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

ivyleaf

(((HUGS))) fuddle, I hope all goes well in Durham xx

silversava - I feel slightly guilty, so many people on here have been working so hard to make a lovely Christmas for their families, while all I've had to do is put up our little tree and the cards, and put some Christmassy decorations out, get organised with OH in making sure everyone had some presents, OH wrapped the lot, and apart from that all I had to do was go to DD1 and enjoy a lovely lunch cooked by someone else :snow_grin

I remember reading in a newspaper column once that, for most of us, we only have to make Christmas lunch for the family for about 38 years. The rest of the time we are either too young to have to get involved, or old enough to say cheerfully "I'll just sit here and have another sherry while you're doing the washing up." Perhaps I've got to that stage in my life for the time being, though who knows what next Christmas will bring. And sherry gives me heartburn.

Actually I'd love to be able to invite our DDs and their families here for Christmas lunch, but I don't think I could physically manage it now, which is really why DD1 always asks us to theirs instead :A

Marie - No wonder you're tired! I hope you can get a bit of rest now and finish recovering x

Possession

Nutty I'm so sorry to read your news.:( DH and I had only been talking about the company yesterday and how horrible the timing of the announcement was. I hope he can find something else quickly. The job market has definitely picked up since this time last year which can only be good.
We had a quiet Christmas with my parents and sister's family, all very nice, the children got lots of lovely presents and DH and I were lucky enough to be given some money which we'll use for house stuff. I had picked up a very cheap preloved basic kindle for DH on the local facebook selling site and he loves it, never had one before.
Today we are unpacking and washing and seeing DH's family later. They are all going out for a meal as they've already done two days of cooking big meals, but we are just meeting them for a cuppa and cake at MIL's house afterwards, which seems to have upset DD somewhat but it's the way it has to be. TBH I don't want any more rich food anyway. Spag bol for us tonight! We're visiting DH's grandparents tomorrow, his nearly 94 yr old grandfather is very frail now and can't get out so everyone is taking turns to visit. After that it's the end of the Christmas stuff and DH doesn't go back to work until 5th Jan so we're looking forward to a rest and most likely some packing up I imagine.
Enjoy your weekend everyone.

monnagran

Fuddle: If you get this on the run - have a lovely time with your MIL and grit your teeth for the hour you must spend with your family. You can do it!
Glad you had a good Christmas and as for the future, well, you have battled all your demons once and hopefully won't have to do that again, so it's all upwards and onwards from now. As for simplifying your life, I think that you have all the skills at your fingertips to do just that. To have your DH on board is more than 50% of the battle.

Ivy: Now come on. You have done your share of 'doing' Christmas for everyone and it's your turn now to just enjoy it. I know it feels strange when you've always been the one to organise everything but if you think back to your mother or grandmother I bet they weren't running things when they reached a certain age. I keep telling my family that when my DM and DGM were my age they were being looked after by the family. So far it's fallen on deaf ears but I live in hope.

Nutty: Am thinking about you all the time. Lots of hugs and listen to the good advice being given you on here.

Possession: Glad you enjoyed Christmas. Are you getting any closer to having a moving date? I moved once on January 4th, in heavy snow, it was an interesting experience. Don't envy you.

Well, it's all change here. Ds2s family were due to come up on Monday and stay for a couple of days but they have spent the last 4 days with DIL's family. They had a horrific journey up there, took them 9 hours driving and Mia cried all the way. That child NEVER cries so it must have been awful. They are driving back today - expect to be back on the Isalnd at 8pm. I thought that instead of recovering tomorrow they would be getting ready to come up here so I phoned them just now and asked them if they would like to defer their visit to later and instead we would come down to them on Tuesday bearing gifts, and take them out to lunch. Their relief was palpable. I think we were all a bit stressed and this way we would have all the fun and still have their visit to look forward to.

So..... I am playing on the computer instead of cooking up a storm.

Jacket potatoes and bologneise with salad for lunch, and an afternoon free. Phew!

x

Possession

How nice of you Monnagran. I bet they are relieved, even though they would have had a lovely time.
No, we are no closer to a moving date, and neither our nor our buyers mortgages have been approved yet. Am trying not to think about it.

scotmumof3

nuttyp wrote: »

Monday he is meeting the receivers to collect his paperwork. that's it...... then we have to put a claim in for holiday pay, overtime and redundancy. anyone know how long before you receive it????

