OS Daily Tues 9th Dec 2008

RosyRed

Morning everybody.
Taplady- thinking of Lesley and her family,and you.
Beth,so sorry about the rabbits,what an awful discovery your DD had to make.
JackieO-know what you mean about the postage for the cards-mine was £17 yesterday,but included 3 for abroad which were 81p each.I might be thnking about pruning my list for next year,ha ha.The workers have posted them for me on the way to work.
Very wet and cold here,got soaked while out with the dog,so I'm thawing and he's practically steaming.
I need to freeze the leftover brisket shortly,we've had it 2 days running so feel like a change tonight ,not sure yet.I don't meal plan as such but due to my batch cooking and keeping the freezer topped up,I take out what I fancy on the day.I need to put the bm on too.
I put some decs up yesterday and Dh switched the outside lights on.I had the tree lights in the conservatory on a timer,but it doesnt seem to be working.
We got a letter from United Utilities saying the DD for the water rate was going up £10 a month,because of their error-they'd worked it out over 13 months instead of 12 .The mind boggles.I did the energy meter readings yesterday and we seem to have spent £10 pounds more on gas last week.:eek: If that carries on the DD will not cover our usage.
Better get busy,that 'll keep me warm.
((((HUGS)))) to the people who need or want one.x

AussieLass

Morning all,

DGS & I went shopping this morning. Against my better judgement I let him take his shark (toy one ). So off we went, shark gripped in his hand scaring everyone :rolleyes:. If you move his fin it opens it's mouth. We were a bit early down at the ferry on the way home so I sat on a seat under the tree and read a few library books. It wasn't until we were on the ferry homeward bound that I realised the shark was no longer in our company. :eek:

I imagined crying & wanting to go back but he just said *Never mind Ninny, I have lot's of toys in my toy box*. So that was that. We just got home by the skin of our teeth and the heavens opened. It rained until lunch time. This afternoon we've been making paper chain decorations. I ironed while he played & we went down stairs when DH got home. I mowed & whipper snipped while he *helped* Poppa. DH is making him a swing and it has to be strong so I can swing too. Bless.

Taplady Thinking of you also.
MrsMix :wave:
purpleivy I hope things improve for you at work. You sound miserable there.

Well off to have a surf. We've just had tea & done the dishes. A bit later tonight. Hope you all have a lovely day & <hugs> to those not well. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

wannabe_sybil

In haste

Not good day yday OS but made Impossible Pie and it was successful. I was thrilled as was dear heart who ate a great amount. Little bear was almost impressed but he wasn't that hungry anyway after squishing peas all over the high chair tray.

Hugs to all

ivyleaf

:hello: Good morning!

Mrs_mix - so pleased you're back!:j Like Taplady, and I'm sure all the "old" posters, I wondered if you were okay. So sorry to hear about the gluten intolerance, you really don't need another health problem, do you! Not fun trying to sort out your diet just as Christmas is coming up.(((HUGS)))

Taplady - ((((HUGS))) to you, Lesley and her family

Best wishes to Tristan, and Mioliere's LO.

betheebee - Oh how awful about the rabbits Your poor DD and DGD!

bargainbird - Hope all goes well today. Glad you are feeling a bit better.

tru - glad Bubble is better! Are all the pigs okay?

Penny_Pincher - Hope you had a better night and are all feeling a bit better this morning. Our DD1 and DGS 15yo are both ill, there are some nasty viruses going round atm.

Well, the WM is just rinsing its first load and there's at least one more load to go in - I sometimes wonder where all the washing comes from, there are only three of us in the household after all :rolleyes:

Was wondering about going to Bluewater today to finish Christmas shopping, but I'm sure it will be packed, so will probably go to a local Currys instead - DD1 and DSIL said they would love a new kettle as a joint present. I'd noticed theirs was in a bit of a state, and it turns out they had bought a new one twice and both the new ones had blown up almost immediately, so they had to get the old one out again and were feeling a bit nervous about trying another new one!:D I think I would have been nervous as well, but we'll get them a new one and hope this one will behave itself

Breakfast today - weetabix
lunch - sandwich with low GI bread from local bakery
Dinner - Probably chili, not quite decided yet!

Last night we had fish and chips - not very MS, but really needed something easy as I had spent several hours at DD2's. DGD has separation anxiety atm so cried loudly every time DD left the room, and her brother joined in because he wanted all Mummy's attention :rolleyes: The volume was quite something :eek: In the midst of it all her grumpy neighbour came to the door to complain that water was pouring out of DD's overflow pipe and hitting the glass roof that covers part of their patio, and it had kept them awake the previous night. (DGS kept trying to shut the door on her ) It turned out to be coming from near the roof so it looked as if DSIL must have knocked something into the water tank in the loft when he was getting the Christmas tree out on Sunday night. I hope it's something that can be easily fixed!

