The Front Porch Swing

[LBejaran]

@lbejaran
  You are so right that you have earned the right to have the garage space.  Don't back down, we are all right behind you - shaking our fists!  Just kidding.  Too bad little sis is coming to the garage with you, it sounds like you have earned your privacy.  Also, he needs to learn that he needs to earn what he wants in life.  ON a side note: Did he ever finish the coop he was building?

Nivia and I are accustomed to sharing a room (a much smaller room, to be honest ).

We get along very well, so it's easier for us to share a space. I'm glad someone is shaking their fists at him, haha! I do that but no one else seems to agree.

As for the coop, it is not finished. It is just sitting on the patio, taking up space. I'm gonna probably take over as soon as he gives me his plans. I commented that I had never built a coop before and he was rude and said, "Yeah, I can tell from your coop". He's arrogant sometimes. I snapped at him after that and he apologized.

Even if he's coming in to visit your sister, he still needs to knock first. What if one of you is nekkid?

Well, we are in the habit of locking doors when we change (we are all fairly private and learned early on to do so), but being half naked has been a problem. I go to sleep in boxers and a tshirt, so I don't like for people to come into the room while I sleep. It takes a couple hours for the room to get nice and coop, so I don't use a blanket at first.

The issue has been that he looks for her and either I don't hear him knocking or he just opens the door.

Hence the need for a new door handle and a couple spoken rules so he knows to stay away.

 

[bruceha2000]

LOL... Try Tziki sauce Greek yogurt or yogurt that has been drained of excess liquid. Shredded cucumber and shredded garlic (to taste).

I am not a feta fan either. but I do like the milder forms... but only a little bit. I can certainly live without it.

Right now lamb is cheaper than beef in the stores.

deb

tzatziki is great. I had it in Greece when I went with DD2 and the high school band and chorus. The ingredients you missed are olive oil and dill.
Put that on your baked potato instead of sour cream. Much healthier and very tasty.

My go to spice rack is pretty much Salt, Pepper, Granulated garlic, Poultry seasoning, and I do spend the bucks on Hungarian paprika. I don't like mixes either they are often times too salty at the wrong time. Though I did invest in a large container of Adobo spice the red kind. This stuff goes on EVERYTHING.... so far... it does have salt in it but not a lot.

The spices I use occasionally but enough to have on hand
Dill
cinamon
allspice
Bay leaf
Chile powder
Onion flakes
Whole nutmeg
Ground cloves
Sage
Rosemary
Tyme
Basil
Turmeric

deb

Um, where is the tarragon and cilantro?? Must haves! (except the cilantro for those who think it tastes like soap).

@perchie.girl I love it when different families have their own recipes! There are some relatively unknown foods from my our culture but there is almost always variation between one family and the next. It's beautiful!

You all are right, by the way. I'm first gonna give him the verbal warning with my mom there so she and he both know I'm serious. I'm so tired of having to decide whether it not I should lock my door. I used to do it all the time when I was younger and I stopped when I didn't feel the need to keep everyone out. Now I'm back to feeling that way.

I think he'll listen to a verbal warning but my sister might encourage him to do what she says and let him come in to talk. So I'm gonna purchase myself a new door handle. There is a dead bolt on the garage door but no one uses it. The door handle is the main way of locking it.

If Nivia starts breaking the rules or encouraging him to come in for awhile, she won't be staying in there. She can stay on the couch. My mentality is slowly becoming that of a hermit and I'm tired of wanting to be locked away in a dark room. I have worked very hard to feel comfortable in my own home and would hate to regress into my old self that used to hide when visitors came over.

Honestly, I'm thinking of just making it a rule that he cannot enter the garage. It is not only a bedroom but a workspace and it's essentially going to be my place. He has made all sorts of stupid comments about how it would make a great place for him to weld or for his bike, but he never touched the garage or did any work. He can live without seeing it. And he acts like a total "donkey" about it, he can shove it.

And just so you all know, yes, we do get along most of the time. He isn't a horrible rebel with a sick satisfaction for ruining my day. I'm just tired of dealing with a teenage boy. Mom and Nivia care a whole lot, so they are helping him, but I have no patience and would really love for people to not defend him when he's being a jerk.

I get it, I truly do. He's emotionally stunted, has lived with an abusive father for years and uses humor to escape his own reality. But I didn't say I was going to coddle him and tell him everything was okay. That's my sister's job. My mom's job is to act like a mom to him because she feels like he is a son to her. And I'm gonna give him a healthy dose of reality and truth when he acts high & mighty.

I guess that's really all I can do, for now.

It probably doesn't work because the "i" at the beginning of my username is really an "L". I need to figure out how to fix that.

