Come and tell us your dull and unexciting news 32: 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 a link to the prior thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5148913-come-and-tell-me-your-dull-and-unexciting-news-31-calmly-through-the-day

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

Note there is one minor change to the thread title. "tell me your dull news" has been changed to "tell us...". I thought it was more in keeping with the spirit of the thread.

Exciting news so please scroll if you are of a delicate nature and must be kept calm at all costs!

Well, actually not all that exciting but I bought a pack of 5 t shirts from Yours Clothing (UK) as although it is cold outside, our office is too warm and we have to use fans. I also went mad in Sainsbury's and bought some tops in their TU range and a pair of trousers too. Before anyone asks why we don't simply just turn the heat down, it is radiating from the next office!

Met an ex work colleague who came into work because she had retired but needs to send some paperwork off well, work need to). Another colleague has just come back from a 5 week holiday (unpaid) and as usual has been ill. The day she is well we will write it on the calender!!!

I have a rare weekend off so will be getting my hair done tomorrow, checking on the friend with dementia whose fridge freezer has broken down to see what she needs although another friend has been round recently with food. I know she will be out of tea bags. Sunday will be tidy up day. My room looks like a bomb site!

it's exiting to see each stage isn't it?

I may consider renovating it, but my partner is doing the paperwork to formally register moving from Germany to the NL and it involves complicated stuff with his company and a consequent overall financial cut due to the way things work differently in the two countries, so we will have to see how the money works out this year. Perhaps in two years' time we'll have a better idea and more financial stability. A new one would be very nice, admittedly.

On Wednesday I put the sun visor on the car. This is a silver reflective cloth that covers the windscreen and has suckers on each end that stick to the windscreen on the inside of the car. It keeps the car cool in summer. This paid off this morning when DH went to the supermarket because there was no frost on the windscreen, despite it being -4.5C! When I then went out for 10am there was a little bit of frost that had reformed, but it soon went. I replaced the visor after my trip so it's ready for an early start tomorrow.

I am waiting to hear if I've been shortlisted for an interview for today, Monday or Tuesday, but had nothing yet. I keep thinking it's because my application wasn't great (it was excellent), and DH reminded me that some people are just rubbish, so it's probably incompetence. A friend said she thought the interviews were scheduled far too close to the closing date and maybe they underestimated how long it would take to go through them all.

Family night tonight when adult DSD will come and watch cosy crime TV with us. No plans for the weekend aside from a menopause clinic appointment first thing.

So sorry @Lemonsandlemonade what an awful thing for him to do to you. Much love to you and DS

@MyrtleStrumpet you say you have a reflective sunscreen that fixes -inside- the car but stopped the frost warming on the outside? That sounds very useful, though I dont suppose it would stop snow building up?

I didn't explain properly. It's a silver windscreen cover that sits on the outside of the car but is long enough that its edges curl round the windscreen to the inside. At each edge there is a suction cup that sticks to the inside of the windscreen. When the car doors are closed and locked the cover is securely stretched over the windscreen.

If it's snows you simply open the car, remove the suction cups from inside the car, take the cover off the windscreen and the snow with it. There may be residual frost on the screen and it may still take a few minutes to warm up the car and let any condensation or fog disappear.

This version is magnetic and covers the wing mirrors too: https://amzn.eu/d/95ssz4X

I have a windshield cover like that, Myrtle, but in a sturdy black nylon material. It's very handy for a quick start and works really well when I remember to use it. Earlier this week the ice scraper part off my trusty telescopic snow scraper/brush broke off (bought in Aldi's aisle of wondrous gizmos a good few years ago) after I had hacked half an inch of ice off my windshield and side windows, but I superglued it back on and applied duct tape as reinforcement.

We had more snow than forecast over yesterday and last night, and it's very bright and cold today. Even the streets are white thanks to all the dried road salt. DD and I are going to take down the Christmas tree today. Dcat will miss the delicious tree water, but it's high time.

