Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 26: 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 25: Calmly through the day

Welcome to all regulars, lurkers, and new contributors! Everyone is welcome to join.

bizzey; I didn't know Voltarol made a heat rub. The product I use is a scentless diclofenac gel-it works wonders on my foot and shoulder.

Hello Everyone!

On the subject of bins I must admit we are rather spoilt. I live in the grounds of a hospital so we have (I think) 3 collections. They are mahoosive things but of course get well filled!

Had a great weekend. Booked a coach to stay with my Brother and Sil for weekend and to catch a coach to Monkey World in Dorset. It actually did not rain (though was in the air), although my Brother was sitting out giving out info to people about volunteering and he got wet. So despite not raining, I did not see much of the monkees/apes. A few were out and had their back to me! The gibbons where the best and one showed off his climbing skills. Also one of the baby Orangs (my favourites!) was wrapped up in a blanket and kept jumping off a frame and rolling into his/her mate. Instead of belting him/her, the mate gave him/her a cuddle! One of the woolly monkees was right by the viewing glass stretched out in the sun! Last time, I was mentioning all the big stones to my Aunt (RIP) when one dear little head popped up! Sadly yet again I could not see the lemurs as since Covid they were moved from the walkway. I kept getting lost on the way back and got a bit panicky. I had not taken my various pills for a while as did not want to keep going loo and some of the pills stop liquid building up in my lungs so I got very wheezy. I asked a worker for help getting to the exit and got on a buggy. That was fun!

On Tuesday I went with girlfriends to Wakehurst (?) to see the gardens. It is part of Kew but in Sussex I think. Wisely the others decided we should do it by buggy rather than walk which was a very good idea as it is very big! On the way back we wanted a drink so looked out for a hotel/pub. The hotel we chose was very empty and very shut! Though we all joked about ghostly happenings! All in all a good two fun events! (not the hotel!!).

Our friend who had the stroke is not out of hospital so we are hoping we will see her at Next Saturdays book club. I will not be in a happy mood the next week as it is the Notting Hill Carnival and I will have to struggle into work. What should normally take 30 mins took 2 hours getting home last time.

I am being super unproductive for someone who is mostly in charge of getting a family of 6 ready for a week of self-catering in remote Welsh property. We leave early Saturday morning and I am not ready.

Instead of doing anything useful, I am taking all 4DC to a leisure centre for a swim this afternoon while I have a coffee and catch up with another Mum (who is bringing her own 3DC too)

I seem to have touched a nerve with my three bin collections per week news. How often do you all in the UK get bin collections? Rubbish would have to be weekly, wouldn't it?

Deathray, Monkey World sounds fabulous. Primate cognition was something I studied in college. They really are strangely human-like.

Helena, your Welsh holiday sounds like fun, but you'll have your hands full with seven kids between you and the other mum.

I am working from home waiting for the mobile windshield replacement technician to arrive later today. I really fancy a nap though.

Silkie, that steak sounds delicious! How did you make the sauce?
Bizzey, Yes, to good mattress and pillows. My mattress was quite expensive and has a 10-year warranty. It is 8 years old now so I am already thinking about a new one. It has been so good to me! I always slept on down pillows, but have switched to foam/down alternative as I think the down was adding to my allergies.
Death, it's nice to read your news! I'm not a huge primate fan, but I do appreciate them (I just don't trust them). 🤣
Helena, how long are you going away for?
Hilda, I'm intrigued by your fish recipe! What is the origin? The fish van also sounds interesting... I hate to sound thick but is it like the random ice-cream truck scenario driving around stopping here and there or when flagged down or is it set delivery? We don't have a fish van here and sound very old-fashioned to me!

Bin collections vary by local council. Here actual rubbish is every 2 weeks. Generally it used to be weekly everywhere then councils needed to save money so reduced it to 2 weeks and some areas its even further part. We can just about do 2 weeks OK and excess you can pay for a special collection of 9 bags for £30 or take to skips yourselves for free. Recycling and green bin is also every 2 weeks. The green bin goes to monthly in the winter months, well about Oct to March. We are very tight on the green bin. Recycling again is always full but you can put extra carboard boxes next to bin if you've collapsed them. The bins take about 5 x 50 litres each roughly.

Havoc It was DH who made the red wine sauce but its gravy like you would have on a Sunday roast dinner plus red wine and chopped shallots. BBC have a recipe here but we wouldn't do the vinegar, parsley or mustard part of this and not sure they would improve it https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/red-wine-sauce

Have a nice holiday Helena.

