5 OS Pleasures in your Day Today part 2

sparrer

VJsmum I was sorry to hear about your Mum. It is a horrid illness but in my case self-inflicted, and my way of fighting it is to tell it that it has to live with me, not the other way around. Congrats on the 1lb loss, especially after going to Pizza Express!
mumysaver your family always sounds so lovely, and very helpful. Spudette is a very lucky little girl to be coming into such a close family
Kittikins pleased you're still getting support, and are feeling better, but don't overdo it. I had to smile about 'forgetting' to pay your DB for the shopping, mine is disgustingly well off and I'd be very tempted to do the same in that situation
CCP we used to go to the heavy horse centre near Maidenhead when I lived there, they're a beautiful sight, aren't they? The olive rolls sound yummy, well done on improvising the dryer for bread rising

Been a busy day but a good one. Trouble is I'll probably sleep most of tomorrow to make up for it!
1. nsd
2. heard that a friend has just moved into a new flat with nothing so rummaged through the bag I'd got for the charity shop and found some linens and kitchen bits for him.
3. washed all the skirting boards, a job I have trouble getting round to doing but am always so pleased when it's done
4. altered some clothes that needed taking up (the joys of being 5 feet nothing), now I have more to wear
5. sanded the curtain pole and rings ready for painting.
6. Kitchen and bathroom cleaned, just got the kitchen floor to do then I'm going to fall into bed

night night, sleep tight
S x

Frith

DitaBombita - do you have a recipe for the wild garlic pesto? There is loads of wild garlic at mum and dad's. They always had goats when I was growing up and we drank the goat's milk and it would get a funny taste if they ate too much garlic!

Had a strange day here. The boys went to their dad's for the first time in a while and it was a shambles. :-( I had bigger son absolutely sobbing in the garden that the ex is moving in AND getting married to his new girlfriend of 2 months whom the boys despise. I've never really got to the bottom of why they don't like her (except that she is "shouty"). He made bigger son promise that he would stay at new girlfriend's house and promise that he would go to the wedding and bigger son can't see that there is any way out now. I tried to explain about making promises under pressure but.... then the ex took them to see his mother and had another shouting fit at her and made her cry so he said she would never see the boys again so they are upset about that too. :-(

Anyway, besides all that upset - 5 for today!

1) MrN very helpful while all the high drama was going on. And looked after me while the boys were away (only 4 hours!)

2) Got a massive load of washing dry outside.

3) Took mine and a couple of MrN's swimming.

4) Had tea cooked for me :-)

5) Good chat with my school friend on the phone.

6) Got a fire going in the stove now, mainly to take the chill off but also to use up the last few logs so I can give the inglenook fireplace a good clean and blacklead the stove. It won't be on again until October. I don't have any central heating so it's been on almost daily since last October and I'm getting fed up with it now!

7) Watching bigger son draw all the component parts for MrN's homemade birthday card. I might put a link in to a scan of it when it's finished. He's really good at drawing.

Broomstick

(((((Frith))))), hugs to you and your sons. Thank goodness they have you.

Carolyntia, I recommend Alan Carr's book too. The ideas that, from the point of quitting smoking onwards, I not the cigarettes was in control and that I was gaining so much, not losing out on anything of worth, were really important for me.
Someone posted on this thread: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3155538 (post #61) with a really good list of how all the health benefits kick in over the hours, weeks, months and years. I liked that and I clutched at those kinds of benefits when I felt as if I might be losing resolve. I stopped smoking 20 years ago and it's just brilliant to read the last post on the health benefits list: '20 years - Female excess risk of death from all smoking related causes, including lung disease and cancer, has now reduced to that of a never-smoker (2008 study).' Every day you stay stopped you are a bit closer to that goal.
When things got really dire it sometimes helped to do something useful that made it physically impossible to hold a cigarette: :rotfl: knead bread, have a bath or shower or go swimming, wash the car, put moisturiser on your hands and nails, massage your hands with oil etc. Keep telling yourself you are an ex-smoker. It's gone. Left you.... It's soooo worth it.

Anyway, my five for today:

1. More washing, quick drying on the line, ironing and putting away. This weather is really brilliant for laundry.

2. DS2 has decluttered his wardrobe :T and the charity shop bag is bulging.

3. The unmown bits of our garden are full of little blue flowers. I think they might be forget-me-nots. I need to look them up. They are so pretty.

