Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget - 2021

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments:

On Sunday I watched the film See How They Run on Disney Plus. I really  enjoyed this period whodunnit. There was nothing gruesome or offensive in the film and it was very entertaining. For me this film was an 8/10 

I went to The Ritzy to watch the film Empire of Light. Olivia Colman and Michael Ward are both superb in this film. It is set in the early eighties and most of the action takes place in the Empire cinema. It does deal with some intense issues, but it has a lot of light and shade to the narrative. For me this film was a 9.5/10  I got a members discount of £3 and  I used a £4.50 Picturehouse voucher which I purchased with £1.50 of Tesco Clubcard vouchers, so I only had to pay 70p towards the ticket price. 

 

helensbiggestfan

Good Morning my lovely friends.

I realised  I haven't visited  this thread in aeons. Sooooo busy,  however I do read and it's lovely to hear all your doings.  

Lily. Your renovations seem to be going well.  It's good that you can "shop from your stores" and even sell unwanted items.  

SUgarbaby.....sounds like you are getting out and about and having a great time,  fantastic news about the progress of your play.  

  I love my new home but there have been some hiccups.  First a leak in the kitchen because the outgoing tenants did not put a stop on the pipe when they disconnected the dishwasher.  So can't order  a new dishwasher yet until the plaster has dried out properly.  Then the engineers made a total hash of fitting my new washing machine, thankfully all sorted now.  

And then, last week, the icing on the cake,  discovered a leak in the bathroom sink.....unfortunately  it had been slowly leaking for some time and then suddenly it got worse and it has ended up saturating the hall and adjoining bedroom carpets.  Fun and games.  Luckily the agents have been quick to respond and the Landlord who lives in Spain has been very accommodating with repairs,  

Plus, It wasn't until I actually moved in that I realised how grimy everything was so I've been cleaning like mad.  The previous tenants had done a quick flick round to pass muster to get their deposit back but they were dirty people.  Lesson learned.  If I am ever in this position again I will engage professional cleaners before I actually move in. It's much easier to blitz somewhere when it's empty rather than when there are boxes everywhere.  

One thing I do really like though is the location.  It's within walking distance of anything and everything I could need on a daily basis.  I could actually manage perfectly well without a car.   A quiet cul de sac and nice neighbours.  

One big champagne moment .......my car passed its MOT with flying colours💃  .  

Other champagne moments include getting back on track with WW and losing 2lbs this week, spending lots of time with family and friends. I have a friend coming for lunch today.  I have known her for 57 years😱😂.  We always have a great time, I love her to bits, she's like a second sister.    Next week I have my son, DIL and the two grandchildren staying here for a week whilst they have a new staircase fitted.  It's a small bungalow so it will be "cosy" 😂🤣. Doubtless the boys will creep into my bed for cuddles.  They love this house and get so excited when they visit, so they will be in heaven, especially as they have now discovered where I keep the ice cream.  

I have also started seeing a chiropractor. The x rays showed that my skeletal frame was rather out of alignment. That would explain a lot of the muscle and joint pain and tiredness.  I've had two treatments so far and they do appear to be helping. 🤞.  

So there we have it......I have now more or less settled in and I have started my fitness programme.  Hopefully by spring I shall be skipping around like a new born lamb, ready to start gadding about and having some fun.  

Oh I have a holiday booked for Easter.  Renting a dead posh house in the Peak District with family and although we haven't booked it yet, my sister and I plan to go to Belguim some time in the summer.  

It's all looking very promising, 

Wednesday2000

We need to get our roof done next week and the inside of the house painted. We only found out about problems with the roof last Thursday and the scaffolding will be going up this coming Friday so at least we haven't had long to wait. I want to try some local restaurants and see a film and do a few other things while the workmen are here.

Very cold and icy here today, although sunny. I went to drop off another donation bag to a charity shop and the woman said to give it to the people working in the back. Wow, there were huge piles of stuff there and the volunteer said they had to go through everything to wash it and price it up!

I then went to a shop to buy cleaning supplies ready to prep my house for painting.

I stopped off at the Buddhist cafe and got some slices of cake and spoke to the women there about the local reflexologist. They didn't have her card but then I remembered that I think I follow her on Instagram so I will check there.

