The Hen House Chronicles

KajiKita

I hope the bang on the WM is just a belt and it is easily recoverable! 🤞

Glad that DD is steadily becoming helpful 😊 I remember helping my dad when I was wee - passing him tools and things. I suspect by the time I can remember it, I must have almost been useful too 😉

KK

greent

We love stew and dumplings here. I make dumplings with butter, not suet - SR flour and then half the weight of that in butter. They are lovely and very moreish (I don't want to know the calorie content!! 😁)

MerryHen

Sadly the washing machine could not be saved 😞 

The washing machine man said there's a fault with this model that causes some part to shear off and break everything else. 

DH made another trip to the launderette today and I'm going to get another machine ordered for when we return from down south. We do too much washing to not have a machine.

The dumplings didn't kills us! They weren't bad and the sausage and bean casserole was delicious 😋. 

I suspect the dumplings I remember from childhood were made with butter greent (I can't work out how to tag on here?). Sadly DS has a dairy allergy and has just had a reaction at stage 2 of milk reintroduction so it might be a while before we (me and him because he still has some breast milk) can enjoy the joys of buttery dumplings.

DD and I had another lovely day yesterday collecting blackberries and exploring woodlands and dens in a large park we don't visit often. We then baked an apple and blackberry crumble in the afternoon. DD requested a pub lunch (I don't think I knew such things existed at 5!) so we met up with DH on his lunch break. It was nice but eye wateringly expensive- £48 for two adult mains, a bowl of fries and three soft drinks (DH and DD shared a pizza), definitely an occasional treat. 

Reheated casserole and crumble for dinner tonight, love cooking once and eating twice 😁 

Aimingforthegoodlife

My little niece has just been diagnosed with a milk protein allergy, so my sister is attempting vegan to continue breastfeeding as well, tough work but worth it I imagine! Your dinner sounds lovely, crumble in this weather is perfect! I also remember when I became helpful to my parents, made me feel so good to know I was helping! Bike sounds incredible!

MerryHen

Start of the month money shuffle: 

Emergency fund: £4900

Next car fund: £3110

S&S ISA: £1345

Sinking pots: £4450

Car loan: £-1280 (5 months without overpayments)

I'm really happy we've been able to add £500 to the emergency fund this month. We've had a few months of not adding to it or adding much less. Once we have saved the emergency fund I want to start saving for house bits like a new kitchen and bathroom. This is a few years down the line but I like to have a plan

It has been an expensive start to the month with all the usual bills, almost £400 on a new washing machine, a £90 basic food shop which didn't include a few bits so will need topping up soon, DD's half term dance class fees and a few Christmas presents because I am trying to be organised.

We returned from down south on Sunday and spent a lovely day with one of DD's friends yesterday tie dying clothes. We picked up a few white t-shirts from charity shops, plus had some bubble mixture stained school socks (who knew it stained so bad!?), and sun cream stained t-shirts of DS's. We had dye left over from last year so it was a very cheap activity and hopefully the children will have some cool new clothes from it.

Tie dye creations are now sitting in zip lock bags in the sun heating up before I rinse them. The new washing machine is being delivered tomorrow so they can be properly washed then (along with laundry mountain!).

DD was back to school today so I enjoyed a 7km child free walk in the woods after school drop off. Bliss. I then started tidying the house and recycling six week's worth of arts and crafts. The house looks absolutely no different. I realised I had to restore the seating to the yarden decking so the washing machine delivery people can access the back door tomorrow and I'm taking a moment to relax in the sun on said decking before round two of tidying and child pick up time. My exciting life 😄

Fake chicken fajitas for tea tonight 🤤 

MerryHen

Aimingforthegoodlife said:

My little niece has just been diagnosed with a milk protein allergy, so my sister is attempting vegan to continue breastfeeding as well, tough work but worth it I imagine! Your dinner sounds lovely, crumble in this weather is perfect! I also remember when I became helpful to my parents, made me feel so good to know I was helping! Bike sounds incredible!

