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! 🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻

291

Rain Rain Rain here today ( after yesterdays snow)

I have annual leave this afternoon so I'm drinking coffee and watching Classic Eastenders

DH is whittering about me making some exotic flavoured bread ( well the breadmaker will do the work ) cheese and chilli to start with .......

Not sure if our council tax bin has come in yet but I'll sit down before we open the envelope !

Thanks Woolly. I'm very proud of my little plant and I love the decorative pot it's in so I'll just refresh the soil by putting it into a new plastic pot of the same size.

Cheese & chilli bread sounds lovely 70

It's rained here too. Had a mini heart attack at 3am as the rain melted part of the snow and a huge pile fell from the roof gutters and landed on the conservatory room. It made a huge crash and I really expected to see pools of water coming in

Can't wait to finish work today. My head is fried and my hand is still sore. Anyone want to join me in the pity corner over here?

Crazy I will join you. Everything hurts and I got soaked clearing the snow off my car which I can't say impressed me.

291 I'll join you two in the pity corner. not only has dh given me his stinker of a cough/cold/fluey bug, one of my eyes has gone red and itchy - he's shared his conjunctivitis too.😭
It's snowing and sticking a bit and we need to go out. We've only got enough ibuprofen for him for 2 more doses. He's wrecked his back and hips with all of the coughing he's done and his chest scar (from his CABG) aches too. He'll have to drive as I can only open one eye properly. Daren't wait until tomorrow incase we get worse.
What a mess to be in.
Somebody just shoot me.

Pats pussycats head and sets up IV ibuprofen drip with a sideline of hot sweet tea .

Tuts and re-sets the Countdown to 290

Can you raid the neighbours for painkillers pussycat , I wouldn't want to drive if I was your DH and I can see you definately don't want to drive today .
If one of my neighbours was ill I'd either go to the shop for them (Or substitute a deputy like my adult DC ) or raid my medicine cupboard .

70 it's clearing now, the snow has pretty much melted (except off my plants) and DH is feeling "better" and wants to "take the polo for a run" and we'd rather do it today than after -5 tonight.
the fact that oneof my eyes is welded shut with gunk and I need someone to pat my head and bring sweet tea has passed hmi by - until he gets hangry in about 2 hrs.
NDNs - one at work, other - don't ask. I wouldn;t wee on her if she was on fire.

How's ,my touch typing with eyes shut btw? not really done it for a while.

<squints>

corrections the should have been , although it might be a good idea.
hmi should be him and the ; should be '

bot bad for someone with a "distinction" in their RSA typing 34yrs ago.

Have you seen if you can get painkillers on Deliveroo from a supermarket? Or similar?

I'd ask a neighbour too maybe not directly next door, mind.

Snow here overnight. Melting now though.

Ddog has another dodgy stomach. God knows what he's licking / eating when out all the time!

bot?

oh bugger it.

Make sure you get some eye cream too, Puss!

Docs/pharmacy next to Morrisons so we can do both together.

Can you get vet to check a "sample" from DDog? Has he been wormed? have the kids been secretly feeding him something? are there any socks missing?

I can't go near the cats - Boycat had dodgy/sensitvie eyes and I don't want to inflict the vet on him if I pass it on.

289

Into the two hundred and eighties now

I bought Easter Eggs for DS and DD , after the Hotel Chocolat Advent Calendars (that they didn't eat ) I asked them what they wanted .

But as this is the Christmas thread I redeemed myself with some cakecases that have gingerbread men on them ! DS will roll his eyes when I use these in June

Puss, he's wormed, and eats furry rabbit ears which help in preventing worms too. He's all better now. A friend at work has suggested a food diary to see what seems to trigger him.

It's very cold here. The washing is out, so I'm hoping the breeze picks up a bit, like yesterday which turned into a cracking drying day!

Housework day today. And we've a new dining room table being delivered. Refurbished from eBay, 1/3 of the RRP from Oak Furnitureland. It's meant to be here before 10am.

