It's been forever
Since I've visited either dreamwidth or LiveJournal. Yes, I am still alive and kicking. Still an ill tempered old coot. Still crotchety.
Since it's mid September, I've pretty much put my garden to bed. Still have a bell pepper plant going good, and one tomato plant. Picked most of the onions, still have about half a dozen that need to be picked but they're not ready yet. Cabbage is super slow to head. I wish they would ripen. Craving cabbage burgers and stuffed cabbage. I have 8 heads, four green and 4 purple almost ripe. The squash was a bust. Got one last month and another ripening now. Pumpkins, well we will not be trying them next year. I got a few small ones, less than an inch around, that fell or were knocked off the vines before ripening. Between feral cats, raccoons, and kids playing basket ball, they never had much of a chance.
Still debating on making cactus jelly this year. I have pectin from last year and the cactus flowers are free, plus have a few dozen jars so maybe I should. OTOH, if I can't unload the stuff at the winter craft fairs, I'm stuck with it all and we don't do much jelly in my house. What to do, What to do. Maybe should make some and try to sell on Etsy. It _is_ pretty yummy and with what I learned last year, should come out beautifully clear, solidly set, and with a good ruby red color. Need to make Yule presents for everyone. No cash for store bought stuff this time around.
Middle dd is wanting to move back in "just for a week, 'til the first of the month". We, the rent/mortgage paying members of this family took a vote, and it was a unanimous NO. I have no idea what her issue is, we've told her time and again that she will loose the kids if she doesn't provide a stable home for them. She was here in January while she was getting approved for her condo. Managed to somehow not pay rent for a month or three, had a friend that set a fire in the apartment, and got evicted. Into a weekly rent motel for a few weeks, on to a "friend of a friend"s place for about 5-6weeks. Then she moved into a homeless shelter, although she did qualify for one of the domestic abuse shelters. Because she refused to press charges, they would not admit her. I can totally see their point, there's no sense in making space for someone who's only going to back to their abuser in a few weeks. So two weeks in a homeless shelter with three small children. the agency that runs the shelter put her into an apartment complex. Rules were simple, pay 1/3 of the rent, due to her low income. Pay half utilities, no alcohol or drugs on premises. Be in before curfew. Curfew was 10:00. Seriously. You have three children under age 5. They should be home and in bed long before then. That lasted for about 6 weeks. Now she's staying with a friend and she can't stay there. I don't know what will happen now. Considering taking in the kids so they won't have to stay in shelter and then maybe she can stay where she is 'til the first. Other than that though, I'm done. Miss my little bebes. They're good kids and deserve way better. You can't change schools more than twice in a school year without DHS interfering. Why won't they do something when a parent moves every month or every two months. The poor things don't know where they live and the apartment she was given was really nice. Ok, not the fanciest, but nice. Furnished. Had washer and dryer. This is a big thing when you have 3 kids. On top of that, residents can stay there for two years and put away funds. They also get to keep the furniture and washer/dryer when they move if they abide by the few rules for a year. How hard can it be?
I'm sure I've written before about these little monster children. If not, can you say "worst behaved children in the world"? "Most annoying children in the world"? I realize that the girl lost her children for 6 months because her ex absconded with them for that time period. I realize that she missed them horribly. Can't imagine having this happen just because someone wanted to cause grief. He didn't take the kids because he thought she was an unfit parent. He didn't take them because he thought he was a better parent. He just took them to be a jerk. What we've been trying to get through her head though, is she can't use this as an excuse to let them run like feral critters. The 6 year old boy is constantly telling people that it's a parent's job to buy clothes, food, etc. We had the discussion that yes, your parent/s do have to provide clothing, Does not have to be new, in style, or something you want to wear, they do have to be clean, in good repair, age and weather appropriate. Your mother does not have to provide snacks, sandwiches with the crust cut off, and an alternative to what is being served everyone else just because "I'm not in the mood for that." I did convince the boy not to argue with them over meals though. That's a battle you can avoid simply by removing the food. They can eat it later. sometimes kids aren't hungry at dinner time. If it's something they haven't had before, they don't have to eat a lot of the item. They do have to try it though. Half of the time, they end up asking for more. The hardest part of being a parent isn't providing physical needs, it's providing the skills necessary to survive and thrive in society as an adult. And _that's_ the part of the job that she's missing. There are no rules, no boundaries, and she and her parents get upset whenever my son tries to intervene in their bad behavior. They've already been banned from the big holiday meals. They aren't allowed to go to Viking events as participants. No one will take them out in public, like to a restaurant or even a park. They're very loud, they never shut up, and if you ask them to be quiet, they tell you that it's rude to tell someone to be quiet. Erm, no it's rude for you to run your mouth for hours on end, at a very loud volume. Now the girlfriend's parents are sticking their noses in the mix. Told her Mom today that my son did hgave legitimate complaints about the children, that he's tried to help her with them but I'd advised him to drop them all if that's the attitude that's going to go with them. No one needs that crap, it's not her business what goes on between the two of them, and by encouraging the children's bad behavior, they are just aggravating any problems that she has in relationships.
