Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Forgot to mention yesterday, that the 18 spare 🍓 🍓 runners I potted up did eventually get taken by passers-by. I was so pleased not to have to compost them (our strawberry bed is rammed). Even if whoever took them was only intending to buy cheap trays from a well-known German supermarket forecourt, my free ones will still have  saved them between about £6 & £9. I'd better get moving. Mr F informs me we are getting low on bread despite me baking a loaf yesterday. He says it's 'to do with the shape of the loaf'. I said it isn't, it's to do with it being eaten!!
Off to mix up some spelt dough.
Wishing everyone a calm productive Friday.
F xx

ladyholly

Our pond is one of the rigid ponds and is quite old now and has several patches on it. The leak we have is an old one where the repair has stated to come away so it needs to be removed and repatched. DH doesnt seem worried by the job which shouldnt take long then he can get on with cleaning the pump etc. While we are out I need to get some plants for the pond as the ones we have are definitely past there best and are taking over. Why does one job always lead to another? When all that is done I can start on weeding the rockery which has been sadly neglected.

scandimore

Leaving the spare strawberry plants out was kind, foxgloves, I'm sure they made someone's day! We recently signed up to a local initiative to share seeds and grown veg, it does seem to give people so much pleasure to watch things grow, especially in these strange lockdown times. I thought we were fine on the strawberry front as ours had lots of runners which I snipped off once established, however I went to check on them yesterday and there are loads of gaps. Not sure what has happened there, it does seem to have coincided with Mr having weeded said bed, but I will make no accusations as of yet! 

foxgloves

Hmmm, Scandimore. I find my instructions as Head Gardener are sometimes performed in reverse. Example: Last Spring, I asked Mr F to take his pruning saw to a particular shrub. I explained clearly exactly which bit needed to be chopped off & which bits definitely needed leaving untouched. He asked me to go over it again to make sure he'd understood it. I asked if he wanted me to come out & point to the bit that needed chopping off. He didn't think that was necessary but he did call me out to see how neatly he had performed the task......
..... And he had indeed made an exceedingly tidy job of it..... shame that the section that needed coming off was still there, as strong & tall as ever, while all the bits which needed leaving alone were neatly piled up on our courtyard. Aaaaggghhh!! I just had to walk away (after I'd asked 'WHY??) about 47 times!!
F

foxgloves

It is a lot of work, ladyholly, when one job leads to another, esp with ponds. We used to have a nice pond plant called 'Brandy bottle' but oh my days, it used to overgrow like mad. I'd chop it back but that just seemed to give it extra vigour! Composted it in the end. It's that wretched duckweed I can't stand.... a patch the size of a dinner plate one day, entire surface of pond covered same time next week!
F

foxgloves

Another Lockdown day of no news here.
Hello m'dears, here is today: Got up, had breakfast, cleaned house, did the ironing, baked bread rolls (spelt flour, they look nice), sympathised with my sister via WhatsApp as she has the same vaccine side effects as I had on Tuesday, did piano practice, checked seedlings - first cucumber is through, changed all household linens & loaded washer, did piano practice, had bath & washed hair, wrote list of stuff I can usefully do in town tomorrow, checked OLB for a payment I am expecting, defrosted some seabass & tidied.
I said it was dull! But I haven't spent any money. In fact, I have shopped something from home. I have finished the scented candle I received for Christmas & started wondering where I could buy a nice one while non-essential shops are still shut. Then I remembered buying some scented wax melts at a local craft market last summer. I am definitely fetching those out instead, & when they are finished, I can start burning through my not insubstantial supply of assorted joss sticks.
Pence saved!
F x

ladyholly

Oh good grief. Spent £88.00 at the garden centre on water plants,  filter foam, repair stuff etc. Why are water plant so expensive?  Then when we got home dh announced we had forgotten a new fluorescent tube for the filter so another trip next week. Shocked at the garden centre as it was very busy with no attempt to to limit numbers and what really annoyed me was all the franchise shops were open. So apparently you can buy all kinds of stuff including shoes, books, china etc if it's at a garden centre but not on the high street. 
Now I am really confused. 

carolbee

scandimore said:

Leaving the spare strawberry plants out was kind, foxgloves, I'm sure they made someone's day! We recently signed up to a local initiative to share seeds and grown veg, it does seem to give people so much pleasure to watch things grow, especially in these strange lockdown times. I thought we were fine on the strawberry front as ours had lots of runners which I snipped off once established, however I went to check on them yesterday and there are loads of gaps. Not sure what has happened there, it does seem to have coincided with Mr having weeded said bed, but I will make no accusations as of yet! 

That sounds a good initiative. I have so many left over Brussel sprout seedlings. I can’t bear to throw them away, but can’t palm any more off on anyone. I live in a cul de sac, so no passers by, but if anyone lives near Margate, I’m your girl!

scandimore

foxgloves said:

Hmmm, Scandimore. I find my instructions as Head Gardener are sometimes performed in reverse. Example: Last Spring, I asked Mr F to take his pruning saw to a particular shrub. I explained clearly exactly which bit needed to be chopped off & which bits definitely needed leaving untouched. He asked me to go over it again to make sure he'd understood it. I asked if he wanted me to come out & point to the bit that needed chopping off. He didn't think that was necessary but he did call me out to see how neatly he had performed the task......
..... And he had indeed made an exceedingly tidy job of it..... shame that the section that needed coming off was still there, as strong & tall as ever, while all the bits which needed leaving alone were neatly piled up on our courtyard. Aaaaggghhh!! I just had to walk away (after I'd asked 'WHY??) about 47 times!!
F

Haha, yes sounds the sort of thing which happens here with some frequency. At least that was a neat pile Foxgloves!
I might have to go to said German supermarket forecourt to fill in those gaps, I think they will annoy me, really wanted a good sized patch this time. Ah well!

HairyHandofDartmoor

Great news that you've had your vaccine Foxgloves 🎉. Not so good about the side effects, but they're to be expected and worth it to be protected. I hope Mr F doesn't have too many ill effects after his vaccine this morning.

Have a lovely weekend 🙂.