Breaking Through, Travelling On

greent

Lots going on in the garden, Kc - I often think of your '15 minutes' which prompts me to spend a bit of time in mine (usually less than 15, though! - grabbing weeds as I walk by, etc )

x

beanielou

I think the 15 minute rule works so well for so many things

Karmacat

If my garden was okay at the start, greent, 15 minutes would be fine - I'm hoping I'll have it at that stage again by this summer I'm glad it speaks to you, though, and I really, really want to get back to it!

Get back to it from all this finance stuff:

- did the banking bits, paid a cc, moved money so I can pay into a pension.

- HMRC - after another email, and a conversation in which I seemed to describe my birthmarks, the security questions were so detailed, I got access to my account! The point of which was to check on whether my NI Class Twos were included in the payment I made at the end of January 2017, and they were job done.

- Paypal - this is a fun one. I accepted the little dollar amount I sent to myself, and found out I could accept it in sterling! Result - $3.52 becomes £3.02, no charges, which is brilliant. So next month, I'll do that in reverse - send the still existing $6.65 to my other account, accept it in sterling, and then use it on something I want from ebay, say. Must check the now-empty paypal account has sterling on it as the primary currency, job done!

- turned out I'd done the paperwork to open the tiny little ISA and it had been accepted by the firm. Just looked at the paperwork that arrived, and there's nothing else to do. I can't tell you how pleased I am at that!

I think its time to alter my Mega List :T

One little problem, though - I need to make a payment to the dratted management company in France, and they've changed banks themselves, which means I need to alter my equivalent of my direct debit to them. Sigh ... never mind, its just emails and printed forms sent as email attachments. It'll happen

Off out for a very quick walk, now, get the sun in my face, as my supermarket delivery is due in less than an hour.

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Knit_Witch

Hope you get the cluster fly thing sorted (it sounds grim!)

EatingTheElephant

Amazing little jiggle with the Paypal dollars

earthgirl

Glad its all going well, that is a mega list! I know what you mean about clearing the decks before embarking on your next project. Hope you enjoyed the sunshine.

Darpett

Re the garden, not sure you caught the recent series of Big Dreams Small Spaces with Monty but that had a really diverse range of projects. The one that (to me) felt most relevant for most people was a guy who, having had some struggles, got an allotment on a whim and was overwhelmed by the task of sorting it even though he loved being there.

The advice was to pick a small area and do it well. I am sure you know this but I have been like you in the past and tried to do too much and got disheartened when it didn't come together. I now focus on one project (such as decimating brambles or weeding a bed) before I even consider the next plan.

A good tip I was told - if you have a patch that needs improving dump a load of compost on it in autumn and let the worms and weather do the hard work of mixing it in. It works pretty well and my beds are no dig now

Although if the weather there is like it is here today it will be a paperwork day!

themadvix

Love the 15 minute thing - I know for you it was 15 mins and stop KC, but I find that if I start something with the attitude that I only have to do it for 15 mins, I get into it and carry on afterwards.

Your garden sounds like it will be super productive this year!

Suffolk_lass

Karmacat wrote: »

:kisses3:Aw, thank you Suffolk lass! What a nice thing to say.

Growing *this* year. Yes, I want to.

Already growing edible plants: bay (a bit pot-bound), raspberries, rose, lemon balm, chives, oregano, salad burnet, sage (this plant isn't very well, no sage to eat this year, I don't think), rhubarb, sorrel, blackcurrants, rosemary, lavender, garlic, wild garlic, quince, winter savory (also ill, because its been submerged by weeds), a couple of blueberry plants that were planted in the wrong place and I'll either give up on them (because of soil type) or move (to get a sunnier position for them).

Other things are growing, but those are the edible ones.

To plant this year: chives, which I'll buy from a flower stand in the next town, to get them growing well this year directly in the soil, and the seeds I just bought from realseeds: nasturtium, marigold, lettuce, courgettes, and bread poppy (where the seeds don't fly away like ordinary poppies). Those will be planted into the gro bags I'll be standing on the cardboard by the fence that needs some retaining support. I'll grow some basil in the house, from a supermarket pot, and that will be that!

Mustn't, mustn't, buy anything else, I'm usually far too ambitious about what I can plant

Going to pop over to your diary to check out your gardening :j

Eek! I'd better start posting about gardening then! Impressive list, BTW!

Karmacat

Darpett - so true, about the little space thats done well. Its taken me a while to take that on board but I have now

Madvix - yes, originally it was just 15 mins and stop, but nowadays when I get going I do between 90 mins and 2 hours. I'll be doing very little today, all that finance stuff yesterday tired me out I'll just let some of the cardboard get wet and then lay it in place, holding it down with some bricks for now.

Knit_Witch wrote: »

Hope you get the cluster fly thing sorted (it sounds grim!)

It is pretty grim, tbh, KW - they've died down (ha!) but I'm still keeping my bedroom door fully closed at night, which I dislike. I don't think its worth using a fogger this year, it's recommended to do it in late autumn when they've hibernated, but we'll see.

EatingTheElephant wrote: »

Amazing little jiggle with the Paypal dollars

Its good, isn't it! A slight problem *may* have arisen - I just tried to send the last lot of American dollars between the accounts, and it wouldn't do it - maybe I tried to do it too soon after the last lot? Or maybe its because I deleted American dollars from the other account? I'll try reinstating the dollars, if that doesn't work I'll wait till next month, if that doesn't work, I'll donate the dollars to a charity somewhere ... its all good

earthgirl wrote: »

Glad its all going well, that is a mega list! I know what you mean about clearing the decks before embarking on your next project. Hope you enjoyed the sunshine.

It was freezing in the sunshine! No idea why ... but it was lovely to have the sun on my face Thats a good phrase to summarise what I'm doing, clearing the decks - that's definitely where I am, thanks for that! Just trying a few little bits (and refraining from taking up offers in Martin's newsletter today, unless they're already on my list) and I'll do a catchup later

Thanks for posting all!