Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 17: 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.

Here is the link to the prior thread:

Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 16: Calmly through the day

This is a more modern version SJ and a lot less sweet than your Nan's (or mine's). Haven't used talc for years! When did we stop doing that? My Mum always made us use talc as a kid!
Agree re baked potatoes and cheese on beans first.
Also has to be Cheddar...
In other news - bought log book for swimming sessions with DD and we are going to the pool later today. Feel like I may grow fins.

My granny loved lily of the valley and used to buy it for me.

I prefer cheese last as I don't like it to melt but would agree with the cheddar and also need reasonable quality baked beans. DHs work used to make them with industrial baked beans and it probably saved 3 pence but it wasn't worth it for the loss of taste.

Never used talc. My Mum used masses of it but as children we were puzzled as to why as it just seemed to end up on the carpet. I think it stopped being used as much once Shake n Vac was invented

Been looking up trips for our holiday now we know what the weather we be.

I think our grandparents used it as they didn’t have deodorants (and given they didn’t shave under their arms, applying it must have been grim!). Yes awful stuff! And the carpets everyone had in their bathrooms back in the day always were patchy with it.

Any exciting trips planned @Silkiecats? Usually I enjoy myself with a whole load of holiday planning but the last 18 months having had to rearrange holidays 5 times I’ve felt really wary (and a bit superstitious) about any kind of trip planning really till we are actually in situ. Seeing as we’re leaving Friday, I guess it’s something that I can and should do now!

I saw a house the other day for sale with carpeted bathroom and carpeted side of bath, all really manky 30 odd year old carpet.

Just sticking to the UK for this year like last after a nightmare cancelling the Borneo /Thailand trip planned for 2020 though I kept persisting and mid this year the final hotel agreed to refund less 12% so only Air Asia though the bank got half that back. Air Asia has extended the credits to 3 years but anytime someone tries to use them it says sorry not available right now. Would be lovely to go in a year's time but can't see it happening.

We are off to the castle in North Devon again and also going to Tresco on the Isles of Scilly, ds is very excited as we are flying out by helicopter and back by small plane, ds said his perfect holiday would be 2 weeks non stop on a plane . Other than that some kayaking trips, wildlife spotting like seals and dolphins and visiting little islands. We are off on Sunday, I have ordered a raincoat though forecast isn't too bad atm. Which is good as Royal Mail tracked have sent the raincoat to a village in Norfolk. I don't live in Norfolk.

Hope you have a lovely holiday. Are you going anywhere nice? I thought you would be OK when you booked Croatia but I remember thinking there is no way I am risking it. Just hope will be OK in 2022 for more of Europe at least. Dh is French and wants to go to France but its tricky especially as ds is scared of tests and vaccines and pretty much everything apart from animals and us.

I was discussing with dh whether to do a rib ride to see wildlife or a canoe trip and dh said that he objects to rib rides on principle. I was very surprised by this as dh has never had any principles in the 20 years I have known him and he's also been on two rib rides. I explained he had been on 2 rib rides and he said those are fine, it's banana boats I object to. I suspect dh is scared of falling off as he won't swim in the sea.

🙂 re your DHs moveable principle feast! My DH in contrast is overly burdened with them - something that really attracted me to him but I’ve found living with them quite often annoying. For example, his socialist principles prohibit us from having a cleaner (we can do this ourselves without exploiting a member of the working class)...however he does become strangely unpresent when any actual cleaning goes on!

Croatia/Bosnia/Montenegro became 4 days in Edinburgh and a week in the Peaks around Springtime when it was obvious a multi country trip was an extreme unlikelihood. Your holiday sounds great - helicopter rides etc..excellent planning you!

Thanks. Hope you had a nice time on your holidays.

Dh has now said he would prefer a rib ride so that principle went out the window in about 5 minutes. I'm sure he is just calculating the risk he will fall in the sea as he's scared of that but won't admit it so is claiming to have principles. Apparently he objects banana boats as they go in circles and use fuel. As can his car and his classic car

My DH has also never cleaned, well he cleaned once with vinegar so I prefer the not cleaning as the house reeked of vinegar.

I heard back from sea kayak place as I want DS to share a kayak as he has no sense of danger and will be a mile out at sea ahead of us if has his own and they've arranged a double one and an afternoon slot. Told DH who said DS is scared of sea kayaking, he wouldn't do it in Costa Rica (this was about 5 years ago when he was 9) but he asked DS who said he wants to go so all booked.

There are what sounds like about 20 workmen in the corridor shouting about pipes. Or maybe just 2 but they’re making enough noise for 20. This building requires more maintenance then anywhere else I’ve ever been.

@SJaneS49

🙂 re your DHs moveable principle feast! My DH in contrast is overly burdened with them - something that really attracted me to him but I’ve found living with them quite often annoying. For example, his socialist principles prohibit us from having a cleaner (we can do this ourselves without exploiting a member of the working class)...however he does become strangely unpresent when any actual cleaning goes on!

