5 OS pleasures in your day today - part 3

Frith

Pleasures for today (Monday)

1) Good to get up after 2 hours sleep...

2) Getting ready for the estate agent to photograph the house (next Monday). Cleaned my bedroom ceiling with the anti-mould stuff!

3) Decided to wash all bedding (overnight) so I could take all that AND the completely sopping stuff on the line to the launderette. 30 minutes in the enormous tumble dryer meant every bit of washing is dried and put away now.

4) Had to go all round the Wrekin (almost literally) as the main road to Wales was shut in launderette village! This meant going through a ford and round the edge of the Clee Hill along the lanes to get in the back way, with dozens of cars having to do the same. While the washing was drying, I went to the one charity shop (nothing in there today) and had a mini breakfast in the cafe.

5) Did English lesson number 5 to the asylum seekers. It went OK this week.

6) Had a Chinese takeaway for tea. 

DundeeDoll

Purple_kitten said:

1 Finally remembered to get the turkey crown out of the freezer for later in the week, I’ve been meaning to for a while now, as it’s been in there since January.

same here though mine's only been in since May. 
After a very disturbed night (dog poo'd on the rug, cat pee'd on my bathmat, i think they were both disturbed by the awful weather) I am a bit tired but let's think of 5
1) remembered to take a portion of casserole out of the freezer last night and cooked rice this morning for lunch - very yummy - did enough rice for tea to go with lo chickpea curry
2) after that went for a lovely walk round the outside of the hospital and through the arboretum - beautiful colours and lovely earthy smell
3) there were 4 dates in honey left from the tub I brought back from my first trip to Saudi, were being the operative word, yummy
4) friend came round and we had a blether over a cuppa 
5) dd2 phoned as she left hoop and i walked the dogs to meet her
She's now eating her supper and i'm about to have one more cuppa then it's off to bed with the Archers

LaineyT

For yesterday,

Into horsey town for a coffee with pal, did a bit of a food shop as well.

My yellow roses are still going strong 10 days after I bought them, a very welcome splash of colour on such a grey day.

Went to see my pony and had a good laugh with other people, it’s a nice yard to be on.

Prawn stir fry for tea, plenty of ginger & garlic to ward off the cold lurgy that is doing the rounds at beloved’s workplace.

Clear skies and a little star gazing while small dog had her last wander around the garden.

Happycas

Good morning.  Beautiful red sunrise.  And it's not raining.  If we have much more rain I'm going to plant rice.

Frith - I share your pain re roadworks.  Our village is completely hemmed in by them.  It's a bit like The Prisoner except our pit village is nowhere near as pretty as Portmeirion. Every journey has to carefully planned to try to encounter the minimum number of temporary lights! And it's been like this for ages.  The gas board go and the internet cable lot turn up , and then the electricity board.  And so it goes on!

Managed to escape yesterday to go to Asda but almost wish we hadn't.  They seemed to be having a very disorganised and unhelpful day.

Sorry - just realised these are not pleasures!! These are though .....

Lovely pictures of DS and family having a great beach holiday in the sun.

Reading the sequel to The Miniaturist - The House of Fortune.  Just as good so am really enjoying it.

Finally did two bits of mending.  Probably took about 30 minutes but I've been putting it off for ages!  No idea why!

And the beautiful glowing red acers in the garden

There, that's better

Happy Tuesday everyone

Frith

Pleasures for today (Tuesday)

1) Not a bad sleep.

2) Had to go to incredible lengths to get anyone to return a call/message but finally one man did so he will be coming round on Saturday to do an up to date ECP on my house. The existing one is an F...

3) Wrote the selling house description thing for the estate agents. 

4) Took the 2 smashed up old wardrobes to my brother's to go on the bonfire (ready for Hallowe'en). 

5) Went to Waitrose.

6) Went to the football and we won 1-0! 

7) In bed with 2 hwb and a cup of tea and will watch GBBO just now. 

LaineyT

For yesterday,

Hungry when I woke up so scrambled egg on toast for breakfast.

Warm, sunny morning so spent it in the garden, planted up the baskets with pansies & violas, repotted a trailing geranium plus fushcia, also I narrowly avoided getting stung by a sleepy Queen wasp that had made her burrowed down into the compost in a pot, that’ll teach me to wear gloves!

