Frump to Fab 2021

maman

Thanks LL. I like tulips but I find they go really floppy so that's a good tip to revive them. I hope you enjoyed your lunch 'date' .

I don't do much shopping in our little local Coop as it tends to be far more expensive than other shops but I do buy milk there midweek. I've taken to looking at the flowers and I've been lucky twice with reduced roses. To be fair, even at £5 full price for a dozen long-stemmed it's not bad value. 

We don't usually do much for Valentine's either Wednesday but I have been trying hard through lockdown to have a slightly different meal on a Saturday evening  so that the weekend feels different. So a 'pub grub' type meal like gammon steaks or curry or a Chinese style stir fry with spring rolls.  Tomorrow I'm doing a HM lasagne. DH loves it and I haven't made one for ages as I try to limit how much cheese we have. I'm even going to do Eton mess for pudding. We're having it tomorrow as I like my roasts too much on a Sunday. 😉

Of course, you must go to the optician if you need to pixie but a daylight bulb can be very good for close work.  We have a standard lamp that shines over your shoulder and a table lamp that's good for looking at small print. I'm fortunate that I don't need glasses for reading but sometimes print on packaging can be ridiculously tiny and in colours that don't contrast well  and good light is essential. I've sewed coloured thread into the waistband of my navy opaque tights as in artificial light it's almost impossible to tell them from black. 

I don't know Contagion but thinking on similar lines, I watched the drama about the Salisbury poisonings last summer. 
BBC iPlayer - The Salisbury Poisonings
They had to mount a large 'track and trace' project and did a very good job. The Public Health director was new in post but she was determined to do it properly. Whitehall tried to tell her what to do but she had the backing of the Chief Constable and they did what they knew their city needed. It really highlighted how local knowledge and professionals were the best people for the job. 

thepurplepixie

Good tip about the daylight bulb, DH has a lamp with one he uses on electronic projects, I'll see if I can borrow it.

thepurplepixie

With tulips I was always told you need to get a needle and !!!!!! the stem just under the flower.  I never figured out why  but it seems to work.

Wednesday2000

That is a good idea Maman to try and make the weekend stand out with a different meal. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all blend into one to me these days. 

I just went out for an early walk. I wore my thermal top under my black polo neck so I only wore my denim jacket over it. It is still very cold but the sun is out at least. I only got in 2,500 steps but I will go out again later. It feels lovely to be outside after being cooped up for a few days. I bought some bircher muesli and fruit juice for breakfast from the shop as I just had a craving when I woke up.

I was looking at jackets on Amazon last night but I think I will wait until the charity shops open up so I can try them on. I really wasn't prepared for this cold snap and I want to get some properly warm knitwear, jackets and coats. I was saying to my husband that I want to look for warm clothing for both of us before we move down by the coast next year as I imagine it will be even more chilly with a sea breeze.

We started watching the Netflix documentary last night but I couldn't keep my eyes open so we will watch it when my husband gets up. I am probably going to make us vegan pizza, garlic bread, corn on the cob and salad tonight.

One very good piece of news is that my husband got his work roster and he got Christmas week off this year so no more night shift on Christmas eve for this year at least.  

helensbiggestfan

Good morning.  

Thank you ladies for all the flower tips.  Good to know,  My tulips are looking great now.  I know they didnt cost much but I really thought they were done for because of frost damage so I'm really pleased i was able to revive them.  Some of the outside leaves were too far gone but the flowers have recovered nicely. 

Apparently one more cold day and then it starts warming up tomorrow.  Heating going full belt and have  lit the fire the  kitchen diner so it's nice and cosy.  Going to finish deep cleaning the kitchen today and then it will all be ready, nice and clean for spring.  Then once I've finished the upstairs decluttering everywhere will be ship shape and I can just enjoy the summer.  I intend to make the most of it this year, so hope it's a good one, lots of warm sunny days please.  👏

Speaking of sunny days........yesterday my DIL calmly announced that she has booked tickets for all of us to go to Aruba next Christmas, the Venezuelan lot will join us there.   All subject to covid of course. But apparently the airline (KLM) have said there are no strings attached, no deposit required and payments can be made at the last minute, so no financial commitment yet and no having to worry about refunds in case we can't go.  

Sounds good to me.......🤣🤞

 hope you all have a lovely Valentines weekend.  And remember,  even if, like me, you are travelling through life as a solo, still treat yourself with love.  Buy yourself some flowers, chocolate or a nice bottle of wine, cook yourself something nice and have a nice relaxing day doing something that gives you happiness and joy.  

