5 OS Pleasures in your Day Today part 2

Frith

Thanks for the celeriac tips! More news on those later...


LFS - hope you get on well tomorrow.


re: the chimney etc. I haven't done anything yet but think I will send a text, in the hope I will then receive a reply and find out if he plans to do anything about it. I will offer to smash up his fence panels to use for starting wood so that'll save him a job and perhaps make him feel more positive about getting someone in to re-point the chimney...


Pleasures for today:


1) Lousy sleep! So I put Holby City on and watched it in bed.


2) Went to a new garage (owned by my friend's dad) and it seems the car repair will cost £120. Doesn't sound too bad. While the chap was checking it over, he got some tin snips to cut a trailing bit of metal off the exhaust and secured something else with some cable ties. He said "It will cost £120" and smaller son looked aghast and said to me "£120 for using the tin snips??" :-)


3) Popped into Sainsburys. It is the first time I have used the car since Christmas Day apart from 2 x 3 mile trips to go swimming.


4) Cooking! Made a casserole for tea with onions, leeks, carrots and.... celeriac. Then made a soup using similar ingredients and a huge quantity of kale. Still an overwhelming amount of veg left!


5) Smaller son had 3rds of the casserole :-)


6) Watching the Kings Speech now.

Caterina

Good evening, happy 2014. I really feel the need to express gratitude so here I am, back, with my daily 5!

- Walk in the sunshine

- Suddenly thinking " oh heck I walked all the way to here to pick up DHs shoes but remembered that cobblers is closed on Thursday", but instead finding it open, just because of Christmas hours!

- Yoga class

- DD feeling better

- Friend visit for cup of tea

Good night all!

VJsmum

Caterina- I had the exact opposite the other day. Cobblers indeed :mad:
LFS good luck, be thinking of you
Mhags, safe travels
Frith - your boys eat vegetables :eek: what an amazing mother you are :T
BoP - de wintering. Legs = shaving all the fuzz off . Sorry if TMI. All the Hot Fuzz I am interested in. That sounds a little rude

For today

1 thanks for the good wishes for DD. we don't know anything yet, but she said it went really well. She doesn't think she could have done any more at this stage. One girl was not at all prepared, some hadn't followed instructions re no make up, some couldn't sing, or didnt act their way through The song. She said there were probably sme better actors, but she sang the best in her group - or acted her way through it best. We wil know in about 10 days if she has a second audition. This was the first of 10 first auditions, so we have a way to go yet
2 meanwhile I went for a wander round the VAnd A. Loved the bits I saw aand ignored the bits not interested in.
3 then walked round Hyde Park and saw Albert memorial and hall and Kensignton Palace, where I could sit outside and have a drink
4. met up with DD and we got cheapy tickets for Jersey Boys. WOW, it is amazing!! Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Not at all my kind of music but I LOVED IT
5 now on train home thanking our lucky stars for free first class rail passes and an OH who will drive 20 miles to pick us up

Night night all

Kittikins

Happy New Year everyone x DD and I went away for a holiday to our old village I've just caught up with everyone's pleasures and have just a couple of my own, as I'm too tired to marshall my thoughts!


The lovely friend who lent me her 'spare house' so we could mooch about at our own pace!


All our lovely friends who we met up with, who made us feel so welcome x

mhagster

Ooh it's my last morning in country cottage and I don't know if I will get a chance to pop on here later so will muse just now.

We have all been topped up with love and friendship in the past 2 weeks. It is hardly a holiday in the relaxing sense for us , mad dash across the world to be here and then to sleep at silly times of day, in and out peoples houses and then on to the next ' appointment ' of the day but we have some truly lovely friends and family and it has been just wonderful to catch up with them and for them to make time for us at a busy time of year.

