Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 27: 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 26: Calmly through the day

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

@HildaTablet
That restaurant is a bit bah humbug, they could make a bit of effort.... 🤣

We still have power but not for much longer I think! Storm is horrific

Sending you good wishes for this Christmas, Shay. I lost my dad coming up to Christmas many years ago. He was a dab hand at carving the turkey and I always wish I had watched more closely to see how he managed it.

I have caught up with the chores I couldn't manage last weekend when I was laid low by a virus, and then kept going, so I have now reached a state of organisation for Christmas that I didn't expect to have reached until next weekend. My motivation was the sight of a mouse in DD4's room, and after a thorough clean out, her room is so pristine we could eat off the floor. I had no mousetrap to hand, so we used cotton balls soaked with peppermint essence, as recommended by a friend, becaise mice apparently hate the smell of mint, so the place smells like a candy cane factory.

I also have a massive pile of heavy winter clothing to donate as DD and I took the opportunity to go through her closet, and mine too.

Not sure what happened to the post I wrote yesterday? Maybe the internet gods decided I'd been far to chatty?! Thank you for all the hand holds and kind words, I've found some motivation and got the trees and Christmas lights up! The Dc's are decorating them (wish me luck) Hope your all having a calm weekend especially if you are in the UK and got kept awake by that gale last night.

Good morning all ☺️
I've got a load of laundry in - it never ends! 🤣
and am having a comforting bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, crushed pecans, banana and raspberries.

Bananas and oatmeal are somehow so comforting aren't they

No
🤮

🤣🤣🤣

I have just been swimming (100 lengths x 15m) and jacuzzi and sauna then made 2 sack fulls of recycling from the things downstairs. DH was moaning but during it I found 2 membership cards for things we thought we had lost so he stopped moaning then and was happy to have the cards plus dining table is now cleared. I have a special collection booked for a week on Monday for a very old leather sofa and 9 sacks. Our upstairs and kitchen are really sorted and nice and outside looks lovely now and garden is OK but downstairs except kitchen needs some decluttering but hoping that collection will shift most of it.

Boiler and hot water seemed to have tripped out. Thankfully hot shower still works so I could fill bath from that but its a bit chilly here. Luckily I have fleece sheet and duvet and I have put a jumper on as well. We aren't sure how to fix it but only happened a few hours ago and can call tomorrow if can't solve.

DD and I took the boxes of clothes to Goodwill and we have a pile of clothes and outerwear ready to drop off tomorrow evening for the migrants who continue to arrive by the busload from Central and South America. A local church is functioning as a sorting and distribution centre.

We also bought some steel wool at Walmart, and tomorrow I'll plug any holes where mice can enter the apartment. We're on the middle floor of three, and there are a few pipes by the walls in some rooms going through the apartment from floor to ceiling leading to the radiators on the third floor, two sets in the sitting room-dining room, and a pair of them in DD's room. The pipes are round and the holes they pass through are square.

I also deep cleaned the bathroom and kitchen and did a load of laundry. So much for the day of rest!

Hope you can fix your boiler Silkie and get rid of your mice Math.

Silkie, what a pain! Good swimming though! 👏
Math, we had a hell of a time getting rid of mice last year. Took 6 mos. I hope you fare better. Lots of sticky traps with a PB dab in the centre!

Bundled Havoc up and went back to garden to look at Christmas lights. Light drizzle, but I had a proper coat with a hood this time. 💡
Having a late dinner of mushroom and cheese omelette and roasted baby potatoes and sour cream.

Mallard I did manage it, but did also get soaked. It wasn’t very pleasant!

I did dust and hoover in the end, and got the decorations up. House looks much more festive. Have bought main present for 2 out of 4 DC which has relieved stress slightly.

Mumtobabyhavoc I love mushrooms and cheese in an omelette!

@Mumtobabyhavoc

Those pictures look lovely! attempted to take a photo of the lights in Torquay from our hotel but unfortunately they came out as most of my pictures do. Somewhere in the distance, far far away is something that if I explain they are Christmas lights then you might understand...

I had a great time there at our Turkey and Tinsel do. Had a great time with my friends and then I went to stay over with my middle brother and it was a great surprise that my younger brother and his family came over!

My middle brother has two cats now. Both short haired persians. Sisters. One is I suppose ginger but it looks more like a dusty apricot. She has a 'cross' face. The other is grey and apricot and has one eye. She has a fatter tail and is a bit stumpier than the other. They are a bit skittish still but it doesn't help that I was there and also two litle boys (younger brothers kids age 4 and 5). @Silkiefloof I would like to say that the Floof has competition but it is hard to get photos of 2 skittish cats who turn their head whenever I tried to photograph them, plus I have no idea how to send a photo onto here.

Forgot to say, I went into one of those "Up themselves" 'wanky'coffee shops. Asked for an Earl Grey. It cam in a sort of glass jar, where you use a strainer to pour it into a cup. I forgot about the strainer and was trying to put the jar on top of the tea cup but it wobbled off , scalding me. I got help (I guess it helps that I am a dopey old woman!!) But wish I hadn't as when I got to taste it -well I realised Earl Grey tastes quite lemony/flowery but this was pure Eau de Perfume! I had only hd three sips when my friend who had gone right past the shop) said she was on the bus bound for Brixham and did I want to catch that bus. So I did waving goodbye to £3 Eau de p tea. Annoying , I seem to remember going into a similar shop a few years back and choosing Earl Grey and it was disgusting them.

Sorry to read about your manky tea Deathray 😅

Havoc that's like walking into Narnia ✨

Death, your tea story reminds me of a few years ago ordering a salmon wellington at a well-known resto, but it was a very cheffy "deconstructed" version. Soooo disappointing. Why mess with a straightforward dish like that???? Ugh. 🤦‍♀️
(maybe I'm just not sophisticated enough to appreciate it? 😂)

Mallards, that reindeer is in the centre of the garden and is massive. Pic doesn't do it justice.

