It's almost Christmas in July time - Christmas Countdown 2018 part 4

[BiddyPop]

I believe it's day 190

HOW did we get past the 200 mark so fast? And only 12 Days until Christmas in July starts, for anyone who celebrates that.

That’s exciting, Red. Where to?

Ibiza although not the party bit

We went to Ibiza when I was 3. It's one of my first memories! (Also not the party but!)

We haven't had a hose pipe ban yet, and I'm hoping they don't introduce one - my veggies are in raised beds in the front garden. It's a right trek to refill the watering can!

for you, Biddy.

That's awful about the fires, Fluffy. What have you been doing to your tomatoes?!? I started mine early and they're still only a foot and a half! My raspberries are rampant, though. I'll have to get a picture!

What a lovely shiny car, MrsM!

Sorry to hear about the job, Sprouts. Their loss

How exciting RedGreen. We did the party bit of Ibiza for DH's 30th, but it was still nice for a quiet holiday too. We're looking at May next year too, as DS starts school in September

I've booked panto tickets, so that's my first Christmas activity sorted. I'm not quite ready to get the tree out, though Unlike a lot of people, I'm enjoying the summer! It has made me appreciate how much I relied on the rain for my garden though...

Nothing special, Firefly. But they're seemingly trying for world domination! They're crazy. Mine were started early too. I think they like that position!

However, my raspberries haven't worked out at all. I'd rather have raspberries as the kids love them. I'm going to try again next year! Next door's loganberries are rampant too. We pick the ones on our side!

I'm not sure we actually have a hosepipe ban yet as I've not had an email / text. It can't be far off though.

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Another day of the same weather! Getting boring now. 😂☀️

I benefited from my late finish last night as trains were in chaos. The one I got after finishing was the first one after 5pm, so I might as well have been working!

I'm surprised there hasn't been more chaos in this heat!

Morning all
Well what about that match last night ?
We were on the edge of our seats and ecstatic when they won , so pleased. Well played Harry et al!
Thank you everyone for the lovely comments re the car , we love her , she is so comfy to sit in and so easy to get in and out of, which we need now we have old bones and are ferrying the Parents to their many appts . Mum phones last night , this is classic mum ' Hello Darling , can you buy mummy a white teapot, for a raffle prize for the church because l want it to go with my knitted tea cosy l made? She wants to give this teapot and cosy for a raffle prize . l didn't have the heart to tell her, no one uses a teapot, let alone a hand knitted tea cosy any more. she wants the accolade of the knitting of the cosy from the church members l think .Dear Me if l ever start to get like this , somebody shoot me please. So now l have to try and find a bloody white teapot , 'not too big darling'
Fluffy those peppers are just gorgeous, well done green fingered Fluffy! Been looking at raspberry growing they are easy to grow they say but don't like this and don't like that , they sound tricky to me
l am surprised the trains are not suffering more re the expanding rails for the heat too also surprised the train companies aren't using it as an excuse for their rubbish service
Firefly Girl you are on the ball re the Panto tickets m'dear must get booking am worried now
Biddy l understand re the chilli and hot food we haven't cooked for weeks , yes to booking the 24 chrissy films, naughty hubbs!!
Hairspray Babe, lovely to hear from you again m'dear, hope everything is going well with you
PSB the nosebleeds are a right pain , my DD2 used to suffer with them, she doesn't get them now thank God !
Sprout ahhh bad luck m'dear , better luck next time , it was a fix l bet!
Red, lovely hols for you to look forward to , have banned DD2 from going to Ibiza , hers would defo be the sand, sea and party variety!
I was on the phone to the tax ppl for hours yesterday trying to sort mine & DH tax out , l think l have finally sorted it at last they wanted to charge me tax for a non existent lease car
'MY VOICE IS MY PASSWORD ' , l owe 525 DH is owed 1150 so that is brilliant ! Hopefully will never have to do it again! Have been trying for weeks to sort it out , every time they sort it then they get it wrong , l have had to phone so many times it isn't true , l could work for them now l know so much hahaha! .Have ordered 5 dresses from the M& S sale with DH expected tax rebate mwahahahahaha
Funeral went as well as could be expected, my DH friend is lovely just the sweetest man ever, l felt so sorry for him , him mum was 99 though and had a lovely life , lots of ppl at the funeral too, so it shows how much she was loved, bless her .
We are off in shiny new motor to BrynBach Park for a walk early before we melt and to visit NDN in hospital and to buy Mum her teapot and take it to her .
Have the most wonderful day everyone

