'supporting each other through really tough times'

Softstuff

stiltwalker wrote: »

Had the bright idea to ask nursery head what she did with her fleeces from her Jacobs (we had a box of hoggart last term which is how I knew they have a few Jacobs) and she's going to sort me out a fleece when the barn is open for my felting. Might also be going into nursery to do some felting with the kids as I was saying how much DD enjoys it and how good it is for her (bilateral actions and sensory interaction).

Do you know how long it took me to figure out what hoggarts and jacobs are :rotfl:

kidcat wrote: »

softstuff - am so sorry I dragged it up again for you and I am so cross on your behalf, how dare they:mad:

Thanks Kidcat. And congratulations on the course. You need to go easier on yourself when things go wrong though, you already do too much and try so hard.

mcculloch29 wrote: »

What happened to your Mum was horrible, Softstuff. I read a book on Rupert Murdoch and his shenanigans late last year, one Amazon offered me. A few times it had me swearing out loud at the sheer audacity of the Press.

Thanks Mcculloch. They presume to know what is "in the public interest" even when the public disagree. And don't get me started on inaccuracies. Prior to this debacle I've often emailed newspapers telling them where they've messed it up and I've seen corrections.

Physio today, not thrilled.

On a slightly distracting note, we're looking at a house. We probably shouldn't spend more money, but hanker after a small piece of land to grow stuff and want to do our own maintenance (in a timely, planned and efficient manner, unlike how it's done here). We'd have to take more mortgage, rather than finishing it as planned this year and sell here, which would be stressful.

Love to all! xx

kidcat

Softstuff I hope the house idea goes well whichever way you decide, sometimes looking at an alternative is enough to convince you that your current plan is right. I know how much you would like to grow stuff though

missrlr

Wow managed to catch up just! So sorry no names but in no particular order ....

Happy birthday to all
Glad we are keeping warm and safe and fed
Hope the bruises for injuries and other illnesses VANISH for those suffering such ills
Furious to read about the newspaper issue. Some people are SO ignorant!
Not sure what more to suggest about the presents, champers sounds good. Regarding meal, stick to your guns. No is an answer.
We have lots of stocks left, all good. Except managed to lose one Y@ktr@k
So now have to replace.
Blinking good for nothing rubbish collectors failed to collect rubbish DESPITE driving down our road! According to the council web site only those roads which are cleared would be collected from (erm no you didn't stop fibbing) now we have to wait for the next collection cycle. so one pointed email sent on the matter
Burnt a seriously large amounts of calories snow shovelling and gritting recently then went to gym (use it or lose it and gets me out of the house when DH working) did an hour of combat circuits. I now officially have muscles complaining I don't remember! It's good for me, I need to be fitter
DH still not got into the HM bread saying he likes re plastic fantastic muck.
Time for sleeps now. Stay safe all.

Softstuff

kidcat wrote: »

Softstuff I hope the house idea goes well whichever way you decide, sometimes looking at an alternative is enough to convince you that your current plan is right. I know how much you would like to grow stuff though

Thanks Kidcat. About once a year we go and look at an "open home", that's what the real estate agents do here, they advertise and anyone can go see without an appointment. It's generally enough to make us stay put and value what we have!

This time the maintenance issue is wearing on us though, we pay $6000 a year "body corp fees", this is supposed to cover all the exterior maintenance, gardening etc. We've been banging our heads against a brick wall with it though, it took 6 months to get a downpipe fixed, 2 months and a large argument to get pest control out and they tend to do things in a stupid order (they washed the windows that we can't get to - an annual job, then they pressure washed the building thus dirtying the windows, then they fixed and cleaned out the gutters, dirtying the building and finished up by fixing the downpipe, which the gutter repairer could have done!). Added to this to save the plants at the rear of the building we've had to start doing some gardening ourselves.

A lot of it only drives me nuts because it's jobs I could do myself (as I said to the guy who was doing the gutters, but not fixing the downpipe, if I had a damned ladder long enough I would have done it myself 6 months back). I could also do them better - when they replaced timbers on the buildings, they gave them 1 coat of exterior paint, no undercoat. I warned them they'd rot, they told me it had an undercoat in it and it'd be fine. 2 years on, they're rotting. Hubby is a sensible proactive person too, though less familiar with building maintenance and it's even driving him crazy.

You're right too, I'd love to grow stuff. Queensland is such an easy place to grow things with a little effort. Our weather tends to be good enough to get some decent crops most years, it isn't like England where it's hit and miss. I could hope easily to grow corn, zucchini, silverbeet, citrus fruits and pumpkin, though tomatoes, soft fruits etc are a bit more hit and miss with pests. Added to that the yard could be big enough for half a dozen free range chickens, and that would make me explode with glee.

And on the less sensible note, we'd like a puppy :rotfl: Well, actually an older rescue dog, but a puppy at heart!

On the downside my knee is currently beggared. To sell our current place we'd have to give it a coat of paint, reseal the decks and maybe replace the kitchen, all jobs for me to do.

