Simple living in the country - back to basics

Tescodealqueen

Very productive day Cheery. I have made,  written and posted all my Christmas cards in anticipation of the postal delays, bought presents for my son (me and OH don’t bother these days except for some silly little gifts with a total budget of ten pounds. We have stopped exchanging presents with others as it was getting silly and those with children use the money they would have spent on our presents to treat their own children as they are best placed to know what they would like. Just my dad now and he will get some malt whisky and whatever old black and white film he has decided he would like to watch again if I can track it down together with edible goodies. Final feed for the  6 cakes I make for family members tomorrow then they will be ready to gift. I woke up at 1.30 this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep so I got up and so I have even written the letters I send to those I rarely see to go in their cards. Can’t believe it’s not December til tomorrow!

Cheery_Daff

Sounds like a sensible approach for you TDQ! Very impressed at you writing your cards and everything. 

I've gone from having literally nothing to being maybe 70% done in one afternoon, which I wouldn't have thought possible! I think what helped on this occasion was being in a relatively small place with a limited number of shops 😂 I walked round all of them without buying anything, sat in a cafe and made a list based on things I'd seen, and then went back and bought everything in one go without dithering, because I felt like I'd already seen what else was available to compare it to. Definitely trying that again next year! 

Time is ticking on here - Mr Cheery wanted me to go with him to start his dad's flooring, but I literally don't have a free day now til I finish work 🙄 Funding bid is due in on Tuesday, and having not done any of it today, I'll likely be working much of the weekend. Looks like he's planning to go to his dad's tomorrow and just stay there til it's finished, which might be Saturday 🙄 No fun for anyone (and I'm not entirely sure why it can't wait, like everything in our own house has! 🙄)

Hey ho. 

badmemory

I would suspect it is something along the lines of we can cope but my dad is not getting any younger

Karmacat

Lots going on, Cheery - I used to love buying lots of my Christmas stuff in one place, it feels festive in itself 🤣 

Cheery_Daff

badmemory said:

I would suspect it is something along the lines of we can cope but my dad is not getting any younger

Of course - I do realise I was just being selfish. Of course I can continue to manage - if none of our house gets finished, or if I have to do it all myself, that will of course be fine as well. I was just expressing a moment of frustration - but I'll spare too much of the marital bickering on a public forum, I shouldn't have said as much as I did!

EssexHebridean

Cheery_Daff said:

badmemory said:

I would suspect it is something along the lines of we can cope but my dad is not getting any younger

Of course - I do realise I was just being selfish. Of course I can continue to manage - if none of our house gets finished, or if I have to do it all myself, that will of course be fine as well. I was just expressing a moment of frustration - but I'll spare too much of the marital bickering on a public forum, I shouldn't have said as much as I did!

I think an awful lot of people would feel much the same way Cheery - you have after all been living with assorted levels of DIY for a rather long while now, and it’s entirely understandable that there might be just a teeny bit of resentment there about it, I’d say!  Have a virtual hug now, in lieu of a real one soon! 

beanielou

Wow, you are on a roll!

badmemory

Sorry was not intending to get at you but sometimes we can get bogged down in the day to day without seeing the bigger & more complicated picture.  Spouses can be a major pain sometimes with their split loyalties.  I well remember the time I told my then spouse their was no way he was going to paint the landing ceiling the way he planned to (standing on the banister rail).  To find a couple of weeks later that he planned on doing his parents one in exactly the same way but with a dodgy banister which ours wasn't.  In a rare thing at that time I blew a gasket & made a rather pointed comment about his insurance being up to date, slammed a few doors & moved on.  I also decided that if he could do theirs he could do ours too.  It sometimes takes me a while to cool down. 

Baileys_Babe

I think sometimes it is just easier to do jobs in someone elses home rather than our own as at home it is easy to get sidetracked by all the other things that need doing whereas you are there to do that job.

I am have a similar situation @Cheery_Daff where it can occasionally feel like our house hasn't even made it to the to-do list but helping our friends and family is taking up a lot of time and energy. 

I enjoy spending time with our friends and supporting each other is great the problem being what we need doing is a mixture of sorting and decluttering which we need to do or at least make decisions about, technical jobs and a project OH wants to do and planned 4 years ago and since then no progress.

Tescodealqueen

Just googled Trentham Gardens it looks lovely will put it on my wish list I think xx