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

nursemaggie

Sounds like you get the same junk mail I do Softstuff.

Nargleblast

nursemaggie wrote: »

Sounds like you get the same junk mail I do Softstuff.

And there was I thinking I was part of an exclusive club.....

Softstuff

philphil1 wrote: »

Well after a weekend in A&E with food poisoning i thought i'd better report back.

Only joking, it worked out ok.
I don't really think I did it justice, but we enjoyed it anyway!

Meat was cooked beautifully (always is in slow cooker), onions and chickpeas really soaked up the flavours. Sauce was a bit yogurty tasting, and took ages to get it to reduce down! Lessons learned for next time though.

Hehe, all recipes are at your own risk! It would have likely tasted yoghurty adding it so late. Next time get the yoghurt in at the beginning, but reduce your water to half. That'd probably do the trick for the slow cooker.

ivyleaf

Softstuff wrote: »

Hehe, contrary to what the spam emailers seem to think, I'm not interested in extensions, enlargements or prolongments. Nor am I looking for "hot ladies" or planning to bet online.

I once got an email assuring me that a beautiful Russian lady was desperate to meet me If I'd taken up the invitation DH would have been astonished to say the least!

Stilty Good luck with the application and the scan x

Pooky Poor DD but I'm sure the kittens will help heal her.

mrsdwhite Fingers x'd for just the right new staff for you!

SDG So glad you and DH are feeling better.

hooray, it finally stopped raining here and is lovely and sunny this morning. Much colder though.

DH has gone to see the Practice Nurse for Spirometry, whatever that is. I don't know if anything's involved other than blowing into a peak flow meter.

Pooky

Morning all

Possession - That made me laugh - maybe that's your new avenue, does it pay well?

Stilty - Hope your scan goes ok - sounds like you had a fab time and that meal sounds delish.

Thanks for all the good wishes for DD1 - I don't really think it's really sunk in yet - I'm sure there will be a few outbursts over the coming weeks. It's her birthday this weekend coming so hopefully she'll be out and about and not sitting at home brooding. One of the boys from her old work wanted to pop round and see her last night with a "cheer up" present, he's asked her out several times before but she couldn't cope with seeing him last night - she's going to pop out for a drink with him one evening instead. She started her new job on Saturday and left her old one yesterday so she's really in a bit of a "messy" head space at the moment.

Kittens settled well yesterday, played and played until they dropped, ate copious amounts of chicken and biscuits and snuggled on DD's laps purring their little heads off. They've had early breakfast and 2nd breakfast already and have both flaked out in a play tunnel.

I could watch them for hours.

nuttyp

Morning all, pooky my youngest DD was mortified in the summer when her BF broke up with her. She eventually got over it, not without a lot of tears and lots of friends being there for her. She said the upside is she doesn't have to buy him a Christmas gift!!! I think his parents miss her loads as they still keep in touch.


I had a lovely day yesterday, doing nothing much!! We watched the f1 racing, was very nice to share some family time. In the evening we went to DD and took buddie as well, he went to play with her dog ratchet. They just run around like lunatics!!!


Is anyone else finding the Christmas build up a bit too much. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all at the moment. I have got our girls a few little bits, DD fianc! requested a computer came so I doubled up the tossccoo vouchers to get it. All this talk about black Friday, well if I go shopping it wont be a black bank account for me.


DD has her first interview on Friday for collage to do a university degree course, it means she can stay at home and do an apprentaship to gain the same qualification. We will have to help with some of the fees but it is far cheaper than living at uni. She has applied to another collage too, and both are willing to accept her. Fingers crossed for Friday!!


Time to crack on, need to get some housework done and tea!! x

savingqueen

Hello everyone

Hope your scan goes ok Stilty and your DD's interview nutty. Poor DD Pooky, I can remember what that feels like. Hopefully friends, kittens and birthday will all work their magic.

I have been so busy last couple of days, today just got what I needed to do before school run done by the skin of my teeth. Its little SQ's birthday tomorrow, my baby will be 8. As usual I received a cheque last minute from my parents to buy DS a pressie so had to decide on one and buy today. As usual nothing yet arrived from DH's siblings - wonder if they will come tomorrow. When they do remember in time, the parcel tends to come on his actual birthday whilst I am on school run or shopping (as I will be tomorrow) and then you have to wait 24 hours before it can be collected from sorting office.

best get back to it
x

fuddle

Cold in my neck of the woods today but oh so beautiful in the frost and early sun. Hot water bottles tonight!

