5 OS Pleasures in your Day Today part 2

ampersand

Seem to be posting on a 3-meals-per-day plan today -
1.Ollie, I'll blame you, because 'she made a fruit salad to use up the contents of the fruit bowl :money:, had me smiling, thinking again about the 2009 Seasonal Fruit Bowl Challenge on 'Confessions of a Very Tired Old Styler. Please Join In' Thread[thankyou Gingham Ribbon]...If you haven't, read it for some laugh out loud pleasures, more than 5 guaranteed.

2. They still haven't fixed it, or hadn't around mid-day today.....Pub sign, High Street, has lost one 'G' and one '&'. So, it still reads:
'THE WAG ON HORSES'.

3. Similarly, or not very[depends if you have a sideways slide-y about lateral-thinking, language -playpen sandpit of a mind]is this Guardian Soulmates advt.
Was sitting, managing to not watch/trying not to hear, the Burley Chassis bit of SCD[embarrassing, but I not Bloke] Instead, resorted to passing time matchmaking Guardian Soulmates with each other. I am still tinkering mentally with 'let's run away to a distant shore and enjoy watching sunsets rise and fall'.........
Apart from playing Emma, all human Life and syntax is here.

3. Just had call from P on Isle of Bute....then made call to P on Isle of Bute. Could hear 'phone but where was it? [Thinks: in fruit bowl possibly?] Reversing usual strategy, use mobile to call landline. Found snug in basket....???
P. loves all the jewellery and silver. Relief, relief and OS Pleasure all in one.
4. My NatWest Branch[changed to them a couple of years back]has staff who make every visit a pleasure. Same again today. They are likeable, individuals, real customer-firsters[not cloying/autocue speaks], humane. I know the Reclaim Bank Charges Thread has horrific stories on all Banks, NatWest among them. Thanks to that initiative, I had Bank Charges back from a merciless A&L whose staff lied[admitted later on paper]in the aftermath and horror of R's suicide, compromised by dancing shamelessly to R's family's tune, heads turned by certain 'glamour' profiles among them. I am reminded of this and the contrast every time I visit the Branch. Today, S and I had rugby jokey blah, despite him being on nextdoor guichet. I have never forgotten his kindness and personal openness with me, when - despairing and penniless - I asked if they would/could open an a/c for me, with very little[pension now seems like fortune]and little likelihood of any great change. S. made me more than one coffee, and when I returned for bits of signing later in day[he, having given me a fee-free a/c with moderate o/d, also fee-free]had gone out and bought a Lottery ticket for me. He also offered his own card then and there, if it would help. I have found this caring, watching brief to be a hallmark of this Branch, from ALL staff. They have half a dozen times gone the extra mile for me. It is an OS pleasure to say so here. I happen to know that they hold a/c's of some very big stables here[maybe I'm a token good cause/human face of Banking example...I don't have a problem with this, if so. They have been professional, intelligent, consistent, straight and confidence-boosting in all their dealings with little,very little, me.]

5. L. is much better in herself[happily admits to a fair old chocscoff fest from the M&S box left the other day] and likes the bag I will now line for her. I will enjoy riffling through the truly upper hundreds of fabrics I have, till I find the EXACT one.

6. Like others' garden amazements atm - choccamocca cosmos have suddenly restarted blooming en masse. Ditto tangerine geum poppies. Ditto climbing strawberries[brought back from A en France]and 2 big fruit are nearly ready.

7. Love the frocks on SCD, like Alesha becoming definite and acerbic, enjoyed tonight's very varied opinons, more than any week thus far.

Those 7 are my Latest 5.....carry on, good people.

scotrae

Hello. My nice low-cost / MSE highlights today:

1. DS2's lovely pal coming to play. After I doubled the size of my son's room yesterday by clearing it completely, little lad said "even though my room's HUGE compared to this tiny room, I wish I could have mine covered with posters and things like this". (I must remember to remind DS of that the next time he complains about all his friends having bigger bedrooms or houses.)

2. DS1 referring to the carpet that had been cleaned this week as 'the new carpet' - not once, not twice but three times! (I think he actually reckons it has been replaced.)

3. HM veggie soup and chicken and bacon baps for everyone at lunchtime, using up leftovers, frozen rolls and the last of the spuds, onion and carrots. DH says that I'm getting pretty good at making soup now!

4. Doing lots more ironing and filling hubby's wardrobe with clean shirts.

5. DH cooking his very OS meatballs with pasta - soooo good!

I've got to be outside emergency dentist with my boy first thing tomorrow though. Hopefully he'll be fit to go to M&S for a large 'dining for 2' chicken when they open - but I'm not holding my breath as I've a feeling I'm going to have to hold him down 'during' and carry him out afterwards. (Which could be interesting as he's a very big lad and I'll have to cross at least one very busy road to any parking spaces!)

Rummer

Good evening

Today was a lovely day for me!

