At the moment, I need to keep reminding myself that my emotional response to things is out of proportion to the actual reality of the situation. I am indeed overreacting.
There is a course starting in September just up the road from me, run by Sensory Solutions. It is a year long herbal apprenticeship (not cheap, but worth the money) and if I was in the country I would be all over it like an overenthusiastic labrador! But I ain't.
Now what I will be doing is wicked and amazing and a chance of a lifetime, and it isn't like I don't want to go. I just think it's fecking typical that this kinda thing crops up now when I won't be here.
And like I said, I am disportionately disappointed about it. Not entirely sure whether this disappointment is from the fact I have finally found a course that I want to, or that I should have been doing this type of work on my own and just got on with it. Is my procrastination kicking me up the arse again?
The thing is, yes, I could have probably done it on my own, but it is nice to speak to like-minded people that don't think you are bonkers and can help you out if the need arises.
And finally, Daisies taste of Happy and Rocket(Arugula)
Showing posts with label Gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gardening. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Monday, June 7, 2010
Really snoresome update.
Couldn't think of a title, and general update is really boring. So random keys it is.
Since the last time I have updated, there hasn't been that much news. Am slowly, slowly getting the garden sorted, even if the slugs and snails have eaten one of my corguette plants. (Gits) Will send Hubs out for a crappy beer or something, and hopefully drown the buggers. So far I have french beans, runner beans, petit pois, corguettes, pumpkins, peppers, chillis, strawberries, raspberries, an apple tree, a pear tree (although those I don't think I will get any fruit from yet). I also have oregano, thyme, lovage, basil, parsley, chives, chamomile, lavender, rosemary and dill growing in various pots.
I need to clear up around the pond, and see if I can resurrect it. It would be lovely to have an actual pond, rather than the stagnant swamp I have at the mo. It has a buddlia at the back of it that I planted last year which is growing well, and I have some broken clay pots at the back as DIY toadhomes.
Other than that, the lawn is awful, with bare patches. But I will get there eventually.
Kiddywinks are well, Hubs is doing okay at work. They really do like him there which is always a bonus. However, we have come to the decision that we HAVE to be moving next year. It will either be because the maternity leave that Hubs is covering will finish and the woman will come back, which will be the end of the Christmas term. Or preferably, Hubs will take his current year 10s through year 11, and we will be moving in the summer hols. We still really have NO idea where, but we will just have to see where the jobs come up. Obviously we have preferences, but it is really just a case of wait and see.
Hubs' dad is still suffering, but he is off to his consultant tomorrow, so hopefully they will be able to offer him something that helps.
I was down in Cornwall the last weekend of May. It was lovely down there, just wish I could drive (and had a car) so could have got around more. However it was very peaceful, the B&B was nice, and we are hoping to get down there again for the Summer hols. My friend's wedding was lovely, but it was a bit weird not having Hubs and the kids there.
This weekend just gone, we went to the Colchester Mediaeval Faire (Oysterfaire) it was nice, but I think DD got a bit hot and tired, so was grumpier than I appreciated. The stuff there was really nice, and I could have bought lots of things, but since we really don't need any of it, have nowhere to put any of it, there was no real point. (Boooo) However we did get DS a Robin Hood outfit (it looks really cool) and DD had a Fair Maiden's headpiece thing. Didn't get anything for myself. Which was disappointing. However some of the stalls are online, so I will be perusing those while Hubs is in the mood for spending money! :D
Perhaps at some point I will have some interesting and outstanding news...This isn't one of them.
Since the last time I have updated, there hasn't been that much news. Am slowly, slowly getting the garden sorted, even if the slugs and snails have eaten one of my corguette plants. (Gits) Will send Hubs out for a crappy beer or something, and hopefully drown the buggers. So far I have french beans, runner beans, petit pois, corguettes, pumpkins, peppers, chillis, strawberries, raspberries, an apple tree, a pear tree (although those I don't think I will get any fruit from yet). I also have oregano, thyme, lovage, basil, parsley, chives, chamomile, lavender, rosemary and dill growing in various pots.
I need to clear up around the pond, and see if I can resurrect it. It would be lovely to have an actual pond, rather than the stagnant swamp I have at the mo. It has a buddlia at the back of it that I planted last year which is growing well, and I have some broken clay pots at the back as DIY toadhomes.
Other than that, the lawn is awful, with bare patches. But I will get there eventually.
