* I wish it could be Christmas every day * - It's the 2017 Christmas Chatter Thread

Hi,Duff beer was from Lidl,think it was £1.20/£1.25 or thereabouts.

Murie,I have been to an open garden today which was beautiful.The lady has 4 sheepdogs and has laid good quality artificial turf.I asked her about the dog wee issue and she said as it is laid on sand they have no problems at all.There certainly was no smell.She said every now and again she waters the turf with diluted fabric conditioner.

Hard to believe it's flaming June,I'm frozen and have lit a fire.

Not forgotten you Free xxx

Vx

Peppa- glad everything is coming together. The weather has been horrible but today the sun is shining so fingers crossed. I am definitely cutting the grass today- I have been saying that all week but every time I got to get the mower out it starts raining. My lawn is so tiny it takes longer to get the mower out and put it away than it does to actually cut the grass.
046- as Vulpix says its Lidl that the beers are from x
Vulpix- we have talked about getting an artificial lawn but for some reason, even though it would be less work and look better, I am reluctant. DH dislikes gardening and all things connected with it so its always left to me which I don't mind as I enjoy it. Cutting the lawn, even though its a pain at times, is something of a ritual that I find relaxing (if that doesn't sound too crazy). That's a really good idea about the fabric conditioner wash though- I would never of thought of that.

Murie - we are also considering getting artificial lawn. We've thought about it for a few years because grass doesn't grow very well in our back garden, we've tried everything, even having new lawn laid & following care instructions to the letter but it always ends up dry, patchy & weeds everywhere. Anyway after many years of thinking about it, I think we are finally going to get it done this year.

Peppa - the weather wasn't too bad where I live this weekend. The sun was out & it only rained a small amount overnight, so we were able to spend some time in the garden yesterday.

Vulpix - ouchy, I hope your head is ok! I am a total wimp & I would be properly feeling sorry for myself if I'd done that! Sounds lovely being able to go on holiday during school time, cheaper & less busy. We still have that issue as our eldest is in her first year of college & our youngest is still in primary school, so we have quite a long time to go yet.

046 - Glad you sorted out your hubby's mood. Sometimes it just takes telling them like it is to snap them out of it

I had a lazy day for the most of yesterday but at around 4pm I suddenly had the urge to be productive, so I sorted out my spare bedroom. It really is a 'spare room' in every sense of the word. Everything gets dumped in there so unfortunately for the most part it is unusable as a functional room, but I want to get it sorted so we can get a spare bed put in there for occasional visitors. So I had a big clearout, somehow filled 3 black bags of stuff to throw away & still have a huge Ikea bag full of stuff that I think I might try getting a bit of money for on ebay or something! Not sure how there was that much stuff to get rid of as it really is a tiny room & somehow all the storage furniture in there is still full lol. Anyway, I sorted through all my wrapping paper, gift bags etc & found a load of Christmas cards & lovely little gift boxes that I forgot I'd bought last year, so I've put everything together in a box now which I can easily get my hands on.

DD1 has artificial grass and it's brilliant although it does get pretty hot in strong sunshine. We're planning to replace our little bit of grass in the back garden next year if the money holds out.

Hi all not been able to get on for a few days as we’ve had quite a few things going on. Had three hospital appointments the last three days as they thought the baby’s growth might have slowed down, but after a scan today it turns out it’s actually quite big and over the 90th centile line! Not sure what is going on but baby looks happy and healthy which is the main thing. After the hospital appointment this morning I popped to TK Maxx and picked up a lovely Laura Ashley kneeling pad and gardening gloves for my mum and MIL for Christmas. It feels good as I haven’t done any Christmas shopping for ages so it’ll be nice to stash them away and add them to my spreadsheet! Got some turkey Bolognese bubbling on the hob, one portion for tonight’s tea and one portion for the freezer. Just going to put my feet up for an hour before Wiggle comes home from nursery.

04624181 yes big house renovations and finances are certainly a cause for stress! Glad he’s coming round after your talking to!

vulpix oh no I hope you are feeling better after your fall and your forehead is healing nicely!

murie yes you are right I do think I’m in nesting mode, I’m cleaning the kitchen about a million times a day which is so not me!

Peppa I feel your pain, we’re having a right old nightmare with Scottish Power at the moment! These companies are too big for their own good and outsource too much work. I think I’m nesting at the moment, after the baby is born I’m sure the leeks and potatoes will end up in the bin! Oooh it’s exciting making house purchases and seeing it all come together!

GTQ that’s lovely news about your relatives coming over, I hope it happens! And as you say, if it doesn’t at least you’ve sorted a room out!

LMG it’s a great feeling when you’ve been productive isn’t it? Our spare room is a bit of a dumping ground at the moment too so I’m going through stuff here to get it back to being a guest room as my parents always need to stay when they’re here.