make do and mend for tougher times

GreyQueen

I borrowed this once from the library and commend it to all us long-suffering gardeners. The blasted things are even eating my cornflowers................

ETA, Nice one Mar, a couple of cans of doggie chow and you're good to go! Don't tell UK Preppers or they'll all want one.

Evie74_2

Grandma247 - thank you for the link, it looks like they were/are sawfly larvae. I shall check the raspberries over more thoroughly tomorrow and see if there are any more. Just when I was rejoicing that they were the only things in the garden not being munched by slugs and snails...!

GQ - PC must be a very interesting place to live!

Pops - I thought the extended opening hours might be to do with the Olympics. My first thought was "Oh no! I won't be able to grab the YS bargains at 3.45 on a Sunday afternoon any more!" :rotfl:

Evie xx

fuddle

pops have I read that right? Did you get yourself a shopping trolley? It's late and my eyes hurt, been reading and kntting and I think I need bi-focals :cool: very badly short sighted but I need no glasses to work up close or read. Got head ache.

Plus fallen out with my doggy. My first sock knitting project that I was almost ready to learn about doing the heel, has been found under the dining table all chewed and unravelled.:eek: :mad: I'll have to start again now. He knows he isn't to pull things of my coffee table the little boooogar

Evie74_2

Fuddle- what a nightmare! Rotten dog :mad:

Were you wearing your glasses for the knitting etc? I am very short sighted and sometimes find that I get headaches/eye strain from doing a lot of close work with my glasses on. The prescription is strong so everything "shrinks" and I have to concentrate hard to see properly - it's easier for me without the specs sometimes.

Evie xx

fuddle

Yeah I have been, I never take my glasses off because I can't see very much at all without them on, other than right close to me. My reading vision is spot on.

I'll try taking them off tomorrow Evie, thanks

Popperwell

fuddle wrote: »

pops have I read that right? Did you get yourself a shopping trolley? It's late and my eyes hurt, been reading and kntting and I think I need bi-focals :cool: very badly short sighted but I need no glasses to work up close or read. Got head ache.

Plus fallen out with my doggy. My first sock knitting project that I was almost ready to learn about doing the heel, has been found under the dining table all chewed and unravelled.:eek: :mad: I'll have to start again now. He knows he isn't to pull things of my coffee table the little boooogar

I'm short sighted too...sorry about the sock...Yes I have a trolley!

I would not have liked to have attempted to carry that load home in my back pack!

Hope your headache soon disappears...

kidcat

Nothing like a crisis/disaster to focus the mind. DS8 flooded bathroom, cue water flowing through ceiling. Its quite sad but we flew into action like a well rehearsed plan (can you tell we have done this before) I punched holes in the ceiling, while DD grabbed buckets and DS14 moved electrics. All done in under five minutes.
Gave DS a telling off and he lay in his room crying that we didnt love him any more, has taken much longer to undo the damage to him than the ceiling.

fuddle

Brilliant pops, it's going to be full of aldi goodness soon Boadicea won't be used much at all in the 6 weeks hols, can't do the 6 miler with the kids in tow destined for the coop.

You know how coop and morrisons have said they will pay farmers more for milk, does that mean the cost will be passed on to us the consumer?

Evie74_2

Oh Kidcat what a nightmare! I hope there isn't too much damage (apart from punch holes in the ceiling :eek:).

Evie xx

SpikyHedgehog

fuddle wrote: »

I've enjoyed our day out. A bit upset at falling for a chugger in the garden centre. A lovely lady, asking if we were an outdoors family, really engaging the kids and giving them leaflets about free activities to do in and around Teesside over the holidays, telling the girls that the charity she worked for would send them stickers and magazines through the post. Kids enthusiastic, mammy and daddy signed up for £5 a month direct debit. Really cross with myself for listening in the first place. I'll have to wait till the first magazine or pack comes and then cancel the direct debit.

We've had a bit of a brainwave. DH and I have been talking and we've decided that as the girls are at school in September full-time but I'm still a mam and housewife, why don't I become a childminder? I've umpteen years of experience working with children so why the heck not. I'd like to supplement our income somehow and still me a mam at home for my children.

I have applied for funding for a OU course titled 'childhood'. I'm changing my degree, no longer wanting to teach but work amongst young children - doing what I know and love. I guess being a childminder I'm keeping my toes in the water so to speak.

If you phone up the charity & say you've changed your mind - the 'lovely lady' should have given you a leaflet with their details on it - they'll cancel it. They will ask why & you can say the lady did a hard sell focussing on the girls & you really can't afford it & would prefer to chose the charities you help, not have them accost you.

Did you know the people are paid to get us to sign up, & I suspect on commission for each person they get signed up?

I know because I've been there... Had a 'lovely chap' call at the door, the charity was a real one (can't remember what now though) & he did do a hard sell & I felt I couldn't say no at the time, especially with my boys wanting the lovely things & to help the charity. I phoned up & cancelled it the next day. They were happy to cancel it & offered to take a complaint about the hard sales technique.

fuddle wrote: »

I already emailed family information services

I'm keeping it under wraps re: family and this going to show a very selfish side to me. I'll explain. When I was working full-time when I had my first DD we had to fork out £550 per month just for the childcare. It crippled us and is a factor in why we ended up bankrupt. All that time I asked for help from my family, just a day of week would have helped us out financially. No one was able or willing to do that for us. Now people all around us have had children and annoyingly family members are helping out with the childcare. My sister is pregnant with her second child and has already asked if I would look after the baby when she goes back to work.. for free. I said no, selfishly. No body helped us, why should I do it for free. My excuse was that I would be too busy with my degree. Being a childminder I can't use that excuse but I'm still not wanting to look after her baby for free when that baby could end up taking a place of a child that could bring me an income. Like I say, a selfish side to myself. I don't know what I'm going to do about it really but I'm definitely not doing it for free. My family needs an income too. Whatever happened to family helping out family eh? I am bitter about it and embarrassed that I'm sharing this with you, maybe if they had rallied about me and my children when I needed them then I wouldn't feel so badly about it and would help out family members. My sister and her husband earn a lot of money. I just can't do it because it makes me angry thinking about the whole thing.

Not selfish at all! You are going into childminding as you know you can do it well as you love children ('cos it shows to us, you know!) & can do it while putting your own children & husband first.

I love the idea someone had (but I couldn't see who ) of keeping a journal of what you & the girls do over the summer - you could annotate it to say what you wuld have done with younger/older children as well if you have ideas. (I'd use post it notes.)

Just a thought about childminding, I'd try if you can to make sure your own children know they can keep their own favourite toys & things seperate from the shared toys & resources. I used to mind my elder nephew who is 9 months older than DS1, & they both needed to know each could keep his own favourite/new toys separate & not share, & I know my childminder had the same thing with her 3 DDs.

And on the subject of toys & resources, I dunno how it works but I know my childminder used to be able to offset new toys & resources against her taxes, because she said so.