* I wish it could be Christmas every day * - It's the 2017 Christmas Chatter Thread

murie

Weather is looking good today! Yippee! This morning I have strained and decanted into bottles the elderflower cordial I made yesterday. I have made it for Mom (diabetic) so have used sweetener rather than sugar so its not as strong as it could be but very moreish never the less. Ive made 4 bottles but I think it may reduce to 3 as I'm going to keep one back for myself to have with sparkling water. The kitchen smells beautifully of elderflower which is a plus too. I make it every year on Moms request but DS isn't keen on it- he calls it swamp water lol! That brings to mind another saying I use (following on from previous discussions on here)- ' he has two choices to my one' (meaning he doesn't have to have it).


Im off to moms first thing to take 7 bags of hedge cuttings to the tip- I hope its an in and out job and that the tip isn't rammed as it usually is.

vulpix

PK very sorry to hear about your Gran xx

Gosh Murie,Elderflowers are not even out here yet.I make the cordial too.Love it but I know what your daughter means calling it swamp water.:rotfl:

I am making a home made Christmas basket for my Mum,ds,and dd1.I made strawberry and rhubarb jam the other day.I will make other stuff as and when.MIL would hate a home made produce basket.If its not from a factory and swamped in 10 layers of packaging its no good to her.

I am at the stage in the garden where I just maintain it.Finding that quite boring.I miss the hard landscaping bit.

I have no excuse to not do any house work now.:(

Might do some touch up painting in a bit.

Vx

3forholidays

Condolences on the loss of your Gran PrincessKitty. Thoughts are with you and the family at this sad time.

:bdaycake: Happy Birthday Nic2075 :bdaycake: Hope you have a lovely day.

Peppapig

Sorry about your Gran PRINCESSKITTY but I do think that's a good way to go, having seen her family, made her peace with her god and then quietly and naturally have nature take its course. MURIE is right, you don't have to be at the funeral to say goodbye, it's what's in your heart that counts not where you are.

MURIE, you sound like me, I've got it, it doesn't go where I thought it would so now where do I put it :rotfl: I've never tried elderflower cordial and I'm not sure I know what elderflower is. I think it's that white plant that grows in the hedgerows but I shall google it now and find out.

VULPIX I do wish you could magic yourself into my new garden. It's only small (which I love) but the plants look like they've been put in the wrong places plus I'm fairly sure a large percentage of them are weeds! I know you're supposed to leave it a year with a new garden so you can see what you've got but I'd love someone to tell me what I've got now and what I can safely dig up and get rid of. As it is I'm working on the premise that if it's too rampant it's a weed, if I don't like it then it's a weed or if it's growing where I don't want it to it's a weed. On the plus side I do have some lovely roses, a lilac and lavender, all of which I love. Unfortunately I also have a huge and slightly moth-eaten looking Fatsia Japonica which isn't a fave and quite a few other things that I don't recognise at all. I'd love to make the garden a hobby but I'm really faffing around in total ignorance lol.

I had a lovely lunch today with my bowel cancer girls (how's that for a title ). They're such a lively and cheery group, they always put me in a happy mood. We're all at different stages and a couple are palliative now but they're still living life to the full and one is off to Australia at the end of the month. She's a real inspiration and I figure if she can go all that way then I should be able to take Ascot in my stride! I've accepted now that I can't possibly walk about all day in my IC shoes so it's smart but comfy shoe shopping for me next week.

vulpix

Peppa I quite agree with your attitude to gardening.Never mind leaving it a year ,if you dont like it,get rid of it.I am not overly keen on shrubs in small gardens,but its all down to what you like and don't like.There wont be too much left to come through at this time of year so go for it.You might get a surprise with bulbs next spring but they are no trouble.When you have cleared out what you dont want,get plants for the right place eg shade /sun lovers etc.Post a pic,I would love to see one,or two.

Having a meh day today.Found a lump.Got an appointment with GP in the morning.Am more bothered than last time,I think cos I know what it entails.Hope its something and nothing.

