Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget.

mrs_slapshot

Just popping on to catch up...lots gone on!!  Sugarbaby I thought your post was very eloquent, and informative.  I am saddened that we live in a society that treats people differently because of the colour of their skin.  I live in a multicultural city and was educated in a multicultural school so I thought I was quite 'educated' about race issues.  How wrong I was.  Anyway, I just wanted to acknowledge your post 

LL glad to hear you're on the up again - I knew it wouldn't be long   

Phoebe - you have been busy!  Makes me tired just looking at all those pots!!

I've booked a visit to the tip on Saturday so that means I have to sort out my garage...which is full of junk and an absolute disgrace.  Still, it needs doing if I am to put the house on the market - wish me luck sorting it all out!!

helensbiggestfan

Hello my lovely friends.  

Phoebe - your garden is beautiful.....I'm soooo envious. 😂. Mine is really disappointing.   I had hoped to be in a much better position by this time but I have really struggled to get it established. First flooding and now soil drying out and as hard as concrete.   I tried planting some dahlias yesterday. Only Managed 5. Even after the rain the ground was so hard.  Oh well I'll just keep at it, I'll get there.  Hopefully we might get some more rain tomorrow which might help soften the soil enough  for me to work it a bit more easily.  

I bought some geraniums and lavender plants yesterday. I will probably put those in some nice pots. I want the lavender to do well so I can take cuttings so that eventually I will have enough plants to form a hedge.  

Lots of champagne moments with DIL and GS today.  She's 22 weeks pregnant and has been shielding for over 3 months now.  Very difficult for her and I'm concerned that she is starting to suffer from anxiety. However, we had a lovely day. I persuaded her to join me on a visit a local park. She was a bit panicky but I made sure she was kept safe and away from people so she eventually relaxed and enjoyed herself.  I think it did her good.  

A sort of champagne moment......  I have now been back on an ultra low carb eating plan for nearly a week, zero grains.  I had been rather careless during lockdown and fallen back into eating grains, especially wheat and I was starting to feel really awful. (I think that was partly why I felt so miserable). Anyway, I feel so much improved, headaches gone, tummy problems easing and even my joints are feeling better.  And my mood is definitely much improved, I feel much more like my old self again.  😉

I could do with going to the tip too but because I have such a lot to take I'm thinking I might just book a skip.  A neighbour has said we could go halves and share the cost but tbh I  think I have enough stuff to fill a skip all by myself,  😂

 

phoebe1989seb

Thank you, mrs_s and LL 

I've said it before but it's a real labour of love. We bought the cottage as a repossession and although the previous owners did live here for the first few years, it had been rented out for at least five years prior to being repossessed as the owners moved back to London. Neither the previous owners nor the tenants were gardeners and whereas in England most people would be glad of such a large garden and would buy a house because of it, here in Wales having a bit of land is fairly commonplace and often it appears that (possibly because of the often adverse weather conditions) the garden gets neglected.

DH recently met a couple (also from London as it happens) who about two years ago purchased a detached barn conversion in nine acres. The whole lot cost them less than £300k but they aren't gardeners, don't have pets/livestock and have just let the outside space run wild. Even the designated very large garden is completely overgrown which is a shame as the previous owner was a keen gardener who planted loads of expensive specimen shrubs etc...... I love a wild garden but I do wonder why they chose that particular house as they still have several very near neighbours so it obviously wasn't for the feeling of seclusion......

 Anyway, my champagne moments yesterday were DH getting hold of three large bags of compost - the little local garden centre had a 'two bags per customer' sign up but as he's recently brought a load of business their way they said he could have three (plus a small discount) 

As a result I've spent the morning topping up all those seedling pots! 

He also picked up three stunning apricot digitalis to go in the rose bed. Annoyingly, he was intending to bring some white ones home from the place where he's working as he'd been advised to chuck them. Having put them to one side, he later discovered that one of the builders working there had buried them under a pile of rubble  Apparently there are loads more where they came from though......

carolbee

phoebe1989seb said:

Thank you, mrs_s and LL 

I've said it before but it's a real labour of love. We bought the cottage as a repossession and although the previous owners did live here for the first few years, it had been rented out for at least five years prior to being repossessed as the owners moved back to London. Neither the previous owners nor the tenants were gardeners and whereas in England most people would be glad of such a large garden and would buy a house because of it, here in Wales having a bit of land is fairly commonplace and often it appears that (possibly because of the often adverse weather conditions) the garden gets neglected.

