Tales from The Shire

Fortune_Smiles

Carrying on carrying on

Normal life continues in the Fortunate homestead...

Health:

• more housework was completed yesterday.  I'm gradually catching up from when I hurt my back and a clean and tidy house is good for my mental health
• I had an early night.  FDawg never gives us a lie in so it's good to catch up on some sleep from the other end
• it's knee exercises day today and I'll tag some Tai Chi on as well
• lunch was beans and cheese on toast as the marrow I was planning to use in soup turned out to have dried up
• supper was Indian Masala Carrots with Coconut Red Lentils and naan bread.  There's plenty left for tonight's supper too.

Wealth:

• I ordered and paid for the fencing materials and booked the fitter to come when he's next available (May 😲)
• the servicing company brought our mower back.  The bill was £40 more than estimated as they hadn't realised our mower has six blades (not two) and they all needed to be sharpened
• I need to order some more bin bags today.

Happiness:

Mr F and I talked some more about taking in refugees.  Boris announced last night that the Government will be introducing a scheme for home hosting in the next few days.  We don't know whether we'd qualify as we're very rural and that could make things difficult for anyone staying with us but we're going to register anyway.  I expect it will be hard work for us but not anywhere near as hard as it will be for someone who's had to leave their home, their loved ones and their country.  We feel we have to help if we can.  I've put this point under happiness, not because anyone could be happy about this dreadful situation but because we might possibly be able to lighten someone's load a little.

I'm planning to tackle the washing and ironing today... life goes on.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Friday!

I didn't get round to exercising yesterday so that's first thing on the list for today... after I've drunk this coffee 😆  Although we do give FDawg a 45 minutes walk each morning so I always do some form of exercise.

Lunch was Beetroot, Coucous & Chilli Mint Halloumi.  I had to swap out the couscous for quinoa though as, unusually, I couldn't find any couscous in the cupboard.  Supper was the left over Indian Masala Carrots.

The veg box and grocery shop were delivered.  I'm a little under budget this week again which is surprising in the current climate but very pleasing.  I ordered more bin bags through the big river firm.

I got the washing pile under control and the ironing basket is empty 😁

Finished the day with a very long bath whilst watching $trik£.  A new series is due out this year so I'm re-watching the previous ones.

A good day overall and, thankfully, uneventful.

Happy Friday everyone.

Fortune x

themadvix

Ooh, thanks for the heads up about a new Strike!

I must dig out the recipe for the masala carrots again - it's lovely.

Suffolk_lass

I've also been looking into hosting a refugee or two. Like you, we are rural. i-news links to this lot https://www.refugeesathome.org/ who specifically say you need to be in a city (I know why but if someone needs quiet, a rural host who can help with transport...). I also checked my County Council, the Red Cross and the local refugee support charity. They all allude to the fact that Bojo has made a statement and there is nothing behind it. Cue more fast track plans by bright young things with no real world experience.

Round here (County wide) our recent activity (Syria and Afghanistan) we have not taken a large number and the next county nearest bigger town has offered 50 but only housed 6 families from Afghanistan because they have not got the accommodation (rolls eyes). There are several families in a local hotel that is remote from any real amenities and when I go the back way I often see people out walking. The Charity makes sure they have what they need (furniture, crockery, cutlery, clothing, bedding, towels etc etc) but also help with language development and things like a local sewing group so women (often forgotten) can get together and chatter over something pleasant

savingholmes

Very good of you to be willing to host

Fortune_Smiles

themadvix said:

Ooh, thanks for the heads up about a new Strike!

I must dig out the recipe for the masala carrots again - it's lovely.

I'm listening to 'Tr0ubl£d Bl00d' on audio at the moment MV.  The Masala Carrots is a favourite in the Fortunate household.

Suffolk_lass said:

I've also been looking into hosting a refugee or two. Like you, we are rural. i-news links to this lot https://www.refugeesathome.org/ who specifically say you need to be in a city (I know why but if someone needs quiet, a rural host who can help with transport...). I also checked my County Council, the Red Cross and the local refugee support charity. They all allude to the fact that Bojo has made a statement and there is nothing behind it. Cue more fast track plans by bright young things with no real world experience.

Looks like a scheme is coming SL and details will be announced tomorrow.  We'll definitely register and, if we're not suitable, we'll look at helping in some other way.  I suspect they'll need to balance the 'ideal' with getting people housed safely at least on a temporary basis.  Decisions will be affected significantly by numbers of refugees and hosts available and urgency.  I looked at R£fug££$ at H0m£ too.  Their processes look a little unweildy to cope in the current situation.

savingholmes said:

Very good of you to be willing to host

I just keep imagining how I would feel in that situation SH - it just seems the right thing to do in the circumstances.  And we have the space and means available to do so which makes the difference, that won't be the case for everyone.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Nice and Quiet

It's been a quiet weekend so I've tried to make good use of the time while I have it:

Health

• an hour of strengthening and stretching exercises on Friday to target problem areas.  My back feels 99% recovered now and my knee has improved significantly.  I've tested my weight on it and I can now kneel without pain on my super thick yoga mat - so yoga is an option again 😁
• an hour of Tai Chi yesterday
• we had bruschetta for lunch on Friday and yesterday with mushrooms, garlic, balsamic vinegar and rocket.  Today we had Baked Feta with Burst Tomatoes & Honey with crusty bread

Wealth

• Mr F ordered some grass seed as we'd run out.  He's removed some big stones from our verge so there are bare patches in the lawn there now
• we picked up fish and chips for supper on Friday - £9.70 from the fun money
• I ordered some skin care products to replace those we'd run out of
• also ordered a birthday present for one of the Younger Fortunates.

