Simple living in the country - back to basics

Cheery_Daff

MORNING - Preparation

* finish work task
* wrap parcels to post
* write Christmas cards 🙄
* meal plan
* put all presents in piles to make sure my list corresponds with what's on the ground

AFTERNOON - Excursions

* post office with parcels & cards
* buy last of the Christmas presents
* buy remaining bits of food etc for Friday

LATE AFTERNOON/EVENING
* make present bags while watching Christmas film!
* make Mr Cheery's hat
* blog posts
* batch cooking

That'll probably do, probably won't get more done anyway...

Tescodealqueen

You were very brave going to Meadowhell. I have been twice in the last four years, both times in November this year to drop Mr TDQs wedding ring at a jeweller for reshaping after he took it off for the first time in nearly 40 years and it was the shape of a three penny bit and then again two weeks later to collect it.. couldn’t face going in December if it was the only place open. We were in at 9am and out after a quick mooch in the food hall of marks by 10am

Cheery_Daff

It wasn't that bad really, lots of people and far too hot, but at least it wasn't raining 😂 The most annoying thing was that I hadn't charged my watch so I couldn't see how many steps I'd done 😂😂

Trying to convince myself to get out of bed to finish this work and get parcels wrapped 🙄 Mr Cheery didn't come to bed at all, and I assume hasn't set off for his dad's yet. It's very windy out there, and it looks like several local roads are (unsurprisingly) shut after lorries have fallen over, or trees fallen down. I was planning on final shopping, but I may actually just nip to the post office and swap days - house sorting for guests, batch cooking, and making present bags & Mr Cheery's hat today (accompanied by Christmas films) and then final shopping tomorrow when the wind has died down a bit. 

Immediate priorities though - get up, breakfast, finish annoying bit of work, post office. Post office is only in the village, so I'll use that trip to test whether I go further afield... 

EssexHebridean

Ugh to nearby trees - I grew up in a house with a large Ash tree in next door's garden - never minded it until reading whichever one of the Famous Five books feature a tree landing on their house, after which I was convinced that Ash would do the same! It stayed put in the 1987 hurricane though, so I stopped being worried about it after that! (Google tells me it has gone now though - hopefully NOT because it blew down!)

Hopefully you manage to get any vital bits done from your list! 

Cheery_Daff

Ha, yes I am currently rather paranoid about the one by our living room - but it is a very open ad sparse kind of fir (I should know what type but I don't 😂) and doesn't seem like ot's going anywhere, it's barely waving about as there are so many gaps 😂 So hopefully it'll be fine. 

There are other trees, but they're mostly not that much taller than the house. I'm up now, and delighted to report that all trees are currently still standing, and the electricity is still on! To be honest, losing the electricity is FAR more likely to happen here than a tree falling on the house. The power lines are all above ground, and we are very exposed (except when they go through trees 🙄). 

Anyway, hopefully none of that will happen!

Cheery_Daff

Well thankfully, none of that did happen, but we did lose both the house Internet and all mobile signal for most of yesterday 🙄 Mobile was intermittent enough to send the odd FB message until 8pm when it cut out altogether, but house Internet still doesn't work. Now I've got mobile Internet I'm going to run their recommended checks and then ring - it's not listed as a fault on their website so they may not even be aware 🙄

So yesterday didn't quite go as planned. Mr Cheery took a while to leave, the work activity took longer than planned, and by the time it was ready to submit I didn't have enough Internet access, so I ended up going to the cafe to use theirs 😂 Submitted and drew a line under the year's work with a festive mince pie 😁

Quick run around the supermarket preparing for today's guests, and then I'd planned an evening of sewing in front of a Christmas film, but with no Internet that was impossible, so I pottered about tidying, preparing food, wrapping and sorting presents, cleaning, and writing a big list for today, which mostly centres around making sure we have enough beds for various guests tonight, and making sure there is nothing embarrassing lying around (underwear, mould, mouse droppings 🙄😂)

First job is breakfast and then sorting the Internet. Then I might get the tree up - not going to do clattery things til Mr Cheery is up. 

Have to say it was extremely productive having an evening without Internet. Obviously I know that, having had Internet free days and even the odd month (kind of) in the past, but it really brought it home again. A good thing yo be aware of as I go into planning the new year...

Cheery_Daff

OK, we are getting there! Parcels are posted, craft room is clean and completely ready, our bed is ready - just in the middle of hanging up clothes and hoovering in there. Tablecloths are on the radiators.

Mr Cheery has gone to collect a prescription, so I'm going to abandon the bedroom and get my bit of the cooking done, so we're not tripping over each other later.

He's managed to block up the massive draught from the defective windows in the music room - not usually that noticeable but the wind is coming from just the wrong direction today. Replacing that window is high on the list for next year! 

Read the LPG gauge - it's sitting just above where they expect with supposedly 31 days of use left, so I'm not going to even look now til the new year. 

Oh, and I've lost a couple of greenhouse panes 🙄 Two were plastic - one is still there, the other possibly in a field somewhere 🙄 Sadly the others were glass - one has somehow broken right next to the compost bin which is a nuisance - but none of that is going to get sorted out today.

Sick of this wind now. It right ruffles my feathers and puts me on edge!

badmemory

This wind is a real pain isn't it.  It has blown the cowl off the exit for my central heating (technical terms obviously) & it isn't in any of my neighbours gardens.  I am going to have to ask my boilerman if that is going to be a problem.  I'm hoping it can wait until the service in Feb.

redofromstart

I was out and about and saw lot of tree damage, mostly shifted to the side of the road. Poor trees. 

Much sympathy on the greenhouse glass. It always seems to break into a gazillion spiky shards.

Cheery_Daff

Hope your cowl can wait badmemory!

A million spikey shards is the right phrase Redo! I do like the plastic ones. Another pane has cracked today 🙄 it's very exposed where it is, but I won't be moving it. There might be something I can do to make it more sheltered.

Last night was cheerful 😊 We ran round all afternoon and were finally ready. The food was tasty and everyone ate it, people brought lots of snacks (some of which we'll relocate on Christmas day 😂), and we got the Christmas tree up as well, which was very cheerful 😊

Visitors have gone, and we have nipped into town for some last minute festivities 😊

Started to fill in my goals book for next year this morning 😊 Always love reflecting on the year gone past. Doesnt feel like a particularly memorable one this year (but I don't know whether I'm just forgetting lots of things!). Various health issues between us and other family members, and obviously the last of our chickens 😕 but otherwise no big things I do think. Do should up if you remember something I don't 🙈😂