Will go swimming tonight.

MissC you'd think, wouldn't you?! But nope.

Recycling of:

plastic/metal/small electricals,
card/paper,
glass,
clothes,
food,

(all different bins) is weekly.

General rubbish is going to be 3 weekly.

I refuse to recycle food. I can see how a big kitchen and with an averagely wasteful family creating scraps, food going out of date etc - you'd just take the small kitchen food recycling bin out to the bigger food recycling bin outside daily. But when you're trying to be a zero waste household, with an absolutely miniscule kitchen, and almost no worktops space - it's impossible. I'd be tripping over the thing on the floor, because there'd be no space for it on the worktops, getting rotten food spills everywhere. And theoretically taking out an apple core/some teabags/fish spine at the end of the day. Realistically it's not going to get done, when I'm tired and there's barely anything in the kitchen food waste bin. It would create mess during the day and a disgusting unhygienic kitchen environment. So my food waste goes into the main kitchen bin which because of the recycling only needs emptying twice a week at most, so is far more stinky and disgusting than before recycling was a thing - when everything went in there and it was emptied daily. The main outside bin (with my food waste in it) is going to be emptied every 3 weeks 🤢 currently it's two weeks and that's bad enough.

The recycling sits around on my countertops and gets taken out in the morning because I'm too tired at night. I haven't bought separate indoor bins for the recycling because I literally have no room for them. It's a massive PITA. This place is old and wasn't even designed to house a fitted kitchen and white goods, it definitely wasn't designed for 5 bins because of recycling.

I was going to say that I've just sliced up a cabbage to make okonomyaki for dinner- but that's actually quite interesting! I'm about to take the recycling out.

Bin schedule my area:
garbage and food compost twice weekly
recycling once weekly, ie glass, cardboard, containers, paper
yard trimmings once monthly
free pick-up of certain large household items such as furniture & mattresses by arrangement with city
we have to take styrofoam, metal, small electronics, batteries, oils (motor and cooking), lightbulbs and soft plastics like bags to the recycling centre

MissC here in the UK we probably all have variations on the same theme - a weekly bin collection, with either one, two, or three types of waste collected. But wildly different in different places!

Once upon a time people just pitched everything in their bin and it was collected once a week. Then we started to be required to separate out paper/glass/cans, then also garden waste, and then also food scraps.

Where I am they collect the black bin (general non-recyclable waste) one week, brown bin (paper/glass/cans/cardboard) the next week, green bins (garden waste) the third. Then there’s a small caddy-sized bin for waste food leftovers which gets collected every week. But I have family in another area where they did a screeching U-turn, stopped the food waste collection completely, and told people to just start chucking all their old food scraps in the general non-recyclable bin. Yuck.

Havoc this is the fish recipe. Apparently it’s Greek. It was very nice, I must say. Fish vans - I don’t think everywhere has them, but where we're living at the moment we’re within reach of the coast and the driver brings fresh fish once a week and drives to local villages to sell it from the back of his refrigerated van, outside the local bakery 😂. Wednesday is our day for him and he’s very cheery and popular! It’s freshly caught and much nicer and cheaper than from the supermarket.

My household rubbish is collected weekly, and the recycling every other week. I also pay for a garden waste collection; which is the alternate week to the recycling.

Household rubbish fortnightly, though we make hardly any so often only put it out every other collection. Compost/garden waste fortnightly, alternate week to rubbish. Recycling, which all goes in one bin (and I strongly suspect it doesn't get recycled as glass, plastic, metal and paper all go in together). Our town had a voluntary group which provides bins in shops for dental products, pens, bread wrappers, crisp packets and biscuit wrappers.

We went swimming but later than planned as the person fitting the kitchen suddenly announced he would be at our house in 30 minutes to discuss the cooker. That went fine and we can get 60cm width, 90cm height, 60cm depth which most of them are and they can alter units and extractor fan to make it work. So it looks like red would be possible assuming can get in stock. Though its now electric ceramic or induction debate. DH seems to not like induction because he says it will require new saucepans. Our old ones are about 10 years old so I don't see this as too much of a dealbreaker.

Did 124 lengths as the (15m) pool was emptier than when we go earlier, jacuzzi was broken but we did sauna and steam room and the usual McDonalds on the way home. I had a quarter pounder, an apple pie and a coke.

DH left DS a meal with instructions on how to microwave it hoping to domesticate DS a little but still there when we got back and a text from DD saying DS needs a McDonalds, he cannot operate the microwave. 😂So he got 20 chicken mcnuggets and ate those and chips. Well 15 of them but helps with him adding weight again.

