That’s terribly sad FF, hopefully she remains peaceful and pain free.
Fingers crossed GD’s depression is now under control, it’s just awful. Great she can chat to you though, talking is a great help.
Well done JCJ:smileyhappy:, glad you enjoyed the Fayre, you are allowed to be happy:smileyhappy:, bah humbug to OH…
All ok here, touching wood as I am typing…
ED looks fit to burst and still needs iron tabs, YD had her post natal exam couple of issues but not drastic and also needs iron tabs. Baby doing so much better, whew!
Am out for dinner tomorrow night, woo hoo!!
Not having Festive Meal but sticking to main menu, X has crept up so quickly this year, am out of sorts cause am usually fully organised by Oct haha, not so this year…
The 25th of the month is looming, am I ready? Noooo, I need at least another month. Sorted most of my family but two teenagers may be getting money to spend on whatever they want (they may prefer that…who knows). Even their parents can’t give me any ideas what to buy them.
Went to nearest City shopping yesterday with Daughter, just found a couple of things but had a lovely lunch in a 4* restaurant. That was worth the trip.
SIL’s Mother is improving, more alert and eating again, so that’s good. There are still problems but she’s ok for the moment.
I popped out today to go to the Library and the market wearing the usual clothes and coat. Big mistake, sooooo much colder today, temperature has plummeted. Fortunately I had a pair of gloves in the car but I so needed a scarf. It’s so cold and such a change.
High street vouchers, FF! You can buy them online or in post office and they can be spent in lots of teenage-friendly shops as well as on “BigRiver” and other internet shops. Slightly more of a gift than money but still allows recipient the fun of spending. I bought one for son’s GF’s birthday.
Glad your son’s MIL is improved. Sounds like she was right to refuse invasive investigations?! (Always reminds me of my late father’s saying “Don’t b**ger I about!”)
Much colder here today too. Just come back from swimming and the red ice warning kept coming on in my car. The roads didn’t look like they’d been gritted either! Noooo!
I’m nowhere near ready for the big day either. Still got at least 6 more cards to make, never mind writing and posting or delivering them! Christmas cake needs marzipanning and icing. None of the presents are wrapped - and I offered to do OH’s as well (except mine! :D) as he hates it so much. I haven’t even checked whether I’ve got everything! Going to put tree and Dec’s up tomorrow evening while OH is at swimming (his friend’s taking him again. Yey!) Usually put them up on 11th, but I was out having the festive meal with ex-colleague at our favourite pub on Tuesday, frantically making cards last night and swimming tonight. Busy, busy, busy! Also, only 1 1/2 dozen mince pies left (and only because they are hidden in the freezer!) and neighbour has hinted that she’d like some. That’s her Christmas present sorted - just need to find time to make them!
Can’t wait for all the pre-Christmas faffing to be done because, at the school Christmas Fayre last week, a colleague asked me to knit a jumper for her greyhound! I’ve found a pattern online and bought it, along with some “wool” and I’m itching to get started on it!
Am on the “finally organised, woo hoo” bench!!! psst near the “I know I am getting on your nerves” bench.
All presents done, cards written and posted…fresh food still to be purchased, list written so I know whats what! Do still have to wrap, hopefully this weekend.
Glad to hear SIL’s Mum is doing better, yes FF you do now have to wrap up well, we are on an amber warning here for snow. 4* eating??? Why not?? You have to spoil yourselves:smileyhappy:!
That sounds interesting JCJ, a jumper/coat for a greyhound, you will need to put up pic when you are finished.
What are you both doing for the big day?? everyone will be here, so house will be superly noisy and busy, looking forward to it all apart from the dishes, daughters are nagging me to use dishwasher, am sure it will be defunct after 7 years…
Had some surprising news this week, my Mum has been wandering around care home, WHAT??? I couldn’t believe it…staff nurse says it seems to be when she is relaxed she can do it but any stress and she’s on the floor. Still in shock…xx
Cards finished, written and posted. Hand delivery ones will be delivered next weekend. Last presents bought - I think, haven’t actually checked my stash yet! Cake marzipanned. I’m on the “getting there” bench. Still got a mahoosive “to do” list but what doesn’t get done doesn’t get done!
