Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 11: 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.

Hello everybody, can I join in?

I was very excited yesterday to get a nice new circular knitting needle delivered, because the ancient one (inherited from DM) had a join between the hard and bendy bits that was impossible to get the stitches across. I had to bin the whole thing - with cast on plus half a row (280 stitches!)
I’ve started again - new one is lovely and smooth.

Temp just outside the kitchen window is 1.9 - this time yesterday it was about 8. The Beast from the East is on the way but no snow yet. (Outer SW London).

@DoctorTwo Sounds nasty, I hope you’re ok now

The Beastie hasn’t arrived here yet, we have had a light sprinkling of snow but no more than that. It is snowing now though, very powdery stuff that’s coming in tiny flakes, and it’s very windy. So it’s clearly on the way.

DH is talking about a trip to screwfix before it gets too bad. Yesterday he began what should have been a half hour plumbing job, replacing the flush thingy in the loo - 3 hours later, with one unscheduled trip to B&Q for a washer, he had to put the old part back on and the original problem (a very loud airlock in the pipes somewhere that makes a foghorn noise when you flush) is now actually worse. So now he wants to go and get a second new flush thingy and try again. Oh joy. 😬

DoctorTwo I am sorry to hear that you are not well - I hope you feel better soon.
In dull news, some bread rolls have turned up on the roof of the garage block in front of my house and there are a lot of seagulls shouting about it.
No snow yet.

Hello all.

doctortwo, I am so sorry you have been having recurring health problems and hope you feel better soon.

spudlet DH is the same - all diy jobs are a ‘piece of cake’ and will only take a few minutes before starting and yet entire days seem to be taken up by them in reality. I roll my eyes a lot.

I hope you enjoy the recipe sodding, as you said, paneer itself is incredibly bland so does need something with a good flavour kick to go with it.

About to do zoom yoga soon.

doctor Al the best to you.

The snowstorm has not been, though it is cold and windy.

DP was doing bathroom DIY here too yesterday. He always starts jobs in the morning as he doesn't know how long they will take. He was finished by about 2pm yesterday and then went off for a long (10 mile) run. Because we also had a call with PIL in the morning and drama class mid morning, I couldn't get out on my own which was frustrating.
DC are 10 1/2 and 13 1/2 and should really be ok alone for 30-45 minutes but there is a tendency for random fights to break out when they are a bit bored and I worry that would happen at the top of the stairs and I'd come home to a disaster.

‘I was very excited yesterday to get a nice new circular knitting needle delivered.’

Oh yes, @GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER, I think you will be very at home here.

The overflowing rubbish bags which had been accumulating over the past two weeks in the bins has now been emptied by the binmen - what joy when I lifted the lid this morning to find space to put my modest rubbish bag in. Thats it really, my non event of the day.

@GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER
Knitting needles that are not linked properly are a pain - or when you look through your stack and they are all too short. What are you working on?

DMil went into care last year and of course I kept all the craft equipment, including a set of crochet needles for lace doilies her DM used in the late 19th century.

Thanks @MissConductUS –I've posted on a few of these, but sporadically. Mostly just lolling around and loving reading everyone's comforting mundanities

I bought some apple cider vinegar yesterday to rinse my hair with. Looked up how best to use it and found out it's least damaging if you spray it directly onto your scalp with a spray bottle.

I didn't have a spare one so I emptied an old Febreze bottle, washed it, and used that. It was clean as a whistle but somehow my brain still convinced me that my apple cider vinegar – and then my head – smelled like clean sheets

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER Welcome and of course you can join. You passed the initiation test with flying colours mentioning both the weather and knitting.

It's light snowing here.

I did some of the capital gains tax form for DH then he came to see me and said if he uses old year's tax rates and criteria he would pay less. He also said if he used a different method to the one the HMRC use he could pay less. Sadly, for him I pointed out we needed to use the HMRC rules and current rates and you can't just make your own ones up.

Very windy and cold here, but sunny. Am trying to convince my family that we can all drive a short way and do a decent long walk together, but am facing huge resistance. Apparently if I don’t let DC1 go down to the flood adamant she is only allowed out once a day I’m guilty of crushing her dreams, never mind it’s the trip out she has done daily for last 3 weeks.

