Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 8: Calmly through the day

[MissConductUS]

I've started a new one. Please join us and share the boring and mundane things happening in your world. It will be calming for all.

Good morning,
a not so overcast day and the wind is right to hear all the bells, which is nice.

Morning all. DH has been sniffing ddog and confirms that, most unfortunately, he could smell every nuance of his unique ‘eau de geriatric spaniel avec un’obsessione du mud and dead things’. 🙊

@EggNogPegg I hope your brother feels better soon

@SilkiesnowchicksandXmastreecat What a lovely image of all your animals and DS!

I am feeling knackered today as I haven’t been sleeping well, but am going to go for a run in a bit which I’m sure will wake me up. Santa is doing a drive-by later on (I think a tractor is involved) so DS will be super excited - I haven’t told him yet as it’s a surprise. He will be getting a present too! We left his letter to Santa out on the windowsill last night and jingled a bell out of the window to summon the post-elves, and whaddaya know, this morning the letter was gone and there were just some little footprints (in flour) left on the sill! Who’d have thunk it DS is delighted that his bell jingling worked

Leaden grey skies here and the rain has just set in. 😕

We are collecting our enormous Christmas click and collect shop after lunch. Some of it is dry goods and meat for the freezer for January in case of disruption to food imports post-Brexit.

Good morning everyone. I'm just back from my run. It's a balmy -5 this morning, so much nicer than the -12 yesterday. I did a full 3 miles.

DS is concerned that he did poorly on one of his accounting exams and that it might threaten his academic scholarship (bursary?). So he and DH looked up the rules and it's based on his cumulative grade point average, which is way above the threshold for the scholarship, so all is well. And we're going to save thousands by having him home this spring and not paying room and board charges.

We have to drop my car off for service today for it's 12k mile service and state inspection and they're forecasting light snow this afternoon so we'll probably take it in after church. I'm a bit disappointed that we're not going to to Christmas eve services as a family this year, but that's life. As @Nydj's DH would say, with classic British understatement, "It's a bit poor".

Egg, I'm sorry to hear about your brother. It can be a really unpleasant illness.

I think I'm finally done with wrapping presents. The tree is ready.

The sky has turned almost blue here.
DH is making goulash (pörkölt) again, as we all like it.
DD will make brownies later, so a great excuse for me not to clean the kitchen and as I am off work there is no need to iron my work shirts either. Lucky me!

Back from my run. I was planning on doing five miles, felt great at mile 3 so decided to up it to 6, and then once I was committed to my the extra bit promptly got a stitch 🤦‍♀️ Ended up walking for a good while as I couldn’t get rid of it. Now back at home with my feet up and a glass of rehydration salts! That takes me past the 650km mark for my year’s running, so I’m still not displeased with it.

@Spudlet I hate it when I get a stitch. I'm jealous of your distances but I'm trying not to aggravate my torn gluteus medius ligament.

I had no idea how far I've run, so I logged into my Runkeeper account and was shocked to find that for this year I'm up to 445 miles, which is about 715 km.

Which app do you use to log and track your runs?

That’s a good total! I’m on Strava. I had hoped to be headed for 700km this year but various injuries and niggles have just knocked the total down a bit. But this is my first full calendar year of running so I’m still pretty happy with it - I only started last autumn. I’m proud of myself for sticking with it through all of this year’s thisness!

You should be proud! I was walking only until about April, waiting for my ligament to heal. I really try to go every day.

I started running in secondary school, around 1975.

I am watching 'The Nutcracker' on Sky Arts (fortunately now on Free view).

It's not dull and unexciting, it's beautiful and it's Christmas.

DS and I went for a walk as did al OST the whole of the neighbourhood - so many people out in the park. Oh well.

Now home and showered and ready of an afternoon of schmaltzy tv.

Xmas film this evening will be ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ which, I have never watched in its entirety.

Heard the piano being played really badly then the piano lid crashing down, appears the cat isn't a natural at the piano. DH is now playing it much better than the cat.

DS told me it is his rabbit's 2nd birthday tomorrow and he needs special extra food to celebrate. But that just sounds like every rabbit day to me. I suggested a brush as rabbit was trying to poke the brush whilst I was sweeping the floor yesterday but DD said that rabbit has been known to try and eat dustpans and brushes.

Now home and showered and ready of an afternoon of schmaltzy tv.

Speaking of linguistic exchanges, I was surprised to hear this from a Londoner. Schmaltz is Yiddish for chicken or goose fat, or informally excessively sentimental. There is a lot of informal Yiddish slang in New York usage, but I didn't realize the same was true on your side of the pond.

And now I'm watching 'White Christmas', but tea is cooking and I'm doing some sewing as well so I don't feel too guilty.
I have most definitely not gone for a run but I salute those of you who have done .

Today we took Mood Fish Baby for a walk along the pier at a nearby, quintessential English seaside town and he loved it. Apparently squealing at the waves is the new greatest thing. I salute all runners too, it is something I have done in the past and always felt better for it but just can't find the motivation to start again.

Non stop rain here all day.

The posh custard carton split when DH was unloading the click and collect shop, so I bought another carton when I was in the store buying flowers for Lovely Neighbour.

LN messaged me last night to say Sodding hasn’t hissed at her on his two most recent visits. I’m glad his manners are improving but I don’t want him to move in to hers either. I reckon we are safe for at least two and a half until DS1 (his favourite) goes to uni.

@MissConductUS
I was suprised to find that in German online dictionaries, when listing the meaning of Schmalz the first mentioned meaning is aesthetic i. e "soppily sentimental" and no longer "rendered animal fat", the meaning I grew up with. I still remember the work it took to prepare it.

In other news DD has finished her browines and I ate a bar of nougat chocolate while crocheting sleeves.

DH is taking his second nap. Had smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and having roast dinner tonight.

We’re tier 4 but weren’t bubbling with anyone for Christmas. So are surprisingly unaffected by the new measures.

Santa just came by here, with elves, in a trailer pulled by a 4x4. The parish council organised. DS got a new book. I got sentimental and frankly wailed.

DH is now doing laps of the garden again, and I am psyching myself up to get some potatoes out of the garage for dinner. DS is watching Tangled.

I just ventured into another thread on here and it was terrifying... I’m staying here with you all!

Went to an indoor church service this morning for the first time since March. Had a nap this afternoon. Husband is cooking a roast pork dinner and I'm about to call my mum.

DH is just off to collect DD, she's meet up with a friend today outside.

@MissConductUS and @Prokupatuscrakedatus, I didn’t know about the rendered animal fat origin of the word shmaltz - as a lifelong vegetarian, only know and use it to mean overly sentimental.

In any event, i didn’t watch any sentimental tv this afternoon as DH had Father Brown on.

Went for a walk and could hear the local church's outdoor carol service around the valley.

I had to redo my started sleeve - I used the wrong stich, which I only noticed after about 5 cm.