Can't settle to anything.

Laters Vx

vulpix

Sorry,Happy Birthday Nic xxx

murie

Vulpix- you've done the right thing getting into the Drs asap. I cant begin to imagine how worried you are but hopefully as you say its 'something and nothing' xxxx. We are here for you.




Peppa- wow that is inspiration indeed! Good luck with the shoe shopping.
Nic -Happy Belated Birthday!!

System

Sorry for you loss PK.

A lady in the village has started selling Body Shop stuff so ive made a start on Dd's holiday/pamper hamper, as its the 1st order she has reduced everything by 40% so a nice little saving there.

Whoever mentioned Aliexpress a while a go thank you you have saved me a shed load on beanie babies although ive lost days browsing the site !

Dd was getting herself into a knot over the wedding about the food [she will only eat certain items] and the bride and my pratt of a brother just kept saying it will be ok ! so i rang the venue to find out they dont even discuss food until 2 weeks before the wedding !! is that normal these days ?

Peppapig

VULPIX thanks for the advice, I'll let you know how I get on. I second what MURIE says, maybe try and keep busy today (you know the drill) even if it only distracts you for a short time. We are most definitely here for you.

Wow MURIE, up at silly o'clock again, what time did you take Ruby out?

CHRISSEY I feel for your DD - sounds like the bridal couple and the venue are a match made in heaven. I do hope you can calm DD until nearer the day, it must be very stressful for you both. It does seem pretty silly not to be able to confirm a menu until two weeks before.

Had a slight falling out with DH last night. I'm always saying he doesn't give any input to house decor he just says 'whatever you like is fine with me'. He says it's because he's happy if I'm happy, I say it's because it saves him having to think about it. Last night I put one of the new curtains up in the bedroom to see how it looked so when he came in I said 'what do you think?' and he said 'honestly? I don't like it' so I had a major strop because it's been a pig finding something to go with the wallpaper, took it down, stomped about saying they'll have to go back. I think it was because I knew deep down he was right. I had to apologise of course because I was completely in the wrong, poor man can't win, I moan if he doesn't express an opinion and I moan when he does! Needless to say curtains and wallpaper are going back today and we'll go back to the drawing board

04624181

Hi all, school hols here so finally have some time to sit down on here and try to catch up. Miss you guys x

PK- Sorry for your loss x You have to do what is right for you and your family. You can pay your respects anywhere xx
vulpix- I hope everything is ok, let us know how you get on. You are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to anything house and garden related xx Homemade christmas baskets sound lovely. My father and his wife, my brother and his family and my mum and sis all love my ginger cake, coconut cake and mousakka made with potatoes not aubergines. Every christmas I think I will make a homemade hamper for them as they would love it but every year I run out of time lol. Need to be more organised.
Free- Fantastic news about your DD, how romantic was the proposal, what a thoughtful guy xx
peppa- I completely understand where you are coming from as I am exactly the same with my hubby. We waited so long for a snuggle chair, I was happy to settle and buy a chair that was "OK" but hubby kept saying no. I would sulk and strop but eventually we found one we both loved at a knock down price.
murie- Wow early morning start. i can honestly say i have never had elderflower cordial. Just lost 30mins of time as I googled Alison Cork trees and feel in love. I need one lol
Chrissyg-Great savings on body shop x
Sammy-Kaye- Good to see you back. Hope you are feeling much better.
Mrs Moneypenny- Wow the kids will need to seriously start their christmas shopping plans from now to beat that gift! Sound like you have had a fab time.

Our house sale is on hold for now as we need a new roof! scafolding going up today, reroof being done on monday. We going to do the house up and then sell. Will be here for another 12months at least. On countdown to hols, 7 weeks tomorrow! yes!!
Everybody commenting on my weightloss but I darent get on the scales. would be gutted if I had not lost much and it would make me start scoffing again!
Nothing christmassy here, we are emptying the loft tomorrow so I will see what we come across in there