Mortgage free in Forever Home :-)

Merlin's_Beard

Can confirm that the little garden does not take up much time, physically anyway- thinking time is another matter!

Watty1

Another one with a long list of "shoulds" and a large garden.  I'm slowly trying to weed the front drive area just to make the house look less derelict but it is taking a long time as I only ever seem to do five mins at a time!

savingholmes

KK - get a gardener at least some of the time - even if it is to do the initial clearance. Best decision ever to do that the last couple of years even on an adhoc basis it meant I could focus on the parts I enjoyed more (choosing the plants) and planting up pots... 

LadyWithAPlan

phew ..... i was thinking a 13x 13 foot patch  Enough for a table, chairs or a bench,  an awning , maybe a fruit tree and a couple tomato plants   and a bbq ...

Watty1

savingholmes said:

KK - get a gardener at least some of the time - even if it is to do the initial clearance. Best decision ever to do that the last couple of years even on an adhoc basis it meant I could focus on the parts I enjoyed more (choosing the plants) and planting up pots... 

I had a gardener for 3 days in December. The difference he made was incredible. The hedge was cut, the apple trees pruned and a general tidy up.   I actually felt I could manage after that but I have subsequently had a chat with him and one hedge is looking to think so we are going to underplant with dog rose (he can do that) the hedge between me and the neighbours needs a trim (he can do that) and the front border needs clearing (he can do that).  This might take him 2 days, it might take me the rest of the year!

redofromstart

Third of an acre here, haven't been on top of it since I went back to work five days. @Cheery_Daff made me think about if I really want more when we move a while back. Mr Redo remains adamant but we want woodland not garden.

when I went full time big money I got quotes on the garden. I paid for the unskilled blackberry shrub clearance, but not the £25/hour for the village gardener who could name less shrubs than I could. I'd rather pay a cleaner tbh. 

I've found a veg plots worth of brown cardboard that I'd forgotten in the garage! It was being saved for motorcycle kneel stuff but it's mine now. The tub trugs of rain water will be rehydrating the £2.50 MrM reduced coir as soon as I skim the big weeds. The real giggle was mr Redo saying, ooh if you are into no dig have a look at this Charles Dowding chap...

KajiKita

Thanks @savingholmes, @redofromstart and @Watty1 - I suppose my hesitation comes from it feeling self indulgent, as if I am giving in and every penny should be going to the mortgage, savings etc. …. But, I wonder if I would get more ‘net value’ (both £ and emotional) by engaging some gardening help …. 🤔 (I would have to be able to trust them to be fully organic though …) 

Very long two days: 

Yesterday was Fundamentals of Metrology - trainer was poor, pace was slow and it was quite frustrating. Got out of work late to hurtle beyond where I to commute to live, to drop the car off to the garage for the intermittent fault which means it goes into crawl mode randomly … 😳 Took notes in for the mechanic about warning lights seen and symptoms experienced (car had returned to normal by the time I dropped it off 🙄) and he just brushed me off …. Sigh. Raced home in courtesy car (always uncomfortable going from one car to the other that drive so differently, so quickly), hurled food down my neck (thanks Mr KK), went out to parish council meeting. Meeting was interesting but sooooo cold - I took a blanket with me to wrap myself up in but even so I couldn’t feel my feet by the time I got home. 

When I got home, Mr KK was raging about the levels of noise from the band practice happening in the chapel across our garden from us. I have asked, nicely a couple of times, by text and then in person for this to be reduced, but last night it was loud enough to wind Mr KK up. He was all for going nuclear and straight to the chapel authorities …. I had to talk him down - both last night and tonight we have discussed an approach that will involve him starting once more with the neighbour who is responsible for renting out the chapel as a venue and escalating slowly, only, if necessary ….

Today, another full day’s training of on use of small hand tools - I.e. more metrology including trig etc 🤯
Headed back to garage, via fuel station to refill courtesy car, got snagged in temporary traffic lights on the way down in a village that is difficult to navigate at the best of times due to parking etc. £168 bill for a changed sensor and a cleaned fuel something. Got talked at, at length, by the older chap who acts as ‘front of house’ in the garage - didn’t see the mechanic - apparently his mother has broken her elbow - I suspect I was told this to excuse his antsy behaviour the day before …. Apparently, I still need a clutch sensor so I have to repeat all of the above again, next Friday …. Then headed home, trying to get used to my car again and getting really snarled up in the temporary lights section again - had people deliberately posturing-about, driving straight at me because I hadn’t managed to fully pull in (my view was blocked by a huge van in front of me and so I then had to reverse into a gap and couldn’t fully) - there was a dropped kerb on the other side of the road, so they could get past me easily enough, I just inconvenienced them. I have to say the super shiny Mercedes was the best - he literally drove right at me and then swerved at the last minute - I knew he had no intention of damaging his pretty car on my scruffy one 🙄

I have just dropped all our old Christmas cards from the season just gone into a neighbour as she is taking as making as she can glean from all the neighbours to a local charity 😊
Now for a shower and pay my work AMEX as most of the balance has finally come through the expenses system to my account - still £77.something short, for a reason I have yet to decipher … 😢🙄

Ugh. 

One bright spot; a friend has suggested we meet for lunch on Saturday. I am GOING! 

No news on FiL - turns out that tomorrow isn’t results of biopsies - it’s a hospital meeting that doesn’t involve FiL or anyone from the family …. 🤷‍♀️
F & MiL sound to be in pretty good spirits - Mr KK is going round there tomorrow to see them 😊

KK

skint_spice

I hope the sensor change sorts out the issue for you.

South_coast

My sympathies with the band noise. I used to live an alleyway width from the practice room of a silver band. Two evenings a week I used to fly into a murderous rage every time I entered my own bathroom 😡

KajiKita

South_coast said:

My sympathies with the band noise. I used to live an alleyway width from the practice room of a silver band. Two evenings a week I used to fly into a murderous rage every time I entered my own bathroom 😡

It’s interesting (she says blithely) how intense the reaction is, isn’t it? I felt that level of rage during the summer, whilst Mr KK didn’t react at all, made me feel like I was making a fuss when I was nearly in tears with it. I think it’s to do with being overstimulated all day and then your ‘safe space’, where you can recover is invaded and you can’t. This is the first time that Mr KK has been upset by it - I did feel somewhat vindicated …. 😉

KK