5 OS pleasures in your day today - part 3

Frith

Pleasures for today (Friday)

1) Not a great sleep as was chatting to a friend online until the early hours!

2) Up for the coffee morning where there were some frangipane mince pies. 

3) Tidied up vaguely and played chess online.

4) Practised the Interstellar theme on the piano.

5) Went to work until 8pm. The new young man colleague is very good. 

6) Watching I'm a Celebrity now. 

7) Just completed an online Sainsburys order because we have run out of everything INCLUDING TEABAGS !!!

LaineyT

Remember those back of the leg bruises only too well Mhags, get well soon Haggis.

For yesterday,

Filled up the new car and remembered that the petrol cap is on drivers side not passengers!

Met a friend for coffee and a catch up.

Over to see my pony, they are being kept in today due to stormy weather so laid in supplies for a duvet day.

Driving home and a barn owl flew out in front of me, heart-shaped face and ghostly white.

Tea was gnocchi in spinach and tom sauce. Had a gin!

mhagster

A day most quiet.

up and at ‘em early. Sat at table and writing from 7am with a HWB behind my back. Service number five sent off and a lovely response.

Made toast and bacon for brunch.

Went for a lie down but just watched something.

Fire on. Lovely sunset. Was very late! 

Wild and windy but nothing too out of the ordinary here ( so far) 

Purple_kitten

It sounds like a very rewarding job Mhags.

1 I got my bum into gear and did all the bits that were dragging me down, I emptied a box of bathroom smellies stuff, to stuff I keep and use, things which make a nice re gift, things to offer away free. I also tried some parfum samples on and sat there sneezing for ages while washing it off, but I can still smell it.

2 I went through a pile of paperwork, some I need to action is stashed away in the coffee table, some being kept in the office the rest is thrown.

3 Finally, a big box of clothes, into a bag for donation, and some dresses I have put to one side as they are too good not to get a few pennies for. Broken box for the ferrets this evening before recycling.

4 I cooked up a bolognaise batch, which will be spag bol today and chilli tomorrow.

5 There are Christmas songs playing, and ferrets playing with toys so contentedly festive, and I’m wearing a Christmas jumper, which depicts a Christmas tree made of ferrets, fully embracing the animal mad woman type here.

Frith

Pleasures for today (Saturday)

1) A poor sleep as we had/are still having the second worst storm I have ever known. Was woken at 2 by something blowing away. Talked to my friend online who also couldn't sleep.

2) This morning found part of the garage roof had blown away and, annoyingly, one house brick went with it. It had all bounced off the bonnet of my car on the way to the ground so the car looks awful. 

I was just annoyed about that when my sister text to say next door's gazebo had blown away and knocked the corner of her house roof down into the garden! It hasn't stopped raining (or blowing) so they were in the loft trying to wedge plastic feed sacks into the hole from the inside - with no electricity. 

Neighbour text to say their fence (other side, not my side) has gone and also a big tree on the drive beyond. No one hurt though!

3) I was annoyed enough to walk through the wind and rain into town. 2 very large trees down on the way, floods and other damage. Had a chat with some workmen trying to save some heras fencing. 

4) Had a cup of tea in M and S. 

5) Left a loaf of bread baking while I walked and we had some very chunky pork and cheese toasties made from it when I returned. 

6) Our football team had an away match and won on penalties. 

7) Made shakshuka for tea (with more bread). 

8) Watching Strictly now. 

DigForVictory

LaineyT - welcome to the new wheels! Mincemeat flapjack? <adds to must try list> twinkly lights definitely help. Catch me if you can sounds far more fun your way! It is nice handing on parking time. more you practice - ask QI  Gosh it Does take a couple of tanks to remember where the fuel cap is.

DundeeDoll - Tosca - Stunning! You'll miss All the Christmas Services? Thailand?! Wow! Long shower, oh yes... Timed so there are light shows to welcome you!

Frith - love your dad's birthday first football match, And you Won! I'm coming to the view that nearly everything is better with more stem ginger. Good on you learning to play the Detectorists theme from sheet music. Awed the face of Rimmel London is a trainee nurse whose mum is your hairdresser! Did Every Downstairs room - awed. Ovens are never quick but to hear Christmas rehearsals with full organ & school choir - yes! Oooh frangipane mince pies. Run Out Of Teabags?! 

