come youve got flu?, is it going about up there.?..Thought it far too late in the year for flu, there seems to be a lot germs about here , so many people have got this terrible sickness bug.....................Haps its not cold enough where you live to kill the germs.....Weve had a beautiful sunny day today and got up to date with all the washing, which is really good and makes a change, but the the temp has been only about 14 degrees with a bit of wind chill........

My son come and planted 3 more birch trees for me, the local garden centre have a 50 per cent sale on all shrubs and trees so it was so busy there with the car park full, you can tell when theres a good sale on , people out after a bargain......
I also bought a hawthorn tree, Ive mainly got that for the birds they love the berries in the winter, its already 11 foot high so its got a good start,so them 3 have been planted out the front drive area, well when you get in your fifties you have to buy mature trees cos otherwise I may not be here to see it get 30 foot tall....:eek:...I want to benefit now.....:DIm going to plant out some runner beans in pots tommorow, its not too early is it to plant.?, dont want to get caught with a air frost once they start to come up..........

Hope your all fairly well and getting through.......

Byatt

Mardy, hope you feel better soon. Hugs.

Mrs C I am jealous, and I forgot to wave from the bridge!

Anyone else watching BGT? The talent is amazing. I love to see young people who are just amazing and talented and getting a wonderful opportunity. Can't decide who should win, they are all so good. Although Ryan made me cry. I might be talking to myself here! :rotfl:

Now I'm crying over the Welsh choir.

Mrs_Chip

We are watching too Byatt - Certainly a diverse and talented lot!
Aww what a cute dog Pudsey is - and so smart! The choir were good too, and I love the opera guy. I have no idea who should win, there
are too many good acts to pick from this year!

VJsmum

Funny you should mention choirs, GQ, as my OH has recently (well, in the last year) joined the choir run by our local cathedral. Once a year he said I'd have to attend a concert - he's just bought tickets for the fifth!!! I have avoided some but can't seem to get out of this one. It's just not my thing, although this is "Carmina Burana" so it should be OK.

I have copped out and bought stuff from the gaarden centre - runner beans, borlotti beans, sweetcorn, and aubergine, cucumber, butternut squash and courgette - the beans and sweetcorn I have about 40 plants and one of each of the others - for £15 so I am ok with that. I have also bought the wherewithal to make a raised bed to grow some more stuff. So I am on my way.. The bill at the garden centre was a bit :eek: but it's an investment so I am ok with it - I also had to buy a couple of tools but think they will last years.

I made the most delicious veg risotto for tea - which needed a glass of wine for flavour - so of course I had to finish the bottle It is making the Britain's got Talent final go with a swing :beer: At the same time I am trying to encourage 15 year Old DD to do some revision. I have offered to speak French with her to help with her exam on Monday, but she has declined "Voulez vous want moi to aidez vous avec l'exam de Francais on Lundi" Apparently that's "really sad, mum". :rotfl:

Off to decide whether to vote for the choir (another choir) the dog or one of the singers in BGT - cheers

ETA - at least I am not alone with the BGT

Byatt

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

We are watching too Byatt - Certainly a diverse and talented lot!
Aww what a cute dog Pudsey is - and so smart! The choir were good too, and I love the opera guy. I have no idea who should win, there
are too many good acts to pick from this year!

I love Pudsey too, such a clever dog. What ever happens, so many will go on to do great things, I think it's all amazing and just moves me to tears seeing so many youngsters doing such good things and so nice with it.



Oh my I didn't realise the opera singers were so young!!!