Selfsufficientish.com

theabsinthefairy wrote:

ElizabethBinary wrote: ...why do all my replies have to have my life story in them? Hahahaha.

I am starting to really enjoy reading your posts - they are a daily column of entertainment.

Elizabeth, I think you are a very good writer with an interesting life, thanks for sharing.

now back on topic...Birthday gifts I gave my girlfriend, (she owns a farm):

A Live trap for varmints. (with all her pets, it's the only safe way to control varmints).

A "T-post" puller (she uses them for the electric fence around the pasture to keep Her horse corraled. previously, She'd spend lots of time with a jack and chain to pull a post, she was so happy over this puller, you can't imagine. It'll pull the most stubborn post in 10 seconds.

Aww, thanks guys! That really makes me feel a bit better about the fact I can just ramble and ramble. Worst part is I do it in real life, too. Did you know mangos can wee?

You're a lot like my fiancee, Minnesota (hey I wrote a book recently and one of my characters went there). For his first ever gift to me, he got me... bum bum bum.. a towbar. Then he towed all my unwanted garbage to the tip with it. Sexy! He's also given me pepper grinders, new car batteries, and, regularly, the gift of mechanics done to my car.

We've been having a rough time lately with a flatmate we took in who won't pay his rent or earn his keep properly, so I really want to do something for us to relax that's not too expensive.

I like the calender idea where I'm not nakie, heehee. We met a little over a year ago and I DO have photos from every month we dated *yay for being weird!*....that would go over well. From the time he bribed me to go on a date with him by promising I'd get to give his dog treats (yes he bribed me with his fricken dog!) and I put koala ears on her and we went for a walk... to our romantic real first date where we went on this huge ferris wheel in the city... that would be such a romantic calender!

Lovely ideas - lucky partners to benefit from so much love and care.
I've been with my partner for 25 years and for quite a lot of that time money has been pretty tight so we have evolved a few inexpensive traditions. For example, my partner marks every holiday by buying me a new pair of earrings (which i love) - usually made locally. Each time I wear them I am reminded of Cornwall or Wales or Suffolk.Every Christmas I give him a heart-shaped decoration for the Christmas tree, often something I've made. Getting out the hearts every year makes me very sentimental....! And none of that costs much. And my partner still makes me laugh so much I can barely stand - and that doesn't cost anything....!

yvette wrote:Lovely ideas - lucky partners to benefit from so much love and care.
I've been with my partner for 25 years and for quite a lot of that time money has been pretty tight so we have evolved a few inexpensive traditions. For example, my partner marks every holiday by buying me a new pair of earrings (which i love) - usually made locally. Each time I wear them I am reminded of Cornwall or Wales or Suffolk.Every Christmas I give him a heart-shaped decoration for the Christmas tree, often something I've made. Getting out the hearts every year makes me very sentimental....! And none of that costs much. And my partner still makes me laugh so much I can barely stand - and that doesn't cost anything....!

Aww that's amazing. I told someone the other day that I think self-sufficient people have better relationships because they're with someone out of WANT and not NEED, which puts a lot of pressure off the relationship and makes it so you don't pick someone terrible because you need to pay half the bills or something silly like that. 90% of the self sufficient people I know have amazing relationships.

I love the heart shaped Christmas idea. I can picture it in my head and everything how sweet each year would be taking out one more heart each year, recalling to each other, "Hey, remember this one, when all I had to make a heart was a toothpick and a red gum wrapper?!" Heehee. I just wish I celebrated Christmas now! I can even smell the tree in my mind.

The last two bits of jewellery I got off him were a Tiffany's MagenDavid and my engagement ring - the latter being worth the expense and the former I'd been wanting a really nice MagenDavid for years, but really.. that's money that could've gone to a goldsmith for the same price, instead of being made of silver from some snotty company (who we didn't buy the ring from because, get this, my fiancee's budget meant he didn't REALLY love me - ignoring the fact he SOLD HIS HOUSE to buy me an engagement ring - I nearly choked the salesman). I'll bring up the local artist idea to him next time he thinks about buying my jewellery, 'cause I do need more, but I don't really need expensive things... and local artists tend to have good handmade stuff for a low cost. Oooo.

On that note, HE does need an engagement ring (I believe men should have engagement rings too) and there IS a local jewellerysmither dude who works by himself in a shed... I wonder if I could have something made up cheaply and custom. :)

Or... randomly.. I used to make jewellery myself. I don't have ANY of the tools, but I wonder if I could borrow shop to make rings..

I am just contemplating out loud, don't mind me... rambleramble mangos wee.

ElizabethBinary wrote:
On that note, HE does need an engagement ring (I believe men should have engagement rings too) and there IS a local jewellerysmither dude who works by himself in a shed... I wonder if I could have something made up cheaply and custom. :)

Or... randomly.. I used to make jewellery myself. I don't have ANY of the tools, but I wonder if I could borrow shop to make rings..

