Live on £4000 for a year - Part 2

bails

Pirategirl wrote: »

Anyway..what I was trying to put across, is that there must be many others who feel like I do - quite intelligent (lol) but just for whatever reason not able to reach their potential. It's awful knowing you could be doing so much better.
I just feel like such a spanner. .... Makes me feel like a complete faliure!.... Also very frustrating.
*sigh*

I could have written this myself Pirategirl, and I know others on here also feel the same. :grouphug:

One of the things my illness has taught me is to reevaluate my whole life perspective, and this thread has been an absolute gem of a find as part of enabling me to make different choices. I had never once considered not following the conventional path in terms of my career - I may have done crazy things at weekends and during my hols but it never crossed my mind that I could do anything other than work full-time etc, even with kids. I was going to take some time out to write a book but that was an indulgence that I'd saved hard for, not a longterm lifestyle choice. Now my world is so, so different and I have such a altered perspective, which continues to evolve. What I'm trying to say is that there are no rules to this life; forget what society and 'the norm' dictate and carve a unique path out for yourself to follow. I have a photo of a friend running up a massive sand dune in the desert, perfectly untouched except for his footprints and underneath the caption - 'Beaten paths are for beaten men'. I always loved this but it has taken on a whole new resonance these past few years. You, and I, and anyone else out there can find a way to utilise our intelligence and achieve our potential.
I mentioned Triz to Nyk the other day, something OH had to do this year for his engineering which I'd not come across before and found really interesting (Google it). This is what I'm going to use to try and find my alternative path, perhaps it could help you too? You can apply it to anything, big or small; I've only played with it so far and it amazes me what radical things spring up I'd never have envisaged.

Sorry for the wibble, I do think this is relevant to our thread though, as lifestyle choice, whether chosen or picked for us, does underpin what we're doing on here.

Janey, welcome home, great to have you back and to hear you had a lovely time. I survived London relatively unscathed and didn't spend a penny except for the train fare and tube (thanks for the heads up about which travelcard to get Mr DT). The highlight of my day was the free newspaper I picked up on the train, which I shall luxuriate in now as my day is a hangover write-off

There was more to say but I won't hog the thread any more just now...

grandma247

Well I have caught up again. Not too bad this time as you all seem to have taken advantage of the weather.

You all seem to have had an eventful week. I hope you are all ok. I am tired as I didnt sleep well last night. Some young moorons kicked our door in in the afternoon and nearly caused myself and DIL to have a heart attack. Police dealt with it but I don't think we have heard the last of it. I like this house but hate the kids around here.

On a nicer note we got a new grandaughter on tuesday night. Freya Anna- Marie 8lbs1oz. lots of black hair.

Re the lettuce in guttering-- we have sown peas in guttering and kept them in the greenhouse till we were ready to put them in the garden. You just make a trench with a hoe and push one end of the soil in the guttering so it all slides along into the trench and hey presto a row of peas!

bails

Grandma, what a truly awful thing to happen, I hope you're both alright? I struggle to understand young people sometimes, and they're meant to be my speciality! Wishing you both well.

Oh, just remembered (sorry I know I said I was going to shut up) - Whitewing did you look into the funding for the OU degree, because I think you might be able to get help, from what I remember reading *goes off to check in case making a boo boo*

grandma247

Yes we are fine just tired now. Most of the kids around here are badly behave and if an incident I witnessed the other day is the norm I am not suprised they behave badly. I saw a young mother of a child I could not see because it was hidden by a pushchair hit the child repeatedly whilst using some of the most disgusting language I have ever heard.
I practically had to run from the scene because I wanted to go across and hit her!!!
It is not that I am against smacking but what she did bordered on child abuse.

Frugaldom

Welcome back to everyone who has been away.
Congratulations Grandma247 on latest arrival (hope the troublesome kids get sorted out - I can't abide swearing but have a neighbour who does so constantly!)
Lynda, I don't recall your dating scenario, so spill the beans!!

