make do and mend for tougher times

prepareathome

Pooky sorry to hear your news, but after such a long life you can celebrate that as much as mourn his passing, and I think you said other passing was elderly as well and so them to. Never easy losing anyone but better if they had a good long life.

I have a house like that GQ:D in my dreams....:rotfl:

No room under my bed as it has drawers in it but they hide the yarn stash, I doubt they would take the weight of tins. :rotfl:

Hugs and Love to all xxx

elisamoose

GreyQueen wrote: »

I'm sorry to hear that your relatives have passed over, Pooky. That old man sounds like a fantastic gentleman and I bet he'll be sorely-missed.

On the happier subject of underbed storage, I like the sound of your cases, I'm rather partial to old trunks and cases etc.

They belong in my Other House, unfortunately. Y'know, the one with limed floorboards, a white Victorian iron bedstead, muslin curtains billowing at the window into the garden where the scent of honeysuckle and tea roses wafts on the breeze.

The Other House is probably a Georgian rectory. I'm rather partial to the proportions of the Georgian period, both architecturally and in furniture etc.

Dream on, hun, eh? I'm listening to Tom Lehrer on the CD and the washing machine on spin in the next room. I shall reattach the valance to the bed in a moment.

The valance is a devious little number; it's the frill off a single bed's valance which is hemmed and has Velcro on it in patches which correspond to the Velcro patches glued to the pine bedstead. It only covers the visible side of the bed, the headboard and other two sides being against wall and not visible. I did it like that because I got it for free from a jumbly and it was a single and my bed is a double. It even matches my duvet covers..............:rotfl:

Try living in a Georgian house ......draughty windows and wobbly floor boards.And high ceilings just eat heat !

grandma247

Just caught up

Washing machine

and another one

I have almost finished the pantry now. I put most of my dried veg in ziplock bags and used several ice cream tubs to store them in all neatly written on so I can see whats in there.Stacking them has given me so much more room.

lisakay_2

i love the idea of living in a lovely georgian house, but yes i'm sure the reality is pretty different!
I've just been up for a shower, can anyone tell me how i've managed to come home with half the allotment stashed down my bra??????:eek::o

The girls were arguing when we left this morning so rushed them out to the car so they didn't wake daddy up then shut my doorkeys inside the house:mad:
i'd already loaded up with drinks and picnic and stuff so we didn't come home til i knew dh would be up. girls were shattered with being outside in the fresh air all day because we went straight from lotty to kids bootcamp.

I managed to pull most of the bindweed from the pear and apple trees and found roots heading to the core of the earth. i've cleared the front of all visible couchgrass roots to a forks depth and pruned the currant bushes.
the front half is looking quite respectable now and my number wasn't called when discussing the state of the plots at the committee meeting:j

roll on 1st oct now, when i can start burning :cool:. i'm definitely a twisted firestarter:p
i have big plans for raised beds and fencing for the autumn/winter and also for the kids to help with making scarecrows, bug houses, bat boxes, mosaics and possibly a wormery for just outside the kitchen door:D (with whatever we can salvage from freecy(le, fre3gle, skips...)
this plot is going to feed me and mine next year if it kills me

grandma247

No way would I live in a Georgian house, those little panes would do my head in. Mock double glazed ones might do though because you still have a large piece of glass to clean with the "panes" on the inside of the panel.

Byatt

I live in a 200+ year old cottage, everyone says how lovely...:cool:

mmmmhhh, it's taken me 2 years to adjust, as I've always lived in modern homes...it's not the idyll it purports to be, but it's growing on me. Now I've stopped expecting it to act like a modern house.

prepareathome

I have those little panes in my windows, I adore them, yep pain (pun intended) to clean but still love them. I was as happy as a lark when HA was told by planning dept that they could put in double glazing but it had to be the same type of windows, I know they cost an arm and a leg but I don't care. They only of course put them at front a side, back bedroom and kitchen sadly have normal modern windows yuk. The first thing everyone did round here when they bought their homes was to put in new doors and new windows(that was all before the modernisation, none left except mine now) so my windows stand out now against those big panes of glass which is nice.

I have actually bought lead tape which I never got round to putting on old windows and when I find it again son has promised to put it on these,have checked its allowed as not classed as permanent as its tape, although does say once its on it stays on lol

They do give the house a cottage look from outside which I like.

SpikyHedgehog

prepareathome wrote: »

Oh Lavender that is great and being right on the doorstep as well. I put my name down years ago and never heard anything again but couldn't manage one now, but nearest is about 5 miles away, I guess they think we all have gardens so don't need one but in reality my back garden is the size of a postage stamp( corner house so house round corner has to share the space, daft planning they only left enough space for one back garden yet gave me the massive big side one) and until the hedges grow in side garden I cannot really grow much there as to easy for anyone to step over the miserable 3ft fence we are allowed. We know this can happen as when those lovely people stepped over it and blew up our camper van, they were seen, hopped over it, shoved the industrial fireworks up exhaust of camper and were gone ,all done in a few mins, so person who saw them as it was dusk so they couldn't see what they were doing, but were so quick never thought anything harm had been done till van blew spectacularly apart about 5 mins later. Bomb squad said they were using long fuses to ensure they were far away when they blew.

