Single hen

[Ain't Nobody Here]

There are so many clever people on the forum who are really creative and do fabulous things in the kitchen and make presents from nothing, I just wanted reassurance that I'm not the only person here who can't or doesn't:

 

a) make jam

b) make bread

c) bottle stuff

d) use new recipes all the time rather than the same old (easy) favourites

e) cook meals for the five thousand (well, five) without batting an eyelid

f) grow their own fruit & veg

g) knit

h) sew

i) do their own decorating

j) do their own DIY

k) do their own car maintenance

l) have beautiful gardens with actual flowers in them

 

Any other inadequacies out there?

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm in awe of these people. I wish I could be like that too (I probably could if I wasn't lazy ).

 

Tell me I'm not alone .

[Mrs Frugal]

I am hopelessly inadequate when it comes to anything to do with my car. I can't even go to the petrol station and fill it up . LSH does that for me. I have RAC breakdown cover because I wouldn't have a clue if anything went wrong with it either.

 

I can't knit either - or crochet

 

..........and I can only wink with my left eye and believe me, in this household, I am considered completely inadequate for that particular inability

[BeckyBoo]

See now I do quite a few of those things, but I can't knit, I can't sew, or crochet (which I'd like to be able to do), I have an ironing pile the size of a mountain, in fact it's getting hard to squeeze in to the utility room it's getting so big, my garden is a mess - thank you hens, thank you dog thank you children, if you look closely (not even that closely ) you will find cobwebs in the corners of ALL the rooms, it wouldn't be hard to find feathers dotted around the house where the children collect them and I forget to re-collect them, you would probably be able to find layers pellets in strange places in this house too and if you lifted up the vase of dying flowers from the cupboard in the front room you would be able to see quite clearly where it has been from the vase shaped gap in the dust!

There are all sorts of things I would like to be able to do, play guitar, sing, crochet, make cakes that looked like Jane Ashers instead of a Salvador Dali version of a Jane Asher cake but we can't all do everything. I'm happy enough, could just do with another 12 hours in each day then I could REALLY get things done!

 

Mrs B

[Guest]

oh vicki! why not make a list of things you CAN do!

 

I'll start you off with a couple!

 

 

1) you have a sharp wit and always make me smile

2) you are kind and always ask after others even when you're low yourself

 

 

pay particular attention to verse 3

 

 

 

-- Desiderata by Max Ehrmann --

 

 

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

 

As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even to the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;

they are vexatious to the spirit.

 

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

 

Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love,

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

 

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

 

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

 

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace in your soul.

 

 

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

[Guest]

thought of another!

 

3) you never leave a plea for help on here unanswered!

[BeckyBoo]

What a fantastic poem Poet! I have copied it to myself, it's an excellent mantra for everyday living. That and "Where the hell is Matt" should be played or recited in school at the start of every day!

 

Mrs B

[Guest]

What a fantastic poem Poet! I have copied it to myself, it's an excellent mantra for everyday living. That and "Where the hell is Matt" should be played or recited in school at the start of every day!

 

Mrs B

 

It certainly is! I often view the matt video too, it always makes me smile

[Old Speckled Hen]

Things you can't do don't matter.

Things you can .... do.

When I retired and moved to the country, unshackled from a house too big, I dreamed of minimalist heaven, walking the hills and baking bread ... well, something like that.

I bought a "house too big" now filled with clutter, step children, grandchildren, chickens, dogs, mud and absolutely no minimal anything: and the only baking is done by a machine.

I love the things I can do and have abandoned worrying about those I can't.

I wish I could run the London Marathon faster than I did last time though!

[Guest]

I can't...

 

g) knit

i) do their own decorating

j) do their own DIY (althought I did build a rather rickity chicken run.....)

k) do their own car maintenance

 

And before I got into chickens I also couldn't

 

a) make jam

c) bottle stuff

d) use new recipes all the time rather than the same old (easy) favourites

e) cook meals for the five thousand (well, five) without batting an eyelid

f) grow their own fruit & veg

 

Being on here has INSPIRED me to many of these things, in fact think on these are the ONLY things I could do before I came here

 

b) make bread (in a breadmaker!)

h) sew

 

And to be honest I can't remember the last time I did any sewing, I used to do lovely cross stitch and other types of stitchery.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Aww, thank you Poet . Don't worry, I'm not sitting here seething because I can't do these things - it's my own fault (I really am lazy ).

