No T Words mentioned at all - a fresh start

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone, another very hot and humid day here in the deep south, very uncomfortable last night too added to which we had heavy mist on the river and had the forhorns going all night again. Think we have blight on the tomatoes in the poly but those in the greenhouse look OK at the moment, so we'll strip off all the leaves in the poly and let the fruit ripen, unless it is blighted already in which case it will go in the green waste bag and go to the dump.

FTM - it sounds as if your home schooling is going from strength to strength and suiting all of you very well, I'm sure you have done the right thing for both the girls and yourself. Education isn't really a one size fits all thing is it? Glad your poly has arrived and think you're very sensible to wait for a cooler day to put it up. We put ours up in May and by the time we had finished we were soaking wet as the process was quite hard work, and we had a work gang of 6 adults and a lurcher - we were pooped afterwards.

Love the sound of your charity shop glasses, so pretty, I don't seem to be finding anything other than the odd book in the CSs down here, they never seem to have new stocks in and the prices are getting so high that it is almost cheaper to go and buy a new one, I think they need a re-think on pricing or I could see some of them failing altogether.

Hope everyone has a lovely day and that tonight is cooler for all of us Cheers Lyn xxx.

flowertotmum

Hi MLW..you are absolutely correct about the home schooling..we have a routine worked out now..but if its a nice day then we go outside and play..like this morning we played monsters in the garden..great fun and good exercise and i am shattered now as i was always the monster..had lunch which they helped prepare and then we did some hand writing exercises..now we are having a quiet time..i feel so much more relaxed about it all..and fern is very good..bless her..i have explained that technically she is on holidays..but if she wants to work then we will..she said she wanted to work..so work it is..
The polytunnel is going up at the weekend..hubby and son are doing it..
Our local CS is crammed full of lovely stuff..boxes of old linens and lovely vintage pillow cases for 50p..i spend ages going through them..think it rubbing off on tots as they get right down into the sorting..i give them 50p each and let them rummage(under supervision)..they have some lovely little ornaments for 10p and tots spend ages picking them out...
I had a blowout of cash i'm afraid...a family friend was selling a huge jungle gym..swings,slide,monkey bars,climbing frame and a castle type tent on top of it..tots call it the den...her children are too big for it now..i know she paid a lot for it as its flipping enormous...she sold it for £60..bargain..its in the garden and girls love it..it has a canopy over the swings and monkey bars..they sat outside in the shower earlier and were swinging away..
I also spent some money on *bay..exercise books..a french book..and some lovely yankee candle tarts in the fragrance of baby powder..lovely..also some ladybird books..well apart from the ugly duckling again..so got to watch the pennies now...
Going to go and have a swing myself and then a cuppa...
love to you all
ftm

[Deleted User]

Afternoon FTM - Can I come and play please - sounds like the best fun imaginable - you know what you've just invested in? A full school gymnasium, now the LEA will be impressed!!!!! Seriously though I am so pleased you are finding it so rewarding teaching the tots, and it will give you peace of mind to know the rate at which they are learning, they are like little sponges, soaking it all up aren't they?

Have serious CS envy now and DD1 who is reading over my shoulder says she'll come and play on your gym if the tots get bored with it - and she's 33!!

Good luck with the poly installation, and there is still time to sow beetroot, carrots and cabbage to go in there to overwinter. We are gradually harvesting things and filling ours up to give us fresh produce in the colder months, DH has just put some runner beans into pots to transplant in there later on. We have masses of basil still, the more I pick the more it grows and I think the parsley will stand through to next year, so some fresh green for the winter. We are going to put some kale into the garden , we already planted in a fair stand of leeks so with the parsnips on the allotment we should be OK.

