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

kezlou

lemon curd cake is soo lush, i might make one next week
fuddle - ouch thats nasty, at least you had a good holiday!!
aw pops sorry you weren't able to go out today.
jem ((((hugs))))

i'm also on facebook

kidcats fine just enjoying the holidays
brrrr again its really cold here, we've all got our fleecy jimjams on. What can we like our little luxuries, oh and were not going out anywhere.

Which reminds me i need to buy more pj's,dressing gowns for the lads and slippers for us all.

Spent tons of money today on school uniforms,shoes etc
Knew it was going to be expensive but sheesh, swear since ds1 grown everything has gone up :eek:

Went to the town meal, it was really good, has lots of things on for the kids. bouncy castles, punch n judy, magic shows, go karts. It wasn't too busy and the lads loved it. People were walking round on tilts, only thing we didn't do was ride on the old buses, the queues were really long so we just left it.
Came back with "big dig" recyclable bags filled with some sachets of tea, coffee, sugar (all faitrade) and 3 boxes of seeds to plants.
Free food was given out, all freshly made there and rhen Bottles of water given, and lots of different types of music playing. It was lovely, i missed out on the honey but no matter. The jars literally sold out within 30 minutes it was that popular :eek: Met a few people there who i haven't seen for years. One of them asked if i wanted to come and volunteer on the allotment with teesside hospice. so said i might pop along, met a friend there and had a nice chat while the little ones played.

After that ended up getting a taxi home, naughty i know. But guess what its the same price for a taxi home as it on the bus! How ridiculous is that. so thought well my legs are hurting, loads of bag get a taxi to the door.

It will probably be on next year pops, last year i donated veg,herbs and salad items that we had grow. This year sadly we didn't as i have time to grow anything.
Basically people donate they produce and then it all gets cooked up on the day and given away for free

Popperwell

Fuddle, sorry you had the fall but overall the trip has convinced you the move is worth it(if it comes off)

Kez, I am really upset that I missed the event and suspect it was one of the best events of the year. Lets hope it happens again and I make it.

You are right about taxis price wise and for ease of use if you can share they are great. A disadvantage of being on your own.

Most exciting thing today was getting the scissors I mentioned and my first ever nail clippers. For everything I only paid £1.50:)and the results are ok, I have real difficulties getting down to my toes so anything that helps is great.

Found some trout reduced(£16's worth)for £8 so some good meals ahead and some bread/buns for £1.20 instead of £2.50 it all helps.

jem132

Hi all well iv never stopped iv scrubbed my house from top to bottom something I always do when feel like poo lol
I've also done loads of jobs iv been meaning to do for weeks/months and made dh too.
I've got the estate agents coming on Tuesday to value our house we have decided to put it up for sale anyway and see what happens lol.

Fuddle sorry about your fall but glad you had a happy holiday x

Iv just had a email from asda car insurance saying they are cancelling my car insurance on Thursday unless I send a copy of my driving license and paper part but iv sent off for a new one arhhhh. I'll have to ring tomorrow and hope they will put it on hold until it arrives.

I am also on Facebook if anyone wants to know lol x

stiltwalker

Fuddle - glad you enjoyed your reccy and hope plans go well - X

We had a fantastic time yesterday at Legoland - we were lucky enough to get tickets from Merlin's Magical Wand and we got a cheap room at the Bracknell Hilton for Thursday night. DH grew up down there so we took the chance to meet up with a couple of school friends and their little boy for dinner which was fab. I took all DD's paper work and we got the ride access passes which were a godsend - we'd not have managed without them, with them it was a relaxed and fun family day out and we are thinking of maybe trying Lightwater Valley as it is a little closer to home - DD loved the rides we went on and cried when we lifted her off the boat on Fairytale Brook!

We drove back yesterday evening and got back for about 11 - we'd put the kids in their Jammies in the car park before we set off so we could just lift them into bed!

Just a couple more days now before DD starts school! Still have to sew her name tapes in and put her scrapbook together - the kids have been asked to bring a shoe box of 'bits' (tickets, photos, mementos, etc.) from their summer as a starting place to talk about themselves, well as DD doesn't have the speech production skills to do that we are going to make a scrapbook on Monday that she can share with her classmates with the help of her TA - with all the things we have done this summer it is going to be a big scrapbook!!

Hope you all ok - hugs where needed or wanted - Take care all - X

kezlou

pops don't be annoyed you have done loads! Not sure if it would have been worth the trip. Just for us it was as they was loads on for the children.
The main thing is that you get some sleep and rest. Honestly i've been yawning all day, if it wasn't for the kids i doubt i would have gone.

I know £4.40 for myself and two children :eek: thought s0d it i'm getting a taxi home. Luckily i did as the last bus went at 5:25pm! We didn't get home after 6!


You never Jem, sometimes things happen for a reason

aw fab stiltwalker! i applied to merlins wand but haven't heard anything back from them.
Have you been to Flamingo Land? Its near Pickering and its cheaper than Lightwater valley. My boys, especially ds2 whos 9, prefer that to Lightwater Valley as they is a zoo there and seems to have more rides geared towards little ones.
the scrapbooks a lovely idea

DS2 wants to go to Legoland, so said we'll see how goes and maybe go in the halfterm.

