5 OS pleasures in your day today - part 3

villagelife

For yesterday

1.  Went for my dog walk - it was good to get some exercise and I wouldn’t have gone out otherwise. It was like a river going down the road.

2. Good chat with owner of the dog.

3.  Good chat with my Mum and she is ok after very minor surgery.

4. DIL2 was worried as baby wasn’t kicking- went to hospital and all seems ok.

5.  Tasty crumble for tea especially good as main course wasn’t great but using up veg.

Frith

Pleasures for today (Saturday)

1) Not a bad sleep. 

2) The roofers came and mended the flat roof. 

3) We had a sudden flock of long tailed tits in the garden. 

4) Part baked rolls for lunch, spaghetti bol for tea. 

5) Went to the supermarket and saw Robert Plant. 

6) Looking forward to Casualty later. 

mhagster

Very quickly as I don’t have much charge on iPad.

Up early.
Out to meet work colleague and we had a good walk and talk for 1.5 hours.
Friend called so I walked round to see her, had a lovely chat. Lots of steps walked today.
Home. Hello doggy, yes I’m definitely in now.
Log burner on.
Watching Casualty….aah it’s back! 

topsyturphy

Pleasures for today

1. Shopping finally done.
2. Soup made &  Cottage pie for tea/dinner and used up some more of the free cabbage.
3. Lovely dog walk through the college fields, was cold but not wet thankfully.
4. The joy of putting on clean bedding.
5. Now snuggled in said bed as early start for work tomorrow 

DigForVictory

Missing presumed somewhere again, and now, hallelujah back here.

Happycas - hoping DH's gastric bug settled in full in time? "What isn't bought and wrapped can stay unbought, unwrapped." - this is how to Enjoy Christmas! "more gentle today" - after the 3 separate events prior, good! DSM will be difficult - coach family to leave the stuff you shouldn't be nibbling next door with DS? Gods yes, I'd rather be at yoga than sorting and cleaning, but then I do it over teams...

LaineyT - "chocolate bread & butter pudding … meagre leftovers" Aww! very good to hear family all doing well. Aw, Yule log. "horses seeing their farrier too" = this is a traditional seasonal thing?! "my girl joining in on a mass zoomie" - imagination boggling happily. A good hat is a special pleasure. Love an almanac that includes star charts! "broad beans are coming on well" (boggles gently) Mildly invaded but happy, then lounge. "oh the pleasure of the first cuppa" - it's near spiritual. Marine Condi - Ah! gotcha. "Turkey dinner pie of previously frozen leftovers, one of my beloved’s favourites" tis the seasons to cosset those we love with leftovers. Googled "Italian baked eggs" & think Yum! "Youngest, look at this!" Wonderful to hear a 3yo being brought back into health & love. Uncle J used to watch cricket on TV only if had the simultaneous radio commentary. Love the idea of stretch legs & say hello to the neighbours! "new version of Lynley" - I'm struggling, as the book version of Havers is a woman I feel massive empathy with, so the TV is a bit too 'fluffy'! "Long chat with bf, we were both waiting on a loaf to prove." lovely way of timekeeping! "first snowdrop of the year" - wonderful! getting back in out of "almost horizontal" rain a definite pleasure!

mhagster - seeing foxes, a happy sight. Christingle service packs a special wallop, doesn't it? "Santa came round on his tractor!" - wow! Australian travellers! "everyone all arrived! ... they all went away!" Hoping it was a frosty pretty walk. "they all had an afternoon nap!" They struggled with "the cold water swimmers"?! (I just applaud.) Oh poor Haggis & poor you clearing up. And they're off, on their next step. You iron pillowcases? "my poor dog is terrified" - aye, sister's pair are happily incoherent (even for Labradors) on valerian. No hat?! Ye Gods.  "I made butter!" - if there is a better use of leftover cream & young persons energy, I haven't found it. "back into a sense of normality" - not my style, but don't let me stop you. "Ended up with an extra dog to come home with" - well, keys. Tricksy blighters. Falling & bruised - oh Gosh. That "set of stacking baking tins" was clearly Meant for you. Mum' NDN, daffs & o Haggis... Hoping he's back to himself in full soon! Typical winter, plenty of work, very glad the families are nice & that you can even mentor. Lots of steps - plain awed from here.

