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

nuttyp

Hi all, had one very busy today. We removed the partition wall between two bedrooms, we out it up 8 years ago to stop our girls arguing over sharing a room. The new room is HUGE. Will need new carpet at some point, but can wait.


Yesterday we were gifted a pine bedframe, so a new look for our room for free!! Have been looking on internet for a desk for DD to do her coursework on.


Kidcat enjoy the hire car, and have a nice meal out, you deserve it.
Madartha we have high winds here, nextddor put up some new fence panels and they are down already.


Tomorrow is spa day with both DD. Nervous, as I don't do fancy pants things lol. But I will embrace it, and relax.


Stay safe and warm everyone x

kidcat

Nutty good luck tomorrow I hope you have a fabulous time.

fuddle

Princess do you think you can pull the loft insulation back a little? It sounds like your place could do with some airing up there. We have the same issue and so do so many of the UK's housing stock because of poor building regs.

Good luck with your fight. It could be helped with air bricks and/or ventilation tiles but whether your LL is prepared to help you look after his/her property remains to be seen. The LL in our house 2 houses back wasn't prepared to solve the water penetrating the fabric of the front of house. We had black, yellow and green mould growing on the upstairs/downstairs walls. In the end we moved out and he raised the rent by £100pm.

I did have economy 7, I'm sure I did because I looked and saw 2 different rates. I've been trying out the night storage overnight and horrified at the amount of electricity it used. We're on one higher rate now, somehow! A complaint has gone in to see what has happened and why I want notified. Emailed a different elect company to see if they're interested in having us as credit customers as so tired of dealing with the company I have.

Children have finished their porridge supper and about to go to the land of nod while DH and I bunker down for Sherlock.

Did any of you make any of the mincemeat recipes? I didn't... oven pride'd my oven - between that and astonish paste I'm a happy person tonight

wondercollie

Well, I woke up to -23 with the wind chill making it feel like -37C. It's too cold to snow. Beautiful, bright, clear, sunny day though.


The key is multiple layers and not giving a fig what you look like.


Had the best find ever at the green grocers. A bag of mixed peppers for $2! Two each of green, red, orange, and yellow. Two are cut up with some for snacks and some frozen. The other six are going to be stuffed with mince and rice for supper on Tuesday. Just have to find the recipe I used to make years ago.


Dog isn't happy though. Even with his boots on, it's still too cold to go for a good walk. So he wanders around the yard until he gets ice between his toes and barks to come in. Youngest took him for a drive today, just to get him out of the house.

monnagran

WonderC: I just love the idea of the dog being taken out in the car for a change of scene. Delighted to find that others are equally as dippy over their animals. Says one who used to record the 'Battersea Dog's Home' TV programme for the benefit of a small black and white cat. She loved it and would run from wherever she was as soon as she heard the signature music and sit absolutely mesmerised until the end, just shifting her bum with excitement now and again.

Have just spotted 2 dying bananas in the bowl so will get up a bit earlier tomorrow to make Banana & White Chocolate Chip Muffins to take as a gift for our hostess tomorrow. My knitting is in my basket with a pad of paper and pen and a book to read, already for my day of relaxation. I'm so excited - how sad is that?

x

wondercollie

Monnogran, he loves a drive. Turns out he's a regular at the McDonalds drive up window! He sits in the front seat of the Focus and grins at the staff. found this out when I went through one day and the woman asked me where was the dog! She recognized the car (it's a discontinued shade of green).


I've got a shawl and a hexi project on the go, so, I'd better get off the internet and get to work!

jem132

Morning all hope the weathers not too bad for you all .

Boys back to school today one down ........

Lasagna for tea - little separate ones for everyone need to get a bag of pots to do wedges and salad .

Got to get Bella back to vets then call and get some pots washing and tidy round that's it .

And carrott cake muffins ....

FairyPrincessk

Morning all,

OH is back in work today so it will be a quiet house for me and my work. It was quite windy and stormy last night, but nothing like what Mar describes out her way!

I must admit I'm relieved to get back into a normal routine. OH's parents have brought round some food that was leftover from boxing day which has saved us a packet on this week's shopping. But, we're almost through it and I'm glad to be off the rich food for awhile and back on soups and hearty warm salads.

I don't often mention the bigger details of my real life here, but I think I might be calling on the doorstep regularly this year. The next three months are a bit daunting for me--they are also exciting--I'm hoping to submit my thesis at the end of three months and I'm also applying for settlement in the UK. Both of these are sort of the last big or difficult steps in very long journeys. After contracting an illness partway through my thesis, its taken 18 months longer than expected. I don't particularly want to discuss my illness with potential employers so I'm nervous about explaining the gap. My settlement visa will be stressful and expensive, but I'm looking forward to finally completing the probation period with my OH so we no longer feel on tenterhooks that something will go wrong and we'll have to live apart. We had to make a lot of decisions about our relationship and future during my illness so its a chapter of uncertainty I'm looking forward to closing. In some ways this marks the beginning of a more normal relationship for us without added pressures of immigration and I can't wait to see how we blossom together when we feel fully allowed to dream about the future!

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I often look to my OS things to give me a sense of peace and stability when modern life seems too much. Somehow the rhythm of baking bread or working in the garden etc. can be restorative work and I love being able to pop in and hear about all of your lives too.

Right, enough from me. Hugs to any and all who need them.

[Deleted User]

FPK keep fighting for the things that are important to you, never doubt, never waver, they WILL happen love, it might be a stressful path but the end of that path when you can shut the door firmly on it will be worth the struggle!!! Yes OS does bring a serenity when you get the balance right, I love the feeling of a job well done when I finish bottling up jam or make a meal entirely from home grown produce or can go to the store and get an item I need without having to shop. I find immense satisfaction in lighting up the woodstove (I even enjoy clearing the ashes every morning, sad I know!) and using logs we've either been given as wood and processed ourselves or salvaged from an industrial process i.e building and rescued rather than let it be discarded and wasted. OS is more than a lifestyle choice, it's a philosophy or a conviction that is as compelling as breathing isn't it? Lyn xxx.

FairyPrincessk

Lyn, you always know the right words! How right you are--these are the final steps before we can start saving for our very own woodstove. Perhaps I should find a photo of one and tack it above my desk!