'supporting each other through really tough times'

pandamonium

People were talking about vitamin D on the old thread (I think it was that one). Holland and Barrett have high dose vitamin D on their add another item for a penny offer, so you can get 2 bottles for £8.06. I was looking at the cheaper amazon ones, but am far too impatient to wait a possible three weeks for delivery .

ETA Does anyone have experience of how long the Amazon delivery takes?

missrlr

Morning, still shattered, need more sleeping-in-bed time rather than being-in-bed-time NOT a boss demanding the world from me at 0830 to redraft a legal clause which was fine last week and now apparently is not fine.
Now to prep for meeting this pm without falling asleep. I am even considering a cup of coffee (I only drink lemon and hot water or fruit teas unless it is a special occasion) but I think the caffeine low will be worse than trying to drag myself through the day here ...
Only 8 more hours to go heaven help me!

[Deleted User]

Morning Toughies, warmer today but overcast and very still, not unpleasant. The lurcher and I went for a nice early walk down to the river which was very pleasant. He is a naughty boy!! He is quite difficult to feed, he is quite slim and doesn't eat much at home. When he was a pup we developed the habit of feeding him the dry kibble as we walked in the morning, a handful at a time. He will only do this with me if I give him some treats interspersed with kibble. This morning I had a phone call while we walked and stopped for a couple of minutes to chat, when I turned round and looked back up the path, there was a little trail of kibble, just like Hansel and Gretel's as far back as I could see. The little perisher was spitting out the kibble and just eating the treats!!!!! puppies eh?

MRS VP so sorry to hear about your DH's job loss, Hugs!!!

SOFTSTUFF - Buy the best you can afford, buy a bottle of the preferred spirit of Mr.Softstuff and anoint the cake and pudding liberally many times until christmas. You may find you then have a convert to ready made !!! Mince pies, I find if you do have to buy in they are usually much nicer from a bakery than from the supermarkets, bit more expensive, but worth paying.

JKJ - I support the charities of my choice by buying from the CS and donating to the tin on collection days. I don't and never will subscribe on a regular basis, can't afford to. Any begging letters that come through are recycled as that way they aren't entirely wasted. I also do not put into the collection sacks that are put in the door as most of them are not of a great benefit to the charities they represent. Instead we give to a local CS or our Sea Scout company who have a jumble sale every couple of months in the village hall here.

PIC - Hope you had some answers last night and that you and your DSS are feeling more level today.

FUDDLE - Hope you feel better now and that the headache has eased, Hugs xxx.

SDG - Hugs just because I can, give your black dog the day off and send him out for a walk on his own, he'll hopefully come back in a lighter mood for you.

Have a good one all, Cheers Lyn xxx.

Aria`s_Tail

Morning everyone.
I feel a bit better this morning after 10 hours sleep. :eek: I left my side of the electric blanket on low all night and it must have helped as I woke up all snuggly and warm. Only a slight stiff kinda ache in my back.
First thing I did when I got up was take down our bedroom curtains and put them straight in the wash. I have had the thermal lining fabric lying about for the last 6 weeks so am determined to get them taken up (by about 3 foot, I recycled them from our old house. ) and lined. I got a bit extra liner as well so might sneak enough to do the ones in my craft room (after I have turfed boxes full of stuff out so I can actually get to the window). Also buried in the depths of the 'craft' (ha ha, should be renamed dumping room) is my sewing machine. Either need to dig it out or do curtains by hand. Hmmm.
Sorry, waffling again......

JKJ, We stopped all those charity direct debits a couple of years ago, simply can't afford it. My way of giving now is to donate unwanted stuff to the local hospice charity shop when I can.
OH still gets pestered regularly of a big national wanting to know why he has cancelled. The answer of can't afford it seems to come with a scoffing reply of 'surely you can spare £25 a month' :mad: No we blooming well can't! And the letters go straight in the recycling, unopened.

Softstuff. Just buy it, not worth the stress Hun. Or how about buying ready made frozen pastry and making mince pies from that closer to Cmas?
Had a similar conversation with OH the other day when I told him that half the C dinner was already in the freezer but he would have to go and shop for fresh veg the week before. He gave me a surprised look and when I pointed out that I am supposed to be working the week before Cmas and won't be home till tea time on the 24th his answer was that 'what about your mince pies?'. If he wants some he can buy some. When I gat back from work it's normally a night of unpacking, washing, tidying up and cuddling dogs, not baking till midnight on Cmas eve! The Cmas cakes were made in September (Smug mode enabled ), will ice them Mid December and we have a left over Mr A pud bought cheap last Jan!

grandma247

Mrs vp I hope you are feeling ok this morning and that dh and dd's visit yo Jc was useful.
I hold my breath at this time of year as it seems so many get the push.

