The Cybergarden - Late Summer Edition

[madmouse]

Sorry been unfaithful, lots going on. But making myself useful - here's your new thread x

Gosh, shodatin, what an exhausting day. I'm glad your temporary helper is nice - hope she proves sensible and doesn't leave you thinking "less effort to do it myself - even when I can't".

Oh dear for your abridged star... Mind you, if that's the only damage we'll all have got off lightly. hob how very frightening that DH was out in it. Good to hear he got in safely, and I hope the rest of our nearest and dearest are safe too.

Upward, that's that your DNephew was Design and Management for your Christmas tree decorations!

Thank you all for your perspectives on utility bills. Will definitely be looking at new payment method and supplier for power. Finding a greener supplier has been on the cards for a while, but I wasn't well enough to do the price comparisons so just let everything slide and DP's pathologically crap at standing up to anyone, so the utilities make mincemeat of him. Another task for the New Year.

Hope it's blown itself out over you, shodatin so you can sleep, and that we all have a good, restful night.

I hope people got some rest despite the gales and the rain.

On looking outside, it seems a good day to procrastinate indoors sort through my email accounts or something else useful.

Here's some and

Haven't found much gale damage, thankfully, and only one bit of star to pick up, hope everyone else was so lucky. So pleased tianc managed to hold on to HF who was having an unscheduled flight yesterday evening, and hope she's not too disturbed today. I turned light out at 3.30 a.m. and slept well, thankyou.

A quiet, sunny morning again, so will get at "to do" list after espresso (makes enough for passers-by and remembers trusty biscuit tin).

We seem to have crossed earlier upward, but rarely refuse a , so thankyou, and hope you had a lovely day indoors, with time for something interesting. Don't know where today's gone, must be something to do with shorter list I see before me.
Don't like to mention it, but there are more windy noises outside... Hope no-one has to go out, if it's windy again.

Oops, so we did shodatin

I've been mostly doing admin, v slow, but at least I kept out of the rain/wind/snow/hail (possibly completed most of my Christmas cards). I'm glad your list has got shorter!

rugs & throws even

Open fire in summerhouse definitely a good idea, ditto comfortable furniture, and wish I could stay up, but have to get to bed now or maybe never.
Peaceful nights, everyone.

by the fire in the summerhouse! With warm rugs! Bliss bliss bliss!

Those sound very productive days, upward and shodatin - glad you eventually slept despite gales.

Sorry about the damage to the star. Is it mendable?

Minor progress here too. Parcel that courier kept rescheduling or running off without delivering finally arrived. So after several days of sentinel duty, checking the street before and after, I can now get to the loo in peace...

Sleep well tight all, and hope those windy noises were a false alarm!

to hob when she resurfaces!

And of course to madmouse, kizzie and anyone else visiting!

Really good news re parcel delivery tianc, some of them don';t seem to have got the delivery idea at all, and persist in moving item backwards and forwards as if "in transit" is a normal state until the wind changes, or something similar, and of course we all know that the way to get a delivery is to settle in the bath/groom legs or make pastry, any of these seem to work as a trigger.
Will stop rambling and just be thankful with you that one problem is now sorted.
Another beautiful morning - am enjoying climate change here so far- and no sign of further damage. Have glued bits back on star, determined it will last the season, being simple, low-tech and a one-off, being home-made.

Off to put on kettle - s available very soon, as I see the fairies or similar have been in overnight to clean out and re-set the open fire in here, just in time for first refreshment.

Laughing out loud here at "in transit is a normal state until the wind changes"!

Glad you survived another night of storms.

Thanks for the . much needed. I got a letter from SS today, they're switching me from direct payments to individual budget, and cutting it by £205 per week (almost halving it), whilst saying that my needs are more than before. Not great timing.

Oh god.

Is there anything you can do (or get a disability advocate to do) to challenge it?

I need to find out what there is locally, good idea TIANC It's complicated, but the council funding my care is a distance from where I actually live.

Ah of course, you moved to be a student? So everything's still "between two stools".

Painful paperwork.