That's my plan.  I fully intend to spoil myself something rotten. 😂

❤️💐❤️💐.  

Wednesday2000

helensbiggestfan said:

Speaking of sunny days........yesterday my DIL calmly announced that she has booked tickets for all of us to go to Aruba next Christmas, the Venezuelan lot will join us there.   All subject to covid of course. But apparently the airline (KLM) have said there are no strings attached, no deposit required and payments can be made at the last minute, so no financial commitment yet and no having to worry about refunds in case we can't go.  

Sounds good to me.......🤣🤞

Oh wow, lucky you! 

thepurplepixie

Wasn't that impressed with Contagion, it was OK but not great.  Had fun with GS as we tried to spot which bits had inspired Matt Hancock.  We had a big bag of Maltesers and GS had a coke and I had tea so we enjoyed the evening.  Day 11 since vaccination so half way to the 3 weeks to allow antibodies to develop so happy with that and hoping to feel more relaxed about going out and about when the 3 weeks are up.

maman

Wednesday2000 said:

 I was saying to my husband that I want to look for warm clothing for both of us before we move down by the coast next year as I imagine it will be even more chilly with a sea breeze.

We started watching the Netflix documentary last night but I couldn't keep my eyes open so we will watch it when my husband gets up. 

I know that feeling!  I don't know if  it's just doing very little that makes me tired but some evenings I watch just an hour's TV spread over about 3 hours because I keep falling asleep and have to rewind and start again. 🤣 Great news about your possible holiday LL. I think operators are going to have to offer 'no strings attached' arrangements  if they want business because people aren't going to get caught again losing money or chasing refunds. I've been reliving past holidays vicariously this week through some tv programmes. I've watched Rick Stein's Secret France, having enjoyed his Cornwall programme. We also enjoyed the Real Marigold Hotel so I watched Slumdog Millionaire which I'd missed at the cinema. I enjoyed Joanna Lumley's programme too. She visited a Harris Tweed weaver on one of the Scottish islands and wore a 40 year old Jean Muir tweed coat that looked fabulous, a timeless classic. 

You're right about needing suitable clothes Wednesday. There's a saying that 'There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes'. It's because of that I don't adhere to the decluttering principle of getting rid of anything you haven't worn for a year or so. If you stretch the meaning to clothes for the right occasion as well as weather then it's a particularly bad idea this year as most occasions have been cancelled! So this year I've hardly worn any of my sunshine holiday clothes or those for black tie events and dancing. I have been glad of the cold weather clothes I've acquired over the years for watching football in the winter. I haven't worn my thermal ski trousers (yet😉) but I have worn my thermal leggings and socks and added to my wardrobe of vests! 😁

I saw a hooded cardigan for sale today which I'm thinking of sending for. It's a company my DH has used for jumpers that he's been pleased with. I prefer hooded cardigans to the sweatshirt type hoodies because they're much softer and cosier and this one has a zipped front which, I think,  is better than 'over your head' styles. It's pricey though so I'll think about it, perhaps look into delivery/return charges if I send for more than one size. That's a problem with online shopping. 🤔
Dark Charcoal | Cashmere And Merino Luxe Lounge Hoodie | WoolOvers UK

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

I cannot believe how much my great grandson has changed in only a week. My daughter (his grandmother) put a lot of photos on Facebook to show his progress. As he is mixed race, he has got a lot more of his final colouring already and he has filled out. Of course because of the pandemic, I will not be able to see him as much as I would love to. I will visit him once a month at the moment until this Covid-19 pandemic is not causing so much devastation within families. 

It is good that we are rolling out the Covid-19 vaccines across the UK, but even though more than 14 million people have received their 1st jab, less than 600,000 people have received their second jab  It is the second figure that really counts in this fight against Covid-19. Personally, I believe we will all have to adapt our lives to living with Covid-19 as it will be impossible to eradicate it in it's many variants. 

I have finally bought myself the tall solid oak bookcase I have always wanted for my living room. All of my 200 plus new books should fit comfortably on the bookcase when it is delivered in June and leave room for more books.   

I was fortunate to save £4,500 of my £4,800 savings goal in 2020. This took my savings to £6,500. I saved a further £350 in January 2021, but this month I have been spending rather than saving. I have to rein myself in and not splurge too much on my great grandson in the coming months. 

candygirl

I bet it's so tempting to buy lots for the baby , SUGAR .I was crazy when my Grandkids were little , but I enjoyed doing it too  
LL Aruba sounds fab,  you lucky thing! Something to look forward to as well
WEDNESDAY I've treated myself to this, for Valentine's day 😋