I am just contemplating out loud, don't mind me... rambleramble mangos wee.

Have jewlery made out of old motorbike parts or something similar?

frozenthunderbolt wrote:

ElizabethBinary wrote:
On that note, HE does need an engagement ring (I believe men should have engagement rings too) and there IS a local jewellerysmither dude who works by himself in a shed... I wonder if I could have something made up cheaply and custom. :)

Or... randomly.. I used to make jewellery myself. I don't have ANY of the tools, but I wonder if I could borrow shop to make rings..

I am just contemplating out loud, don't mind me... rambleramble mangos wee.

Have jewlery made out of old motorbike parts or something similar?

Hmmm not a bad idea! Now to figure out how!!

ElizabethBinary wrote: We've been having a rough time lately with a flatmate we took in who won't pay his rent or earn his keep properly, so I really want to do something for us to relax that's not too expensive.
:

I have a wonderful idea for a cheap and relaxing gift - kick the flatmate out!

ElizabethBinary wrote: From the time he bribed me to go on a date with him by promising I'd get to give his dog treats (yes he bribed me with his fricken dog!) and I put koala ears on her and we went for a walk... to our romantic real first date where we went on this huge ferris wheel in the city.

Our first date was on the Autumnal Equinox. She invited me out to her Farm for Lunch. We spent all afternoon in the woods on her property, picking Butternuts and just talking the day away, sharing stories of our individual pasts. Later that day, we sat in the tall grass at the edge of the woods, watched the sunset and talked about the future. I really Love her and it all started on that day.

Minnesota wrote:
Our first date was on the Autumnal Equinox. She invited me out to her Farm for Lunch. We spent all afternoon in the woods on her property, picking Butternuts and just talking the day away, sharing stories of our individual pasts. Later that day, we sat in the tall grass at the edge of the woods, watched the sunset and talked about the future. I really Love her and it all started on that day.

that sounds lovely, the only chance i get to actually talk to my partner is when hes gone home and he talks on MSN any other time and not a hope in hell

We (I) made the decision last year that work was going to be less important in my life, since then we have had to watch very closely what we are spending, but the gift of us being able to have time nearly every evening with eachother, instead of him coming home and me going out has been the most fantastic thing we have done, it's made us not be silly with what we buy eachother, this year I got him a ginger beer kit so he could make it with the kids in the summer, he got me a key ring locket so I can have photos of the kids, other presents have been calenders showing the previous years activities each month, something that I really love as with such a young family it is lovely to turnt he page each month and see just how much the boys have changed in the year!

Oh wow what a romantic little date there Minnesota! It gives me the fuzzies!

The flatmate IS going to be kicked out. Did you know he DELETED my first novel off my flash drive I loaned him? AFTER he took a virus from his computer to my fiancee's and busted his computer?! AFTER he said he'd clean the house in return for not paying the rent WE AGREED UPON BEFORE HE MOVED IN... and you know what he does? He sweeps the floors so badly you can see streaks of dust and he does the dishes.. that's IT. We gave him a list we felt was fair and he's done NOTHING on it. He's getting $400 a MONTH off his rent for this. $20 a week and he can't even pay it on time because he's a loser who sleeps all day. Case in point: it's 10am, he went to bed at 8pm and I've ALREADY fed the chickens, gone to the gym, made breakfast and watered the yard. He's still asleep!!! NO doubt he'll take a nap at 2pm like usual as well. And then whine I didn't make him dinner. AND I SWEPT MY OWN FLOOR WHICH IS WHAT I AM PAYING HIM FOR He's also supposed to be the one dusting (remember my dust thread)! He has ONE week before my fiancee tells him he's shipping out.

ooooh I went on a rant there.... sore spot.

I like the gingerbeer maker gift thingy!! I'm making beer already as a surprise for the man, because he once told me he likes home brewed beer. I might make some REAL gingerBEER as well.

I don't work much as it is, so you'd think I could find better things to do with our time.

Last night I spend curled up in his arms just looking in his eyes. It was so sweet. Never met a man that actually enoyed doing that before. This one is for keeps!

Minnesota wrote: Our first date was on the Autumnal Equinox. She invited me out to her Farm for Lunch. We spent all afternoon in the woods on her property, picking Butternuts and just talking the day away, sharing stories of our individual pasts. Later that day, we sat in the tall grass at the edge of the woods, watched the sunset and talked about the future. I really Love her and it all started on that day.

butternuts? they look like pecans

They certainly aren't pumpkins!

Nope, sorry Minnesota, never seen those before but it's hard to gauge their size although with the frames they look about the size of a grapefruit?? Frames look great............do tell us a bit more

butternuts or white walnuts i think they are also called? not sure if im right though