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

mardatha

Just been reading this-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9301270/Spain-faces-total-emergency-as-fear-grips-markets.html
..and then this -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/9301437/High-prices-in-rip-off-Britain-hampering-the-recovery-says-Brussels.html
And now I'm going to need a pot of tea and a bag of Sainsbugs toffees to calm me down !
TY chip lady I will try traps. I canny stand John Wayne at the best of time and the gun is bloody noisy and he hasnt hit anything yet anyway :D

manchestermargo

Morning everyone!
Drizzly sort of rain here this morning, dull and cooler. I was supposed to have tomorrow off work as a holiday but might save it until the sun appears again, although that could be too long, anyway we will see.

I had a similar experience at my old dentist, in that they couldn't get my mouth numb enough to work on it. I must say I didn't go back, and never had the same trouble at my new one.

Hope everyone has a good day.

MM

GreyQueen

Morning all.

Just resurfacing after a good night's sleep as it's now a bit cooler. Am jealous of this talk of rain as my lottie could really use some. I was up there for a while yesterday continuing the Weeding the Potato Patch project. Like the Forth Road Bridge, you just have to keep on going. I have any number of weeds which laugh at being beheaded by a hoe so have to do a lot of handweeding; bindweed, creeping thistles, couch grass (the bane of my existance) and horsetails. I have a reluctant respect for horsetails. Any plant with roots 6 feet deep which has been around unchanged since dinosaurs walked the earth is deserving of respect.

:idea: Aha, horsetail is rich in silica, which makes it scratchy, which is why it was historically used as a pan scourer......mebbe that's the solution to the lady with the burnt-on pan. I foolishly boiled my stainless steel pan dry one day but it did respond to a double-overnight soaking but I was sweating it a bit. The irony of nearly-destroying my best pan whilst distracted by MSE wasn't lost on me.

PAH sorry to hear of your dental woes. I had a lot of trouble in 2011 and have a visceral cringe whenever the subject comes up. Going again in a few weeks for what will hopefully be the 2nd clean bill of health in a row. I have all my own teeth and if anyone disbelieves me, I can show you the receipts.:D

Shelley, nice to know that I'm not the only one who gets a "pressure head" as people sometimes treat me as a weirdo when I tell them there's a storm coming. Feels like a clamp across my brain, very peculiar and unpleasant.

Byatt ((((hugs)))) about the risk of rent increase. Let's hope that if it comes, it won't be too steep.:( Have you taken housing advice from your council to see if you'd be able to get a HA or council home? Appreciate they're like gold dust as I was a decade on the list for mine and it's only got harder since then.

unixgirluk sounds like you've been dealt a lousy hand with the job situation and I really hope something comes to you soon. A woman I work with has had, alternating, her and her OH made redundant 5 times in a decade and them with a mortgage and young children. They scraped thru by the skin of their teeth but knew if they were both redundant at the same time, they would have lost their home. Those blinking politicos don't know they're born, eh?

I'm seriously thinking I must change my fridge. It was 12 last week and has been limping on for over a year with a whacked out thermostat and is normally hovering about 10 degrees inside. The only think which doesn't keep very well is the milk but I am getting a bit p'd off with throwing that away.

I tried really hard to find someone to repair it but no one locally does it and a national chain wanted over £100 to look at it, never mind parts. Which is the price of a new one, natch. Plus, when I went to look at new ones, the insides of even good brands seemed to be made of brittle plastic egg boxes, and the kwH consumption of new "A" rated fridges was less efficient than my old "B" rated Beko, for appliances of the same size. I was underwhelmed by the choices last year and gave it up as a bad job.

Howsomever, I was looking in J Lewis with a relatively-small selection so may have to go to one of the superstores out of town and see what they have. Gawd, but I HATE shopping.

Sigh, been a bit of a spendy month for me, although it's been out of savings rather than income; new mattress and new-to-me sofa. A lot of my belongings are about 12-14 years old, some weren't new then, and things are just coming to the point where they're whacked out.

Hey, the intercontinental missile which is Softstuff will be somewhere aloft right about now. Let's hope she's not too uncomfortable and that the in-flight grub is edible.