Fluffy it might be worth talking to my daughter about what triggers her dog maybe she will have a few tips. Although her pooch is still sick on occasion it is alot less.

I knew about pigs ears for dogs but I had no idea about rabbit ears ! Though as a waste product it is a clever use of them and a natural dewormer - I have learned things today .

Does he eat snails ? My female cat is partial to them , if it's after rain there are thousands of them and they don't run very fast
Doesn't make her sick but we always know when she's been snailing by the litter tray <boak>

No. He does play with empty shells though (throws them about and catches / chases them!). Snails can carry lungworm, so I'd rather he didn't eat them!

Rabbit ears are very clever, 70!

Yes the lungworm is a worry , our cats are dewormed ( I don't have any say in what she does outside , on account f the fact she's A Cat I think our Male is too daft to even catch snails , might be a mercy)

I used to worm the guinea-pigs ( I know loads of people don't with rodents ) but they ate the grass that was stamped over by goodness knows what !

288

DD and I went for a pootle about Lakeside yesterday (looking for shoes for her )
There's a Lakeland and a ProCook , both of which are favourites of mine at Christmas

I'm verbally prodding DS and DD not to forget next week is Mothers Day , I bought a card for my Mum , the DC can either buy or make me a card .
The cats won;t bother (though they remember to buy a card and a nice bottle of whisky for DH on Fathers Day ..........)

I;m going to get my nice plates and serving dishes out , get something from M&S that just needs to go in the oven and take control of the TV remote next Sunday .

I'm not expecting much more than a card really. I know I'll get something, but we aren't big on anything other than birthdays / Christmas really.

I'm tired and achey. I've been relatively busy today, what with the allotment and housework. Plus I do the morning walk for the dog and DH does the evening.

It was a cracking drying day which turned into a soggy evening. It's still damp out there. Tomorrow is all day, apparently.

I got a Sophie Allport Christmas Dogs runner for the new table. Hopefully the dog won't try to pull everything off the table when it's on! 🙈

287
I should probably sort out mother day shouldn't I? I always struggle to get something for my mum as she's so fussy.

It's been an awful few days here weather wise. Non stop rain and today is blowing a gale out there. Annoying as I've got my seeds and some plants I want to pot.
Going to wait for a break in the rain today and bring the bag of soil inside so I can get some seeds going in the propagator.

Are you keeping the table runner until Christmas Fluffy? Hopefully ddog will be a bit calmer by then and will leave it alone!
Also, random FYI for Christmas but be careful when putting presents under and chocolates on the tree.
Our old dog could take the choc out of the foil without pulling it off the tree, and she ripped open a present and was about to start chewing on it when I caught her - it was a leather purse and she'd sniffed it out

286

Morning!

It's nice so far today. But set to turn later, then freezing again overnight. 🥶🥶

Crazy, yes, saving the runner til Christmas. He'll be 14 months by then, so we can but hope he's not quite so bouncy / destructive at that point! 🤣

I won't put chocolates on the trees. I think that would be a disaster!

Morning! Fingers crossed for a nicer day today as there are blue skies for now 🤞🏼

I lost yesterday afternoon to a migraine, not that I missed much tbh.

Another possible Christmas tip for you that we discovered by accident Fluffy - I bought metal baubles with bells in them and put them on the tree for current ddogs second Christmas. He was a bugger for either trying to pull things off the tree or trying to pee on it - but when he went near the tree, he would rustle branches and make the bell-baubles jingle. Scared himself enough that he left the tree alone without us having to do anything

Best weekend off my life ever, coronation stuff now till middle April then Christmas saving for sure. Thinking about presents already and can’t wait to start buying them.

That's a cracking tip, Crazy!

I got my mum one of the Jeremy Clarkson books about his farm. Hopefully she likes it!

285

Waves 👋 to you all.

The Tribe is grumpy - boiler is on the blink so no heating! Off to bed in ten minutes to curl up under the duvet with the electric blanket on!