5 OS Pleasures in your Day Today part 2

Frith

New cat is Matilda. :-)

ampersand

Ah, good name!

Purple_kitten

Ampersand: Take care of you, rest when your body is telling you too.
Welcome home Matilda.
I’ve been struggling a little bit at keeping positive today.
1.I read a wonderful kindle book I read as research and completely addicted, downloaded the next one.
2.Enjoying watching the garden spring into life, remembered to water the green house plants that are fighting away.:)
3.Made a casserole for dinner trying to get re in spiried with food.
4.Net curtains washed, door mats and rug things washed, bathroom deep cleaned but not de cluttered.:)

mhagster

frith you have done so much hard work on the allotment already! Well done

So just about to get dark here at 6.15pm. It's been a lovely day after 4 days of pouring rain. The grass needed cut, was only done last weekend and before that maybe 2 months ago! The weeds have flourished and some nasty beastie has eaten the pumpkins and the cabbages!

Dropped off DD2 at work for her first ever shift ....when we went back to get her she was enjoying an iced chocolate topped with cream! And she was paid and she did very well! But oh her feet hurt and she was very tired!

We went for Saturday scone and mooch through the papers.

Then home and garden and hoovering and cleaning bathrooms and hanging out washing etc. then washing all in and ironed whilst watching a vintage casualty.

New to me woollen blanket, washed , dried and on top of bed, to keep us cosy now the nights are cooler.

Made lasagne for dinner with cauliflower and broccoli and peas from the garden, had bought an rtc roast veg thingy but it didn't roast at all, so threw it a pan with some lentils , water and veg stock and lo and behold...soup!

Made an apricot crumble using sweetener fake sugar ( bleurgh) , used up what I had left from when I attempted low carbing before, I am slowly seeing the tiniest of differences on the scales. 3 weeks of being sugar free and feeling better for it, I shall continue meantime.

Read my borrowed book from the little library.

Nice chats on phone with friend from home and my sister.

Enjoying my rtc flowers I bought yesterday, looking very pretty.

So a fairly productive but with some relaxation thrown in kind of day, back to work tomorrow but just a wee short week as it's holiday weekend next week. Have the loveliest of weekends

VJsmum

Morning all

Frith - what a transformation!
DforV - Shopping with DS is always quick - there is one little corner of our local retail park with Top Man, Burtons, Next, Sports direct virtually next to each other. An hour and a half and <<gulp>> £200 later :eek: DS has new clothes. 4 pairs shorts, 3 shirts / t shirts, trainers and some revision guides. Luckily it is a twice a year event. Love that you were all singing in the car but everyone was quiet while you napped - hope you weren't driving :rotfl: Nice to see you back - I love your posts
LFS - I have a "memory box" for each child with wristbands, first shoes etc in. Can't imagine my lanky 6ft string bean being so tiny (can't imagine him giving me a hug either, though we sometimes have a "push off and shove" match in the kitchen, I think he still likes the contact). Actually, though, as a 9lb 14oz baby he wasn't ever really tiny.
CCP - I am also suffering with hay fever, though for me it just clogs my sinuses. Mine is rape seed I think.
Ampersand - Uskerty is one of my favourite CP. "Gosh, quite a powerful throw" :rotfl: My all time fave is Limerick - so much so that I think I would have it as a "desert island disc". Just discovered Jimmy Perez. Am working my way through them. They are a bit Scandic Noir, aren't they?
PK - take care of yourself, you seem to be going through a rough patch <<hugs>>
Mhagster - well done DD, she will be tired. THis working lark ain't all it's cracked up to be I, too, am trying to be sugar free, but I did make flapjacks this week.:(

Pleasures for yesterday

1. Finished editing dissertations, they are all handed in. And now I have to mark them. The end is in sight, however.
2. No school run and DS finished at lunchtime. Both children went to the hairdressers - they even walked to and from together. :eek: This is a rare event in the VJ household.
3. Shopping with DS as above. Quick and painful.
4. Friend called in with a birthday card for OH (which is next week) and stopped for a coffee.
5. First Barbie of the year. Lovely to sit outside with our chimenea / bbq going. Food was a bit "meh" but the experience was nice.

