From debt to freedom...

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you SH...I hadn't thought of that! Good idea . I was hoping to get some gingerbread biscuits done today for neighbours and the children's great aunt

janb5

Hiya..thank you so much for the meringue topping- sounds yum.

Could I say that surely as the Ex doesn`t live in the house anymore then you can arrange for him to meet the children at the door. For him to just saunter around and help himself to water etc seems just wrong! Is that an option for you?

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Janb5. It seems complex with the ex. He comes here to see the children as I don't know where he lives. I'd like to change the locks but as is understand it from my solicitor I can't prevent him having access as he is a joint owner. Still waiting for the consent order to be sorted which may take time as cooperation is looking less and less likely.

Honeysucklelou2

I've had quite a productive day today . I got a fridge cleaned out today in readiness for storing festive goodies. DD2, DS3 and I plus the nutty mutts went for a walk around a small lake on the edge of the moors. It is such a lovely expanse, you really feel such a sense of space. The lake is kept as a wild wetland so we were lucky to see 7 Canadian geese coming in to land on the water. There are a couple of copses of pine trees around the lake. Someone, in days gone by, must have really planted every tree at an exact set distance from the other trees. On the floor I spotted little branches of pine that had blown down in recent winds, so I foraged some of those to use in a table decoration for Christmas Day. I'm not familiar with the various types of pine but these small branches are the type that look silvery blue-grey in one light and deep green in another. Should go well with some holly and acuba from the garden. The only cost to me will be a chunk of oasis to arrange the greenery in.

Honeysucklelou2

To my amazement, the teenage DSs have of their own choice, tidied the living room. I rarely get help from either of them so was amazed to see DS1 rallying DS2 and a sister or 2 into action! That's one less job for me to do tomorrow, or rather today.

janb5

That`s great news and hopefully you can get some extra sleep too as you`re one of the early posters at 3am!

Guilty myself of course of being up late while the world sleeps!

sashybo

Hi Honeysuckle. :hello:

I've been lurking along for ages & always enjoy reading your diary. You're so productive with your cooking & baking along with your allotment, the children, dogs, running the house and working on top of all that. :T

I hope you can get things sorted out with the ex to your satisfaction in the new year. You're doing amazingly well despite his often strange & obstructive behaviour.

I can't believe he isn't willing to support his own children financially but sadly it's an all too common situation. My own dad had basically nothing to do with us (his choice) after my mum divorced him and certainly never financially supported us. His loss as we don't have anything to do with him now.

On the plus side your kids have an amazing mum in you & in time they'll figure their dad out and make their own minds up about his behaviour.

Anyway I wanted to say Merry Christmas and show my face (as it were :rotfl:). :xmastree::rudolf:

Honeysucklelou2

:xmassmileThank you Janb5 and Sashybo for your kind words. The ex situation has ground on for a long time so I'm hoping it can be sorted in 2020! You are right, I've noticed that over the last year in particular, the older children are starting to think for themselves about the situation.

I got out for an early start today. Yesterday the queue for the local butcher's shop was 15 deep, so I walked there today prepared for the same and was pleasantly surprised to be served and out of the door again within 10 minutes. DD2 helped me to tackle Mr T's which was only for a few fresh items, then home again where I've spent a pleasant afternoon making desserts, prepping veg and making the stuffing. The winter pudding smelled amazing...it included cloves and spices so the fruit juice part smelt like mulled wine. Looking forward to tasting that .

I'm going to challenge myself to see how long I can go without food shopping, making milk the only exception. We have been keeping to a £60-£70 a week budget, which for all of us has been quite tight. I have spent a bit more to allow for Christmas, so I want to make sure there is no waste. Over the last week I've been making more of a conscious effort to take anything biodegradable to the allotment to put into the compost bin. I had got out of the habit, which is daft because it's free compost and nutrients for the soil!

Honeysucklelou2

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and precious time relaxing with family and friends:xmastree::xmastree::santa2::rudolf:::xmastree::xmastree:.

crazy_cat_lady

Hope that you had a lovely day yesterday