Kiddywinks are well, Hubs is doing okay at work. They really do like him there which is always a bonus. However, we have come to the decision that we HAVE to be moving next year. It will either be because the maternity leave that Hubs is covering will finish and the woman will come back, which will be the end of the Christmas term. Or preferably, Hubs will take his current year 10s through year 11, and we will be moving in the summer hols. We still really have NO idea where, but we will just have to see where the jobs come up. Obviously we have preferences, but it is really just a case of wait and see.
Hubs' dad is still suffering, but he is off to his consultant tomorrow, so hopefully they will be able to offer him something that helps.
I was down in Cornwall the last weekend of May. It was lovely down there, just wish I could drive (and had a car) so could have got around more. However it was very peaceful, the B&B was nice, and we are hoping to get down there again for the Summer hols. My friend's wedding was lovely, but it was a bit weird not having Hubs and the kids there.
This weekend just gone, we went to the Colchester Mediaeval Faire (Oysterfaire) it was nice, but I think DD got a bit hot and tired, so was grumpier than I appreciated. The stuff there was really nice, and I could have bought lots of things, but since we really don't need any of it, have nowhere to put any of it, there was no real point. (Boooo) However we did get DS a Robin Hood outfit (it looks really cool) and DD had a Fair Maiden's headpiece thing. Didn't get anything for myself. Which was disappointing. However some of the stalls are online, so I will be perusing those while Hubs is in the mood for spending money! :D
Perhaps at some point I will have some interesting and outstanding news...This isn't one of them.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Day 8.
The diet isn't going too well at the moment. I have the mother of all colds. It isn't detoxing, since the kids have had it as well, and they aren't doing the diet (obviously). But what this means is my energy levels are severely lacking at the moment.
Other than that, Hubs is coming around to the healthy eating marlarky, (although his first attempt at a Green Smoothie did leave something to be desired.)
ION, have bought 2 hanging baskets for strawberries and tumbling tomatoes, and 2 pots of grow your own salads. Hopefully I should feel well enough to get out in the garden to do some stuff out there. I have just watched Grow Your Own Drugs and it has made me want a chamomile seat. However, Hubs has said we don't really have room, so might have to wait until the next house! (Booooo, but he has a point.)
But if anyone out there feels like sending me some anti-germ vibes, it would be much appreciated.
Other than that, Hubs is coming around to the healthy eating marlarky, (although his first attempt at a Green Smoothie did leave something to be desired.)
ION, have bought 2 hanging baskets for strawberries and tumbling tomatoes, and 2 pots of grow your own salads. Hopefully I should feel well enough to get out in the garden to do some stuff out there. I have just watched Grow Your Own Drugs and it has made me want a chamomile seat. However, Hubs has said we don't really have room, so might have to wait until the next house! (Booooo, but he has a point.)
But if anyone out there feels like sending me some anti-germ vibes, it would be much appreciated.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
101 Things To Do In 1001 Days
Am starting to think about doing this. There are lots of things I would love to do, and lots of things I need to do and I usually procrastinate my way out of them. Which is defeatist and silly. 1001 days is about 2 and 3/4 years. There isn't really much that can't be accomplished in that amount of time.
So I am going to start my 101 list and see where it leads me.
EDIT: This took me ages, and isn't really in any order of importance. Basically they were written as they popped into my head. I tried sorting them out, but it was too complicated.
101 Things To Do In 1001 Days.
1) Get down to between ten and a half/eleven stone.
2) Do an elimination diet and work out exactly what I am allergic to. DONE (dairy)
3) Establish an exercise routine that I enjoy and want to do.
4) Investigate laser eye treatment. DONE - CAN'T HAVE IT, EYES TOO WONKY
5) Save up for breast reduction.
6) Have at least one decent complementary therapy a month.
7) Buy myself a decent pair of trainers. DONE - Bought MBTs
8) Learn Yoga from a private tutor.
9) Go swimming every week. (DOING)
10) Learn how to do a handstand.
11) Join a Life Drawing class
12) Make space for a creative area in my home. (DONE)
13) Draw/Paint every week. (DOING)
14) Re-learn to use the sewing machine.
15) Learn to adapt/make clothes.
16) Make myself an outfit that is fit to be seen in.
17) Make a dress for Josie.
18) Learn to crochet.
