5 OS pleasures in your day today - part 3

Happycas

Good morning.  Bit grey but not raining.  A pleasure at the moment

Ampersand - glad you're feeling brighter.  And well done on removing one of your roles.  Though I daresay you'll take on something else to fill the space!

Frith - have you started looking for a new house yet?

Random pleasures

A meal out with DD and partner.  Lovely meal and excellent company

DGD birthday tea. 14! Good to chat to the other grandparents and great grandma.  We only see them at birthday parties so lots to catch up on.

My birthday present from DD.  A hula hoop with a weight to spin around it.  Impossible to describe.  I know because I tried to tell DS about it on the phone.  I had said I fancied one, in her defence.  I'm glad she thinks her 70+ mum will cope! It is good fun though.  And I can do it.  Just😂

A special offer from Prime.  I got all the first 8 Louise Penny/Inspector Gamache books for 99p each. I have read some of them but they'll stand re-reading.  And it will be good to read them in order!

My beautiful hibiscus ( in a pot outside ) is still flowering!  It cost £12 about three months ago and has been worth every penny, and more.

Happy Wednesday everyone

mhagster

Hello! A wild and windy day here! 

Slightly better sleep than the night before ( could hardly have been any worse !) 

Dropped off at woods and walked through and then home. Dry but windy.
Then walked dog…dryish, wee bit of rain and very windy.
Then walked to work…starting to rain and very windy and short cut through field very muddy! 

Had a consultation with a potential customer, who was very nice. Walked home…raining and windy and short cut through field even murkier! 

And home! And then how it lashed with rain and was so windy! Me…put the fire on and got all cosy! 

Chatted to sister for an hour. 

Also me…oh the rain has stopped and it’s very windy.  So hung out DD2 bedding which had a very good blow. It’s now on a clothes horse in front of the fire! 

Made a one pot dish with sausages, tiny potatoes, carrots and peppers . Baked in the oven and served with peas and very nice it was too. I love wintery food! 

Washed 4 cushions from the garden sofa. This would ideally have been done before now ( probably  around the time I was on holiday. Anyway that’s half done. Need to let them dry and then start on the next lot. 

Did a little bit in the garden this morning before I went  in to work and before the weather turned feral! 

A good day. 

Highdays

Hello again on what has been a grey, dank and very windy day.

Current pleasures here:

 1) Curled up on a miserable afternoon and read the intro to The Christmas Chronicles, my favourite book ever. Not a fan of Christmas tackiness and consumerism but this book just sums up the time of year, and all that's good about it, perfectly and will be a big pleasure right through to the start of February. 

2) Without trying, I found the most perfect present for a very difficult person to buy for. The person isn't difficult in the least but this is one present that really matters to me to get right. I find if I go looking I will not find just the right thing but if I let it 'come to me' it always does and then I snap it up. I'm pretty sure the recipient isn't on here but won't say what it is just in case!

3) We have the first viewing on my mum's house tomorrow. The non-pleasure is that it is at 5.30pm, presumably after work, so will be a late night home for us but the pleasure is it always looks warm and welcoming with all the lamps and the fire on inside and the garden lights make the lovely garden look quite magical.

4) Just started reading the new Rachel Joyce book, the last in the Harold Fry trilogy. Loved the previous two and this one seems to be heading the same way. I love the lightness of touch in her writing but still find her work very powerful and moving. Perfect bedtime reading because the other book currently in the go, Our Missing Hearts (Celeste Ng) is excellent but a bit too heavy for late night reading. Happycas - an excellent buy, those books got me through the first lockdown, one day I'll re-read them in happier circumstances!

5) The biggest pleasure of today has been saved til last. It is middle grandson's 15th birthday tomorrow. I can't believe he is all grown up - on the one hand it feels like only yesterday, on the other hand I can't imagine a world that ever didn't have him in it. I know all children and grandchildren are very, very special but I am so proud of this one. He had a rotten start in life, a very traumatic birth led to him having major nerve surgery at three months old and we didn't know if this had been a success for a year afterwards. A hugely anxious time. Thankfully it was a massive success, the consultant said at one of his check-ups that it was the best result he had ever had, but it meant a very worrying first year with lots of bits of him very heavily bandaged/in plaster through a very warm summer when he was very uncomfortable and we could do little to make him feel better and we didn't know what the outcome would be. He has had to work very hard at learning to do things in his own fashion but he is absolutely fine, very clever, very funny, very bonny, and very loving and patient with his doting grandma. Hard to believe our little broken bird will very soon find his wings and fly the nest - just as it should be and thankful beyond belief that it will happen for him. 

Right, off to sort tea and that's me done for today.

Enjoy your evening.

Frith

Quick pleasures for today (as not much has happened). Wednesday.

1) Not a bad sleep.

2) Went to local town to buy a birthday present for my friend. Wasn't entirely satisfied with what I bought so looked round again later in the day so haven't managed to post it yet.

3) Did the charity shops but found nothing.

4) Paid the money for the house selling pack thingy so it should be online in the next day or two. 

5) Had a cup of tea and a look round Waitrose. Drove home through appalling weather conditions.

6) A tasty tea and we have some snacks for later.

ampersand

1. Being warm in bed while hearing rain and wind outside, with the rat-a-tat-tat of many hard green figs on windows.  Meantime, getting there:


2. Last night's 'washing-up' mtg post-Halloween and family fireworks last Saturday.  🍷offered very kindly+lush halloumi fries😋 while & subsequently bashed on with preview using Peacock HQ WiFi.