BoP - notes diligently taken on the care of the sprouts.

DundeeDoll - steak pie, public libraries, & a nap - a good day! "hymn tune bingo" sounds deeply mischievous. You walked in on the 'single men Christmas lunch' club - style! "referred to the dental school" yikes, what a pleasure. Stockings are such fun! Love a choir for an unofficial service. "come eat goose" that's a special invitation! Camino Memories in Penicuik - glorious. "mince round from the butcher" - how on earth there are vegetarians in Scotland bewilders me. Awed at the litter pick targets. "have been using the children's castoffs" - now That is OS MS & has me laughing so hard Youngest emerged to ask why. Sweet dreams! Definitely enjoy the Jura. "NYR not taking computer to bed" - wholly reasonable, do please hold to it? "finding my ceilidh shoes" - now there's a real OS pleasure! "sorting gets me down" me too, must try with music! "the shoogly chest of drawers" - gosh there's pejorative! "new mass setting, new responses and lots of fun" that's the fun of choir singing. I used Bowie as an example of wearing aids with grace & one Scout actually listened.

ampersand - "Love my hot water bottles." yes, indeed! Demon Scrabble, eh? Delighted the Nexus is bringing the right stuff along & that you can ferry Emporium rtc delices to assure staff of your appreciation. "Sorted wool for crochet radishes pattern, as one does" well, yes, um, I have been remiss. Encore Add - I forwarded their 'one handed tips' leaflet to a colleague who has broken her wrist. Afghan blanket is an heirloom in creation (& the difference between an afghan & a blanket is "about 3 years..." I asked a fellow fibre fiend) and photo does your love & work credit. Please stay safe in this weather & Just Watch Ice Hockey? For older widowed friend, have they the puff to cope with a puppy? Can you get them to foster an older dog & see how both go?

topsyturphy - never heard of a Coffee Renoir, so Googled enthralled... "All … came to mums for tea"! "Christmas lights on" - oh yes. then "back to work tomorrow" - you utter star. "giving away free potatoes and veg" - excellent, as I gather sprouts were as massive loss leader this year. (Needed irrigation at planting & early stages.) "roads very quiet" - a huge relief. "Crusty bread with Pate" - yes yum indeed! "Not having to de ice the car" - ooh that is a special pleasure! "Overslept this morning but wasn’t late to work." Wouldn't dream of asking how, imagination has several possibilities to hand. "Chickpea & lentil curry" sounds glorious! Trauma can affect more than just the casualty - the family cops it too. Though Wow DD & 92% on assessment! Clean bedding is just a huge pleasure.

PaulieHerts - rousing cheers on completion & all luck with the hunt! "we finally exchanged"! Fireworks - yes, I find them fun in professional hands but we cant raise funds for scouts with them, they've got so expensive. "glad we’re finally here" - now to find where you want to be. Which means viewings - however you are pretty much The Ideal Buyer so fingers crossed for you!

Purple kitten - happy Solstice! "been found and fitted" as a working hot blanket should - well done finding it. Walk as reports of a stray ferret. Love toad of pigs in blankets idea. "bad luck to do any cleaning" - absolutely yes, Dreadful luck. Applies to Chinese New Year also - Most Inauspicious. "of course cleaning keeps giving", alas, yes, but unloved newspapers can be hilarious (what did they think would be 7 down?!) "full moon with Jupiter" - sighted & enjoyed too. "Bird watching it just can’t be helped" - absolutely! "a good curry sauce" - I don't mind the lifetime search so long as I only get a few complete duds. Sorry the duvet was a debacle but it got you to Aldi at the right time?

Highdays - love "the quiet lane". But then "all ages from 11 months through to 93 years" - gosh! I've yet to meet a miserable "muck tub", although some were mildly repentant. "a feverish cold" is no way to start the new year but at least its 2026 not 2020. Drat the bug but hurrah on the successful DH training "he's becoming an expert at 'something out of the freezer' and fresh veg"!