4. Lots more knitting done in little breaks throughout the day. It's one of those multicolour wools which change shades at intervals so it's fun seeing how the effect is evolving.

5. Knowing that I'm going to bed in a clean bedroom with clean sheets and clean pyjamas. Yum.

Night! Hugs to all that need or want them.

Bx

Amanda666

Morning All

Not posted for a few days, work and life have gotten in the way. So my 5 for yesterday were:
1) Tidied the house and its now looking lovely ( just need to try and keep on top of it now!)
2) Meeting up with a new 'friend':D
3) Ice cream as we strolled along the river, looking at some very silly people paddling!
4) Sitting outside at the pub with a lovely glass of wine, great company and then just as we were leaving spotting the 'Royal Wedding Gnomes'
5) Getting back to my car thinking that the fee would be horrible and finding that mine was one of only 2 cars left and that the barriers were up so no charge!!
and adding
6) Getting into bed with clean sheets
7) Late night text;)

Have a great day, back to work for me
A x

jintyb

Havent posted for a few days, but have been reading! I'm certainly more aware of the many good things that are happening around me!
Here are my latest:

1. Going to a different church than usual on Sunday and meeting some lovely friendly people who made me feel very welcome.
2. Having time to read and finish a really good book!
3. Working yesterday, but when I came home OH had done loads af wee jobs around the house that had been needing done for ages.
4. Finding that my train fare was cheaper than usual due to the BH.( Only by 40p but, hey!)
5. Getting all of my work up to date and more, so I can start a bit later today!
6. Having a good long natter on the phone with my sister.
7. Having the car serviced and the mechanic fixing one of the brakes and not including the cost in the final bill!


Carolyntia - just a quick word re smoking. I have been stopped for 4 years now. Like you I found the 5-6 week stage quite tough as the initial impetus for giving up DOES start to wane a bit. YOU CAN DO IT! Just be strong and find anything that distracts you from thinking about smoking!
I was a heavy smoker - 30-40 a day for @ 30 years, and I simply couldnt afford it any longer! It is the biggest achievement in my life!
I am still paying the cost though in terms of health - only this week the dentist told me I have to get SIX teeth out as they are so loose due to my gums shrinking. This is purely as a result of smoking so much. This is something that isnt often mentioned as a health risk when you think about the harm smoking can do, but one worth thinking about! HTH!

mummysaver

Morning all!

Just finished catching up on the thread! So:

VJ's mum - what fab news, you must both be soooo relieved and happy with it

Sparrer - thank you, my children are generally really helpful, and we do rely on each other a lot. Though today I'm slightly peeved with ds, he is changing his college course, but has decided he has a 'bad stomach', so can't go in - avoidance will not help, and he will also be moaning that he has no money as he won't get his EMA if he doesn't go! Argh, will have to bring in the big guns soon if he doesn't get himself together, will get his dad to nag him at the weekend when they are together, and also point out that he will be homeless if he doesn't go to college or get a job! I'm sure some will think this harsh, but I saw how my brother was allowed to make excuses for doing nothing constantly, and how he wasted so much of his life as a result!

Anyway, my five pleasures for yesterday:

1. Sticking completely to my shopping list whilst in the supermarket with dd1! She helped me make the meal plan first and then the list, as she is the least interested in food/house stuff of my children, it was lovely to see that she can do it, she just doesn't usually like to do it! We are trying to use up some of the freezer and cupboard contents, so total bill after vouchers came to just £24, not too bad for main meals for the week! Lunch packup stuff was picked up separately in town, as was cheaper than in supermarket, still it only came to £4 ish!

2. Took dd3 out to search for something we could adapt into a Tudor outfit, much giggling at some of the items we looked at! She is currently studying the Tudors at school, and a chap is coming in dressed as Henry VIII to talk to them, so they are all dressing up too! Found a top, and will have to adapt a skirt or something from my wardrobe.

3. Spudette spent a while dancing on my sciatic nerve yesterday, which wasn't a great pleasure, though it is nice to feel her moving, but I was able to lie on my bed and rest, which was a pleasure!

