Hoarding - Springing Ahead

GreyQueen

catshark88 wrote: »

I want feral parsnips.....
;-)

Trust me, you don't, the bliddy things don't seem to form proper roots so are all top and no trousers. Just pretty foliage.

It's all my own fault, of course. About 4 years ago, a strange combination of weather in early summer caused a bunch of parsnips to bolt. I was away at the time and by the time I spotted them, they were a foot tall and still bolting.

Out of curiousity, I let them alone to see what would happen. They formed 5 ft tall plants, with umbellifica-type green flowerheads which were nothing to look at or smell but were obviously nectar to the insects.

Because the insects were going crazy for them, I left them, they dried out and dropped seed and the rest, as they say, is history. They also caused a lot of WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!!? from experienced veggie gardeners who'd never seen a parsnip do that before.

Yesterday I took a donation bag out. It contained what we shall call The Item, among other things.

The Item was originally the property of A, who gave it their friend B, who didn't want it but didn't want to offend by refusing. B gave it to C, a relative of theirs, with the admonishment that it mustn't be given away or A might see it and be offended. C offered it to me a coupla years back and I accepted.

The Item is handmade knitwear, and very nice knitwear as well. I have worn it a few times but it didn't really make the cut, so was loitering on the premises with a guilt tag back to A. I don't know A at all. I know B very slightly and C well, but was stewing about offending A if I donated The Item and they were to see it in the charity shop or on someone's back and thus know that B hadn't kept hold of it.

B doesn't live in this city, but is in the wider travel-to-big-shop orbit. Dunno where A lives, possibly similar. So there is a theoretical risk of The Item being spotted by A and them being offended with B. Who would talk to C, my friend.

Then I realised a coupla things (I can be a slow learner sometimes ):

1. If A felt that strongly about The Item, she wouldn't have given it away in the first place. And once you've given it away, you really can't attach strings to how/ when it will be used.

2. I need to stop accepting anything which I am offered, which Might Be Useful. I have plenty of stuff.

This particular donation bag also included another garment which I'd rediscovered recently, another hand-me-down, a book I'd bought 2nd hand and started but not bothered to finish and a DVD.

The book is now available in the library, if I feel my life is incomplete without reading it - I didn't know this when I bought it. The DVD I bought for 50p, started to watch and didn't like, decided my time was too precious to waste so someone else will enjoy that more than me.

There are a few spaces on the shelves...........whisper it who dares.

Happygreen

:rotfl:

catshark88 wrote: »

I want feral parsnips.....
;-)

:rotfl:

All you have to do is turn into an untidy gardener, lol. I have feral kale and feral chard, which are great - the feral beetroots are too small to mention, I really should have pricked them out :rotfl:

Happygreen

I'm still battling away in my room, doing the floor. I have found a lovely Turkish rug mum sent me when she moved house which will replace the rotten carpet I have already chucked out. I can't wait to spread paperwork on it to sort those out, lol. I won't have much time today and away tomorrow to see DD1 on her student turf but there's always the weekend

catshark88

Happygreen wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl:

All you have to do is turn into an untidy gardener, lol. I have feral kale and feral chard, which are great - the feral beetroots are too small to mention, I really should have pricked them out :rotfl:

I'm actually thinking of taking up vegetable gardening, inspired purely by these tales of rebellious root veg....

I need to get out more!

GreyQueen

catshark88 wrote: »

I'm actually thinking of taking up vegetable gardening, inspired purely by these tales of rebellious root veg....

I need to get out more!

People who are innocents imagine that gardening veggies is capital-B boring, something done by sad gets.

People who actually try it realise that it is compelling and addictive, fascinating and maddening. You are planning in three dimensions, in space and time, you are computing a constantly-changing set of variables (weather, chiefly), you are waging war on some critters and encouraging others.

And, if you're very very lucky, you get to eat the produce.

Tomorrow, I shall be tugging up some more beetroot and fetching some onions down from the shed, and shall admire my leek patch. It has taken me 6 years to get a leek patch; series of botanical disasters afflicting them, and the one year when they did well, someone jumped all over them and destroyed them.

