Back in the 1980s I was given a motivational training book - 'Attitude: your most priceless possession'. I can't remember who wrote it, which publisher published it, why I was given it (I could hazard a guess....) or much about it, other than the title summed it up perfectly. It was probably the first wave of self-help/motivational/staff training that I was aware of, and the title sticks in my memory still.
I try (admittedly, not always successfully) to apply it to situations where my first plan of action has been scuppered and Plan B has to come into play. Take the greenhouse for example.
This year feels like we've turned a corner in our personal struggles and there is clear water ahead. This coincides nicely with the reported 0.1% (?) upturn in the fortunes/finances of the country. An end to austerity may be in sight for the country as a whole, but as individuals the majority of the population are still feeling the pinch and the reliance on foodbanks has increased threefold. Thankfully, we've been careful, we tightened our belts as necessary and we weathered the storm. How many more cliches can I get into this paragraph?
Casting the cliches aside, I've hankered after a greenhouse for several years. For the last four summers I've been trying to grow tomatoes in one of those plastic covered tomato frames, which is ok, but is obviously limited. So I've hankered after a greenhouse, and being careful with money, and also having an attitude inclined towards recycling, reusing (upcycling!) and reducing waste, I speculatively took a look on e-Bay last Sunday to see if there was anything suitable to bid on. There was. Ah-ha. I feel an Easter project coming on.
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Greenhouse-/00/s/MTYwMFgxMDY2/z/SrAAAOxy0x1TQX1U/$_35.JPG
The size was right, and it turned out that my winning bid of £21.12 (cheap as chips!!!! will need a couple of new panes of glass, but still a bargain) was right as well. I paid by paypal and arranged to collect it from Bicester (a 40/45 minute drive away) on Wednesday afternoon after work.
It being Easter holidays I'd re-arranged my work hours to supervise our 'decorate an Easter Egg' event in Witney Library that morning. Tom was in supervised Easter Holiday Fun / childcare at the Leisure Centre, and I popped home for a quick bite to eat and to collect Phoebe to give me a hand.
The seller was very helpful, explained that he was downsizing, and thoughtfully had a marker pen with him which he used to label connecting / joining points 'A' 'A'; 'B' 'B', and so on. The weather was sunny, and quite warm, as it had been all week. We got there at 3.30pm dismantled, wrapped and packed it all in my car, and left at 5.05pm. Phew!! Drove a steady and careful 50mph home, avoiding potholes as the rattles in the back were unnerving. Arrived home at 5.50pm, giving me 5 minutes to walk to the Leisure Centre to collect Tom before 6pm close..... nice.
When I knew I'd won the auction, I'd started to prepare the space where I want to position it.
So the plan is to snuggle it in the 'corner' of the playhouse. After several measurements were taken I decided to move the waterbutt from the left side to the right side (where the ladders are in the photo). This wasn't just a whim. The greenhouse will have its longer side on the left side and its shorter side on the right side of the playhouse. It needs to fit that way around to leave the pathway unimpeded, so the waterbutt needed to move. Simple. I can do that I thought, and I did it.
So. Have the eagle-eyed among you spotted my elementary-(school) mistake?... It seems obvious now, but when I tested the guttering was still watertight (it wasn't, but that's fixable), it also dawned on me that I needed to adjust the gradient of the brackets holding the gutters.... doh. So it all needs taking down again, and then the brackets need taking off and adjusting so the water falls from left to right rather than from right to left.... still, I won't make that mistake again.
We've also decided to spruce up the playhouse BEFORE erecting the greenhouse, although I'm chomping at the bit to get it up and get things growing. So after the gutters are corrected, the exterior will need a coat of paint, and the perspex/plastic windows will need replacing as they've yellowed with age. Hmm. The paint cost me £18, the new plastic window pane cost me £20, and as for time spent on the project... this greenhouse is starting to add up.
And then I lost time. I had a bug of some sort, which put me to bed with bed-socks AND a woolly hat, dressing gown, extra fleecy blanket and I couldn't get warm, headache, slight nausea, dizziness and no appetite. The last symptom means I MUST have been ill....LOL. Anyway, now feeling better two days later, the weather has changed, I'm behind on everything, and it seems that I have to adjust my attitude.
Just my luck.