19) Learn to knit
20) Make all my presents for the year.
21) De-clutter the flat (DONE)
22) Redecorate the flat (DONE)
23) Sell the flat (DOING)
24) Move into our lovely new big house (DONE) but not our forever house.
25) Create a garden following Permaculture ideologies
26) Do another Permaculture course
27) Grow most of our fruit and veg
28) Buy Organic Box Scheme fruit and veg to make up
29) Teach Owen and Josie how to garden
30) Create an outdoor temple space.
31) Start/join a Goddess group - DOING
32) Start/join a Pagan moot
33) Create a dedicated space in my home (DOING)
34) Celebrate the Esbats and Sabbats more formally. (DOING)
35) Visit Avebury
36) Go to the Goddess Conference again
37) Make myself a silk ritual robe
38) Memorise The Charge of The Goddess
39) Go on holiday to Malta and visit the Goddess sites
40) Go on a Bush craft course
41) Read a fiction book every month
42) Read a non-fiction book every month
43) Subscribe to a magazine for a year (Spirit and Destiny?)
44) Rejoin a library (DONE)
45) Join an Real Life book club
46) Charityshop all the books I will never read again
47) Write a children's storybook and illustrate it myself.
48) Write a novel, even if it's crap and I am the only one that reads it.
49) Write a proper Diary/Journal as well as Blogging
50) Do a formal course in Herbalism
51) Become less reliant on the telly for company (DONE)
52) Paint a fantasy world in Josie's bedroom (when she has her own room)
53) Let Owen decorate his own room.
54) Take singing lessons
55) Learn to ride a horse
56) Learn to belly dance
57) Get the tattoo I have always wanted
58) Get my nose pierced again
59) Go to a Farmer's Market DONE - new one to go every other month at least
60) Take more photos of Life and the Kids
61) Learn Welsh
62) Get over my fear of Maths (DONE)
63) Get my Maths GCSE DONE - passed Aug 2011
64) Look into options of becoming an English teacher
65) Find a job that I actually want and like to do
66) Set up a joint account for bills and such (DONE)
67) Set up a single account for odds and sods
68) Save money.
69) Go to the park once a week with the children
70) Go for summer picnics
71) Get hair cut really short and dye it a wacky colour DONE>
72) Stop being such a frump and let that inner BoHo out.
73) Learn to drive
74) Ride a motorbike
75) Wear sexy shoes at least once a month
76) Have only attractive underwear
77) Stay out alone all night in the "wilderness"
78) Start making own cosmetics.
79) Write my Will
80) Buy some expensive jewellery
81) Buy an original piece of art
82) Buy flowers once a month
83) Have a painting exhibited.
84) Teach Owen how to make a Journal
85) Make a "Date-Night" with husband
86) See friends at least one every other month.
87) Go to the cinema every other month (if haven't gone on Date-Night)
88) PERSONAL
89) Print off photos on PC and put in proper albums
90) Get an article published
91) Create a rockabilly outfit for going out
92) Sponsor a child
93) Go vegetarian for a month DONE, AND STILL DOING
94) Go vegan for a week DONE
95) Go to a concert of someone familiar SONISPHERE
96) Go to a concert of someone completely random SONISPHERE
97) Bake a cake once a week.
98) Start making own herbal remedies
99) Get a Northern Inuit dog
100) Create a monthly budget and stick to it
101) One takeaway every other month. (DONE) Less than that infact.
So I am going to start my 101 list and see where it leads me.
EDIT: This took me ages, and isn't really in any order of importance. Basically they were written as they popped into my head. I tried sorting them out, but it was too complicated.
101 Things To Do In 1001 Days.
1) Get down to between ten and a half/eleven stone.
2) Do an elimination diet and work out exactly what I am allergic to. DONE (dairy)
3) Establish an exercise routine that I enjoy and want to do.
4) Investigate laser eye treatment. DONE - CAN'T HAVE IT, EYES TOO WONKY
5) Save up for breast reduction.
6) Have at least one decent complementary therapy a month.
7) Buy myself a decent pair of trainers. DONE - Bought MBTs
8) Learn Yoga from a private tutor.
9) Go swimming every week. (DOING)
10) Learn how to do a handstand.
11) Join a Life Drawing class
12) Make space for a creative area in my home. (DONE)
13) Draw/Paint every week. (DOING)
14) Re-learn to use the sewing machine.