Croatia/Bosnia/Montenegro became 4 days in Edinburgh and a week in the Peaks around Springtime when it was obvious a multi country trip was an extreme unlikelihood. Your holiday sounds great - helicopter rides etc..excellent planning you!

Point out that if no-one employs them they won't be "working" class anyway.

@SJaneS49 I have a cleaner and a gardener as I’m never home now (work, not some glittering social life) - I get round my principles by asserting that I’m supporting the local economy, and it’s better to employ people than for them to need charity. It’s only exploitation if you don’t pay them a fair amount or think of them as somehow ‘lesser’ than you for doing those jobs. I really appreciate both of mine, I was ill for a couple of years and wouldn’t have been able to both work and keep on top of the domestic stuff, so they were brilliant!

Oh, in other news, I’m getting a nice lump sum in my payslip this month! It’s a monthly work allowance I was entitled to last year but didn’t get for some reason, and it’s now being paid in one go. I treated myself to the expensive option from the canteen for lunch 😉

Way to go @Sunbird24! DH is immovable on the cleaner thing (a friend of ours who does cleaning work even taking him to task recently) but he is what he is!

On another completely uninteresting note, DD2 (13) was ‘asked out’ for a coffee by a boy she knows from Scouts this morning. Or rather his friend asked her on his behalf. DD was completely repulsed. I’ve seen him and his mate pass our house four times now out the front window while I work. DD has since very forcibly closed the curtains & is muttering away in disgust on the phone to friends. Ive had to turn the light on.

Squirrel I also read it on my kindle, but will in future check all charity shop books for secret codes and messages (but will not share any evidence of such with you all, because that would obviously be too exciting.)

I've had a few days of being very busy, and then not feeling that well, which has left me something flat and low-level stressed. I was up very early yesterday morning and so made it to the 7am start of the 2 hour lane swimming session at my pool. I don't normally get there until 8:15ish on the days I go. So under the circumstances, I thought that was quite good. It left me even more tired though, unsurprisingly.

The weather keeps changing today and it's annoying me. I think I'm a bit grumpy.

*somewhat. Not something.

SJane and Silkie - had forgotten about talc damage ... yes, there used to be tons left on our carpets and in swimming pool changing rooms....

Oo Phlox another swimmer! You sound very keen.

silkie, that sounded rather like the North Devon castle was personally yours

I did not buy dog food today as the roads were closed on the way to the shop (my job has its perks!) There is enough to last till tomorrow so all is well.

Sadly not our castle Champagne The kids used to insist we had our own French castle holiday home when they were younger as DH has friends with a chateau in France. I tried to explain many times we didn't own it but was told I was wrong as they let us stay there sometimes (apparently possession = almost ownership so ownership). I think they were mainly after their donkey who I remember once just appearing in their kitchen.

That's great Sunbird enjoy it.

I love swimming and am so looking forward to going on holiday. Am very impressed with those of you going regularly.

DD and DH have gone to the hairdressers. DD is 15 now and about 13 announced a boyfriend. Thankfully it only lasted two dates and they just sat near each other as touching was yuck and then she left him as he chose the film and he had bad taste. When she just started school a boy asked her to marry him she agreed but left after a day when he didn't let her press the buttons to the traffic lights.

Both solid reasons for dumping anyone!

I rather like the idea of donkeys wandering into kitchens. A bugger to get them out though I’m sure.

Apparently my toilet paper is in transit

The kids were very impressed with a kitchen donkey and there was lots of why can't we have a donkey. They got him out surprisingly easily probably as we were eating outside at the time but he was not the nicest of donkeys, he killed the goat he shared a field and he was the tallest donkey I've ever seen. They live in a forest so had lots of cuter animals coming through like bunnies, ducks and baby wild boars and owls and have a much nicer horse.

My raincoat on 48 hour tracked royal mail from 13th is now in the correct county. Hopefully it will arrive before the holiday. About half of things ordered via Royal Mail never make it here so I only do ones with tracking now. Not sure what happened to the other things - there's a chicken swing and some orthodontal sticks out there somewhere amongst other things.

Took the DC to a National Trust place today to meet a friend and her DC, and we walked them miles. It’s been extremely quiet in my house since we got home at 5.15pm!

I’ve still got one bathroom left to clean. I want a cleaner. Before we had DC and both worked full time we had a cleaner and a gardener good times

DH still pays for NT and EH membership even though we never go since the DC declared it an old man activity about 7 years ago when we used to go regularly. I thought we may be able to go to one or two on holiday and asked DH for the membership numbers. Got them but there's no child membership and DH said oh that's as kids are free up to a certain age. I looked it up and its age 5 for NT and our kids are 14 and 15. DH then read out you could take up to 6 kids free with EH membership. We both agreed there is no way we are taking 6 kids with us, infact quite tempting to leave the 2 behind.

Ginger Hmm keen but slow and somewhat unskilled! I enjoy it though. Over the summer holidays the lane swimming sessions are 7-9am each weekday morning, and then there's another session each afternoon and evening, but I much prefer going in the morning. Very occasionally I'll go for an evening swim, but I'm usually too tired for that.

Silkie What is a chicken swing please?