Will collect cheese tomorrow but realised there will be a lot of it as ordered 8 cheeses as well as quite a few accompaniments. We will have to help DH eat it. The dishwasher door hinges have arrived but having trouble locating a fridge one. Only bought fridge last year so strange you can't get.

Silkie, yea to red! 👍I think I'd go for induction, too. When do you leave for your trip?

Ran out to Costco shortly after 7 intending to be back in a hour for dinner, but veered off to the mobile phone desk and came away having switched carriers, reduced the rate, increased gig and kept my previous perks for $10 less p/m. So, feeling quite proud. 🤓
Now am watching The Crown, Havoc is still awake and drinking milk and my dinner consisted of rotisserie chicken from Costco in a croissant and a quick salad of croutons, tomatoes, cucumber and yellow bell pepper tossed with Olive Garden (a US restaurant chain) salad dressing. Not something I'd usually do. But it's still warm out, it's late and I was tired and hungry and promised myself I wasn't going to read labels this time.
Of course, the ingredients list on the mini lemon cakes I bought never counts.

Hilda, thanks for the recipe link. I'll check it out over the weekend...wondering how it will be with salmon? 🧐 I think I might have all the ingredients based on your description. 👍

It's been A level results day here so there is excitement here not dull.

On a calmer note I am planning a lovely walk near Gretna Green later, very good for my mental health and it will balance out the ''calming with carbs' vibe we had yesterday.

Walk by Gretna Green sounds lovely Dis Hope the results were OK and at least they are over.

DH seems still to not want induction but we will continue to review them. DH has been super busy with work and getting a bit stressed. He had to go and collect his cheese today they extended to 4pm and he said he would leave and get there at 4.15pm but managed to get through to him he needed to be there before 4pm. He went and I got an e-mail sounding very happy with his cheese. Its a cheese shop which has won lots of awards and they have many unusual cheeses, I got 8 cheeses, a fig ball, some chutney, biscuits for cheese - the cheeses are a variety of different milks and some pasteurised, some not, about 3 blues. There's one called St Helena which is new this month and quite intrigued about.

This is the St Helena one, very unusual.

https://rennetandrind.co.uk/collections/washed-cheese/products/st-helena

Looked at that site... sounds very faaaancy, Silkie! 😀It looks likes you are going to have a very decadent cheese feast! 😛😛😛😛😛

Had a good sleep last night - whaat??? Yes, over 8 hours. 😀😀😀
Temp is still good and it's breezy. I've got a latte and a croissant packed with strawberry jam. Laundry is washing. Appt later this morning. Day seems manageable! 👍👍👍

Enjoy your walk, Dis. ☺️
Hope everything was smooth with windshield fix yesterday, Miss.

Yes I am hoping we can start the cheese tonight. It is for DHs birthday but we have a big cake ordered for his birthday so feel we need to start the cheese first to balance out the cheese and chocolate cake. We also go out tomorrow for afternoon tea meeting some MNers with SN kids.

Great you got some sleep Havoc. I am so bad at sleeping. It doesn't matter too much atm but I realised I am currently sleeping in what is the day in Mauritius so need to try and move my sleep around almost 12 hours. Though I am really good being fine on holiday. DD has told me she always sleeps on holiday and will do breakfast sleep lunch activity dinner sleep. 😂

Silkie, cheese tonight? what time should I be there? Can I bring anything? 😋😋😋

We are going for a week Havoc I honestly think it’s not worth it for the amount of pre-holiday organising, cleaning, packing and preparation

DH is just back. I am trying for now Havoc but DH said he has to finish his work first. Boring. So see you in 30 minutes, no need to bring anything. May get some nice bread. We have the mystery cheese box for August which isn't such a mystery as there is a video of what's in it with 5 cheeses and biscuits and then Baron Bigood, The Duke and Dorset Blue Vinny plus the baked fig ball and pear and somerset cider chutney. I know St Helena is one from the box. Not that I'm obsessed with DHs cheese box or anything like that. 😂

Though that may just be me being a pre-holiday grump. It’s traditional that I reach a virtual fever pitch of stress before we finally leave, it takes me at least the first day and a half to unwind.

Just had a technician from Virgin come to install a new tv box. The other one gave up a week ago, despite me doing all the trouble-shooting suggested on their website.

DD said I should leave DH to work but now I can hear she has found the cheese and can hear her opening it. Floof seems very interested too cardboard box with food.