With my pony who fully embraced her fire-breathing dragon side whilst working in the school, in her defence another horse was doing zoomies in the paddock next door but it made for a tense ride.

Home and pork ragu for tea.

Uni Challenge then GBBO then reading for bit.

VJsmum

Hi all.

Have got myself all behind again...  must do better 

Pleasures recently 

1. Work going OK. 
2. Several trips to the pictures with my unlimited card
3. Out with friends from antenatal group.  The relevant kids are 26!!
4. Log burner
5. A recent back / hip issue remains ongoing but has improved enough to enable me to give up taking pain killers.  They don't really agree with me 

Back soon with todays 

Highdays

Hi everyone

Quick pleasures today - well, the pleasures aren't necessarily quick but we've just got in cold and hungry so it's me that needs to be quick!

1) Had planned to take little grandson out yesterday afternoon but got involved taking son to pick up mended car and too late when they got back so we settled for a game of Monopoly. He's a very bright 7 year old and his maths are excellent so, suffice to say, he generally beats us (yes, we do try to win!!!) and he did again this time. Don't know how he does it but thinking property buying and selling may suit him as a career.

2) Son's car was nowhere near as expensive to mend as he had feared - three figures rather than four. Phew!!!

3) Boiler and hot water tank serviced and all ok.

4) Only Connect and Uni Challenge were postponed because of the rugby on Monday night so watched Only Connect last night and will catch up on UC tonight. Managed a few connections so was feeling quite smug til hubby commented that he thought it was a bit easier than usual. He could be right!

5) Final trip back to mum's house (an hour each way on the motorway so a bit of a trek) to do more sorting and clearing. A final valuation and we have agreed on an Estate Agent and an asking price so photos, etc can now be sorted and we can get it on the market. Sister and I agreed we will then feel more settled. Just got home, traffic  was a nightmare - when you are retired you tend to forget about rush hour, half term traffic and so on so we got stuck in all of that. Anyway, home now, tea all prepped and good to go so jarmers on, candles lit  and a cosy evening planned.

Hope you all enjoy yours.

Frith

Pleasures for today (Wednesday)

1) Not a bad sleep. Woken by the neighbour shouting. I presume he has made some terrible mistake with the relaying of his kitchen floor. I haven't seen him to ask.

2) I've been sorting out empty food containers as we are going to make a "shop" so our English learners can practise asking for things and handing over the correct coins.

3) Went to local shopping centre to get my eyebrows done then had a wander round.

4) Had a cup of tea in M and S and there weren't any tables left so I was joined by the lady in the queue behind me - Margaret from Melbourne! She's back in the UK visiting family and we had a chat about selling houses and the football.

5) Went to Aldi.

6) In bed with 2 hwb and wondering what to watch on television.

7) Bigger son is in Dover!! 

DigForVictory

Oh dear - over a weeks worth of OSPs!

ampersand - to please be getting better?

topsytuphy - hurrah gran-to-be! Hurrah DM back on form. Oh gods, yes, cleaning for inspections.

villagelife - wow, going eye to eye with a large deer & managing to get the leash on faithful hound First!

LaineyT - mussels in white wine & garlic - yum! I love the colours but 18 degrees?! Line drying - hurrah! I like the idea of "carrot stretches". May suggest it to yoga teaching cousin. "Had to crack on with housework" - um, not a nice book in range then? Snuggled down with Capt S, Midsomer & Cake - now that's a pleasure! More hippo than horse - well, mud does look so enticing. Unconvinced you have an Inner Sloth, but wholly with you on "glad to be in the house" when thunder & lightning start! Warding off the lurgy with ginger & garlic - I must remind the young to increase our usage thereof. Can't just rely on the jabs! Scrambled egg on toast is one of the best really-fast-breakfasts going.

mhagster - first days back are usually tough, but working with favourites is raw fun. To miss a family knees-up is a double-edged thing - glad you spoke to nephew! Brilliant, house has someone who wants to be in! Just, siblings... So impressed at all your house doings and intermittent cute puppy & rain dodging.

