5 OS Pleasures in your Day Today part 2

[Deleted User]

1) Just been for a lovely walk with Maisie doggie who is here with us for the day, down to the river in the sunshine, doesn't come any better than !

2) Bees on the lavender bushes, being busy, doing what bees do with gusto!

3) The scent of the buddleia bushes in the warmth of the sun, evocative of summer and quite beautiful.

4) Currently there is the most gorgeous vintage white Rolls Royce decked out with white ribbons parked directly outside our house, it must be waiting for a morning wedding in the church just up the road to finish, she's a lady alright.

5) He Who Knows has got the most perfect day for fishing again today, I think they've only gone for the morning but it's perfect weather out there for sitting and watching and waiting beside a lake.

Frith

Pleasures for today (Friday - hoorah!)

1) Not a bad sleep. Bigger son got home at 7am.

2) Smaller son had a good day at school.

3) Hens OK.

4) Made courgette and chard omelettes for lunch again.

5) Popped to Ludlow with bigger son and got Seasalt tunic for me and Superdry hoodie and Fatface shorts for him (lovely charity shops!) Saw my ex brother in law who looked much better (sons' cousin died earlier this year).

6) Brother and mum had tickets for court 2 at Wimbledon but managed to get on centre court later in the day and have been watching Andy Murray!

7) Just got back from football practice with smaller son. My former colleague was there so had a chat with her. Bigger son is at work.

8) Sitting in bed to watch Last Leg though have to leave at 10.45 to pick bigger son up.

Kittikins

1. Sunshine!

2. Had a brilliant week at school, lots of art and parents coming in to show new techniques etc. Finished off with an amazing jazz concert for whole school and parents

3. Looking forward to a lovely moving up morning with my new class on Monday. Have decided to go against tradition and do some "work" with them and also do the craft/challenge stuff as well. After all, I will know most of them reasonably well, so don't need to do too much of the getting to know you malarkey.

4. Enjoyed Pimms and beer after DD's speech night last night. Boy was it hot in the school!!!

5. DD's now finished for the summer and hmm, already I'm getting bored of hearing her gloat.

6. Used my N*ctar card twice today - firstly to get £2.50 off my shopping, which consisted mainly of YS items and secondly, to get a better rate on buying Euro for DD's trip next week.

7. YS milk, fruit juice, ginger beer, bread and everything else was on "offer" on my little shopping expedition.

8. Also snuck in a knitting magazine as it came with some gorgeous wool and a lovely pattern, so am hoping to muster up the patience to knit!

9. Managed to sleep reasonably well last night but it feels hotter again tonight and I feel feverish again, so not sure if I'll get a repeat....

10. A fab ground floor flat has come up for sale and it looks like it's probably affordable!! It's in the town we nearly bought a flat in a few years ago, and is probably about the same size, but this time we'd only own 50% of it....I've registered with the housing association and somewhere else the website told me I'd have to do, and am hoping that I'll be able to view it soon.

DundeeDoll

Another interested in how the chalk paint goes lw I have some sturdy stag, very dark, and had also been toying with chalk paint
1) walked down to city campus. Knee seems to be benefitting from a fast 30 min walk each day (still doing physio exercises too)
2) yummy coffee at first meeting
3) mr piano made me risotto for lunch. yummy
4) then gbf collected me from work and we went to botanics event celebrating 100 years of darcy Thompson's on growth and form. 4 fab talks from a mathematician, historian, botanist and art historian, followed by chats and wine and nibbles
5) after walking the dogs we went round to mum's where dd2 was watching Murray. Nail biting!

milasavesmoney

Kitkins, I don't understand how the for sale flat but only owning 50% works. Is it a duplex?

Kittikins

Hi Mila, it's a scheme called Shared Ownership, where a Housing Association owns the property and sells a share (between 25% and 75%, I believe). They own the rest of it and charge the buyer a monthly rent and service charge. As a buyer, I'd have to get a mortgage on my portion.

It was a scheme thought up by the Government to increase their social housing stock and also, of course, to make money out of it!!

I live in one of the most expensive areas of the country and property is horrifically expensive. As a teacher, my salary is fixed nationally (only teachers in or near London earn more) and so I am paid the same as I would be if I lived in a cheaper part of the UK, where I'd be able to buy a house outright for me and my lovely daughter

Until I can find somewhere like hopefully this flat, that I might be able to afford, I just have to slum it in my parents' beautiful and rather large house I'd just like to regain my adulthood and independence at times....

mhagster

Bought a new charging cable for my iPad today so I'm now able to post again!

Had a few tough days recently ( was a year since we were told it was terminal.) but there are pleasures around and I make an effort to actively seek them.

Work has been worky but another week done .

My dog boy. Snuggles, walks, cheeky antics. The joy at finding a big stick this afternoon, he was so pleased with himself and carried it round the park. He got a new name tag today ( sigh...again! ) and the chap had never inscribed Haggis on a dog tag before!

Took a pile of puzzle books to cancer hospital this afternoon . It's not easy and I get quite upset but it's such a small thing to do and will hopefully make someone's wait for appointment a bit easier. There and back in half an hour! Had to make a dash for return train but just reached platform at same time as train pulled in. Free return if done in less than 2 hours.

More lemons. Camellias blooming. Roses ( usually flowering in November) blooming. A pair of collared doves setting up home in the back garden tree ( no sign of tawny frogmouths for a few weeks) ...No sign of blackbirds since the hedge and trees from next door were removed weeks ago.

Made the tastiest of lentil soup for tea tonight.

