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.

Penguinsa, are you having Christmas dinner every weekend? If so, can I drop by??? 🤗

Its our second one and DDs third Havoc and would love to have you and your lovely family over. Floof would be very happy as well. Its like a month and a half of Christmas here. 😆And DH is clearly entering the spirit as this one was all his idea.

DH also just told me yesterday he bid very low on a classic car in an auction and won it. He was expecting to be in the dog house but its gorgeous and lovely.

Happy Birthday bizzey. It's still the 8th here.

So many on the thread have a bittersweet Christmas to look forward to

I spent a lazy day apart from laundry and cleaning the kitchen. The local football team predictably lost. They are having a terrible season and fired their head coach recently. Their game is just wrapping up now.

I took DD Christmas shopping yesterday as there was something specific she was looking for, and ordering it online wasn't possible. We went to a very hoity toity shopping area in the burbs and had an enjoyable time as our weather turned pleasantly mild. DD found what she was looking for for two of her friends and one of the other DDs, and I found something I'm sure DD3 will like. We do small gifts now that everyone is over 21.

DD is making mac 'n' cheese (home made) so I don't have to cook today, yay!

Welcome, @SardinesOnGingerbread, and thanks for sharing your calming cat and baking news. My favorite source for videos of cats doing daft things is https://www.reddit.com/r/holdmycatnip/ One of our cats used to wake DH up to feed her by walking on him while he was asleep. He cured her of that habit by picking her up and throwing her off the bed.

Things have been busy here, and I have been a bit poorly. I tested negative for covid, but it might have been a new strain or just a bit of the flu. I'm better now, but the last four days or so have been no fun.

Our new dishwasher was delivered on Friday. DH tried filling the tank that holds the rinse aid and it leaks, so we have a local Bosch repair company ordering us the replacement part. We'll run the first load of dishes tonight, sans rinse aid. DH does all of the washing up so he's more excited about it than I am.

The plumber came to look at the gas pipes in the basement and said they were too small and should be replaced. He also wants our propane company to move their tank to the other side of the house to make the job easier (and less expensive), so we have to find out if they're willing to do that and if the hose on their delivery truck will reach the new location. DH is going to ring them tomorrow to have them come out and look at the situation.

We had a nice FaceTime call with DD and SiL tonight. She has started onboarding for her new job, which will be fully remote, starting in January.

I'm off to Washington, D.C. on Thursday for a meeting, returning on Saturday. I'm taking high speed rail, so it's only a bit over three hours on the train.

Congrats on successful bidding to your dh, Penguinsa!
That's amazing!
I really love the idea of Christmas meals every weekend. Can I suggest beef, or salmon, wellington? 😋

Ok. I think I'm a Christmas lights addict. Drove waaay out to a suburb, Cloverdale, for another holiday light event. This one had a ferris wheel and a nice outdoor display and their outdoor seating areas were really nice with food trucks. Indoors the market was ok, but one vendor had amazing looking bakery items so I bought the massive ginger-cookie sandwich. It was two soft ginger cookies with buttercream icing in between. I really should've eaten that in 2-3 rounds and not one go. 😂
There were a couple of kids tables for drawing/crafting, face painting, a story corner, Santa and the Grinch for pics, lots of Insta set-ups, really and a very delicious smelling Indian food stall that I would have loved to have tried, but we had dinner at home. Kids loved it. Oh, music was good and there were (Disney?) princesses for photos with the kids.

@Penguinsn

I had a Christmas dinner this Sunday. It was out bookclub people but I don't think we mentioned the books much!!!

We had Salmon, hasselback potatoes, broccoli and peas, then Christmas pud and cream & ice cream. Stollen later on but I could not face cheese and biscuits afterwards! Lots of mulled wine too! Delish!

@Mumtobabyhavoc

That looks lovely! Shame I won't be going to any of the things in London (they book up fast!).

This thread is balm to my soul!

@MissConductUS I am loving the very detailed information about the dishwasher, though I'd have probably sent it back if it was broken. I'm wishing you the best over your gas pipe and tank relocation.

@Mumtobabyhavoc Keep posting the Christmas lights pictures. They are beautiful!

I went to day one of my four days of craft classes. It's painting liquid glass and sprinkling glass fragments onto clear glass. This then gets fired in a kiln to fuse the colours. Once cool these are broken up into fragments and fired again to make pebbles. I'll go back on Monday to use these pebbles in a tree picture. I'm making a Christmas tree (obvs).

Wednesday's day has been moved to Tuesday next week because of illness and tomorrow's candle making may be postponed as the teacher may get norovirus.

I will post images once they are all done.