Well, enough of them. really not my issue. Just wanted to vent.
Since it's mid September, I've pretty much put my garden to bed. Still have a bell pepper plant going good, and one tomato plant. Picked most of the onions, still have about half a dozen that need to be picked but they're not ready yet. Cabbage is super slow to head. I wish they would ripen. Craving cabbage burgers and stuffed cabbage. I have 8 heads, four green and 4 purple almost ripe. The squash was a bust. Got one last month and another ripening now. Pumpkins, well we will not be trying them next year. I got a few small ones, less than an inch around, that fell or were knocked off the vines before ripening. Between feral cats, raccoons, and kids playing basket ball, they never had much of a chance.
Still debating on making cactus jelly this year. I have pectin from last year and the cactus flowers are free, plus have a few dozen jars so maybe I should. OTOH, if I can't unload the stuff at the winter craft fairs, I'm stuck with it all and we don't do much jelly in my house. What to do, What to do. Maybe should make some and try to sell on Etsy. It _is_ pretty yummy and with what I learned last year, should come out beautifully clear, solidly set, and with a good ruby red color. Need to make Yule presents for everyone. No cash for store bought stuff this time around.
Middle dd is wanting to move back in "just for a week, 'til the first of the month". We, the rent/mortgage paying members of this family took a vote, and it was a unanimous NO. I have no idea what her issue is, we've told her time and again that she will loose the kids if she doesn't provide a stable home for them. She was here in January while she was getting approved for her condo. Managed to somehow not pay rent for a month or three, had a friend that set a fire in the apartment, and got evicted. Into a weekly rent motel for a few weeks, on to a "friend of a friend"s place for about 5-6weeks. Then she moved into a homeless shelter, although she did qualify for one of the domestic abuse shelters. Because she refused to press charges, they would not admit her. I can totally see their point, there's no sense in making space for someone who's only going to back to their abuser in a few weeks. So two weeks in a homeless shelter with three small children. the agency that runs the shelter put her into an apartment complex. Rules were simple, pay 1/3 of the rent, due to her low income. Pay half utilities, no alcohol or drugs on premises. Be in before curfew. Curfew was 10:00. Seriously. You have three children under age 5. They should be home and in bed long before then. That lasted for about 6 weeks. Now she's staying with a friend and she can't stay there. I don't know what will happen now. Considering taking in the kids so they won't have to stay in shelter and then maybe she can stay where she is 'til the first. Other than that though, I'm done. Miss my little bebes. They're good kids and deserve way better. You can't change schools more than twice in a school year without DHS interfering. Why won't they do something when a parent moves every month or every two months. The poor things don't know where they live and the apartment she was given was really nice. Ok, not the fanciest, but nice. Furnished. Had washer and dryer. This is a big thing when you have 3 kids. On top of that, residents can stay there for two years and put away funds. They also get to keep the furniture and washer/dryer when they move if they abide by the few rules for a year. How hard can it be?
I'm sure I've written before about these little monster children. If not, can you say "worst behaved children in the world"? "Most annoying children in the world"? I realize that the girl lost her children for 6 months because her ex absconded with them for that time period. I realize that she missed them horribly. Can't imagine having this happen just because someone wanted to cause grief. He didn't take the kids because he thought she was an unfit parent. He didn't take them because he thought he was a better parent. He just took them to be a jerk. What we've been trying to get through her head though, is she can't use this as an excuse to let them run like feral critters. The 6 year old boy is constantly telling people that it's a parent's job to buy clothes, food, etc. We had the discussion that yes, your parent/s do have to provide clothing, Does not have to be new, in style, or something you want to wear, they do have to be clean, in good repair, age and weather appropriate. Your mother does not have to provide snacks, sandwiches with the crust cut off, and an alternative to what is being served everyone else just because "I'm not in the mood for that." I did convince the boy not to argue with them over meals though. That's a battle you can avoid simply by removing the food. They can eat it later. sometimes kids aren't hungry at dinner time. If it's something they haven't had before, they don't have to eat a lot of the item. They do have to try it though. Half of the time, they end up asking for more. The hardest part of being a parent isn't providing physical needs, it's providing the skills necessary to survive and thrive in society as an adult. And _that's_ the part of the job that she's missing. There are no rules, no boundaries, and she and her parents get upset whenever my son tries to intervene in their bad behavior. They've already been banned from the big holiday meals. They aren't allowed to go to Viking events as participants. No one will take them out in public, like to a restaurant or even a park. They're very loud, they never shut up, and if you ask them to be quiet, they tell you that it's rude to tell someone to be quiet. Erm, no it's rude for you to run your mouth for hours on end, at a very loud volume. Now the girlfriend's parents are sticking their noses in the mix. Told her Mom today that my son did hgave legitimate complaints about the children, that he's tried to help her with them but I'd advised him to drop them all if that's the attitude that's going to go with them. No one needs that crap, it's not her business what goes on between the two of them, and by encouraging the children's bad behavior, they are just aggravating any problems that she has in relationships.
Well, enough of them. really not my issue. Just wanted to vent.