La Dolce Vita - 2024

helensbiggestfan

Good Morning My lovely Friends. 

How are we all. Are you all ready for the festive season which will shortly be upon us. I have to confess I've been so busy with the house purchase I haven't had time to start preparing for Christmas,  it's sort of crept up on me without me noticing. It's a good job my lovely daughter in law is on the ball.  She has booked us in to see Santa this Saturday and of course Chatsworth next weekend. If it had been up to me I would have left it too late to get the dates we wanted.  I must admit it's nice to be finally able to take a bit of back seat now on Christmas preparations.  I had over 40 years of making Christmas happen so I am delighted to pass the baton onto the next generation.  I am more than happy to be "granny in the corner". 

I have already bought my grandsons their main present (in the Black Friday sale) .......a karoake machine.  I'm sure it will go down a storm and be great fun for the whole family. I know my eldest son will love it.  His party piece is belting out the big 80s power  ballads (Journey, Foreigner, Jon  Bon Jovi etc. ).  Very dramatic. 😂🤣

Last Saturday I had a lovely girly slightly boozy Christmas lunch in one of my favourite restaurants with my sister and pretend sister (long story).  It just so happened we timed it with the switching on of the Christmas lights so we got to see the parade from the comfort of the restaurant. 

The house purchase seems to be going at a good pace, (well as fast as these things can go, ha ha).  We're aiming for completion by the end of March so as to beat the deadline for the new stamp duty rules. 🤞🤞.  I am really looking forward to the move.  I've been quite unsettled since my husband died, not much caring where I lived, and having no emotional attachment to my houses.  I'm really hoping I can once again have a sense of "home" and belonging to a community. The last 10 years have seen me living a somewhat transient life, not able to fully engage, everything somehow feeling temporary.  My journey through grief and loss has been a strange experience, I think somewhat exacerbated by the covid lockdowns.  It all seems a bit surreal.  

Anyway, I've done a rough budget for after I've moved.  I wont be rich behind the dreams of avarice but I shall be comfortable enough. And, of course, I shall still be aiming to live a champagne lifestyle on what will still be a lemonade budget.🤪. 

Right, time to get the day started......

Humdinger1

As ever, you're doing it in style @helensbiggestfan! Grace always oozes from your posts.  It's good to experience grief fully if you have to as you can then move on fully when it's time.  2025 will be a whole new deal. Love Humdinger xx 

helensbiggestfan

Good evening my lovely friends.  

Humdinger....you made me blush with your praise.  One does try to be gracious......lol.  

Our trip to see Santa was fab.  Although it felt a bit incongruous that the big man had an American accent. Somehow it didn't seem quite right. Lol. 

We decided to switch the Chatsworth day out  because both my grandsons had been invited to birthday parties and it would have been a shame if they had to miss them.  So we shall be going on 27th instead.  I think that's even better because I often think "twixmas" can be a bit of an anti climax.  

The house purchase seems to be going through ok. 🤞. Some of the searches are back, nothing nasty and surveys are being done this week.  I'm glad we got them organised before everywhere shuts down for Christmas.  I'm aiming to make a start on the packing in the new year so as to get ahead of myself and not have a mad last minute rush. One good thing about renting is that I can have a couple of weeks overlap, it will make the move so much easier.   

Well it's almost Christmas.  I have just finished my gift shopping today (courtesy of Amazon), the tree is up and just a few decorations.  This house is so cramped now there's just not enough room for the full Winter Wonderland vibe, so I've just put out a few of my favourite bits.  

I don't know if I mentioned it but I noticed that the garage here seemed rather damp.  No leaks just condensation.  I was a bit concerned about some of my furniture that I was storing in there so I got my handyman to bring it all into the house.  The spare bedroom is no longer a gym, it's now a furniture repository. Ha ha.  You can barely swing a cat in there now but at least my furniture is safe.  

Soon be the winter solstice and then the days start getting longer. Wahoo.  💃. 

Baileys_Babe

We have always had an over lap when buying a property, it takes away a lot of the stress.

helensbiggestfan

BB. Love the name, lol.  I have just bought a bottle........Baileys is one of my favourites.  Yes you are right, having an overlap does ease the stress of a house move.  Now that I am older and becoming increasingly more decrepit I find I am becoming more open to ways to make life easier, even if it means spending a bit of money in the process.  I have been thinking quite a bit about the changes I am going to make in my life.  In fact I have already started. 

 One of the things I have started doing is buying a couple of ready meals (the healthiest and tastiest I can find) to keep on hand.  I don't intend to make a habit of living on ready meals and convenience foods - but I can't see the harm in taking a short cut sometimes. I do try and batch cook so I have some home made "ready meals" but I think it's harmless enough to cheat occasionally.  I think the old 80/20 rule works well enough. Eat healthily for 80% of the time and allow a few cheats and treats.  

Survey done yesterday.  Surveyor gave me a quick verbal report, he said he really liked the house, especially the location and thinks it's a good buy.  So there we are. 😁🤞.  

Well I have finally finished the gift shopping, and have done a big food shop so now just need to wrap the gifts and that's it, job done. Christmas is so much easier these days now that I am not actually hosting any more.  I feel no guilt, I did it for over 40 years so I figure I have earned the right to take a back seat.  I have bought son and DIL a posh afternoon tea hamper as a treat for being my hosts and doing the lions share of the work.  

It's the winter solstice on Saturday, the shortest day when the year turns.  It's always a special day for me when I start to think about the year to come, what it might bring, what changes I want to make.  Hopefully some big ones next year.  Obviously moving house but also in how I live.  I want to "elevate my environment in order to elevate my life". Ha ha.  Hopefully as the days lengthen and we get more daylight I will feel have more energy.  At the moment I just seem to want to hibernate.I really need an energy boost.  

The car is going in for its MOT on Saturday. Let's hope the old girl puts on a good show.  🤞🤞

Debsnewbudget

Thats good news all round.  I especially like the surveyors comment. 

Have a wonderful relaxing festive time, you deserve it. 

helensbiggestfan

Happy Winter Solstice. 

i love the Winter Solstice.  It's one of my favourite days of the year.  I reminisce about the past year and give thanks for all the good things that have happened.  I think about the mistakes I've made and see what lessons I can learn from my failures.  I start to think about the forthcoming year, what it might bring, my goals and plans.  

I think how nature is just "resting" - preparing for spring and new growth.  And I go along with the flow. I rest, up the self care and nurture myself ready to "spring forward" when the time comes. One thing I have done this winter is to take Vitamin D every day.  I think it's helped me get through the doom and gloom and lack of sunlight.  

So I've been thinking and making plans....bursting with ideas.  

2025 is just round the corner, waiting for us.  😁. I can't wait to get started......

Duchess2

Good mood morning everyone. Seasons greetings to you all. Hope your celebrations are fun, whatever form they take. 🎄🥂☃️ A special thank you to @helensbiggestfan for your support on this thread this year. I hope 2025 brings a speedy and stressless conclusion to your move and you achieve all you hope for in your new home.

helensbiggestfan

Thanks Duchess.  💕

Merry Christmas Everyone.  Hope  you all have a wonderful time.  🎄🎅🏼. 💕. 

Wednesday2000

Happy Christmas to all!