busy day as ever today. Have to try and find something for OH's birthday (he has bought his own gifts from the children, so just need to wrap those and give to them to give to him). but need to take a couple of little things for him to unwrap - we are on holiday next week and over his BD so they will have to be small as they have to be carted there and back. I need to sort out cash, buy some toiletries, a pair of shorts, and pack. Then go to see DD in her play at the Rep in Birmingham (only a small studio theatre, not the main auditorium). That's after I've sorted my notes for Korea and done some marking.

There's no rest for the wicked, is there? But next week I have a whole week on a boat to do nothing (except not push the MiL in :rotfl:)

sparrer

Big pat on the back Frith, what an amazing transformation in such a short time :T
mhags well done to your DD2. Wages and iced chocolate with cream? I'm sure she'll stay on
CCP congratulations on the win, hope they're as comfortable as the write-up promised
DFV I agree, I'm very 'old school' and lament the lack of interest in the basics, ie reading riting, rithmatic etc. Re nightwear, I'm one of the 1 in 4 who does but no good coming here, I've sold everything and spent the money on holidays

1. Had my Spring spend on the garden yesterday, went to Homebase as the garden centre is getting just too expensive these days. Got masses of bedding, a lovely bushy broom which I've hankered after for a long time, and a cordilyne among a few other things, mainly from the casualty dept. I also got triple Nectar points
2. Met with a group of professionals last night, excellent response, the Q&A session ran well over and got invitations for further talks. The refreshments were pretty good too, lemon drizzle and coffee and walnut cakes - I didn't have seconds although it was a struggle to resist
3. The official CPP response came back with a healthy cheque in repayment for what I'd been charged for 'payment protection' in the past. It paid for the plants and I'm able to put a little more toward my NZ trip next year.
4. Went through the wardrobes and found a few more pieces for the charity bag, it's nearly full now so will deliver it after the weekend. I don't seem to buy a lot of clothes etc., so not sure where it all comes from - perhaps like wire coat hangers it multiplies in the dark?
5. Made a big bowl of spag and another of bol in the mw, haven't had spag bol for ages and really enjoyed it. Plenty left for the freezer, too. No Parmigiano in the fridge so I sprinkled a little Gorgonzola over it. Lovely

Have a good rest of the day

CCP

VJsmum - I do feel for you with the rape seed allergy, but you probably won't be surprised to learn that I love the stuff - it's just so yellow!

Frith - I can only echo everyone else re the allotment: you and the boys have done a fantastic job! :T

1) NPD and LSD - just bought a packet of paracetamol as what I thought was particularly bad hayfever actually seems to be a mixture of hayfever and a cold.

2a) Took advantage of the lovely yellow stuff to walk up to the pet-sitter's house to drop off a cheque I owed her...

2b) and did my usual dog magnet trick on her pet labrador: "he's usually quite shy with strangers...", as he fell into my arms for a cuddle!

3) Had a bit of a scary moment when I went to drop some ivy prunings in the garden waste bin and the gate blew shut behind me and jammed, trapping me out in the alleyway with no phone or keys. :eek: Luckily (not a word I ever thought I would us in the context) my LL has had builders in and they've dumped a load of building waste out the front of the building, and I was able to find something to prise open the gate and get back inside. That was the end of my gardening exploits for today, not surprisingly!

4) Accepted that my LL was never going to fix the dodgy lock on my front door, so I did it myself.

5) Making a lovely, spring-like casserole for dinner tonight, with chicken, bacon and spring veggies in a pesto and white wine sauce. :drool:

ampersand

Just in, ready for ccp's yumyum no.5:-)

1. Repaired kitsch birdysong clock which I do love still. It had hit deck at time of hour-change and none of my fix-its did. Decided to try again this morning...et voilà! I do like hearing each hour marked by twittery.

