5 OS Pleasures in your Day Today part 2

Broomstick

Evening all.

Well DS2 has flu good and proper. However...

1. I've had enough paracetamol/lemon stuff in the house (and in date) that he will drink, I could find the thermometer, we have juice and tiny bits of snack food (I knew those kiwi fruit would come in useful!) and he's managing atm.

2. I've souped up most of the post Xmas veg from the fridge ready for tomorrow's veggiebox.

3. I left the DSs at home watching a film on iplayer and went shopping at Lakeland with a list and got most of what I wanted. I only bought one thing that was not on the list: a packet of tealights to top up our emergency stocks.

4. Watching Upstairs Downstairs.

5. While I was out I got something changed at M&S and they refunded me the cost (£3) for my trouble and gave me the replacement free. That £3 is going to kick start my saving for a beautiful, will-last-a-lifetime, set of cast iron kitchen scales that I really, really want and, by the time I've saved the money, will really, really need because my cheapo plastic ones are on their last legs/dials/springs... whatever they are.:D

Sweet dreams
B x

Frith

Can barely remember what happened yesterday but I'll try and go for 5 then think of 5 for today!

Boxing Day

1) Had a lie in.

2) Stayed in my pyjamas until gone 3pm. Which is a first EVER.

3) Helped bigger son with his Lego.

4) Went to MrN's for tea cooked by him. :-)

Today

1) Went with my sister into town - so nice to actually be able to go out in the car now the thaw has started. She wanted to get a laptop and doesn't know much about computers but we had a good look around and I haggled and she got one with £180 off! Brought it back home and MrN put Office on it. (Someone who DOES know rather a lot about computers).

2) Got a new cordless house phone from town which doesn't sound very exciting but the on/off button had pretty much seized on my old phone so it would be ringing like mad and I would be unable to answer.

3) Went round to MrN's with the laptop. I really didn't know what to get his sons for Christmas so got them various bits and plenty of chocolate. His son2 was the hardest (teenager) but I went in and all the component parts of the present I got him were out on the table! So it must have gone down fairly well.

4) Went swimming with sons and my brother.

5) Sons enjoyed watching Halcyon River Diary then we all watched Casualty.

6) Put the Christmas tree out. We live in a tiny cottage and couldn't really watch TV/move about with it up and the needles were falling. Its a tree in a pot which lives in the garden the rest of the year and I was worrying that it wouldn't survive this time so I'm happier now its out there in the fresh air and rain.

sparrer

Mhags your bouncy people look much more lively than mine, you're going to beat me hands down at losing weight . Did a few - very few - stomach crunches and about 2 1/2 sit-ups before I sagged into a heap on the bedroom floor and the doglet came snuffling around to investigate! Try again tomorrow...
Pam congrats on the loss, not the ideal way to do it though
Pam, Ladyhawk and Mhags, and anyone else who did, well done for braving the sales, thankfully those days (and nights!) are over for me, you'll find as you get older you'll have enough clothes to last a very long time!
house elf :rotfl:at the poor man coming to collect his son, bet he had a tale to tell his wife!
Broomstick well done on only going over your list by one item, and a useful one at that
Caterina congrats on not going out, probably the most sensible one among us, and probably the most prepared for the foul weather and long Bank Holiday weekend
Frith good work haggling the laptop down for your Sis, what a super bonus for her. Well done on choosing right for the boys, not the easiest of tasks so good choice
Primrose thank you for the idea


1. Spoke at length on the phone to my mum and discussed what to do re brother. She's very fair and never takes sides but in this case she agrees I'd be right to let him know I'll not be buying for them again (re post #7296). I'll continue to buy something through giftaid but no more personal gifts. It was hard to decide on but I really have tried, kept in touch, done all the running and I just don't see the point any more. A pleasure? I don't know, but a relief to have DM's approval.

2. The above also goes for various others, definitely OS as it will save me a lot in phone calls, birthday/Christmas gifts etc. Hope I'm not coming across as bitter, I'm just disappointed that, as someone once said about me, I want to make everyone everyone happy and can't accept it's never going to happen

3. Learned that my brother eventually paid for DM's taxi home on Christmas Day. They invited her but said they couldn't take her home (all of 10 miles) as they'd be drinking. In a gathering of 8 adults with cars not one was prepared to drive her home, so she had to book a taxi costing £45 :eek:. A phone call to my brother two days before Christmas seems to have worked . Not OS for me but saved an 89 y/o 2 weeks+ grocery money.