To see my children just revel in the love of their daft aunties and cousins and their grandmothers does make a mother's heart glad. My quite shy and quiet boy has matured and allowed people to hug and kiss him...if they can reach his cheek! My funny DD1 makes us laugh with her wacky sense of humour ( though she will be howling later as we say goodbye to grannies) and my DD2 has grown up so much in past year and isn't the wee girl she was even a year ago and certainly not when we moved away. She struggles with Australia for a variety of reasons ( bullying/ her dad being ill/ missing people ) and going back will be difficult for her but she sees that her friends here have grown up and changed a bit too . That the intense friendships of primary have been replaced by new ones once her friends went to secondary school.

I have eaten so much crap and enjoyed every single bite of it. I have put weight on ...I can see it and feel it and will struggle to get rid of it but I'm looking forward to a fresh, summer diet when we go home and just hope my veg patch has been watered enough.

I am looking forward to go going back to our home, where we live and all our things surround us but with the addition of a few UK touches here and there and of some memories contained in a photograph or two.
Looking forward to going to our familiar shops and cafes but remembering its in dollars and not pounds! I have tried ( accidentally) to palm off a 50c piece twice yesterday! It is much bigger , like an old UK 50p.

We've been able to spend time with my mum and MIL, not enough probably and it never is , a quick dash in and then a dash back out and on to the next place but we've spent some time and shared some laughter and love.
I has been hard for me with being away whilst mum has been ill but I've had a chance to meet some of the nurses that have been taking care of her and they are all very kind and unfortunately , all too very busy. I have shared the gallows humour in the clinic waiting rooms with the others waiting....and waiting.
We have seem big changes in MIL health since last home but we've laughed and just quietly sat and reminisced over times gone by. She has enjoyed seeing her family everyday. We were a big part of their lives before we moved and would probably have popped over several times a week. It has been strange without FIL there but it just feels like he's popped out for the papers ...and will be back in soon.

We've seen lots of weather! But that's winter in Scotland for you...we were never coming to sunbathe on a beach anyway. That's the second year in a row I've been surprised at how dark it is! Obviously it was like that when we lived here but I'd forgotten ( again!) the river next to us had burst it's banks on Monday but was back down by Tuesday and we had never seen the tide as high as it was on Monday. I miss living near woods and rivers and the sea and countryside. I suppose we just take what's on our doorstep for granted. Before , we would just have spur of the moment decided to go to the beach, thrown everything in the car and 12 minutes later be paddling! Now it's a 1.5 hour drive through busy traffic and a struggle to park and then the drive home again....kind of takes any spontaneity away!
My kids grew up ( as both OH and I did) wading through rivers, skimming stones, tramping along country paths, splashing in puddles, knowing that a wee bit of rain wouldn't hurt them! , bringing home twigs and leaves and conkers and feathers and ...whatever we could find! I am thankful that my children have experienced all those things but also thankful that we have experienced new things...some challenging others more mundane but exciting for their differences.

It has been a pleasure not to be on constant spider watch! There are a few wee cosy country cottage ones but they seem happy to stay where they are! That and the heat are my most challenging things in Australia. I really appreciate the beauty around me but there is always a frisson of fear in my day to day life! Spiders and snakes terrify me!

I've loved my baths! But in saying that I will look forward to a brisk , 4 minute power shower when I get home....with my towels that actually fit right round my body! ( these ones leave at least a 4 inch gap...so quick dash back to bedroom!)

I have absolutely adored my great niece and love her so much. She has just fitted in with us as if she sees us every day! She is just gorgeous but I'm so glad mine are all past that '2' stage! She made my son play with a doll yesterday....he was mortified but we were all amused! That's a hard part of living so far away.

Right , I think it's bath time and procrastinating won't get suitcases packed.