Sorry about that essay, just getting my thoughts down.... and getting over excited!

savingqueen

you're welcome ginny and thanks do much for your kind post. I have had a bath to relax and will go to bed soon which will help. Too tired now to feel anxious. Anxiety is a bit of a problem for me anyway so not unusual for me. If feelings persist I will start a diary, might do it anyway and see if any link to hormones, diet etc and then I can see what action to take. As long as I have a plan - I'm ok (like you fuddle!) I gonna try and get to bed a bit earlier, watch my diet a bit more, walk more and relax more - well those are the aims, I come below the cats in the household sometimes (my own doing )

GreyQueen - love your idea of a non detachable baby carrier - you have a real gift with words and a cracking sense of humour. I always guesstimated that my menopause - well the warm up to it I guess would happen concurrently with my two's teenage years. Can you imagine?! :eek: DH says he will have a mid-life crisis and leave for a few years til its all over :rotfl:

BTW hope you're feeling a bit better now.

vjsmum - empathise with the OH shopping thing. Mine rarely goes, he's not too bad at choosing but won't go to the places I want, only to tatcos and that drives me nuts anyway and he overspends like money's going out of fashion. Glad you enjoyed your class today

VJsmum wrote: »

Evening all

millymolly (have to stop myself typing mandy!) - as pops said, honestly some people just don't get it! I would either stick to your guns and don't go or just for the starter if that's what you've decided or tell a white lie - a friend in need, a double booking for another birthday bash or whatever - I have a button on my mobile (never used) which activates a fake call and if I were in that situation I may well be pressing it! Don't let it get to you, its just one day and it will be forgotten soon enough.

In the cold weather our old cats have taken to miaowing incessantly if one of them has gone out to ahem powder their nose. until they return home.Such cuties looking out for each other, they are very close brothers.

pops I agree cornflour is best for thickening but I have used a little flour to coat meat and/or veg in casseroles etc and it does the trick. A little mustard powder (just a pinch or two) mixed in with the cornflour and then sprinkled onto red meat, especially beef tastes good - mix it about so meat is evenly coated - then I crumble a stock cube, add a squirt (about a tablespoon) of tomato puree and add to some hot water. Add to casserole and you can add some dried herbs if you like.

sq:)

kidcat

softstuff - sometimes you just need to follow your heart and the rest will just follow, as for decorating, how much would it be to get a guy in to do it for you? My parents got a guy in last year as my dad can just about do it but struggles with it, especially the stairs, he was two days all done, whereas my dad would have taken a week, no mess at the end as he cleared up, so it was well worth it:)

Softstuff

kidcat wrote: »

softstuff - sometimes you just need to follow your heart and the rest will just follow, as for decorating, how much would it be to get a guy in to do it for you? My parents got a guy in last year as my dad can just about do it but struggles with it, especially the stairs, he was two days all done, whereas my dad would have taken a week, no mess at the end as he cleared up, so it was well worth it:)

It'd cost too much really and there's more to it than a coat of paint - plaster skimming etc. Also, don't have a reliable guy here and I've seen the jobs that some of the local decorators have done, in fact, my old upstairs neighbour after having a guy in to paint before selling and calling him back 3 times to sort out where he'd missed, she just gave up and had me in to do it! Her walls were like a patchwork quilt, he was charging $60 an hour. And replacing the kitchen I can probably do for between $3000 - $5000 depending how far I go with it, to have it done professionally here is $20,000 +. I feel it'd add value to here to do something with it, but would of course speak to our friendly agent first.

stiltwalker

Softstuff wrote: »

Do you know how long it took me to figure out what hoggarts and jacobs are :rotfl:

Sorry softstuff! - For anyone else confuzzled, hoggarts are 1 year old sheep - older and tastier than lamb but not requiring quite so much slow cooking as mutton and Jacobs are a small breed of sheep.

As for the house - I remember you talking about a place with land a while back, if it is a recurring want maybe it's worth a good think about. I can certainly see how you find the 'maintainance' frustrating - as a practical person myself that would drive me up the wall. Having said that I've been threatening/promising to decorate since we moved in almost 3 years ago - it's time that is my problem not ability. The trouble is that it will 'do' so all the 3 million other things on my list get bumped up above it. Mind you I have done half a degree, had a baby, and raised 2 disabled kids together with the usual house, cooking etc stuff, and crafting up a storm at regular intervals since we moved in here in April 2010! So I guess I can give myself a break for not having painted a wall or two!

Softstuff

It's ok, I googled. And it's good to learn new things.

Stiltwalker, you have many reasons, not excuses, for not having painted a wall or two! When I was working I didn't have the time, but when I stopped I did a fair bit (some of which is due again). I have plenty of time and also the skills (I've completely renovated places previously and have practice, plus my dad taught me everything he knew, including not to do plumbing like him :rotfl:). As for it being a recurring "want", it is. But we've been very good about looking after needs, not wants so we've put off a few of our wants.

And now I've typed that I wonder if it's a good idea to always be so sensible or if we should try and go for it.

The last house I looked at, when we got there for the inspection it had asbestos inside and a crack that would have made me nervous. The one prior was at the bottom of a slope in a flood prone area, the run off would have saturated the house during monsoon weather. So I'd be amazed if this one didn't have something amiss somewhere. And we're not prepared to borrow a bigger mortgage to fund something that has a crazy flaw. As hubby and I say, if you grade aspects of the home out of 10, we're looking for one that is mostly 6's and 7's, not one that has a couple of 9's and maybe a 10 but a 2 on something else. If that makes sense to anyone but us!

Softstuff

Sorry to keep blathering on today, but just back from the physio. What a lovely lady she was, though it was a little intimidating in the waiting room surrounded by piccies of olympic athletes and their signed tops....

She doesn't think the tear is causing the bother, that's somewhat incidental. She thinks it's caused by my tumour throwing things out of whack. So work to do apparently, being delicate about the whole balance of it and orthotics maybe, but surgery is not on the cards right now. And she even said I could use getting jogging as my target! :j

Oh and she trussed me up like a christmas turkey around the kneecap with tape. Not an attractive look we'll be seeing on the catwalk.