Ooh @Deathraystare that Christmas dinner sounds amazing. I am no lover of carrots but I once saw on Masterchef, someone had roasted them with Dukkah on top. John Torode said it was inspired, so I tried them like that. Reader, I loved them 😍so now we always have them like that.

i still haven’t filled in my form yet as I can’t summon up the impetus and I’ve been so easily distracted by anything and everything. I’m quite pleased with my painting, although I find it hard to be loose in both painting and drawing. I love pointillism, very tight dots, so I’m scrunched up!

@Mumtobabyhavoc i love seeing your fabulous photos, so very festive.
I got distracted writing this, it was written a couple of hours ago!

Lost my card wallet. Found my card wallet, but in the process stepped on my specs. They're still useable and - fortunately - they were the Specsavers variety. I'll see whether they can be fixed, but I have my doubts - it's not just a question of replacing a screw. Fortunately, I have my other specs and my old specs plus contacts.

Very pleased that I found the card wallet.

I have managed to throw out some clutter.

House and garden are a mess. It's a looooong story. Widowed 4 yrs ago and had a health scare this year. Got my second biopsy results with "no abnormalities found" so trying to crack on and sort some things out now.

I have the tree surgeon coming round to look at three trees tomorrow: one for pruning, one for lopping and one for "dismantling" as the tree surgeon puts it. (A previous owner planted a Christmas Tree. 'Twas a Norway Spruce.)

The one for dismantling has been cut back several times now, but a neighbour across the way (not adjacent) isn't happy that it casts a shadow on their living room window at certain times of day and I had to stop some wee boys from climbing it one time. If it gets cut back again, it'll just be a trunk Time for it to go.

Miss, sounds like a big job. Hope all goes well. Frustrating re new appliance.

Death, what a nice thing having book club Christmas dinner. How was the salmon done? I love a cheese course, but am lactose intolerant, so have to buy specific cheese to enjoy (sheep, goat, or lactose-free cow).
Penguinsa, did your dh say how the drive was during the storm?
Uman, your drawing is good! I envy people, like you, with that kind if artistic ability. There are still three Christmas events I want to go to with dc. Our December weather is quite unpredictable, with rain usually, so I am keeping an eye on the forecast for planning. Last night's trip was very straightforward with just three main roads/turns. Long to get there, but quick home as traffic had lessened. I know how difficult it is to fill out lengthy and detailed forms. Often our anxiety about it inhibits us. Try a page a day, first thing in the morning with a cup of tea. Good luck.
Myrtle, sounds like you're another with artistic talent. I'll look forward to your creations! When out in Steveston the other night we passed a shop where everyone was working with clay/clay wheels. That looked fun. 🤗

Have been having late nights with the dc, but bedtime with Havoc has been less of a chore. Both have been sleeping roughly 9-10 hours with baby waking to nurse 1-2 times. I've been getting at least 6 hours sleep, but often 7-8 now which is improving my energy and mood.
It's 6c and cloudy here at almost noon. Am going to take dc for a good long walk and see what else we can get up to. Just waiting for laundry to finish. Time for another latte, I think. 😄

Penguinsa, is the classic car your DH bid on in good shape now or will it become a restoration project? There are clubs her for people who own classic cars and they have "meets" where they all converge on a parking lot for the day to show off.

Myrtle now that the dishwasher is connected to the plumbing and electric, I don't think sending it back is an option. The tank that holds the rinse aid is likely cracked or not installed correctly, so it should be an easy fix. The load of dishes we washed last night came out beautifully clean just on the 60 minute quick wash option, so DH was very happy with that. I was able to wash my coffee thermos and it cleaned all of the black coffee residue out of the bottom, which I've never been able to do by hand.

Havoc, the only issue with DD's job is that it's with the Federal government, and Trump and Elon Musk have said that they want to eliminate remote work as an option for those employees. The manager who is hiring her has told her that they might be able to do that for employees who previously worked in person and then were allowed to work from home, but that fully remote positions are a different category. The whole thing is going to be a huge mess and will likely wind up in the courts, so DD will just have to wait and see how it turns on. She'll at least have it on her CV, as working in person would mean relocating, which she cannot do.

I'm feeling better. I hope I don't catch another virus on the train to Washington and back.

Keep the pics coming @Mumtobabyhavoc!
Hope you can do all your craft classes @MyrtleStrumpet.
Glad you are feeling better @MissConductUS.
It turns out that our fence has been damaged in the storm, but we didn't realise until yesterday. I thought it was looking a bit wonky and it turns out that the high winds have damaged the posts and the concrete in which they are embedded. We have temporarily secured it with rope as it backs onto the pavement and we can't risk it falling onto a pedestrian. Luckily it may only require replacement of the concrete and securing as insurance will not cover storm damage to fences (!)
Also the rugby club insurance will not cover new posts as we have claimed before when posts blew down and were damaged in a storm.
Expensive weekend all round!

