Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget.

carolbee

Thanks for plant info Phoebe

Onebrokelady

helensbiggestfan said:

Hello Onebrokelady......and welcome.  Glad you enjoyed the read.  Yes you're right lockdown has had the effect of many of us having to put plans on hold but hopefully one day it will all be over and our horizons will widen again.  

Like a lot of us I have used the time to rethink my goals.  I started the year with the word "extraordinary" as my mantra.  I wanted to make this year extraordinary.  Well it certainly has been that but perhaps not quite in the way I had envisaged. 😂.  Not quite what any of us could ever have imagined.  But......we humans are an adaptable species, we can bend with the winds when we have to.  So I changed my mantra to "reset".  I have used the time to catch with up myself and to really think about what I want out of life.  And it is so different from what I had thought I wanted.  

Sounds crazy but this period of quiet and reflection has made me realise I don't want or need what I thought I wanted and needed.  I was only going along with the expectations of others.....for example that I should get out more, and rebuild my social life, that I should "move on" from grief and widowhood. There was a lot of pressure, people asking me where I had been, what I had done, had I met a new man yet, why not, and what was I going to do do with myself.    I know this sounds crazy but I now know I don't need all that stuff. And I was making myself feel guilty because I felt I wasn't "moving on" and that people might think I was boring and of no interest.  Why on earth was I letting that get to me, driving me to strive for things I knew deep down weren't really part of who I am.   I know this might sound a bit standoffish and cold but I have come to realise that I really don't need the approval of others, the only approval any of us really needs is the approval of ourselves  😉.  And I can only achieve self approval if I am true to myself.  

So reset it is ....

I have learned a lot from lockdown. The most important lesson is that I now realise that I need to go for what I want and please myself rather than go along with what some people think I should be doing, thinking and feeling.   I know these people mean well and have my welfare at heart but they cannot know what is best for me, especially those who still are lucky enough to have partners.  Only I can make myself happy and content, it is not in the gift of someone else to make me happy.  

Life in lockdown has been quite a learning curve and I intend to go forward using my new found self knowledge and (hopefully) wisdom and just live what is rest of my life to the beat of my own drum ........😂. I will continue to enjoy my champagne lifestyle in my lemonade budget in my own quiet way, at a pace which suits me. I can be perfectly happy without a hectic social life. 😂. 

I know exactly what you mean. I've been single for the last 20 years ( my partner left ) and at first I threw myself into a frantic social life for a couple of years, of course I was younger then (37) and had more energy and it was fun for a while but I got fed up with my friends constantly asking me if I had met anyone or trying to set me up. I didn't want anyone else,I was having too much fun by myself and I loved my independence. I also had two children to think about and wanted to spend more time doing family things with them.
I felt pressured to out and about and doing all the time when really I have hobbies I like doing at home and I also like to go riding once a week, that takes up a sizeable chunk  of my budget so I had to prioritise. I now do the things I feel like doing as a priority and when I want to be sociable I will join in with friends but I don't bow to pressure anymore.

Personally I love being able to do as I please, now my daughters are adults I can do exactly as I want to, I can eat cereal for tea if it takes my fancy or go out with friends or I'm free to potter at home. I go out with work friends normally as well but only about once a month if that. I do look after my two DGSs when their mum and dad are at work but that's only once a week, I work three days a week then the rest is free time 

helensbiggestfan

Champagne moment yesterday......getting the awning fitted.  Wahoo.  It was definitely a want not a need.😂.  

Ignore the state of the decking and the lawn......both jobs next on the list.  

missychrissy

I’ve been enjoying reading this thread. I’m 68, single (22 years), retired and living on a state pension of £740 a month. I normally babysit week days and do so at weekends on a first come first served basis but I have been enjoying lockdown. I’ve discovered what retirement should be like. Don’t get me wrong, I adore my 9 grandchildren, but it’s been lovely to have more time to myself. I have restarted making my own wine having set off 25 gallons this week: apple; apple pear and grape; blueberry; apple and blackcurrant.  It costs me under £10 to make 5 galls and I use 5 gallon fermenters with taps so I only bottle if I’m giving some away.  I grow a lot of vegetables in pots, have done for years, but lockdown has given me the time to reassess and my youngest son has built me 4 raised beds this week: 3ft by 3ft; 3ft by 4 ft; 3ft by 5 ft and 3ft by 8ft. I had a triangular piece of lawn that I couldn’t really see from the house so decided to make it productive. We are not completely finished, there is permeable membrane to lay between the beds and gravel to put down but I’m going to be pretty self sufficient soon. We have found the beds are at least half filled by the turf we have lifted so not a lot of compost needed to top them up.
Lockdown has given me the time and opportunity to make my life more champagne than lemonade. Wine should be ready to drink in about 5 weeks n I’m already enjoying home grown veg from pots, I dug up half a bucket of new potatoes tonight and my veg production can now increase.