Happiness

• Mr F managed to get all the mowing done yesterday morning and the newly-serviced mower is working really well.  I'm going to send the servicing company a note to say thank you for doing such a good job 😁
• I had a small bottle of prosecco with my fish and chips on Friday.  One of two bottles which came as part of our Valentine pasta meal.  I didn't drink them at the time because I was on pain killers for my back.  It was only the second alcoholic drink I've had this year 😁
• a takeaway supper on Friday and a special pasta meal from the freezer on Saturday so a bit of a break from cooking 😆
• I painted some rocks to leave out for our neighbours at Easter.  We have three new little ones in the hamlet so I've painted them some easter chicks
• had the second small bottle of prosecco in the bath Saturday night whilst watching Strik£ 😁 (So that makes three alcoholic drinks this year 😆)

We're hoping to be able to see details of the refugee hosting scheme tomorrow and to sign up.

Hope you're all having a fab Sunday.

Fortunex

Fortune_Smiles

Registered

I finally managed to register for the Homes for Ukraine Scheme at 10 last night.  There must have been quite a volume of traffic as the site kept crashing up until then and it was still very slow when I got through.  We have also registered with The Sanctuary Foundation.  I don't think the scheme makes it any easier for refugees to get here though.  You have to be in contact with somebody before you can sponsor them and we don't know anyone in or from Ukraine.  However, after a quick internet search I found a local news article about a Ukrainian lady who lives in an adjacent village to us so I have sent her a message via FB.  I also went to the WI meeting last night and asked the lovely ladies there for help.  One lady has Polish contacts and is involved in getting aid to Ukraine.  She will give me a number for one of her Polish friends.  I've had lots of offers of support from friends who cannot host but want to help in whatever way they can.

Health:

• we walked FDawg in the morning
• and had cauliflower fritter burgers for lunch (fritters were from the freezer) and lentil chill leftover from yesterday for supper.  There was also enough chilli leftover to put a meal in the freezer
• I'm feeling very motivated about the Ukraine Scheme - it's good to have a purpose.

Wealth:

• we had a book sale at the WI meeting last night to raise funds for our Show entries.  I donated lots of books but also bought 6 😲 5 were for Mr F so that should keep him going for a while. £7 from personal spends
• I also bought hot chocolate and cake at the meeting.  The coffee shop open specially for us and don't charge a venue fee so we all buy a drink and a cake in return.  £10 as I bought an extra 2 slices for Mr F and I to have with coffee this morning 🤭.  The money will be met from my personal spends.  I seem to be treating Mr F a lot at the moment 😁
• I'll need to order a birthday present for another of the Younger Fortunates as we've discovered they will be away on holiday on the day.

Happiness:

• it was lovely to see all the WI ladies last night.  A new member visited and has joined up and is also interested in the Book Club
• had a long chat on the telephone with my sister
• I have lots of lovely people in my life who are willing to lend a hand.

FDawg is sitting by me as I type and he whiffs 😲  He doesn't know it yet but he's off to have a good bath later.  He blimming well needs it 👃

Have a great day all.

Fortune x

savingholmes

Sounds like great progress - especially on your back recovery. 

Glad you got some time out for fun for you too.

Fortune_Smiles

All Encompassing

Hosting refugees has become an all encompassing task!  As I said in my previous post, the main difficulty is that you have to be in contact with somebody.  The Government is advising people to avoid using social media sites and rely on councils and charities to match hosts and refugees.  However, I haven't heard anything at all about councils getting involved and some refugee charities are saying they won't participate due to concerns about vetting and others are saying they are overwhelmed.  I have managed to find an FB site where hosts and refugees can find each other, however, it's not ideal.  At the moment there are many more hosts than refugees involved so, when a refugee does post, they are overwhelmed with offers some of which are entirely unsuitable.  This has led to refugees accepting an offer of accommodation only to change their minds when they find an offer more suited to their needs or to keeping several hosts 'on hold' while they try to make a decision.  Many people are trying to remain near the border in case the war ends, others get there and are completely lost as to where to go next.  Those with good language skills are managing better and are the first getting through to potential UK hosts.

Anyhoo, we are now in contact with a lady and her daughter who say they would like to come to us.  They have international passports which will make it significantly easier for them, however, they do not have the passports with them.  Friends will be able to bring the passports to them in a week's time.  They have many obstacles to navigate before they get here and may change their minds in the meantime.  However, we are keeping in touch and will start to make solid arrangements once we know they have made visa applications.

With all this to think about I've not done very much else.  Although I have thought through the financial implications involved.  The Government's 'Thank You' for hosts was an unexpected and welcome announcement which should cover most of the costs and mean we can do more to support our guests than we otherwise could have done.

If any forumites have registered with the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and want to link up, do pm me.

There is nothing more I can do at the moment so I shall focus on keeping the house clean and tidy so we can be ready if and when needed.  The garden needs some attention too so I think that's the plan for the weekend.  The weather is set to be lovely 🌞

Fortune x