4. Sun was shining all day, and is again today, and everything is growing well, and lots of flowers on strawb plants - this year I shall try to beat dd3 and her friends to the fruits

5. Sausage and mash for dinner, great comfort food

Hope everyone has a great day xx

ampersand

Vite vite on M's 'putah:
1, Hot and beautiful, as this lovely part of France should be;
2; Dug and planted framboises from home garden around tall courtyard wall . They have been patient for nearly a fortnight; fraises ditto; which will be attended to ce soir.
3. We had 'our' lunch, as always when I am here. We play Ladies and I am glad that brocante takings have made it possible this time. Meeting people and chatting on, sitting outside for the pre-lunch ap!ro, a perfect pace of Life and I know what my heart's content is. I find it in the sacred hexagon,
4. Many pics, which will sustain me until next time.
5. Have not contacted X, am coping, although testing myself from time to time when I'm in Brico or Inter and feelig the strangeness of it not being part of my daily 'other' Life of the last many years here; Coping, athough ghosts do walk.....mais oui, coping.
6.(for my usual 5 :-)) - receiving brins de muguet, tradition, for 1er mai - I love Lily of the Valley. Was up at 2 that day to be en route for the brocante at Grimaud, which starts @ 04.30h!
Could write so much more, but need to be sorting usual poor laden car for retour - coming up to tunnel via Luxenbourg Germany and Belgium this time. Might find some little bits on the way : it is the Great Game. Il faut chiner un peu partout.

Caterina(when you next pop in) - I have just started The Elegance of Hedgehogs from you: extraordinary - and translated from the French(didn't know)AND with a remarkable benison/valedictory !!! poetic prose/philosophical monograph on a New Zealand rugby player(surely Jonah Lomu), which is both unexpectedly there and apt.

More putah things to do for M, donc, je m'en vais.

Happiness to all - offered simply

Kitchenbunny

Afternoon

Here's some pleasures for today:

1. The chilli plant I'm growing at work has provided a surprise for me when I got back. No other seedlings were showing as growing when I left, and when I got in 2 more little shoots had appeared. I now have one big plant coming along nicely, and two little shoots to sprout - more plants!
2. Done a couple of sessions of exercise. I feel better for doing it.
3. Planted some carrots in a trough outside.
4. Scared off a crow that was looking at the blackbird's eggs. I hope it wasn't going to try and take them/eat them but I didn't want to take the chance.
5. A nice cup of tea at the end of the day.

Have a nice evening, everyone.

KB xx

CCP

Evening all.

ampersand - it sounds like you've had a fantastic time - thanks very much for sharing it.

Amanda - royal wedding gnomes? I'm not even going to ask!

Frith - huge hugs to you and your boys - you sound like you're all having a really difficult time of it at the moment.

Ladyhawk - I hope you're feeling much better by now.

1) NSD.

2) Watching a kid's inflatable rubber ring with a duck on it, which had escaped from its moorings on a seafront stall: the wind was making it scoot along the pavement, looking for all the world like the duck was making a conscious bid for freedom! :rotfl:

3) One of my favourite songs on the radio on my drive home.

4) My sweet pea seeds have started germinating. I took them from some very expensive species sweet peas I had a couple of years ago and I have no idea if they'll grow true or not, so it's an interesting experiment for this year.

5) Halloumi and veg kebabs in a harissa marinade for dinner. :drool: I'm a little concerned that I might have made the harissa marinade a bit strong even for me, so, if I'm not around tomorrow, you'll know I'm recovering from a chilli overdose!

Have a nice evening, all.

Kittikins

Hugs Frith and boys xx

1. Realised one from yesterday - my lovely neighbours cooked us dinner
2. Friends took DD to and from school today
3. Bosses were really nice about me working from home for a while
4. Leg feels like its getting much better, hopefully I'll be out on the wine on Friday
5. DD and I had scrumptious cheap and easy dinner of baked potatoes with beans and cheese today, yum yum
6. Friend took DD to and from Rainbows today
7. OH came over during the day
8. NPD
9. A very low spend day, I've bought some bathroom grab handles that will make life easier for me on a bad back/leg day or OH all the time (:( ) to get in and out of the shower, hope they'll be good