make do and mend for tougher times

GreyQueen

betony wrote: »

PAH, you could buy a cheap bag of wild bird food, they always contains loads of sunflower seeds and are no different from any other. I had a few volunteer plants this year from other peoples gardens, distributed by the local birds.

I grew on some birdfeed sunflowers and I got funny little ones about 3 feet tall with several tiny heads. They were sold as black sunflower seeds in the shell. Cute, but very much not what I had in mind.:)

elisamoose wrote: »

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

Wheeeesh, it's my fanstasy home, I'm allowed to dream. And it's always high summer in my imagination, so heatng problems just won't arise.......

The cottage that my parents rented and where we kids were born was built in the earliest years of the 1600s and had timbers in the sitting room walls and in the back kitchen ceiling which had clearly been previously-used elsewhere; they appeared to have adze marks.

Anyone dreaming of timbered cottages should know this; spiders tend to drop on you from the timber ceiling beams.:eek:

SDG31000

Morning all

Just a quick hello as I'm off for my first shift at the new Age UK charity shop in a bit and I'm feeling a bit nervous. I haven't had a "job" in years and I was a bit of a wreck by the end of that one. I'm hoping that not being paid for this will change my attitude towards it and reduce my stress levels a bit. My stomach is going to have to stop rolling so I can eat something wherever it likes it or not

I'll let you know how it goes later and post more.

Take care xxxxx

tryingtobethrifty

Good luck SDG31000 - hope you have fun and meet some nice people!

[Deleted User]

PAH - I know what would work as a barrier and give you an emergency food stash too - Jerusalem Artichokes. They grow up to about 8' tall and have little yellow flowers like mini sunflowers, the best thing though is that if you don't lift them the stems dry out and stand all winter long. If you planted 2 rows you could harvest one for food and leave the other in. If you plant jerusalem artichokes however, they are very difficult to get rid of completely should you decide they are not what you want. Any little tuber left in will produce a plant. They would certainly give you a barrier, but not an impenetrable one. They grow fast, so you'd have the effect in the first year of planting - Hope that helps Cheers Lyn x.

GreyQueen

Good luck, SDG!

VJsmum

Good luck SDG - it'll be fine. I was liking the sound of a New Age charity shop - then I read it properly.:D

DD is off for her trial day so stay tuned...

And I have a free day - well if you don't count the washing, tidying, cleaning the bathrooms, shopping and cooking.. I have to put away the 2 hours worth of ironing i did last night (2 hours, GQ, 2 hours :rotfl:). But I am having a coffee and a "moment" first.

I am distressed that the weather is on the turn (oo err) - it is getting increasingly that I can't abide any season other than summer which may start to become a problem. I am off to Korea on Thursday for a few days working where the weather is only slightly better than here - and when I go back in November is supposed to be bl00dy freezing. I looked it up on the map, Korea is a bleeding long way :eek: Further than I have ever been before.

Right, i am off for a nosey at a couple of other threads in the hope of inspiration to actually DO somehting and not just read about it.

Slaters

Possession

Good luck SDG and Miss VJ. Hope all goes well.
It will be cold in Korea in November but presumably you'll be staying in a decent hotel which will be warm. (That's presuming it's South Korea!) If you're lucky you might even have a heated toilet seat!
Say no to the extra chilli unless you like your food very spicy.

BTW I need inspiration too, had a very bleurgh weekend with both DH & I not really feeling well and have been awake since about 3am. Do NOT feel like tackling the very messy house which was supposed to be tackled this morning. Have work to do. And my best friend who has moved back to the UK has all her stuff coming to the house today and tomorrow so I ought to go and help.

fuddle

I share your Georgian love GQ. Durham City is full of Georgian properties, I oooh and ahh endlessly but many don't live up to their full potential because it's prime student area. They've pretty much been turned into student digs. It's a crying shame.

The house we rent is 1930's and really traditional in feel. I've gone from new builds to this and although it was a culture shock, I feel I've found that traditional is so much more homely for me. Nothing matches any more and I quite like that.

DH pulled the fire out last night to see what was behind. It's all been bricked up so definitely a no go as he fears (even if LL allows it) that it will cost us money to do. Still can't help being upset about it though.

So much to do today, all of it uninspiring so won't bore you all.

FairyPrincessk

Ohh all this talk of lovely old houses delights me. Even living in several old victorian conversion flats hasn't been enough to put me off. Of course, like GQ it is always high summer in my imagination and not this piddly rainy British summer we get either.:rotfl:

PAH, would it be possible to plant either stinging nettles or a plant with thorns along the fence? It wouldn't necessarily stop people but would probably deter quite a lot. Might be faster than a high hedge as well.

Have had some very trying news from work this morning. I'm having to miss an interview for a position because it was scheduled at the last minute and i have a conflict. I wasn't sure the job was right for me right now, but feel very frustrated that I've been treated so unprofessionally.

Fortunately I had a very make do and mend weekend which has me pretty relaxed. Went for a walk in the peaks on Saturday with sandwiches. Sunday did a big shop--got extra berries and butter at good prices so those are now in freezer. Got a cake baked for the week, washed sofa blankets and cushion covers as well as all bedding. got a few more boxes unpacked and new arrangement for music in the dining room which is nice as part of us moving to a bigger house is we want to have people round for dinner more and go out less. OH traded his sister for the stereo, she was going to give it to her little girl but they found something more suitable so we've given her a small pressie in exchange for the stereo. Also got all of the weeds pulled from between the paving stones front and back. They were pretty bad as we hadn't done them since we moved in. Haven't had a chance and didn't have any gardening gloves. A must if you've got fussy skin like mine. However, found some at Aldi on Sunday.

I wish we had some nice flowers out there, but can't afford the outlay on pots, dirt and plants right now, much less get those things home on the bus. Furniture and re-building our savings is the priority right now, but it can still be tidy.

OH has moved all of his things home from the old office and he got himself established in his new space, ready for his new start on Thursday. I was itching to get in there and organize it for him. Mind it isn't done my way, but he stays out of my office so I'll stay out of his. If I can help it.;)

OH had to take my pinny off me last night. Said I was looking exhausted. I never have as much puff as I want to get my nesting done.:o

Thanks so much whoever posted the links on youtube to the Ruth Mott programmes. Have enjoyed a couple over my tea breaks this weekend.

FairyPrincessk

PS SDG, I hope all goes well.