Frith - "brother is here and playing darts" - oh yes, family. "Held the new baby for a while. Smaller son was very courageous" - it really is a big ask for some chaps. "All the components were nice" - hoping the leftovers were brilliant. "Smaller son started a batch of sourdough starter." - rousing congratulations. "Planning my garden" - a special pleasure. The Detectorists are one of my absolute favourite feel good TV series. "Car battery was a bit flat so I drove to Waitrose." Awed respects you recognise the low battery symptoms. A little push? Please, hear us lovingly shove? Noone should shout at you. "No Traitors tonight so I will watch the Great British Pottery Throwdown" - a change is as good as a rest! "it's now my weekend!" - hurrah! "Applied for one job" - you know we're not nagging but watching hopefully?! "I need it to rain now to test it out." Eyeing the weather, I hope it falls in a form & at an angle that responds to guttering. "36 tiny sage plants!" - hurrah! Flat roof now mended? So that should be the water ingress problems sorted?

weenancyinAmerica - we celebrate it on the 25th pretty much regardless, but then this year there are only 3 of us. "Even thinking about is scary" - right with you!

ShelivesintheShire - welcome & very right to share "a pot of real tea with son"!

Suffolksue - "Trying again to maintain daily pleasure" - you can see you're Way ahead of me! "played Rummiklub littlest one still cheats" - only the doting could upbraid with such affection! "there is so much sorting to do in the bungalow" - owch, but better you decide what goes than are left with someone else's edit? So what music? Rock, classical, gospel? (Can you sort to Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer? I can't, I'm giggling too hard.) Anniversaries are minefields. Lindor, eh? Very right to pace yourself, but you did right that grandson gives you a Kilo of the fun! "dodged a little more snow" - jolly good, may you keep right on. Very canny to shop with friend & car, but oops germ. Very right to uphold standards even in the rain, long life milk tastes like that for a reason.

villagelife - "baby due early March so much excitement" - oh my, yes! " still walk my neighbours dog on a Friday" - I must ask my neighbours if they'd be OK with me borrowing a dog once a week. "the cheese mountain we still have" - ah but what a productive & useful mountain to have... "DH went to local tip" - the pleasure is in the way you tell 'em. As "The washing line broke in October" has me weak with laughter. And recognition. "a good outlet in the hospital" - blimey you have M&S on tap?! "DH picked me up again on walk back from bus stop" - yes, being able to fold into a car when you were resigned to a cold walk is a definite pleasure. "Remembered batteries to drop off in recycling pot" - thank you for the reminder, I must shunt the duds into my workbag! "managed to get everything done before my holiday" - best way to get ready to stop. Oh gosh, baby scares, hope everything is OK.

OS Pleasures since, um, last year

Doodling a to-do-or-to-try over Christmas list.

Gurgling at colleague’s out of office “currently enjoying - been told to take leave … emails will be monitored intermittently”

Gosh, a godma has sent us a box of assorted macarons (had to Google how different to macaroons other than in colour style & price) - just wow, but also phew, that’s Christmas pud sorted! She’s even picked out the flavours - that’s somehow especially thoughtful.

News baffling - elephants in train crash alongside wheelchair user in space! However even I get the tragic loss and the heroic experiment (lasting a few hours not the weeks that would make it a potentially more risky medical situation).

Just watched Nils Lofgren play the Brooklyn Prince purple rain tribute & realised, he’s playing left handed. As Prince did. With Bruce normally, as he did on other nights, Nils plays right handed. (Happy boggling awe. He’s 74, and started on the classical accordion aged 5…)

Awake before solstice sunrise, so got stuck into a good book & ooops. Longer days are coming, oh hurrah!

Nothing like dropping your credit card mid-shop, freezing it by app, getting a deserved rocket for stupidity from son then finding it had been handed in & bring carefully reunited (& unfrozen)! The paperwork took longer than the search but, all credit, it was scrupulously documented! Phone swapped to another case to prevent any repeat.

Preparations for the Christmas tree are in hand - I lugged Diego to the bathroom windowsill. Now to clean it (and get taller son to remove cobwebs) then put up the tree. [Done, decorated, & still surrounded by cuttings & seedlings…]

Nothing like an off-the-shelf pizza to make us realise we are spoiled rotten by our usual supermarket colleague. Youngest inspected his & promptly raided the fridge for extra protein. (Yum!)

Tis the season to call blessings down on LaineyT for her wisdom on the refrigeration of Bendicks Bittermints. They’re delicious!

Getting reacquainted with the Royal Game of Ur. Simple, fiendish & for 2 players. Authenticity requires 4 tetrahedral dice but we’re arguing happily with a generic D6.