15) Learn to adapt/make clothes.
16) Make myself an outfit that is fit to be seen in.
17) Make a dress for Josie.
18) Learn to crochet.
19) Learn to knit
20) Make all my presents for the year.
21) De-clutter the flat (DONE)
22) Redecorate the flat (DONE)
23) Sell the flat (DOING)
24) Move into our lovely new big house (DONE) but not our forever house.
25) Create a garden following Permaculture ideologies
26) Do another Permaculture course
27) Grow most of our fruit and veg
28) Buy Organic Box Scheme fruit and veg to make up
29) Teach Owen and Josie how to garden
30) Create an outdoor temple space.
31) Start/join a Goddess group - DOING
32) Start/join a Pagan moot
33) Create a dedicated space in my home (DOING)
34) Celebrate the Esbats and Sabbats more formally. (DOING)
35) Visit Avebury
36) Go to the Goddess Conference again
37) Make myself a silk ritual robe
38) Memorise The Charge of The Goddess
39) Go on holiday to Malta and visit the Goddess sites
40) Go on a Bush craft course
41) Read a fiction book every month
42) Read a non-fiction book every month
43) Subscribe to a magazine for a year (Spirit and Destiny?)
44) Rejoin a library (DONE)
45) Join an Real Life book club
46) Charityshop all the books I will never read again
47) Write a children's storybook and illustrate it myself.
48) Write a novel, even if it's crap and I am the only one that reads it.
49) Write a proper Diary/Journal as well as Blogging
50) Do a formal course in Herbalism
51) Become less reliant on the telly for company (DONE)
52) Paint a fantasy world in Josie's bedroom (when she has her own room)
53) Let Owen decorate his own room.
54) Take singing lessons
55) Learn to ride a horse
56) Learn to belly dance
57) Get the tattoo I have always wanted
58) Get my nose pierced again
59) Go to a Farmer's Market DONE - new one to go every other month at least
60) Take more photos of Life and the Kids
61) Learn Welsh
62) Get over my fear of Maths (DONE)
63) Get my Maths GCSE DONE - passed Aug 2011
64) Look into options of becoming an English teacher
65) Find a job that I actually want and like to do
66) Set up a joint account for bills and such (DONE)
67) Set up a single account for odds and sods
68) Save money.
69) Go to the park once a week with the children
70) Go for summer picnics
71) Get hair cut really short and dye it a wacky colour DONE>
72) Stop being such a frump and let that inner BoHo out.
73) Learn to drive
74) Ride a motorbike
75) Wear sexy shoes at least once a month
76) Have only attractive underwear
77) Stay out alone all night in the "wilderness"
78) Start making own cosmetics.
79) Write my Will
80) Buy some expensive jewellery
81) Buy an original piece of art
82) Buy flowers once a month
83) Have a painting exhibited.
84) Teach Owen how to make a Journal
85) Make a "Date-Night" with husband
86) See friends at least one every other month.
87) Go to the cinema every other month (if haven't gone on Date-Night)
88) PERSONAL
89) Print off photos on PC and put in proper albums
90) Get an article published
91) Create a rockabilly outfit for going out
92) Sponsor a child
93) Go vegetarian for a month DONE, AND STILL DOING
94) Go vegan for a week DONE
95) Go to a concert of someone familiar SONISPHERE
96) Go to a concert of someone completely random SONISPHERE
97) Bake a cake once a week.
98) Start making own herbal remedies
99) Get a Northern Inuit dog
100) Create a monthly budget and stick to it
101) One takeaway every other month. (DONE) Less than that infact.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Monday, December 1, 2008
Being green, a personal view
I am really trying hard to live a green life, and I will admit sometimes it is a fecking struggle. I would be greener if I could be, but I feel that my home does conspire against me on occasion. We have a leasehold maisonette, ex council, and it is bloody awful really. We need a new boiler and central heating system, but can't afford to change it. We have really badly installed double glazing. So while we try to manage our heating responsibly, sometimes we are fighting a losing battle. We have a tiny, shittily laid out kitchen which I loathe. Seriously, I think it was laid out by someone that never cooked as it really isn't sympathetic to cooking. Which is a bit daft for a kitchen.
We do cook from scratch a lot though, which makes a small and messy kitchen worse, but it is worth it in the long run. It means that I know what my children are eating, how much it costs, and nothing goes to waste. We still occasionally get take-out, but it's not often and very much outweighed by the good stuff.