See you from the other side of the world.....I will be back to moaning about possum poo and it's toooo hot in a couple of days!

mhagster

It's like chapter one of my first novel!

camNolliesMUMMY

DigForVictory wrote: »

DD - having had a huge tribe around me from birth, I find genealogy sites a place to find ancestors not siblings - must have been a shock?! Treble bonus for spelling celidh correctly within 24 hours of it! With you that diets can't start til temptation removed - Tudor Christmas had us all crooning over piglets as well as history!
Tealady - we all need to be called babe sometimes - it's wonderful for morale & giggling! DD OK- ish today (wrists can be wicked sore)? Brew & bed sound wonderful!
cNoM - a lie-in is a treat! Does the nail dryer do the job in the time?! Your headache is why I went on the wagon 12 or so years ago - rousing headaches & toddlers are a vile combination & I'm the only one who drives. In event of emergency, I'd really rather be sober. Getting tinkers washed?! Ah, happy memories of shower & one son in firemans hoist. Others watched wide-eyed & Learned...
CCP - free silly reading is part of kindle fun - I'm a big fan of detective fiction & my kindle means I've metres of it! Hurrah on blazer find & on capturing the elusive LL! All the best to you & sister!
VickyA - hurrah for friendship & avios points, a hamper of "English" things & success along the To Do list! Ironing done too? (Mine hidden in boot of car.)
Chickenopolis - we adore Hot Fuzz even if it isn't really *family* viewing - the whole Cornetto Trilogy draws us like fire! Really fresh eggs & Very Well Trained OH! Hope your trainer's son is found swiftly. All this cycling is admirable if uncomfortable - how else to enjoy all the Christmas treats?!
Bagpuss! Happy New Year!
Broomstick - don't let cabin fever tempt your mum - keep phoning! Wheat free? Sounds very tasty but complex, while I'll just quietly covet your kitchen...
Ampersand - I salute the Libournais who landed his coup de foudre! Hyacinth is one of the smells I can recognise - it does Fill a room, doesn't it! (Mum buys sacks of forced bulbs from the market in September & gives hefty bowls at Christmas.)
Frith - rot the man for being so foolish. Could brother point it out, it being a risk to you & yours? Or a very clear letter? Wow, these veg boxes sound amazing! Have fun with them?
Mhagster - I'm so enjoying your holiday I want it to go on, but your NZ life is as colourful & fascinating, just different. You have yellow stuff & different things in the garden. You *need* to eat more, here, what with the weather!
VJsmum - good luck with audition & marking - hurrah children can Hoover & OH can use a jar!
BoP - leaping Raffles, glorious homemade scran, why would you bother with shop pateee?!
lovefullshelves - I've no idea HOW you grow several thousand celeriac, but please rest up for the goosebumps & indignities of tomorrow?!Trounce DS at witches again when you get back...

OS pleasures
Being awake & out of bed (mattress & I have odd relationship) listening to birds chittering with a mug of tea.

Having started the car insurance renewal palaver & it isn't Much Worse than last year.

Whole family happily beguiled by Flash, again....

"Can you look up how to paint pigs?"
"Thought you used a broom & whitewash - nope, that would be the styes."
"28mm pigs!"

Realising that if I can find my title deeds (ecopy) I can check this tenancy in common but *without* a solicitor (on a You Never Know basis) but I have filed it Somewhere Sensible again... I have to laugh.


Big hug to all who need them, robust roofs & fences proof against wind and rain etc and safe travel to all who must venture out!

Yes the nail stuff worked and il be using it again. I'm waiting on some shellac copy type liquid gel you put on as a base coat and the top coat, it's cheaper then getting my nails done if I do it and less messy. I paid £6 for both bottles on eBay but shellac is expensive but it's good and hard stuff. I was paying £35 a month having my nails done and I'm not paying that anymore!
I used to get my eyebrows waxed that was £8 a time now I pluck and will be tinting them myself kit off eBay £4.50 free postage enough for 3-4 months, salon price £10 a month.
And for the last year I treat my own hair with DIY products such as mayo on my hair with olive oil as a deep conditioner. I'm mixed raced so my hair can get dry but not as dry as having a proper Afro. I've got ringlet type curls and so has my ds2 (I just leave conditioner on his).