I feel so sorry for DD2 and DSIL atm. The one thing they really need, a couple of good nights' sleep, we can't give them as we don't have the stamina to look after the children even if we had room for them to sleep here, such a shame. Good thing it's all "only a phase"!

Well, time to empty the WM and put the next load in. Will try to pop in again later, hope everyone has a good day!

Best wishes

ivyleaf xx

mummysaver

Morning all!

Have been busy sorting things out with the bank and police this morning, someone had cloned my card then used their own address for the deliveries, not a master criminal, and thankfully not too much money, and the bank are refunding, but a pain nonetheless!

Put bm on this morning when I got home from work, wm going and some ironing to do, kitchen swished and swiped, and a quick tidy round of the sitting room and that's it today!

Dinner will be pork chops from the freezer, think I might do some kind of chinese thing with them and serve with noodles and stir fried veg. Must make a pud as kids seem to be eating huge amounts at the mo, choc steamed sponge pud sounds just the job!

Lunch will be whatever I rootle out in a bit. Kids took hm cheese rolls, dd1's fab muffins, yoghurt, raisins and apples.

Was missing yesterday as went to visit a friend, had a lovely time catching up, then it was dinner and work! Today I'm chilling out a bit and having a surf. Looking forward to Christmas dinner at work tonight lol!

Have a good day all xx

Money_saving_Diva_2

Morning all!

Am a bit grumpy right now as the decorator we found on 'beg borrow or swap' (bit like freecycle) has neglected to turn up this morning to start the three days work. He only came and quoted 5 days ago and seemed so keen to start but no sign of him and no phone call. Stupid me didn't take his phone number as I emailed him and he rang me. Have sent a polite email asking if there is a problem, but no answer as yet.

Esor, redruby, tired mum, ivyleaf and anyone I missed - thank you for your hugs for Tristan
katholicos - Welcome to you hon!
Taplady - thinking of you and Lesley and her family
Betheebee - so sorry to hear about the rabbits, that must have been horrible for everyone
PenPin - Hope you had a better night honey and are all feeling a bit better this morning.

Ok, I asked once before - how do you post your avatars with movement and twinkles? Most of the 'siggys' I use in my comm have movement but once I use them as an avatar on here, they just stay static... can anyone help?

Dinner last night was chinese egg fried rice made beautifully by my OH and we stir fried the sliced chicken breast with a few peppers and a little garlic and onion. Was delicious. Something with potato for tonight as we need to make inroads to the sack that we now have in my utility room!

Sorry, can't concentrate on OS - am so annoyed with the decorator. We weren't going to decorate this side of christmas as all the quotes we had were way too high, but this guy advertised saying he had just lost his job and would quote for anything and he was about £90 lower than the nearest quote so I got all excited about finally having it done. My OH made a run to Trago Mills last night to get the wallpaper and now he isn't here.. grrrrrrrr

Ok, will stop complaining now and get on with the serious business of keeping warm! Hope everyone has a good day. I can smell the bread maker so it must be finished..

to everyone who needs them today, and to everyone who is under the weather.

Diva.x

Glad

hi all :hello:

day off today and tomorrow so hoping to get lots done

OH put up the lights outside yesterday, all four houses in our close put up similar lights and it looks magical

just spent an hour sorting socks :cool: and there are stil 2 dozen odd ones in the bag!!!

lunch today is carrot soup, my fave
and dinner is Chicken Fricassee, I'm using Quark in it tonight and will see if anyone tastes the difference

we've had a hailsone downpour an hour ago, it was like bullets hitting the conservatory! but brightening up now

Hester that wool looks lovely and I'm going to get some for a scarf for DD
I googled 'big ball funny' but if anyone else does, please be aware not all the hits are about wool :rotfl:

HockeyDuo8083

Aftertnoon all,

Got the rage today, w*rk is horrific. We do corporate hampers every year for a lot of our clients. Costing from £60 to £500 it's a total nightmare, my tyrannical boss insists on changing the list every 2 mins when everything is organised. Even though he finalised the list for some reason my collegue and I get a row if someone gets missed off.
I have no idea why in these credit crunch times we do such things not to mention that the people who get them don't give a flying...:mad: Plus we never see anyhting back from anyone.What a joke.
I bloody hate my job sometimes..so much grief....