Frith - home-made cinnamon buns <goes weak kneed!> camels & pheasants & 4 seasons in one day - your lessons sound Fun as well as useful! Very glad estate cheque will make a difference for you. Volunteering can be a hellbrew. Roast dinner pie sounds wonderful. Most frustrating to have one son with all the tools. (Says she with the hammer she bought at Uni decades ago still there in the family box, but still Mine.) So long as you are prepared to be surprised, it may not land as hard? Furniture disassembled & elder son off to Belgium soon. Latex allergy attack - yikes - so glad all has settled down again. Some days, dragging All The Laundry to the launderette is restful. Most intrigued you have to write the house description - thought estate agents spun fables! Your class will play shops? Excellent! (In which shops is it OK to haggle? Or are we playing Terribly English & Won't?)

DundeeDoll -"soda and limes complete with a sprig of rosemary" <life goals updated> "deep bubbly bath" - one of the better ways to ease though time zones. Gosh, texting with an eye on time zones - awed! Diwali, food, laughter & sparklers in the rain - there's a joyful example of integration! Dates in honey - I can imagine they were delicious.

Purple kitten - nothing wrong with food-based pleasures! Christmas cake cupcakes - and whyever not? So important to Stop decluttering before you find you've rearranged Everything, & now seem to have decluttered the bed. Awed at ferret grip on technology.

MrsFarmer19 - your omlette/frittata sounds delicious!

Happycas - it's autumn all right. The M&S biscuit tins are glorious, but the lads empty them too quickly! <reaches for tinfoil & pin> The Miniaturist sounds fascinating but a bit spooky, and The House of Fortune seems to be dancing gleefully down a similar path, but with extra "reader knows something character doesn't" twists!

Highdays - well done powering uphill and yes, down is usually trickier. <Pondering how you fed a squirrel a contraceptive.> Best of luck selling the property & yowch son's car...Out on the town! then proper winter food - yes! "Sorted and re-packed two freezers" - blimey there's an upside to a cold day & what a reward to find you do not Have to Cook for a bit! It is a pleasure to be thrashed at monopoly by a 7 yo grandson? Teach him poker - he can fund his own way through Uni.

PaulieHerts - have you had your flu jab yet?! Hurrah refilling cellar at 25% off.

VJsmum - antenatal mates 26 years later - wow! So glad back/hip has improved to can "give up taking painkillers"!

OS Pleasures recently

Miword. The hanging of the curtains has triggered some house proud conduct in the lads - curtains are to be drawn to admit light in the morning & drawn around sunset, and Middleson has remonstrated with youngest thereabout. What he’ll say when he sees fleece blankets pinned to keep the heat in, I’ve no idea, but I’ll find out. Where he gets this domesticated streak from, I’m not sure!

Cousin sent me a collection of tolkien shorts including ‘leaf by niggle’ & it’s delightful & very comforting when contemplating purgatory.

Got a copy of the last Elizabeth Peters/Amelia Peabody book - planned treat! [Hm, have to agree with Amazon reviewers - this posthumous collaboration hasn’t worked. Still, ongoing pleasure the originals remain & shine the brighter.]

Gosh, what a difference a shower can make. Although the line from return to camp Grenada does come to mind “have you ever seen a whale in a bikini”… still pleasure is in clean me & clean bathroom & towel on spin cycle.

Sorting photos for credit card wallet type photo album - problem is the people are dead. Pleasure is a lot of lovely photos to chose from, just to have them to hand feels important.

Swingles again - stunning a capella singing & the libertango includes a bit of excellent footwork to enjoy as well, but the voices are just glorious. Dithering a bit - do I buy tickets to go see them… York is not local, but it’s much more so than America.

As it’s pack to move out (with bonus jetlag) for Kwasi from no11, it’s hurrah another miniature fruit tree in its way here for me! The Morello cherry, I hope. [Ye gods, the timing!]

Away with the scouts jamboreeing & this year we chatted to someone in Bristol. All very remarkable to me who’s used to the internet version. [And the sheer comfort of chatting with American & South American scouts from sprawled under the duvet! Well, late into the night, it makes more sense!]