1. Received a parcel of freebies I ordered ages ago
2. The crafting items I ordered arrived
3. A day with a fabulous friend at a Christmas fayre
4. Home for a nap
5. Takeaway tea for DDs birthday
6. Baking up a storm for the party tomorrow

Now going to try and grab an earlyish night so I am fresh faced for tomorrow!

rach

I don't pop on this thread often but I think I have 5 today!

1. bought some small kilner style jars for £2.50 each to use for homemade prezzies, even better, bought from a local independent shop which I walked to
2. Used leftover fajita filling from dinner tonight to make myself a wrap for a train journey tomorrow
3. Went shopping and with a bit of thought and care managed to just get exactly what I needed and leave myself enough to get through to the end of the month without blowing the grocery challenge completely
4. checked quidco to find a fiver has paid from about a year ago!
5. Found myself a pieced together outfit from my wardrobe for a poshish conference dinner (rather than buying something new!)

Jevvers

Evening all

1) DS (age 2) being totally unable to keep a secret no matter how much shushing and raised eyebrows are aimed in his direction "Daddy, we're making you a birthday cake, giggle giggle"

2) Being given four free flakes as some kind of Christmas (?) promotion by a woman in a twizzly yellow "flake" dress

3) DD (7mo) giving me a kiss for the first time... well, more of a lick but the intention was definitely there.

4) The delicious damp smell of autumn outside

5) A very funny Top Gear on best sparkling form

yummyhoney

mine for today are

1. sis taking me and ds2 and dd to cinema to see A Christmas Carol
2. myself and kids stocking up on sweets in shop before cinem and ds2 sneaking in with everything pled into his Thomas the tank bag and looking very guilty,,even tho he 3
3. ds whos 8 embarrasing me in McD's by asking did i want to take extra sugar home.sis said apple doesn't fall far from tree and we had a good giggle
4. free heating tonight as we burned wood and didn;t turn heating on
5. having a few beers with hubby and now having a coffee,,which means i must be getting old and know when i've had enough:cool:

bunny_too

Morning everyone, my 5 for today are.

1. So enjoyed day out in town yeterday, spent way too much money. thankfully we only do the no limits day once a year. Had budgeted for it.Well most of it. Seen the time when it would have been put on an already maxed credit card.:eek:

2. Playing with all yesterdays purchases, like a big kid i am. Got many good bargains too.

3. Think i have mastered one muffin recipe, son liked them, and they were soft. Oat and apple muffins from the old style recipe board. I see from some posts here that you can add what flavours you like to a basic mix. Has anyone tried toffee muffins? These are a fav of mine.:D

4. Relaxing day planned for today, have recorded few films to watch, nice bottle of wine and some choc's. Yum yum. Have cut wine down from few bottles a week to one now and again, makes it all the more special. Martin's demot tool works.:money:

5.Bake a batch of bread rolls. Another recipe found to try, while looking for perfect muffin recipe.

Have a great os day, big fat hugs to all who need them.:ABig thanks to regular and not so regular posters, i enjoy reading about you all. x

rach i havn't tried quidco, you just reminded me to take a look at that site thanks.

Olliebeak

Morning all :wave: - flipping heck - sunday morning and it's still 'dicky dark' outside. I know my alarm went off ages ago but my comp is reading 6.47 at the moment - summat wrong somewhere!

Louba - congrats for your sis and her b/f and wd to your OH on fixing the wall PLUS earning some money for your budget :T.
funkymonkey - wtg you on fixing your sewing machine and wd to your OH on making friends with the b/m :j.
Caterina - sounds like you and your friend had a great day wandering the streets of London - used to love doing that on my day off back in the early 70's when I lived in Surbiton. Last time I was there was in 1994 - took my eldest son for the day for his 21st birthday - crammed so much into the 6hrs we were there.
mineallmine - was very overcast and dark here all day as well - closed the curtains really early yesterday so I didn't have to look at the weather .
Patchwork - don't know if you've seen this or not, BUT - just for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCu6M_TSUGg
SunnyGirl - your mention of the shipping forecast brought back memories of our childhood - my younger sister learned all the shipping areas off by heart through listening to the forecast at night - she's 56 now and can still remember them all - hasn't got a clue where they are, but can recite them . I hope one of the staff has offered to introduce your m-i-l to some of the other residents in the home.
nuttybabe - wd on inviting your friend and her older children - maybe the difference is that you make them feel welcome and valued. I find that if you bring children into the conversation then they don't get the chance to be bored and 'find mischief'.
Broomstick - sounds like you could use some ((((Hugs)))) - good luck to your son and his friends with the show that they're performing and wd you for volunteering to help backstage .
ACEY - sorry to hear about your sister's blind date - sounds like whoever 'set her up' doesn't really know either of them very well. I'm sure she'll find somebody 'more her type' when she's least expecting it. Best to make friends first through a mutual interest - then at least you know you've got something in common.
Haribo - welcome to your new - we already had a dog when we got Tiggy-tiger but the dog soon learned her new place in the pecking order :rotfl:.
Kittikins - well done on using your local library and getting your free DVD loan .
bella - how lovely of your friend to treat you both like that - must be good to get back to normal again. Hadn't thought to sow some sees now for winter herbs - thanks for the prod on that one :T.
blackcrow - my experience of sauerkraut was mum buying some to put on a buffet table for brother's 21st birthday - she told us it was like coleslaw! 2 BIG jars of the stuff were put into dishes alongside things like pickles, pickled eggs etc. I'll swear we didn't have enough jars to bottle up the left-overs afterwards even though all the other stuff was used up - :rotfl:. We still tease her to this day about the 'multiplying sauerkraut'! I can imagine the dilemma you were in with such dedicated 'carnivores' as your hosts.
ampersand - good to know that we're not the only ones who use one phone to find another . Have now got rid of the cordless landline phones in favour of a plug-in one with a curly wire - can't lose THAT one any more :j!
scotrae - that poor child - is he not allowed to have posters in his bedroom - maybe they're in private rented or something like that ? Hope the trip to the dentist has gone well - one of mine had to be held down on a few occasions too, so I know exactly what you go through with him - ((((hugs)))) to you both.
Rummer - wd on getting your parcel of freebies and good luck with the party today .
rach - well done on keeping within your grocery challenge and on sorting an outfit from what you've already got in the wardrobe.
Jevvers - lol at your DS and the secret cake baking session :rotfl: AND at your DD giving sloppy kisses awwwwww.
yummyhoney - sounds like you all had a brill time at the cinema - my dgk's just grab handfuls of whatever when we go places AND they ask for the extra dips for me in McD's. I quite fancy going to see Christmas Carol, so will need to sort out which dgk's I'm taking with me as an excuse .
bunny too - wd on 'being a good girl' with the credit card yesterday and hope you enjoy your afternoon today.