Have a good one, ladies and non-ladies (i.e. gents, I'm no one to cast nasturtiums). GQ xx

mardatha

Bobbykins - please move up here and live near me. Nothing else I've tried has stopped the rain

Mrs_Chip

Bobbykins - we have got a weather troll that comes with us on holiday - he has been having a bit of a rest recently, having kn@ckered himself out over the last couple of months (he thought we were down here for a hol, didn't realise we had moved :rotfl:), but he is nice and rested now, do you want me to post him to you? It's raining here today, so he must have woken up. You can keep him if you want

Nicepeach

Morning all:wave:

Been reading every day but the IT gremlins have been at it again. Kept trying to post & posts kept disappearing. :mad:!!! Also having problems on the "Forum Jump" refreshing & jumping back to previous choice instead of new selection. It will, no doubt, be something I'm doing wrong but still very annoying!

Quick recap of past week: Sad day last Friday. Attended a funeral. Is it just me or is it even sadder when the funeral day is an absolutely glorious, sunny day with not a cloud in the sky? Always upsets me more than if it's a dull, grey rainy day. Almost like the ultimate insult: Look at this beautiful world & you can no longer enjoy it/share it with the departed one. I try to keep positive & look on it as "a good send off" but I just can't seem to get my head around it. Felt even worse when we went to the tea rooms for refreshments after the service. Magnificent views of coast, cliffs & countryside bathed in glorious sunshine. Had some lovely tea & cakes though which he would have loved.

Worked Saturday & Sunday - hence more glorious sunshine - luckily only short shifts so managed to enjoy some time outside after work.

Monday to thus far: More lovely sunshine & been in garden, tidying, pottering & sunbathing - bikinis have seen more use in the past 7 days than probably in last couple of years! Been fascinating watching the booming spuggy colony who don't seem perturbed by a scantily clad invader in their midst & carry on feeding & flitting around regardless. Lots of cute little babies & luckily no sign of the Sparrowhawk since the "incident" last week. Niger seeds don't seem to have worked in attracting Goldfinches - still just Fatty Bulger Pigeons, pretty collared Doves, occasionally mass of starlings screeching like banshees but have had a few visits from a very magnificent Jackdaw lately. I've installed a shallow "paddling pool" for baby spuggies after seeing a near fatal incident in the existing bird bath :eek: Thought I was going to have to intervene & fish chick out but he managed it eventually. I have an old metal chicken feed trough type thing & I don't think chick realised it was as deep as it was when he flung himself in it! So, pondering what I could utilise I spotted the cistern lid of an old fashioned loo I purloined from my uncle when he refurbished his house. I was intending to plant the loo up with Sweet Peas (bad joke but appeals to me!) but due to hooligan football kicking teen neighbours haven't wasted my time or money. Anyway, I can highly recommend an upturned porcelain cistern lid as a spuggy paddling pool - they seem to love it!

Weather went into decline yesterday, much cooler, quite overcast & this morning rain Oh well, good for the garden I suppose. Can't remember when we last had 7 really sunny days on the trot here as we've just enjoyed. Didn't even mind the spooky Dracula style sea fret every evening which envelops you like a cold, damp cloak thrown around you very quickly. The price you pay for living on the coast!

HH So sorry to hear about your salary cut. We recently had our hours cut, all done very matter of fact & a "get on with it attitude". Will remember this when they are begging for help to cover sickness/holidays/other catastrophe they haven't planned for. Will simply say "No, can't do that" & stick to contracted hours. Learnt this tip from a very senior person I worked with many years ago. "Never, ever apologise for not being able to do extras/change shifts etc. You DO have a choice & can say No if you want to". Funny how you don't realise you're doing it do you? I always used to bend over backwards to help out in every job I've ever had, even sacrificing time with my DS when he was very young when they were begging & pleading for extra cover/shift swaps. Only to NEVER have the favours appreciated/reciprocated. Now I do it if it suits me & I want extra cash. Mean? Maybe. Happier & feel less of a mug? Yes!