So sorry to hear your news. it happened to me 5 years ago next week. The company I worked for went into administration and we got 1/2 an hours notice. It's a totally sucky thing to happen. I had to claim from the National Insurance fund and all in all it took about 6 weeks for me to get the money I was owed. Best thing to do is to get signing on asap. I only had to sign on twice as I was lucky and got a new job within a month but it was the longest month of my life.I hope everything works out for you both

Pooky

Evening all

Fuddle - hope you have a lovely time with your Inlaws and the family visit goes ok.

Monna - how thoughful of you, I'm sure you'll have a lovely time.

Yesterday was very relaxing, DDs and I ventured out for a walk and to watch the Boxing Day Dip at the beach, hundreds of mad people all dressed up, running into the sea....brave souls. Leftovers featured highly for every meal which was great.

Today has been a frantic dash round tidying and cleaning for tomorrows second Christmas day! Mum and Dad are feeling better and are due here for the day. Plenty of meat left, lots of veg (all prepped) and lots of yummy gravy....all that's missing is the pigs in blankets but I wasn't going to venture out just for those, we'll cope with what we have. So looking forward to it!

We'd brought the girls some tickets to see a comedian for Christmas (they didn't know) and its been cancelled so we'll get a full refund (they still don't know) and the money will be used wisely as a mortgage OP (well they haven't missed it if they don't know about it). I didn't buy anything else in replacement (a huge achievement for me!)

DD2's favourite gift was a huge box of "me to you" bears, collectible figures that she collects...they're normally around £15 each (upwards) but I got someone's old collection of 25 bears for £30 on the bay of E.....she was thrilled, all in mint condition and now proudly displayed on her shelves.

Fajitas for tea, looking forward to something different. DD1 is working until 10pm so she'll miss out. She's loving her new job and is in charge of The YS gun! When we have a bit more freezer room we will be taking advantage of a trip to her work when she's given us the nod (all okayed with her boss) last week she was reducing packs of 6 chicken breasts to 40p!!!!!!!

chickens11

Nutty....Ive only just come on to OS and read your bad news on top of christmas , its not good to hear that anytime of year but christmas day :mad:...Do you know how many people all together will lose their jobs ?, I do hope something can be sorted .................
Well perhaps im the only one on here to say " thank god" christmas is over, I was fed up before it got here , be glad to get the new year here ....

Just heard on Sky news that 2,700 people will lose their jobs ,, wow thats a lot of people , and I feel for all those people with mortgages, high rents etc, terrible timing.....And when you have to sign on it takes about 6 wks to get the first bit oif benefit...............
Ivyleaf...I agree with Monnagran..that you have certaintly done your fair share of christmases in the past and you can now sit back and let the family look after you.....
I went to the care home and spent christmas day with OH , I must say the christmas dinner was lovely with all fresh veg , and home made christmas pudding was delicious , I spent 4 hours with him and it all went well......
Had boxing day at sons , DIL and 3 grandchildren very nice too.....
We had rain today with hail and sleet , and its been very cold indeed, we are now all suppose to be having cold weather for the next 2 weeks, but hey its winter.......
Ive been sitting about all day as I did have a cold thats gone but its not on my chest :mad:, feel short of breath, a wee bit anxious as im now on heart pills , so just hoping its the cold........Im not bothering NHS at the wk ends they are overloaded now.......
It doesnt feel like a Saturday today at all , ive not been to shops as I have enough stuff in to get by on , thats the good in stock piling some food......Catch you all later Sheila

ivyleaf

Sheila it wouldn't be a bad idea to ring your GP's out-of-hours service for some advice as you're short of breath. Glad you had a nice time with your husband on Christmas Day x

Softstuff

Just popping in to second Ivyleaf, if you're short of breath Sheila call a doctor. It needn't necessarily be your heart, it could be as simple as a chest infection, but it certainly needs looking at. Just mention that you are short of breath when you call.

Still thinking of you Nutty, and fingers crossed something good happens soon.

greenbee

I agree with ivyleaf and softstuff. Breathlessness post-operatively needs checking up on. Last time I called the surgery with shortness of breath about 3 weeks after an op I was called in to see a GP and sent off for blood tests. They were negative, but it's best to check.