Taken meter readings from my smart meters so I’m not wholly dependent on the invisible magic pixies. Son rolling eyes, but I have DVDs & CDs for the same reason (that & I’ve already paid to enjoy them once, this subscription idea sounds another utter swizz!)

Murder before Evensong - gosh! Some admirably formidable women as well as some interesting chaps.

Converted an Amazon gift card sent anonymously (I hate it when that happens, courtesy takes a beasting) into brandy for emergencies. Price checked, it genuinely was discounted, despite reviewing excellently.

Just met my first macaron - tasty if bewildering, like a meringue but with more chew & it’s almond!

OK so what’s Cooper and Fry? 5 drama & as usual I’m late to the party & not read any of the books…. He’s the one raised with witchcraft? Ah, my lads may perhaps warm to this “gun!” & unit armourer. (Only 4 episodes?!)

Pondering a seasonal variant of Ur with squares of giftwrap rather than attempted copies of Sumerian decoration… (ended drawn in Amazon cardboard envelope - not aesthetically a win but functional!)

Just got an NHS letter. Bowel cancer screening - “no further tests are required at this time” and that is the gift I didn’t realise I really wanted.

Reviewing my Amazon history & giggling rather a lot at the mixture of things, from cognac to dog bubble mixture… Once you get I’m the family Amazon minion, it looks a little less daft, but not by much.

Aw, Martin in the Santa hat & seasonal top!

Settling back into a reliable groove of Agatha Christie…

HWB at cold toes. Bliss!

It’s smoked salmon for breakfast time! One of my festive treats… (Still with a mug of tea, don’t want to go wildly overboard before noon)

And as I happily chomp (the joke the grizzly is my spirit animal came after seeing Attenborough footage of a bear clawing a salmon out of the river) there’s a tap at the door & an Amazon delivery?!

Gods, I do love a crib service. Something about shoving a (unlit) candle in a sibling’s ear and singing the really simple carols as the young get to grips with the crib gives me the joys of the season.

Grinning at the MOD parallel op with NORAD which is tangy after the raw cute of crib, but right.

Seems Christmas Day breakfast is omelette, or pain au chocolate, or waffles! Whoo-ee, I like being a guest.

And in the toe of my stocking is an onion! Mum used to get avocados back when they were rare & a delicacy. We got oranges or satsumas. This year, mindful of the sage & onion histrionics, I get an onion and am deeply touched. The Dig family seasonal quirks take their own proud route!

There is an air frier lesson in grilling waffles bring given. I think being awake an extra hour gives the teacher an unsporting advantage, but I’m listening intrigued.

Oh gods, the potato debate. Mashed and roasted? (We have form.) This year, we’re going for the health edit, roasted in goose fat. (Noone’s asked the goose what they think.) {Jury out as to if goose made a difference}

Lemon oil on honeyed parsnips? Vigorously worded family debate, and the chef is persuaded to stick to the classic honeyed version.

Youngest quoting Spider-Man whilst watching Die Hard & bickering with brother…. Ah, the seasonal classics. The police festive twinkle lights glint alongside the tree lights, who couldn’t call it festive?!

The gurgling laugh I recall from the baby heard again decades later albeit tones deeper. Still teasing brother to brother.

Enjoyed the new Knives Out film, which isn’t quite a seasonal tradition, but is bedding in well.

Special pleasure, finding I had a current house key on the loyalty plastic ring. Both Youngest & I had presumed the other was packing… Me chastened but relieved, Youngest near fizzing at my failure to be the grown up. [Didn't get an extra dog, mhagster, but nearly a rocket.]

The decanters are going down slightly better than expected (really, to need one, you do need to drink even occasionally) and one sister has taken the challenge of photo challenge of green & edible glitter squash wholly in the spirit in which I intended. (The other is munching vegan chocolate & planning to drop hers off at the charity shop she picked up the other at for me, but not fling it.)

Boxing Day zoom with extended family & the unexpected opportunity to tease etiolated young cousin isn’t he a little tall to be a storm trooper - he chortling happily, the bulk of the aunts & cousins all the wrong age & so blinking at each other - it is fun to play the age card thus (albeit Very rarely)! Lovely group photo, with me safely out of shot as “behind” the camera.