Morning all,

Another sunny and hot day here, I'm going to have to water the veggies tonight as they are drooping again. Watering can though (I probably could get away with the hose, but it's officially banned). Although the water company still hasn't fixed the reasonably big leak on the street near the office that is there almost 2 weeks and I reported on MOnday as it is getting bigger....so they're obviously no soooo desperate to save water as they say (I think it's part of a bigger publicity campaign to get support for a plan to divert water from the River Shannon to Dublin).

I forgot there is a visiting delegation from Poland over today, so I need to give them a presentation, squished in before another meeting. And then back to grinding through paperwork again - at least my boss 2 levels up supports my approach (my direct boss is away on leave - but I am making all the decisions effectively on this one anyway, just now the 2 levels up guy is seeing that).

I think I might have to drive to this weekend's event after all - I had a train ticket booked to join DH and DD after having to go to work on Friday morning, and its supposed to be a fab journey (along the coast), but when all 3 of us are coming back, complete with the boat, there may not be enough room in the car.

I started my next scarf on Monday, a nice chunky wool so its knitting up pretty fast - already at 1', even though I couldn't do any on last night's commute (so only 4 train trips so far on it!). I still haven't fixed the dropped stitch on the other one though - no sitting down time this week yet. Ah well, there should be some, at least, over the weekend.

Morning all.

Biddy busy as ever. I admire your determination to get your scarves knitted. I finished joining a blanket for Woolly Hugs at the end of last week and the heat made it a task that could only be undertaken after midnight.

Fluffy my SIL who lives near-ish to you also manages to produce triffid like tomatoes and chillis. It must be something in the soil. I volunteered to water the tubs and baskets last night to avoid the tension of the penalty shootout. I can confirm that our water butt is now completely empty. We did have rain forecast for tomorrow on a couple of weather sites (not the bbc) but it has completely disappeared off the charts now.

MrsMad that's a lovely car. I'm still looking - I've spotted an electric one that I'd like to test drive but it's automatic and I've never driven one before. DH has an automatic and can't see why I'm hesitating. He's more bothered by the fact it's electric and we haven't (yet) got a home charging station. I think it would be perfect for me as I only shuttle the D.C. about locally.

I do have to take issue with you about teapots and cosies though. I crocheted a teacosy when we moved to this house to use up a couple of balls of yarn I discovered when we were packing up. So then I had to buy a teapot. I got a nice one in The Range and it is used a couple of times a week.

I've got a day pretty much to myself today. DH has taken my car to work so I'm not mum's taxi for a change. He's picking DS up when he gets back from his residential late this afternoon. I'm going to do a load of washing and perhaps apply for a new job. I have just been through a very demotivating pay review and I think my enthusiasm for my current job may have run its course.

DS has his transfer day tomorrow - postponed from last week due to illness. He's nervous and I'm having a crisis of confidence - just wondering if private school is a bit full on for him. It seems like it will be a huge time commitment for him. Only time will tell now.

We use a teapot. And have bought a Christmas one too! Ours sits on a stand with a tealight to keep it warm!

I am 29 Mrs and have a teapot and a crocheted tea cosy. Loose tea is back in as it is plastic free so I think teapots will come back too :)

I may use a teabag in a mug when it's just me mostly, (exception being the very rare Saturdays I get the paper and peace and brew a whole pot), but my teapot always comes out for visitors. And I see lots of knitted cosies on sale at the local craft fairs, and being bought there too!

Mrs hopefully I'm done with nosebleeds, as I'm neither 9 nor intending to get pg ever again! 😂

I can't drink tea, it makes me feel sick. I don't know why. I'm now on 3 cups of coffee and a 500ml bottle of Pepsi a day, juggling between not enough to make my eyelid twitch and enough to improve my executive function. Some autistic people find that it helps. We'll see if my brain speeds up.

