Frump to Fab - A Whole New World.

Wednesday2000

Candygirl - I went to school in south London and I used to see Jools Holland around town as he used to live in the area.

sheilavw

Evening, quite a discussion on where to live. I have lived all my life here in this Lancashire town! and my Parents before me. Some beautiful countryside around here. I was quite angry today. I took my Brother for a drive to a lovely village and we passed a small layby heaped with stuff that had been tipped. It makes my blood boil! There was loads of stuff from wood, to plaster board ceilings, wiring, furniture, foam pieces etc. I will never understand why people would do this.

When you are out and about in the beautiful countryside it is so hard to believe that there is a pandemic going on.

thepurplepixie

Sheilavw I used to live in a road that turned into a country lane and people would fly tip, we were on the edge of a big city.  We saw a man flytipping one day and DH turned the car round, the man took off and we gave chase.  We followed him to the estate where he lived and got his reg no.  Phoned the police, gave them the details and half an hour later they escorted him back and supervised him picking it all up.  We let neighbours know and we all walked up the lane and watched, no aggro or anything just a happy little crowd chatting and laughing with the police.  He must have felt so mortified.  Apparently he had been given a choice, prosecution or clear up the mess.  It was a very satisfying moment.

chanie

purplepixie I love that story about the fly tipper, you and your husband are awesome.  

We have had quite a bit of fly tipping in my local area, although it comes in cycles, so it gets really bad for a while and then improves for a while and gets bad again.  I once took pictures on my walk to the station and emailed mr local councillor.  They were sympathetic, but we both agreed that it was a difficult task for the Council.

helensbiggestfan

Well done to you and your husband Pixie.  That is brilliant.  Fly tipping is dreadful and I must confess I despair sometimes when I see the amount of litter and strewn rubbish.  It's one of my bug bears.  

Good morning lovely ladies.  It's foggy and murky here, with that gentle mizzle.  I don't mind though, there is something almost romantic about Misty mornings.  They always remind me of the Arthurian legends for some reason, Merlin and Excalibur, walking through ancient woodlands and feeling the ghosts of our ancestors......ooh get me, being all fanciful on a November Monday.   I don't know .......it's just a fabulous time of year.  If I were a poet like SUgarbaby .... lol.  

Anyway  I shall be wrapping up and going for a walk later, although it's actually quite warm.  I'm going to wander down to the cheap shop, noticed they had a plant display when I drove past on Saturday.  The forecourt was heaving with people so I thought I'd leave it until today when hopefully it will be a bit quieter.  

But first, I need to clean up the house a bit.  Total devastation after our little party. I actually enjoy getting stuck in and cleaning up after a good party, there's something very satisfying about it.  Putting on  some music and making everywhere spick and span again,    Although nowadays there's  not as much mess as the riotous parties of my youth or the total carnage of my children's parties when they were little.  The  teenage sleepovers were much easier, and far less messy, even though I often had 9 strapping lads sleeping in my sitting room, with their videofests and late night poker games.  Fun times.  

Roughly 6 weeks till the festive season.  Are we ready to be Christmas Crackers.  In all honesty I could do with a bit of work.😂. 

As I mentioned yesterday I felt I was slipping into Bag Ladydom again. I'm not going to beat myself over it, I'm just going to draw a line and make a fresh start.  Well I did that yesterday afternoon and felt much better.  

In my defence the past few weeks have been manic but thankfully I now have some time to myself so it's back on the wagon and back to basics.  

So it begins.....Countdown to Christmas. Today is clean up the house, sort out the fridge, use up the leftovers. Back to healthy eating and home cooked food.  This week my plan is to reorganise my kitchen cupboards, sort out some paperwork and make a start on my wardrobe.  

I contacted a Nearly New Shop the other day.  They have been in existence for years and I have both bought and sold from them in the past, but stopped using them because they sort of went off the boil for a while.  They have recently changed ownership and the new owners have really updated and revamped the business. They do a lot online now because of course the shop has been closed off and on quite a bit this year,   Anyway they expressed an interest in selling some items for me, so I'm going to send them photos and see what they say.  Maybe today or tomorrow.  Mainly heavier items such as winter coats.  Then, in the New Year I will try eBaying some of the lighter items.  

I feel much brighter today, I think my 8 hours sleep last night will probably have helped.  I'm actually looking forward to a quieter few weeks now, so I can catch up with myself and get organised.  Granny duties were fun but very tiring.  😉.  I am definitely ready for some "Me Time". 