Janey, great to see you back on form and I'm glad I'm not the only one starting stockpiling for winter. :beer:

Bails, I'm trying to find out abou TRIZ but am using my own methods of problem-solving, called 'fingers crossed'. :rotfl:

Today has been another sunny day, so the washing was out first thing and then I was straight into the garden. It started just as a bit of weeding then I decided to get HS to help chop down all the dead branches from the trees at bottom of the garden, so I got 2 boxes of sticks chopped from that lot. That was when I decided to make a start on clearing along the hedgerow between us an next door. Low and behold... you will never believe what I have uncovered! :j :j :j A full row of willow! Now, if anyone recalls the tale of my Wishing Book, you might remember that I had written a list of items in there that I would like when I eventually afford to buy my own house; renewable fuel was one of them, specifically, WILLOW! I was so excited! I have dragged out all of the deadwood and it's all chopped into sticks and it's completely filled a massive box! Next I'll need to dig out all along the row to clear the weeds, plus we also uncovered a couple more slabs.
Back on the subject of weeding - one side of our garden is bordered by next door's outbuildings, so it's quite shaded. I had planted a load of daffodils in that border, plus there are a few poppies coming through that I didn't know were there. anyhow, I was weeding there when I discovered what looks like bramble bushes sprouting through at an alarming rate. I would love these to grow and produce fruit. Does anyone know what I can do so these will develop properly and grow fruit? And if these grow alright, does that mean I could grow raspeberry canes there for next year?

Today's garden expedition has been particularly fruitful, especially as I have also picked the first of the lettuce leaves and am off to make salad to have with the chicken. Sorry to have babbled on for so long, I was excited by finding all the willow. I should mention that I am really, really lucky with this garden as it's over 150' long. I can think of loads to do with it now I know we can stay here a while longer. :T

Marru

Hi all,

I have had very much a spending day. I have stocked up with food for all my animal friends and went to Mr L to get stuff to bake my first HM loaf. They didn't have the flour I wanted so off to Mr S to get the rest. Funny thing with this shopping trip was that I ran out of tea earlier this week and decided not to buy it until I get to go to Mr L. I had finished in Mr L and also finished at Mr S when I remembered my tea. So off to my local co-op to get it. I was so miffed by that time that I bought my favourite tea and stuffed the cost. Also treated myself with pack of jaffa cakes to really enhance my tea enjoyment after depriving myself for such a long time for no reason at all.

Lesson learned - make a shopping list! I have been meaning to do a proper meal plan and a shopping list but it has somehow been dropping down on the "to do" list and then I end up making emergy dashes to the shops to keep us going. So my plan is now that by the end of the month I have a proper plan for June and armed with shopping list I will hit the shops. As long as I keep DD in veggie sausages, chips, pasta, oranges and joghurt I should be ok. I can live on cheese and pickle toasties, soup and potatoes with beans. Weezles thread has some yammy sandwich ideas so I need to go and [STRIKE]steal them[/STRIKE] seek inspiration from them before my next shop.

I think I am going to change my rules in this challenge in the end of May AGAIN (with a knock on effect to the interest beater challenge). What a fickle female I am. I need to do some calculations first. This is all because I read book by Alvin D Hall and what he was writing about a life insurance if one has dependants and also pension planning. So I have put my thinking cap on and wondered how I can best way utilize my situation to make at least some improvement in those areas. But as I said it is all on the drawing board at the moment.

Have a great evening everybody.

Marru
(33 nights to go :j)

Pirategirl

Firstly, thank you to everyone who has messaged me about my post. I will try not to have a wobble on here again, tho I cant promise anything

Bails - I will have a look at Triz, thank you for the suggestion. Also, thanks for what you said about not having to follow the 'norm'. More and more I am feeling that what is 'normal' is not for me...just need to find the solution, and have the guts to take that step!

In the meantime, I will continue to take inspiration and ideas from everyone on this site, and try to make my life better for me, not just 'what is expected'.

Once again, thanks everyone, really really appreciate the support.

redglass_2

I sent a long message which got wiped because the site said i wasn't logged on...when i was...my computer is still playing up. :mad: I can't write it all out again, haven't got time now, but will just send a dodgy hug to those who've been having a bit of a rough time lately and say hello to everyone else. :grouphug:

Pirategirl

The dodgy hugs make me laugh!

That is all.

grandma247

Redglass I type what I want to say in word pad if it is long or I want to reply to several things. Then just highlight it all and click copy then paste. If you get a problem with the site you still have what you wanted to say so can just copy it again. It is useful if you have to fill in forms too.