The BBC Agatha Christies are a bit more vehement than the books I recall - both ‘ordeal by innocence’ & ‘& then there were none’ have been adapted quite hard. Aiden Turner, well worth watching! None is not a “Classic whodunnit” though, you think the usual rules apply, & they don’t.

I persuaded Youngest to cooperate with a brief photo. No real use for identification but a reassurance to myself I kept a promise - he’s juggling with 3 chocolate oranges…

I somehow manage to forget sourdough bread most weeks of the year. Just with salmon, it’s a breakfast even I can ’cook’! There is experimentation with a variant on Croque Monsieur planned… (I think the air frier may be a step too far, but there’s plenty of loaf so far.)

Thinking I’d go back to the more reliably tranquil murder mysteries, I gave Sister Boniface a go. Ye gods, the bodies do stack up around her, never just fraud or theft or taken without permission. Still CSI in a wimple has me recalling an elderly female relative who had a vocation with great affection & respect.

Looking at the military gap year & trying not to giggle. That’s going to be an interesting experiment, but those who are serious about the army are going to have quite a lot of questions. Although if they can still make the offer “we’ll teach you to drive”, they may get some fascinating candidates who are fed up with test centre queues.

Oh my. Cousin’s Christmas cake, not iced or dosed, just love & fruit & delicious! And vanishing, ahem….

Youngest may be regretting seeking my help with the clippers as I went a bit wild round the ears. His brother darn nearly shaves his skull, but is sporting a moustache.

Questionnaires have paid for this week’s groceries! Even a few treats for mum for New Year & of course treats for Youngest as cosset the cook makes sense.

The days are getting longer so I have bought a grapefruit hoping to get seeds that will germinate. Some days I startle myself with the unthinking “let’s give it a try!”…

Happily stalking relatives across the UK by their birth certificates. They’ll be about 60 so I doubt I’ll get to see them in the census papers but whomever takes this on should. What an inheritance! A GEDCOM file of decades of curiosity…

Covered in virtue, I have written (& emailed) all my thankyou letters. (Before New Year.)

Had a look at the history of my email & am planning areas to lop out (over a decade past insurance policies etc). Found several photos & got an email from ancestry saying my work has helped over 600 other family trees! (Now to figure how to compile a birthday & death day calendar from it.)

The pension portal software is not idiot proof by design & the phone queue long. After getting to under 10th in the queue I fell off (twice!) & so will try again tomorrow. Pleasure will be raising an existing issue in the new system. (Ha! Too old for their code try again in April 26, but for issue-with-dependant-benefit write to address with evidence. Which after yesterday’s 5 hours waiting Is A Win!)

Medics about to launch triage (as of Monday), so I popped in to collect meds for January, wish the pharmacists well & agree a phone call from a nurse practitioner (in 3 weeks time under the old system) with a receptionist. Crooned appreciation to her also, as people stressed tend to les the basic courtesies slip. Me, tranquil, taking the time to uphold “please & thank you”, knowing it boosts my eccentric reputation but brings a smile.

And to see Martin in a party hat… Aww!

Once more with feeling into extracting the required paperwork from Youngest to claim his father’s pension. I sort of admire his complete lack of material concern, but his father paid into the pension believing it would look after his wife & sons-at-university.

It does seem a bit illogical that New Year’s Eve comes before New Year’s Day but Youngest gets to spend an extra night warm in his own bed.

Ah, yes “disreputable”. Technically a bad thing but our family doesn’t invariably mean it negatively. (Blame the last 2 minutes of mission impossible for it being debated vigorously!)

My traditional digital first footer post, up so I can go to bed & sleep in the new year. My family know that any midnight call will be met with the presumption someone’s had a seizure or worse and have managed to resist alcohol-related idiocy these last few years.

Listing stuff to take south & checking temperatures - we want to try to stay above zero driving.

Route planning to stay on hopefully clear motorways!

Email from Godma strangely pleased at less than cheerful letter - not quite sure why she enjoys the darker side, but she’ll write to me. This is a mild achievement & thus a pleasure.

The kindle app is congratulating me on bring ‘bookish’ for having read a single book. Since my epub library won’t side-load into my kindle, I am minded to be a bit sarcastic about that.