Turned on TV to watch recorded “Strictly” final, only to find it’s in the last half hour and it hasn’t recorded! NOOO!
Did we have dinner last night?? Am so confused am forgetting which day it is…
Did manage to wrap all presents last night, hurrah, it’s not my favourite job…
Am on the “twitchy” bench, as you know I am not fond of clutter, whole house is full of clutter, mmmmmmmmmm. My bedroom has all the wrapped gifts and hallway has old tv and YD’s presents for GS and herself, am trying very hard not to twitch too much:smileyfrustrated:
Oh my colic is awful, baby is superly good all through day and evening, come 11pm it starts and can last until 3am, it’s terrible. I had no idea.
Now serious stuff, am trying to think of an EASY starter for X dinner, so any ideas would be more than welcome, do have soup but something else needed xx
Prawn cocktail is dead easy. Melon? Pate? - you can buy some lovely ones and toast and a bit of garnish is easy. We pig out so much on the main event that we don’t bother with starters any more. I used to do prawn cocktail - until the year I had them, ready prepared, in wine glasses, in the door of the fridge and they fell out and smashed when I opened the door. Grrrr!
My sympathies. How I remember those evenings pacing with a screaming, squirming baby. It gets easier once they’re on solid food (as long as they don’t then suffer from night terrors like ES did!! :()
Yes we did have dinner last night: we had roast pork, apple sauce, stuffing, roasties, Yorkshire pudding, roasted beetroot, crispy kale, smashed roots and gravy followed by raspberry and apple crumble and custard. And that was after I made 2 dozen more mince pies. Neighbour mentioned that she doesn’t make mince pies any more and doesn’t like shop ones. Aha! That’s what I’ll give her for Christmas then! She’s not having any of ours: we’re already onto the freezer stash! It seemed to take aaages without my willing sous chef!!
Started the dog jumper. It’s coming along nicely. Won’t be done by the end of term though but should be done by the time we go back in January.
OH just had a phone call from someone he knows who is selling a mobility scooter (he has 3!) and is going to let OH borrow it, over Christmas, to try it out. OH is saying “Oh god! Has it come to THAT?” and I’m being very firm with him and saying it isn’t instead of walking, it’s instead of a CAR: so he can get further away from the house than he could on foot. We’ll see. He’s arranged to collect it on Wednesday - if he doesn’t chicken out! I hope he loves it and it makes life a bit more bearable for him, but I’m not holding my breath!
Another starter idea: I once had a smoked salmon, avocado and prawn salad in a restaurant. Easy to prepare. Looks posh. Tastes delicious - if you like that sort of thing!
I really don’t like that sort of thing, smoked salmon…ugh, avocado… ugh, prawns… ugh, Just no! I can eat a few things that I don’t really like to be polite but that would be my worst nightmare.
I well remember a colicky baby daughter that didn’t let me go to bed before 3am for ages. Night terrors passed mine by, thank goodness.
Thank you for dinner, lovely as usual. Good idea to sell mobility scooter to OH as a replacement car rather than a walking aid. Hope he gets on with it. Looking forward to seeing the dog jumper.
I went into Drs. last week to chase up the physio appts., they gave me the phone no. for physio to phone them direct. It just rang and rang, no answer, so I popped up there today and surprise! They’ve got no referral for me. Back to Drs., they show a referral for me…there’s been a c**k up somewhere along the line . So, referred again today and marked as urgent.
Tried to organise yesterday to get things done so I wouldn’t have to go out today as weather forecast awful…that all quickly went pear-shaped so I’ve had to go out today TWICE and got soaked both times.
Xmas is coming too quickly. I’m just SO NOT READY! Help!