 

OK, the things I can do:

 

I can play the piano and did Grade 4 (and Grade 5 theory)

I have a Hotel & Catering Management degree (I know, I know, I should be able to cook )

I have a cup for diving (aged 12)

I can make stuff out of bits & pieces (the attic is full of stuff from when the boys were young - my best efforts were a huge cardboard box house with windows, curtains & door and a cooker with moveable k"Ooops, word censored!"s)

I can drive a minibus (I had to drive 40 miles - on motorways and everything - last week. I was nervous, but managed it .)

I'm not bad on a computer and often help people at work

I've added components to our PC and can (usually) fix them if they go wrong

I can say 1-10 in Japanese plus a few useless phrases

I can speak a little Italian, Spanish, German and a bit more French (and some Latin!)

I can ride a bike

I can run a half marathon

I can put petrol in my car

I can speak out in a group of people

I deal with all the bills and finances in our house

I'm pretty good with technology & set up new stuff like tv's & pc's etc

 

And look what I made last night :

 

 

OK, now I feel like I'm boasting . I'll stop .

[Looney]

Flippin 'eck ANH - you sound marvellous to me!

 

 

 

[edited to correct typo!]

[BeckyBoo]

I can say 1-10 in Japanese plus a few useless phrases

I can speak a little Italian, Spanish, German and a bit more French (and some Latin!)

quote]

 

 

I used to be able to say "two beers please and where's the toilet" in five different languages!

 

I know something else you can do - you can start a thread that gets a dozen people thinking and talking to each other when they've never even met! That's quite an achievement!!

 

Mrs B

[alih]

I can't do any of the things on your list except cook a meal for 6 without batting an eyelid, but only because I have to with 4 kids. I feel as though I short change both my kids and my job and hurtle from one to the other at 100 mph, usually with toast stuck in my hair. I have a tip of a garden and a busy, chaotic life, but I LOVE it and wouldn't change it for anything.

[jlo]

Love the jewellery Vicki.

 

I can't : - knit, sew, bake (very well or very often) do DIY, garden, decorate (very well - just did ES room but please don't look too closely at it!) make jewellery, run more than three miles without feeling as though I am about to gasp my last breath, play tennis, golf, squash or any sport really, dance ( did lessons for a while but am still pants) Any plant that I am given has a very limited life span. I would love to write but I am in complete envy of all the people on here who express themselves far better than I ever could. I could go on and on about the things that I can't do but, believe me, there aren't enough hours in the day!

 

There are a few things that I can do but I tend to be a jack of all trades and a master of none.

 

it is reassuring to read that not all the forum members are super house people and gardeners and things though - thanks for the thread!

[Looney]

Forgot to say I can wiggle my eyebrows (raise one side then the other side etc) and also do the same with my ears! Ok, so it doesn't help with all the other stuff but everyone is too mesmerised to notice

[jlo]

Ooh yes - I can raise my right eyebrow, Roger Moore style. Comes in handy sometimes!

[Snowy]

Wow, ANH, I can't do the jewellery thing! Those are lovely!

OK, I'm one of those who can do most on the list, but I also feel as though I am jack of all trades, master of none! Trouble is I get bored easily so move onto something else when the novelty wears off. The family don't like it - their idea of a treat is a ready meal lasagne from the co-op rather than some obscure concoction that I've created from scratch.

[Milly]

I can do lots of things - I just never get round to them!

 

I'm sure I used to do more before I had chickens. But they have made me take up composting, which I one of those things I always thought was a good idea but never started.

 

Milly

[Cinnamon]

I can't

 

Sew

Knit

Make pastry

Walk past Lush without going in & spending too much

Sit in the middle of a row in the cinema/theatre

Fly overseas without panicking

Meet new people without coming across as a shy awkward muppet

Deal with anything even vaguely gory or medical

Socialise easily

 

 

However,I am good at

Cooking

Preserving

Anything techy

Make up

Being oraganised

Co Ordinating clothes or decor

Buying shoes

Raising my children

Growing veggies (well, I am getting better!)