Thinking postively, there's no need to rush, (except my tomato seedlings are coming up 12cm tall already), I can stay inside, take things slowly, do my ironing, and wait for my full energy to return and the weather to improve.
Happy Easter!
Kat.
I try (admittedly, not always successfully) to apply it to situations where my first plan of action has been scuppered and Plan B has to come into play. Take the greenhouse for example.
This year feels like we've turned a corner in our personal struggles and there is clear water ahead. This coincides nicely with the reported 0.1% (?) upturn in the fortunes/finances of the country. An end to austerity may be in sight for the country as a whole, but as individuals the majority of the population are still feeling the pinch and the reliance on foodbanks has increased threefold. Thankfully, we've been careful, we tightened our belts as necessary and we weathered the storm. How many more cliches can I get into this paragraph?
Casting the cliches aside, I've hankered after a greenhouse for several years. For the last four summers I've been trying to grow tomatoes in one of those plastic covered tomato frames, which is ok, but is obviously limited. So I've hankered after a greenhouse, and being careful with money, and also having an attitude inclined towards recycling, reusing (upcycling!) and reducing waste, I speculatively took a look on e-Bay last Sunday to see if there was anything suitable to bid on. There was. Ah-ha. I feel an Easter project coming on.
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Greenhouse-/00/s/MTYwMFgxMDY2/z/SrAAAOxy0x1TQX1U/$_35.JPG
The size was right, and it turned out that my winning bid of £21.12 (cheap as chips!!!! will need a couple of new panes of glass, but still a bargain) was right as well. I paid by paypal and arranged to collect it from Bicester (a 40/45 minute drive away) on Wednesday afternoon after work.
It being Easter holidays I'd re-arranged my work hours to supervise our 'decorate an Easter Egg' event in Witney Library that morning. Tom was in supervised Easter Holiday Fun / childcare at the Leisure Centre, and I popped home for a quick bite to eat and to collect Phoebe to give me a hand.
The seller was very helpful, explained that he was downsizing, and thoughtfully had a marker pen with him which he used to label connecting / joining points 'A' 'A'; 'B' 'B', and so on. The weather was sunny, and quite warm, as it had been all week. We got there at 3.30pm dismantled, wrapped and packed it all in my car, and left at 5.05pm. Phew!! Drove a steady and careful 50mph home, avoiding potholes as the rattles in the back were unnerving. Arrived home at 5.50pm, giving me 5 minutes to walk to the Leisure Centre to collect Tom before 6pm close..... nice.
When I knew I'd won the auction, I'd started to prepare the space where I want to position it.
So the plan is to snuggle it in the 'corner' of the playhouse. After several measurements were taken I decided to move the waterbutt from the left side to the right side (where the ladders are in the photo). This wasn't just a whim. The greenhouse will have its longer side on the left side and its shorter side on the right side of the playhouse. It needs to fit that way around to leave the pathway unimpeded, so the waterbutt needed to move. Simple. I can do that I thought, and I did it.
So. Have the eagle-eyed among you spotted my elementary-(school) mistake?... It seems obvious now, but when I tested the guttering was still watertight (it wasn't, but that's fixable), it also dawned on me that I needed to adjust the gradient of the brackets holding the gutters.... doh. So it all needs taking down again, and then the brackets need taking off and adjusting so the water falls from left to right rather than from right to left.... still, I won't make that mistake again.
We've also decided to spruce up the playhouse BEFORE erecting the greenhouse, although I'm chomping at the bit to get it up and get things growing. So after the gutters are corrected, the exterior will need a coat of paint, and the perspex/plastic windows will need replacing as they've yellowed with age. Hmm. The paint cost me £18, the new plastic window pane cost me £20, and as for time spent on the project... this greenhouse is starting to add up.
And then I lost time. I had a bug of some sort, which put me to bed with bed-socks AND a woolly hat, dressing gown, extra fleecy blanket and I couldn't get warm, headache, slight nausea, dizziness and no appetite. The last symptom means I MUST have been ill....LOL. Anyway, now feeling better two days later, the weather has changed, I'm behind on everything, and it seems that I have to adjust my attitude.
Just my luck.
Thinking postively, there's no need to rush, (except my tomato seedlings are coming up 12cm tall already), I can stay inside, take things slowly, do my ironing, and wait for my full energy to return and the weather to improve.
Happy Easter!
Kat.
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