The Garden Fence - proper Old Style support and chat!

Hard_Up_Hester

I'll check that out Nanny, enjoy your time with your dgd, I miss mine dreadfully.

Florenceem

Where is everyone?
I was awol yesterday - it was our wedding anniversary so we were out gadding about.

MrsCD

Hi @Florenceem, I've been on holiday but I'm back, more lurking than posting at the moment. 
Hope you had a lovely anniversary. ❤

 DD washed her fleece blanket and the hem started to unravel so I've mended it tonight. I've caught up with the washing and ironing, but the garden has had a week and a bit to itself and has started to run amok! I've done Dad's garden so it's under control again, but ours needs a good few hours to tame it. 
I started a chunky wool baby blanket on holiday so need to get cracking and finish it.😊

monnagran

Morning all.

Sorry I have not been around much lately.  Life is pretty hectic and opportunities to catch up on line are few and usually happen when I'm exhausted and fit only for the rubbish heap.

Today I am approaching the ROD in the flat I'm trying to clear.  I've not finished in the bedroom, but the filled bin liners are now completely blocking the area I've not cleared yet.  I thought that if I could clear the ROD I could pile up the bags destined for the charity/council tip in there and finish the bedroom.  The last wardrobes are waiting for me and as I've not had to clear shoes yet, I can guess what is in store.

On Saturday my family are descending on me for a picnic lunch, probably inside if today's weather is anything to go by.  My DGS has ordered sausage rolls, my DGD has murmured the dreaded words 'millionaire's shortbread' and my son doesn't mind what there is to eat as long as there is a lot of it.  My DIL, bless her, will be glad to eat anything that she hasn't had to cook.  So at some stage I will have to get busy in the kitchen.

On Sunday I intend to put my feet up and recoup my energy.  Roll on Sunday.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY 

I always get to where I'm going by walking away from where I've been.   (Winnie the Pooh)

mothernerd

On Tuesday I spent the day at my house 8.30 am - 5.30 pm. Cleared about 1/4 of the garden (jungle), filled the paper bin (6 large cardboard boxes, 2 small bags of junk mail + and over 120 toilet roll middles - stopped counting after that). About 6 bags of cans/ bottles etc into the brown bin. Those were in the front room and bathroom/landing, the bulk will be in 'their' room and DS3 will see to those before putting it out for collection. Plastic bottles from the garden into a 'spare' brown bin in the backs - will not be collected unless someone else goes on holiday and doesn't put their's out but better contained than all over the ground (have moved some old bins and large bags that held them to mum's at the start of the pandemic).

Collected one bin bag of rubbish just sitting on the couch (when DS3 went to bed I did the top 2 shelves of a small shelf unit and stuff from the space between the couch arm and small shelves and the bit between the front of the couch and 2 sets of shelves). Could probably have filled 2 more bin bags but ran out of energy. Whilst there I visited the library for the first time in over 12 months and went to little Arseda (separate trips) mainly for things that were not in stock when my last delivery arrived. Got back here, showered and collapsed on the bed.

Wednesday felt like very little progress but on reflection lots of 'elephants' in the yard were moved on a bit - moving the small cabinet in the shed from one side to the opposite side took 2 goes. Moved things out of the way but still managed to knock a couple of things over which then 'jammed'. Couple of large 50 l containers filled with soil (had to tip out the original contents - moulded like a giant sand pie - to accommodate the loose soil because the loose soil mound was blocking the corner of the house and making other jobs difficult. Got soaked putting diy stuff into the shed when it started raining (had them covered up for several days but the cover was entangled in the polytunnel frame).

Yesterday I finally got to town. Plan was a minimal trip (ankle is strapped up but still limited to a slow hobble) being dropped off at Wilko (diy bits for me and mum) and then across to Tessimo to use a 10 pound voucher on more things for me which weren't in my delivery (heavy bulky stuff which I would much prefer to be delivered but limited stock everywhere). Mum asked was I going shopping (what gave it away - the bags, the mask, the fit to be seen in public dress?) and asked that I 'just nip' for a 21st birthday card that said 'grand-daughter'. Birthday is next week, it 'has to go' - so why now, why me (sorry my inner sarcastic monologue is venting). 

So went to town, did bench hopping as much as possible (Wilko have an inside one, use it every time, sometimes before shopping as well as after) but quite a few were occupied. Called in Boots for a meal deal lunch (my ibruprofen stocks are low so bought some at W's Boots and Tessimo's), had to go in the opposite direction from my intended route to get to the card shop (had suggested charity shops but mum humphed and snorted - several sell beautiful handmade cards made by their volunteers). All the benches at that end were occupied including the nearer ones in the bus station and then inside the shopping mall. Luckily the card shop was empty (very bad social distancing when I last went in there and avoided it every since). Found 21st and grand-daughter cards but not one with both. 

Asked a woman (who unfortunately did not work there) then approached the lad behind the counter - he found one, tried looking for more. I said, 'it'll do' (it fulfilled the given criteria, whether mum approved it, who knows. Then up to the nearest empty bench, then the last, out at the end and down to the crossing - lights were starting to change but couldn't run so hobbled down, pressed the button and held onto the post. 