Keeping house

 

Learn to love your strengths & live with the rest,I say

[Couperwife]

I used to be able to say "two beers please and where's the toilet" in five different languages! Mrs B

 

that is brilliant

 

I am quite good a doing somethings, but lousy at finishing them

 

I have started sooooo many things that are still waiting to be completed, I am not organised, I am not tidy, I am great at putting things off

 

but I am loyal, patient, willing to help people

 

cathy

x

[Guest]

I can't

 

Go anywhere without being overdressed (except QM2!)

Pass a charity shop without going in

Pass a handbag shop without going in

Pass a coffee shop without buying a latte

Go on holiday without packing too many clothes

Do the ironing

Remember where we keep the hoover!

[Blackrocksrock]

Aww, thank you Poet . Don't worry, I'm not sitting here seething because I can't do these things - it's my own fault (I really am lazy ).

 

OK, the things I can do:

 

I can play the piano and did Grade 4 (and Grade 5 theory)

I have a Hotel & Catering Management degree (I know, I know, I should be able to cook )

I have a cup for diving (aged 12)

I can make stuff out of bits & pieces (the attic is full of stuff from when the boys were young - my best efforts were a huge cardboard box house with windows, curtains & door and a cooker with moveable k"Ooops, word censored!"s)

I can drive a minibus (I had to drive 40 miles - on motorways and everything - last week. I was nervous, but managed it .)

I'm not bad on a computer and often help people at work

I've added components to our PC and can (usually) fix them if they go wrong

I can say 1-10 in Japanese plus a few useless phrases

I can speak a little Italian, Spanish, German and a bit more French (and some Latin!)

I can ride a bike

I can run a half marathon

I can put petrol in my car

I can speak out in a group of people

I deal with all the bills and finances in our house

I'm pretty good with technology & set up new stuff like tv's & pc's etc

 

And look what I made last night :

 

 

OK, now I feel like I'm boasting . I'll stop .

 

The necklaces and earrings are wonderful - I cannot make them and you can do loads of things no problem - it would be a bad world if we could all do the same things and anyway its great fun learning new skills.

I can put diesel in the car

I can check the oil and water in the car

I can change a tyre if it gets flat

I can cook, anyone can who can follow a recipe and have now mastered the pastry too!

I can deal with bills too

I am rubbish at housework - its a chore and although I love my garden - I am rubbish at it too!.

I hate getting dressed up

I cannot do make up

I can speak to people when I go away but cannot socialise very well in large groups of people I know

I buy clothes which are really not me all the time

I cannot lose the weight I need to do although I stopped smoking no problem!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I am rubbish at housework - its a chore and although I love my garden - I am rubbish at it too!

I hate getting dressed up

I cannot do make up

I cannot lose the weight I need to do

 

Those are all me too!

 

(The jewellery is a fluke - I have a friend who went on a jewellery making course. Four of us met at a friend's last night and she showed us how to do it. Surprisingly easy when you're shown how. Silly thing is, I'm just not girly in the least and don't wear necklaces. Still, it was fun!)

[chickencam]

I can do and sometimes do do most of the first list, but can't do and don't so most of the second, we all have our talents in different areas

 

Well done to poet for making you list what you ARE good at

 

I am really hopeless at keeping house, and actually getting round to ironing things, my ironing stash is the stuff of legend, and the family daren't open the airing cupboard I am however I think a good mum who is usually available when needed and my family are well fed and pretty happy most of the time

[Seagazer]

I attempt to do lots of things, although I often don't finish them.

 

I have absolutely no idea how to maintain the car

 

I do panic about cooking for lots of people but it usually turns out ok.

 

I can do a bit of decorating although I'm impatient and its often not done quite right.

 

But I think I'm a good mum, probably not a great housewife as housework is so boring and once you've done it, it just needs doing again the next day

 

I try not to worry about it though - I won't be worrying whether I cooked enough cakes or baked enough bread on my deathbed, just whether I told everyone I loved them enough.