Have a great week y'all. And keeeeep fabbing.  

maman

I think the fly tipping started in earnest when councils started charging for building waste at the tip and charging to collect bulky items. I'm disappointed that our city council and county council are stopping the mutual arrangement where local people can go to any tip (aka Household Recycling Centre😉) that's nearest home. We live close to the county boundary (2 miles) but would have to drive 9 miles through traffic to get to the city one. Fortunately the policy has been delayed because of Covid otherwise I think with everyone having a clear out during lockdown, fly tipping could have got much worse. I am sympathetic as councils have to try to raise money where they can but it does rather ignore human behaviour. 

It's wet and miserable here at the moment but DH and I have promised ourselves a walk this afternoon. We both have suitable coats so hopefully we won't chicken out when the time comes. 😊

I've used the Flaxseed oil on my skin today as I think central heating can be very drying. I'm getting very low on eye cream so that's something I need to buy. No more experimenting, I'm going for my favourite Clinique.
https://www.johnlewis.com/search?search-term=all about eyes

I just noticed that John Lewis are doing a 15% price match reduction. I must investigate. 😉😀

helensbiggestfan

candygirl said:

WEDNESDAY, a friend of mine lives in Brighton.He absolutely loves it there, as there's so much to do.He's a musician who used to play with Jools Holland, n gets loads of gigs down there
SUGAR , well done on the weight loss
LL Hope the party goes well, n you feel a bit better soon.
If anyone wants a laugh, have a look at Alec Baldwin impersonating Trump on Saturday Night Live 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Thanks for the laugh.  I love both Jim Carey and Alec Baldwin.  In fact I could quite fancy Alec.  😂.  I like the way he is so self deprecating and is happy to send himself up.  

There are some great jokes and memes going around.  

helensbiggestfan

Wednesday2000 said:

helensbiggestfan said:

I have to admit that I do feel like I'm drifting a bit.  And i don't like it, it annoys me to feel that I'm wasting precious time.  I think to myself you're almost 70, you haven't got time to waste   😂🤣. 

I feel the same way. I keep thinking I'm going to be 45 next year and what on earth am I doing with my life?! I think maybe we both feel like as we both put our life on hold when we were carers.xx

You could be right.  I dont resent the time I spent caring for my husband but it really took it out of me, and if I am truly honest I am still not fully recovered.  It seems like a long road back to wellness.  

I was only thinking the other day that my husband would be a bit disappointed in me for allowing myself to drift along like this.   He was so full of life and energy. He had a real zest for life.  I doubt he would have lived in the shadows the way I have these last few years. He wouldn't have forgotten me, and he probably wouldn't have remarried but he would have got out there  and built a new life. I haven't, not really.  

Yesterday I came to the realisation that for the last few years I have squandered my gift of life and I need to get a grip.  I cannot wallow in grief forever, he would be appalled.  I can almost hear him urging me to move forward. 

 I stumbled across a video of him yesterday, giving a speech and then apparently there are scenes of he and I dancing. I havent seen it.  My sister shot the footage and she's says it's lovely.  Not sure I can bear to watch yet but I remember the night it was filmed. As usual he was the life and soul of that particular party, my fathers 80th.  

We had hosted a surprise party for my dad who typically was being ungrateful and ungracious and was sulking for some reason and many of the guests were feeling a bit comfortable.  The whole thing looked like becoming a damp squid.  My husband just grabbed a microphone and pretty soon the whole room was erupting with laughter, and even my dad snapped out of it.  My husband just had that gift of spreading joy, laughter and happiness.  He just seemed to carry it around with him. Sometimes I feel that he's taken it all with him and I'm left behind, empty and just drifting along. 

And I guess Covid is not helping......I was just starting to move forward and starting to live again when the pandemic hit.  Oh well......

It won't last forever.  In the meantime I just have to try and stay serene and hopeful that there is a brighter better future for me.  

Sorry, dont mean to be a Debbie Downer today but there are times when this widowhood milarky really sucks. 😏

maman

I just had to post in response LL. 😊
I've been with you throughout this journey and it's really not true that you've done nothing with your life. You've achieved so much both in terms of fabbing, your house moves, your solo holidays and the friends you've made both in RL and virtually.
I'm sure it's Covid that's getting to you. It's put life on hold to a certain extent for all of us. I know you've done it willingly but you've given so much to your DS1 and his family recently (not just last week) and I think it's taken a lot of your energy.
It will pass. 😘

chanie

ll  i was just about to say the same as maman.  You have fabbed up two houses, set up a thriving community on here, had some fantastic holidays, had two new Grandsons and build lovely relationships with you DSILs.  I’m sure your husband is immensely proud of you.  And I don’t think he would expect you to be out partying every night of the week.   My 10 year old told me this morning that slow and steady wins the race (it was in the context of why it was taking him so long to get dressed, but the same principle applies).