Have a lovely afternoon - preferably involving tea and cake, Cheers Lyn xxx.

flowertotmum

Hi..MLW..you and your dd are more than welcome to come play..and yes the girls are total sponges..the french is an experiment really..imo i think your too old by 11 to learn..and also the embarrassment factor of standing and repeating it in front of friends is there..so we just say bonjour,ca va, how are you,how old are you and would you like adrink?..i get answers bless them..they love it..especially saying good night and i love you...
we had a lovely tea and a peach crumble with ice cream for pudding..yummy...
thanks for advice on poly tunnel..will pass it on to hubby...
have a goodnight
ftm

scottishminnie

FTM - Can I join the queue for the slide and the swings please? When I was young my father made me a swing - fashioned from 3 steel girders with chains rather than ropes to attach a seat which was made from part of a railway sleeper. It was fantastic and the envy of many friends. It was also used by every adult I knew - there are even photos of my somewhat round great grandmother having the time of her life on the swing.

Well the barbeque went head, the weather held out and a good time was had by all. I'm not sure either the barbie or the cushions for the patio set will be needed again this year however at least I can say they were used. I did end up with 18 extra rolls though (long story:o). Thankfully they were just normal rolls not burger buns so I have made them into breadcrumbs and we had queen of puddings tonight, tomorrow night I will make treacle tart and the rest can go into the freezer for later in the year. We also had some left over corn on the cob so I reheated it tonight using my well tested trick of wrapping it in wet kitchen towel before microwaving and it was as good as when it was freshly made. Not a thing wasted!

I ordered some veggie seeds for the raised beds for things I can have growing during winter. I'm not a fan of kale so have gone for Golden Ball turnips and some winter gem lettuce at the moment. That should get me started. I can't bear the thought of the new beds lying empty until spring - seems such a waste.

We have severe rain forecast for tomorrow so I think the new trees will get another watering and I suspect some of my new grass seed may be washed away. Why we can't have 4 or 5 good days I do not know!

[Deleted User]

SM - If you like the bitter greens for salad you might want to try radiccio, endive, mizuna,claytonia and some of the japanese mustards to give you some salads/stir frys over the winter, they are pretty hardy and grow outside down here - dont know if you might be a bit too cold and damp in the north, but might be worth a try - Cheers Lyn xxx.

scottishminnie

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

SM - If you like the bitter greens for salad you might want to try radiccio, endive, mizuna,claytonia and some of the japanese mustards to give you some salads/stir frys over the winter, they are pretty hardy and grow outside down here - dont know if you might be a bit too cold and damp in the north, but might be worth a try - Cheers Lyn xxx.

Good idea - I hadn't thought of things for stir fries and I'm always looking to make them a bit different to previously.

I made treacle tart tonight to use up some more of the breadcrumbs. It's very tasty but also very chewy. Goodness knows how much more chewy it will be when we finish the remainder tomorrow night. I think it may need custard to soften it!

I notice there are some biggish apples on my old apple tree so I will be picking them towards the end of the week. I predict apple crumble and eves pudding over the weekend. It's always nice to have something which has been picked fresh from your own garden.

flowertotmum

Morning all...hope your all well...

SM..i love treacle tart..the chewier the better and smothered in custard so it goes all gooey yummy..