There was someone else being made redundant but I can't remember who. Hugs for you too and anyone else under threat. It is a horrible situation to be in.

Am@zon varies with deliveries from a couple of days to weeks (if you get books from America). I got my Osteocare tabs very quickly from them and have it on subscribe and save now thanks to someone mentioning that on here.

Softstuff

Well, I told hubby (over dinner from our local thai since I wasn't up to cooking), that I would definitely buy the stuff. I said I just had to tell MIL now... He said it was all good, he understood and that his mum would be fine too and that I was over-worrying about it :rotfl: So that's all settled then.

Mrslurcherwalker you're probably right about the mince pies, but not sure I can afford bakery prices over here. Was astonished to find a 3 quid mince pie in one bakery last year! The "finest" range is just under 5 quid for a pack of 6. A "finest" Christmas pud is over a tenner. I was popping out with MIL shopping tomorrow so will have a look.

Missrlr, be careful overworking, I speak from experience, that's when all my health issues started.

I hope fuddle is still asleep, though in all likelyhood....

grandma247

Tawny you are not imagining it being warmer. It is warmer when there is not so much moisture in the air. Even with airing the rooms each day we can not get rid of the extra moisture in the air so dehumidifiers are a really great invention.

[Deleted User]

All this talk about christmas set me planning and I've got the preliminary menu plan sorted.

Sunday 23rd Dec
Breakfast - Toasted bagels with L/F soft cheese and smoked salmon pieces, Tea/Coffee
Lunch - Glazed gammon, jacket potatoes,steamed peas & carrots. apple sauce - Pudding - Blackberry and apple fool & whipped cream.
Supper - H/M leek and potato soup, cheese on toast.

Monday 24th Dec - Christmas Eve
Breakfast - Toast & H/M Marmalade, Tea/Coffee.
Lunch - Cold Gammon, Winter salad, H/M rolls & Mince pies for pud
Supper - Cheese Fondue with new potatoes, gherkins,button mushrooms,chopped peppers,cucumber and crusty bread chunks served with a nice white wine.

Tuesday 25th December - Christmas day
Breakfast - Orange juice, Home baked hot rolls, H/M preserves Tea/Coffee.
Lunch - Slow cooked brisket, Roast Potatoes,Yorkshires,Roast parsnips, Broccoli and Sprouts,Gravy,Horseradish sauce.
Pudding- Baked Alaska with mincemeat - Coffee and truffles.
Supper - Cheeseboard, Oatcakes Celery.

Wednesday 26th December - Boxing Day

Breakfast - Orange juice, Hot Croissants, Tea/Coffee.
Lunch - Cold Beef and Gammon. Jacket potatoes, Winter salad.
Pudding - Fresh raspberries in raspberry jelly and cream.
Supper - Hot chippolatas in rolls, christmas cake.

Might get tweaked but gives me something to work to.

Cheers Lyn xxx.

JKJ

Thanks for all the responses and ideas ref charity giving. I think we are going to do a mixture of sending anonymous cheques and buying food for local food bank and cat and dog rescue centres. I know our £8 a month isn't a fortune but I would like it to count and not get lost in the running costs and salary expenses which I fear a lot of it does now.

Feel a bit more cheerful today, not a lot but enough to tell myself that making myself ill with worry over things I have little control over will help no one, least of all me. I get caught in a vicious circle of stress, misery, worry and fear, which leads to greater stress worrying that the worry will make my cancer worse (am currently in remission but find it hard to believe this as I feel so rubbish a lot of the time).......golly did all that make sense? Feel free to ignore, l am just talking to myself really to try and gain some perspective.

I so admire you all. Such a lot to cope with in a lot of cases but you just keep on keeping on AND offer support and virtual friendship to others at the same time. Hope everyone has a good day.

Aria`s_Tail

JKJ. Please sit yourself down with a cuppa and cake and have a hug! Try and make some time to destrss and try and clear your mind wether that be a soak in a hot bath or wrap up and go for a walk, whatever will help.