Thank you for the ideas JCJ, prawn cocktail we did for 100 years haha, last year it was mussels, thought that smoked salmon minus avocado (melon replacement) may be quite yummy, (sorry FF), pate is a no no.
Went into that shop that is famous for underwear today and they have a lot of yummy starters so may take the cheats way…we’ll see.
Think it’s a great idea for a try out JCJ, he may love it…it’s just getting your head around the fact that it is there to help you, pride has to take a back seat, fingers crossed.
Good job you checked FF, here’s hoping appt is very soon.
Just ordered some colic stuff has really good reviews, he slept through last night but has been screaming on and off most of the day, really not sure what is worst haha.
If the “knickers shop” starters don’t hijack you, another option could be smoked salmon with cream cheese on a toasted bagel, toast or even posh crackers? (Sorry, FF, perhaps you could have pate on whichever instead?
Mobility scooter was a disaster. I’m sooo disappointed. I really hoped it would help, but OH frightened himself silly just trying it on the flat by the man’s house. He didn’t even attempt to drive (ride?) the thing down the steep hill to our house. Because it is steered by handlebars, like a bike, it is too sensitive for him to use with his tremor, so the steering was all over the shop and he was terrified of tipping himself out. I really wish he could have waited to try it until I could have been with him. Perhaps I could have stopped him getting quite so anxious. Probably not. He has said he might try a different style - some are steered by a knob apparently, rather than handlebars, but I think he’s secretly relieved not to have to learn a new trick, as it were. Hey ho. Carry on with taxis - and me - then!
Yum yum, knew you would be good for ideas JCJ (cause of those wonderful Sunday Dinners) haha!!
Am going to have a look around hopefully before X day or it will just be soup, no I need to look…
That is such a shame about scooter, there is a new one that folds down to about the size of a hoover, so it is really practical for car journeys, can just be popped in the boot. They are expensive but seem to be better than the huge bulky ones, depends on how safe OH would feel. You should maybe have a look in a mobility shop or online, good thing about shop is he can try it out, some chemists stock them too.
Have had a nightmare day today, just glad it’s almost over, nothing drastic but just a lot of things all at once, grrrrrrrr.
I’m on the FF bench!! :smileymad: OH left the freezer door open. Again! I discovered it after I’d been out to fetch him from the pub he’d got a taxi to, after I got home from a long - last week before Christmas in a primary school - day at work (last ever full day ) via a wild goose chase around both local chemists and the surgery trying to track down his prescription. Totally kn***ered and, because I had Christmas dinner at school (yummy as ever: we are lucky to have an excellent school cook! :)) I was just going to have a snack myself and find something quick in the freezer for OH. Of course, finding the door open changed that plan!! I had a bit of a melt down, but I’m proud of myself that I just cried and told him to leave me alone - I didn’t shout and scream at him like I wanted to. The first two things I prodded were soft: a pack of bread rolls and a fish pie mix so I thought everything was thawed and potentially ruined - including the Christmas stuff. Arghhhh!! As it happened, everything else was actually still mostly frozen so I just had to make a fish pie and let the bread re-freeze which should be ok. Now I have 2 portions of fish pie in the freezer for when I CBA to cook in the holiday. Disaster turned into triumph.
Dragged myself off to swimming, despite afore mentioned exhaustion. Sooo annoyed though . because the website where I’ve been setting myself the swim distance challenges has been taken down and replaced with a, frankly, pathetic app. I have lost the record of all my swims towards the round-Jersey swim. I have no idea how far I’d got. Sooo cross. The distance challenges on the new app are really stupid too: London Marathon, 3 peaks challenge. I know we’ve had a lot of rain, but not enough to SWIM the London marathon surely or up mountains??! Grrrr!! Sent off a snotty email to them. They replied saying they will ask the techies to track down my data. I won’t hold my breath!!! Grrrr. :smileymad:
woo hoo for the holidays, you will be glad and even better a part timer afterwards:smileyhappy:
So pleased food wasn’t ruined what can you do? apart from nail the freezer shut, haha.