One of Mum’s care team has a grandson in hospital who (like so many menfolk) flitters between refusing to believe a word she says & desperately needing comfort. I’ve put her into the hospital patient advocacy who he can’t be quite as rude to.

Another has taken to Christmas cake in a big way. “Please, thank your cousin very much.” Wholly agree, there’s five a day in a slice, with none of that Good For You flavour (Like dark green leafy veg)…

Oh my curiosity. A discarded tube is of “mercy ointment” & of course I have never heard of it. Off into the wilds of the internet & the ingredients! Alchornia cordifolia 2. Cassia alata 3. Guto 4. Terminalia superba 5. Aloe vera OK I’ve heard of exactly one & the others sound deeply exotic…. Mind you, the idea of mercy ointment has a mental tang of spikenard.

As I read, I also see “Turmeric has also been shown to improve cognitive function.” Certainly extends the vocabulary of those trying to wash it out of plastic containers…

Fink cold but beautiful sunrise.

“The day I can’t take on a carrot & win is the day I should retire from public life!” (My reassurance to mum that I do not need help versus the Seasonal Vegetables.)

Me versus vegetables later thinking hallelujah Sheffield steel as I’m tired. But vegan cuisine in hand.

Just so enjoying sitting with mum, nibbling Doritos (we’re only eating the broken ones…) & crooning at a yoga leaflet “looks like a trip to A&E waiting to happen…” while grandson can be heard chopping something for our lunch. I am So lucky.

Trying to get old tech to work. Satisfying & frustrating. Good to hear hard disks spinning up. Maddening to see monitors light & then declare “no signal”… Long before Covid, dad had a serious desk with cable management, and (like various chaps who shall remain nameless) not a clue as to how to hoover underneath… in a box of rusting junk is a plane my husband would have tried to restore to use, & a leatherman micra thankfully not rusted, matching the one on my keyring, which I will offer to the sons, gift from their father to mine. [Rehomed properly.]

What is a “gro-dee” potato? Other than one self chitting in the dark? He has been taught the proper storage of potatoes (& the evils of plastic bags).

No wonder my Asda loyalty has not been rewarded - I used the gift card first & it’s code can’t cope... [Warning]

New Bilston poem on the back to office new year chats “the bloodstained rug … the silent scraping of the spade” & gurgle happily it’s better than shaving a puffin!

Youngest had read hot water bottles should not be filled with pure boiling water (hence my toes stayed cold), happily he’s amenable to a 10% cold rather than 50%!

Car park lift clanging alarmingly and fellow passenger pondered too much chocolate over Christmas?

Ordinarily I wouldn’t add a ten hour plus day as a pleasure but at least at work I didn’t notice the cold. At home with a dud boiler (Youngest heroically coping with gas man cometh, requires parts & goeth again), it’s dashed chilly & Middleson’s insistence I get on with downsizing makes distressing pragmatic sense.

Had both technical & moral(e) support set up today, leant on both as needed & was splendidly upheld!

The crash & the applause of those present - a good bit of work rightly appreciated.

Chatting and finding you can buy handcuff keys from Amazon!

Youngest swift with HWB with very little prompting!

Chatting with colleague about how very differently the young respond to cold-induced travel challenges & segueing into the Maillard effect & the sweet/salt joy of hot buttered toast.

Sketching travel plans & times & kit & cheerfully accepting colleagues offer to carry me piggyback if the snow is as deep as I’m tall. (Bless him, he’d rupture something & I’d feel so guilty!)

Saw a patch on a rucksack “That’s a terrible idea. When do we start?”

Tabbing back to station saw a chap wearing the same hi vis beanie I’m snuggled under, just his was the neon pink version. We exchanged huge warm-eared grins!

“Finish it. Finish it! For when it’s gone, it’s gone.” Philosophy 101 from mother to child over a portion of soup.

Have to say I can’t quite visualise Aliens Earth series 2. Enjoyed one, but it’s not clear where s2 might go. So we bickered over favourite series(s) watched to date, with Andor easily top & Game of Thrones 2nd & Firefly holding 3rd despite being a fraction of the budget! He’s not seen Longmire & I’ve not seen black mirror…

Oooh, planet rock top 500 & I recognise several despite not being able to get it in the car any more. Recognise as in ‘can play it in my head’ for about 20 & the names of for another 50 (which I probably would recognise even if ‘oh is That whatever’…)

Snug in bed. With HWB & 2 fleece blankets (so I can tow one with me to the bathroom). I’ll bet that particular chill is not covered in the book on keeping dry & staying warm (serious geek detail, explaining fabrics, layering & even nuances of socks) I saw at Middleson’s. Made me grin, as I think his father could have written it.

