NST December 2025 A Different December

f0xh0les

I have done very little today.  Was waiting on one of the various offspring to make a phone call and need to be taken a couple of miles down the road.  He never made the call, so my day spent waiting was wasted, but, I got 3 loads of laundry washed and dried, I cleaned the bathroom, made a nice simple lunch of homemade hummus pittas salads and crackers and used up about 6 half empty jars of various pickled vegetables. the fridge looks much tidier, I suppose it classes as tidying up, doesn't it?  Lists were made, and diaries were managed. 

I rested up, there, that is a positive spin on the day.

Me and John McClane are having a lovely time in Nakatomi Tower at the minute, that's all the drama I need right now.  Yippee-Kiyay Ninja-Turtles  

dustydigger

Well I won the wrestling match with the duvet though it was a close thing.Very pretty floeral design. But only other thing accomplished was my grocery list for delivery on 28th.It came to £128 ,because the gap between deliveries is 10 days,and I know everything will need replenishing by then,and we need stuff for the New Year occasion..But I didnt pay £128. I used my Tesc* clubcard,got £22 off,which brought it down to £106. And then I had nearly £17 in vouchers left over from Xmas,so my final payment was under £ 90 which was much more reasonable.:)

Today  - I do the stairs and upstairs landing. 4 doors up there to wash.
I am now washing some sheets will dry them on radiators.
Mop kitchen floor.
Hoover whole house
Then Monday Tuesday and Wednesday will be tackling the bedrooms particularly Mr Ds clothes. I need to put away all the clothes which are too big for him and put them away on top of wardrobes.Then I will quietly spirit them away quietly as he wont want to get rid of them. Then all the clothes left need rearranging. He has pulled out all the 4 drawers on his bedside cabinet they are upside down on the floor.Not of work to do if he lets me. He is very territorial and hates me poking around so its going to be a fraught few days. But it has to be done. Imagine with his frail health a doctor or even visitors need to go in his room.I am totally ashamed. For 3 months I was so weak all I could do was cook tidy and wash clothes. I think at the moment though I get very tired I am at least not having a arthritis flareup so not in pain as long as I dont try standing more than 10 mins,when the agony starts in my spine. So its 5 minutes on,5 minutes off doing any work,so things take forever.. But I get there in the end.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for a very fun and successful Nativity at church, for a super quiet rest of the day, for World's Strongest Man on telly, for baked potatoes, for a comfy sofa, for chocolate!

grandmanerd

Not much done today - all tiny steps, a lot of them aimed at alleviating symptoms and repairing damage. More dresses hung up to dry, a sheet replacing Beloved's duvet cover over a door and a throw draped over a chair in front of a radiator. 3 sacks of paper, one very full bag for life (cans and bottles) and a nearly full bin bag of rubbish ready to go out (not today though). 

The cube shelves look very messy (were hiddden by the couch previously) but I'm resisting the temptation of pulling everything out because I doubt I'd have the energy to put it back and there are already bags and boxes to sort. I had a late night and patchy sleep and a bad choking fit last night (not blocking my breathing although it was loud and prolonged and DS3 came down to see if he could help). Unpleasant but not dangerous. 

Struggled with food today, very glad of the things I took from the freezer last week. Difficulties with my concentration too.

Grateful for simple games, entertaining lightweight film and grab and go food.

DawnW

NSD # 10 for me today.

Getting lots of cleaning stuff done although I still don't feel right, as I am very restless. Steroids are good for something I suppose    One more day of them, so will make the most of this bizarre enthusiasm while it lasts    Seriously though, my breathing is much better and I am coughing much less, at least while I am upright and not lying down.

OH has a cold and isn't happy. He has mostly sat in his chair and moaned    He did take the dog out though as he wanted some fresh air.

The Christmas tree is still outside, and I think it can stay there. I am not bothered, and I would need Mr Grumpy's help to bring it inside. You can imagine how that would go down 

I also haven't made mince pies yet. 

I will need to go shopping tomorrow, and hope that it isn't too busy. It hasn't been too bad so far. I need to go through the fridge and finalise my list. We had mainly leftovers and bits bought back from the family get together yesterday for lunch, and I am making cauliflower cheese for dinner, just on its own with a nice bread roll.

I will try to get an earlier night tonight. I didn't manage to get off to sleep until about 2 am 

grandmanerd

Hugs Dawn and anyone else in need of a hug. I've come across all sorts of interesting stuff over the past few days, even saved some of it but can't get it written out. The lurgy is winning and I'm so glad I decided to stay home. My to do list reduces daily as I weed out stuff that is currently beyond me. 

I'm finding increasingly creative places to hang things to dry and it gives me so much pleasure. I don't think I will do a final wash load. I have lots of towels and clothes (when I get them dry) so I'm working through them to get them put neatly away and the last few items can go in a carrier bag and be hidden out of the way. 

I have yoghurts, tinned soup and rice pudding and don't feel like eating more than that (just had a child sized fruit juice and my daily ration of grapes). I put the bin out for collection yesterday afternoon (a day early because of the holidays) before it got dark. I have done all the washing up (not much more than a bowlful really) and am going to switch to using the cardboard plates, bowls and cups I bought to see me through the kitchen renovation. So there won't be another load of washing up building up. I can make up several bowls of salad at a time and take them out when I want to eat. I chopped celery and apple for 'Waldorf type salad' (posssibly with cashews) but atm it's back in the fridge in a bag.

