Put away your purse & become debt-averse

savingmore

oh my this sounds SO familiar.   it’s classic with my dh.  it can be anything, socks, shampoo, cream cleaner (last weeks one).  me:  i think you need some new socks.  dh:  no i have plenty.  repeat about four times.  within next two weeks, when we are no where near anywhere to buy socks dh:  i think i need new socks.   been happening ever since i met him really!!   could it be a male gene??🤣🤣🤣🤣😀🤣🙈

scandimore

Haha foxgloves, I did smile when reading that. I note with trepidation that you have numbered this saga, suggesting sequels are likely... congrats on clearing out the loft as well, even if you don't go up there too often at least you know there is nothing lurking and it is all nice and organised, despite Mr F's techy efforts. We had our roof redone a few months ago so we know what is up there (stuff awaiting charity donation) but each time Mr S suggests we can just store all kinds of rubbish up there instead of sorting it I have been perfecting a certain look which appears to be working so far

Onebrokelady

😂😂at the loft saga

foxgloves

@savingmore Yes, I bet you anything it's a male gene. It doesn't happen with socks as Mr F really likes my funky hand-knitted ones, but it certainly happens with a lot of other stuff. He's mentioned he's ordering a new T-shirt this week......instead of waiting until it reaches a state where any self-respecting tramp would reject it. I should add that he does always look decent for work & when we go out, it's the ancient wardrobe of tat he seems to favour for wearing around the house that does my head in, lol!
F

foxgloves

Loft Saga Chapter 2 - Livestock.
So, the loft clearance got underway. Most stuff was wrapped in one way or another, but we soon noticed that a lot of the crud we were taking down for the tip pile outside our front door was liberally covered with bird poo. (though thankfully not that weird mystery poo which kept turning up on our courtyard that time, as that was really weird!) We have had problems with mice now & again while we've been living here, despite us usually having a pretty hefty ever-hungry rescue moggy in residence. We seem to have dealt with the most recent incursion, as all signs of them in the kitchen & pantry disappeared quite a while ago. The most serious infestation some years ago required the services of a pest control man. I was expecting to find that mice had been busy up in the loft, but there was absolutely no sign they had even been up there. The source of all the bird poo became evident when Mr F moved a large item & found 4 ancient little bird skeletons. They must have got through the eaves in nesting season & for some reason not been able to fathom how to get back out. Poor things. The only item I would have kept had it not been liberally pooed on was an old pouffe which belonged to my Nana. I should have wrapped it properly before I chucked it up there, but couldn't be bothered, kept thinking I'd fetch it down & re-cover it but it was in such a horrible state, it went straight onto the tip pile.
That wasn't the end of the livestock, unfortunately, as there were also heaps of dead bumble bees. They had been in there a long time, I think. I don't know anything about the lifecycle of bumble bees, whether they die off once their young have been raised (?), I've no idea, but at some point, there had clearly been a nest in our loft. 
The bird poo problem wasn't recent, as we had our soffits & fascias replaced early last year & I requested any gaps to be filled in to keep everything raintight, so I hope it doesn't happen again. I love our garden birds & hate the thought of any more of them meeting the same fate.
As we got the loft hatch entrance sufficiently clear for Mr F to get up there properly, we realised that some of the 'bird poo' was in fact dessicated white carrier bags! You know those flimsy ones shops used to hand out which were supposed to be a bit more environmentally friendly because they eventually degrade? Well, I don't think they can be much better at all, as each whole bag had just become many hundreds of small fragments of plastic....arguably worse for the environment, I'd have thought, as at least a whole carrier bag is visible & can easily be picked up & binned. These fragments went everywhere, including raining down into my hair, etc. We were so glad of a hot bath later.....& PLENTY of soap!!
But was there any treasure up there? You'll have to wait until next time........(Clue - There wasn't!)
Must fetch the laundry in now & cover up my plant babies. Trying a new recipe tonight - a WW one, a sort of veggie stew with peanut butter in it. 
Shocking frost last night......even my bench near the pond was absolutely frozen white this morning. Pear tree covered in blossom, so I expect this very cold snap will have reduced our pear crop this year.
Cheers m'dears,
F x

maryb

Definitely a man thing.  It's a  don't-make-me-pay-any-attention-to-something-boring  trait

