Hypno's cheaper than therapy debt diary.

pandapaws

My DH and his parents always had chickens in the garden when he was young, but kids get attached to them as pets, so you need to be prepared to have old non-laying hens for quite a while. DH's dad got someone to slaughter one of theirs once, and nobody spoke to him for months!

You've also got to be careful that there's nothing in your building covenant - most houses from the 80's onwards have a ban on keeping poultry in the garden sadly. I know we do, and the inlaws have a 90's house with the same. You often get away with it, but if you ever have a falling out with your neighbours you can end up in trouble!

Snaggles

Oh, those Eglu's are fab. Space isn't the problem though, it's the neighbourhood itself (and the likelyhood of them being stolen/worse). Do you remember my 'just been shot by my neighbour with a pellet gun' posts?

Oooh, that reminds me, they are moving out this week - must get them a 'glad you are going, hope I see you again in hell' card.

hypno06

Squirrel, yes a chalet holiday would be fab on your own - I would go in a flash!!!!

Panda, yes, I will check the deeds. With us being in a farming community I would guess it is ok, but you never know!

Snaggles, I had forgotten those posts, but yes I understand your concern!!

I have found a free range organic chicken farm in the same village as I work, so have e-mailed them asking for rough prices etc. Would be great if I could pick up stuff on the way home from work.......excellent on reducing food miles too!!

hypno06

Morning all. Managed a good nights sleep and a wee bit of a lay in - the house is quiet, OH still asleep, kids not here, student doing what students do best at this time on a Saturday morning ie glued to her bed...., so just me, the coffee, and the laptop!! What more could a girl want!

A lazy morning is on the cards, and working in the bar this afternoon. I did consider stopping the bar work when I started work full time but it is an extra £100 a month after tax which is very handy, so it will stay for the time being.

Hope you all have a good day xx

Snaggles

It's not as though you will have any of those awkward 'teacher running into her students on a night out' situations, I suppose!

hypno06

I jolly well hope not :eek:

Karmacat

:rotfl: :eek: :rotfl: Meeting hypno's students in a bar!!!! Nooooo! Laughed a lot at this thread - poor gemmzie, putting the youth viewpoint! I wonder if you'll go for the chickens? My house was built in the early 60s, but it deffo has a clause about no chickens. I don't think I'd want to at the mo, to be honest - the freedom thing that ZTD mentioned is important, even with a local person to look after them, I had so many years with the cats, and my life after the next few years could be very, very different.

Lazy morning, yum.... just a bit of time on m.b.ing, and then thats me too, mind you m.b.ing feels kind of lazy, I'm into it now! Hope your day goes well.

In_Search_Of_Me

Morning all! I wasnt saying YOU were having a dig at social workers at all Moloo, please dont think I was. I know the system is carp (which adds to out frustration & sometimes you do need to shout loudest! Feel free to pm
Hows RC going H? Like you am a convert on the free rang meat - I've always had free range eggs and was veggie for a while & havent eaten veal (cos they dont get to run around) since I was about 8 (started being stroppy young!!). Have always been quite passionate about animal welfare & would have been the vet if I'd had the brains! Off to farm shop today to see what I can get. Not going to be great for my grocery budget but I dont care - I'd rather be debt free a couple of monts later than be responsible for that...Must check RC week 2 menu but am pleased to report I've lost 3 ibs, despite not sticking to it 100% Official weigh in tomorrow but couldnt wait!

hypno06

I am quite tempted by the chickens, but in the short term I am going to make an effort to source my food from local farm shops etc. We live in the country for goodness sakes, so there must be places nearby to get decent quality reasonably priced produce from. Just need to find them!!

I need some milk so will think about getting dressed and walking down to the shop, thereby doing my 20 mins brisk walk for today. The sun is shining and everyone else here is still asleep, so I don't really have any excuses!! But I have *just* made a fresh cup of coffee so will drink that first before I do anything more productive.

When I get back, I will make a veggie curry. It should freeze well, so I can batch cook quite nicely.

hypno06

OK, I have just posted this on the "moral dilemma" thread so thought I should paste it into my diary as a record of intended changes here:

This week has given me a whole lot more to think about. I had already committed to more "back to basics" eating, and indeed have been doing this for a number of years, yet I still have to confess to buying the cheaper alternatives at the supermarket on the basis of price and our budget alone.

I cannot afford to throw away the food we already have in the fridge/cupboards/freezer so we will eat this. But new food I buy will be thought about much more, and I will endeavour to find alternatives to suit.

This may not be the idealistic "buy everything organic" that in an ideal world I would like to do - I have a very low budget and 5 people to feed on that budget, but I will commit to making an effort to make some changes.

Working on the "baby steps" that DFW and flylady does, this means that over time, we will be able to incorporate most of these things as a matter of course.

My first "small step" therefore, is to only buy free range eggs, and where possible to buy these from local producers.

My second is to buy organic milk where available.

My third is to generally think about my choices when planning meals and shopping, thinking quality not quantity where at all possible.

So, off to get dressed and go on the hunt for organic milk in the local shop!!