1 last nights BBQ chicken was amazing! Got three chicken breasts out but they were big! as I'm making it again next week on the menu planner I cut the breasts in half length ways and put three halves back in the freezer after I cooked them. Saves me time making it again next week.

2 went through our finances after the kids went to bed so hopefully by the end of the month we will have the first month in a long time we are not in our overdraft?

3 mother asked what I wanted for my bday. I said nothing really and eventually I asked for a filing system so I can get organised. It's something I need and will use and I've just had lots from Xmas.

4kids are still flat out in bed yey!!!! Me n hubby are just laying in bed chatting waiting for the little tornados to run in.

5 porridge for breakfast with golden syrup and a large coffee is in order next.

DundeeDoll

Safe journey back mhags your reminisces of what's good in scotland are great - all very mse os. I'm from luton and the darkness of winter gets to me a bit here in dundee, but i love the hills and the glorious view ove the river tay. Though when we moved up here friends from cambridge told me i concentrate on the best anywhere i go - a good attitude to have i think.
For yesterday
1) kale soup. Was ok though think i prefer stir frying it. Howeve the bag (which one of my children requested and had best befre 25 dec) was fine and is now used up as is the beef stock
2) sorted through the potato and onion drawer. Made a separator from cardboard to split the new and old potatoes and dd2 accused me of apartheid rofl
3) last day with all the children at home. It's been wonderful but messy rofl
4) ordered my new laptop and decided to go for the extra £7 delivery charge to get it delivered today. Not very mse os but needed. To make up for it rejoined the grocery challenge. Determined to keep a very beady eye on bank account this year, not least cos it's still shared!
5) lovely evening at friends' open house. Was nervous cos it's all couples but neednt have worried. Ended up having really good laugh with couple we fell out with.
Dogs being clipped today, and another ceilidh tonight, this time for fellow band-member's wife's 60th. For the first time ever we have been asked for insurance! (Probably in case my accordion playing traumatises anyone rofl) bit of a pain as we normally play for charitable donations.

Skint_yet_Again

Sparrer hope you are feeling better x

lfs good luck for today

VJsmum fingers crossed for your daughters audition hope that she makes it to round 2

Mhags, have a safe journey home

Pleasures for yesterday/new years day

1. sausages and fresh bread for breakfast
2. lazy day indoors out of wind and rain, with DS home for a change. Relaxed NYD dinner
3. managed to get fridge freezer going again after it switched itself off... roll on new one arriving on sunday
4. yesterday lovely sun, got 2 loads of washing out on line
5. went for a walk along sea shore, fairly warm in sun considering its January!

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Go easy now those unwell, and on journeys home. Withs twigs and mice, and all things nice.

Put your umbrellas down, it wit get torn in this weather. Good job I am not on the ship going past St Mary’s.

A nobody on Wikipedia!

5 Blessed cat. In soaked and window silled himself this morning, but demolished the table, complete. Cleared the shelves. Woke the BoPsie up and I sure she said I swore at the cat.
Bought for a record and discarded

4 BoPsie in great bothers this morning, as Raffles not in for his first feasts of the day.. No problem, he will be back when he is hungry. And so he was!

Be careful not what they tell you

3 Had me oats this morning, proper milled with ruff bits, and a stuirdy hand stir. A good dollop of porage.

2 Still reading that book I started last year on WC WWII. Nearly on page 800 now, and the army has not been up to much, though Kursk has just happened. Oh, and the army. Well just read about Rhodes and the Aegean

Minded, before I tell the tale, as I am that when I finished my trade course with R. A Force and Co Ltd, I was on more money than an older apprentice at Grimsby. He went on to make 1080 appearances between 1975 and 2001. Mr Wilson of another club is still three seasons away from that! And, like last Saturday, and tomorrow. Yet again I will see the brave and not the fortune, as I photograph football at the grass roots.

1 In life, not a trace appeared. On Sunday a silence will last a minute. To Wayne Harrison, it lasted 21 years!