5 OS Pleasures in your Day Today part 2

Broomstick

I love the way that everyone's posts contain little details and descriptions that make me feel able to visualise people and places and things. :wave:Hi to Mhagster and yet more hugs to those who are finding things tough atm.

I'm shattered after a very early start, a 90 minute drive, a day helping friends run a big event and the drive home (via a takeaway), so my quick five for now are:

1. Driving into the sunrise this morning. Normally it really irritates me to drive eastwards along this route at this time with the sun in my eyes but this morning it reminded me of waking up with the sunrise when I backpacked as a teenager in Cornwall and thinking of all the music that I used to listen to then (like 'Here comes the sun' - dates me somewhat!))

2. Spending the day with lots of very friendly and pleasant adults and children.

3. Getting sock-number-one started. (Sparrer it's a 100g ball of wool which is why I'll get two socks from it.)

4. Driving back into our street tonight to find that the neighbours had gone to town in Xmas decorating a communal area for everybody to enjoy. Made us smile.

5. My bed (which is calling to me) and clean jamas to put on.

Sleep well everyone

B x

mhagster

Thank you all for your kind words of welcome to this thread, friendly 'faces' and kind words make such a difference.

1. I walked my dd 2 (10years) & her new friend to school, it is lovely to hear them share our cultural differences( believe me there are many!)

2.I attended school assembly this morning, it was lovely, kids celebrating their success with each other, delighted in another child's achievements. There was a Christmas dance display put on by kids who had choreographed the full thing in their lunch breaks. It did my heart good to see it today. I have taken my kids away from all they know & they have so bravely started new schools & just got on with it! We left behind a wonderful primary school which I was heavily involved in, which had a wonderful sense of community. Today ,I felt that same sense of community in DD2's new school.They finish for summer holidays on Friday.


3. I then walked into the shopping area, a strip of shops with basic needs met! Butcher ,baker,greengrocer, small grocery store, florist,newsagent,post office, 3 pharmacies! 3 charity shops or Op shops as they are known here. I enjoyed my walk, the first time I had done it! Lots of beautiful flowers,trees and gorgeous smells of roses as I walked past.

4.Wandered at leisure round op shops ,no children lurking with horror at mum buying second hand clothes!! I bought 2 pairs of short trousers, 1 pair of shorts & a beautiful skirt for not too much money!

5.I am now going to hang out my newly washed ,new to me clothes & they will dry very quickly in the sun. Today is a nicely warm day with the lightest of breezes. I know people back home have been struggling with the snow,ice & cold but I find it difficult to function when it's too hot. I quickly discovered holiday heat is different from living in the heat!

sparrer

ampersand I would love that but I don't have a bus pass! However I could meet you at a bus stop in the car, there's bound to be somewhere equidistant we could have a coffee or somesuch
Kitchenbunny I'm with you, perhaps there should be an OS forum for those of us who fall off the wagon from time to time
Blimus thank you, I'm determined it's not going to get me! I think many folk with a long term illness are helped by positive thinking. It works for me, anyway . I had to smile at the accordion idea, we're so often full of good intentions - for a few minutes anyway
Tealady great news on your Mr T savings. That one must be heading for the record!
Caterina your carrot cake and berry oat biscuits are certainly on the road to healthy eating . How lovely for you to be able to wake up next to your DH, sounds verrry romantic!
CCP isn't it truly wonderful to go outside and do some gardening, when last week we were deep in snow. This weekend has been bright and sunny, I heard we're heading for more snow but won't think about that, just enjoy the sun while we can
Introuble pleased that your snow has gone too. I hope you didn't peek at your Christmas present?!
Ladyhawk rotten luck about the cold and the parking ticket :mad:. Feel better now
katholicos doing Christmas shopping now for next year is very sensible. No point in letting a bargain gift slip through your fingers just because it's a year away. Blessings to your dear dog, so pleased he's improving. I wish you all good things for your meeting with your son, it may be difficult now when he's a child but he'll grow into a man and be able think for himself in the not too distant future. Hopefully you'll get your relationship back on the footing it should be on. Hugs to you
marmite the tea loaf sounds delish. I've been looking for a variation and this certainly deserves a trial so thank you for the suggeston
dundeedoll the twinkly fir garland sounds pretty, and the dinner sounds yummy, I do love mashed swede. You are NOT a failure as a mother! You didn't do anything wrong, kids these days think they can walk all over their parents and usually do, they know which buttons to press, take some perverse pleasure in causing pain, but they do grow up, I promise. As a teen my own DS was an absolute nightmare at times, but ask him now he's an adult why he was like that and he'll say he doesn't know, he just was too young to realise it was wrong. Today he's the complete opposite, can still be a bit argumentative but now in a joking way, and admits when he's in the wrong. I pray hard for you and katholicos that things will soon smooth out
Kittikins so pleased DD is back, not such good news about her 'lodgers', hope you get rid of them soon. Well done on the bargain tea, books and dvd's
Broomstick pleased you enjoyed the morning sun, as I did on my own 80 mile run. It just makes things feel so much more cheerful. Fortunately I was going west (ish) so had the sun behind me most of the way. What a lovely sight it must have been, driving home and seeing all the deccies
mhagster so pleased you posted again, this is such a lovely positive forum, and often a great boost when someone's feeling down. The school sounds super, perhaps you'll be able to do something there as you did here. It's great to hear all about the different cultures, and thank you for painting a picture of the shopping area, charity shops etc. What part of Oz are you, if you don't mind saying?