No small trolleys in sight. I was stalking a man I thought was returning one and he gave it to me (very polite exchange). List out, only bought what was on the list plus raspberries and strawberries from the reduced pile. Luckily any aisles that had been swapped round were quite near their original location (at least 18 months since I was in there). Phoned for a taxi, sat/ leaned against a little airplane (he wasn't as comfortable as Rupert and Noddy's cars but at least he wasn't as bad as Thomas - funnel and lumpy bits everywhere). They used to have a customer bench but it was moved round the corner for the smokers). 

Brought shopping inside / near to the back corner of the house. I'm now banned from leaving shopping by the side door - main entrance - as it makes mum's fairy grotty look untidy. Mum liked the card. I ate from my bag and was ready for bed at 6.30pm.

Positives - enjoying my library books, watching a daft but undemanding serial (one hour a day if I can), letting any criticism pass me by. 'My room' is a sanctuary (the new layout is good and I have a book nook - row of books along the windowsill beside the bed and the bookcase facing me at the foot of the bed). I'm going to have to acclimatise to visitors - coped for a limited time (was in lots of pain so used that as an excuse) but could not cope with mum's Saturday visitor - she's okay but they were just so loud (both deaf) and I had to go and sit quietly in the yard at one point.

nursemaggie

Oh dear Monna and Mothernerd, you do seem to be so busy with no time to yourselves. I know Monna is a very long way from me and I would be exhausted when I got there. Where do you live Mothernerd? I live in Bolton. I would be happy to help.

Florenceem

Felt called to phone a friend - she was so down - hope I said the right words to her.
Started a new book last night - really enjoying it. The last two books that I read were a struggle. I always finish a book I have started to read.
Daughter from London left some bits here for the charity shop yesterday.
I finished all 16 caterpillars so on to the next make.

ivyleaf

Florenceem I've decided that life is too short to finish books that I'm finding a struggle. I've made 4 attempts at Wolf Hall and have given up now.  Mind you, I had difficulty getting into Tombland by C J Sansom, but was encouraged by other people who'd had the same problem with it, despite having loved his other books in the same series, and I'm enjoying it now.

mothernerd Your poor brain, you must have felt absolutely battered by the volume of your mother and her visitor on Saturday! And you're so busy too x

Monna Might it be possible to chuck the full bags (for the tip) out of a back window when it's time for them to go?

mothernerd

I'm in Leigh nurse maggie,  about 8 miles from Bolton Town Centre but I'm okay. Thank you very much for offering. After her last outburst, I wasn't even sure that mum still wanted me to look after her (I had a health scare two years ago and was getting twenty questions about what I was doing at the local infirmary). I hadn't wanted to tell her anything until I'd checked it out and luckily it was nothing (can't even remember what it was now, may have been my eyes - tired and dry but not going blind anytime soon). When she'd finished interrogating me, she blithely said that she'd decided, if I could no longer look after her, she would ask mummy of twins if she would (thanks for the concern, mum).

I didn't get to my house all last month and only to town twice. It looks a mess (there is far too much stuff in a very small house and DS3's beloved comes from a family which thinks buying something is the way to fix things - no research as to whether the thing is the best fit (they bought a hose for the yard which doesn't go on any of my taps so it's been under my kitchen table ever since.

Knowing mum is okay with me being here overnight (she thought I could sleep at home on weekdays and here at weekends but I don't want to lug the CPAP machine back and forth or lose any more phones on late night emergency dashes after throwing everything I need for a few days into a large bag). I just felt I had nowhere to go, not wanted (even though I know she needs me) here and unable to go home. I think I was more ruthless on previous trips home - I binned several things that had been used to mop the floor (there was a problem at the beginning of 2020 that was their fault but the 2 since have not been their fault - drainage from other houses backing up and came in to the kitchen at one point). Will just keep going, doing what I can and then stopping when I've had enough (and checking what of mine is still there, maybe packing away my kitchen things - they'll have to run the dishwasher when they run out of pots. need to establish stronger systems for them (they both have M H problems so can't push them too hard or too far at once.

So this room is mine for the time being (I'm going to put my fairy lights up), so I have a base and somewhere to sleep. I need to establish 'me time' with mum - I'm prepared to be flexible and be here when she needs me but I need to get back to walking every day, even if I only go to the bridge for the bypass (support has a brick base that's the right height for sitting on and it's under the bridge so is kept dry). 

If I can clear the yard at home in the next few weeks there's an old wooden bed which can go outside (I bought the woodstain for it before the pandemic) to make a raised bed and can extend it using the parts of an actual raised bed (last used to cover the broken slats on said bed) and get that planted up. It I can get on top of the regular rubbish they can have a skip or waste collection (there's already a broken computer, the old pet cage and several other items outside and then if we can get it reasonably clear, we can have one-off cleaners.

I'm going to keep my tools here (have put several bags for life in the shed to sort - it's time to separate all the different screws and tranklements out). You do several jobs, pull out several bags/ boxes in search of the particular one you need, someone inevitably knocks one over and then it all needs sorting back - luckily I like sorting and I've several multicell seed trays to help.

nursemaggie

Well I'm always here if you need any help Mothernerd.

Bolton council wont take computer bits I have to get someone to take them for me. I still have not checked if he is still in business. I'll let you know if he is.