Mortgage free in Forever Home :-)

greenbee

It was miserable here today (although not raining), so the only gardening I did was to replant a honeysuckle. I do need to unpack my bare root roses and heel them in somewhere. And deal with the sack full of comfrey I was given a couple of weeks ago. 

KajiKita

Merlin's_Beard said:

Oof, a lot of what you said about your mum rings very true for me - I'm sure a lot of my decision to be childfree was from the insistence that we were a burden and a trial that had been laid upon her as her duty, rather than a joy, along with the self awareness that my brain is very similar to her so the things she struggled with and found challenging would be difficult for me, too.

Sounds like a productive day! I hope that this rain stops soon, and it can all soak into the ground a bit.

Yup and yup … 🤷‍♀️😉😊

The next thing is gonna be a cold spell. But actually, in these climes, with our ecology, we need it, to knock back pests and reset fruit trees etc.

KK

KajiKita

greenbee said:

It was miserable here today (although not raining), so the only gardening I did was to replant a honeysuckle. I do need to unpack my bare root roses and heel them in somewhere. And deal with the sack full of comfrey I was given a couple of weeks ago. 

Is the sack of comfrey, leaves or roots? 

If the former layer them on the compost heap?
if the latter, pot them up so they can start creating feeder roots for next spring?

KK

greenbee

KajiKita said:

greenbee said:

It was miserable here today (although not raining), so the only gardening I did was to replant a honeysuckle. I do need to unpack my bare root roses and heel them in somewhere. And deal with the sack full of comfrey I was given a couple of weeks ago. 

Is the sack of comfrey, leaves or roots? 

If the former layer them on the compost heap?
if the latter, pot them up so they can start creating feeder roots for next spring?

KK

Roots, so I need to decide where to plant them. I don't have the pots or the potting medium to deal with that volume! I was thinking of planting them in the compost area as that would be convenient

KajiKita

greenbee said:

KajiKita said:

greenbee said:

It was miserable here today (although not raining), so the only gardening I did was to replant a honeysuckle. I do need to unpack my bare root roses and heel them in somewhere. And deal with the sack full of comfrey I was given a couple of weeks ago. 

Is the sack of comfrey, leaves or roots? 

If the former layer them on the compost heap?
if the latter, pot them up so they can start creating feeder roots for next spring?

KK

Roots, so I need to decide where to plant them. I don't have the pots or the potting medium to deal with that volume! I was thinking of planting them in the compost area as that would be convenient

I would do the same, but my compost bins are under a big Japanese maple so are in shade from late spring. I think I will plant my three little plants I managed to get to root from stumps brought from the Bay of E this spring, alongside the apple trees, in the wild patch at the same end of garden as the compost bins 😊

KK

greenbee

Do you think they would outcompete the grass under my dying apple tree? (It has honey fungus, so I plan to grow a rose and a clematis up it. Possibly Montana Elizabeth and Generous Gardener).

KajiKita

greenbee said:

Do you think they would outcompete the grass under my dying apple tree? (It has honey fungus, so I plan to grow a rose and a clematis up it. Possibly Montana Elizabeth and Generous Gardener).

Honestly? Dunno. 😊🤷‍♀️ What I’m planning on doing is chopping some of the turf short, lifting it, putting it back down upside down (so the grass gets no light) and then planting the comfrey in the ‘cleared’ patch. With a goodly mulch of bark around them, over the upside down turf, I’m hoping that would give the comfrey plants a good enough start to be able to outcompete the grass under my apple trees. 🤞
(I quite like the permaculture feel of reusing resources I already have by doing this, iyswim.)

KK

savingholmes

I hope Mr KK's sciatica improves soon.

Well done on standing your ground on the H&S stuff. I've known of some horrors in my time - and it has been the reason before now I left organisations. 

On the mum thing - glad you had a more positive memory. I belatedly realised today that my mum comparing my room / house / whatever to a bombsite reflected the left over trauma of war even though she was born at the tail end of it - the devastation took years to resolve. It helped underline the generational differences of experience between hers and ours.

KajiKita

savingholmes said:

I hope Mr KK's sciatica improves soon.

Well done on standing your ground on the H&S stuff. I've known of some horrors in my time - and it has been the reason before now I left organisations. 

On the mum thing - glad you had a more positive memory. I belatedly realised today that my mum comparing my room / house / whatever to a bombsite reflected the left over trauma of war even though she was born at the tail end of it - the devastation took years to resolve. It helped underline the generational differences of experience between hers and ours.

Thank you 😊
He made it through a full day at work today without too much trauma by being very sensible. 

We forget, I think, how far away in time our parents childhoods were from now. In my parents’ case it’s 80 years - things have changed quite a lot since then! 

Had another ‘H&S thing’ today - right at the end of my day I came across the technical manager using a powered hand circular saw to cut through a thin piece of metal. It was all very improv … he saw me and said, “I’m doing something not very safe so I’m not asking anyone else to do it …”  (🙄) I said, “well let’s see it and have a look at what you’re doing”. Once he’d done the next piece I made a couple of constructive suggestions - a further piece of wood so he didn’t have to support the metal from underneath (!! 😳) and a barriered off area around him so he was less likely to be interrupted by people walking up to him - he agreed to both of these things. I also said that it would help if he discussed these unplanned, undesigned work activities with me from the beginning so I could help him make them safer … I’m not sure that landed so I will ask our mutual boss to reinforce that point ….

He was lucky actually that it was me that found him. The Group QHSE Manager was on site today and if he’d come across what the technical manager was doing, there’d have been a heap more drama as a result! 

I had to temper Group QHSE manager’s expectations a bit today. In effect, because of stock take at the end of December, we pretty much only have 4 working weeks left of this year. I’ve told him that i’m not prepared to take on any more plates to spin this year as I’m already handling enough. He didn’t look entirely happy about this but I reminded him that I have a quality hat as well and that needs some twirling too! 😉

There’s been a constant torrent of PC emails today as well (and for some reason the Chair has started emailing me at work - I’m not actually sure how she got that address?!) and once I got home I had to coach the Chair through how we CAN justify the increase in the precept that the PC needs to or parishioners and yes, we do deliver a lot for what we cost … I *literally* do not get paid for this …. 😂

I also contacted the two previous Chairs (I worked with both of them), cc’ing current Chair and asked for what achievements or deliverables had happened in their tenure - more grist to the justification mill! 

KK

PennysIntoPounds

Well done for sensitively handling the H&S issue, and standing your ground in a pleasant way on the plate spinning.

Gawd, these PC people! You can block Chair's email from your work email without compunction tomorrow, that is just not appropriate or professional.
Think when we start our MSE Advent, you're going to have to have a special one counting down until you can be rid of this nonsense.
Obvs don't forget to get in touch with constant annoying member of public to see if he'd like to take over your role 😁