1. A good drive, the roads are just getting busy now, possibly the first wekend of pre-Christmas visiting, but no great hold-ups
2. Had lunch in Zizzi, a sort of crescent-shaped pizza type 'turnover' with chicken, cheese and bolognese filling, absolutely yum but couldn't posibly manage it all. Two meals, a wine and a lime and soda water came to £19
3. Bought myself a new purse, when I went to pay the sa said it was reduced so cost £4 less than the original price of £10
4. Went into Mr S as DM needed milk, they had whole milk reduced to 70p so bought 2 x 4 pints, which will make 16 pints for £1.40 . Everyone thinks Henley is expensive, but I know different
5. Home just in time to watch the last 20 minutes of Strictly. I feel the result is a foregone conclusion but very well deserved (sorry that the handsome Scott is no longer though)

Sweet dreams
S x

mhagster

Sparrer I am in a very hilly suburb in Melbourne, Victoria. I have never lived anywhere with as many hills, up one, down one.....repeat many times! So I am being forced to stay fit as I walk my dd2 to & from school as I don't have a car yet. Most people seem to drive everywhere,even short distances, which I was probably guilty of back home. However ,I did take the bus home this morning !

BlimusOreilly

katholicos - Huge hugs for you. The best of luck for your meeting with your son.

Here are mine from yesterday:

1) Went to buy our christmas tree. Spotted the perfect one amongst a big pile of them straight away.
2) It's always lovely pulling out the decorations that have been made/accumulated throughout the years.
3) The farm shop where we bought our tree had loads of free samples out including their own home-made wine and apple juice and even chocolate eggs. My sons think free food samples are the pinnacle of a good day out :rotfl:
4) Our favourite christmas film 'Elf' on Film4 :j
5) Finished my book about the Pendle Witches and have found another factual account of the Lanacshire witch trials of that period.

Have a great day everyone

Frith

Will try and do 5 for Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday

1) Bit of a lie in.

2) Took my mum's birthday presents down to her.

3) Looked after MrN's sons (and mine!) during the afternoon and that went smoothly.

4) Went swimming en masse.

5) Mr N came round. :-)

Sunday

1) Bit of a lie in.

2) Walked to the local pub then to my old house and home again (about 6 miles in all, boys kept up well).

3) My school friend came for tea.

4) Mr N came round :-)

Well, only 4 for yesterday! I did make a bit of headway with bigger son on the walk though. He has told me he "gets asthma at Daddy's house" which I found strange as he doesn't ever get a cough or anything like that. On the walk, he got cross with me because it took a long time and he did the stressy thing that I do myself, of getting grumpy, then more stressed, than snapping at people then getting upset due to the snapping then having a little cry. :-( Well, he does that anyway from time to time and I thought nothing of it. Then someone's dog leapt up at their garden fence as we walked by and he hates dogs and suddenly stood still breathing in a weird way. He said, "This is it. This is my asthma and there is something wrong with my heart too". I realised then that he has been having proper full blown panic attacks :-( He wants to go to the doctors to have his heart checked (!) so I have made an appointment and we will discuss it with her. Have also left a message for the counsellor that goes round the local schools. Quite sad really because I knew the ex was awful but thought I had just about managed to get away with it with regards to older son. :-(

Primrose

Popping in again - never seem to catch up with myself !