Well i went to town yesterday..got some bargains from b&m..i found some reduced long sleeved nighties for the girls..reduced for £5.99 to £1.49..because the package was ripped..so i grabbed a couple each for them..found some socks,pants and vests all down to 50p per packet again because they were ripped..got them home and had a good look at them all..they are perfect and so i got them all new nighties and underwear plus socks for about £6..can't get much better than that,..
So today its cleaning day..doing all the beds,bathroom and downstairs loo..make them sparkle and smell fresher..and the bonus is i love getting into a fresh made bed..perfect.
We went to see baby Emma last night..the girls are totally in love with her..she was smiling away at them..made their day..we bought her some lovely pink vests,socks and little boottees for her..its Heathers 21st next tuesday and i doubt very much i will be able to get to her(in-laws take over) on the day so i gave her the gifts last night along with some HM cards and HM soap,plus i bought her a beautiful celtic design silver cross from my fave jewellers..
Had the shock of my life on tuesday...i have a huge gate that i normally bolt when hubby has gone to work..i must have forgotten to do it..next thing i know i'm having a coffee in my dining room and a man just appeared in my back garden looking around..i quickly shut the girls in living room amd shouted my son who bless him came flying down the stairs...got the dog and went to ask him just what he thought he was doing...soon as he saw us he legged it out the gate and up the road...i rang the local police..3 hours later thay came around...seems there has been a spate of walk in thefts in my area..so i think i was lucky that i saw him and had sam and the dog with me...he was huge chap too...i gave the police a description and then got a lecture for not locking my gate..honestly i felt about 2" tall and 5 yrs old and what would i have done if he had come in the house with me and the girls and hurt us,my brother who is a police officer was fuming that i was spoken to like that...now i am paranoid about it and feel awful...i got up at 3 this morning coz i didn't remember locking it..hubby did..so from now on its locked permanently and when hubby gets home from work he txts me to open up...
Right have to go..we have a full day today..o and i won £5.50 on the lottery yay..its a good sign i hope...
love to you all
ftm

scottishminnie

:eek: That sounds very alarming FTM. Just goes to show how quickly people will take an opportunity if it's there. I know what you mean about feeling 2 feet tall - I flew home tonight and was pulled aside at airport security. I had a tiny roll on deodorant, which was within the allowance and in a correctly sized plastic bag but I'd left it in my handbag which also went through the scanner. What a lecture I got - accused of hiding it. I mean honestly - why would I go to the bother of putting it in the little plastic zip lock bag if I was trying to sneak it through - and it was within the allowance so I had no need to conceal it anyway:mad:

I think I'm going to send you my next week's lottery tickets to fill in - I haven't had a sniff in about 6 months now. I think I may also send you some cash to go CS hunting - I'm always really impressed with your bargains.

The treacle tart is finished - thank goodness, I'm sure it had a thousand calories a slice. Not sure what I will make tomorrow night - I always bake on Friday night. Actually I fancy rhubarb tart - I have no rhubarb but my mother does and I've just remembered she promised me a crown of my own for the new kitchen garden - off to text her now while I remember!

[Deleted User]

FTM - How scary, well done for having the presence of mind to act as quickly as you did and thank heavens he ran away, I think the police are sensible in most cases but what did it add to the experience by them giving you a lecture on locking the gate, you were probably mentally beating yourself up for not doing it anyway. I was talking to my brother yesterday and he said they had a caller at the door last week, scruffy looking guy , no shirt just a reflective waistcoat saying they were from Nationwide and the council had sent them because it was now law that you had a certain depth of loft insulation and he was going to go and measure what they had down already. He is a big bloke my bruv and said 'on yer bike sunshine' and the caller started to get really pushy and said he would 'sort you out if you don't let me in'. Bruv stood his ground and nearly got whacked for his trouble, but in the end the man went away. I just thought what if it had been someone older or not so savvy, heavens knows what would have happened if they had let him in. Glad Emma is thriving and hope Heather is now over the experience a little.

SM - I am always the one who gets pulled over at security at airports, best one was going to Sweden last year and they pulled me over with my little day sack and said There is a suspect item in your bag Madam, we need to check it out. I went to open the bag and the guy shouted don't touch it!!!!! I backed away and he emptied my bag - what had caused the fuss? My hair fixer it's an oval of leather with a pin that goes through two holes in the leather to hold up a plait and they said it looked like a knife on the ex ray. Now I'm all for security but at 64 do I really look like a terrorist or potential hijacker? I always seem to set off the bleeper in the arch as well. DD1 is getting to the point where she sends me through a different arch to her , Praps I looks desprate an pirately, I thought I just looked ancient!!!!!!!!! Have a good day folks Cheers Lyn xxx.