Frugal Frump to Fab/Winter Solstice

bratz81

tru wrote: »

I'm feeling great today because I've got the house to myself until 5pm

I've never heard of LARP either, I just googled it and found THIS

Sounds ideal for me, it'd be great to get rid of my anger which is building nicely at the moment, lol.

tru, that's exactly the one we're going to
sorry to everyone who didn't know what it was - I should have explained lol

MrsWoolfe

hello again!

had a quick look at the LARP link- looks like it could be a lot of fun!

re getting my shoe size measured- a friend of family was over from abroad and he makes sandals/shoes and measured them up for me- he did show me a couple of sites where you can print of guides and said they were pretty good- I'll see if I can find them again...

in the meantime I am now re-thinking our plans for tonight- it's 3 years today since we had our hindu wedding ( civil service was in the UK in june and hindu service in Mauritius in Aug) and although we don't tend to make a big deal of this one I sort of feel like doing something nice just us two...hmm goes off to ponder....


ETA: here's the one for the size: http://www.onlineconversion.com/downloads/PSSSizingChart_WOMENS.pdf


and here's another guide that is quite handy:
http://www.shoetailor.com/shop/page?pageId=4012

lessonlearned

Happy Anniversay Mr & Mrs W

Whatever you decided - have a lovely evening.

lessonlearned

Has anyone ever heard of this.

There was a film a while back and apparently it was based on a real story - all about how you do a good turn or deed, accept nothing in return except that the person you do the deed for has, in their own turn, do something good/nice for someone else.

Weee........llll - Ive been thinking ..........Oh Lord here she goes again.:rotfl:

I was so relieved after today's meeting with SS & the PCT about not having to worry about funding OH's care I got to thinking about how fortunate we've been.

Now I have to confess here I am not religious in any accepted sense - but what I do have is my own funny little version of spirituality. I believe in karma and the old what goes around comes around kind of thing.

Well it struck me that, apart from those fair weather friends who have slipped away - just how kind, thoughtful and generous people are - even complete strangers.

My sister's boss, who I've never even met who sent me some pampering goodies, my mum's neighbour who keeps giving me clothes, all those people who keep giving me fruit from their gardens, home made jams - the list is really endless, vouchers for beauty treatments - the list goes on and on.

Loads of little kindnesses from all sorts of people.

So it struck me.

Realistically I'm not going to be starting my little bric a brac business anytime soon. I shall instead concentrate the bulk of my time and attention just enjoying what time OH and I have left together before he goes into residential care.

Rather than stockpile and hoard - I am simply going to give it all away. Everything. Clothes, kitchenalia, paintings, ceramics, small items of furniture, books - you name it. Plain and simple. I'll keep just a few favoured items, treasures and special things, and of course anything sentimental - like Aunty S's table of course.:)

My version of Play It Forward.

I'm not rich so cannot make any "grand gestures" but I can do this.

Cleaning going well - time to cook dinner - something clever with leftovers.;)

lessonlearned

Just looked at the LARP thing - looks fun.

Fancy - on my doorstep and I've never heard of it. Shame on me.

Bitsy_Beans

That's a lovely idea LL, nowt wrong with gratitude

Happy anniversary mr and mrs Wolfe have a lovely evening

Am off on holibobs tomorrow morning so will be without MSE for a week :eek: I shall flatline. Look forward to catching up with you all next week sometime

lessonlearned

Have a fab "holibob". Oooh a new word - love it.:D

Dead chuffed with my experimental dinner (speriment in this house) considering it was made with nothing.

Some sad droopy spring onions
2 rashers bacon
3 cold cooked sausages
some scraps of cold cooked courgettes (garden:D)

Fry in oil, add to cooked pasta, smother in cheese sauce, top with grated cheese for luck, bake until golden

Delicious, cheap - a bit high on calories though:o

Still some left for tomorrow.

G'night all x

maman

Have a great holiday Bitsy, see you when you get back.:wave: You too, Bratz.

Hope you've had a lovely evening Mrs W (and MrW of course).

Hope your hip's feeling OK tru?

LL, your supper sounds yummy. I've been experimenting with a few extra bits this week. Not really new recipes but things we've avoided since SW. I'm out to dinner tomorrow and plan to have whatever takes my fancy. Hope I haven't gained too much this week:o

Although weather is really getting me down, it has been a good day here. DD1 got the keys to her new house so she's really pleased. Main move will be on Monday but she's really excited now it's hers.

I think it's admirable, giving things away LL. And a really great relief about the funding of nursing care. There are really kind people around, it's just that the others are so in your face!!!

Interesting chat earlier from MrsW and others about confidence and looking good and how it goes deeper than that.... I read an article today about 'erotic capital'. No it wasn't rude:D I thought it made a lot of sense. It was based on a book from a sociologist called Catherine Hakim and I saw her interviewed about it on TV last week. Briefly the message is a variation on 'if you've got it flaunt it' but it really means making the most of your assets in all situations. Assets would mean your looks but also how you dress, charm, gracefulness, good manners.. anything you can use that helps you in your interactions with people. This would then benefit you in the workplace but also home, family, friends etc. It has met with some uneasy reactions from those that think it's a betrayal of feminism but I think it was a point well made.