Thank you for keeping on ,shodatin and Tianc

Hateful , outrageous news , upward , and hope you can find advice very soon . (((( upward))))

Long post I've written in Notepad doesn't seem appropriate atm , so just sending strengthening thoughts & prayers ( am OTT as ever ) and heartfelt apologies for sporadic posting

< HF settles companianably at upward's feet , having been enjoying summerhouse stove & eying shodatin's lovely open fire >

Don;t feel you can't post - they make this change over 12months, so no immediate danger.

Thanks upward - not meaning to draw attention to self - and didn't like using the word "news" for contents of SS letter as there are many hurdles for them to negotiate before they can make changes . Very glad to hear any proposed changes wouldn't be for some time , anyway , as obviously people in this situation need to make their case < rage rage rage > .

Hope you get good advice from legal advice centre / disability groups / solicitor , if any doing free initial consultation. Wil clunkily C&P post I wrote earlier once shodatin & friends have had a chance to see all today's posts

< sets out wholesome , effort free lunch for all on summerhouse table >

< puts HF's packed lunch in time machine & sets dial to land at upward's feet >

< machine lands very heavily as hob overindulges HF , who is a cat of delicate build , & very tempting to "feed up" >

Have just returned to laptop after chores etc, and shocked at news from upward - that is such a shame and so unfair and unreasonable, but I guess you feel same way. We have good people here at Disability Action Group, believe they're volunteers but it's the first place I'd try for help in dealing with anything like this. Am absolutely amazed that same letter mentions needs being more than before, and don't know how some people sleep at night.
Lovely to have a wholesome lunch prepared hob, and pleased to note that HF does well at meal-times too.

Wish I could claim credit for open fire, but I think it was upward's good idea originally, and I was delighted to find it cleaned out and replenished for the day when I arrived this morning.

Excellent advice for upward , shodatin , and I hope upward has had somehing to take her mind off that stress today .

Me too laughing , Tianc at " ...backwards and forwards , as if 'in transit' is a normal state until the wind changes" .... at interrupted pastry

Lovely morning here too ,shodatin's .Hope your unique star is back in place .Was thinking of you probably being unable to sleep the other night - so glad you dropped off without nightmares

You are very disciplined , upward& I hope your admin and other tasks yesterday weren't too tedious .

3 friends today with stressful news .. so hoping things work out for all.

More worried than before for poor dh , who is making himself ill with overwork to keep up with unfair demands of job . I feel he has no options at all , because I can't earn more than token amounts, but he dreads leaving job as is at the age when hard to get new position and having retrained et over 15 + years , doesn't know what elsee he might get full time . I keep tormentng nagging him about people I've known whose health has been wrecked by pressure , but the only true option is to move away from this very expensive area , and our elderly relatives , which is why we stayed here in first place . He's trying to psyche himself up to make these decisions & we just know it'll turn out OK in the long run .

Oooh , open fire , my favourite < HF transfers from blissful spot in front of summerhouse stove to shodatin's fireside rug We do have one in living room , but can't find the chimney sweep fee atm , needed for safety . Do have a good old fashioned electric fire & feel very lucky to have the comforting appearance of a fireplace
.
at the fairies or similar ... am trying to think of a (much overdue ) new name & you remind me that this clunky one is a song by my favourite band about malign little house goblins who inconvenience the eccentric householders so that "we cannot walk the floor at night in peace"

So relieved you caught HF as she tumbled past, Tianc - you must be telepathic , as the gales reminded me of next door neighbour ( staff to b&w tomcat ) telling me about when she lived round shodatin's part of the world , she & dh were walking dog as a gale was starting up and as walked past the ends of a series ofvery long gardens , a bundle of leaves rolled up at their feet . Something made them look more closely , & find it was a fluffy , startled kitten , who'd probably ventured too far on its first visit into owners' garden . They took it home to warm it , but were never able to trace her owner , & she grew into their very favourite cat , Mrs Tibbs

We have a Xmas tree {fgrin] but living room not arranged / tidy enough to put it up yet

Peaceful night to us all , particularly hoped -for of course for upward . Hope your chores weren't too onerous , shodatin and that Tianc has had a largely good day
lemon balm

Waving goodnight.