I had scrambled eggs this morning. DS2 had chicken satay skewers and ham for lunch.

Just ordered DS' PJs for his Christmas Eve box and also a couple of stocking fillers :) Think all I need now are some socks, chocolate coins and a book. Oh and all the other presents

DS2 and I had sweet and sour chicken for supper, DD's at Adventure. 😋🍗

Evening all
Woolly, l am so pleased you like the car , it is lovely, we are so pleased and relieved because it is a huge thing and expense to think about as you are going through now . Bought the teapot for Mum, white plain china one from Morrisons £5 , put the overstretched tea cosy on for Mum and tbf it does look very naice. In another time and place we used to make a pot of tea and l am coming around to your way of thinking and am going to resurrect one of the 3 teapots l have and make a pot espesh when England are playing on Sat YAY!!
Red you put me to shame well done m'dear!
Been to see NDN in hospital , poor thing , l emptied his fridge for him (he asked me to do it ) and his veg trays and his food bins and cleaned them out , his lazy, horrible daughters left the house looking like a bomb had dropped . There was food left in the food bin for over 2 weeks in this heat!!!! Can you imagine the stench , poor man . He wanted DH to take his car for a run but it wouldn't start so we will have to get the RAC to come and start it for him . There was also a tiny bat in his hallway but sadly it was already dead . Dh came to the rescue
Biddy you are so busy all the time , l am a lightweight l could not have knitted anything in this heat .
PSB glad you won't be having any more nose bleeds m'dear , enjoy the rest while DD at Adventure
Have a lovely evening everyone

Picked DD up, DS2 was in bed by 7.30, DD will go to bed at 9.20. 😴

I must live in some sort of micro-climate. It was 15 degrees and overcast with drizzle here this morning!

MrsM I have found the raspberries to be the easiest thing in the garden - I planted a £1 raspberry cane in a pot 4 years ago, and now have at least a dozen canes which have long escaped the pot and are marching down the flower beds. I don't do anything to them other than cut down the old stems (they're summer fruiting, next year's canes are growing already) - they seem happy to just do their own thing!

What a shame about your neighbour's children. That would be awful to come home to! And bless your mum and her teapot !

Hope tomorrow goes okay for your DS Woolly

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Good luck to DS today, Woolly. It's a cracking school and it'll set him up for life, so don't worry about him!

Firefly, where are you?! I'd kill for rain! I don't think it got down to 15 overnight last night. It's been nice here for months now!

It's another sunny day up here. Getting rather tedious now. Not used to it being so samey, especially as we're coastal! It's so warm already, and I struggle to cool down after the cross trainer, even with a cool shower.

Morning all
Another beautiful day here yay!
Firefly Girl , the conditions in your garden must really suit raspberries or you are an amazing gardener love raspberries, more than stawbs , not as watery . Taking mum to dancing gossip club tonight so THE Teapot going to raffle lady tonight .
Fluffy l don't know how you do the cross trainer in this heat , l would surely die enjoy YOUR Friday YAY!!
Am just off to Goldcliff for a lovely walk
Have a lovely day everyone

See, rampant raspberries! I'm using my clothes horse to support the canes, they broke the others! That wall is South facing, they love it! There's actually an apple tree in a pot in the centre of the arch...

We're on the Humber Estuary. It's wavered between glorious and overcast today. We went strawberry picking this morning and it was scorching, but the wind picked up and the sky is cloudy now.

And MrsM, as you can see from the rest of the picture, it is not that I am an amazing gardener...

You have a lovely lot of Raspberries there Firefly Girl yummy!
Am loving the brick of your house and that clothes horse is doing a great job lol! Could not see the apple tree in the pot though .
We have lots of apples coming on our tree and hubbs is growing pots in bags he did it last year and we had hardly any
Water board fixed the leak in our street about 24 hrs after l phoned then tbf, so glad it is sorted , what a waste of water and it is going on all over the country, no wonder we have no water and hose pipes ban!
Have not been strawb picking since the girls were teens ahh happy memories
Have a great evening all

I was up at NHH today Mrs and thought of you. Typically the rain fell today while I was putting DS to bed so I couldn't save my washing

Rain?! What is this much-fabled thing? Not seen it for bloody weeks on end!