PAH :eek: Dentists - only just got over my fears at almost 45 after having HORRIFIC experiences when very young. Hope you feel bit better now.

Softstuff Bit late, sorry, but hope you have a safe journey, lovely holiday & hope your Dad improves/gets a disagnosis & can move forward.

GQ Hope you are managing to relax on new sofa after lottie escapades & pong is dissipating a little. The gorgeous weather & accompany high temps are fabulous but do really wipe you out. I can sympathise with the fair skin enforcing hat wearing scenario as I'm blonde & fair skin & feel REALLY ill if I don't keep my head covered.

Mardatha Hope you enjoyed your trip to the "bright lights of the big city" & managed a good haul of sweeties. Did you find a satisfactory foundation/make up you were seeking a while ago?

Sorry if I've missed anyone out, but kind thoughts to all who are struggling with health or other problems. Keep positive, wade through the carp as best you can & the good stuff WILL come eventually. x

Bobbykins

mardatha wrote: »

Bobbykins - please move up here and live near me. Nothing else I've tried has stopped the rain

Thanks for the offer Mar, it's tempting I must admit - a world full of sweeties and no KALE _pale_
- I might have to put it to the OH

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

Bobbykins - we have got a weather troll that comes with us on holiday - he has been having a bit of a rest recently, having kn@ckered himself out over the last couple of months (he thought we were down here for a hol, didn't realise we had moved :rotfl:), but he is nice and rested now, do you want me to post him to you? It's raining here today, so he must have woken up. You can keep him if you want

Ahhh, that's where he went! He used to live with us but appeared to have moved out about 3 years ago, leaving us to have one or two sunny holidays, which b*ggered us up a bit as we were used to packing winter woollies for our hols, rather than skimpy sunny stuff. :rotfl::rotfl: I kind-of miss him.

I am pleased to announce we have some semblance of wet stuff, but only drizzly, mizzly, weak, can't really make the effort kind of rain. Maybe the holiday troll is thinking of moving back to us anyway and just needs a kick up the arris to encourage him. Although I'm not sure I'd like to keep him permanently.

Have just watched the Olympic torch being carried through our town and am waiting for the traffic to clear before heading out to the shops and then the osteopath (ouch).

Hope everyone has a good day.

fuddle

Thank you for the info re: wally trolleys and the pre-pay prescription scheme, both will be really useful and i'll set some time today to have a look.

My smallest is ill with a sore throat and high temp so I have her with me all day. There's so much illness around at the moment.

We were wet through doing the school run for eldest this morning... not used to it! Washing to do and no doubt back to using the tumble dryer.

No sign of the payment for selling my car on Saturday. If it's not in the bank by tomorrow I shall have to call. They did say it would be around 4-5 working days so I'm not panicking... yet! (I don't trust anybody)

We're working really hard to ensure that this frugality malarkey doesn't dampen our enthusiasm for life and experiencing things. Yeah everything costs money as soon as you walk out the front door, but we're finding that with a bit of foresight, planning and prepared to adapt and be flexible you can have family fun anywhere, everywhere and just about with anything.

Did any of you growing up feel happy about living a frugal life with you parents? I want my kids to still grow up happy even with the pressures of life and making ends meet. I would love for them to look back on their childhood and realise it would have been tough but still remember that we did the very best for them and appreciate the times we shared and what we did manage to do for them.

Maybe I'm looking at it too romantically as life is hard but you have to lok at things positively don't ya?

Dee2012

Morning everyone,
We have drizzly rain here at the moment, dont think it can make its mind up.

Went food shopping yesterday its getting harder and harder to find bargains, and everything seems to be going up.Even their own brand items seem to go up each week.

So today going to look at recipes, with couscous, rice, lentils in them and try them Anyone got any suggestions.

Dont know how some families manage it must be so hard the women down the road has 6 children dont know how she does it.


Picked up a few of the ikea £1 fleeces to use to line my curtains in winter, not bad for £1.

Hope everyone is keeping well

mardatha

It's a tropical 11C and a tropical downpour here. If anybody wants it come and take it away. I might put it on ebay- buyer collects.
One big black cloud outside....and another one inside. The RV is in a mood.