OS Daily Tuesday 21st August 2007

moggins-revisited

Good luck JackieO - I have no doubt that with your attitude you will be joining our happy band of survivors shortly - your sense of humour will keep you going, I know that some of the specialists can be a grim lot so don't let them get you down. I'm 8 months away from being discharged from my consultant and I can't wait for the day!!

Pink, think yourself lucky, at least it's reasonably easy to find size 10 shoes. My DS is 13 with size 13 feet, our current joke is that we cannot use the phrase act your age, not your shoe size!!

Right, I am off to relax in front of the TV for a while, find something for tea and then I am being taken out for the evening as both kids are away. Lovely new man stopped off at my house today while I was at work and dropped off a tiny teddy bear and a card saying how much he cared about me. Lordy, I am a sucker for romance!!

thriftmonster

thriftlady wrote: »

Ok, I'm having a rant here.

Just been shoe shopping for youngest two. School shoes. They have to have them, they are fine about buying them, no arguments or whining, just buying boring old shoes.

So, why do my daughter's new shoes have to have a small doll concealed in the heel along with a little case of accessories and a box which turns into a house for said doll ?

Why do my son's shoes come with a radio ? The radio doesn't work so he's fed up about that.

Then to top it off the shoe shop gave them all balloons which they can't blow up.

I was going to buy shoes anyway so why do they include gimmicks for the kids ? School shoes are a parent's decision not the child's.

It seems that more and more ordinary everyday experiences have to be made into entertainments. There always has to be more. More stuff, more rubbish for the landfill, more choice, more to the simple act of buying footwear, more meaningless nothing.

What has happened to simplicity ?


Right that's better

Don't get me started - we were buying school shoes this morning and ds1's new school regs state - plain, black, round toes shoes. Not too difficult you might think - Ha! He's a 5 1/2 so in the last size of kids shoes - and they're all these stupid "bootleg" ones with fancy stitching, tags etc. They have plain black ones in the men's range - but they don't start to a 6 (yes I was tempted). Plus the soles on the fashion ones (and this was Clarks) are so thin - no way will they last. We must have had everfy pair out before I even found one pair that were ok.

Plain black shoes - how can that be so difficult:mad:

grannybroon

Hi all

Will hopefully get back to you properly later this evening - however dinner and then filling the washing machine are first two priorities.

Managed to catch a bit of what has been going on today but my work have definitely done something to the connection for sites like MSE! They don't make it easy for us.

Jackie - you are an inspiration. A recently retired colleague of mine went through your experience more than 10 years ago with the subsequent Chemo/RT. She is in the pink of health and says she feels better than she has done for years. Probably being retired has helped her frame of mind too.

I have typed out my favourite Dundee Cake recipe for meanmarie and will be sending it to her shortly. I have also typed out an excellent Christmas Cake recipe which isn't too rich. I am not a great fruit cake fan and can't stand cakes with chopped walnuts in them. I have always had great success from this one. Both are more or less based on ancient Be-ro recipes. Anyone want them, send me details of how to forward them to you.

Hope to speak again later.

Love

GB

(By the way weather dire here today despite weather forecast and DH had to put central heating on this afternoon - crazy, it is still August!)

x_raphael_xx

Hi again all :wave:and thanks for all the welcomes!!

I went to town first thing, paid my monthly waterbill and posted a small parcel, then nipped into Waterstones for a new book. A quick dive into Sainsbug for a few essentials then drove up to the fish shop to return a faulty pump.
They could only give me store credit so I bought some new fish (6 Lemon Tetra) and some live bloodworm, she gave me the remaining £1.19 in change, which went straight into my pots!:D

Decided I will clean the fish in a couple of days to give the new fish chance to settle and not stress them out.

Apart from that I haven't made much headway with the housework, still need to vacuum, do dishes, clean bathroom and wash kitchen floor! I did manage to put the clothes wash on, so they're now hanging on the line to dry (must keep eye on the weather, as it's looking kinda grey now). Then I'll have a pile of ironing to do too!!

Right I'll think I'll make a start on the dishes and the kitchen, then I can get my chicken curry on the go!:drool:

stressedoutmumof1

Evening all

Well DH is en route to the airport to pick up DD and the IL's, just checked the live flight details and it looks like the flight is running 10 mins late, DH has just rang and he's already there - he's got a 3/4 hour wait - so I told him to treat himself and get something to eat Seeing as I haven't cooked any tea tonight

I've cleaned downstairs, but I can't be bothered to do upstairs, honestly having this dog here has been like having a baby, I am shattered - still no work tomorrow I can have a lie in (allegedly :rolleyes: ).

