Thursday, July 16, 2009

Sharing with your neighbours and are you a "local?".......

I picked a pile of raspberries on Tuesday and was going to take them down to "B" to sell. However he didn't open up on Wednesday, so I decided to take some of the raspberries to the four neighbours closest to us.

I have met two of the neighbours before, but haven't met the other two yet. One of them turns out to be a 72 year old farmer who is a widower and such a super nice guy. Has only been on the farm for the past 40 years, so a bit of a "newcomer," to the area........LOL

The other neighbour wasn't in, so left them between the doors, with a note, saying they were from "Gill at the old "Perry" place"; as anyone who has lived around this area, knows it as "The old Perry Place." Even the farmer was saying although he has lived at his farm for 40 years, it still goes by the previous owners old name when talking to the "locals!!" So I am guessing I won't be classed as a local anytime soon!! I wonder how long you have to live in a place to be classed as a local?

I dropped off a larger container to the neighbour behind us, as he scraped the driveway for us. He also offered to help us spread the gravel on the driveway when we get it. That was super nice of him, wasn't it?

I have decided I am going to make jam with the rest of the raspberries I picked as they are really ripe. I may also pick some blackcurrants and make some blackcurrant jelly, if I have enough sugar. I bought a jelly bag especially for this job, but I needn't have bothered, as when I was talking to my mam about it, she said they always used a pillow case tied up to strain the berries. I could have saved myself a little money there.


On the allergy front, the medication he gave me to take on a night for the allergies, is much too strong for me, I spent Wednesday in a complete daze and half asleep. I did sleep like a log though, but got barely anything done, which is no good at all. I did get the rest of the attic vacuumed out. Got a little bit of grass cut and did laundry. Here's hoping Thursday will be a better day.

9 comments:

stitchersanon said...

Look again at my advice on anti-histamines..unfortunately a bit on an expert lol, and of course you are probably knackered anyway, yu are doing so much hehe!
Attitude determines how long you are an outsider..as an English person living in a foreign rural area I know how that feels. We shared all our excess crops last year, just like you are doing and now make an extra batch of cakes whenever I do the baking for the neighbours and we have been completely accepted, and I like to think, liked.

We also share labour...when we were given the turf we also helped the kind neighbour to get his in.

Keep up what you are doing and you will soon be one of the crowd lol

landcuckoo said...

That made me chuckle, we have been in our village for 4 years and will probably never be 'locals'! Was talking to one of the ladies at the coffee morning last week and she has lived in the neighbouring village for over 60 years, brought up her family there and she said that she is only 'nearly local'!
Sorry to read that you haven't been feeling so good lately but I hope you have turned that corner and can feel better and better each day now.
Take care
Sarah x

MyBulletinBoard said...

Oh, Gill, what a hoot! I hear you on the "local" bit. We have lived in a town like that, too. Our house was named for the little lady whose family sold it to us. We have moved since, and even WE still refer to it by her name! Looks like you'll be a newcomer for a long time.

Liz in Texas

Clippy Mat said...

well when other newcomers come along after you, you will be the 'local'. hope you feel better today. :-)

Laurieluc said...

Hi Gill:

Michael J. Fox bought a place in Bridgewater, CT some 10 years ago now and he was surprised that he had that very problem. Nobody would call it "The Fox Place", instead using the previous owner's name. I'm sure they still do. You are in good company :)

Scrappy quilter said...

Gill, we still get "you know, the __________ house". We've been here 7 years. I'm sure when we leave it will then become the S house. That's a part of country living. I've heard it on every farm and home around our area. It's kinda neat I think. I don't think we will ever the "locals" here...there is just too much history of those who have lived here. They find it hard to accept "new locals".

Can you cut your allery meds in half?

Tracey McBride ~ Frugal Luxuries® said...

Hello Gill! I am so very behind on your country adventures and tales of the new home! I think your idea of sharing the bounty is very wise and can do nothing but promote good will. Please accept my empathy regarding your new allergic condition. Last summer, out of no where, I developed severe allergies as well. I couldn't stand the medication (made me so sleepy and lazy) so just endured until the evenings when sleepy and lazy were a good thing. :-) I've since calmed them down quite a lot by monitoring my diet and including a lot of ginger in my pots of tea--even eating it raw at times (it contains strong anti-inflammation properties). I am so enjoying reading about your new life in the country. Over time, they will get to know you and see you for the good-hearted soul that you are... then it won't even matter if you're a "local" or not.
Good thoughts to you and your family.
Warmly,
Tracey
xo

Anonymous said...

I don't have berries to share but will have tomatoes to share in a week or two. I had to buy four plants this spring and I planted them and they are all up, growing and healthy. They are also covered with tomatoes.

I enjoyed reading this post. Sounds like the area we live in except we are in town. People around here are measured by how long they have lived in the house and if they are the original house owners. We are and two others so we three are about the oldest residents.

Every visitor counts, big time...
Pick a Peck of Pixels

Carletta said...

My Dad would always give away what we couldn't use. He rarely sold anything.
Hope your allergies get better soon.

{{{SIGH}}}

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