Anyway rant over..hope everyone is well today, sunny but cold here in Edinburgh. Going out for lunch soon, not OS today but I need to get out of here:eek:

HUGS & Love to all who are in need..roll on the weekend...xxx

wannabe_sybil

HockeyDuo - sorry you are having such a bad time at work. It is so hard when a boss doesn't realise the time and effort that something takes. Hugs.

As for strange yarn... I found a shop on ebay called Yarn Paradise which is actually based in Turkey and is the absolutely only exception to buying only from UK ebay. It has some weird and wonderful wool, and has been seriously bad for my wealth. It is relatively inexpensive (in a very comparative way) but I adore the site. I have some waiting until the last minute for me to knit a scarf and bag for my goth friend. It's very odd yarn, perfect for her. (though she's not odd but lovely). Do be careful if you look, there are some tempting morsels on there. They did have a deal where they sent you a mixed lot of around 2000 grams for £20 plus carriage and it was a bit pot luck, but they seemed to have stopped doing that in the nick of time before I bought one.

Mr Sainsbury did not deliver the meat I ordered. So I have a large quantity of 'pot herbs' things you add to stews, but no meat to go with them. I was planning a week of making up stews and soups for the freezer. I can feel a trip to town with little bear coming on, though at this time of year that is a scarey prospect!

A man from the council has been here. He has put notices on the cars that are parked on the side opposite side of the road that they will be towed. Next door has someone visiting so, in our street there are a camper van, a small towing caravan, a large pile of tires, a very large pile of bricks, a large trailer half way through being modified and seven cars, two of them roadworthy, all except the bricks belonging to next door. But they are such lovely neighbours.

Hugs to all.

Bargain_Rzl

Hi all :hello:

((Hugs)) to all those who are ill or struggling at work.
And taplady, I am thinking of you and Lesley and her family. My friend who is battling cancer is also called Lesley, so when I say my prayers for her it reminds me to pray for your Lesley too

I'm doing a little "Advent challenge" in that I want to feel more "in control" by Christmas. So far I'm just about winning - my flat is getting steadily tidier (just by the method of clearing up more mess than I create each day), I've been eating less junk and drinking less alcohol, and going out less. I was supposed to be singing in a choir concert this Sunday but it's not a very interesting sing and I doubt if they really need me (there are always more altos in this choir than any other voice part!) so I have emailed the organiser saying I will only do it if they are really short of singers. It's all organised ad hoc anyway, so it's not as if I signed up for it then dropped out.

I am off to the pub this evening for a meet-up of a music forum I post on. It will be a select little gathering as half the people who were supposed to be coming have pulled out because they or their families are ill. Hopefully it won't be too much of a late one (it has the advantage of being a 30-second walk from a bus stop on the route that goes past my front door )

My sister has had her heating fixed, but now my mum's boiler has died She has no hot water until it's been fixed. Luckily as she's in a rented house (and the LA seem to be really on the ball) it's not costing her anything to get it fixed, she's been given temporary heaters, and she's not the one having to run around sorting it out. The boiler is supposed to be getting replaced on Thursday, and they are having to replace the CH pipework which should solve a few other problems too.

I haven't got that many plans for this week and next, so I am making a concerted effort to spend as little as possible, as I have noticed that I am getting close to exhausting my Christmas budget (the unknown quantity being how much I will end up having to pay my mum if her purchases of shared food and drink exceed mine) and there's really no other area of the budget from which it can be supplemented, other than my weekly grocery/spending money. I still have some presents to buy. We don't really do "big" presents in my family - I would normally spend between £15 and £30 each on my dad, brother and sister (depending on how many suitable things I find for each person) and I spend more on my mum as I'm the only family member who will actually be spending Christmas Day with her - and she may be nearly 56 but she's like a little child when it comes to Christmas (Hmm, yes, a little child who's let loose on the sherry :rotfl:) I like to make sure she has lots of "things" to unwrap. I have got her something she asked for, and a book, and will probably also get her some chocs and a couple of CDs that she'd like. Also need to get a few goodies for my mum's lovely dog, Pippin - but I see Aldi are doing pet treats next week, so that's that sorted!

Anyway this week I only need a few odds and ends of groceries (certainly less than £10 worth) as I have so much stuff in, plus some beer money for this evening, and enough for a newspaper and a concert programme on Saturday. Oh, and probably a cab home on Friday night - my cousin is having a Christmas party, she lives a 15 minute walk from me but it's through an area I'm not comfortable walking through at night. I reckon that little lot will add up to £30 (edit: make that £35 as I've just remembered about Caterina's SE London MSE Meet ) - a normal week's spend for me is £50 or £60 - and next week I should be able to manage the same sort of underspend again.

See you later,

Love Rzl xx :wave: