The OS Doorstep - a helpful and supportive thread in these tough times

FairyPrincessk

Kidcat, I do hope the disappointed relatives sniffed it before tasting. A mouthful of cold tea that had been in a decanter for years is bound to be a bit of a shock, no matter what you were expecting!:rotfl: In any case, I will bear that tip in mind if I find decanters but have nothing to fill them with. My OH is decidedly not a 'preparer' but more of a jumper inner get it done as fast as possible person. It drives him batty when I 'interfere' and it drives me batty to watch him do it 'wrong.' I can sympathize with your frustration.

SQ I imagine I sound productive since I don't have children. I doubt I get half as much done in a week as some of you mums do in a day. I do like to be busy, though and I'm quite a homey person, I guess.

Pooky, I will definitely post photos when it is finished. I can't wait for it to be done, and not just because I'm sick of shoving it from side to side in the kitchen to get to the cupboard behind it!

Possession, I know that feeling--I don't think you sound ungrateful. We know what an effort you went to to make your dad feel welcome and to thank him for his labour. Doesn't mean that you can't have doubts about the frugality of this way of going about it!

OH and I have done our weekly budget check in. We still haven't gone over for the month, but we also haven't caught up enough that we can relax. We started a new savings plan this month but because of a few unexpected things we've already fallen behind and are loathe to dip into the little bit we did manage to put away. It will be a very tight two weeks. I've decided to combine the two weeks worth of shopping and do it all next week as I've an Ald! voucher for then. We also have a fair amount in the freezer etc. so it is certainly doable. The creative challenge will be making sure I don't completely deplete our stocks so that next month is tight trying to replenish them and making sure to use perishables first so there is no waste and no sending OH to pick up anything. He is terrible for adding one or two bits here and there when he only went in for the proverbial milk, so its my job to make sure he doesn't have to go in for milk!

Tonight is leek and bacon quiche with salad, and want to pop a batch of cookies in the oven for the neighbors who have given us the desk. Fortunately I've plenty of baking goodies around for that.

[Deleted User]

Afternoon Toughies, DD and the Zebra child have just left and the dog is refusing to go for a walk so I'm catching up here. Poor Zebra has a horrible cold and is teething too so he's a snotty monster and a dribbly monster at the same time awwww! He was fine yesterday evening, cried a few times in his sleep and only once for long enough to need picking up and rocking but didn't wake up and did sleep after I put him down again. He woke up a few times in the night so DD went for a nap after lunch and he just played with He Who Knows and me and was content for over an hour until she came downstairs again. He now has 3 teeth fully through and 2 more almost through so I guess he's uncomfortable with that as well as his cold. It was so lovely to see them again, he changes so quickly I see differences whenever we visit.

Docky slept last night thanks very much, I feel much better for a good nights' sleep too but He Who Knows might be hatching a cold and is feeling tired and cold so I'll make sure he gets a decent night tonight too. Don't know if I could foster dogs, I think I'd get attached too easily and we've had a dog for the last 28 years so we might just give ourselves a break as we can't go anywhere without Doc, can't leave him in the house on his own and that's very limiting. The thought of being able to go to the cinema, theater or to a restaurant that isn't the village pub is quite attractive and I'd really like to have a couple of holidays that are in a nice cottage, not one that's dog friendly, we'll see how we get on without a hound for a while and then make up our minds.

Going to have a quiet evening and read my book and hope He Who Knows feels better tomorrow, Lyn xxx.

savingqueen

Yes Pooky it does nark me as you can probably tell from my intermittent moany posts. He spends far, far too long on the PC with headphones on and it drives me mad. He does very little around the house over the weekend. Weekdays I don't mind as he has a long day and not much time at home. The last few years doing his college studies has seriously spoilt him. He used to help lots when the kids were tiny. I know I will always do the lion's share - part of the reason why I have himmed and hawed so long about if/when to return to paid work.
I couldn't sit around as much as he does, I have a little break then get back to it. Even in the bath I can't soak for too long whereas DH can literally be hours, although he rarely does that any more as I told him we can't afford all the hot water top ups.
However I do have plans to change things a bit. He is still unwell - as I am actually but I don't have to commute come Monday morning (nor can I phone in sick though!) so I am not starting this weekend. I am determined to get DH and boys all involved with chores in a weekly joint family housework session on a Saturday probably. All things being equal next weekend will be phase one of The Plan.

DH saw an ad for a window vac yesterday and said haven't you just bought one of those? What I bought was a window squidgy with a hollow handle to collect the condensation (from the land oflakes about £10.) Not quite the same but helpful in my daily battle with condensation in the colder months. I covet a window vac but it is down the list of wants, maybe a birthday pressie for me as it would improve the quality of my life considerably!

Hope all my fellow cold sufferers feel better soon, especially little Zebbie.

thanks the cake for the garlic growing info. If I get time to get some bulbs I might, I use a lot of garlic.

mardatha

Possession, you gave your dad back some love and self-respect by letting him help you. One day he won't be here any more and you will wish he was, and would pay anything to have him back again. think of the money as love and repayment for all he did for you in your early years pet xxx

SDG31000

Hello all


Just a quick note for now as I'm watching The Antiques Roadshow through my fingers in case I see myself in the background.
I'm the short curvy one with messy brown hair, wearing a bright pink coat and glasses. I might have a plastic chair under my arm as well.


Will post more later xxx

Possession

[squeals and waves at SDG]

Possession

Quick OS question - does anyone feed a christmas cake with anything other than alcohol

SDG31000

I'm behind the lady with the Russian plate, wearing a black and white printed top. The man in the pink checked shirt is her Husband. After the valuation, I congratulated him to which he replied "What the heck do we do with it now? It can't go back on the plate rack"


I look terrible :eek:


At the end of the section with the man with the train plaques, you can see me moving the chair in the bottom left of the screen. It's lots of different primary colours and I love it. The lady with the red hair and floral top is my friend Emma

FairyPrincessk

Morning all,

Today will be a busy one, so just a quick pop in. Our neighbour is back. He woke us up in the night banging on something and he was calling his cat around 6 this morning. It will be back to peering out before we leave to check he isn't about I guess.:(

I've just had to stop the cat licking condensation off the window--she has water bowls dotted around and has trotted straight to one of those.

Thanks The Cake. I might try to stick some in, although afraid the budget won't stretch to any specifically for gardening. Will have to take my chances with what I have from the supermarket and see how it turns out.

Mrs. LW, I hope all of the poorly ones are on the mend.

Roasted red pepper soup for tea tonight. OH will make it when he gets in, which means I'd better e-mail him the recipe as he won't be able to find it in my basket of unlabeled bits of paper.

Right. I'd better get started.

Nargleblast

Massive spam attack across all the site, please hit spam button on threads titled money saving expert.