We recycle a lot. And it gets a bit ridiculous in a tiny kitchen. What we need is a larger kitchen with beeegbins! But it isn't really going to happen. So we have piles of cardboard, paper and plastic bottles in a corner of the kitchen. Oh, and don't get me on about fecking plastic bottles. (Evil things!)
We are on our 2nd compost bin. A big one which I am quite proud about. Just unfortunately, our garden is soggy, so don't get out there as much as I would like. We would have a waterbutt, but our gutters are enclosed and made of something very hard and unbreakable. We don't have a roof for solar panels, and a mini windturbine wouldn't work either.
Oh, another thing I don't do! Clean! LOL! Sorry, not really. But I am not so worried about keeping the place spotless. FFS, I have 2 kids, a cat and a dog, and a Hubs who teachs Tech! Tidy ain't ever really gonna happen! I am slowly decluttering the flat though. We are looking to moving in a couple of years, so the less crap we have the better. Finally got rid of our table and chairs on Freecycle, and have replaced them with my nan's old table and chairs which takes up a lot less room. I realised looking around my living room that there are only two items of furniture that aren't second hand. I really am not bothered by the "new and shiney" so will happily make do with quality second hand stuff.
I don't drive and we don't have a car. I do say that's because we are really green and worthy, but really if I am honest it is down to lack of opportunity and cost. But still, if it gives me extra greenie points I will be smug about it! :P It is a pain in the arse though sometimes, like today, when I have to get to Bishops Stortford with children in about an hour! Might be do-able. Will just have to do it and see.
We are looking into getting an allotment. We did start trying to grow stuff in our garden, but it is really too damp and dull in there. We have huge leylandii that I am trying to love. We didn't put them in, and they are so big now it would cost us an absolute fortune to get them removed.
I think that's what I am moaning about really. All the things I would like to do would cost money, we can't do since we are a leasehold, or we just don't have the space. When we move, hopefully all the plans that I have in my head will be able to come to fruition. In the meantime, we do the best we can and I know we are at least trying.
We do cook from scratch a lot though, which makes a small and messy kitchen worse, but it is worth it in the long run. It means that I know what my children are eating, how much it costs, and nothing goes to waste. We still occasionally get take-out, but it's not often and very much outweighed by the good stuff.
We recycle a lot. And it gets a bit ridiculous in a tiny kitchen. What we need is a larger kitchen with beeegbins! But it isn't really going to happen. So we have piles of cardboard, paper and plastic bottles in a corner of the kitchen. Oh, and don't get me on about fecking plastic bottles. (Evil things!)
We are on our 2nd compost bin. A big one which I am quite proud about. Just unfortunately, our garden is soggy, so don't get out there as much as I would like. We would have a waterbutt, but our gutters are enclosed and made of something very hard and unbreakable. We don't have a roof for solar panels, and a mini windturbine wouldn't work either.
Oh, another thing I don't do! Clean! LOL! Sorry, not really. But I am not so worried about keeping the place spotless. FFS, I have 2 kids, a cat and a dog, and a Hubs who teachs Tech! Tidy ain't ever really gonna happen! I am slowly decluttering the flat though. We are looking to moving in a couple of years, so the less crap we have the better. Finally got rid of our table and chairs on Freecycle, and have replaced them with my nan's old table and chairs which takes up a lot less room. I realised looking around my living room that there are only two items of furniture that aren't second hand. I really am not bothered by the "new and shiney" so will happily make do with quality second hand stuff.
I don't drive and we don't have a car. I do say that's because we are really green and worthy, but really if I am honest it is down to lack of opportunity and cost. But still, if it gives me extra greenie points I will be smug about it! :P It is a pain in the arse though sometimes, like today, when I have to get to Bishops Stortford with children in about an hour! Might be do-able. Will just have to do it and see.
We are looking into getting an allotment. We did start trying to grow stuff in our garden, but it is really too damp and dull in there. We have huge leylandii that I am trying to love. We didn't put them in, and they are so big now it would cost us an absolute fortune to get them removed.
I think that's what I am moaning about really. All the things I would like to do would cost money, we can't do since we are a leasehold, or we just don't have the space. When we move, hopefully all the plans that I have in my head will be able to come to fruition. In the meantime, we do the best we can and I know we are at least trying.
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