A Frog A Week Equals A Special Treat 2022

Rosa_Damascena

So I started tackling a big frog in my home last week, and that is my garden. I can't say I'm doing much aside from tidying up / chopping down atm but it makes a difference to a) the appearance of the garden and b) my physical wellbeing after a session of stretching and c) my view of the garden when I get a chance to relax! Just trimming the lawn makes an amazing difference, its getting to the point it will need attention twice a week and I am ready for it.

Strangely enough, my big motivator here was money! I have subscribed to weekly garden waste collections so I am as sure as eggs going to get my money's worth out of it. No more lugging builders bags down to the tip.

leftatthetrafficlights

Rosa_Damascena said:

So I started tackling a big frog in my home last week, and that is my garden. I can't say I'm doing much aside from tidying up / chopping down atm but it makes a difference to a) the appearance of the garden and b) my physical wellbeing after a session of stretching and c) my view of the garden when I get a chance to relax! Just trimming the lawn makes an amazing difference, its getting to the point it will need attention twice a week and I am ready for it.

Strangely enough, my big motivator here was money! I have subscribed to weekly garden waste collections so I am as sure as eggs going to get my money's worth out of it. No more lugging builders bags down to the tip.

Well done on making a start! 🙌

Gardens are always an ongoing project but once the major stuff is done (ours looked like a cross between a jungle &building site at one point! 🤦‍♀️) it's so much easier to find the motivation for maintenance 😁 

Money is a perfectly acceptable motivator in my opinion! We pay for a garden bin and I like to get my money's worth too - although we compost most of our garden waste, once grass cutting starts in earnest we definitely need it! I always put the brambles, rose cuttings, bindweed and couch grass in there too - they're unwelcome visitors in my compost bins - and I love the added bonus of not wasting petrol and time going to the tip 😁 

London_1

I have a 'to-do list' and a 'been -done list'
Many years ago I worked for a chap in the radio  industry, and all of his employees were expected before they went home at night to list 'things to be done' and the 'things that had been done'
 
He would go through the lists each evening, and this that had done the most ended up with a bonus at the end of the month. It certainly did incentivise you, especially as the bonus was cash (in quite short supply at that time in my life )

It seemed to have stuck and well over 55 years later I still have my 'To-Do list' and my 'Been-done list' but now my treat usually involves a coffee and a cream cake somehwere nice  

I'm afraid that age, and clapped out arthritic joints stops me from much in the way of gardening , but my one luxury is my gardener chap who arrives once a fortnight for 6 months of the year and keeps it tidy and weed free,he also does small jobs for me that may involve climbing ladders - not a good idea with my wobbly joints - he did my washing line for me last Friday which was getting far too loose and droopy

Now my lists include things like sorting out books and stuff for the charity shop or to pass on tho friends, also my wool stash which can get a bit out of control Mainly indoor things, again not anything involving climbing.

As I'm hoping to move house possibly within the next year I an also doing quite a bit of decluttering. I just don't know where all the stuff has come from.
The last few weeks have been mainly taking an inventory of my food stocks though, and consequently I now have very little need to shop very much until next month i'm quite pleased about that .I have found things I forgot I had in the cupboards still edible though. 
Next week top of my to-do list is sorting out my cutlery drawer and kitchen utensils
 I have two drawers full of bits and pieces ,and some of them I have forgotten completely what ot even why they were bought

Did I really buy a butter gadget to produce curls of butter ? So come tomorrow I gues it would be a frog spawn list the cutlery drawers is are going to be decluttered as I really don't need to take half the stuff with me when I move as I am moving and joining with my youngest DD and family to live.  so I shall be frog-spawning away after book club tomorrow morning and the stuff to go will be washed and bagged upfor the charity shop.

Onwards and upwards chums  

JackieO 

Rosa_Damascena

London_1 said:

I'm afraid that age and clapped out arthritic joints stops me from much in the way of gardening , but my one luxury is my gardener chap who arrives once a fortnight for 6 months of the year
JackieO 

That's one thing I have had to forego, much as I love a neat and tidy garden I cannot justify spending on a gardener any more when I am perfectly capable! My dad warned me when I bought this place that I could expect to spend at least £1,000 a year on garden maintenance and my smart answer to him was that I'm fit and well enough to DIY, not anticipating how tome consuming it is. Now the evenings are lighter I think I'll go out there for half an hour, but then I get motivated to get as much as I can before it gets dark and feel well-exercised after.

leftatthetrafficlights

Welcome @London_1 - good luck with your spawn! 😁 

@Rosa_Damascena - I know that we didn't anticipate the amount of work and time our garden would take either! We bought the house on the strength of the size of the garden (had kids and dogs at the time - it's not massive but a lot bigger than we moved from) and at first it was relatively simple - it was basically lawn everywhere so mowing was the only job to do. 

