How To Grow Vegetables In Your Garden Without Losing Other Uses of the Space

Claire — Sun, 30 Aug 2020 11:53:09 +0000

For 3 years I had an allotment and it was amazing for both my mental and physical health.

Since moving house I had to sadly give up the plot and within months I noticed a huge decline in my mental health.

I no longer had my sanctuary to escape to that was just me and nature. While it can be physically tough to have an allotment, it’s also relaxing and stress reducing in so many ways.

The post How To Grow Vegetables In Your Garden Without Losing Other Uses of the Space first appeared on Single Parent Pessimist.

I’m Back… It’s Been a Busy Few Months!

Claire — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 20:17:00 +0000

It’s been a manic few months of both great and really difficult times, and it’s sadly meant that I’ve neglected this blog.It’s been good to have a break from it in some ways, as I now feel refreshed and able to bore you with my rants, ideas and parenting highs and lows. Here’s a round-up of just some of what’s been keeping me busy lately… Holidays The week before May half term I took my son to Spain and it was lovely. It went far too quickly, but it was just the relaxation I needed. We went to the same place as last year because the hotel was fabulous and there was lots to do if we got bored of lounging by the pool. My son got to practice some of his Spanish that he’s learning in Reception and I got to block out a lot of my current stress which sadly returned the second we landed back in the UK. Very tempted to try save up for a September break though before year one starts! Health Exercise is down, weight is up… but I thought about this a lot during my holiday and I’m determined to get back into a healthier way of life. I’ve bought some new sports wear for summer from DW Sports, including some Paoli Printed Tights for the yoga I keep meaning to start to de-stress my mind. I’ve also got some new Adidas shorts and flip flops which have so far been used to lounge around on holiday, which shows my current enthusiasm for fitness. My new sportswear that’s become my loungewear… tut tut I’ve now been off anxiety medication for a few months, which was a big achievement as I tried a year ago to wean off and this particular drug is a nasty one to come off. Thankfully I managed it this time and will never ever go back on those. I’m struggling to bat off an episode of depression at the moment and the anxiety is becoming difficult at times. I’m looking into more natural ways to manage these, including exercise. The gym bored me, so I decided to try something which would challenge me physically, help give me better mental well-being and teach me something… Our New Allotment I got an allotment! I have never done any gardening before, in fact I’ve always hated my hands getting muddy so my family laughed when I told them. I wanted a new challenge and I’ve heard many times that gardening can dramatically improve mental health and well-being so it seemed ideal. It’s something I can do with my son, and it will be a useful life skill to teach both him and myself. Plus we might get some tasty fruit and veg from it that has no nasty chemicals on it and is full of flavour! I’m going to write about the first four months of allotment life soon, as I’ve learnt so much and I’m really enjoying it! Parenting I cannot believe my boy is now in his final term of his first year at school. This time has flown and in some ways I’m broody but at the same time loving the independence and skills he’s learning. He’s learning to read and write and I’ve noticed his emotional intelligence is growing hugely. This means we can have more in-depth discussions and he’s starting to calm down as he’s left the manic toddler and preschool stages. But we still have the occasional tantrum and boundary-pushing which has become more intelligent and can catch me off guard sometimes. We also have his current forgetfulness to do important things like drink fluid when at school which is driving me up the wall. But hey ho, nothing is plain sailing and it’s all a constant learning curve for both of us. I do wish I was better at parenting, and at working through stress quicker and calmer, but nobody is perfect. I’m aware of my flaws and I’m working on them and that’s all I can do. I hope you all had a great spring, and let’s enjoy summer! No payments have been received for this post. All opinions are honest and my own.

The post I’m Back… It’s Been a Busy Few Months! first appeared on Single Parent Pessimist.

Growing Veg - Single Parent Pessimist

How To Grow Vegetables In Your Garden Without Losing Other Uses of the Space

I’m Back… It’s Been a Busy Few Months!