Oh my word, the bliss of hot Vimto after a cold activity! I don’t think it’s a religion but any faith that suggested it would get my heartfelt prayers.

There is a small scout, calling the afternoon prayers. Startling how raucous my lot seem thumping upstairs, but how quickly they muted it as soon as they were told. The rustle of cellophane carried on - we feed them 4 times a day but they hit the sweetie stall between activities… 

Jacobs ladder involves climbing up on beams between two trees whilst in harness so you can’t fall. Any harness can bite you on the leg & I hugged one scout who was cold scared & in pain til the fear and pain wore off. Another was (with her father’s consent) hauled all the way up despite wanting to come down & having had a hearty dose of congratulations & vigorously worded approval, descended gracefully & demanded she be allowed to lifeline her father. Recognising the glint, I was clear “Gilwell says no” - I will not give next of kin motive means & opportunity. Her father was hauled up anyway & shut up about the harness not hurting…

It’s refreshingly like being mum of young ones again. “Laces!” meaning “do them up before you trip on them!”, being hugged with glee at achievements (me, if I hug someone, there are safeguarding considerations: for our scouts, they just walk arms open!)

I felt a bit of a sweep slinking off into the night but I snore. A lot. Another leader also, & has woken with bruises where fellow leaders have tried to roll him (I recall a hand over nose & mouth til I woke enough to hear “roll over” - it seemed kinder to the other female leader to let her get a nights sleep without my racket) but I’ll be back for breakfast & the rest of the activities. [And how! So much fun!]

A Scout going to the South Korea Jamboree taught me (novice) furoshiki & now no fabric is safe! The shiny slippery fabric makes wonderful (quickly tied) bags for presents and we were shown how to deftly mistreat a reef knot that it undoes with one smooth tug. I Boggled. The scout teaching me gurgled with happy laughter - he’d reacted the same way the first time.

I picked up a few fallen acorns & they are now in a mug of water before going into a bag of soil in the fridge. In stark contrast to the mango seeds, once again worn close to my heart. [Fridge now has a startling container in low back corner…]

There’s a head round my bedroom door muttering “go to sleep, mother!” - he has a point, but the jamboree fun online is tempting. As another yawn stretches me, I think it’s time to close down for another year [boo but there’s always next year] & sleep & dream of little oak trees.

Morello cherry has arrived! No leaves, so no idea if it’ll settle happily til next spring, but all I can do is unbox it & let it recover in the fresh air. (Leaf shed quite normal for cherries.) Meanwhile there’s a ziploc of haycorns in the fridge, and an interesting reminder in the phone.

Bulldog clipped fleece blankets over unlovely curtains to obscure the decoration & the pleasure is that while they are plain & thin they will still save money on the bills even after April (….) 

The cat flap has been installed at mum’ s- the cat is Deeply Unimpressed but the bribes that await him are considerable! [Seems to be working - both flap & bribes]

Re-wrapped the mango seeds which are not yet sprouting. I may have to stop wearing them against the skin & just bundle them in the dark & hope. Just I feel the warmth can only help!

Middleson is one untrusting chap. Me happily headed off to plant little trees, “they won’t get the light” - on the zig zag I have in mind? Yes they will (or should). Me, garden in straight lines?! Pleasure is in the hope!

Getting up, getting the days tools sorted, looking out if the window & beaming at the rain. Exactly what my miniatures orchard needs. Pleasure in letting the watering can just sit.

Halloween pranks - the mystery box and contents startled several Scouts as it was “Still Warm!”. Better living through judicious chemistry (bicarbonate of soda). Awed at the makeup skills, pleasure that some of the games are still, happily, childrens’.

Middleson has just seen original artwork by cousin (50 something, new to the medium) for my birthday - up on my wall as a loving reassurance we are not all good at everything. Son vehement Coz shouldn’t be allowed to drive a car - pleasure is his opinions are just that, opinions & can be stepped past.

Bit of work was giving me a hard time, put head together with colleague - she sorted my glitch, I sorted hers, hurrah for colleagues, & confidence, & the ensuing chat that voices can be so influential. (I sound like a posh headmistress, seemingly, she reckons she sounds like she works in the chippy (in Birmingham) - I agree about the city but not the role! Incisive clarity of vision.) Huge pleasure I can still remember some things & help!