2. Spare duvet out on grass with 10kgs+ of vintage wool, balls, skeins, tangled lumps, all sorts, sizes, tipped out for HU-U-U-mungus patient work. Colour-blocked heaps first, +b, +w. Started.....winding, winding, undoing, bagging up. Finished about 7hrs later and it was so cold out by then, after 1530h. Wouldn't let self stop until done, then off to MrT&w8rs. Feel pleased, just one bag left of major tangle lump to fiddle with au lit ce soir. It's all a bit Klangers. Doesn't matter if no coherent mores evolve.

3. Limited shopping undertaken with 'That'll do until I go' thoughts:-)

4. 3 bunches of w8trs carnations, rtc>10p, stems nipped back, are having a restorative o/n up to necks in rain-butt water, ready for vase demain.

5. Looking forward to yummy steak, early-ish byes and another i-player attempt. I'm yawning now, fall asleep easily atm.

6. Toulon sneaked home 22-20 face à Bordeaux-Bègles after being horribly down at half-time. This puts us briefly at top of Super Quatorze, as well as heading into H-Cup semi-. Jonny wants the double i.e. retain H-Cup[unlikely] and le Brennus[even more so] as he probably bows out, comme BOD last week. Also watched, heard Mourad Boudjellal brought on as live meat in debate spot with Marine Le Pen: what a hideously objectionable woman. She was obsequiously pandered to by presenter on what is regarded as a Paxman-type grill-slot. Outrage is boiling over everywhere I look and read. Edgy times in the sacred hexagon.

vjm- I'd say you'd very much like Ann Cleeves and Jimmy Perez as written - a well-shaded/layered and developing character, with plausible departures from type. I rather think I have 26 fave CPs. I can well imagine dd's Cabaret piece as show-stopper, don't know the other one.

skint, bagpuss, BB - you are being missed too, with others known and noted.
Hugs and strength in any needed measure.

Oh, 7. is jacket unsullied, de- and un-poohed, dry, back in wardrobe.

Frith

Ampersand - I think my sister has the same clock - with a different bird at every hour?


Pleasures for today:


1) A lie in!


2) Porridge for breakfast.


3) Went to the allotment. Dug for 2 hours plus moved EVERY seedling from the house to the greenhouse (they were driving me mad, perched on every windowsill!), put netting over the lettuces and put some more bark chippings down. A friend of mine and her child (or possibly both children) are coming to the allotment for a look after Easter and there is just a 2m squared patch left. I wonder if we could all dig it together as some sort of project?!


4) All neighbours are away (this is unheard of) and sons so it is deathly quiet here. A pleasure in the day but now, just quiet...


5) Popped down to mum and dad's for a cup of tea and showed mum that you can watch ITV and channel 4 on the laptop, not just programmes on iplayer.


6) Bit of a tidy up and changed the bunk beds. Started washing the charity shop buys ready for the wedding starting with the shirts and ties. My dress and top can go in tomorrow.


7) My school friend came over bearing all the food for our tea.


8) Watched Casualty.

ampersand

Yup,that's the very one, Frith - complete with unattractive, no convincing, pretend wood surround in toffee-coloured plastic:-)...despite which, I love what it does.

http://www.variety.co.uk/home-zone-bird-sound-wall-clock-pine.html?utm_source=googleps&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=gp_home+zone&gclid=CN66m-Hp3L0CFUmWtAodpm0AuQ

Early 5, why not?

1. Jane Gardam play[known to & as novel], just finished - brilliant:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b040hqdt

2. ..which followed this[thought of you, dfv]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03zxw0q
-which I'm so glad I didn't switch away from.

3. Twice-boiled duvet now out on line in this lovely morning, with good look out over back farm.

4. Retrieved the carnations, now in 2 vases, all heads up, looking good.

5. Watered the rescued red oak w8rs lettuces in 2 troughs, which seem to have survived being deracinated, troughs overturned by something in the night.

:jIt's a beautiful day everyone - out we go:j

Yellow thing full on, hope Raffles is safe home/hotelling in servants' absence.