Purple kitten - oh drat about the antibiotics not fixing things. Fingers crossed the new year is a little simpler. Congratulations Starting, even if it doesn't look convincing yet! Change of scene a brilliant idea & better than a rest. Brilliant timing at Aldi! Absolutely cuttings season, says she preparing to try to coax an apple core to unburden its seeds & have them consider germinating... "fully embracing the animal mad woman type" - seems wholly reasonable to me

mhagster - the decorations are always a pointed reminder of who isn't here. Just by starting early you spread the 'ohh pretty' as well as the 'owch' over more days. Owch lost post! But repeated by candlelight. Hurrah Wicked & also work. Keep ahead of yourself by being organised - you are allowed to drop balls at times. Oh gosh, Haggis and a festive cone of shame & pup's bewilderment. Busy indeed, so very right to maintain self care. Most quiet is wholly reasonable sympathetic magic to appease the storm Darragh. 

ampersand - lovely colours, delighted to see you have found Somewhere that Connects & yes, ma foi, La France needs your love & support too. To praise someone before their manager - there's thoroughness - & clearly appreciated! The No Prizes quiz sounds a splendid way to appreciate the many facets of M, if informal. 

VJsmum - ICT house being rebuilt?! Thought all contractors mission statement To let you down for exorbitant amounts. Fingers crossed for you!

Highdays - baby steps & pottering are the way to progress.

OS Pleasures recently 

It’s Black Friday & I’ve just done a survey about Valentine’s Day. The horror, the horror! Still, it’ll turn into vouchers I can play with.

Good Omens & Crowley on laudanum…. Ah “with special thanks to Queen” in the credits. Pratchett remains adored in this household.

I say, I’ve a colleague who used “Rhadamanthine” as a jibe at some of our protocols. Only when I looked that up did I appreciate the depths of the comment!

Midsomer - the problem with live tv after streaming is the back 10 seconds option doesn’t work, but what fun anyway!

Long-standing friend who has been navvying away beneath sight line at a school has got another technical job and is delighted. So pleased for him & his family!

Can’t help but love live brass playing “oh come all ye faithful” even if it’s in the supermarket.

Cross referenced diaries for coming week, whether I drag Youngest South depends on if he’s still dripping lurgy. Warned him wrangle of aunts due…

Good Omens season two finale - well, gosh. 

Pondering if seeds from the same fruit are sibling or twins. (Siblings seemingly, but yikes don’t put serious money on that as opinions vary with the plant….)

I have learned that seeking perfection is dangerous. Not least as one report has taken more than a year to write as I wanted it to be perfect & in fact that’s far more than is needed.

I have Youngest’s cold. He’s brought me four clean handkerchiefs & the apologetic mutter “you’ll need them”. I am genuinely blessed by my offspring, albeit in ways I hadn’t quite foreseen.

Only Connect - can I persuade the lads to eat “colonial goose” for Christmas?! Lamb, yum yum… stuffed with honey & apricots, well, come on lads!

This is a Festive Cold, a Red Nose (running like a bath, draining my IQ), a necklace of Holly clamping my throat & scraping everything that passes & so I’m bundled watching Only Connect in bulk to distract what’s left of my brain function whilst my immune system gets on the war. 

Tomorrow I’m supposed to be phone support - I’ll sound like Marlene Deitrich which should amuse my colleagues considerably. [Bless ‘em, they were appalled!] Once that’s over, back into the recovery nest.

Should you watch (or book up on) Magpie Murders before diving in to Moonflower Murders, or does the latter genuinely stand alone?

I am not a patch on my sons for cooking. I have thrown together a “three bean stew” & added ginger pepper turmeric & nutmeg in a gesture toward Moroccan seasoning (on top of garlic) & it is now bubbling dubiously in the oven top. The upside is it’s relatively quick to cook & I’ll never know what it tastes like, as with this cold I could eat a fresh jalapeño & barely notice til I rubbed my eyes. It will feed me for at least 3 meals so Youngest gets a break. Only catch, I’ve No Idea if my attempt at a mirepoix will have worked.

Sudden pondering, Eldest who loved chilli - and suffered next morning as so many chilli lovers do - I wonder if his sense of smell was a bit off-kilter too? On the other hand, teenage boy - functional anosmia as a defence mechanism…

It is a truth near universally acknowledged that I have all the mother-wit God gave a herring.

