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.

I was briefly on the telly yesterday as a spectator at the triathlon thing in Sunderland. My mam texted me to say she'd spotted me on the BBC coverage...........as she recognised the grey hoodie I mentioned further up the thread in my dramatic story of lost and found. Hooray!

That’s exciting Always! And very observant of your Mum

Am queuing for lunch in IKEA. We would never normally come at lunchtime but it is on the way back from an earlier appointment so we’ve hit maximum queue! DC are happy to wait for meatballs, I’m less bothered!

Lots of lovely stories to catch up on !

It is absolutely pouring down here and I am just about to head off to have a mammogram.

Just routine one.
I got my letter last year but I knew I couldn't book at the time as I had too many last minute appointments with DM that I couldn't be sure when I was free.....so of course ...I then forgot 😐

For some reason Sarah Ferguson's diagnosis reminded me ...so I am just making sure I have am easy top to get in and out of !

You get undressed and dressed in the same room where they do the mammogram so I am always very conscious of trying to get dressed very quickly and not delay the next person !

I got drenched coming out of Sainsbury's earlier. I've decided I don't mind it being cool, I def don't like the rain.

Hope the mammogram went ok @bizzey The ladies in the local unit are always so lovely.. quick without being rushed.. professional and kind.

Well I am back home already !!

Strange as it might sound....one of the nicest mammograms I have ever had 😂!

She must have positioned me perfectly as it didn't hurt my collar bone which is where it normally digs in the worst .

So ... just the smear to sort out ....and I am upto date with everything!!

Welcome, @ConsistentlyPeeved, and thanks for sharing. I'm glad you got some peace after your holiday. Holidays can be quite exhausting, especially if they involve a lot of time in the car.

Always, I think that garment is now your lucky gray hoodie. How exciting you were seen on TV with it.

I had a doctors appt this morning, then made the trek into work. Someone posted on Facebook that the bridge I use that was so badly damaged in the storms a few weeks ago may reopen this Friday. If true, that's much sooner than I have been expecting. It's almost too much to hope for.

Lots of news this thread!
Feeling a bit more human again. Less coughing and got dressed today. Pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, capers and prawns for lunch.
Lemon blueberry cake just came out of the oven and I've puttered around tidying up and doing laundry. Havoc is down for a later nap and I'm waiting for the cake to cool enough to cut into. Planning on slathering a slice with butter.

What's the brownie recipe with Rolo????
Sounds brilliant! Please share the method. 😛

Warning alert !!
I am testing out my new washing machine!!!

I have put it on a delayed start for 7 hours.......

I will let you all know at 9am (BST) if if it has worked !!😂

Good luck!

I have matched all the socks!

On reflection-that's actually quite big exciting news....

Hope you get ducks one day Mallard

DD and DH enjoyed the Barbie movie. DD has gone to work in her job on the river.

The company who we called into quote for our kitchen just phoned and said they will send a quote which is good.

Going swimming tonight.

Discussing holidays with DD and DH, we have all been abroad twice this year but would love to go away with DS but he's not leaving house still except garden a couple of times briefly. Though he loves holidays but I don't want to risk large amounts of money. He's always clear on no but not on if he will go on day. DD wants abroad and has suggested Venice or USA. I've been to Venice several times before and love it but August is not recommended. Having said that flights are cheap there so less of a risk. US flights are pricey and also DS was always obsessed with Las Vegas and that's crazily hot and he hates heat.

We are getting things ready anyway like pet vaccines and have arranged friend to look after Floof.

Impossible. How?!

Silkie, I agree that Las Vegas is too hot this time of year. There's also no charm or history to it. If you were to come to the US on holiday, Boston or NYC would be a much cheaper flight with more to do.

Sorry for not being on the thread much recently. Since my office was flooded, I've been sitting in a cubical with very little privacy, which has drastically cut down on my social media time. The good news is that my old boss swanned off yesterday. We'll have to see how the new one works out. I am going back in a lot, despite the detours still being in place.

I spotted one mama duck with her duckling today. Sorry for the poor quality of the picture, they were very far away.

DS has gone with two friends to see a baseball game tonight, despite having to go to work in the city tomorrow. He's 23; he'll survive.

Thanks MissC I just discussed holidays with DD as there is a strong possibility DS won't leave house and asked her if she would want to go on holiday with just me. She said you don't drive but I said we can work round that. I went through choices and she went for Florida for end of August and stay in a Disney hotel and get shuttlebus to theme parks. We will see but its good to have her choice. Girls are very decisive in this house. Boys can never make a decision.