It wasn't my van was specially targeted they were driving round looking for easy targets and my van was with such a small fence between them. Wasn't even parked near fence but at other side of garden but at side of house and only window there is hall one 3/4 of the way up the stairs so not easy to keep checking on.

So for now just a few vegetable plants hidden among flowers - Nasturtiums are still blooming, been out for about 6 weeks now. Had so many people ask what I was doing when out there this year and they will remember as things get harder over coming years and will most likely think nothing of popping over fence to help themselves, thinking well she has plenty as the amount of people that thought one cabbage plant gave you 100 cabbages is unbelievable, they really do think you need to plant one of everything and that will feed many for months to come. Many were saying can see you will have lots to give away in autumn and have had a few people knock for spares in past week and are totally disbelieving when I say but only had a few things thanks to weather and slugs and assume I am being greedy, even though I grew them. To them as they are there on view they are for everyone, if I want them just for me I should have them in the back garden. To non gardeners it seems a feeble excuse it doesn't dawn on them that growing wasn't an exact science to them you put the seeds in and in so many months pull up perfect vegetable, no watering, feeding, weeding needed. Those people who asked all have far bigger back gardens than me and when I suggest growing their own I get told oh couldn't as need garden for kids to play, to sit out etc., but ok for me to grow and give to them. Not one person even offered to buy anything off me, no all wanted free and many went away angry so I know they will be wanting to take their revenge by pinching later.

So not sure if I will anything in next year or the next until hedges are a decent height and thick enough to stop people seeing them. Had some things taken like cabbages, cauliflower and celery -went to get last of it yesterday and it was gone, not eaten stump was there and it had been cut .

Its just so frustrating having to wait a few years when I know things are going to get more expensive.

So I have all this space to grow but cannot use it as cannot police it, so annoying.

Right sun has come out again and all this has reminded me seed potatoes have got to go in, in pots so better go and do them.

Hugs and Love to allxxxx

I think you need companion growing - with nettles & thistles! :-)

Feeling worn out this evening. Yesterday, we got a family ticket on the bus into town, bag of stuff to CS, DS1 paid his loose change into his bank, DS2 finished the library reading game, picnic in the park, walk around the mansion in the park, ice cream from the tea room & walk round the herb garden, go to opticians to cancel my.monthly contact lenses, went home.

I couldn't cancel the lenses in the opticians, their chain was taken over by boots & since then there's even less you can do in store. I need to reduce the unnecessary outgoings, but would have gone for a reduced plan if I could have done it by speaking to 1 off the staff who've been there for years & feel confident that they'll get the best thing for me. But as I had to phone an anonymous person, I cancelled completely & told her I couldn't be thinking of other deals over the phone, I could only have considered them in store, & when she carried on trying, pointed out that I had arguing children in n the background so couldn't concentrate, so no way, cancel now please.

DS2 & I then went to bee and queue to return a towel rail. We got a bag of lawn seed to boost the lawn, & 5 solar lights for giving a bit of light in the house. 1 of the glass bottles doesn't work properly, so lll take it back. Got 2 bottles & 3 lanterns, & the lanterns are really cute :-) enough light to see your way into bed & find glasses in the night, or have next to the laptop for the teenager to see to type on facebook. Not enough light to read by, but that's ok as DS2 would never go to sleep!

Today, I've baked a fruit cake, biscuits, bread, cooked linda mac cheese plaits up for DS1 to be able to take in packed lunches, made nut roast & roast potatoes for dinner with double the amount of roasties we needed so I could freeze a batch, & cooked up a bag of chickpeas to freeze in batches for hummus. I had to improvise with the nut roast as we'd had the last of the bread for lunch, so I used oats instead of breadcrumbs - tasted fine.

I want to cut more borders out of the lawn for a veg patch as well as the flowers that I've already done. I don't want to take up all the grass, as when we're ready to go for a house transfer, I don't want a garden that could put people off. I don't want to try digging it up till we've had some rain though.

prepareathome

Plenty of nettles but didn't stop celery snatcher as vegetable beds totally over grown as not done anything to them for weeks.

Have a man of nettles over 4ft long, want to get them down to make nettle tea for the plants next year.



Well why am I not tired tonight as have to be up at 7am as son collecting me at 7.30am to go and look after the Grandchildren, already packed the craft things I tend to use with DGD3 as I know I would get in the morning.

Have taken one of my hoarded sleeping tabs I am allowed 5 every month but not been near doctors since beg of July and with it being a rather painful tiring time I knew I wouldn't get there any time soon so hoarded them and the valium I get for Restless Legs,14 5mg tablets every 3 months, just lucky not have a very bad attack recently and Kalms has helped me doze off, so glad I did so will get sleep tonight.

Can feel them starting to work

Nighty night

jamanda

PAH Could you erect a good sized trellis to screen your veg and grow something fast growing up it like russian vine or something to hide what you are doing?