Some days you just have to sign out if kit that links you to current affairs as the ‘ting’s & “beep”s get Too Loud. Pleasure is that, working flexibly, I May do just that & go through the rain to Costco instead.

Middleson asked where were the wheat bags I’d made? Minutes later, one handed to me, one draped over his toes! He’ll sit with his legs tucked in a baby sleeping bag we still have…

In the middle of this wild weather & with the forecast hearty breezes, I am trying for a line-dried bedlinen wash. Getting half of it on before 10 feels a good start! Somehow, line drying makes me feel optimistic & slightly more in control. 

Is it just my family that buys two tins of cocoa then hides one to “prevent gluttony”? While tutting that the lidded tins don’t stack?! I suspect they paid rather more attention to the GP’s words on healthy living than I did.

A few years ago I took some variegated Holly cuttings from a local tree - most died (Holly is not said to be easy to propagate) but the one little survivor managed a second year & so has been upgraded to a bigger pot. With its earthworms, which may be most of the story as to how that one survived! 

Mum, faintly bewildered by the lemon seedlings being dubbed Sid & Diego, asked if the two mango seeds have names? Not having shoots or roots, I think it’s far too early but mum’s expression dimmed a bit, so currently Curiosity & Hope…

Amidst the holes dug for miniature fruit trees will be one for Himself’s ashes. Pleasure in sorting the kit to go with him, the very fine paintbrush, a pipe & lighter, a knife, the stuff he’d have on him. There are tears but of relief we can find these things, that they are not lost in a sea of stuff! There are words from decades ago which moved us both, scribed onto tin. They’ll last a while. [Youngest picked out the nicest lighter, wanting his dad to have the right gear. Middleson dug the hole, careful not to disturb his brother’s tree roots. Both watched over me, careful that I didn’t fall on slippery leaves or trip on bramble. I am very lucky.]

The planning for Dad’s memorial has moved along & I am to read St Gertrude’s prayer about friendship. All I have to do is get past the words “tender affections” which sounds    all too easily mis-read as Tinder affections. There’ll be me muttering the words daily for a couple of months. Pleasure is, it’s what mum wants. [After two changes in 24 hours, I will now be reading Psalm 23 & snarling at Further changes of plan.]

Sis has suggested I unleash my inner Hattie Jacques. I’m not sure I’m flattered, the woman behind the roles had a fairly challenging time, had to decline an OBE as her sons were on drug charges & lost the youngest to heroin. Whilst achieving onstage sibling comedy & affection, her home life was much more erratic.

Oh gods, son finds ReesMogg funny after a HIGNFY appearance (distant past). As a test of political competence, I’m deeply unconvinced, but I do see why he is willing to extend possible tolerance. [Not an outgoing concern hurrah.]

The weather forecast says glorious sunshine  - I look out on Thick Clouds. Pleasure is nothing planned to be on the line.

Ye gods, so glad the “will it be Rishi” is settled. Pleasure is I can stop checking the news for a bit!

Middleson brought me a new “trigger sprayer”/spritzer - which doesn’t leak! Can delude the lemon seedlings they are in a high humidity environment briefly (& it’s fun!) He opines “it’s a spritzer” which I think is a drink. 

“It was a real Matrix moment except I was standing still” - brother flung something at brother, missed him & socked me sharply in the kidney. All three of us are still giggling…

I found the brandy! Hurrah - this will enliven mum’s Christmas pud but I am to take what’s left of the half bottle back home so mum doesn’t drink it. (My sisters are turning intemperate puritans thinking mum’s drinking too much & I think they’re judging off a winebox with a dicky tap).

Watching Martin live, I asked Middleson has he a Will? Outraged ‘no’ & I am hustling him towards something legal sharpish. He’s got a car. One solid accident & someone will have to sort that. Even he accepts he has insurance as it’s legal & that a Will would help.

Right, that is Quite Enough (well, probably too much, btu you should have seen the first draft.)  Health, strength, love & courage to all has have need along with thermal things & electricity/tea/HWBs when wanted!