Now that the kids have flown the nest and we have no dogs, we have added flowerbeds, raised beds for growing veg, more trees, compost bins etc and now a pond! While all of this brings us a lot of pleasure, it also takes a lot to maintain - much more than I expected anyway! 

However, the satisfaction I get from seeing the end results after a good day/evening out there outweighs the knowledge that there will always be more to be done! 😉 You're absolutely right that it's a great form of exercise too - as someone who loathes even the thought of exercise,  the fact I can get some in without even thinking about it is a massive bonus 😁

annieb64

JackieO-we moved last year after 33 years in the same house. I was horrified at how much stuff we had.

I had a butter curler too plus a thing for making  melon balls and one for stoning cherries. 

joedenise

Glad I'm not the only one who had a butter curler and melon baller!  I also had a zester and as I don't bake it definitely wasn't of any use to me!  All went to the charity shop many years ago!

leftatthetrafficlights

Update time! 

FROGS 

Complete pond
Sort compost bins 
Install tap in front garden
Remove piping from old tap in garden
Weed front garden beds
Sort cracked plaster in bedrooms 
Sort boards for under windowsills 
Lower fireplace

FROGLETS 
Dig out bog garden
Make 2nd framework for veg bed netting 
Clean grout in hallway 
Sort understair cupboard 

TADPOLES 

Sort hanging baskets 
Weed small flower beds
Move snowdrops
Plant bog garden
Plant castor oil and canna plants
Clean bathroom radiator 
Sort doorbell
Descale shower head
Sort wine

SPAWN 

Move greenhouse plants to coldframe
Raise lemons off the ground 
Replace shower hose
Repot butterfly Plant
Repot orchid
Feed houseplants
Move artwork from office to bedrooms
Hang photos in office


Bold, italic stuff done - got loads more to add to the list though! 😂 it's been a busy few weeks but I'm really pleased with the progress we've made! 

leftatthetrafficlights

We've been busy over the past few weeks- lots of things done that aren't on the list! 😂 

However, I'll update anyway - I'm starting a new list in August when I finish work as I'll have different things to do and more time to do it! 🙌 

(Completed stuff in bold italics) 

FROGS 

Complete pond
Sort compost bins 
Install tap in front garden
Remove piping from old tap in garden
Weed front garden beds
Sort cracked plaster in bedrooms 
Sort boards for under windowsills 
Lower fireplace

FROGLETS 
Dig out bog garden
Make 2nd framework for veg bed netting 
Clean grout in hallway 
Sort understair cupboard 

TADPOLES 

Sort hanging baskets 
Weed small flower beds
Move snowdrops
Plant bog garden
Plant castor oil and canna plants
Clean bathroom radiator 
Sort doorbell
Descale shower head
Sort wine

SPAWN 

Move greenhouse plants to coldframe
Raise lemons off the ground 
Replace shower hose
Repot butterfly Plant
Repot orchid
Feed houseplants
Move artwork from office to bedrooms
Hang photos in office

The indoor stuff will be done in the autumn/winter when the weather turns - we'd much rather be in the garden while we can be. 

I've been giving myself very mse treats - relaxing with a book, an hour of 'me' time, body treatments etc once I've completed something so I'm definitely getting the hang of 'rewarding' myself now 😁

leftatthetrafficlights

Another month gone and lots of 'off list' stuff completed 😂 few bits off the original list too though so not too bad! 

New list will go up at the end of next month once work is done - I'm currently devising it and it will include the autumn/winter jobs. 

(Completed stuff in bold italics) 

FROGS 

Complete pond
Sort compost bins 
Install tap in front garden
Remove piping from old tap in garden
Weed front garden beds
Sort cracked plaster in bedrooms 
Sort boards for under windowsills 
Lower fireplace

FROGLETS 
Dig out bog garden
Make 2nd framework for veg bed netting 
Clean grout in hallway 
Sort understair cupboard 

TADPOLES 

Sort hanging baskets 
Weed small flower beds
Move snowdrops
Plant bog garden
Plant castor oil and canna plants
Clean bathroom radiator 
Sort doorbell
Descale shower head
Sort wine

SPAWN 

Move greenhouse plants to coldframe
Raise lemons off the ground 
Replace shower hose
Repot butterfly Plant
Repot orchid
Feed houseplants
Move artwork from office to bedrooms
Hang photos in office