Simple living in the country - back to basics

Cheery_Daff

Ha, yes there will definitely be some resting over the festive period! 

Not today though - today was meant to be my last shopping day, but obviously I've not quite managed to get everything I wanted, so still need a trip somewhere else for the last mopping up bits 🙄 At least I've got a good idea of what's missing now, so I can see whether there's anything I can do online,or where specifically to aim for. 

Been out for 8 hours today 😱 Been to three different towns, plus two 'shopping villages' 😱 Never been to either of them before and certainly won't bother to go back to one of them at any rate 😂

Anyway, home now, chickens in bed, heating on. Mr Cheery is out (only til about 9pm tonight though) so I need another overambitious list! 

6.30-7.30 - DOMESTIC GODDESS
* make and eat tea
* peel apples and get into the haybox
* ring mum
* quick tidying whizz round the house

7.30-9 - FESTIVE FUN
* get all the presents out and make carefully ordered piles to check against my list
* unwrap fairy lights from round the furniture and wrap round tree 
* decorations on the Christmas tree

That's probably enough, probably won't even get that much done before Mr Cheery gets back 🙄

Need to check on the budget too - I was trying to put everything i spent in as I went along today but YNAB is telling me I've still got £87 left in the Christmas fund and after the amount I've spent today I don't believe it for a second 😂

EssexHebridean

I suspect you're a long way ahead of ME on the Christmas front... If I ignore it, it'll go away, right?! 

Cheery_Daff

Evening chums,

Well, I still haven't got the apples in the haybox, but I did do everything else.

We had some awful news last night. A close pal of Mr Cheery's dad, almost like another son, died in tragic circumstances the other day 😕 I'd not met him, but he's done SO much for Mr Cheery's dad over the years. 

Anyway, we're visiting today, but it looks like we're also coming back on Christmas day. Not what I would have planned... we've never done family Christmas - Mr Cheery have spent it just together all these years. Still, there's a big feeling this year that you just don't know how long you've got - this man was younger than Mr Cheery, his dad's a bit poorly again at the minute, so anyway, here we are 🙄

Not broken the news to my own family yet. Mr Cheery and I have always made much of spending the day by ourselves...

Hey ho. Sadly our planned visitors on Friday have cancelled (bit of a theme at the minute...) so we do have a bit more pre-Christmas calm time at least. 

Then it all gets a bit busy

Christmas day - 5 hour round trip drive to see Mr Cheery's family
26th - home
27th - 4 hour round trip drive (just me) for a ridiculous all day race
28th - rescheduled visitors

Not sure after that. We'll need two separate (non consecutive) days to see my family - so maybe 30th for the first? 

Anyway, blah blah. Best just get today over and done with first...

Karmacat

I'm very sorry to hear this, Cheery, I can't imagine what it's like to have a dear friend die so close to Christmas.  And Mr Cheery's dad is quite elderly and ill .... he must be very distressed.  Then it rolls out to your family too - hopefully they'll understand why you've got to up sticks and get to Mr Cheery's dad.

Please make sure your pre-Christmas calm is as calm as you can make it.

beanielou

So sorry to read this news.

KajiKita

That is that is very sad news and quite unsettling. 

I think you’re right to have Christmas at FiL’s, you just never know when it might be the last chance. 

Sending hugs x

Tescodealqueen

So sorry to hear this

Cheery_Daff

Thank you all 😊

Yesterday was a long one - we finally made it home at 4am 😱 Still, I did at least manage some late night Christmas shopping when I realised one of the discount stores was open til 11pm 😂

So today will be a relatively slow one... But I do need to do the last of my shopping - just a couple of very specific things to get now, so I think I'll head to somewhere bigger than the local market towns at some point today. Not before I've had breakfast and done some serious sofa lounging for at least an hour though 😂

Cheery_Daff

Not hosting tomorrow, so at least we don't have to think of plans for that. But we will need to think about Christmas day food - Mr Cheery's sister was planning to feed 2 and is now feeding 5, and we're both veggie and they're not, so we'll take some stuff with us.

Also need to think about this ridiculous race my sister and I are doing between Christmas and New Year - will need to take some kind of sustenance for that too as theoretically it's almost 8 hours long 😱😂

EssexHebridean

Oh yes, that IS a tricky one around the family thing. As I think you know we used to do my folks for christmas, his for NY until the point where we started going away over Christmas - I said point blank that there was no way I was driving all the way from the Hebrides down to South Devon for a couple of days before driving back home - too many miles and back to wearing ourselves out and not feeling we'd had a break. Last year of course we were with my parents for christmas day as we had a strong feeling it was likely to be Dad's last, but then shot straight up to the Hebrides the day after until right into January. This year we'll be with my Mum for christmas but are now staying at home for NY due to needing to get house stuff sorted - that's going to be a potentially tricky conversation for MrEH to have with his folks, I think - although I'm confident they'll understand. Of course his situation is also rather different being one of 4 with the other three all being very local to them at the moment, so that helps. With the awful news Mr C's Dad's just had to face though I'd imagine yours will understand that it's not a normal year for his folks. Still awkward though - and worse if it's also not really the way you'd choose to spend your Christmas day!

Do the race organisers not provide food etc as it's effectively an Ultra? Could be worth checking - although thinking about it you've done it before haven't you so presumably not! 

I hope you're getting your planned lazy time today - it sound much needed!