Just about to go roast some tomatoes for a sausage meatball pasta dish. DH came up trumps and got a load of tomatoes reduced at the market. Got some basil in the freezer so going to enjoy playing with flavours.

I have 4 more days to work then I have 7 days off :j I am looking forward to it and really, really need it.

Yesterday was our 1 year anniversary living in Dorset. The year has flown but in terms of progressing as a family, well it feels like it's been our normality for much longer than a year.

So much has happened with mam. I won't go in to detail but I will say that sister has had enough and not prepared to help mam any more. "She can rot now for all I care" It's extremely hurtful having a mam for an alcoholic, not least the painful things a woman on drink can say, but the thought of my mam lying, alone, ill or worse without being checked upon is not a thought I will have. I have sat back and watched all these things happen, all these words being said, all these conversations with outside agencies and these threats being made about cutting off grandkids... some of them I have been involved in myself but I will not stand back and let my mam rot. My sister has took mam's anti depressants off her until she's teetotal. Mam has been prescribed them with the doctor knowing the situation so in my mind they are safe with a little alcohol. Mam didn't know that anti depressants fuddle with your mind, especially the early days, so I have spoken about them to her tonight. Mam really wants to cut back on her alcohol consumption so she can get the benefit of the anti d's and has bought fruit, veg, salad as well as being commited to all the vitamins the doctor prescribed. She is adament that she won't stray from wine to vodka any more and can see that it's the vodka losing her everything. To me, she's at least trying and therefore will I stand back and leave her to it? No.

So I am waiting for my sister to get back to me to agree for me to take over the reigns with mam but to agree to help me with the practical stuff. I am only today aware of a warrant of control (serious debt issue) that my sister hasn't told me about that I know (because of the paper trail of alcohol issues) we can get suspended but it needs mam and sister to sort it as I can't do it from here. Had I known about it earlier I could have lead them to be able to stop it from getting so far down the court path. So a little frustrated but a renewed hope because mam admitted to drinking because she's depressed but depressed because she's drinking. We're going up in February so I suspect when we do the Home Town leg (also going to FIL in Scotland ) I will be making a home for my mam. Time indicates that the bottles must be gone for me to do that so I need my sister to do some more in there before I get my cleaning gear out, paintbrush and bleach!

I'm not sure if I will be able to coax her to getting better but I much rather try and keep trying because if and when the inevitable happens, at least I can be at peace with myself. Cutting her off is certainly not working for her, or for me. :cool:

kidcat

Stiltwalker hope your scan any ok.

Fuddle only you can decide which path is right for you and your family. And the same for your sister, we all have different thresholds for being able to deal with things. My experience with alcoholism is that the person will promise alot of things and mean them, but until they have had to dig themselves out of their own mess, they are likely to fail. The pressure that puts on the family standing back and watching is horrible but it's a necessary first step to recovery.

[Deleted User]

Evening everyone, I'm back home after the most magnificent performance I've ever been lucky enough to listen to. The Choral Society were on the very top of their form on Saturday and the Berlioz Requiem is such a splendid work which they and the Philharmonia Orchestra did full justice to, it's the best concert I'm ever likely to go to!!!

Docky was very pleased to see me again and has been giving me toys to chase him with since I've been back which is fun. It was so nice to see the Zebra on Thursday, he's super zippy crawling now and pulling himself up on the furniture and walking along on his own, not long I think before his balance comes good and then he'll be off. It was very nice to catch up with both of the girls too

FUDDLE you are a good woman, you never give up on people do you pet? Your mum and sister are very lucky mortals to have you in their camp. I know you're aware of the likelihood that mum will slip back again into alcoholism despite the good intentions now to try to limit the alcohol consumption and I guess that your sister is having a torrid time of it with her at the moment. There really is only so much you CAN do love, 300 miles away and working the hours you do would make intervention extremely difficult. Look to you and yours first if you can? you've made your new start and done so well in making a new life that is better for ALL of you please don't let this push you off balance and colour your perception of the world and please put your and your familys needs first in all things and don't use up all the rest of the time sorting out problems for mum, you need time out too pet!