This morning I restocked my little washbag with a week's supply of pills and cut off all the empty pieces of pill foils. I'm about to start on a round of ibuprofen, eye drops, Vix and whatever else I have that will make me feel more comfortable. I'm also drawing up a 'shopping list. I've used up 3 boxes of tissues in a week (one might be lost in the bedding somewhere) so it might be useful to do a bulk order. Ditto toilet rolls - we have enough but I don't think they are keeping stock upstairs. DS3 will just come to me in a panic when the last sheet falls off the last roll. I have good bread and soft things to spread on it (hopefully with veg to sprinkle across) and a portion of the chicken stew I froze last month. I have more in the freezer. Anything I've not bought now can wait for sale prices. I did the donation to DS1's chosen charity.

Grateful for not being in hospital (they can't do anything for me so as long as my CPAP and medicaments help me, I'm staying put), having easy food to eat, Miracle on 34th Street on my laptop (His girl Friday next)

f0xh0les

Grandmanerd, I think Santa should bring you a washer/dryer next time the machine falls over. On good days you can still use the line, on bad days no drying stuff inside the house while you need to use a cpap machine /eyedrops/ industrial quantities of kleenex. 
Just one to think about. 
How many chinchillas are your roommates at the minute?
Meanwhile in F0xh0les Towers....
Today is Mr Small (aka DS4)'s birthday.  He is 16.  I have successfully assembled 4 whole grown up men.  So we are going out to town to have lunch in half an hour and then I will made his 🎂.  
Expenses got paid ( they spotted my 40p discrepancy), so I have enough to do until payday on 31st and cc will be cleared before 2026 begins.     Yay! 
Happy Christmas Eve Eve!!!!

DawnW

I finished my steroids today    Still hyperactive though 

I went out and did the shopping this morning early before the traffic and shops were too busy. Still busy, but not impossible. Anyway, what we don't have now we can do without (or I can make it). I bought loads of things to try to cheer OH up    I certainly won't need much shopping for most of January. I used my apps and vouchers to get money off 

OH (aka Mr Grumpy) is worse today, he has a horrible streaming cold and feels rotten. We have cancelled going to our son's for Christmas day. It is simply not worth spreading the germs, and OH doesn't feel like it anyway. He will hopefully feel a bit better by then, but will still be snotty and infectious. I will still make them dessert as promised, but DD2 will collect it tomorrow along with her children's presents and take it with her. We will see them all after Christmas when OH is better. I can cook a roast dinner if OH wants one, or a choice of many more things. Like you @grandmanerd I think this is the right decision and am happy to have made it.

We finished off some leftovers for lunch, and I am going to make aubergine parm for dinner, to use up an elderly aubergine. Doesn't sound fun, but is yummy with home made tomato and basil sauce made from summer produce from the freezer, and lots of cheese 

Grateful for feeling better, for making a sensible decision and getting the food shopping done virtually unscathed 

grandmanerd

Oh f0xh0les, it is a washer dryer, as they chose it (but I've now decided to buy them new ones when they leave and maintain my kitchen as it is). I just haven't considered it to be an emergency until you said. There is washing outside, I have towels and clothes (lots of bedding too as I had sheets and pillowcases for two lots of Christmases), no kid's school uniforms etc. When I get my next surge of energy, I'll pick out some things to put back in and put them to drying. Can do another couple of loads (just drying) tomorrow.

I've decided the books can all be stood up in the spaces and I'll fight the urge to do them all alphabetically. Then there will be room for some of the boxed and bagged stuff. DS1 messaged me to ask if I wanted my presents wrapped or if it would be easier without (and less mess to clear up afterwards).  I opted for unwrapped. Another thing to be grateful for - I won't be spending an afternoon ironing wrapping paper and rolling it for reuse (mainly when the boys were small and had big box toys which took lots of paper and very little creased).

I've topped and tailed Chantenay carrots, rinsed them and put the bag back in the fridge. I'm planning (plotting) to boil a pile of new potatoes in the microwave and toss some in yoghurt and mint dressing. I need to do a freezer rummage and pull out more ready meals/ hm frozen. Or I could just slap cheese spread (or mayo and grated cheese onto bread/ buns/ wraps and add peppers/ tomatoes/ red onions, I'm going to put some lemon sorbet in a bowl to melt a bit (festive without the fuss - do you think I could get a tv series?)

Grateful for good drama series, being warm and fairly comfortable (like Dawn says, as long as I'm sitting up not lying down), shortcuts and cheating. 

apple_muncher

I remember my sister 'bemoaning' the fact that as my niece got older, her presents got smaller and there was less and less wrapping paper to recycle the following year 🤣.

Today I am grateful for my gazillion eye drops doing their job, for the bath seat I bought from 0l10 for Pip to use in the shower is perfect for him, for Pip being woken this morning by a text from the DWP telling him that he has been awarded PIP (🥳🥳🥳), for a catch up over coffee with a friend, for finding the perfect-sized cagoule for Pip in a charity shop.