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

Welcome Missy Chrissy  

LL your awning is fabulous and I love the shade of grey with the accents of white.. It is very you 

I am glad that we are having cooler weather. On Monday when I had to make an essential visit to the post office in Brixton, I was astounded when I saw how long the queue was. There were 28 people in front of me when I joined the queue.   Lucky for me I had taken my painkillers for my Arthritis and a pill for my hay fever before I left home, so I was able to cope I also took a hand fan and a 500ml of cold water with me and I was wearing my designer sunglasses It took 30 minutes before I was finally inside of the air conditioned post office and a couple of minutes after sending my letter with supporting documents to Lambeth Benefits, I was able to emerge into the sunshine wearing my Ralph Lauren sunglasses once again.  

My grandson paid me a surprise visit yesterday with his lovely girlfriend. We talked and laughed and hugged and after not seeing either of them for more than 3 month's it was really wonderful family time.  

I am getting through quite a lot of books, now that I spend a lot less time talking to my sisters on the phone. I still keep in touch with all of them, but I prefer to spend more of my spare time reading. 

helensbiggestfan

Hello my lovely friends.  

Welcome Missy Chrissy.  Lovely to "meet" you.  Loving the sound of your garden, so productive and the wine making sounds pretty amazing too.  🥂.  

SUgarbaby....I must admit I'm quite glad it's cooled down a bit.  I love nice hot weather but Sometimes it's not very conducive to getting stuff done. And we really do need the rain. The ground was baked so hard I couldn't do any planting.  Hopefully a few days of gentle rain will soften it up a bit.  

I had to smile when you talked about spending less time talking on the phone.....I'm finding that too now.  I know it makes me sound terribly anti social but I really am very happy just being quiet, getting on with some diy, gardening, reading, watching Netflix sometimes and the odd tv programme.  Isn't it funny.....this time last year I was gadding about, forcing myself to meet new people - now I am perfectly happy just cocooning in my nest. 😂. 

I still watch the daily briefing most days but not the chit chat before and after and I have more or less given up on the news.  Its not only repetitive but it's seems so biased.  It's just the same old same old so now I just catch up the headlines and the main items and that's it.  I can do without the endless analysis from the various talking heads. Better for my peace of mind and equilibrium. 😉. Same with the internet. Having said that even I couldn't fail to notice what's happening in America. It's just so awful. 

On a more positive note I've got my DS1 and grandson popping round today.😁. 

savingmore

still following the threads, lovely😀. enjoy them and you all so much, pleasant and positive in a sea of other communication.  totally agree about the news, the total sniping and negativity is just far too much.  i loved it at the beginning times of lockdown when it was more positive with people coming together, all the news about captain tom etc.  no w it’s pulling everyone down and picking holes in absolutely everything.  the media are driving me nuts!  i love my delete, switch over and off button.  here it’s different!

helensbiggestfan

Good morning my lovely friends.  

Yeah....let's just ignore the lot of them and go about our own lives in our own sweet way and in our own sweet time.  Life is just too short for negativity.  Yes the pandemic is awful and yes the events in the US are horrific and yes we are probably heading for an economic meltdown but there's precious little we can do.  All we can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best. 

My champagne moments yesterday were spent with my son and grandson -  we had a lovely time. I've got the tiny hand prints on my freshly painted lounge wall and a broken ornament to prove it. 😂🤣.  The mark will wipe off ok and I was going to get rid of the ornament anyway so no problem. My son even managed to get some work done so he went away feeling very pleased and relieved.  It's nice to know I still have my uses.......feeding my family and providing a bit of help now and then.  

Feeling a bit tired today so just taking it easy. 

 I got a bit of a shock the other day with my blood sugar levels so it's back in the healthy eating, slash the carbs and make more of an effort with cooking and eating good nutritious food.  It's just too easy to grab a sandwich or a slice of toast ......and I have  been rather naughty with the biscuit tin of late.  I think my increased blood sugar levels are adding to my tiredness so hopefully if I can get those back down I will feel more energetic.  

I think it might be time for a bit of retail therapy. A few treats.  As Patsy from Ab Fab would say......"some gorgeous little things dahhhhling". 

I can't take the trip, I can't eat the cake but at least I can still buy the shoes....although in my case it might be a dress or a nice piece of art the house. Thank goodness I can still browse the shops (even if it has to be online).    

Feel a bit in need of cheer today so going to cut some flowers from the garden.  Make the house look nice.  Family online quizz tonight, need to dig out some questions.  Stretch my brain a bit.  

candygirl

After we've all been so careful at social distancing etc, these protests are going to destroy it all with the amount of germs spread
My Sis in Law has taken the kids to the Manchester one today, n it's packed with thousands of people, obviously not social distancing at all   I support the idea behind it all, but fear for all.of us with this virus.
Sorry for the rant but ........😤
Have fab weekends all 😘xx

helensbiggestfan

Candy ....I agree, it's foolish beyond belief.  I have been looking at the protests on the internet, they are global.  There will be no way of controlling the pandemic at this rate.  It's beyond depressing,  

TBH I have been feeling a bit low this last couple of days.......solitary confinement for nearly 3 months now is wearing a bit thin........cabin fever is starting to set in. Hey ho, just got to keep going.  

Went to Aldi this morning, treated myself to some lovely red roses, £1.99. A little bit of luxury for peanuts.