1. Having a pleasant break away for three days and catching up with my brother and his partner.
2. Whilst away, getting a new pedometer for £4.99 in a Sports Shop closing down sale to replace the broken one which has resided for months in a drawer. Hopefully this will motivate me to get out walking a little more, even if I don't make the daily 10,000 recommended paces.
3. Returned home to a batch of Christmas cards and news from various friends from whom we only hear once a year.
4. A few more things taken to the Charity Shop this morning. Still need to clear more junk from our cupboards though.
5. Put up the Christmas tree & lights this afternoon which helped reduce the grey sky negative effect.
5. OH is away tonight so planning an early night with hot water bottle, woollen bedsocks and a good book.

RAS

Frith wrote: »

He has told me he "gets asthma at Daddy's house" which I found strange as he doesn't ever get a cough or anything like that. On the walk, he got cross with me because it took a long time and he did the stressy thing that I do myself, of getting grumpy, then more stressed, than snapping at people then getting upset due to the snapping then having a little cry. :-( Well, he does that anyway from time to time and I thought nothing of it. Then someone's dog leapt up at their garden fence as we walked by and he hates dogs and suddenly stood still breathing in a weird way. He said, "This is it. This is my asthma and there is something wrong with my heart too". I realised then that he has been having proper full blown panic attacks :-( He wants to go to the doctors to have his heart checked (!) so I have made an appointment and we will discuss it with her. Have also left a message for the counsellor that goes round the local schools. Quite sad really because I knew the ex was awful but thought I had just about managed to get away with it with regards to older son. :-(

Frith

Boy do I recognise that. I eventually realised my "asthma" was a re-run of breathing difficulties I had when my father first battered me, when I was nearly 40, after he was well and truly dead. Every time I was supposed to go near him, I had the same problems and sometimes even talking about him set me off.

There are some very good ways of dealing with the breathing and the heart racing but the core of the matter is that if he feels that bad around his father, there is an underlying reason and first experience that taught him to be so scared. You may find it hard to see him like that but as you know he needs to be aware that at the time he first experience this feeling this was an appropriate way to respond to his fear. We are hard-wired to panic; as my NLP teacher used to say, "The caveperson who heard a twig snap and though "Oh bunny rabbit" rarely got to contribute his/her genes to future generations. Panicking is normal behaviour; what is not normal is being forced back into situations where you have to be around whatever scares you as the appropriate thing is to keep clear.

Being afraid of his father may be appropriate? Does he report that he feels like this whenever he is with his father?

It may well be a good idea to have his "heart" checked by the doctor if you think the Dr could help be explaining what is actually happening?

[Deleted User]

My five are:

1. It's raining! we are in a drought at the moment, and rely on tank water for ourselves and our animals. Although putting in another tank is high on our list of must do's we haven't yet got round to it. And with 20 family arriving for Christmas and staying until the New Year, our situation was starting to look a bit grim.

2. The quilt I have been working on for the past month is just about finished, should be able to complete it today.

3. OH has told me he is taking a mini break this weekend and will be home for 4 days. (Mind you he then told me that tuna have been sighted up the coast, so a fair bit of that time will probably be spent on board his boat) Tuna migrate past here for a few weeks - usually in midsummer, so fishing opportunities are very limited.

4.The pots I planted with annuals are all in flower and looking fab.

5. The herb garden we are creating is just about finished, only need to get another 6 - 8 herbs and it will be fully planted. Was wondering at one stage if I would ever fill it as its a very large area

Blessings be

Jennie

Frith

Thanks, RAS.

I have explained to him about panic attacks and that I have/still get them the same as his. I don't think he was convinced, though! He asked me questions about what speed his heart is supposed to go at and why his is going faster than normal. He said he thinks his goes faster than Nathan's (his friend) and I said, "Well, I don't think Nathan has as much on his mind as you at the moment" and he went very quiet and seemed to be thinking about that.

He has complained about "asthma" 2-3 times when returning from his father's but I had not put 2 and 2 together.

The message I have left for the counsellor was fairly vague but I did say she might want to see both sons...