Popperwell

There we are again Kez, You've also proved the problems of public transport...stopping even on a Saturday before 5.30pm even when a big event is happening in town...and thank you for making me feel better about missing it.

If I go to the scarecrow event tomorrow...its nearer to here and the buses are almost like door to door. They run hourly and the journey takes 13 minutes but after approx 6.30pm the detour and route would take an hour...but I won't be there that late.

The event ends at 4pm and I will be home before then. No point going too early either. May be there for 11am but am buying one last gadget at Aldi's that is not as expensive as some elsewhere, a blood pressure reader, its a special buy tomorrow.

stiltwalker

Kez - I applied way back at the beginning of the year and heard pretty quick. They were apparently only doing first time applications this year as they had been overwhelmed with applications, hope you hear from them - X

Not been to Flamingo land but as both kids get DLA then Lightwater Valley is way cheaper for us - £13 each kid inc free carer so total of £26, FL is £20 pp carer and disabled so would be £80.

savingqueen

Hello everyone,

haven't been on here for a couple of days, just been catching up with posts. welcome back mulloch and fuddle. glad kidcat and Byatt are ok.

Had a great couple of days out. Yesterday boys and I joined one of DS9's best friends and his mum who has become my friend too (bonus when you actually get on with your children's friends ) We went to Tilbury Fort used for military defences in various wars including WW2 with views over the port. Well suited for young lads, especially all the underground tunnels to explore.

Minor parental :eek: moment though. You know when they can't see your child, you know they are very likely somewhere nearby but you can't see them and panic seeps in. We arrived early and I was concentrating on putting suncream on the 6 year old who also decides he needs the loo urgently.

Suddennly remember DS9 and can't see him anywhere, calling at the top of my voice and looking at the high walls surrounding the estuary and thinking of the sheer drops the other side and panicking more than a little. Dashed into the fort entrance/shop in case DS9 had wandered in there and the lovely young man working there joined in the search. A few mins later, I spot DS9 strolling back from a long way off, not a care in the world!

Today we met up with some friends who moved to Sussex a couple of years ago and our families haven't met since. We went to Chartwell House in Kent (sort of half way drive between our homes) where Churchill lived. Hardly saw any of the house as DS9 moaned it was boring and it was lunchtime and he was starving. To be honest it's a NT place and some of the staff were very stuffy and staid. Turned their nose up when I asked for a standard ticket price (not more expensive gift aid price which I can't do anyway as not a tax payer) for DH. Thought a bit off especially as boys and I have an annual membership (got a cheap deal to use on our last holiday as well) Not the sort of places many of our neighbours would fit in well at, not a Mcplastic thing anywhere to be found. We are an easy going family in that respect, happy to fit in most places with people from all backgrounds and think our boys will benefit as adults.

Gave the boys challenges in the gift shop so we could have a quiet cuppa outside, things like find the biggest item, something with spots etc, most expensive item which was a pen for over £1300 (or so the lads said!!) Spent hours though in the gardens and woods there, brilliant place to visit. They have built a natural play area spread out in different parts of the woods, different dens, camps, ropes, swings etc and the boys had a ball playing there. Had a lovely picnic overlooking the lake and grazing cattle, glorious weather and great company, a really perfect day.

anyway enough waffle from me, tomorrow and Monday will be getting stuff done days before school starts. feeling sad that today was our last big summer adventure. We are still having sunny weather and no BBQ this year so DH plans to drag ours out of the shed and we are making plans for places to go in the autumn so that has taken the edge off the sadness quite a bit.

sq:)

Mrs_Veg_Plot

Morning all

Have not been on for a few days as the power cable for the net book is broken. I am using DD1's laptop which is a challenge as some of the keys are missing.

Mr VP is going to put up two pieces of beading today to finish off the decorating we have been doing. I just need to hem , iron and hang the curtains in the living and dining rooms today. I have never liked the decor in the dining room and have always disliked the look of the furniture in there. I am absolutely amazed at the difference a change of colour scheme has made. The dining furniture looks absolutely fab with the new colours and I can not stop going in there to admire it . Mr VP is suffering with foot pain so we are not starting the next room just yet.

It is the last day of my hols today so I will catch up with the housework and ironing that I have been ignoring whilst I have been decorating.

Went shopping yesterday to get the girls new underwear and a few other bits they needed ready for winter. DD1 put all of the underwear in the wash and the colour has run and stained all of the white bits pink :mad:, so much for Primarni.

pops be careful with the blood pressure machine, remember that the ones used n GP surgery's and hospital's have regular maintenance and quality control checks to ensure the accuracy of the recordings.

A lot of people on here seem to be winding down with the holidays now and gearing up for the new term now. I am another one that loves the season change from summer to autumn. I think that it is my favourite season change.

Popperwell

Morning All,
That's a fair point Mrs VP about the Blood Pressure machine. I won't over use it or become obsessed at taking a reading daily. Its only a snapshot of how you are at the time and it could be different within a few minutes. Some people give false readings even in Dr's surgeries if they get aprehensive or have been doing something that raises the heart rate.

Recently a consultant admitted his BP readings go up when he knows he is having his own taken.

Well, if I am going to get out to that scarecrow event and buy the machine I better make tracks...

Take care all...