Blessings in Disguise..

[Jessiebean]

I have been feeling a bit surly lately, it has been raining and the children are always doing one of the following; talking nonsense, fighting over a duplo man, running and screaming, touching something dangerous or refusing to eat my food. The cat keeps pooping in the vegies which aren't growing. I have a sniffle, I scorched the chocolate I was cooking so it went grainy and it was the last I had so now the choccy caramel slice is lumpy and not pretty (although still tasty).

*hurrumph*
BUT yesterday we got a call from our ISP telling us that the 512 speed ADSL was being phased out in Tasmania-that night. I was sent an email with a couple of options:twice the downloads at half the speed for the same price or twice the downlaods at three time sthe speed for $10 more a month.I wasn't happy with this as I am very stingy and didn't want to pay more for extra I didn't need so they tailored a package which has given me cheaper phone calls and 1500 ADSL for $10 less a month than have been paying. I am stoked and can actually watch Youtube videos now. I thought it was going to be a disaster but now I am better off.
Might go eat some lumpy slice now.
I would love to hear what has happened to other Ishers which seemed terrible at the time but was a Blessing in disguise,

[bonniethomas06]

That's easy...

Cut to summer 2009, the boyf (pigchicks) was living in Bristol city centre, I had been forced to move back in with my 'rents from where I was living before(long story). We wanted to move in together but we were totally broke...it was looking more and more like a bedsit in a really grotty area of Bristol. I have always had ishy leanings (and he had a growbag of dead tomato plants) and was just about allowed to turn my parents garden into a veggie patch and have a couple of hens, on the strict condition that I go around with a trowel every evening and pick up every last poo. We spent our time driving up and down the M4 and on trains. Life was a bit grim.

Then we spotted an advert in Tr*de-It saying: 'cottage in countryside available for half rent. Must like poultry and dogs' (I don't mind dogs. I do like poultry). The excitement was too much - we went to view it. It was a picturesque little cottage with a LOG BURNER, beams and in the grounds of a gorgeous house. LL is a kindly old woman who only had one eye and one leg and basically couldn't manage her land any more - wanted someone to help carry in her shopping now and again and do odd jobs...and look after her 30 ducks/hens for nominal rent. She even said we could use her veggie patch. Life was looking up. An evening 'interview' ensued whereby we schmoozed her adult son and convinced her of that we were upstanding, trustworthy human beings who would be perfect tenants. We go to rustic pub and decide we love it. I wait for the confirmation call the next day, whilst getting together the deposit and scouring catalogues for new furniture. Only to get a call saying we were unsuitable?! WE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE FRIGGING SUITABLE!! But she felt that our full time working hours would compromise our ability to put her poultry to bed.

I run to the toilets and cry at work. Later that weekend, we are driving though gorgeous country village on way to my parents. OH spots huge and gorgeous coach house with 'to let' sign. I dismiss instantly as it would be waaaaay out of our budget. He calls the number anyway and lo and behlold, negotiates the price down to somehing affordable. Six months later, the LL is one of our best friends, we have been given a field to plough up for veg, space for hens AND a pigsty. We have a mountain of horse muck tractored round to us on a regular basis, we have a log fire and access to a woodshead stacked with wood. Perfect!

And now we laugh about the day that the one-eyed old grotbag (we might have made up the one-eyed bit in retrospect) turned us down...and pity the poor schmuck who is probably clearing out her drainpipes and changing her colostomy bag as we speak...not to mention having to be home at 4pm on the dot in the winter to get the ducks and geese in from the lake.

So definitely a blessing in disguise.