Keeping up appearances.......

HappyNow

Wowza, December already. Soon be 2020. Time for a new bout of Good Intentions, the last of the year.

1) Glide serenely into Christmas A bit of preparation every day needed. Today I will clean at least one corner of the dining room because Master H and his girlfriend (who are young and excitable about such things) are putting up the Christmas tree there tonight. They're collecting a real one which I will pay for, and we already have plenty of decorations. I will also drag the outside Christmas tree (which Mr H rescued from the tip about three Januarys ago and which is hilariously tatty now) from the back garden where it sits all year, round to the front door. We will toss some battery operated lights on it when we find them to try and smarten it up a bit.
2) Whole house to be cleaned this month. I do like the house all clean for Christmas even though probably our only visitors will be the kids who see it all the time and my mum who is virtually blind! It just feels NICE and it's a good start for 2020. So far the utility room, downstairs loo and kitchen are all done, other than scrubbing the kitchen floor which is today's job.
3) Groom the dogs every day I do tend to neglect this and I'm sure the house would be less hairy and sweeter-smelling if I could just make it a daily task. Donkey Dog is long-haired so really needs his underneaths de-bobbling. Happy dog is short-haired so tends to look smarter but she is a permanent moulter. Luckily they both enjoy a brush but they're so BIG.

I think that's enough for this month. There's no point trying to be Fabulous with all this cleaning and grooming, and I daresay I will also overspend, although I will try to keep a lid on it.

Dolphin1

Hi HappyNow :hello:

Sorry I haven't been on here. We have been away visiting relatives and only got back yesterday. The good news is all Christmas cards/presents have been delivered except for a few cards that I need to stick in the post.

Your targets look good and quite a lot to achieve (especially the cleaning) given that you won't have the whole month as it all needs to be done by Christmas. Good luck with that!

So my targets between now and Christmas Eve are...

1) Deep clean as much of the kitchen as I can but at a minimum clean the oven which is well overdue.
2) Do my back exercises at least once a day.
3) Limit myself to one treat a day - I'm not even bothering with NCDs this month, there's always January.

OH is off work between Christmas & New Year so it's all relaxation and fun then.

milann

My weekly targets have gone by the wayside. But my Christmas targets are to get all presents bought and wrapped by the end of this week. Doing ok on that front - just a couple of bits left to buy. Write and post cards this week too.
There’s a chance I’ll be back at work in a couple of days....it’ll be a shock to the system after virtually 6 months off..... if I don’t get back I’ll be on 1/2 pay so I’ll have to tighten my belt a few notches.....

Dolphin1

Hi HappyNow & milann

Hope the Christmas prep is going well!

I'm not very well (again) so my targets have been ignored for the last few days but I am still determined to get that oven cleaned this side of Christmas.

HappyNow

Heck, that's another week shot past without posting. I've been so busy with real life I've barely sat down long enough.

Dolphin So sorry to hear you're ill again. Is it you and OH re-infecting each other? I'm sure your oven isn't THAT bad (the must-clean cue is when it sets the smoke alarm off ) so relax and leave it until you feel well. Likewise the rest of the kitchen. You've done pressies and cards, surely nothing else HAS to be done this side of Christmas? Unless you're having a houseful of visitors I suppose, but even then they will understand.

Milann I believe you're seeing the surgeon today so best of luck with that. What a time of year to be going back to work in a school though, if you do. Little Miss Happy is a teacher and she is absolutely exhausted at the moment, although really loving all the seasonal fun with the kids.

HappyNow

Update on my pre-Christmas Good Intentions. Luckily there's still 14 days to go!

1) Glide serenely into Christmas All the decorations are up and looking fab. This is the first year the house has all been finished and we don't really have enough decs to do all of it, so we've focused on just the living room, the dining room and the hallway. The outside tree (the potted one Mr H rescued from the tip a few Januarys ago) hasn't been dragged round to the front yet, but I have found its lights so if it ever stops raining I will do that. Some pressies bought but only around half so lots more to do. Cards bought but not written.

2) Whole house to be cleaned this month. I'm really doing it! Kitchen, downstairs loo, dining room and living room all done. Halls, stairs and landings half done. I'm doing the bathroom today.

3) Groom the dogs every day Hmm, only twice so far but I got LOADS off them both. I've ordered some doggy hair conditioner for Donkey Dog because he has some mattes around his nethers that the brush isn't getting through. I don't want to start chopping wiith scissors so I'm hoping the conditioner loosens them.

milann

I have indeed been to see surgeon today and he is very happy with the way it’s healing and the movement I have in it. I didn’t think he was going to let me go back to work but agrees if I do a 6 week phased return - which will actually turn into 8 weeks as we have a 2 week holiday in it which they don’t count. He warned me about doing too much though - which I will listen to....I can’t do too much as it’s still painful if I do.

Dolphin hope you feel better soon.

Happy - you seem to be getting there with your Christmas targets

Dolphin1

HappyNow wrote: »

Dolphin So sorry to hear you're ill again. Is it you and OH re-infecting each other?

No, this is an ailment that I have had for a couple of months. I have been referred for some more tests but the docs have prescribed me some tablets for what they think it is so hopefully in a few weeks I will notice a difference because I suspect it will be a while before I get dates for the tests.

I'm sure your oven isn't THAT bad (the must-clean cue is when it sets the smoke alarm off ) so relax and leave it until you feel well. Likewise the rest of the kitchen. You've done pressies and cards, surely nothing else HAS to be done this side of Christmas? Unless you're having a houseful of visitors I suppose, but even then they will understand.

I wish I had seen this post before I cleaned the oven because of course you are right, it could have waited but I have literally just finished the inside. :doh: I was just going to do the inside of the door so that it looked a bit better but then once I saw how bad the inside was, I couldn't put it off any longer. The only bit I haven't done is the racks so I'll do those overnight in one of those Ovenpride bags and finish off tomorrow morning.

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Dolphin1

HappyNow wrote: »

Update on my pre-Christmas Good Intentions. Luckily there's still 14 days to go!

1) Glide serenely into Christmas All the decorations are up and looking fab. This is the first year the house has all been finished and we don't really have enough decs to do all of it, so we've focused on just the living room, the dining room and the hallway. The outside tree (the potted one Mr H rescued from the tip a few Januarys ago) hasn't been dragged round to the front yet, but I have found its lights so if it ever stops raining I will do that. Some pressies bought but only around half so lots more to do. Cards bought but not written.

Progress has been made on all fronts so good job. :T

2) Whole house to be cleaned this month. I'm really doing it! Kitchen, downstairs loo, dining room and living room all done. Halls, stairs and landings half done. I'm doing the bathroom today.

I'm exhausted just reading what you've already done! :T

3) Groom the dogs every day Hmm, only twice so far but I got LOADS off them both. I've ordered some doggy hair conditioner for Donkey Dog because he has some mattes around his nethers that the brush isn't getting through. I don't want to start chopping wiith scissors so I'm hoping the conditioner loosens them.

I'm guessing it will take a few weeks to get them looking well groomed. It's probably no different to when we try and make ourselves look fab, it's not an overnight job.

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Dolphin1

milann wrote: »

I have indeed been to see surgeon today and he is very happy with the way it’s healing and the movement I have in it. I didn’t think he was going to let me go back to work but agrees if I do a 6 week phased return - which will actually turn into 8 weeks as we have a 2 week holiday in it which they don’t count. He warned me about doing too much though - which I will listen to....I can’t do too much as it’s still painful if I do.

That all sounds positive and I'm glad you are going to listen to the 'don't do too much' warning. I know from experience that it is easier said than done though so take care.