Grannybroon - I was tempted to put the heating on this evening - but I'm holding out :rolleyes:

Take care one and all

x_raphael_xx

stressedoutmumof1 wrote: »

I was tempted to put the heating on this evening - but I'm holding out :rolleyes:

I am SO HOT!! I'm sat here in just my dressing gown, with the back door open and the fan going!! I very rarely put the heating on all winter (infact my boiler is always switched off! I fill a kettle for hot water for dishes, and my shower is electric. I never have a bath, too impatient to wait for it to fill!)
Usually my feet are the only thing that get cold so I just put on a pair of woolie socks.
I hate being too hot, roll on the dead of winter!!:D

thriftlady_2

thriftmonster wrote: »

Plain black shoes - how can that be so difficult:mad:

It's the sheer amount of stuff available that gets me -not just shoes but everydamnthing. I'm sure this is the reason people get so frustrated and bad-tempered these days. You go off in search of one simple little item that you need; a pair of boy's black shoes, a bag of crisps, a bottle of shampoo, a packet of washing powder and you're confronted with dozens of choices (hundreds in the case of crisps).

Here's all the choice I want -boy's black shoes in a choice of sizes, crisps in salt & vinegar, ready salted and cheese & onion, shampoo in dry, normal or greasy, and washing powder in bio or non-bio. That's it.

More choice does not make our lives better, it makes us more discontented, confused and generally p****d off.

BTw did you know the British have more words for crisps than the Inuit have for snow ?

I'm feeling really cross today :rotfl: Must be my hormones;)

stefejb

thriftlady wrote: »

It's the sheer amount of stuff available that gets me -not just shoes but everydamnthing. I'm sure this is the reason people get so frustrated and bad-tempered these days. You go off in search of one simple little item that you need; a pair of boy's black shoes, a bag of crisps, a bottle of shampoo, a packet of washing powder and you're confronted with dozens of choices (hundreds in the case of crisps).

Rant away Thriftlady - i quite agree. I went shopping with middle dd and her friend yesterday and was shocked! they are both single parents on income support and the friend has been given notice to quit for rent arrears (she is a student and there seems to have been some mistake with housing beneifit) Anyway we split up at the door and I had done my shopping within about 10 minutes while they spent the next hour - listless - in all senses of the word - filling their baskets with so much crap. Lentils is lentils and so lentils is what went in my basket but because they were unorganised, skint and in need of cheap treats (thier justification not mine) they seemd bamboozled by the choices and the colours. sometimes i think that the artifical colours and preservatvies leech out of the "food" and leave shoppers Dazed, dazzled and confused. The friend was amazed when I swapped her micro chicken wings for twice as much fresh wings and a bottle of marinade for less money. They ended up spending £30 between them and I could only see the makings of 1 meal and a whole load of junk. I'm not condemning them - with all those choices available they feel cheated if they're not "treating" themselves and their kids but I do despair. I think if they could find a good local shop with less choices they would choose more sensibly but there aren't any around here and they are not as disciplined/tight as me.

BTW - I have been banned from going shopping with middle dd ever again as i entertained myself by very loudly trying to pronounce all the long words on their packaging at the checkout and asking them what they thought they were and whether they were entirely happy giving unpronouncables to their precious babies

Please no more schooliform (that's what dd calls it) stories. I have no money for them till the end of the month and it will be a rush job - am dreading it. DD needs everything plus shoes. i hate shoe shopping - I buy a pair of size 6 doc martens every three years or so and that's me done. DD would do the same but she still keeps on-a-growing despite my admonishments

Sweet_Pea_2

Hi all,
Its a bit late to post but had a hectic day today.
I am going dreaded shoe shopping tomorrow. DD2 will have clarks, so not too much problem there, but DD1 is starting to secondary school and informs me that no-one wears clarks shoes at secondary school. She wants the cheapest shoes we can find. She is forgetting however that she has quite a long walk to school in these shoes, she needs something sturdy but reasonable fashionable. I can see a battle ahead. I suppose I should be grateful that its not designer shoes she's after.
After we have got the school shoes, its off to the dance shop as they return to dancing too in two weeks, so we need ballet shoes, tap shoes and character shoes as well. Luckily I have a hoard of outgrown dance shoes to put on ebay which will more than likely cover a portion of the cost, which has been budgetted for.

Like an earlier poster said, I too get really annoyed with all the plastic c*** that seems to get handed out "free" with so many things, I refuse to buy kids comics because of the plastic rubbish on the front, I'd rather buy them a book instead, (why can't comic producers drop the plastic and reduce the price to something reasonable?) and we usually leave the happy meal toy behind at McDonalds, I always say no if nagged by DD's to fill the house with more of this plastic rubbish, and will quite happily stick a plastic junk item in the bin before the kids even see it if its in a box of cereal. Unfortunately my in laws save as much of this rubbish as they can and deliver it to my house on a regular basis, to clutter up my bin instead of theirs no doubt.

I cant believe its week 5 of the holidays and this is my first post on the daily thread so far. I have been o/styling away, meal planning, cooking from scratch, watching the shopping bills and cooking what we have grown in our garden, (runner beans, potatoes, peas) nice crop of strawbs and raspberries, and trying out some new recipes.
We did spend two weeks over in Southern Ireland, Dublin and then down to Killarney which was beatiful.
Now Ive watched Big Brother I'm off to bed with a new library book and a hot water bottle as I am freezing! Night night.