* Walking in a Winter Wonderland * - It's the 2015 Christmas Chatter Thread

princesskitty29

3forholidays yes I think tomato soup will be on the menu lots this year!

whitesatin oh dear I can't think of anything worse - having to entertain in the kitchen whilst in the midst of cooking a massive roast dinner! Eeek! :eek: It sounds like you've got a lovely family Christmas planned this year and it's great that you already know what you're doing so you can start planning now. I pre-made my bread sauce last year and popped that in the freezer and you can make stuffing a couple of days before. I make my own Yorkies and whilst they may taste their very best eaten fresh, I always pop leftovers in the freezer and they are fine cooked again. I mean after all, that's what Aunt Bessie's are! Or you can buy all those things! I did buy my gravy from M&S last year as i'm always so busy getting the meal together that sometimes I forget about the gravy! So I bought some pots of ready made gravy and had it in a saucepan on the hob and it was actually really nice - probably better than what I would have made. I would suggest looking at the food to order catalogues as they have loads of stuff in. Also look out for deals in the months coming up to Christmas, last year on Groupon you could get a £10 M&S voucher for £6, so we got three and got £30 for £18 to spend on Christmas food. Anyway I realise I am waffling now! Sorry!

freespirit we still have our heating on on and off, we turned it off yesterday but it was blooming cold when I got out of bed this morning! :snow_laug Oooh green chutney is a good idea. Glad the cake has turned out well, look forward to hearing how it tastes! Seeing as you're in cleaning mode you are very welcome to come over to mine! It's interesting what you say about being like this and not on your meds, it is surprising how they can affect you sometimes. Ah you're going to have such fun with the little man! I can totally understand how your daughter feels, I would be exactly the same, but you are the next best person he can be with. And if worst comes to the very worst she knows you will ring her and she can come straight back. It won't come to that though. I've got Safe House recorded, looking forward to watching it!

Well I have finally signed up to trial a Buggy Fit class after months of talking about it! It's at 10:30 this morning in the park in town and it is just what it says on the tin - keeping fit with a buggy! I haven't exercised for coming on a couple of years now what with the pregnancy and having a tiny baby so I am very unfit! I've also signed up to do a Race for Life 5k in July with a friend that is getting over breast cancer so I have to get in shape. If i'm not on here for a few days i'm probably recovering!

I'll be home for a quick shower then out to meet the NCT girls for lunch, will have to have something healthy so I don't undo all my good work!

whitesatin

You're not waffling, princesskitty29, some great ideas, thanks.

3forholidays

Freespirit 2894 competitions entered so far this month! This doesn't include today's competitions. Still waiting on my first win though. I must be mad as I've agreed to do it during May as well.

I'd better away and get clicking...

princesskitty29

Blimey 3forholidays that's some feat! Hope you win something soon.

Well I survived my Buggy Fit class but boy do I hurt today!

I've got a friend coming up from London today to meet wiggle, then DH is going to have him whilst we meet another friend for lunch. Looking forward to it!

Looks like another lovely day outside again. x

Peppapig

Hope you have a fab day PrincessKitty - sounds like it'll be fun.

Freespirit, I remember your issues with the doctor from the old thread(s). Would it be any easier for you just made an appointment with the nurse to take your blood pressure or is it just the thought of any visit to the surgery? At my surgery they have a BP machine in the waiting area and you can do your own BP and just put a little slip with the results in a box on the wall. Have you at least got a home BP machine so you can keep an eye on it yourself? Sorry to be a nag but I lost a much loved aunt at a young age (61) to a stroke because she didn't understand about her BP. OK, lecture over

Whitesatin, I think buying-in some of the food ready made when you're doing a big family Christmas is a really good idea. After all, you want to be able to enjoy the company so freeing up some of the preparation time seems like a win-win to me

3forholidays - hats off to you, how you've managed to do that I don't know but you surely deserve to win something!


Nothing much happening here although I did see DD and littlest DGS yesterday for lunch which was nice. DH is having a bad spell health wise at the moment (he has a number of health probs including heart failure) so we're tweaking his meds to see if that helps. I'm really hoping it does because he's spending most of his time asleep or in pain at the moment. On a happier note my sister has bought a bike rack for her car which is hopefully being fitted today so that should make it easier for us to get out on the bikes - there are some nice off-road but flat areas for us to ride locally but some biggish hills and major roads to navigate to get there and we're not quite up to that yet!

pixtotts

3forholidays -Wow that is a lot of comps! !
Possible reason for lack of multi-story car park is the air ambulance, I went to a talk done by them last year and several hospitals have put up multi story car parks and thus made it impossible for the helicopter to land there meaning air ambulance is having to travel further away or land in fields then road ambulance people the rest of the way x

freespirit66 - Wow sounds like you had a very productive day yesterday! It probably is your meds that make you feel like that, it's a common side effect I believe. I need to watch Safe House, I liked the look of the adverts for it, putting it on my to do list!

Sorry about my constant MIA, I feel a little like my to do list is longer than my time to do it
x

3forholidays

Pixtotts Never thought about the air ambulance situation and multi story car parks! Our local hospital is in large landscaped grounds but probably the reasoning behind not providing enough car parking spaces is that they wanted to discourage the staff from bringing their car to work.

System

Hi everyone,
Well I have finally defeated the lurgey thank god , its been a long time since anything has hit me that hard.

As my fixed deal is coming to an end I thought I would have a look at uswitch to see who was the cheapest gas/elec provider for me. It showed that Npower would be £210 cheaper , I was a little dubious as I have been with them previously and they were quite expensive.
The "savings" are based on assumptions that I will use £200 more power next year ??? What a con they could say I would save hundreds a year as they exaggerate my predicted usage. They suggest my combined DD should be £68 never in a million years will that be enough.
Needless to say I have resigned with British Gas and will get a £50 amazon gift card that I will put towards Christmas shopping.

We are all ready for DD's 18th at the weekend ,there will only be the three of us but I'm sure she will enjoy herself. I have even gone to the expense of putting a notice in the local paper not very MSE but she will love it.

I'm off work until May 9th a whole 20 days in total and I'm planning to get a few jobs done .

Peppapig

Glad you're feeling better at last Chrissey

Gettingtherequickly

Well, despite planning otherwise, when Avon sent an email with a link to sale items, it just had to be carefully perused...... £25 lighter, but I have got a few bits which can go in a hamper, plus a Fiorelli purse which may be for me But it was reduced from £25 to £12.50 and I have always liked Fiorelli and their quality. Now do I confess to my mum what I have used some of my birthday money for?:think::D Think I will keep telling myself how much my shopping has cost me so far this year and what it should have cost me.

Chrissyg, I have stuck with BG, do the research regularly and for the amount I am actually going to save, I felt more comfortable sticking with them than changing to an obscure utility company. As I have smart meters, I regularly see my DD changing to reflect usage, so I can't complain.

Met a friend for dinner last night, she had a bit of a spring in her step! Complicated situation, but she is enjoying it at the moment, can't fill in all of the details as it could be very complicated, suffice to say, he is half her age and she is slightly shocked at having the attention:eek: