Countdown to Christmas 2023: get past the post-Christmas slump by thinking about the next one! (Thread 1.)

[NoWordForFluffy]

364

Morning (just)!

I failed at eating yesterday which meant I got blotto far too early and wasn't well. Oops! 🙈

But we had a great time anyway and I avoided having to tidy up!

Countdown to next year is go go go! 🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻

Sorry. Work and dog, plus dental appointment today and my scans yesterday, mean I've had very little time!

Ddog is thereabouts house trained now. The only accidents in the last week were us not noticing he wanted to go out.

No doubt we'll have similar in the future though!

I'm seeing my orthopod on Tuesday with my results, so that should be interesting. My shoulder has really hurt today. It's improving now though, thankfully.

There is no sideways move unfortunately and after a chat with my boss we are going to avoid Occy Health for now till we have the full picture of what we are dealing with. I can self refer for physio for, I think 6 sessions, so will bear that in mind if they think it will help.

I have about 6 billion hours of e-learning to do as well as mine all ran out whilst I was off 🤣

324

Morning

Quiet at the moment chez moi , DS and DD haven't surfaced yet (lazy articles)

Nice dry day , no breeeze that I can see but I have washing to go out .

On the coffee at the moment

324

Morning!

I've been awake what feels like forever thanks to the dog. I decided to walk him at 6.30 as he was being such a bloody nuisance! 🤣 I took him as far as he can go at his age, including through the park opposite our house, which he loved due to all the smells!

I'm on the way to Sainsbury's now for the weekend top up shop.

It's cleaning day today once I'm back. The excitement! 🤣

It's good that your boss is on board and supporting why.
Good luck with the E-learning. I hate it, it makes me sleepy everytime 😂

70 I have to work directly with the person who got the promotion at least once a week, probably more. She's not horrible, just a renowned micro manager.

We are on the road, going to look at campervans. We want to buy one at some stage in the next year or 2 so are spending today seeing different ones in person so we can confirm/narrow down which one we'll be looking for. Exciting.

I am loving the looking for camper vans Crazy. I would like one of those.

You need one like Bradley Walsh drove in the first series of "Breaking Dad" in the USA .
"It's like driving a blocks of flats" he said

So it seems I am a VW lover when it comes to campers. We saw a few different ones but none of them made me smile like the VW.

If it was purely my choice, I'd love a vintage one (pic), but I know someone who has one and I know how impractical they can be. They're so pretty though (and I feel like I have a buried hippie streak that would feel right at home in a colourful camper that I could crochet blankets for).

I think realistically, when the time comes we'll be going for the modern one (pic). They're what we've hired a few times and they're comfy, food storage, easy to drive (and park) so they make more sense.

DH is very proud that he's turned me into a camper lover. I hate camping, was never confident enough to tow a caravan and we both feel like a motor home would just be too big. It took his years to get me to agree to a camper van holiday and now I'm converted

Now to watch the rugby, although I'm not holding out much hope for us after recent performances! Going to use my cross stitch as a distraction.

Aaagghh and as always, I forgot the bloody pics!!

The old VW Campervans are very cute but yes, they'd take a load of maintenance and you'd have to search out any spares you need from VW enthusiasts .

Get the newer one , love the roof awning thing . You can drive about pretending to be on the Scooby Doo's Gang in the Mystery Machine

The old ones are cute, but I've a feeling they aren't so hot at hills! 🤣

We'd love a camper van, but that's a way off being bought, unless we win the lottery.

I discovered that Ddog is a digger today. I went to do some garden tidying and he dug a bloody great hole! 🤣

I'm sure why has seen the van locally that's painted up like the Mystery Machine.

SIL and BIL used to have a classic VW van. SIL is a crocheter and it was definitely heading towards the vibe you described Crazy

Ah yes Woolly it 'resides' just round the corner from us such a good idea. I think a friend of mine has a vintage VW she calls Elvis.