DH found that DS had been storing rubbish including rotting food in his bed drawers. DH cleared it but said he nearly threw up twice and DH isn't very easily bothered. DH had stored the laptop there and thought x-box was there but turns out DD has x-box. Laptop was at least in cardboard box and hopefully has survived. He's eating fine just too lazy to walk to bin even though its 1 metre away. Argh. I remember my brother doing the same.

Went swimming, jacuzzi and steam room. Just did 82 lengths as was getting late but still good to get done. Had a McDonalds and now having a tea and an elderflower. Had a vegetable lasagne for lunch.

Silkie, if you stay in one of the Disney hotels, you won't need a car. They used to provide transportation from the airport, but I have a vague recollection that they might have stopped that during covid. I go to Orlando every year for a meeting (that's where those pool pictures I posted are from). Getting an Uber from the airport to anywhere in the area is easy. The hotel website should have information about the airport transportation situation.

Lemons, I'm so pleased you're still using my Death by Chocolate brownies recipe. How did they turn out? For the newcomers, they are made by melting chocolate chips in butter and adding flour and eggs. They are very moist. I will repost the recipe if there's interest.

MissC that's a grebe I think, they dive and swim under water then pop up somewhere else.

Thanks Silkie, I can dream.

Ducks it's easy if you buy funky socks.

Today I went to the book store and brought home a pile of them.

Mallard, it might be a grebe, but they aren't common here, and the shape of the head is a bit different. The reservoir is stocked with trout in the spring, and I often see the ducks diving for them.

I got a much better picture of what I think is the same mama and duckling this morning.

MissC they were delicious.

I can't tell on my phone what colour it even is, it's all in shadow, and the duckling just looks like an indeterminate ball of fluff. You're right it doesn't look anything like a grebe from that pic. I think I mistook the sunlight on the water as part of the head feathers before. Recent pic looks like it could he a mallard from the shape and stripes on the wings. Is it a kind of yellowish brown sort of speckled effect (worst description ever 😆), the wing stripes blue and white, and the duckling black and yellow?

It's finally stopped raining so we may go to the park this afternoon. Until then, I shall ponder how many pairs of shoes is too many?

It’s been torrential here for most of the day so some DC have been baking. We now have a cinnamon and fresh cherry crumble cake and chocolate orange panettone. The panettone are incredible, texture/lightness etc is spot on and she did it all by hand, no machine at all!

Helena, mmmm panettone. 😛

Ahhh great !!!!😐😐!

My landlord has just sprung it on me that he has arranged for an EPC assessor to come tomorrow to do an EPC thing!

But he doesn't know what it entails !

Soooo...I now have to clear out the long walk-in "gully" area for access to the boiler....which is filled up with Christmas Dec,suitcases and a load of other things that don't have a proper home ...(no loft access!)

And the airing cupboard.....
And the big desk in the hallway for access to the electric meter ! (Too heavy to move otherwise...it is another home for things that do not have a home 😂😂!)

Trouble is ....I am good at clearing spaces ....just takes me ages to put it all back again!

Though I have to be a bit more on the ball though as DS and gf are coming for the weekend and they sleep in the sitting room ...so need to re-organise that pretty sharpish !

Still ....as least if I have cleared cupboards and stuff ....I don't have to apologize for the mess !!!

In case it is not obvious....I do not have a minimalistic home !!!

On a scale of 1-10 of minimalism.... ....i am about 25 😂😂!

MissC ....i would love your brownies recipe!

Sounds easy !

Thanks MissC We are now considering Universal instead as it maybe better for teenagers but we will see. We have booked the pets in for their vaccines next Thursday and have a catsitter, trying to get silkies and rabbit sorted. Biggest issue though is will DS go. We are going to apply for ESTAs anyway as they don't cost too much and need to check they are OK first. I am trying not to look at the hotel too much on the travel agent website as that pushes the price up.

Discovered that the laptop and the x-box both survived DSs stuffing rubbish in his bed drawers. DD had snaffled the x-box out of DSs drawers a while back and the laptop was in a cardboard box and plastic so just needed a flash wipe.

Cahms meeting tomorrow over Teams. DD went to see Oppenheimer with friends and liked it. We are having steak in red wine sauce, new potatoes and asparagus and then meringue, raspberries and cream.