First Steps to Solvency

alt80

@getmore4less I'm trying to avoid going in any shops even to get 20p bargains mate lol. 

I've spent too many years keeping the 'wrong company' yesterday afternoon was brilliant tbh really made me think in a good way and good to catch up with good people that aren't staff too. This morning I've had a bit of a realisation re my mate I put above everyone else who was good in my life. All I need to do for as long as he wishes to employ my services is to ensure good management of his property I'm not his boss, mum or babysitter and I'm not responsible for or need to try to manage and lessen the consequences of someone else's drug habit nor do I need to spend hours listening to him telling me what a !!!!!! up I am for not being on his level financially.

@dawnybabes they'd love that well if it was good ha. Thank you thrown it on my list with the other veg growing research to do. 

alt80

@RelievedSheff and I thought you were the full self sufficiency earth mother type ha. Seriously I'll give it a go find out which I can plant with him over the next few weeks. Won't be this week but nothing planned for next weekend yet although I might be taking the MG offer up. Get some better people that aren't staff back in my life.

Are parsnips generally prone to insect attack then?

@Grumpelstiltskin I've probably eaten it at a restaurant and didn't even know it ha. Tbf I like most foods so not really fussy about what's on my plate so long as it's tasty. Sounds like one for the Sunday roast, thank you. 

RelievedSheff

alt80 said:

@RelievedSheff and I thought you were the full self sufficiency earth mother type ha. Seriously I'll give it a go find out which I can plant with him over the next few weeks. Won't be this week but nothing planned for next weekend yet although I might be taking the MG offer up. Get some better people that aren't staff back in my life.

Are parsnips generally prone to insect attack then?

@Grumpelstiltskin I've probably eaten it at a restaurant and didn't even know it ha. Tbf I like most foods so not really fussy about what's on my plate so long as it's tasty. Sounds like one for the Sunday roast, thank you. 

No idea if parsnips are prone to pest attack but ours have been and they are the only thing that has been attacked. The carrots and beets are next to them and have been left alone.

Don't think it will be too much longer before we can harvest some beetroot and carrots one Sunday for dinner.

getmore4less

alt80 said:

@getmore4less I'm trying to avoid going in any shops even to get 20p bargains mate lol. 

Send the wife.

alt80

Rather come on here get some tips for my veg garden than return email re a big one in town stay listening to people on here and make my son and wife happy with very little money spent. Must be getting old ha.  

@RelievedSheff 100% I don’t think you need to be told how to cook but beetroot is v.nice roasted with shallots in the same tray, few cloves of garlic, drizzle some olive oil over the lot and season with salt and pepper. 

@getmore4less she’s on board with spending more time on the garden and sons enthusiasm so not a bad suggestion thanks. 

RelievedSheff

That's pretty much how we roast our beets

alt80

Three weeks through, putting recovery first I believe I’ll get to the end of the day today - got a load of work to get on with after lunch ha and away for the weekend so no temptations there. I know there’s going to be times ahead that won’t be easy but I’ve took responsibility not thinking I just wind up ‘accidentally’ in the !!!!!! routine I have been in for years and telling myself I’m no addict because actually using wasn’t an everyday thing. Binge spending all part of the same thing. It’s not really a whoops I just bought £10k worth of !!!!!! or whoops just had a sniff like it’s just something part of a normal routine ultimately I make those choices. Really am a !!!!!! when I’m in the pattern tbh writing on here def made me realise that and that it’s time to move on. Putting family first isn’t just throwing money at it and blindly hoping son turns out ok because he goes to a good school and lives in a nice home and I’m not going to miraculously find a real sense of self worth in buying an AM or a larger house. Tried that road for long enough. I need to accept I’ve got responsibilities beyond my obligations as an employer - that’s something I’ve always took seriously but I’ve never really looked after my own family. Student I’ve been providing a bit of work ex for confirmed he wants to take me up on my offer of a grad role citing he knows I’ll be a good person to work for made me think with the pros help that I could be a good person to live with too. If I can do it for the work I can do it outside of work ha. Know a lot here probably think I deserve to die alone and penniless in the gutter or something and maybe I do idk but working on providing a better environment at home will be better for my family give my son the best chance possible in life - think that’s what some have been trying to say to me on here for a long time now but I didn’t really get it.

Kakiste

Absolutely spot on You're now talking complete sense. 

foxgloves

Alt80 - We grow quite a lot of food. No allotment, but a decent-sized garden so about a third of it turned over to food production......you often get these long narrow gardens with 1930s properties. Mostly salad stuff for getting in now, as lots of veg needs to be started earlier &/or undercover. Yeah, we have chard this year too. I use it like spinach (it's good in balti-type curries too), but you can do different things with the stems, like stir-frying or a nice home made cheese sauce over them, breadcrumbs on top & bake, etc. V easy to grow & unlike a lot of leafy veg, the only thing that seems to be interested in attacking it is the occasional wood pigeon & they are put off by old CDs hanging up above the veg beds. I don't think NG woodpigeons are all that bright to be honest, they are scared off by pretty much anything here. Anyway, I didn't intend to witter about chard (or pigeons), what I was going to say is that we are going to harvest our home grown garlic at the weekend. Another easy thing to grow. Later this year, look out for garlic for Autumn planting - garden centres generally have it. We plant ours in October. It shoots by Christmas/New Year usually, then the bulbs are ready to harvest end of June. You can hang it up & dry it to use over the coming months & just start using it straight away. The really fresh stuff just out of the ground is known in the trade as 'wet garlic' & would doubtless cost you an arm & a leg from a well-known London foodie market! Each clove you sow becomes one whole bulb of garlic. Could be a nice project as you seem to enjoy a bit of cooking. 
F

RelievedSheff

Well something has clicked with you of late