Thread 11 - TalkLair: “The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles.”

[Kucinghitam]

Whoops, missed the filling up of the previous thread! (thread 10).

Although the nights are gradually drawing in, the new lair of JTT escapees is all cosy and homey inside. The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

I'll pass that on, kuc.

Pass it on from me too, angelico!

Mention the possibility of a VPN to change her IP address...

Yes, I hope that she comes back some way, somehow.

Anyone have any experience of getting DPD to collect and deliver an item? I've spent an hour online and on the phone this morning. No, it's not possible to arrange it over the phone, you must do it online... I was cut off three times.

My wife did a course in the Midlands last week and left her bag. I was directed verbally to DPD Zambia and PDD South Africa. The closest I got was an instruction to print a label and take the damned bag to a shop, which I can't do, as it's in bloody Derby!

She and her sister are going to give it a go.

I feel a bit harassed, I'm going offshore tomorrow and I always feel stressed the day before. I've wrapped all the presents (it wouldn't be done, if I didn't do it).

Gaah! etc.

@SinnerBoy I have used EVRI (formerly Hermes)to pick up and deliver and they were pretty easy to deal with. I think you'd need to download the label and email it to whoever is handing over the parcel at the other end, so they can attach it.

Does it need to be DPD? If whoever’s got the bag can weigh and measure the package, you could pay online for postage on the Royal Mail site. They can collect and print the label.

I’ve also used Hermes and they were fine too.

For deliveries, DPD are generally good but when anything goes wrong it goes very wrong indeed in my experience.

I agree, in my experience when DPD is good it is very reliable, but their systems seem to fall apart easily and then it's mayhem.

December seems to be zooming along at a crazy speed. Having done almost nothing to prepare for Christmas (except DH baking the Christmas cake on Stir-Up Sunday), the past few days were a frantic whirl of tree-putting-up, gift-buying-and wrapping, school-carol-service-attending, works-Xmas-lunch-festiving. It's only Tuesday and I'm fucking exhausted and my back is killing me, for some reason. And we haven't done the rest of the house decorations yet. Also this is the last week of DDs' school term, feels very early this year!

How are everyone's Yule preparations going?

Third, fourth or fifth to giving my love to our Mavis and asking her to please find a way to come back because I miss her very much.

Today was a good day. I finally got to see my oncologist who I like. My treatment is going to be six weeks of chemo, coming into the hospital for two "infusions", but also having a line put in my arm to stay which will mean I'll be having some chemo at home too. I'm not 100% sure about that but Snoop - who came with me - might have a better memory of it. Then onto five weeks of chemoradiotherapy which I didn't know was a thing. Basically, chemo through the line while having daily radiotherapy, weekends off, for 25 days, so 25 days of radiotherapy.

My cancer is either stage two or stage three, they're not 100% on that because there's a chance that there is some cancer in lymph nodes. If there is, stage three, if not stage two. I was hoping for stage one but was worried it might be stage four, so it's decent enough news. If it's stage three my chances of a cure/survival are 50% and if it's stage two, 60%. I think those are pretty decent odds because oesophageal cancer is a bit of a bastard. If you look it up you just keep seeing 20% chance of survival all over the place which are not such good odds.

I needed a couple of blood tests, one of which is to look at some enzyme that if it's a bit abnormal means you have to change the chemo because it will react badly otherwise. I only had to wait around for less than an hour to get those done. After a week of being in a constant bad mood, today I felt that I was finally on a path toward recovery, no matter how difficult that might/will be. It should start within two weeks and could be as early as next week. My fingers are very much crossed on that one.

Sorry this is so long! The wait to see the oncologist was a bit long because she was late arriving. During that time Snoop and I got to talking about a video we both loved and she said she was going to search for it. She got to it immediately by typing in "Man who kicks himself in the face." We were watching that just before I got called in and quite literally crying with laughter. I'm going to share it with you all. The bit near the end where the host of the show is talking to him, I always imagine that the man who kicks himself in the face is saying. "I think I've split my difference!". Lots of you will have seen it before but if you haven't, enjoy!

And what an outfit!

<Quick sums> So you should be done with this phase of treatment in about 3 months. That's not too bad.