There's an advert for a Bingo game where they're chasing round after balloons (I know the whole thing is lost on me) they're in a camper van drinking tea , then scooting off ..........up hills so not a VW Camper unless it's photoshopped hills

323 ooh a palindrome

I'm looking at QVC gardening hour but resisting any new plants till I've cut back and de-weeded the garden. Leaving off cutting back till the frost risk is over but there's a cottoneaster shrub that I swear grows overnight to ambush me as I walk by . I'm going to get out my Alan Titchmarsh secateurs and tame it .

I;ve got some of last seasons nastursium seeds planted in the little greenhouse . The nastursiums lasted till the snow ! I was impressed I picked up all the seeds I could find .

Morning! 70 I have so much to do in the garden this year. I need DH to build me the planter he's been promising for 2 years so I can hopefully grow some more veg. I also need to decide on flowers (low maintenance ones grown purely for the bees) plus paint the shed, potting bench and possibly the wooden rocking chairs.
Right now it's looking a bit scruffy.

With the campervan, the newer ones are better to drive etc plus the storage and beds are much better designed so we'll likely go for one of those when the time comes. I'll just always be a bit disappointed that it's not a hippie bus (although I'm still planning to have colourful everything in it - plates, cushions, blankets etc)

What's everyone up to today? I have a very boring day continuing the decluttering we started yesterday. Most random piles of stuff have been sorted, todays jobs are cabinets that seem to accumulate the most random stuff.
Plus side is we get a break as we're going to my parents for lunch, downside is, there's always more to do when we get home!

Nasty cold had it a few days now back on the eye ointment a day after I finished if it doesn’t clear up next week it’s the gps. I want to be well for March 11th best outing ever that I’m not missing that for anyone or anything.

I've been to the allotment today, to plan my new gate for dog-proofing purposes, and feed the birds.

I'm now cleaning the kitchen (etc) but taking a little break as I'm already bored of it! 🤣

I still need to clean the greenhouse, Crazy. I've been avoiding it and the dying citrus tree! It's much neater out there now I've put my new strawberry plants (grown from runners) in the ground. I've a new bed for them.

My giant snowdrops have come out in the last week; they're lovely. My other spring bulbs are making their way through. It's a new batch, so always interesting to see what germinates and what doesn't!

It’s lovely the nights are drawing out now huge difference still light at five just.

322 Morning. I am 🥶 - everything froze overnight and although it's sunny, it's cold.

Fluffy love the flowers. So nice to have some colour during the winter - I need to plan for that this year as my garden is bare.
How is your lemon tree doing? I can't tell with mine. It's in the conservatory - the lemons are turning yellow but they're rock hard and the leaves look a bit sickly.

After work I need to sort out the house. We decluttered a lot yesterday but now there are piles of stuff - charity collection, stuff for the attic, stuff to go in the clothes bank etc - and it's doing my head in!

Ooh I love snowdrops , many years ago we went away in Feb half term and there were carpets of snowdrops in the grass .
I bought some 'In The Green' which did really well -I'd to plant a new load but need to be careful with plants and the cats .

(Tomorrow is Ted Rogers/Dusty Bin Day )

Afternoon all.
My bulbs are poking thru too Crazy DH gives me an update on the ones at the bottom of the garden "There's something purple" yesterday, today "there's something white and something yellow" Thank god I married Monty Don 🤦‍♀️🤭
70 How are your felines? Mine are starting to shed their fur already - I keep picking them up and pointing them at the calender, but they still haven't mastered "It's February, It's COLD at night, You'll need that!" 😻 Boycat is upstairs on my bed, Girlcat is sharing a sofa with DH in the conservatory...it's silent, so I guess they're all asleep. 🤞
Fluffy I didn't know you could get giant snowdrops!? How's the garlic and rhubarb getting on? I'm not doing 🥔 this year. Will still do 🥕 and 🍅 and I'll sow some poppies, cornflower and sweet peas once the have done their thing.

70 3-2-1 day here tomorrow too. DH has his head torch ready for later.

Oops, sorry! thought you meant actual bin day (as it is for us) 🤦‍♀️
You can tell I've not been paying attention, can't you? 😳

Hello, Puss! I have fluffy slippers; the dog keeps nicking off with them!

I have to go to Stockport for work tomorrow. Then it's the appt with my surgeon. Exciting!