make do and mend for tougher times

Pooky

:T well done Lavender - exciting times ahead (we will need photos)

I'd love an allotment but there's none in the village. We've made enquiries with the neighbours behind us about purchasing the end of their garden that backs on to ours. They don't use it and strim the grass down once in a blue moon, it's got an old shed (on a hard standing) and a decent sized greenhouse. They're "thinking" about it. Would be ideal to turn that entire area over to growing, it's around 40ft square.

It's silly hot here, was measuring 31 in the garden earlier. Aside from one load of washing out, I've avoided stepping out the door. DDs are cooking a roast for this evening, it's what they fancied so they can deal with the heat. I'm still feeling rough so I shall sit and crochet and grab another early night.

Byatt

Take care Pooky, you will need to rest. I had 3 kidney infections in a very short space of time, recently and it knocked me for six.

fuddle

Well done on the allotment LBI'd be jumping around too if was me Have you been down for a nosey yet

Pea and mint soup supped and about to tuck into chicken breast, carrots, brocolli and boiled potatoes. Family are having yorkshires and gravy but I am not. I'm alright about it though. I've got to look after my health at the end of the day.

Strawbs and fat free yoghurt for my desert while the others have flapjack and custard. I'm really going to have to keep my motivation aren't I?! Willpower and I have a shady past

Anyway, baking for packed lunches later - malt loaf, carrot muffins and ginger bread biscuits.

Mrs_Chip

Congrats LB, I would be dancing about too!

How about one of these?

I was offered some builders bags on freecycle (very useful for moving garden rubbish about) and went to collect them this lunchtime. The house is up on the hill the other side of the twin towns, by the ferry terminal. After we collected them we went a bit further along the road to see where it went, and came to a nice look out place and the coast path. We walked along a little bit (scouting for blackberries) and came to a bit of ground being used as a smallholding. All fenced in, a really good veg patch and chooks running about. Overlooking the vastness of the Irish Sea, it was a fab place, who ever it belongs to is very lucky.

Fuddle your meal sounds lovely - really not at all anything like a diet! When you can have such lovely food it's easy not to feel hard done by!

mardatha

PAH I would so want to string a wee electric fence inside the 3ft one if I lived in your house.... but bet there's 500 thousand reasons why you can't. Damn life is no fun anymore

Byatt

charlies-aunt wrote: »

Our local authority has just announced that under the Council Tax Benefit changes - working age households who currently receive Council Tax Benefit will have it cut to 83% from next April. Pensioners won't be affected at the moment.

Double whammy for people who are affected by the Bedroom Tax which will reduce Housing Benefit by 13-25%

Belt tightening and economising has been needed to get us through tough times but next year is going to be a real challenge.

My council is cutting to 80% unless they decided to change it after their survey, I need to check the web site again.

LavenderBees

Oh, thanks so much, everyone, for sharing my excitement. I still can hardly believe it. I've been for a long walk, and everyone I've met (amazing how many people are out and about today in the middle of nowhere, and all with beaming smiles at such a lovely day, sorry Madartha!) now knows I've been offered a lottie :rotfl:

Thanks Mrs Chip for the suggestion of a folding wheelbarrow, who'dathunkit? I'm just not sure if it is robust enough for what is likely to be some tough work (though I don't think it's on the scale of GQ's lottie...that sounds industrial strength :eek:). I'll do a bit more reading on it, and see, but thanks for the idea.

Yes, I feel very blessed today. There are only 12 allotments in our village, and I've been on the list 3 years exactly, so not too bad, but I really thought it would be a few more years before I'd be offered one.

When I know more about what I've been offered etc I'll let you all know and try to post a "before" photy...the "after" photy may take a few years to surface:rotfl:

Thanks again :T

p.S. My dad was ringing me late last night to say they (my parents) have a pair of lined curtains that might fit my living room window...I didn't see any point in saying that a late night call had made me anxious all morning. Gotta love 'em, how OS is that?!

LB xx

Possession

Good news all round LB!!
PS. my dad would do that too. If he ever leaves a message, which is rare, he leaves it in such a tone of voice that you think something awful has happened. It never has yet.
Baking baguettes for tea, so utilising the oven with 2 shreddies surplus cakes - brownies and malt loaf. Fingers crossed. They look a bit odd going in, frankly.