That’s a very strange outfit for a very strange dance routine!

Glad the treatment plan is worked out, mouse!

Forgot to add myself to the ‘bring back Mavis!’ list earlier. I miss her!

Apologies for excessive use of exclamation marks there. Ridiculous.

A decent cancer update, as these things go, Mouse. I'm glad things are moving apace and they have sorted out a good treatment plan.

(Sniggering at the bizarre outfit as much as the weird dancing).

Gonners

That's what they eventually managed to do. I emailed the label and phoned the place again to get a name for the email and a plea for help!

Sounds like a good treatment plan, Mouse. Hope all goes well.

Re Christmas preps, we're having a quiet one at home this year because we've agreed to feed the client's cat while he's away. It's fine with us, it all comes back on the swings and roundabouts, and we're looking forward to our own quiet festivities and not having to travel anywhere like we usually do.

As for that man's outfit, whatever was he thinking?

Quiet at-home Xmas for us, too.

We have a meal booked this week at a local restaurant (5 courses, surprise menu), and are ordering in for the day itself (menu 1, with the pate and camembert starters https://sheenableakney.com/christmas-hamper-2022/). Rest of the food is ordered for pickup next week.

Cards are about half written, presents mostly done - although have agreed with MaBint that we'll exchange parcels in January to miss the worst of the postal logjam. Decs will go up this weekend.

I just haven't got the Christmas vibe yet. Too busy, I think. Spent a week at a COMAH (Control of Major Accident Hazards) site last month doing some work on people and culture and now I'm in the thick of the write up. It's good to be doing real work again, instead of searching for it! And what a totally grand bunch of lads on the site - completely restored my confidence in the UK working class man.

One day, they might all wake up, like in that Shelley verse Corbyn used to quote, a bit enbarrassingly.

I'm in a very much 'fake it until I make it' stage with my Xmas vibe. I've put up the tree, hung up the crochet star bunting I was making throughout the year written most of my cards, started wrapping presents so I know where my 'gaps' are. The only thing so far that has felt remotely fun was making some marzipan stuffed dates.

Just me and DH for Christmas this year, and his bachelor cousin who lives near us and is more like a brother to him is joining us for Christmas dinner, which is basically a rerun of Thanksgiving. Nobody but me likes Christmas pudding, Christmas cake or mince pies (though I may make a few of those) so I'll make a nice dessert or buy one. We've already given each other our Christmas presents (he bought me a new dressing gown and I bought him a new hoodie sweatshirt). I have put up some festive lights and a tiny pre-lit Christmas tree and that will do us. We'll undoubtedly talk to the kids on video on Christmas Day, but by the time we wake up all the present-opening excitement will be over. We left our presents with the family back in October, put away for them to open on the day.

A few restaurants near us were doing pre-ordered Christmas-meals-in-a-box during the COVID years. Unfortunately they've all discontinued them now. Our plan is to rush around Sainsbury's/M&S/Waitrose on Christmas Eve and see what they have left. A somewhat high-risk strategy, but it's only the 4 of us plus FiL, so I'm sure we'll manage to cobble together something festive.

Almost all gifts have been wrapped now, just waiting for the last couple of deliveries. We're meeting up with multiple sets of relatives this weekend, so we have big bags full of presents to hand over.

DDs were a bit difficult to buy for this year - they have entered an unhelpfully vague life-stage in which their answer to "What would you like for Christmas?" is "Eh, whatever." I had a look at the suggestions on MN's Christmas folder, but everybody elses' teen daughters seem to be in to make-up, branded clothing and fancy skincare. All of which would go down like a cup of cold sick with my lovely weird children.

Christmas. There's no escape, is there? 😬

There is, duc, you just don't do it 😀 We're treating it as a snug few days to be quiet and cook something nice (duck) and nowt else. I'm sorry for anyone who has to feign jollity or travel somewhere, that's rubbish.

I'm working 13 hours Christmas day and 9 hours Boxing day. It's usually a pretty chilled day in work, there's loads and laods of free food and chocolates and you get paid double plus hours added to your holiday allowance. Me and Mrs Pike will have a quiet little Christmas the day after Boxing day.