You will all hate me but I have an electric car and it warms up on a schedule set in the app. It is so nice to walk out to it all warm and defrosted.

does it turn the delightful bum-warming on too, @DandyDandylion ? :D My partner has a company car with lovely bum-warming.

Thanks for the link @MyrtleStrumpet , going to order one too. It's proper icy at the moment and we might get snow too.

Math, we got your snow this morning, but it didn't amount to much. It's all melted off now, as the temp is a bit above freezing.

Dandy, I've heard that running the heater on an electric car takes a big toll on the battery. My Subaru can be remote-started from an app on my phone, so I do that in the winter before I leave work to let it warm up and in the summer, to run the AC and cool it down. I park in our garage at home, so it's not cold in the mornings.

Duckling, heated seats are pretty much standard on American cars. Every car I've owned for the last 30 years has had them. They are lovely.

The electricians are here despite it being Saturday. The building department inspector is coming on Monday to look at the electrical work, and different inspector is coming on Tuesday to check the plumbing work. Assuming everything passes, the builder can close up the walls and start installing the cabinets next week.

It might start looking like a kitchen again soon. We've been going out to eat or getting a takeaway every night, which is becoming expensive. I'm boiling water for coffee on a hotplate. The cats are traumatized by the noise, strangers in the house and general commotion.

DS finished his first week of work at his new job and likes it. He's using a loaner laptop; his own is due next week. I think he's really happy to be working again.

Oh, I love heated seats in a car! I don't have them, but love it.

Lazy morning start here. Have just finished breakfast of steel-cut oats with brown sugar and cinnamon; strawberry, banana and pecans. Dishwasher is on and I have the tv news on (glued to the news about the devastating California fires) and alternating with cooking shows. Must take Christmas tree down today (now?).

Took baby to vaccine appointment last night then washed and vacuumed car (dc love the car wash); and after that drove over to Trinity Street to see which houses still had Christmas lights up. It's well-known that the neighbourhood really gets into the Christmas spirit and most houses put lights up.

First pic: blue and purple looked very pretty
2nd: reminded me of a gingerbread house
3rd: nicely understated

We have lights! Hooray 🎉

These are four inch dimmable LED lights.

Havoc, you’re in Canada. I’m shocked that heated seats aren’t required.

It's snowing again ( lightly)

Miss, I'm sw coast. Temperate climate. We still haven't had snow. 🤷‍♀️

We have had no snow, not a flake yet this winter, but has been cold last few days (though I think we are one of the warmest parts of uk currently).
DS has an interview at Liverpool University soon, only had the invite yesterday so had to panic about getting time off to take him, luckily he could book a time when I am off. Have to drive 4 hours to get there and booked a hotel. Couldn't understand why was so expensive and many fully booked then realised Liverpool are playing a champions league match that evening!
Should be warm enough to play tomorrow so DS2 needs to be taken early to play in the Gower.......
Enjoying seeing the kitchen progress @MissConductUS
Do many people have their lights still up @Mumtobabyhavoc?
So sorry to hear your news @Lemonsandlemonade - hope you are ok.
@DucklingSwimmingInstructress I'm in awe!

That was a lot to organize on short notice Sprouts! Good luck to your ds. 🤞
Surprisingly, there are a lot of lights up still - mine included. I expect they'll all come down after tomorrow being the 12th day. Unsure if there will be drummers. 😉

Ah so I always thought twelfth night was 6 Jan, Epiphany. But is it celebrated as 12th night of the year elsewhere?

The windscreen cover was brilliant and the car was ready very quickly. Unfortunately the menopause appointment didn't go well. Despite taking oral HRT my oestrogen levels are 130 - more than the pump, less than the maximum patch, but still much less than the 400-800 expected after a month. I carry on for two more months but may have to fight for a synthetic oral HRT.

Watched the Mary Queen of Scots film this evening which packed a lot of history into two hours. Excellent acting from a terrific cast but too much detail was missing.

