niq

So far I have grown borlotti beans, french beans, broad beans, carrots, radish, courgettes, acorn squash, pumpkin, potatoes, garlic, an apple tree, red and yellow raspberries, strawberries, alpine strawberries, rosemary, parsley, basil, globe artichoke, three types of hot pepper.
Everything apart from the raspberries is prone to slugs – and being a wet area, we have SO MANY slugs.
Need to think of a way to counter their destructive actions. They completely trashed all the beans this year – we have only had six broad beans (beans, not pods, that’s six BEANS), the potatoes are gutted, carrots and radishes never got off the ground. The tomatoes have survived because they’re in handing baskets, but not a big cop – small trailing plants rather than big, plum tomatoes plants in the ground. I don’t want to eat food second hand from slugs.
There is a pond with frogs in next door garden – predators.
We have so many stone walls with places for slugs to hide and breed. The garden at the back is very steep into the back of the house – north facing, not very light, very damp, not a good place for birds.
We could give the whole back to things that might grow better – blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, dry herbs like lemon balm, peppermint, rosemary – and concentrate on some key crops in the front that we raise off the ground in raised beds?
Trying to figure out how to use copper to help. Have tried coffee, sand, grit, env. friendly slug pellets, picking off by hand.

Oh dear. I have taken my eye off this ball for the last 4 years – too busy with career. Since I finished I’ve been noticing what has decayed, and how much we haven’t done. Falling ceiling. Hovel shed on the back of the house. Garden rambling. Elder daughter’s room a hovel. All this an we’re strapped for cash – of course – not enough money to pay for workers, or materials. Not enough time to do it myself.
I think I need to take time to make some small, achievable goals, that I can save up for, and do.
An inventory of existing materials, paints, filler, that could be used.
Research on how to renovate the old, flaking stone back of the house: how to brush down the flaking paint then recover in fresh, new paint.
Research on best ways to increase insulation, to reduce energy use, to minimise bills.
Schedule: what’s most important?
Schedule: put time aside to do some of these jobs.
How are we going to store husbs tools when knocking down and rebuilding the hovel shed?
How are we going to rebuild the hovel shed?
Are we going to replace the single glazing?
Repointing the porch.
Do we replace the range with an efficient boiler and ordinary cooker? How much will that cost?
Where can I get the glass from to repair the stove in the front parlor?
Where can I get cheap firewood for the winter?
What kind of mortar do I need to stick the chipped part back on the stone fireplace?
Where is the ladder for putting the stairs curtain back in place?
Where can I find a lace curtain to fit the 3m window over the stairs?
How much will it cost to resand the kitchen/hall boards? Can we sand the dogroom boards at the same time? How long will it take? Where will we live in the meantime?
What can we do about the dogroom – it’s a dumping ground. Do we need different storage? A reshuffle?
How can we mend the grandfather cloth?
Where can I find a bed for elder daughter’s room?
Where can I find a replacement mattress for our bedroom?
Who is going to repaint the front of house woodwork? How long will it take?
What state are the gutters in?
When do we prune front garden?
How can we extend growing space in garden for more crops next year?
Even if I know I can’t do some of these, putting them in a list will take them off my mind.
I’m going to organise this list and prioritise, get researching and costing things up. First off – things that need to be done for winter.

Oh my. In the last couple of years, ill and bearing a lot of responsibility, my body has gone to pot. Feeling v. bad about physical self, for multiple reasons.
I am SO BAD at clothes. I am not a pretty person: I am not naturally set up to look good. And I buy stuff that makes me look stupid! There ought to be lessons in this stuff. But at the same time, I resist it all – why is looking good the biggest career goal for so many women? At dinner last night, a family member shocked my by talking about how important it is that her kids are beautiful, thin, pretty, well-dressed. Yes, but… doesn’t she want more for her daughters?
I’m thinking black and white about this. Of course she does. Which isn’t to say it’s the only important thing. But is a reflection of how important appearance is in how others see us.
So where does that leave me: fat, old, ugly, a little charismatic, really clever? What do I do about it?