am typing one handed as am holding baby whilst YD is running around trying to buy last minute presents…
new colic stuff has arrived and appears to be working, not all gone but a little better, we’ll see.
prawns and mussels are the starters, checked underwear shop yesterday and there was hardly anything left and what was there i didn’t like:smileyfrustrated:
realised i have to buy one more small gift, just chocs that were not on my list, grrrrr.
food on mon and thats it done, hurrah.
went to chippie last night and placed full plate on sofa while i went to get something, never do that, came back and sat on the said plate:smileyembarrassed: ate it anyway…xx
That had me in fits, Katy! Just visualising you picking chips off your nether regions and eating them!
Glad there’s some improvement in GS’s colic.
I’ve never eaten mussels - never really fancied them - don’t know why. I love prawns.
Cards all delivered (except the inevitable ones I’ve forgotten?!) Last one put through their door as I dashed through torrential rain on the way to taking OH swimming. I hate driving in the dark in the rain and I just couldn’t keep the windscreen from steaming up. Horrid. Sat in the car for an hour, while he swam, supping tea, eating “underwear-shop” salted caramel shortbread (yum! Present from a child at school) playing silly games on my tablet. Quite enjoyed myself really, although I was very glad it wasn’t cold.
Christmas cake iced today. As every year I started out imagining I was going to do a smooth, professional looking job and, five minutes later, ended up going for “rustic”! Every year. Also made the Welsh cakes - without setting off the smoke alarm; a major achievement as the “bakestone” - a family heirloom - always smokes profusely.
Collecting the turkey, fresh fruit & veg and cream from farm shop tomorrow. I’ll make the stuffing and the fruit salad on Christmas Eve as the girls aren’t arriving until the evening: DIL has to work until 3pm - and they have a 3-hour drive, so they’ll eat on the way. I was going to do the (now traditional) lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner. I might still do that even though it’s just us 2.
I was a bit sad leaving school yesterday. We had such a laugh in the staffroom, at lunchtime, and I realised how much I’m going to miss that! Not immediately, I’ll be there for some lunchtimes as I’m still going to do my library and homework clubs, but when I retire completely… I’ve made it clear to OH that I’m sorry to be giving up the best part of my job, and he’s suitably grateful - at the moment! Something to remind him of when he’s being an a***?
There are lots of different mobility scooters about, perhaps you could persuade OH to try some other ones. After a suitable time lapse, maybe mention them in February… or when he’s having a grateful moment :smileytongue: Lovely looking cake, I always prefer a rustic look, smooth does nothing for me!
We don’t have a starter, just a good dinner (beef this year) and Christmas pudding when we feel we can eat it, usually at tea time :smileyhappy:
I’ve been wrapping presents tonight and Purdie has been helping. I’ve managed not to cut off her whiskers but it’s been close a few times! And I’ve had to pull sellotape off her fur and get her out of the bag that the presents have been in.
I’m back to work tomorrow after another month off sick, goodness knows what I’ll find as my stand ins only do half the hours that I do. One day, then I get Xmas hols for a week, back to work properly on the 2nd Jan.
The urgent referral to physio resulted in a phone call to see if an appt on 7th Jan was ok. It is.
So, tomorrow, school, three items to buy and a visit to the Library. Still need books to read when I’m not with family!
Aaah you will enjoy the freedom… lots of time for coffee afternoons…and doing what you want to do, when you want to do it!
Glad you have your appt FF, you will be soon super fit??? Fingers crossed. Hope Purdie has not been wrapped.
What a day, shops were crazy, supermarket almost empty of foodstuffs, couldn’t believe it, never, ever seen it sooooooooo bad:smileyfrustrated:
Everything done, woo hoo, was out for hours today…so feet are up and another takeaway for tea just couldn’t be bothered (did not sit in it whew). Am on my own tonight and was same last night, stayed up so late which was incredibly silly so early bed tonight. xx