Relieved to hear you have 12 months to get things sorted, Upward. Still pretty unpleasant - hope you manage to put it aside over Christmas at least.

hob that sounds so difficult wrt DH's job. At least you have a grip on what the issues are, and are willing to face them - with a run-up if need be. In the meantime, is there any way DH can decline to take on even greater loads at work - you mentioned he was covering for other people?

Btw, hope your elderly relatives are doing OK this week, in their various ways.

And fascinated to learn where your name comes from! That is a truly bizarre song, now I've looked it up!

shodatin hope you've had a productive day.

And hope we all sleep well tonight, and wake with enough energy to face whatever the world throws at us.

Morning all, and apologies for abrupt departure, but the exhaustion (mental included) can be quite sudden and did not want to simply disappear.

Thanks to tianc for seeing to the fire, had assumed it was the fairies who come in overnight to see to household jobs, the ones my late DH seemed to expect to turn up on a regular basis, particularly when busy.

Thanks for name explanation hob, but regret I don't know the song and had previously wondered about the "city" connection. I think the new name should reflect your interests in hospitality and politics as well as your relationship with HF, who has added fun to the posts

Appreciate tianc's suggestions re your DH trying to shed some of the workload, as some people seem to
manage this frequently, perhaps by being aimiably absent-minded, or maybe just absent now and then.
I hope something good happens for you both, and soon.

Here comes the tray of s, and the large espresso's mine (because I need it most).

You're exactly right about sense conscientious workers shouldering too much , shodatin . Although the workload has in fact tripled , staff with a sense of entitlement still seem to get off more lightly .
Looking forward to giving DH your and Tianc's comments , kind wishes & suggestions & - thank you Tianc , Id become so worried at DH's uncharacteristic stress that I had forgotten to think of asking him those options . Close colleagues have had the most horrendous circumstances this year ( great improvements have occurred ) , so dh had less chance of minimally disruptive time off if needed .

Thank you for saying goodnight in spite of total exhaustion , shodatin , & ope the large espresso helped . Hope you'll be able to rest a little more this week before Christmas .

Thank you so much Tianc for brilliant post at hopelessly busy time of year , too . You are so kind to indulge me with the song , which I trust didn't cause nightmares if you heard it .

Yes shodatin , it's been Tianc all along , our hardworking , thoughtful hobgoblin < sets up fair pay tribunal > Your DH's surprise at the tasks still to be done is all too common , and the unconscious expectations are course partly an equalities issue , if males havene't been taught as children what needs doing . I bet you were up till late when working in the hospitality trade , & up even earlier ? < fairy godmother conjures rewards for toiling cybergardeners >

Thank you so much for thoughts on name Can only think of childhood cartoon characters so far, as the politics too noticeable / prententious , but would be lovely to suggest HF in name

Oh my , I keep falling back to sleep all morning , which means I'm very behind now even my very modest expectations of self at Christmas . Hope none of us is fretting about festive messages etc if not up to organising much this year . < HF nuzzles Tianc for flumped warmed cushion >

Hope upward has some opportunitis for chatting with friends / generally distracting day < HF materialises in upward's living room , with bundle of cat toys to pounce upon and drive upward to nobble the time machine

Kind TiancLDM seems to have a tear in shoulder ligament , which she refused for months to to take to GP , but vigilant GP was sceptical of radiographer's arthritis diagnosis & sent her for ultrasound , so she's being seen by consultant in new year .

MIL is stronger on night tube feeds , & due to be made a fuss of by family for her birthday shortly ( am all grumped out for the year , myself ... think ILs are going to suspect am menopausal < imagines self with added hormonal moods >
Is DSis recovered , shodatin ? You say she and DGC went on a Disney cruise , I think ?

joins in with waving to kizzie and madmouse during this busy time of year , especially of course for the mouse family

< requests no replies to verbosity , just waves or updates on our days ... we all need to conserve our energy so as to enjoy some of the festivities >
Housework time ....

Im struggling (not writing down how). very difficult.