Mine for yesterday:

1. Managed to have a really good tidy of the living room (and put Little Henry away) BEFORE the visitors arrived. Even gave the downstairs loo a good 'seeing to' AND the kitchen floor (they have a '[STRIKE]crawler[/STRIKE] bum-shuffler').

2. Was good to see Charlotte (6) and Sophie (23mths) again. Sophie has 'CHARGE syndrome' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHARGE_syndrome but is coming along very well now. She's not walking yet but does the 'bum shuffle' everywhere and can't half move - even spins on the spot and makes you dizzy!

3. The cake I made for Charlotte's birthday went down very well (plain cake with pink buttercream topping and mini pink and white marshmallows scattered on the top) - my version of one of the Asda traybake style cakes in the bakery section.

4. Took a trip to Asda after they'd left and got some Chinese deli counter meals on whoopsie for evening meal. Also got a Turkey - found the last of the largest 'small' turkeys in the freezer for £10. Another 10grms and it would have been a 'medium' for £13 :eek:. Also bought a bag of frozen sprouts. IF Christmas Day were to land tomorrow, I could now cope food-wise :j!

5. Managed to get a couple of pressies.

6. Planning a baking session today so better get off and make a start .

Hope everybody has a great OS/mse day and (((((BIG HUGS))))) to everybody who needs them - love Ollie xxx

Bitsy_Beans

Not posted for a few days.
Here are the highlights of past few days:

Settlement bill from energy company who are giving back the £105 they owe us as we've overpaid in the last quarter :T

Going shopping yesterday and completely resisted the urge to buy excess booze for Christmas that in reality will not be drunk Treated myself to 15 cans of Budwiser for £10 and that will see me through to new year.

H being given a pack of 15 cans of Carling for free by his boss I drink the larger in this house so am quite happy with my stash now :rotfl:

The drama queen antics of my DD (16 months), aside from the screaming (which isn't a pleasure) it's so funny to see her personality coming through more and more. She's a savvy little minx and very determined :rolleyes:

Just enjoying the festive build up. Going to get the Christmas decorations down next weekend and put them up (yes I know it's still technically November but would put them up on 1st December anyway and it's easier to sort it out on a weekend than week day).

Nothing mind blowing there but I am trying to see the positive things, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant

SunnyGirl

Olliebeak wrote: »

SunnyGirl - your mention of the shipping forecast brought back memories of our childhood - my younger sister learned all the shipping areas off by heart through listening to the forecast at night - she's 56 now and can still remember them all - hasn't got a clue where they are, but can recite them . I hope one of the staff has offered to introduce your m-i-l to some of the other residents in the home.

3. The cake I made for Charlotte's birthday went down very well (plain cake with pink buttercream topping and mini pink and white marshmallows scattered on the top) - my version of one of the Asda traybake style cakes in the bakery section.

Hi Ollie. Yes the staff are encouraging her downstairs they use all sorts of cunning ploys :rotfl: It doesn't help that MIL is a very private person who having ran her own pub for 40 years with late FIL didn't really have a big group of friends. We'll get there with her though. DH is taking her extra recliner chair up to go in the lounge today so she'll have her own seat

Loving the idea of the Asda style birthday cake I will definitely be 'pinching' that one from you