He's 17, so yes, he's definitely old enough. My sister just got into the habit of letting him come into the room after he gets out of work even though I don't like it. They like to chat before they go to bed. But I don't want this to be a habit in my new room.

He comes in to find Nivia but I'm going to let him know tonight that this will not continue.

Mom feels bad for him and she defends him because his mother never did. But she leaves it to me to speak my mind when I disagree with something he does. She does get after him but I've never seen her do so myself because she prefers to do it privately. I know she does talk to him to establish rules but I imagine she didn't think this was bothering me.

I have been telling her about setting up these boundaries but obviously she hasn't said anything yet. It needs to stop, so I'm going to chat with her tonight. If I move into the garage tonight, I don't want to continue feeling like a guest in my own space.

This one is easy Laura. He does not come in your garage bedroom ... EVER period. If he wants to talk to Nivia after work, she knows when he comes home. They can chat until the cows come home in the living room. No one is sleeping on the couch BECAUSE you converted the garage into your bedroom/studio. I suspect your "hermit tendencies" will subside if you DO have somewhere you can be alone.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: if I use those I prefer fresh... Cilantro I love but the kid does not. I really prefer sage rosemary and Basil fresh too but I dont have an herb garden.

Taking notes on the Tziki... though.

deb

 

[LBejaran]

This one is easy Laura. He does not come in your garage bedroom ... EVER period. If he wants to talk to Nivia after work, she knows when he comes home. They can chat until the cows come home in the living room. No one is sleeping on the couch BECAUSE you converted the garage into your bedroom/studio. I suspect your "hermit tendencies" will subside if you DO have somewhere you can be alone.

.

Right you are, Bruce. I'm feeling so relieved now that the garage is nearly done. All that work, weeks of sweating through my clothes while painting and lugging stuff up into the attic has finally paid off. This room has to be my sanctuary. I'm evening working in creating a cover for the a/c unit and will be bringing in my herbs so I can add a little greenery. I'm making it my zen den!

 

[lazy gardener]

Well, stick me back in the corner with no dinner. I shouldn't leave the porch sometimes. Grrrrrr. I just responded to a post and I have a feeling the OP is NOT going to like what I had to recommend. It's under "Wanting to raise my chickens to sell fertile eggs" or something close to that. Doggone it, Diane! Stay ON the porch and IN your corner.

Now, I gotta go read that thread.

.

Right you are, Bruce. I'm feeling so relieved now that the garage is nearly done. All that work, weeks of sweating through my clothes while painting and lugging stuff up into the attic has finally paid off. This room has to be my sanctuary. I'm evening working in creating a cover for the a/c unit and will be bringing in my herbs so I can add a little greenery. I'm making it my zen den!

You go girl!

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I went and read she got alot of EGGcellent advice... and I learned some too. I also posted a little bit. She seemed to be just plain ole excited about the prospect...

deb

 

[Blooie]

I went and read she got alot of EGGcellent advice... and I learned some too. I also posted a little bit. She seemed to be just plain ole excited about the prospect...

deb

That's the part I hated. I know what it feels like to be so excited about a project and then have someone else come along and try to curb some of that enthusiasm with a little reality. I must admit I over-reacted after I posted it too. When I first posted I thought I was pretty rough on her. But after getting a really nice PM and going back and re-reading, I wasn't that bad. And it looked like she took what I had to say very well, so I guess all's well that ends well.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Yep its a very fine line to walk trying to be helpful and yet trying not to be a wet blanket... I think all the posters were doing the same... Getting her to look at the "big" picture.

deb

 

[bruceha2000]

That's the part I hated. I know what it feels like to be so excited about a project and then have someone else come along and try to curb some of that enthusiasm with a little reality. I must admit I over-reacted after I posted it too. When I first posted I thought I was pretty rough on her. But after getting a really nice PM and going back and re-reading, I wasn't that bad. And it looked like she took what I had to say very well, so I guess all's well that ends well.

I think you did just fine "Bloopie"

I'm keeping my uninformed nose out of it but I think another thing she should do besides your suggestions to learn about her chickens first is:
Hatch and raise some before she sells any eggs. If she is hoping to help keep the heritage breeds going, she needs to make sure what will hatch are HIGH quality specimens. You can get the breeds she listed from the hatcheries. If someone is going to pay for hatching eggs, they will likely expect better birds than the hatcheries will provide. The old "if you want a really good SOP bird, go to a breeder, not a hatchery" thing is in play here.

 

[lazy gardener]

There's also a huge difference between "wanting to learn" and "putting in the time and effort" to learn. It comes back to doing the research instead of wanting to be spoon fed.