Topic: My spell of good luck!

[gerbera]

Hi,

Last year was pretty awful, lots of things went wrong, lots of stress, culminating in my Grandma passing away.  :'(

However, since then, I have been blessed with a remarkable spell of good luck.

Firstly, I was offered some work as a teaching assistant in my little boys school where I volunteer twice a week as a "parent helper". As I am hoping to train as a teacher, this is invaluable, and gives me confidence to progress with teaching as a career. :)

I also looked into completing my degree through the Open University, and found that, as I am a single mum, I have been granted funding to cover my course costs, plus a small grant, which more than covers the cost of my books etc.  ;)

Then, on a gardening front, I was told by my landlord, that the overgrown patch of land next to the railway track fence near my house, actually belongs with the house, even though its not connected.....and I can do whatever I want with it! It used to be a lovely garden....about a decade ago....but its now overgrown, with brambles and ground elder. Its mostly shady....about 1/3 gets a reasonable amount of sun...but it beats my tiny paved garden and its 1/2 million Morrisons pots for growing veg!

PLUS....the strong winds that caused so many problems for many people, actually helped me out BIG TIME! I had a massive, gigantic, (pain in the a@$e) pine tree in front of the house next to mine. It blocked out all light to the front of my property, and created a "christmas-carpet" effect with its ever-dropping needles, which were contantly being walked into the house. It has also made every little seed I have lovingly sowed turn into a leggy, weak, pathetic seedling. Well, in the gales, the tree snapped clean off at the base.....luckily missing the cars travelling on the main road in front of my house. It cut off the Macclesfield - Stockport side of the road and caused traffic chaos......but had the wind been blowing in the other direction......it would have landed on top of me,sitting on my sofa, and I certainly wouldn't be typing this now.   :o My house is lighter and brighter, the carpet is needle-free....the only down-side is that now the sun shines through the window...I can see how dirty it is! So, (as soon as I've got the window-cleaning out of the way)...I can't wait to sow seed! 8)

And there's more......I saw an ad in the newsagent window for a free 6x8 greenhouse, something I couldn't afford to splash out on for myself......and phoned up to find it's located just over the road....it's mine....and I'll be collecting it on Saturday! It even comes with 2 waterbutts (that's a super-special treat when you don't have a water supply in your garden!). So if you are travelling on the main road through Poynton (Cheshire) on Saturday, you might just see my brother, step-dad and I carrying the (still-assembled) greenhouse frame across the road! ;D

I feel like all my christmasses have come at once! It's given me the kick up the back-side I need to get the over-grown patch of land into cultivation. I'm a born cynic....but I like to imagine my Grandma had a hand in it all....she was a keen gardener and cook (like me)......and I've never had such an amazing spell of good luck!

Sorry for the lengthy post....I just thought I'd share my tales of good fortune with you all, because you will probably all be able to appreciate how excited I am at the prospect of this new (much enhanced) growing season!

P.S. ......Yes......I've bought a lottery ticket for the next draw....just in case this lucky spell continues  ;)

[kitten]

Got my fingers crossed for ya creckless  ;)  ;D

[supersprout]

So good to hear that the ups and downs are starting to come into balance creckless, long may it continue :-* Your 'new' garden patch sounds like a little piece of heaven! :)

[Blue Bird]

Hi creckless it seems to me that you now have a fairy godmother sitting on your shoulder looking after you,  what a wonderful thing to have and I am sure she will continue to look after you - and I wish you all the best with your Open University degree and the job  :) :) :)

[caroline7758]

Lovely news- good luck with it all! :)

[gerbera]

Thanks everyone! I'll post some pictures of the uncultivated (but much appreciated!) extra growing space I've been blessed with. Its going to be a lot of work...but I'm sure it will be worth it. Especially as I've been on the waiting list for my local allotment site for about 18 months....and was told the people at the top of the list have been waiting for about 8 years.

Had a lovely week. Especially as my best gardening buddy and I went to get a car full of manure from a local stables this week. You have never seen two people get so excited about a pile of $h!t in all your life!  ::) Needless to say, we're going back for more before the week is out!

Happy gardening everyone! x :-*

[tricia]

Loved reading your post Creckless - thank you for sharing it with us  8). Now looking forward to seeing the before and after photos and hearing how it all goes with the GH at the weekend.

Good luck :)

Tricia

[saddad]

Don't push it though, the lottery ticket is  a step too far even for Gran.....
Hoping everything pans out as well as it promises. You're not the only one to get excited about piles of Sh*t.... thankfully "it happens" to most of us!
 ;D

[timelady]

Such good news! :) And I can only say the Open University is fabulous. I just finished my degree, and I got a grant too. Be sure to use the resources they have if you need them. I was pretty anti-social but they do have local tutorial groups and you can even pull together a more casual local study group if you need it. And while some courses have online forums there is always a student-run online forum too - so you can really shout for help in those. :) Or just moan about stuff or share silly stories. And the best thing is last in 2006 the NUS accepted the Open University into their arms, so you can get an associate membership which means student discounts everywhere and even a student rail card.

Okay, I'll stop rambling now.
Your tree story did make me smile. That is a fantastic result from the winds. ;D Now you need just the right rain to clean those windows...

Tina.

[Marymary]

Lovely post, Creckless, really nice to hear some good news.  :)

[rosebud]

Great news Creckless, your Grandma is certainly smiling down on you. All the best to you. ;D

[cookie]

How lovely to hear some good news for a change! :)

[lorna]

Hope your good luck continues (or maybe that is being greedy ;D) Take it easy getting that plot sorted. Don't forget the pics at different stages.
Lorna.

[Hyacinth]

What a wonderful post!....2007's certainly going to be your year - and we're only just into Feb ::)

I'm really excited for you on all fronts 8)
Lish

[shirlton]

It was so lovely to hear the at things are going so well for you and the fact that you appreciate it is so nice. So many folks take thing for granted nowadays. Send me some of your fairy dust please.

[cornykev]

Nice to hear someone  with a good luck story for a change all the best in 2007 and I agree granny is watching over you, get a couple of lucky dips the weekend while your on a roll. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[vee]

What a lovely story. I'm so pleased for you :) :)I hope everything grows really well for you.

[katynewbie]

 ;D

How lovely! I like a story with a happy ending! Well done you and good luck with the new garden

 ;)