Sodding managed to smash DS’ new phone screen in one of his mad, delinquent ornament-scattering parkour sprints around the house earlier. DS is heartbroken, he loves his phone. DH and I have been ringing around trying to find anywhere that is open under the current restrictions. Carphone Warehouse seem to have totally “dropped a bollock” (another idiom for MissC’s Britishisms folder) on any kind of customer service. Their stores are all closed, the online webchat person gave DH the wrong number for repairs. He found the correct number online, which directs you to a local store number (closed). DH finally got through to their customer service and he’s been told to phone the handset manufacturer directly as they aren’t doing any repairs. The manufacturer will send someone out to us - for £150. A friend has given us a number for a local independent store that does repairs.

Welcome, @GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER and @longtimemarried, and thanks for sharing your knitting and rubbish removal news.

It's still quite early here (the highlands north of NYC for our newcomers) but I have already done 45 minutes on the stationary bike and a bit of weight lifting, had a shower, and am now having some Greek yogurt and fruit. Our snowstorm is due to arrive between 8:00 and 9:00 AM. They've lowered the forecasted amount from 3-5 inches to 1-3 inches. I'm going to try to work on the taxes today.

Sodding, I think an ASBO is coming for that naughty kitten.

To "drop a bollock" describes the malfunction of an operation, or messing something up, as in many sports, and in more polite business parlance, dropping the ball brings play to an unscheduled halt.

Thank you for the new Britishism. Changing out the screen is pretty straightforward on most phones if you can find someone to do it.

Plumbing update - the toilet is fixed! Apparently the new new part made it very simple. I got a text on my sleety horrible run telling me there was no need to do a Captain Oates to avoid the diy stress as it was all sorted

@GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER I’ve never really got the hang of circular knitting, I never know how long a needle I need. I have a lovely jumper pattern on my iPad that I’d love to do but I’m a bit scared of it... it’s been there for two winters now 😳

Friend phoned this morning and asked if I was ok, I said yes, you? They said they were ok. Then we had to have a think what we'd been up to and deduced not much, we'd been at home.

It was a short conversation.

The phone is fixed - £100 by the local guy. It was unclear whether the loss of function would be completely resolved by a new screen, as Sodding knocked it to a hard tiled floor and then knocked a heavy plant pot on to the screen. There was a large ding in the side of the phone as well as the shattered screen. It seems to be OK. 🤞

sodding It is important to have a local guy for stuff like this. Luckily my go to person also runs a book shop, so is allowed to be open under lockdown conditions.

We had our lasagne which was especially good this time and now we are all tired and resting.

Well done, Sodding, on getting it fixed so quickly, and on a Sunday too.

We have some independent shops that do cell phone repair. One of them replaced batteries on the kids phones for us. There's also a big electronics chain called Best Buy that's an authorized Apple service center. They're open, but by appointment only. When we buy new iPhones we get AppleCare Plus, which covers accidental damage.

It just started snowing here.

I think I've lost my potential love interest. I hadn't got back to him for over a week with the whole police palaver (didn't want to inflict that upon him) so only got back to him today.

He's far too good for me anyway. Kind, bright, rich, sorted.

@Frownette not so! Am positive he is not ‘too good’ but maybe ‘not right’ or even ‘not right right now’. Am a firm believer that’s what’s for you won’t go by you!

He's far too good for me anyway. Kind, bright, rich, sorted.

First, that's not true at all and you know it. Second, I married up by quite a lot. It's not that hard. Men value different things in women than we do in men.

I’m making onion dip and other snacks for the Super Bowl tonight. I might even do a punch but that might be a bit too exciting..

I love onion dip, SecretWitch, but don't have the makings in house. Then men are making BBQ baby back ribs tonight and we'll have some leftover Mongolian chicken as well.

We're Zooming with DD and my MIL tonight, which I'm really looking forward to. It's not easy to see in the photo but the snow is coming down fast now. And the birds are queuing.