Pics of the cherry bakewell cake on my "new" chazzer bought Royal Doulton set. Sorry it is so dark. I should have taken it in the other living room as it is much brighter in there!

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments on Tuesday and Wednesday:


Yesterday evening my daughter and I went to have a 3 course meal with a soft drink to the Nigerian/Caribbean restaurant. I had a Groupon that had only cost me £21.21 for food and drink that would have cost me £56.     We had really delicious food. I had jerk chicken wings for my starter, then steak with a pepper sauce, chips, a side salad and half a grilled beefsteak tomato. For dessert I had apple crumble. I had a cup of tea, as I don't drink soft drinks. My daughter had the suya peppered beef starter, beer battered fish with chips and the chef's special tartare sauce and for dessert she had a brownie. She had a cup of hot chocolate in lieu of her soft drink.    

The restaurant was very warm, and there was just the right music playing in the background. We received really good service, so we gave the waitress a £5 tip. 

I went to the Blackfriars Settlement mental health and wellbeing discussion group this morning/afternoon and we had a lively discussion about our positive and negative personal experiences with the NHS. I was given a large box of Diary Box chocolates as a free gift.     I am sharing them with my son and daughter. 

I went to my local Lidl in Camberwell and did a shop of mostly tinned food which cost me a total of £26.36 for the local foodbank.  This shopping was to pay forward the generosity of Wednesday in sending me the 2 hardback copies of Prince Harry's book Spare for free.    I will be passing on my copy when I have finished reading it to a member of the Blackfriars Settlement mental health and wellbeing group, as he mentioned that even at the half price of £14, he could not afford a copy, but he really wanted to read it.    

Wednesday2000

sugarbaby125 said:

I went to my local Lidl in Camberwell and did a shop of mostly tinned food which cost me a total of £26.36 for the local foodbank.  This shopping was to pay forward the generosity of Wednesday in sending me the 2 hardback copies of Prince Harry's book Spare for free.    I will be passing on my copy when I have finished reading it to a member of the Blackfriars Settlement mental health and wellbeing group, as he mentioned that even at the half price of £14, he could not afford a copy, but he really wanted to read it.    

Aw, this is a lovely thing to do, thanks.:) I'm glad you and the person in your group will get to read it. You have to tell me what you think of Spare. I was reading reviews the other day and they were so contrasting!

I remembered about that Troy Deeney book you mentioned that I bought a few months ago. My husband is reading it first on my kindle, but I will read it afterwards.

sugarbaby125

Wednesday, I will let everyone know what I think of the book Spare once I have finished reading it. I am being very careful to keep it pristine, as I will be passing it on. 

My Champagne moment today:

I went to the Ritzy cinema with my son and daughter to watch the film Till. It was an excellent film about a very harrowing subject matter. I was reduced to  tears at times. For me this film is a 10/10. I used 2 of my free Picturehouse members tickets and the 3rd ticket I got using my CEA card so I saved over £40. We were the only 3 people at the screening of this film, so we spread out a little and it felt like it was a private screening just for us 3. 

sheilavw

my champagne moment today was me , my sister and brother booking a cruise for August with P and O cruises, 14 nights, balcony again, flying to Malta, visiting Greek Islands including Santorini, Kusadasi in Turkey, back to Valetta in Malta then Italy and Croatia. All being well 200 plus days to wait

Wednesday2000

Sounds lovely Sheila!🥰

snowbird20

sugarbaby125 said:

This shopping was to pay forward the generosity of Wednesday in sending me the 2 hardback copies of Prince Harry's book Spare for free.    I will be passing on my copy when I have finished reading it to a member of the Blackfriars Settlement mental health and wellbeing group, as he mentioned that even at the half price of £14, he could not afford a copy, but he really wanted to read it.    

what did you think of it?  I'm on the fence--I generally LOVE a good tawdry tell-all but i have gotten the impression that this one is really just a bunch of childish whining.  And I'm also not sure I WANT to know all the dirt.

snowbird20

sheilavw said:

my champagne moment today was me , my sister and brother booking a cruise for August with P and O cruises, 14 nights, balcony again, flying to Malta, visiting Greek Islands including Santorini, Kusadasi in Turkey, back to Valetta in Malta then Italy and Croatia. All being well 200 plus days to wait

this sounds like one of our dream trips!  Absolutely marvelous.