Not done much fabness today but have made an appointment for eyebrow wax later in the week and gave my nails a quick tidy this evening. I must get myself some 'house' trousers when I'm next near CS. I've always worn pensioned off 'best' pairs but I no longer have any. I found a pair of old joggers in a drawer (it was so cold, dull and wet that my cropped ones would have looked ridiculous) but I want something that's good enough to nipout to post a letter in.

'night all.

tru

maman wrote: »

Hope your hip's feeling OK tru?

Much better thanks It's still aching, deep inside, from the back of my hip to my knee. I'll carry on with my yoga to keep it moving but will do it very gently - I find that difficult because each time I do it, I want to stretch as far as possible to see if I'm going further than the day before I had a visitor yesterday, she's very religious. She told me I shouldn't do yoga because each position is a prayer to a demon :rotfl:

I painted my toenails pink yesterday, they look good except for the little toe on my right foot. With my hip the way it is, I couldn't quite reach the toe and look at it at the same time, so I did it 'blind' and it's very messy

I'm off for a shower, hair wash, leg shave, slathering and perfume squirt. Then I'll clean out the animals, pick some tomatoes and strawberries, collect some eggs and spend the rest of the morning trying to find a chalet/cottage/flat in Cornwall for the third week in september. Not having much luck so far.

lessonlearned

Good morning everyone

It's a beautiful morning here at Fab Towers, blue skies and sun shining.

Despite my best efforts yesterday afternoon the house is still a tip, however today is going to be an outside day.

The skip is still waiting to be filled so I shall concentrate my efforts on the garage/garden and get everything ready so DS2 can help me load the the skip tonight.

I think that if the weather holds - it'll be another chiminia session this evening. Perhaps a glass of wine whilst I watch the flames:D.

Tru - How's the hip today, hope you are feeling better.

Hope everyone is well, fit (ish) and happy, still travelling the road to Fabdom.

Well today I'm wearing my paint spattered joggies, ditto T shirt and now paint spattered slippers. My hair needs washing and I'm probably none too fragrant.:rotfl:

However, thought I'd tackle the garage first, then bathe and beautify afterwards ready to visit OH at 4-00. Come home, cook dinner and then get dirty all over again helping DS2. Such a glamourous life.:rotfl:

Maman I read/heard about Catherine Hakim and totally agree that she makes a great deal of sense. It's just such a pity that "academic feminists", social commentators/pundits and the general "chattering classes" can't seem to see the wood from the trees. I just knew she would get that reaction.

In a less academic fashion, Joan Collins has been saying more or less the same things in the Daily Mail this week.

I genuinely cannot see how either of them are "betraying feminist ideals" - load of tosh.

I went to university as a mature student when I was 40 - it was just one of those things I wanted to do - nothing to do with a career change - simply that for all sorts of reasons I was denied the opportunity as a teenager to go to college.

I just wanted to see if I could hack it - well I could - and I found it very "interesting".

I chose a course called "Visual Cultures" - Art History, Fashion and Design, Photography, Architecture, Film & TV, Journalism etc

It was all very enjoyable. However it many ways is was marred by an undercurrent or underlying thread of Marxist Dogma and rather heavy handed feminism which had to be seen to underpin everything you wrote, did or thought. It was all very fashionable in universities at the time.

It actually made me quite cross, because I could tell that some of the older lecturers were simply paying it lip-service because they tended to treat the whole thing with "irony". The younger lecturers, however, took it all as gospel.

We mature students were able to see through it all and would simply "toe the line" as far as essays and work were concerned. We knew what the powers that be wanted so we gave it them.

However, what really appalled me was that the youngsters straight from school were being force fed this stuff. To me it was little better than brain washing. I naively thought that univeristy was supposed to stretch minds not fill them up with pre-conceived regurgitated dogma.

Sorry a bit long winded to get to my point. My point is that when people like Catherine and Joan dare to speak out and offer a different view point they are immediately slapped down as being anti-feminists who would send us all back to serve as drones chained to the kitchen sink.

Nothing could be more wrong. Academic feminists and their ilk have completely "got their knickers in a twist" over this one. Since when does making the best of oneself - be it dressing well/being charming and gracious - merely simple good manners in my book - and wearing a bit of perfume mean that we can't have brains, careers etc.

Have these morons no concept of "Lipstick Feminism". They do their "sisters" a great disservice.

I'm afraid those dogmatic university courses did their trick. They've brainwashed a whole generation who now occupy the seats of power and learning and who seem incapable of rigorous, independent academic thought. They can only regurgitate the same old tired arguments. Anyone who dares to stick their head above the parapet and speak out gets shot down in flames.

I am afraid our current political leaders, editors, social commentators etc are on the whole a sorry lot with hardly an independent thought between them. Cameron/Clegg/the Millibands etc are just clones of each other. Harriet Harman and the like - totally useless. Not a clue.

Not one of them has an independent thought in their heads.

If they visited a few of these forums they might learn a thing or three.