Byatt

LavenderBees wrote: »

Oh, thanks so much, everyone, for sharing my excitement. I still can hardly believe it. I've been for a long walk, and everyone I've met (amazing how many people are out and about today in the middle of nowhere, and all with beaming smiles at such a lovely day, sorry Madartha!) now knows I've been offered a lottie :rotfl:

Thanks Mrs Chip for the suggestion of a folding wheelbarrow, who'dathunkit? I'm just not sure if it is robust enough for what is likely to be some tough work (though I don't think it's on the scale of GQ's lottie...that sounds industrial strength :eek:). I'll do a bit more reading on it, and see, but thanks for the idea.

Yes, I feel very blessed today. There are only 12 allotments in our village, and I've been on the list 3 years exactly, so not too bad, but I really thought it would be a few more years before I'd be offered one.

When I know more about what I've been offered etc I'll let you all know and try to post a "before" photy...the "after" photy may take a few years to surface:rotfl:

Thanks again :T

p.S. My dad was ringing me late last night to say they (my parents) have a pair of lined curtains that might fit my living room window...I didn't see any point in saying that a late night call had made me anxious all morning. Gotta love 'em, how OS is that?!

LB xx

Yayyyyyy for the lottie...:T:T We need a dancing smiley...

Have you heard Michael McIntyre's routine on phone calls after 9pm? It's hilarious and just how we all seem to react. So glad it was nothing serious. Phew...:cool:

prepareathome

mardatha wrote: »

PAH I would so want to string a wee electric fence inside the 3ft one if I lived in your house.... but bet there's 500 thousand reasons why you can't. Damn life is no fun anymore

Mar(pm'd you by the way) that thought goes through my mind every time I see some one jump over the fence and cut across my garden instead of walking round on the pavement. The worst is when I find someone taking their dog for a walk on there, I don't let my dogs dirty out there and others think as its a nice big piece of land with the tiny fence they can use it as they want.

Fence was down for a few years and council would not even consider to replace it so we had to save up to replace it ( would have made a nice deposit for a home the cost of it) and when we had it done I had people( new to area since it went down) coming to me demanding why I had fenced in that land as it was public land. While fence was down everyone and his wife used to cut off corner using it, totally wore down grass, dogs were be allowed to use it, kids played on it and everyone generally used it for dumping rubbish, babies dirty nappies was the most common. I got fed up explaining it was my garden and only because we were saving up to replace it, was it left for so long without a fence, but many still to this day will pass me and make a comment about how some people will even steal the ground under your feet and it was put up again 7 years ago.

This area when we moved here was nice as most had lived here since houses were built but then so many been bought and sold on and then rented out that area is beginning to look tatty as so much of the residents never stay long. A house a few doors down from me has new tenants every 6 months as landlord will not have anyone stay longer as so many longer tenants just don't care about the house or garden. Its a shame road is looking careworn now. Not terrible, no rubbish around but just not as neat as they were. Some do care but others just see the house as a stepping stone till they get back on housing ladder again as all have lost their own homes ( get all the gossip when I get over to newsagent and speak to woman who has worked there for various owners for as long as I have lived here so I am an oldie now so get all the news).

Have had odd person who tried to look down their nose at me for having HA house but I soon put them in their place.


We have quite a high level of taxi drivers, obviously the men lost their jobs and have turned to that but its not paying as it was years ago and one of the reasons (apart from the fact he hated it) why hubby left when he could. They are all private hire not black cab so cannot pick up on street so less chance of income. Often see cars parked in side road at end of side garden as its a waiting point for them and sometimes they sit there hours as less and less can afford taxis. Its mainly pensioners that use them or disabled if they cannot drive like me if hubby cannot take me.


How is this for daftness......I went down and though would put chops in oven with onions, mushrooms, tinned tomatoes, potatoes and some herbs and do so then when its in oven I realise I had put beef in sc yesterday for tonight. Totally forgot it so looking forward to the lamb chops now so letting it cool then will freeze it.

I would be dangerous if I was let loose in public:rotfl:


Hugs and Love to allxxx