So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

themadvix

carolbee said:

Re your allotment, have you got a seed library near you? As allotment holders here too, you’ll find other plot holders happy to share, if they are like our allotments!

I don't know about a seed library - probably not in our town, but maybe in a nearby (more transition-y, richer) one. Will check it out, thanks! Our allotmenteers seem a friendly bunch so far  

themadvix

newgirly said:

Just found your new diary Vix, sounds like you feel a bit more settled there now with the allotment and hopefully garage too, its a great solution 🙂

Thanks NG, hopefully it is. We're definitely feeling more settled now (there's talk of a full solar array!)greenbee said:

Happy New Diary! 

It's worth remembering that potatoes are good for breaking up the soil, so aren't a bad thing for your first year on an allotment. 

As for Amtrak - too many work trips on the east coast on dodgy trains to want to do train travel as a holiday (Canada down to NYC, as well as Metro North for New York/Connecticut). 

Thanks Greenbee! Not sure about the breaking the ground up thing, combined with potatoes, but will plants some. I was just a bit taken aback to find a large bag of them on the step!

Amtrak is definitely interesting and the delays are horrendous! We're only doing a short hop (2-3 hours), so hopefully they can't get it too wrong. Europe is light years ahead of the US for train travel - the YT videos have been eye-opening. No wonder they all fly 😔

Honeysucklelou2 said:

Good news about the allotment. Enjoy planning it all!

Thanks HSL! The planning is what's worrying me - I need to just give it a go and not worry too much I think!

themadvix

Suffolk_lass said:

greenbee said:

Happy New Diary! 

It's worth remembering that potatoes are good for breaking up the soil, so aren't a bad thing for your first year on an allotment. 

As for Amtrak - too many work trips on the east coast on dodgy trains to want to do train travel as a holiday (Canada down to NYC, as well as Metro North for New York/Connecticut). 

That's what I was going to say - the old saying is that they "clean" the ground and are a great crop to grow ahead of your other things to find out what the ground is like. You could set aside a small area to try some and then use the produce the following year if you like the effect. Especially with a no-dig approach. There is no shame in growing and either donating or composting. We will be growing Phacelia (it's a green compost in the borage family, so should be great for pollinators) this year to improve one or two areas.

Re Amsterdam well NL really - another lovely place to visit is Dordrecht, and the Ferry from Harwich connects with the river ferry/taxi via Rotterdam (also worth an explore with its maritime museum). We have stayed in Zwijndrecht at a decent (family chain) hotel with a large indoor pool and various treatment, wellness and exercise options, and a good restaurant for reasonable cost. There are lovely cycle routes around (they hire out e-bikes). When travelling to or from Italy (in our car) we have often stayed there and it is just lovely (the French Womens Football Team had just departed on one occasion, having been knocked out of the Euro's and the hotel was bedecked with French regalia. Cycling in one direction there is lots of space to picnic near the Old Maas river and Dordrecht town is in the other direction. The river buses are a great local alternative to trains (and you can take your bicycle for no extra charge). - Then there are places like Utrecht, Venlo, and so on. 

Oh yes, enjoy the wedding and happy new diary!

Thanks SL, that's really useful info about the potatoes. I will definitely be donating some, even if I only plant a few. Interesting about Phacelia - I need to read more on green manures, but CD doesn't seem to be a fan (cheaper than lots of bought in compost though, although that's the way it's going to be this year!).

Thanks for the infor about Dordrecht and the hotel - it does sound wonderful! I'm quite keen to do the NL - it's so close and apart from a visit when I was a baby/toddler (and was ill), which I don't remember, I've never explored it. We love the cycling ethos there though (another YTer we watch about city planning - and again how the US/Canada have got it so wrong compared to Europe/the NL!)

themadvix

Morning all!

Thanks for the well-wishes for the wedding. We had a fantastic time and I think the bride and groom did too! Considering the wait for it to happen and then the stress of Mr MV getting covid right before it, expectations were high and it didn't disappoint! Considering the venue has been shut for over a year due to flooding (and the pandemic before that), it was excellent and one of the best wedding breakfasts I remember. We had a great time catching up with people we've not seen since before the pandemic and we danced the night away - alcohol and adrenaline seemed to magically cure Mr MV of his cough for the evening! Rather felt the effects yesterday, so after a gentle walk in a park near the venue, we returned home and did very little (I had a nap and we watched TV/Youtube). On the money front, I personally didn't pay for anything! Mr MV bought a round of drinks (for us) and other than that, it was all covered - the bride's father had put money behind the bar. 

Apart from aching from dancing and Mr MV being rather tired still (after-effects of Covid I suspect), we are back to health at last and hopefully can catch up on life! This morning I've painted the new fence post, anticipating us being able to resurrect at least one of the panels this afternoon. Mr MV has gone into work this morning, but will be home soonish (to continue working). I'm hoping to borrow his car to buy some compost to take down to the allotment - it'll fit in his car better than mine.