3.  Happycas - osp for & to read of your terrific Gamache/Louise Penny deal.  That's very mse and, as treat to self, tant mieux!👏😀

4. Mary Berry's Mincemeat Brownies and a use-up-2-old-bananas loaf all done and tested by & post-mtg last night.  It's very satisfying to crack open fresh-gathered walnuts and use them in recipes, shells going to compost.

5. Primed by her cricket expertise😆, & felt Bangladesh was harshly denied a victory by timing of play resumption after small shower break yesterday.  Good listening while baking.
#
Late night birds with broken wings call, so about to head off/deal early with that before return>midweek Communion.  Bit of a trek.
#
To those hoping the Admiral is OK, & sees current posts elsewhere. 
#
Frith - 🤞all goes smoothly, well and soon with your house sale/move next chapter.  Hearing early World Service re: rate rise announcement today, wondered what effect this might have.....

LaineyT

Thank you for the reminder of Christmas Chronicles.

For yesterday,

Few chores then over to see pony, naughty girl was reluctant to leave lush grass and come in to work, twice she ducked away from the headcollar until I dug half a carrot out of my pocket!

Went a different way home and through some of the best villages in the area, wonder if Capt S would contemplate a move 🤔

Sat down with my book after lunch and woke up hour later with small dog snuggled up beside me.

Made a big batch of chilli and we had some on a jacket spud for tea.

Finally caught up on last episode of GW, that’s it now until spring by which time new Ned will be a big dog.

VJsmum

Evening all

Pleasures for last few

1. Work was OK - more importantly, the drive was fine despite being on the M1 at 8.00 on a Monday morning.
2. family lunch cos the weather was filthy and both kids had a day off.
3. Came home from above lunch, lit the fire and watched a film
4. Great day in Manchester yesterday - visited the Manchester 'highline' 
Castlefield Viaduct | National Trust

5. more importantly, excellent catch up with former work colleagues and my old uni friend (also a former colleague).

and for today
1. X ray on dicky hips went well, so quick i didn't have to pay for parking
2, dippy egg for lunch
3, a cooking afternoon - banana bread, fish pie for tea and the christmas cake
4. fish pie was lish
5 2 loads of washing partially dried on the line

have a nice evening all

Frith

I'm looking forward to visiting the Castlefield Viaduct, VJsmum. 

Pleasures for today (Thursday)

1) Was awake but still in bed when there was a knock on the door. The man was here and the For Sale sign is now in my front garden!

2) Had a chat with the neighbours (sign man had been talking to them) and their cat has survived major surgery to rebuild its pelvis (it got hit by a car). 

3) Posted my friend's birthday present.

4) Bigger son appeared so we went to stake out the site for our next geocache.

5) Went fishing in the canal but didn't catch anything.

6) Had a rubbish time volunteering at the cinema. One strange women (never met her before) went on and on and ON about the lights and what time I should raise/lower them and why didn't I dim them properly (because they don't have dimmable bulbs!) Then went on about the interval and what time would it be. Well, I don't know, I don't upload the films! In the end, I got her to come upstairs with me so she can see I literally can't watch the film (and see the interval beginning) and operate the lights at the same time as the screen and the light switches are 4 metres apart. She then said, "But my dear, the theatre RUNS THROUGH MY DNA", which has made me and now sons snigger!
I went downstairs towards the end of the film and was treated to a 5 minute monologue about "the immigrants". I wonder what answer to give? I'm tempted to say, "Yes, they should all be shot", and see what the response would be. I've never dared say, "Yes, I teach them English, they're better company than you". I've cancelled my next two slots working there as the amount of racist drivel I have to sit through is ridiculous. As bigger son said just now, this is a tiny town on the Welsh border and these things have no affect on them whatsoever. 

7) In bed now with 2 hwb and will listen to a podcast. 

mhagster

Was very early to bed last night.

For Thursday: 

Nice walk down woods. By myself. For myself. Two people said to me yesterday oh it’s a shame the dog isn’t with you. The whole purpose is the dog isn’t with me. As he just wants to stop and sniff. Which is fine. He’s a middle aged doggy who wants to stop and sniff! I however want to walk with a purpose and look around me and appreciate my surroundings and see squirrels and listen to birds singing but all the while walking! It’s my walk! 

Was such a bright sunny day. Washing out and mostly dried. 

Spent an hour tidying up in the garden. Was so nice to be out after days of rain. Much trimmed back and a whole load of very RTC bedding plants potted. 

Had to pick up DD2 after work as her car was in for it’s MOT , so left whilst it was still light to avoid driving in the dark twice as long! I hate driving in the dark! 

Going in to work early for an hour this morning. 

LaineyT

For yesterday,

Filthy day weather wise, had a text first thing to say the horses would be staying in and here is a photo of your pony happily eating hay, love our new yard.

Trip into horsey town, avoiding puddles as I went and did a small food shop, the stable lads & lasses looked pretty miserable heading up to the gallops. Treated myself to a bunch of Mums to brighten up the day.

Butternut squash soup for lunch.

Over to see pony, she was dozing in her stable and had clearly enjoyed the duvet day, long chat with my pal who I knew years ago when we went were on the same yard.

Driving home and the dragons breath mist was lying just above the fields, very autumnal. Made a big dish of macaroni cheese and we had some for tea.