Lovely chat with friend the other day. She works in a school so is now on holiday and could chat my evening / her morning....my working hours certainly affect my chit chat time!

Bought some stunning large headed pink and red roses in supermarket the other day $5 a bunch. Was meeting my friend for weekly catch up and had bought her a bunch of mixed flowers , why? She asked....because they were $3.20! Had a nice catch up with her. Got steak RTC which has been in slow cooker today and will be dinner tomorrow. I always seem to get better RTC at this supermarket branch , not sure if its the time I'm going in ( late morning) or if I'm just lucky!

Went into salvos for a mooch the other day . Came out with a new to me bed linen set ( had a google at brand and usually sells for $150 ...whaaat?)
And 8 Santa stockings! Which will be ideal for our morning tea in 2 weeks time! They were 4 stockings for $1.20 so I bought another set! Will put raffle prizes in them.

Big shiny moon. Bright shiny stars. Bright wintery days. Washings out and mainly dry.

Have a good weekend. Off on my travels early Monday. Flying over to Tasmania for a few days.

milasavesmoney

KK best wishes that it's something you would like to buy after viewing the flat! We have nothing to compare that program to here in the States. It's a great solution for people providing such important work as teaching etc. in high cost areas. My grown children would not find living with me optimal either. I'm too mothering. I'd drive them crazy.

* A beautiful day with nothing pressing to do. Aaahhhh! It's a good thing!

* Using up leftovers (shrimp, corn etc) to make soup. I thing I'll give it an Asian twist with ramen and seasonings, more veggies esp mushrooms.

* Keeping DD1's two beautiful boy dogs, Ellington (as in Duke of) and Jackson. Ellington is a Bernese Mountion dog and old feller Jackson is a pit bull. They mostly lie around and take up a lot of floor space. DH has play/exercise time early in the cool of the desert morning with these boys. Then they plop in front of fans and hang out the rest of the day. They are well trained, sweet and affectionate guys. We have them while Olivia, SIL and Quoye are in NYork for his dad's wedding.

* DD3 flys out of NYCity to Thailand for three weeks today. I have her itinerary and contact numbers. I don't have a current passport. Mine lapsed and I fooled around and didn't send it in thus I'm kicking myself! DH has his current but he would be useless. (I'm not being mean as he would tell you the same thing) I'd have to send one of the other kids if an emergency arose. The good thing is one of the girls DD1 went to medical school with married a guy from Thailand and practices there. And Ariel has made good contacts with other Americans there so there are people to reach out to if need be.
Anyway, she has traveled a fair bit and has planned the trip well. She has e-mailed her plans to our embassy there too. I'm very excited for her. Three weeks!

* Lots and lots of beautiful red tomatoes plus hot jalapeños coming off.

Frith

A day of ups and downs! Here are my pleasures (and other bits) from Saturday.

1) A lie in.

2) Porridge for breakfast.

3) Went to see the hens with left over pasta from last night. Raspberries have finished now but were very good for weeks.

4) CurrysPCWorld sent a 2nd replacement laptop cable. AGAIN, they sent two parts which don't fit together! Allegedly they are sorting it out...

5) I sent a Christmas card. There is an appeal out for a boy called Alexis who has muscular dystrophy. He has 2 Christmases a year as he has a life limiting illness and his family would like to fit in more Christmases. If anyone wants to search online, his appeal is easy to find. Anyway, I had to paint a Christmas card as I hadn't saved any and I posted it off today.

6) Bigger son went to work and came back with cherry juice all up his shirt (he was stoning them) but a long soak and 2 runs through the washing machine and the T shirt is at least wearable again (a white one, of course).

7) I was a bit early picking him up so went for a look round the village church - fascinating. It had an RC family chapel on the back (only 16thC where most of the church is C14th) but the roof had collapsed in the 1970s so it is a ruin now. Had a look round the churchyard and several graves had identical yellow and white flowers. Had a look at they were all relations of my sons (my ex husband). He has a massive family locally, former Welsh coal miners and each of the original brothers had at least 5 children, 99% sons, so easy to track the surname.

8) Smaller son was out most of the day. He hired a football pitch with his friends then walked to McDonalds then into town to play on the splash pad.

9) Had an argument with bigger son who asked me to buy him a bottle of vodka to take with him (!) I was made to feel like the worst mother on earth for refusing but had a phone call with my sister who thought saying no was the way forward. He had cycled off cursing me and telling me he would not come on our planned day to the sea tomorrow. Then I got a phone call of apology, a couple of hours later!

10) My brother phoned from London this morning (post Wimbledon) to say he had finished in the Science Museum and where should I go next - not too far for mum to walk! Well, I looked on the map on my phone (as I don't really know London) and plumped for the Oratory as it looked close. I have never been there but they seemed to like it.

The reason he got on to centre court yesterday was someone left early and offered him the tickets - for free! He said someone questioned him as he went on to centre court (the tickets were for a box!!!!) and for the first half an hour he expected a guard to come and haul them away. He got to watch the Nadal match and then Andy Murray.

11) Popped to Sainsburys after picking up smaller son and we both hoovered the car out there.

12) Watched Casualty.

VJsmum

Greetings from Botswana

Mrs LW I have chalk painted and waxed loads of our v. Shabby furniture. Really gives it new life.

Quick pleasures

Scenery
Wildlife
Food
Lovely lovely people
Weather
Victoria falls
My boy - who is coping with being solely with his parents, and with little or no internet, very well

Off back into the bush today. Home next week.

Take care all