Some excellent news. Social services have increased my direct payments package to four hours a week. That's double what I was receiving before. I look forward to feeling less done in and hiding many more melons around the place.
Some more excellent news. My home support service, withdrawn without notice or explanation, is to be reinstated. I can't stress enough how important having continuity of support has been to me. The two visits a week I receive have broadened my horizons, if only to get me out to the Botanical Gardens or another local change of scene once in a while. And on days where that hasn't been possible I've been very glad just to have a cup of tea and a chat. It took a strongly worded letter (penned by yours truly - my advocate is kind of advocated out I think where I'm concerned), another letter from my CPN and a third letter from a social worker to sort it out. But sorted it is.
Even more excellent news. The shed is up (which means the scooter can be freed from the outhouse) the carpet is down in my son's room (he was freezing) and I have great plans for the garden, if not the energy or the funds. But there are ways and means of making a garden on the cheap. Scatter meadow seed perhaps. Pile up logs, acquire an old beehive and then there's those chickens...I still have a fanciful notion that keeping chickens in the urban environment will be a blast. I know you rural types are all for it, but if anyone reading has kept chickens in the middle of a city, let me know how you get away with it without a) annoying the neighbours or b) risking coming down to fox carnage mayhem or rat invasion from hell of a morning.
The picture shows how I'd like it to be. But being realistic, they'd get everywhere...probably to the local shops if I wasn't careful. So I think some sort of coop with a section of the garden for them to roam in is in order.
4 comments:
Congrats on the good news. The New Year is moving along quite swimmingly.
A word about the chickens: do check out your local laws about keeping the little feathered friends close to home. There have been people in my neck of the woods who have built great coops and gotten the blessings of their neighbours but have found themselves on the wrong side of city laws. There's some law on the books here from the 60's that has been used against urban clucksters. Sucks eggs!
Great to hear about the increased hours! Now you just want to push them to get it up to at least seven. :)
Hope you enjoy getting out a bit more. Who organises the home support package? That sounds good.
Great to read so many things are going right for you so far this year! Long may it continue! Sadly no advice on the chicken front but good luck! :o) {{HUGS}}
Donimo: sound advice. Guess a call to the council first may be wise...like I don't have enough bureaucrats making decisions in my life already. But to rebel, get kitted out and purchase chickens only to be told to remove them would be worse. Especially for my son. He really wants chickens. We have the move to the country discussion once in a while but he needs to be near a skate park. I'm not sure you can have both skate parks and chickens in your life.
LWG: Hi there. Home support is organised, hah, by anyone who bids for and wins the contract, runs it for a year or so, gets hacked off with it and passes it on to someone else. The service provider changes all the time. It's a precarious set-up but the visitors are dedicated and very experienced, lovely people. The ones up here tend to be small charitable initiatives, sometimes taken on by local authorities, but generally passed around.
Talj: Yes, things have picked up this week. It's got a lot to do with shaking off the remnants of the virus I had, being clear of one of my meds and feeling pretty good about things in general. Hope it lasts. I like spreading good feelings around :-)
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