Y'see, people are passionate about gardening, and a comely leek patch can stir the jealous heart to acts of vandalism........:rotfl:

And yes, nature is rebellious, even the root veg has attitude. And the weeds are positively insolent. But I have even more attitude and a varierty of shaped bits of cold steel on wooden handles to discipline them with. Cold steel, they don't like it up 'em.

skeeter93

GreyQueen wrote: »

And yes, nature is rebellious, even the root veg has attitude. And the weeds are positively insolent. But I have even more attitude and a varierty of shaped bits of cold steel on wooden handles to discipline them with. Cold steel, they don't like it up 'em.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

silvasava

Love it GQ - I'm awash with strawberry runners - literally running everywhere!!
Right - need to get my arris in gear. Have just accepted request for relly's to stay over Christmas with their 2 small children :eek::eek: so need to clear the Room of Doom in case the littlies sleep separately. Need to see what's on locally during their visit. Need to rummage through recipe's as the Dad is veggie & also get some 'backup's in the freezer so I get to spend time with them. I think I might even 'project plan' this (knew the course might come in useful one day :rotfl:) I'm sure there's loads I've missed but heyho!

catshark88

Today my husband and I donned our armour (he put his shoes on), collected our weapons (bin liners) and we tackled the office of despair.

This was meant to be a library, but became an office/ junk room combo. It was the one untackled room and although I didn't really need to go in it, it was a reminder that we weren't sorted yet. I couldn't do it alone as there was a lot of his work stuff there.

Anyway, inspired by tales of heroics against parsnip uprisings (& terrified having watched 2 hours of Hoarders on TV yesterday), we tackled it.

I'm now sitting on a clear floor, admiring the bookshelves (& drinking wine). Some are clear and awaiting new, exciting purchases of (2nd hand) books, and others have the ornaments that made the cut, on.

Happy catshark!

PS of all that work stuff, ONE a4 file was needed. The rest went on the bonfire, lol!

GreyQueen

:T Bravo to catshark and hubby for tackling the room of doom.

I have been having a quiet day but finished a novel and had it back to the library, along with another book, within the hour. Well, they were both big hardbacks and taking up a chunk of the limited space in my tiny flat.

Have just finished re-reading John Naish's Enough, which is an engaging and eye-opening read about consumerism and why it makes us miserable, and how to get to the point of 'enoughness'. Very thought-provoking, I'd read it once before but saw it in passing at the library and decided to read it again, glad I did.

Seems that the chief problem is evolution; our poor little brains are wired to grab and to gorge, as we evolved in times of scarcity, and we just haven't got to grips with the reality that you can have too much stuff.

Years ago, a person in this city was reported as missing to the Police. They found them trapped in their own (hoarded, but no one knew about it) home under a pile of collapsed Stuff. They survived but some people die smothered by their own belongings.

Less spectacularly, plenty more people are massively inconvenienced by Stuff, as I can testify from my childhood home. Determined not to be a hoarder, too.

Today, I have decided that The Hairclip can go. It's a rather attractive silver thing, from Poondlandia a few years ago, but looks like it cost a lot more and is made from something better than random metal. I used to use it, but seldom, when I had long hair.

I haven't had long hair for 18 months, indeed, have got my hair down in two stages to a gamine crop. I may possibly wear long hair again, but it's frankly unlikely, given my age and my love for simplicity in personal grooming, but I was swithering over getting rid of this big ole ornamental hair clip.

Then I thought beggar it, I could always get another if I really felt the need, so it can go in the donation bag.

I have also put a time limit on the two DVDs left on the premises; have had them a couple of months, if I haven't bothered to watch them by New Year, they obviously aren't important to me and can go. I may watch one later tonight, if the mood takes me.

Now wanting to watch Hoarders, is this a new series and is it on the web yet (haven't got a TV, watch DVDs on the pooter as well as the rare bit of telly-stuff).

RadioHorse

GreyQueen wrote: »

:T Bravo to catshark and hubby for tackling the room of doom.

Now wanting to watch Hoarders, is this a new series and is it on the web yet (haven't got a TV, watch DVDs on the pooter as well as the rare bit of telly-stuff).

Bravo catshark and partner! That sounds like a really good effort:T:T:T:T:T.

GreyQueen - if I think correctly, the Hoarders that is being referred to is the American version but Channel 4 or 4OD online have 'The Hoarder Next Door' which tackles a similar thing but it's the UK version. I like it - and it made me decide to pick up a few more things!