Comes in lots of different varieties but a common underlying theme

savingmore

man traits.  yes the reverse is also true.  out somewhere, see a really good deal on jumper or shirts, so i say ‘why don’t you get that, I think you need a couple of new shirts, this is a great offer’.....nooooo i have plenty of shirts......so we don’t buy.   two weeks later, ‘i think i need some new shirts’.   it’s almost laughable and I should stop getting frustrated by it!     your loft descriptions sound pretty bad....could we have a nice saga for one of them?  find anything antique roadshow worthy?   

foxgloves

@maryb & @savingmore - I try so hard not to make issues 'gendered'.....except this one....yep, I'd have to agree this is defo a 'man thing'. It happens with so many things. i.e We are in a shop looking at shirts. Mr F enjoys choosing a new shirt as planned. I say something like 'While we're here, do you want to pick up a couple of packs of new boxers?' Reply - 'No, I don't need any, I've got plenty'. A couple of weeks later, 'I could do with a few pairs of new boxers, there's a couple just gone in the bin........' Not just 'looking a bit worn' but actually at the bin stage.
Aaaaagh!! I don't understand it, as he is so organised on the whole.
F

Onebrokelady

Men are usually organised with things that interest them but nothing else I find 😀

foxgloves

Loft Saga Chapter 3 - Remnants of the Spendy Years
While there wasn't a lot of stuff stored up there from the Spendy Years, tbf, there were a few items which I had completely forgotten about & it was quite interesting thinking back to my bad old ways. There were 3 vintage items - large carved mirror from an old hall stand (c.1900, I should think) & 2 pieces of small office furniture, I'd say from the 1950s. I had what can only be described as an antique flea fair/vintage 'habit'. It is the one category of retail I still don't visit often, as even though I am such a reformed character, I think I could still be tempted. I can remember the exact circumstances of buying one piece - an old wooden set of office drawers for standing on a desk. I was driving up a road on which there was a sprawling vintage shop with lots of little rooms & corridors simply packed with stuff. They also displayed their wares outside on the pavement. I spotted the little cabinet while driving past, swung my car into the next side road, went in & bought it. It wasn't that expensive.....it was mostly the frequency of these occasions which added up over so many years. I polished it up at home & it sat on the big old WW1 period desk my Grandad did up for me (which is still in Foxgloves HQ). I used it for writing paper, envelopes, etc, & as an 'in-tray'. One thing that didn't go in there was bank statements. Oh no, those were still barely being looked at, before being folded & placed in a desk drawer where I didn't have to look at them & see that scary balance! I brought that little chest with me when we moved, shoved it up the loft & it has not once been used in almost 20 years......so a fine use of money that was! Ditto the other 2 items. They were among two car trips' of stuff taken to the tip at the weekend. Interestingly, as Mr F was unloading them, he was approached by 2 people  - one who asked if they could take the office chest, the other the mirror. Of course he was happy for them to get a 2nd life. One was somebody employed by English Heritage who said they look for this kind of item for displaying in their properties. I did feel that at least I sometimes must have had a 'good eye'.....not all my vintage purchases were things like that massive brass rubbing chap I struggled home with (I know I talked about him in an earlier post!) 
I also used to buy a lot of craft stuff & was surprised to find a carefully tied bag of wreaths I had bought years ago.....made from a variety of natural materials...fir cones, willow, interesting bark, etc, obviously purchased then put in the loft & completely forgotten about. What a waste! I almost bought a similar thing just before Easter for making a seasonal decorative wreath - I am so glad I didn't, as would have delivered myself a well-deserved kick if just a week or so later I'd found a bag containing 4 of the bug*ers!!
Anyway, those are just some examples......there were a few others, but not as many as their could have been if we hadn't have done a number of car boot sales when we moved out of my house prior to coming here.
Final loft chapter just coming up, then I must go & put the slow cooker on.....
F x