Ahh I wish your sister the very best of luck ✨ Milk protein allergy is what DS has, plus a soya allergy for good measure. I am pescatarian, but mostly eat vegetarian and have had to be quite mindful of where I am getting protein from. For us it has been absolutely worth it though 🙂

MerryHen

I have had a reading week this week. I planned to complete annual mandatory training at a leisurely pace and read midwifery literature to gain inspiration for my dissertation. This was to be interspersed with countryside walks, getting my eyebrows threaded, and going out for a child free lunch with Mr Merry. But alas, sickness struck the henhouse.

Patient zero (DS) has now been sick-free for 48 hours but I started feeling decidedly unwell last night 🤢 so Mr Merry has taken him off to the church playgroup this morning while I rest. So far this bug is following its usual pattern of DS (nursery breeding pit of germs attendee) >> then me >> then usually DD just as the weekend begins. DH has an iron constitution and somehow dodges illness 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thankfully the new washing machine was delivered on Wednesday and immediately put to work with about five loads of sicky sheets and towels. Poor thing. We've had constant drizzle all week so Mr Merry made a trip to the launderette yesterday to use their tumble driers. I feel like my life revolves around laundry at the best of times but this week has taken the biscuit 😂 

During all this someone from the Scottish power company knocked asking to read the meters. Fair request as I have no recollection of when I last sent any 😳 however I didn't really want them entering the plague house so have promised to send some in asap. As soon as I can face the cellar and spider central cupboard.

When I can face it I also need to figure out how to get sick stains out of carpet. For now they have been soaked with white vinegar spray and bicarb and covered with muslins.

So much for a relaxing week 😂

In money saving news though, I bought DS a pair of new, unworn Clarks winter shoes on Vinted for less than £10 (including postage). They are very cute 👇🏼

beanielou

They are super cute. Hope you are all on the mend soon ❤️‍🩹

Watty1

Those shoes are so cute

MerryHen

Worrying developments for the Hen House and Hen House neighbours

We live in a square with 17 other cottages surrounding a communal garden. The land the garden is on was gifted to the residents of the square about 60 years ago but under the trust of the church (which is across the road). About 40 years ago 20 or so conifers were planted to screen the square from the road which makes it a really private and peaceful spot. Visitors often comment that they didn't realise our houses were there because they can't be seen from the street (and we often receive phone calls from confused delivery drivers unable to find the house 😂).  

Anyway, residents of the square have always maintained the garden (and well! It's a really lovely space) and the church has maintained the trees. Soon after we moved in we approached the then vicar of the church about cutting back the trees, they were added onto the list for tree maintenance and trimmed down, no problem. 

Last year we approached the church again about cutting them back again. In this time a new vicar has come in and he wasn't told about our garden or the tree agreement. Initially we were met with complete denial that the church was responsible and then a meeting with a new vicar about the future of the trees. He suggested the cost of ongoing maintenance may be too much for the church to bear and that we would explore different options for example removing them and planting something easier to maintain.

We haven't heard anything since until this afternoon when he delivered a letter outlining the church's plans to sell the land we use as our communal garden

We had a quick doorstep meeting with a few of our neighbours this evening floating ideas about how to proceed. The church has said the land will go to auction but we can express an interest in buying it in the next 28 days. We are considering whether to form a resident's group and purchase the land, but we don't know if everyone would agree or how much it will be.

We're hoping the fact we are in a conservation area will protect the land from development but it is a worry. Especially since one neighbour has previously expressed his wish to turn the square into parking (and he's probably the most likely to be able to buy it outright 😭).
It's a communal space that as a little community we use every day. It has been collectively maintained by the residents for decades, it's a safe spot for the children of the square to play outside together with no worries about traffic or strangers, they are out there nearly every weekend and evening. We've held BBQs and kids birthday parties in the garden and sit outside most summer evenings so have got to know our neighbours because of it.

It's quite upsetting that we could lose it.