Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

elizabethhull

Sun_Addict said:

Happy belated birthday 🎂🥳 

I love the nesting boxes 😍 The tulips are beautiful and in such a nice planter. 

All the above !!

We had free bins for ages, but now they've started charging £50 p/a, and DH was not prepared to pay that much. We don't really use the food bags either as we have 2 large compost bins, and large things that can't be composted DH plans to take to the tip (not done it yet, in 2 years !). The very small amount of food waste (fish skins & chicken bones) goes (illicitly) in the main bin, well-wrapped.

Onebrokelady

HairyHandofDartmoor said:

My new nesting boxes 🙂

Happy belated birthday Hairy,your day sounded lovely, these next boxes are so cute 😀

foxgloves

Happy belated birthday, HHoD. The nesting boxes are lovely & that pot would look just right with all the ones on our back courtyard. I love a nice ceramic pot. I hope you still feel bright-eyed & bushy-tailed as I am pretty sure I am due to hit the same birthday as you next month, lol!  I'm looking forward to some gardening over Easter too. It's mostly still too chilly to sit out on our coffee bench, but I'm sure we will soon be using it, even with our coats on. Things do feel a bit more positive with the vaccine rollout & the warmer months hoving into view. We can only try to remain hopeful, can't we, that's what I'm trying to do, although it is difficult when we keep hearing on the local news that yet more student parties have been broken up by police for breaking about 193 Covid restrictions simultaneously. Honestly, these people!
School sounds very busy with the children needing to get used to routines again & all the catch-ups.
F x

jwil

Belated happy birthday!  Hope you had a nice day.  The flowers and nesting boxes are lovely!

Baileys_Babe

Belated happy birthday 🎈 

I think dd enjoyed hers. OH took the day off work and we suspended lessons. We played board games of her choice, she built her new lego set, had a special breakfast, take away for dinner. As well as presents from us and various family members.

beanielou

Your nesting boxes are lovely.
As are your tulips.
I adore tulips. One of my favourite flowers
Enjoy your time off.

Fidelia

Happy belated birthday, HH.  All your 'boys' at home and lovely presents as well, not forgetting the cake.  Sounds just what you needed to lift your spirits after a tiring few days.

I think your cherry tree should be OK in partial sun.  Is it going in a huge pot or directly into the ground?  It's so windy here most of the time that ours are stripped of their blossom pretty much as soon as it appears!  At least the grass looks lovely for a while with a sea of pink petals all over it.  It's the same with some peony plants that I've nurtured for about 30 years. I built up quite a collection over the years. Their flowering season is very short though and usually coincides with gales and lashing rain, in these parts anyway!  I replanted a few of them but they didn't flower for about 3 years afterwards.  I thought I'd killed them and I was really upset especially as DH had warned me that they were too big and well-established to move.  I looked it up and discovered that they tend to 'sulk' after moving and cease flowering for a while. It wasn't just me then. Happily they are OK again now and seem to like the shelter of their new homes although I can't see them from any of the  windows now .  I have to go right down the garden to seek them out. Some of the varieties are highly fragrant and I miss them being nearer to the house. I look forward to their gorgeous flowers in June though.

We had a dusting of snow on the higher fells during the week and there's a really strong wind blowing today.  Our electricity went off for about 7 hours  on  Friday .There's no gas here, just electricity which I cook with and oil for the central heating but that's no use when the electric boiler pump is out of action. We've a back-up generator but the diesel was really low so DH wouldn't put it on all that day/evening. I've been really cross with him this past few days because he seems to have 'lost the plot' over keeping fuel supplies topped up. Not like him at all.  I think he's getting depressed after all the lockdowns. We've open fireplaces but most of our wood has been used up and any that's outside ready for sawing/chopping is sodden anyway.  We very rarely buy logs, there's always plenty of storm-damaged stuff that we can find for free and DH loves sawing it up.  He says he enjoys the exercise.  The only part of it I don't like is helping him to drag fallen trees/branches home across hilly fields.  I'm dreading him suggesting a forage for more after all these strong winds (and my nagging!) but if it means we can have a fire and warm the place up if we have any more power cuts it will be worth the effort.

Willowtree222

Happy belated birthday. How beautiful are those boxes and plant? Gorgeous. They will cheer you up no end. 
Only one more week to go for the holidays and it isn't a full week. Hopefully you can then get some rest and enjoy the garden. x

abba1772

Those little nesting boxes look soooooo cute.......happy belated birthday xx

milann

Happy belated birthday from me too. 🎂🎂

I bet your cherry tree is lovely. We bought 2 very small miniature ones ( think twigs😲😂) years ago from a mail order firm and had them in tubs. We’d gone to Cornwall for a couple of weeks and they were as dead as dodos when we came home as we’d had a mini heatwave. So the 2 cherries that the kids were so excited about cost £15 each.....we often chuckle about them. Thankfully the children got a one each to eat 😂😂Hopefully yours will fare much better. Your flower pots look lovely 👍
The schools around here broke up last week yet my gks break up tomorrow. Enjoy the Easter break. I bumped into some teachers from school on my walk yesterday - it sounds as if school has changed beyond all recognition whilst I’ve been off. 

I bet it was lovely having all the family at home for your birthday.