4. NSD

5. Seeing the snow gradually melt, did a quick tour of my tiny garden to see lots and lots of little green shoots - crocuses, daffodils, snowdrops, all the beautiful flowers that herald spring

Sleep tight, sweet dreams
S x

Kitchenbunny

Primrose - It’s thawing here too, thankfully. It’s nice to see green under the white and brown slush.
Ladyhawk - Mmm, smoked salmon and homemade bread - what a treat!
Frugalpam - Well done on reaching the 1 stone mark and nearly reaching 2 years without smoking!
House Elf - I love leftovers. I do make more than necessary purely to have them
Broomstick - That reminds me I’ve got a load of veg in the fridge just waiting to become soup. Hope your DS2 feels better soon.
Frith - Nice haggling on the computer. Our tree is only plastic but I am thinking of taking it down soon as it does get in the way a bit.
Sparrer - How nice that the spring flowers are undeterred by winter’s grip.

DH still isn't much better, bless him. He's trying to keep stocked up on stuff, which is good. I'm feeling much happier that the snow has gone - to think I actually used to like it - and it certainly makes getting around easier. Anyway, here are my pleasures:

1. The woodpecker was back in our garden, and spent most of the afternoon there.
2. We went for a slightly longer walk yesterday, managing about 3 miles down to the river and back. I got a lovely photo of water rushing over the frozen lock at the bridge, and then slipped and slid our way home.
3. We were both exhausted by this and sat on the sofa under a blanket, warming up and recovering while watching a previously recorded episode of "Wonders of the Solar System"
4. Using a voucher from my Mum and Dad for Christmas, I went at opening time to Boots and bought a Thierry Mugler Angel gift set. When I saw the description of the fragrance I fell in love, as it has top notes of patchouli and undertones of praline and chocolate. Mmm!
5. I made DH an omelette for tea, but as I didn't fancy that, I just had cheese and biscuits. Today I'm feeling a lot more "let's do something properly" and I think we'll have some enchiladas for tea. I want a bit of normality back!

Anyway, have a good day everyone. (((hugs)))

KB xx

mhagster

It's Good evening from me!
We are just in from being out all day.We went to see the most amazing sand sculpture display . We hadn't told kids where we were going just that we were going out for the day,so we were up bright & early got lunch all made up,washing out , car packed & off we went. About a hour drive away & traffic not too bad as still a holiday here.

1.The beach it was at was simply stunning, the sea was the most amazing colour of blue-green and sand was lovely.(we have discovered not all sand is the same!)
2. Not a cheap entry fee & I dislike a child has to be under 12!, however, it was fantastic & the work & detail was superb. we got our hands stamped & went back later on. It was very busy first time but much quieter later & we saw lots more detail the second visit.
3. had picnic lunch on the beach, we had 3 hours free parking,most beachy carparks charge a fortune. Kids were swimming in the sea & it was just perfectly lovely!
4.We then drove further down coast, and had a wander round a lovely but busy seaside town.I went into a shop & got 12 Christmas cards for putting a photo in for about £2.(Did that for 'special' people this year & they were all pleased with them.
5 Found another lovely beach,sat for an hour, then went back to first place to see sand sculptures again. Bought 3 large portions of chips to share between the 5 of us,haha....one would have done us.....was like an ashet.......however in true MSE style.......they came back home with us & I have washed them out , ideal size for a lasagne!

So a good day had by all,we are heading for an increase in temperature, 25o today, it is forecast to go to 38o on Saturday with an overnight temp of 25o,so not sure how I'll cope, have never experienced that kind of heat before .......a memorable start to the year.....me in a melted puddle!

Enjoy your day!

BlimusOreilly

Lovely to hear about everyone's christmases! Big hugs to all of those who are feeling unwell and/or down ((()))

Here are mine for the past few days:

1) A fantastic Christmas day with DH and DS's. Everyone was happy with their gifts and we had some lovely food. The only thing that was good and bad at the same time - Toy Story 3 :eek: How sad is that film?! DH, myself and DS1 were in floods of tears and then DS2 cried ebcause we were crying. It actually left me feeling quite low afterwards!

2) Another funny (but possibly not great news) thing: On christmas morning as the boys were opening their stockings on our bed, there was an almighty crash as something came tumbling down our chimney! DH and I rushed downstairs, worried that it may have been a bird or animal but it was a lump of brick! Hopefully, our chimney is structurally sound but it did coincide nicely with Father Christmas' visit! "Santa knocked a brick loose when he came down the chimney!"