Just heading out for ultrasound. Weather app shows we should have full sun today. It's cloudy, foggy and chilly. 😡

That sounds a very productive day Math

Thanks Mallards Boiler is fixed just needed resetting.

Looks wonderful Havoc

Sounds very productive as well Helena

Glad you had a lovely dinner Death

DH has lost his hearing again, likely swimming again, so the only chatty boy here is Floof who talks non-stop but has no idea what he is saying. But its always cheerful, well apart from in the night when I said it wasn't time for silly cats - he trilled at silly cats twice, it was time for sleep and I then on walking to bed got a paw with claws on my slippers. He then looks really sorry and is back to cheerful. Then walks into room at night and I say to him Floof are you going to be an utter pain in the backside and he trills.

DD has not been pooled at Oxford which is good as it means no 3rd and 4th interviews are needed though can go either way from both 2 interviews or 4. We find out 9th January but happy nothing else needed now.

DH has gone to piano and will collect a click and collect of Christmas things on the way and bring the Thai meal I ordered back. I am trying something new this time which has cashew nuts in it as fancied cashews. It was about 5 words so forgotten the name. Comes with sticky rice and ordered veg version. DD having veg chow mein. DH and DS having red chicken curry.

Have seen neither hide nor hair of a mouse since the peppermint oil blitz. No squeaks or scuttling in the walls either. Fingers crossed.

Math, mice are very good at hiding. I suspect the one the cats caught last week had been with us for weeks as the cats kept looking under the dishwasher and stove for no apparent reason.

Havoc, that's another lovely pic. You certainly get great decorations in your area.

We had a nice Zoom call with DD last night and discussed her trip back from uni and all of the wedding related things we have to get done when she's home. She's bringing home an erg (a rowing machine), but it will fit in her room. She has to stay in shape for the spring rowing season.

We had torrential rain overnight, but I'm thankful it wasn't snow.

Death I have very fond memories of Torquay - I first went with DH (then boyfriend) and his parents on a coach holiday in 1986. We returned in 2012 and were very impressed with the cliff walk and harbour ( a little rundown in some places). The Abbey was closed for restoration, we stayed in the hotel that was on TV near to it.

Death, sounds like a lovely break. I googled Torquay to learn a bit more and looks beautiful. Also learned we have a tiny village also named Torquay in southern Saskatchewan (named for yours).
Miss, you might want to pull your appliances out and check for nesting and droppings... 🤔
Math, I hope your LL will get pest control in. Mice don't just go away...
Silkie, your poor dh re the hearing loss. How frustrating! How was your take out Thai?

Was exhausted today. "Napped" for about two hours this afternoon after lying down with Havoc who slept 3 hours...
Just finished dinner. Cooked lamb chops in jarred tomato sauce in the oven with black olives and served with penne and grated pecorino. Had two squares dark chocolate for dessert.
Havoc didn't touch meat, but wanted a bite of my chocolate. I thought, How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat? 🤷‍♀️

@Math

Reminds me of when I popped in to see a friend. A huge smell of mint wafted over me. I asked if she had just cleaned her teeth but no, she had mice!

@Mumtobabyhavoc

Saskatchewan you say? Wow! I don't suppose it looks similar. I always wonder when I see American/Canadian versions of our towns and cities if they are similar.

I put a few more drops of peppermint oil on the cotton balls as it had evaporated a bit, and bunged all the little gaps I could find with steel wool. Dcat hasn't been guarding the oven or the fridge so I think it may have left the apartment. Fingers crossed.

The basement is now festooned with mousetraps, thanks to the LL. She's very easy to deal with and shares my horror of mice.

The clothes and a blanket and child-size sleeping bag I didn't know we had all got dropped off yesterday. I had four big bin bags full. It's amazing how much clothing we had that we weren't wearing.

DD4 and I are girding our loins for cookie baking at the end of the week, with butter at the top of the shopping list. I'm off to an annual cookie exchange on Saturday evening, so I also need to find the container I usually use for hauling cookies to and fro.

Hello my friends, how are you all ?😁.

I have had a bit of a lazy weekend.
But I got going today and blitzed the kitchen..with the radio very loud, which I was singing along to.(very loudly !!)

DS came in to tell me , that he was worried about a cat he could hear being strangled !!
Cheeky little toe rag !😂😂.

This is why I like doing my housework with no one here .
...I can sing and boogie to my heart's content
then realise that the other DS is on an afternoon shift and has been watching me shimmy along with my duster singing " I will survive " by Gloria Gaynor and I didn't know !!
😂😂

Had Doctors appointment with young ds yesterday.

She has organised lots of blood tests .

2, she added because I asked .

2 others I only thought about afterwards that are not being done yet.🤦‍♀️

I have telephone appointment with his dietician tomorrow and I will ask her if any need to be added .

His BMI persistently stays at the underweight bit .(which he is ...even though he does eat ..the same as me )

Though I think the doctors scales were wrong !

Hospital scales and our home scales were the same ,,give or take a few grams ( the bit past the dot !)

Doctor scales had him 2kg less 🤔

Gosh ...sorry !
I am rabbiting !

Been dealing with a very boring annoying family issue over the weekend ....and just wanted to talk about....well ...boring things 😁😁😂😂x

DS2 (aged4) has started calling MIL 'Gloria'. It isn't her name. Usually calls her 'Granny' or 'Grandma'. No idea why- he just shrugged and giggled when we asked him. Has been doing this since Saturday. We don't know anyone called 'Gloria'.