Dinner tonight will be BNS risotto and I've a rough plan for the rest of the week. Should be back to regular Olio collections on Wednesdays (I've cancelled two because of ill health). I'm anticipating some gardening/allotmenting at the weekend, although that depends on how busy I am with work this week, and we'll hopefully finally see our friends who we've cancelled on twice! I'm expecting/hoping for a decent sized project from my main client this week, but it depended on other factors, so it may not come off. 

MS things:
* Clicks done
* Cat sitting from tonight
* I've turned the heating off.... I'm sure we may need to boost it a few times, but the weather has turned milder for now

Gratitudes:
* Wonderful weekend and finally BIL's fiancee is his wife!
* Lovely catch ups with old friends
* Feel like life is returning to some sense of normality (if I ignore the news)

Have a good day all!

Karmacat

Ignoring the news, yes, but your own news sounds wonderful!  I'm so glad you had such a good time at the wedding!   And that health is on the mend.

Seconding/thirding NL - I've been 3 times, various formats of group/solo and travel mode, and I can't recommend it too highly.  Any of it   I was possibly the only person in my group in Amsterdam who swore off even cannabis - one of my friends had a very strait-laced, Northern Irish upbringing, and she really wanted to try it, but she was literally scared of getting off her head and falling in a canal, so I said I'd look after her, even then I was kind of done with getting off my face.  I don't know what its like now, of course, but even the drug cafes and the red light district were very village-y, very pleasant places.

try_harder

What a lovely weekend youve had ..So pleased to hear that you are feeling much better too , that definitely makes a huge difference to everything .Its beautiful here again today ,i hope its nice for you with the allotment . Do you watch ..What Vivi did next ..I love her ,she lives on a very frugal budget and lives on everything she grows on her allotment all year round other than ten pounds a week which she uses for pulses ,rice ,pasta etc .Shes on YT .I thin you would enjoy her chats 

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks KC and TH. That's an interesting review of Amsterdam KC! I can't say that the drugs or the red-light district would appeal to me really, apart from as curiosities... But I'd heard that they were village-y. TH, I think I've seen ads for her on FB - I'll check her out! I can't see us living on what I grow, but it should help with costs. I'm hoping to grow some beans for drying too, so that would cover some of the protein.

Popped to Wickes yesterday and bought some compost and manure (8 bags, £40) and realised it's barely going to touch the surface. However, I've prepped one (raised) bed with some fresh compost and cleared the weeds from around the edge. I might buy some wood chip today to mulch the edge of the plot in combination with cardboard to keep the grass from encroaching. Once it's done, it's going to be great and really easy to keep on top of - but there's just a way to go yet (and I could do with some help - both physical and mental!). Mum might pop up and visit it with me today, so she might help with the latter.

I've started with the first lot of cat sitting - they are lovely, but rather shy, and I haven't won them over yet. I'm sure I will! I also have a bit of work to crack on with this morning and have done various bits of work admin.

We are looking forward with interest to see what the govt's new offering for home solar will be. Mr MV has a colleague who has just got a very good deal with Eon for an array and a battery and he's thinking something similar might be an option for us. It will be interesting to see what the govt offers and whether it could tie in. (Mr MV has also been looking with renewed interest at Teslas..... the problem being that it would definitely be cheaper to add it to the mortgage now given likely interest rate rises, but we both want the mortgage gone!).

MS things:
* Clicks done
* PC survey done
* PA surveys done
* Cat sitting
* BNS risotto (in IP) for dinner last night and I roasted the whole squash ready for another meal while oven was on, maple-syrup-roasted the seeds for snacks (this needs work as they are stuck to the dish I roasted them in! ) and cooked a pud at the same time. 
* Tonight we're having a sausage hash thing to use up some open cider and soft potatoes- will get sausages out of freezer now to reduce cooking time.
* Heating snuck on due to an automation we have set up, but Mr MV has now cancelled this (it helped dry the washing though - can't hang it out until fence is back up and Mr MV is not well enough yet to do that)

Gratitudes:
* Blue sky here
* Work
* Frogs/toads 'doing their spring thing' at the allotment! 😮 (they were there the whole time I was!)

Have a good day all!

killerpeaty

Hi @themadvix, glad you had a lovely time at the wedding and that you are enjoying the allotment!

The cats might be shy now but I'm sure you'll win them over!

Cheery_Daff

Does your local council sell cheap compost? Ours sells compost made from the compost bins they collect from people's houses, I think it's about £2 a bag, not very fine potting compost but great for beds. Where we used to live it was even cheaper but you had to take your own spade and fill the bags yourself 😂

themadvix

Funny you should say that Cheery as while you've been typing, that's exactly what I've been looking at! They do, but I'm not sure it's that cheap (not helped by it being sold by a really expensive garden centre!). Sadly I don't think you can go and collect it yourself. I'll get Dad to pop to the garden centre as it's just up the road from him to see how much it is.