Called gasman - seems manufacturer will call Monday to schedule expert & parts. (Why did I let husband get non-standard boiler?) No solution this weekend then. Ho hum. Can plan accordingly.

Aw Facebook memory “just tucked in a Happy Child. He's left Cubs & is headed for Scouts. This "is ace, because they swear & fight & cook good stuff". I think his Scout leader would understand: I suspect BadenPowell might be a bit horrified.” Gosh years ago & now me assistant leader of such motivated young persons (gone co-ed too).

Watching the news, deeply thankful we’re only without heat. (So far.)

Health, Strength, Love & Courage to all as have need & may your HWBs, blankets & other warming devices all cooperate. 

Suffolksue

Now how on earth can I follow that ? 

Answer : Impossible so don’t try 🤣
I can never achieve such lucidity 

A much better day 
Coffee and my usual Saturday bacon sandwich treat with my Saturday morning mates ,we went to the local garden centre ,managed to resist the reduced Christmas goodies .
i have had enough and still got Christmas cake at home 

didn’t mean to hit post so adding 
Actually did a bit of housework thinking afternoon and tried a new recipe Chicken fajita tray bake ,v nice got three lots of the mix to freeze ,the joys of recipe for 4 ,doesnt say it wont freeze so will try it .
if I make it again will tweak a little ,but good 
was good to do something different ,got into such a rut and not bothering to cook at times ,recognise that crisps and peanuts is not a good main meal !

watched the 1% club ,4 of us have set up a what’s app group ,only two of us on it tonight ,good to play in company even if virtual .


stay safe all 

villagelife

1.  Baby scan all ok and is currently about 3 1/2 lbs which is normal for 31 weeks which is great news. They didn’t have to wait long either which was added bonus.

2.  Remembered to post BIL birthday card in plenty of time. Normally doesn’t happen. I think it’s because it’s January.

3.  Mended some earrings which I’ve been meaning to do for ages - only took about 5 minutes.

4.  Cheese is almost finished snd also put veg in freezer that we won’t use.

5.  Changed bedding and new towels.

LaineyT

Good news on baby Villagelife 
Have to say my mind is boggling a tad about just why DFV needs keys for handcuffs!

For yesterday,

Enjoyed a small lie-in then boiled egg with marmite soldiers.

Busy morning, made a loaf ( this house is not a carb free zone! ) changed the bed, replenished bird feeders and hung new curtains in the spare room. It has two smallish windows and after fruitless searching in charity shops I finally caved in and got new in the Jan sales, happy with them.

Over to see equine pal, they were in again as fields were flooded so walked her in the school and grazed in hand. She had more hi fibre haylage, plus root veg and pleased to say everything is working well! Colic is every equestrians worst nightmare so prevention is definitely the best cure.

Home hungry so early tea of deerstalker snorkers and settled down to watch United in the cup, we made a good fist of it but Birmingham were just too good, concentrate on the league time 😉

Temps had really dropped and happy to have an early night in clean sheets, more book listening.

PaulieHerts

Morning all 😊
settled into our little bungalow well, it’s quite warm and comfortable with our old sofas making it feel like home 😊
We've had an offer accepted on a beautiful bungalow about 15 minutes from here 🤞 third time lucky. It’s an older one but has been completely refurbished so like a new build inside and quite traditional frontage. It’s got everything we wanted, is unoccupied and ready to complete on quickly, it just felt right.
The pleasures of old fashioned shopping in Frinton, in the bakers, butchers and fish mongers, can’t remember the last time I did that! Also OH bought me a beautiful table lamp in one of the lovely independent shops as an early birthday present 😊 I like living here 🤣
I have been managing quite well in the tiny kitchen and am going to cook  a roast lamb dinner today 🤞
The only niggling worries I have are which solicitor to use for new bungalow and a whole years worth of accounts to sort out for my sons tax return 😧
Have a lovely Sunday everyone 🥰

LaineyT

woohoo, wonderful news PaulieH! 🎉