Tomorrow we will talk patio and ensuite shower design.

You're right, Sprouts! I don't know what I was thinking...🤦‍♀️

I’m surprised interviews are still in person Sprouts I have heard or a few issues with IT in online ones. That said I found it useful to have a proper look around the departments for the universities I was serious about.
We have our outside Christmas lights up but they are switched off. We are just waiting for the ice to melt on our drive before we get the ladder out to take them down.
Apparently it is going to warm up today so everything will melt. We will go from frozen solid to wet and slushy. It will be easier to look after my ponies though, I had been taking water from home as the tap was frozen at the field.

That's so exciting about your son interviewing for uni, Sprouts. It is a very good idea for him to interview in person, as it will give you both a chance to tour the campus. It also demonstrates a real interest in that university, which may help him get an offer of admission. They don't want to make offers to students who aren't genuinely keen on going there, as it makes their numbers look bad when the student goes somewhere else. And be chatty and interested during the tour. My daughter worked for her uni admissions office, giving tours to prospective students, and part of the job was to turn in notes on who, in particular, seemed enthusiastic about attending.

And your comment about the hotel situation reminded me of something I keep meaning to mention. DH bought an Apple TV streaming device for our home theater system just after Christmas, and it comes with a three-month free trial of Apple TV+, which is beyond brilliant. I'm currently watching two series set in Britain. One is Ted Lasso, which is about an American athletics coach who is hired to coach a West London premier league football club. He knows nothing about football (soccer), having coached American football. The team has some hard times and gets demoted from the premier league to the championship league, then fights their way back to the premier league a year later. It's heartwarming and funny, and it's some of the best TV I've ever seen. I watch it with captions to ensure I don't miss too much from not understanding the accents.

The other show is Masters of the Air, which is about the US Army Air Force based in Britain during WWII, as they conducted bombing campaigns against the Germans. It's also brilliantly done and focuses a lot on the relationships that develop between the Brits and the Americans. If you can get a free trial of Apple TV+ it's worth a try. Or just sign up for a month and see if you like it.

The electricians and carpenters will return on Monday, so we have a day of peace and quiet today, thank goodness.

Oh best of luck to your son @sproutsandparsnips ! I'm sure in person is a much better idea, as everyone has said. The atmosphere is terribly important isn't it, and you just can't pick that up online.

It's quite cold again today, 2C in the morning and -2C overnight, but oddly enough the lake ice had melted. Quite a few swimmers.

Thanks all.
@DandyDandylion they are for medicine so there are a lot of interview 'stations' so I suppose that is hard to do online although they must have done during covid.
@MissConductUS we have visited two of the places in person already(well one DS went on his own to a summer school/open event) - the one we are going to next week is 4 hours drive away so interview is the first time we are going as so far and need to stay overnight etc.

Is your house wooden MissC or is that just the interior stud I can see? We rarely build wooden houses in this country but I know it is more common elsewhere. Seeing the LA fire damage often the only part of the house left standing is the brick chimney. Funnily enough some of my favourite TV is American. Brothers and sisters stands out for me and I have enjoyed lots of things with my dc like Modern Family, Big Bang, Friends etc.
I hope you get your estrogen levels sorted out Myrtle, I felt so much better recently when I went up a level.
Good luck to your ds Sprouts I hear medicine is very competitive. Will he have to sit the UCAT? My ds may decide to sit one of the maths entrance exams but it depends where he wants to go. It does seem like an extra pressure when already doing A levels. For what’s it’s worth Liverpool is a nice city with plentiful reasonably priced student accommodation. The knowledge quarter is not far from the town centre so you get campus and city.
Today was the first day the temperature got above 0 so some of our snow has melted. There is still plenty about though, hopefully tomorrow will be the big defrost.

@DandyDandylion yes he has sat the UCAT - once you have a score you need to apply tactically depending on what it is and what weight the unis give it.