3) A safe journey to London on Boxing Day to see the out-laws. Stayed the night at a local Premier Inn which gave us a breather from the family (;)) and also a nice 'hotel' breakfast

4) Didn't really 'do' the sales per se but we did venture out around the North London neighbourhood to find lots of interesting storecupboard bits that you can't find in Norfolk! Carribean banana ketchup, pick-a-pepper sauce and some lovely bits from a Turkish shop. Some charity shops were open so I did pick up a few books too, including one about the lady whose story was the inspiration for 'Tenko' (my fav tv series ever!).

5) Getting back home to our lovely village where less people live than were in just one Next store in Enfield!

And in each of those five pleasures lie at least five more. It has been a good christmas

frugalpam

Evening everyone :wave:
Isn't this 'mild' weather wonderful? I can't believe pretty much all the snow has been washed away - just a few little mounds left by the roadside, where people were busy shovelling a few days ago.

Glad to read that so many have had good Christmases, and I'm glad you've come to a decision sparrer about your brother - it's sounding similar to the situation with mine.

Todays pleasures:-
1)Watching the snow disappear as the rain fell
2) Indulging myself watching the Craft sales on QVC most of the day with cuddly puddy tat on my knee
3) Driving and not having worry about skidding on ice and slush :j
4) Was given a £5 voucher to spend in Morrisons when I went in to pay for my petrol - have had one of their loyalty cards for ages which I always hand in at the till, so it was nice to have finally collected enough points
5) Prospect of a nice lazy evening ahead.

Hope all are well, or that bugs are quickly disappearing, and thanks for congrats on my weight loss and upcoming quit smoking anniversary (2yrs)

Pam x

house_elf

Evening All! Feels positively tropical in comparison to recent weeks. We have just popped out for milk and didn't bother with a coat it seems so mild! Sad that all the pretty icicles are melting and the snow is grey and lethal:eek:.

5 for today

1. Feel a bit brighter.

2. Tried to go to Ikea for free lunch along with the rest of the population of the West Midlands, so turned back at Junction 9 roundabout and went to Dunelm instead. Found curtains for DD's room at 75% off. :jWhen we looked at the curtains at home we realised that there were 2 curtains in each pack, so can return a pair tomorrow. So, DD's fully lined curtains will only cost £6.50. yay! :money:

3. Blimus, we watched Toy Story 3 today as well. Always cry at Andy driving away to college. (Too close to home as DD applying to Uni). However, still love it!

4. Actually made dinner from scratch tonight from Nigellas Kitchen. One of my Xmas presents. Mhagster I think you said you had this book too. I am enjoying reading this as well as Jamies 30 min Meals. (Photos are nice in jamies book too;)).

5. DH is having a mad end of year clear out and tidy up like Ladyhawke. As I am too poorly to help much, I am listing some of the clutter on Ebay. I love my Ebay Empire!

Trying not to think about having to drive up to Liverpool tomorrow to see DM. Sadly, we all dread it. Even DS2. Wish we were thousands of miles away in Australia like Mhagster. Too old for Australia, but keep lurking on New Zealand sites as we still qualify, but think I am too old to take the risk! Anyway, DM would probably still make me feel guilty about not visiting even if we were the other side of the world! :rotfl:

Hope I have some pleasures to report tomorrow. Take care He x

Broomstick

Happy thaw (and no burst pipes) to those who are thawing.:) (((((Hugs))))) to those that need them.

My five for today:

1. Feeling very surprised at hearing the sound of rain - didn't last for long - but it was unusual.

2. Good veggiebox plus extra bits delivered today.

3. Managed to get the front door lock working again (thank goodness). It had jammed with my key and I wasn't looking forward to getting the locksmith round. DS2 (despite being in bed with flu and high temperatures) had a brainwave about trying one of the spare keys and it worked. Obviously the lemon/paracetamol mix he's on is doing the trick.

4. Opened a lovely Christmas present that we had been due to give to someone else. It was something I'd really fancied for us and we are not going to be able to give it to them now (for complicated reasons) so I have given it to us instead - we can all use it.

5. Made myself a savings tin to start saving for my new kitchen scales.

Off to tackle the tip in the kitchen before bed. Sleep well.

B x

Frith

5 for today (Tuesday).

1) Applied for passports. Bigger son is 10 and has never been abroad and we want to go to Paris. :-)

2) A bit MSE - emailed the Financial Ombudsman about paying off my final debt. I sent a "full and final offer" letter and they haven't replied so got the FO involved.

3) Went swimming again with sons and my brother.

4) School friend came round for tea.

5) MrN came round and has just gone. :-)

6) School friend's sister in law (a Latvian pastry chef) sent me some Christmas cake and I am in fact eating a small slice now!