Thank everyone!

Myrtle, sounds like you're another with artistic talent. I'll look forward to your creations!

Thank you, but my artistry is very poor.

This is just some fun things to do that don't mean sitting in front of a screen being bored. I am guided by proper creative people. I discovered a website, Craft Courses, and I filtered by local to my region and in-person and things that looked interesting.

My glasses also broke the other day. I've taken to hanging them on the neckline of my tops and they fell out. A lens popped out so I popped it back in then a day later it popped out again and had lost a screw. Fortunately any of the big chains will fix issues like that for free so it was a minor inconvenience.

I took the opportunity to cash in a win of £2 on a scratchcard that has been hanging around for weeks - I don't go out a lot at the moment as I've mentioned. I only get scratchcards at difficult times so I think I've bought around 15 in my life and I always buy a new one if I win under £10. New scratchcard was not a winner, which was fine.

Having a glass of malbec from a tin which I bought in the train home from lunch with my friend last week.

Lack of sleep is a method of torture Havocso I’m glad things are settling down for you. I found once my youngest was three they were reliable at sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night barring the odd d&v bugs. In the meantime you just have to do whatever it takes to get through the day and I always found a late afternoon sugar boost helped.
I have joined the ranks of the ill but not covid/noro just run down sore throat etc. I think I just need to have a chill day tomorrow as I have been running around trying to get ready for Christmas. Apparently the local hospital is full to bursting with people getting Covid, rsv, nori virus and flu though so I hope I don’t get worse.

There's a lot of practical/building-y stuff going on at your house atm @MissConductUS !

Seeing an old acquaintance/friend (hovering between the two) soon who I haven't seen for a while which I'm really looking forward to.

@Umanresources that pic is lovely!! I have an adult colouring book which I do sometimes (can't actually draw myself). Am enjoying playing around with difference in contrast and colours.

I've just managed to complete the Christmas shopping for the extended family. Unfortunately I've just got home and found that the blood from the dog's food has leaked all over some of the presents. Some can be salvaged, but others I cannot. I have been using a lot of rather colourful language since finding this out.

@Mumtobabyhavoc
Yes, one of us has to avoid dairy and eggs. However she can have a Ewe's milk cheese. I think it is Italian (we can get in in Waitrose). I cannot remember how the salmon was done but obvs not a creamy sauce! Prob a Waitrose recipe.

@WearyAuldWumman Sounds like me! I am always losing things and I found a pair of glasses in the bed with a broken frame. Not Specsavers but a pair of reading glasses. I am over- overdue for a new pair or two but they are so expensive. Yes they go on about 2 for 1 but by the time you pay for the add ons it is getting pricey!!

@Kpo58
Can it not be washed off some stuff? What a pain.

Yes...once you've added on the various coatings, etc it all mounts up.

:( Sympathies.

@Mu@Mumtobabyhavoc

There are 3 January birthdays so someone has suggested going out for it. Mine is just after Christmas, another is in the next week and the third is around the 19th. We haven't been out for ages together.

@@WearyAuldWumman

Gosh you have been through the wars haven't you? Hope you are feeling better now.

You ain't kidding!!!!

Welcome, @Kpo58, and thanks for sharing your calming news. Well done to you, getting your Christmas shopping done, and sorry to hear about the dog food misadventure.

@DucklingSwimmingInstructress, we do have a lot of building type activities going on at the house. We have decided to put off replacing the gas piping as it's a lot of additional expense at the same time we're paying for the kitchen remodeling. And what prompted it was our HVAC engineer telling us that the furnace wasn't getting enough gas pressure to go to stage two firing. We've had this furnace for 10 years, and it's always put out plenty of heat, even on the coldest days, so maybe we don't need stage two firing. We also plan on replacing all of the 38-year-old windows next spring with much more energy-efficient ones, so the heating should be less of a challenge next winter.

DH asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I told him that I'm getting a new kitchen. I also told him that I wouldn't mind a replacement for my Series 7 Apple Watch, so he ordered me a Series 10.

We put our Christmas tree up on Sunday, but I have yet to decorate it other than putting the start on top. It's artificial, so the lights are already on it. Our little ginger cat is already hiding under it. He loves the tree.

I have to start packing for my trip to Washington. The weather looks good - cold, but no precipitation for Thursday through Saturday.