I popped out to Dobbies today to get ericaceous compost (to replant a blueberry bush into a bigger pot) and saw they were clearing out a ton of plants. I saw these cute dwarf Sansevierias (Snake plant) in wee ceramic pots. Reduced from £9.99 to £1.99!!! I got one for myself and one for my DIL who loves indoor plants. They were definitely clearing space to put out new seasonal stuff. If anyone is looking to get inexpensive gifts ahead of 🎄there were loads of different ones to suit all tastes. Plus fancy plant pots and containers, propagators etc all half price or less. Maybe check out any garden centres in your area if you don't have a Dobbies.
I got £84.93 worth of plants for £15.23!!! 2 echinacea plants, a salvia, pansies and violas (they were each 39p a tray!!) to put in my front garden. Although technically they were all free as I'm still using the amazing gift card my colleagues gave me when I retired!
I 'think' after another full week of phone calls and emails, the Scottish Power saga is resolved. I spent 1 hour and 52 mins on a single call yesterday being bounced between departments with every single person I spoke to agreeing this should never have happened. I then had to follow up with another 34 min call to get the final bit done. That's the hugely abbreviated version!!!! Basically someone/something attributed past already paid bills to my closed account on 3rd April and refunded 2 years worth of direct debits to my son. Totally their error but no one knows how it was even technologically possible.
So I've had it confirmed that I don't owe them any money, the account is closed and they've promised to take my name and number off their list (already had a phone call and a text today so not holding my breath on that yet!!)
And of course there's a punchline...
When I checked my account this morning, it's over £600 IN CREDIT!!!!!!!!! 😲😲😲
To cheer myself up I've been buying plants, bargain plants!! I got 2 trays of 6 violas in Dobbies for £1 each. They just needed watering. And some half price ones in B&Q! I got 2 dahlias, 2 impatiens, 2 snapdragons, 2 marguerite daisies all £2 each and a dianthus for £1.50. The lady at the till said thanks to wet Bank holidays they had too many left hence half price even though they're not the usual sad bargain corner specimens. I deliberately chose ones that flower from now right through the summer so they'll be in full bloom for my garden party 😊
As I'm officially on school holidays this week and the weather has been good, most of my time has been taken up with gardening stuff. So in the interests of not boring you all silly with my allotment I'll mention a few other things I've been doing to work on my 2020 goals.
Last month I discovered an eco friendly website that sells a whole range of low/zero waste products. One of my goals this year is to reduce my impact on the environment so I'm making a start by trying some low waste hair care products and a safety razor (gulp!) I must confess my hair didn't 'feel' clean with the powder shampoo. You mix some powder into a paste to create the shampoo. I'll persevere with it though. However, I thought the conditioner bar worked really well on my bleached ends.
There's loads more great eco friendly products HERE including some oxygen bleach I bought but haven't tried yet. I normally use my home made vinegar sprays for cleaning but sometimes I need bleach for deep cleaning stuff. I'll test it and report back.
Ok, back to allotment stuff! 😄 I moved the raised beds from the veggie patch up to my new plot. I think I've worked out how I'll arrange everything now.
The bigger bed needed some extra pairs of hands to move it as I would have needed to completely dismantle and rebuild it by myself. Of course, Emma supervised everything!
I also bought a wheelbarrow with my birthday money (thanks Mum and Dad!) Of course I chose a lovely bright colour!! I just need to work out how to build it first! 😂
I also bought some new fruit bushes. B&Q is closed to customers but you can order some things through their Click and Collect service. They've arranged their plants into 'bundles' and you buy a bundle. Staff choose what's in your bundle for you. This way all the plants that have been grown ready to sell over the Easter weekend won't go to waste. I thought this was a great idea. I ordered 2 fruit bush bundles and was really happy with my 6 plants. I got 2 blackcurrants, 2 blackberries, 1 gooseberry and 1 blueberry, all nice healthy plants. They'll be going on to the plot soon.
And to finish, here's a wee video of my allotment after a few days of hard work! I'm having a 'rest' day today.
It's half term already! And that means a new DIY project. I have 2 Staff Development days tomorrow and Tuesday then 3 days actual holiday. OH and I have been prepping the dining room, hall and stairs for the last few weeks. Today I moved the dining chairs out and took a good hard look at the space. I realised that the table is just too big so have decided to sell/give it away.
It's 220cm by 110cm and easily seats 10 people. I listed it on Marketplace this afternoon and have had 2 inquiries already! I'll buy a smaller table (second hand of course!) which will make the space look bigger and less cluttered.
OH removed the back light fitting. I'll keep it for a future upcycled chandelier type project. I'm thinking a change of colour and definitely adding sparkly dangly bits 😉 I've already bought 2 new brushed chrome light fittings and orange light shades as replacements on Ebay.
I took a trip to B&Q and spent a whopping £117 on paint (emulsion, undercoat and satinwood), filler and brushes!! 😮 I also bought a few plants as well. The Peace Lily is for my bedroom, the succulent and vriesea are for the living room. I'd like more plants dotted around my house 🌵🌷
I've overdone it a bit today, moving furniture and lifting carpet by myself so won't do any more until Wednesday. Then it's full steam ahead!
