Spent 4 years pretending it's all OK

NoOneAround

Hey everyone....Wow......did not expect to log back in to all your lovely posts asking how I am.......the sort you expect from close family/friends when they ring up to see how you are when they know you've been down? It hit me again just how amazing this forum is, made me feel loved so thankyou Brizzledfw (or Mrs B?), Mrs PG, Buffy, Tizercat, Igamogam:o:o:o:o:oHugsxxxhugsxxxx
Yesterday was not a good day - had to get up early for the part time fun job I do --kids party/workshop - felt awful but did it anyway and made 10 six year olds very happy - then picked up son from sleepover and grocery shopped (£55) on way back. Got home with Friday's headache maginifed 10x so spent late afternoon and evening dozing in armchair watching The Golden Child and then The Green Mile (great film...seen before but cry every time!). As a result all yesterday chores had to be done this am - washing done and dried, uniforms irond, sports kit ready. Pottered in garden trying to gain control of our very Natural Look, this did me the world of good and felt oK enough to take daughter to PC world to research laptops for University.


Tonight 2 chickens roasted (they were half price!) so this will pretty much cover weeks evening meals - chicken precooked so can be used for anything - probably 1)thai green 2)fajitas 3)tomato pasta 4)stir fry 5) enchiladas


NO debts busted this weekend, but shopped carefully, and earned £30 doing a fun part time pocket money earner. Oh, most importantly and discovered the most amazing people/friends/support right here xxxxxxx


Back tomorrow
xxxx

TizerCat

£30 for doing something you enjoy sounds great to me, well done!:T

Glad your feeling a bit better...I find gardening therapeutic too, although you wouldn't think so the state of my allotment at the moment!

Have a good day NOA

TC x

NoOneAround

Thank you Thrugelmir, your advice is spot on.....


I know that I should be taking the hard and fast rule - it is really hard when its someone we have know about 8 years and he has done us a couple of big favours - e.g. tarmac the potholed entrance to our driveway with excess from one of his jobs, plus his father also refers work to us and we are currently working on one for him....I feel its a really tricky situation....:(

NoOneAround

Love this quote by Bob Hope


" A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it."


Proven big time by my own bank that I have been so loyal to for nearly 30 years and have kept trying to pay months after I had written to other creditors. Now that I have written to them there is this eerie silence and no reply. Final tasks this week to transfer the last few direct debits to new account and not transfer any more money into it. Once I stop keeping just below by limit OD they will have to respond one way of another - two weeks ago they tried to get me to take out another loan to consolidate.


Stepchange were right. Should have listened to their advice fully six months ago and not pick and choose the bits I felt "comfortable" doing......if you can call it that.


Will make that this morning's tasks, plus quite a few of the DDs are the policies I need to look at anyway.

NoOneAround

Thank you TizerCat,
I love gardening but it seems a battle all the time just keeping on top of the grass and boring stuff. We have about an acre garden, did have a veg plot but it has a couple of trees nearby so too many roots (and lots of weeds)- great garden for wildlife.
Have a greenhouse which I used loads when the kids were little as they "helped" but last few years no one shows the remotest bit of interest. Hubby does grass /hedges and strimming. And all I manage to do is keep everything at bay by hacking back and I am a dab hand at bonfires. Plus I always have to be careful of back (Been weak ever since a car accident when van hit us at back at 60mph due to whiplash).


Keep wanting to grow veg but wild rabbits never let anything tender grow more than a few inches above ground and we cant afford to rabbit proof the whole garden. Tried fencing a small area, but they did well!


Feels such a wasted opportunity .........

brizzledfw

Hi - how about stocking the greenhouse with salad stuff, tomatoes etc etc and seeing how you get on..really ramming it full? I tend to try and focus on the stuff that costs most (although I love freshly dug pots) to get a maximum return on the investment..and you should be able to rabbit proof that?

Or maybe renting a portion out to someone who has more time to take the fight to the rabbits.. they could pay you in 'rent' of produce. An acre is a lot of land

Sorry about the headaches..stay calm and keep hydrated

NoOneAround

Good Morning, another lovely day
School run done but son already exhausted with the early mornings and its only Tuesday - first full week so will be a shock.

Thanks Brizzledfw, I used to use the greenhouse (for hobby rather than producing in quantity) a lot when kids were little and tried all sorts (aubergines, courgettes, cucumber. tomatoes, sweetcorn, marrows and pumpkins etc and lots of flowers from plugs for hanging baskets which were my pride and joy. Kids used to love watering and would help daily.

And then they reached their teens. Hmmm. enough said. It seems gardening and communing with nature isn’t a teenager’s priority!

I tried to keep it up but found I would spend hours planting, re-potting, and then we would have a week or two where I was running around like a maniac and wouldn't have time to water or repot soon enough and everything would just die on me. So about 4 years ago I gave up trying.
Maybe it’s just me but it takes an awful lot of effort for little in return but I guess I wasn't focussing on produce as a way of saving money before. I always thought that I was well out of pocket by the time you had bought grow bags, compost, slug pellets, white fly/aphid control etc and once I had used spray I didn't feel like eating it anyway! Any tips on natural pest control would be appreciated - we always got whitefly in the greenhouse (I know about slugs and beer!). Have loads of unopened packets of seeds for all sorts bought over the years
and never planted.

But main thing is Time ...have elderly parents too so any time I am free at weekends I do what I can to support them - they live 80 miles away, and dad not in good health. Also for several years have been hosting students ( for income), and doing voluntary work with a local charity, so it all boils down to time time time.

Garden is all laid to lawn with lots of mature trees and shrubs, so does look lovely even if a little wild as long as we keep the grass cut. I am also really good at taking cuttings and have restocked whole big borders after we built the extension for £0.

Actually there was a time I thought about selling some at a boot sale because I had so many that took root, but didn’t need the money then!


What I would like to do is organise some raised beds - would make it easier for me. Meant to make a huge effort with greenhouse this year but somehow it never happened - partly because so stressed about the debt / lack of energy/etc etc etc. Have also heard of peole growing pots in bins? Does that work?

Am inspired by your suggestions and others on this forum. I need to get motivated and just do what I can rather than plan too big, expecting help that I know I won’t get.
Hadn’t thought about renting the space out.....need to think that through.....

Puzzcat

Hi,


I don't have a greenhouse but this year have successfully grown runner beans, carrots, spring onions, lettuce, and tomatoes all in pots on my patio.. beans are still coming and had loads of tomatoes... I know what you mean about time and watering etc, but I really enjoy eating the fruits of my labour.. if you get my drift...!! and its money saving.. which is fab..


Puzz. x

NoOneAround

Thanks for posting Puzz - that sounds great!
Am so fired up about this am wondering what I can get planted now for head start in spring. Still time fro a crop of radishes and lettuce I guess, if it stays warm enough. I 've just been checking seed packs I have , also have spinach.
Maybe if I just wash out one pot a day and plant..........


xx

brizzledfw

hi - we are probably giving up the allotment so that will affect plans but I am keen to try Mizuna this year. Its fast growing too