DH recently met a couple (also from London as it happens) who about two years ago purchased a detached barn conversion in nine acres. The whole lot cost them less than £300k but they aren't gardeners, don't have pets/livestock and have just let the outside space run wild. Even the designated very large garden is completely overgrown which is a shame as the previous owner was a keen gardener who planted loads of expensive specimen shrubs etc...... I love a wild garden but I do wonder why they chose that particular house as they still have several very near neighbours so it obviously wasn't for the feeling of seclusion......

 Anyway, my champagne moments yesterday were DH getting hold of three large bags of compost - the little local garden centre had a 'two bags per customer' sign up but as he's recently brought a load of business their way they said he could have three (plus a small discount) 

As a result I've spent the morning topping up all those seedling pots! 

He also picked up three stunning apricot digitalis to go in the rose bed. Annoyingly, he was intending to bring some white ones home from the place where he's working as he'd been advised to chuck them. Having put them to one side, he later discovered that one of the builders working there had buried them under a pile of rubble  Apparently there are loads more where they came from though......

You should definitely do a blog, you write so beautifully 

missychrissy

I’m not sure if this counts as a champagne moment but I’ve just been out to go to Aldi. I only really wanted 6 kg of sugar for wine making. However, the queue to get into Aldi was so long I went to B n M a few yards along and sugar was 6p a kg cheaper. Bargain!

helensbiggestfan

missychrissy said:

I’m not sure if this counts as a champagne moment but I’ve just been out to go to Aldi. I only really wanted 6 kg of sugar for wine making. However, the queue to get into Aldi was so long I went to B n M a few yards along and sugar was 6p a kg cheaper. Bargain!

Definitely a champagne moment.  😁

helensbiggestfan

Hello my lovely friends....

Not so much a champagne moment - more an act of rebellion. 😉.  I too went to Aldi today (luckily no queues). Treated myself to a rib eye steak, loads of nice fruit and veg and a bar of my favourite chocolate.  (Healthy dark stuff). 

As I mentioned my garden isn't that great but I did notice yesterday that the raspberries I planted in a pot are doing really well.  In a moment I'm going to take a stroll down to a little shop that sells plants....it's a sort of mini B&M, local not a chain so I'm going to go and see what they have in.  Hopefully some edible plants as well as some nice bedding plants.  I Think I have left it a bit late for seeds. 

I have started fantasising about holidays😂, trips to exotic destinations, exciting adventures, cruises etc. My friend is egging me on to go with her and share a cabin. She wants to book something now - admittedly for next year - but I still don't feel comfortable making that sort of commitment just now.  

Ive been looking at the social distancing arrangements that cruise companies are making......do I really want to spend all that money to have to social distance and wear face masks and be constantly worried about getting sick.  And let's face it we don't know which companies will be in business, how many might go to the wall in the next few months.  

Anyway I think I will try and go travelling next year - virus permitting. It will be my big birthday next year (70) so I think it deserves a nice trip in celebration but I think I'm not going to book anything just yet.  I'm sure there will be something out there when the time comes.  

I have to say though I'm starting to find lockdown rather tedious.  So looking forward to a more normal way of living, being able to browse the shops at leisure, meet a friend for a coffee or lunch.  It seems like a different life doesn't it.  

Hey ho.....just need to stay cheerful.  

Some nice news today..........a champagne moment Of sorts but one tinged with a little sadness. SIL has been winding up FILs estate.......apparently there is a nice block of shares coming my way.  Blue chip company so worth quite a bit. The value has dropped a bit recently of course but I don't need to liquidate them, so it doesn't really matter. I can sit on them until values rise and I need or want the money or better still, with any luck, I can just pass them on in trust to my grandsons.  I think FIL would get quite a kick knowing that the shares had been passed on to his great grandsons, along with his WW2 medals. 😁. 

Wednesday2000

Mrs S - I have "booked" my m-in-law to drive us to the tip next week too, funnily enough. 

Wednesday2000

I can't remember if I said this but we have got a hotel booked in one of the areas we are planning on moving to at the coast. We booked it for the end of July and they took our booking and so did our vet to take care of our dogs while we are away so hopefully things will be somewhat back to normal by then?

helensbiggestfan

All shops to open next week and more open air venues, theme parks, zoos etc.  Obviously the indoor parts will be shut and the cafes etc....unless they can do some sort of takeaway service.  I'm sure they will have some kiosk type places set up.  

It's a start isn't it.  Hopefully by the end of July you should be ok for uk holidays.