“He was conceived during one of our rituals” - I think you loose the happy ending pretty much at once… (a Ritchie Sherlock Holmes)

Storm Darragh making life complicated. Assorted access roads are (briefly) river channels & the pleasure is reading of this from my recovery nest. Whilst charging things in case there is a power cut & musing on previous generations who would be a great deal more autonomous.

Interrogated as to why celery & the extra carrot & explained concept of mirepoix. The theory’s fine, my voice delivering, less convincing…

Saw some advert “win a very tall person to help you put your lights up” & chuckled quite a lot before the coughing interrupted. (Same ding-dong as the Avon ladies & the Book of Mormon opening number…)

Ah family tree climbing - I’ve got a pilot tragically dead taking off in a cross-wind & a parallel view that he swung out & crashed into a hanger, dying & taking 5 of our lads with him. Being awkward, I am scrupulously recording both perspectives. In the years to come covid will put as big a dent in the annual stats, I’m beginning to see it already.

Health Strength Love & Courage to all as have need along with relative immunity to the works of the Storm. If you have not yet done cards or decorations - don't worry, there are still weeks to go. (If you have, blinking well done!)

LaineyT

Goodness to having to follow a DFV epic post! Thanks for the link m’dear and I would do the Magpie Murders before Moonflower as a lot of the characters follow on and offer much needed explanations, his new one is on my Yule list.

For yesterday,

Bit bleary-eyed after a wild & woolly night so we took ourselves off to the farm shop for breakfast only to find long queue going out of the door. Transpires it was a pre-booked meet up ( my money was on WI ) and they graciously allowed us to go to the front of the line. Snorker bap and coffee was much appreciated.

Made a batch of bread dough and left it to do its own thing while I went to see equine pal. She was happy enough with her duvet day but I stuck a waterproof turnout on over stable rug and walked her around the yard just to stretch her legs & give her some (very!) fresh air. Settled her back in and sat for a while watching her munching on hay & listening to rain hammering on roof of barn.

Home and parcel of SH books had arrived, mostly Christie.

Listened to the football and we won 4-1.

A cheats tea of Mr Sparks lasagne and cheesy garlic bread, day off for cook.

DundeeDoll

LaineyT said:

Goodness to having to follow a DFV epic post! 

saved by @LaineyT :-) a wonderful post as always @DFV agree re doing magpie murders first. Phew well that's the first conference over and what a wonderful time we had - an amazing medical research conference all organised by the students themselves. I did the opening keynote Saturday and my colleague did the closing keynote Sunday. So top 5 things
1) the food - I love Thai food
2) special mention for the pineapple - so different from what we get in the UK due to being picked to ripen on the boat so understand why but having fresh pineapple is yummy
3) getting dressed in Thai clothes for a trip round the palace and the conference meal in the grounds - felt like Mr Ben when we had to get changed back before leaving
4) being very proud to be joined on the judging panel by 3 Thai alumni from my course who are all now back working over here
5) the lovely students allocated to look after us - we were indeed very well looked after

mhagster

There’s a hatless dog next to me… he’s been allowed a short reprieve. So he’s all cuddled up with his special Duckie. 

A day most quiet. I was hoping for a non work day and I would say bar one teeny tiny wee thing I’ve  had that. I always message my families the day before their service , so did that and had one wee thing to add to service ( which I hand wrote as I’m already printed) so that took all of a few minutes to do. 

It’s been dry and bright though a cold breeze. If I’d had any washing it would have had a good blow.

Was up early with doggy then I dozed off again and woke at 9.30 am which is ridiculous!

Watched 2 schmaltzy Christmas movies. 

And watched a lovely sunset.

Frith

Pleasures for today (Sunday)

1) Thought I would get a good night's sleep after 2 pathetic nights. Woken at 4 by the cat then at 6 by the smoke alarm randomly going off for about 10 seconds. However. the pleasure is the storm is over. A 75foot tree has fallen into my friend's house and 10 trees were down on my way to work!

2) Worked 8-12 and that went smoothly enough.

3) Remembered to get some petrol.

4) Sainsburys online order arrived. 

5) Cut the hollyhock seed heads off as they're never going to dry outside and put them in the garage. 

6) Had a little drive to look at the Christmas lights.

7) Neighbours are on holiday so played the piano a lot.

8) Final of I'm a Celebrity later!