Countdown to Christmas 2023: launching into summer with more Christmas planning (thread 2)

[NoWordForFluffy]

Here's our new thread. Almost missed that it was needed!

Can somebody add the countdown again please, as I've no clue! 🤣🤣

Firefly my baby is going into sixth form 😱 he's going to be wearing a suit and everything.

I'm just glossing over the fact we have GCSE results day this week 🙈🙉🙊

Are they the button elastic trousers? They have been an absolute godsend for my skinnymalink. I have no idea where he got his long legs and slender waist from 🤷🏻‍♀️

They're the ones without a zip fly. He's skinny, with no bum, and he struggles with a fly. We've been sending him into school wearing literal belt and braces to try and keep them up. He is starting to think his full name is actually '[name] trousers' 🤣

124 - that number is so small!

I'm not sure what to say, I take a few days away from the thread and come back to Fluffy being tied up

I'm back at work now which is crazily busy, and someone made a mistake while I was gone and tried to blame me so I have an awkward meeting with bosses this afternoon. I'm so annoyed about it, it's going to be difficult to be calm.

Anyway, I'm struggling to find useful things to plant in my garden for winter, and am coming to the conclusion that I'm actually a rubbish gardener. My tomatoes are mostly ruined (they've been eaten by something I think), my broccoli was rubbish and my carrots are very small).
Only real success was strawberries, onions and some flowers. It's so frustrating!

Oh dear Crazy, sending calm and measured vibes for the meeting. I have nothing in the garden in winter either except a couple of leeks and the caterpillars have been eating all my brocolli here.

Yesterday I got the outside jobs done, including washing all the windows except upstairs at the back before it rained. And while I eventually found some jars to make jam (4 expensive "spice" jars for present sized pots and 2 jars of 50cent marmalade to put in a bowl for 2 regular sized jars - couldn't find empty regular jars locally), DH wanted to know what I'd been buying and suggested I make blackberry vodka or gin instead - we'd drink the gin so I started that this morning.

Today, I have chicken thighs chopped up and marinating for a large batch of tikka masala and have just emptied the coffee pot before tackling the spare room. Back to work next week so I need to crack on with finishing the jobs.

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It feels like it's really getting real again now.

Yesterday, I procrastinated and filled in my HGP plan for the year (and ticked off the things already done). I did manage to put a whole extra bag of paper out for recycling by getting rid of 4 previous years' versions. And cleaned all the upstairs windows and the sitting room downstairs as well. Before doing my curry feast - I just did one big chicken tikka masala but with pilau rice and HM naans, which even dd ate (she feeds herself mostly as she eats quite differently due to high amounts of sport). I think there's at least 2 servings of the final sauce in the pot to freeze as well, and a 2-person portion of the onion/garlic/ginger/spices base cooked through to freeze for a fast post-work dinner as well.

Today, once I've finished my coffee sitting in the sunshine, is laundry, paperwork, and clearing spare room.

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How did your meeting go, Crazy?

Even the best gardener struggles at some point - I remember loads of people on the allotment Facebook group being very disheartened last year. This year, bumper crops!

Last year I was drowning in cucumbers, haven't had a single one yet this year 🤷

I plant salad leaves, kale and spinach to overwinter. I get a better crop than in summer because there's fewer slugs! But you may need to watch for pigeons (not an issue for us, RCat scares them away!) And peas, love an early crop of peas!

Thanks Firefly - I'll have a good think about the garden.
DH helped yesterday by eating some of the tomatoes that survived and said they were very tasty.

The meeting was very tense. The feedback was being given to me by my managers manager who is new and a bit odd for the company I work in - he approached this stuff as a 'telling off' and it was hard to stay calm.
The mistake was an embarrassing and expensive one so I understand why he was annoyed but he'd clearly not looked into it at all or it would have been obvious it was nothing to do with me - which I pointed out as early in the meeting as I could. Took the wind out his sails which was good but he didn't apologise or anything.
Glad I stood up for myself but I'm still so annoyed and hoping this guy doesn't last long in his current role!

Biddy you sound busy! I wish some of your motivation would spread to my DH. He's off work for the summer holidays and has a job list (that he wrote himself) but the only one he's done is now the lawns.
We have lots of cleaning to be done and be buggered am I doing it after working FT while he's just off.

Good for you Crazy well done for standing up for yourself.

Early start for us today for GCSE results I'm dropping him at Nando's later for lunch out with his chums.

In Christmas news my butcher was handing out his Christmas order forms today.

@TheBucktoothedGirlFromLuxembourg ooh they get freebies at nandos today if they take their results sheet with them!

He had it with him @HairsprayBabe but it was rammed so they went elsewhere.

Thanks Buck - in my normal life im quite assertive but I've always struggled bringing that side into work thanks to the Inbuilt auto-reaction to bow down to anyone with more authority than me, thanks to my 80s and 90s upbringing I assume so I was quite proud today

Sounds like your ds did well - I hope he enjoyed his celebrations!

Im just back from a family meal out for my aunties birthday. It was nice, and there was some talk of Christmas - aunts friend was asking advice on going away somewhere festive and snowy as was told I could help
Bloody tired now though!

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Happy Rudolph Day

I can officially start saying It's only four months now without guilt though I'd need to duck as I'll get shoes thrown at me !

Good Food Homemade Christmas magazine in Sainsburys today .

DD escorted me away from the news area muttering darkly under her breath.

(Is it too late to trade her in ? )

Crazy-well done for fighting your corner. I am always willing to admit my own mistakes snd so hate it when I get blamed for someone else's.
Biddy- you always sound so organised. I haven't finished my summer job list and go back next week. (I have ticked off presents for all birthdays between now and Christmas though).
I am resisting the Christmas magazines (so far). The plan is to re-read my existing stash and binge Christmas nigellas on iPlayer 70.

Constantly if only you actually saw my house! It was becoming a midden and that's why I spent my holidays tackling it. Apart from this morning as I am only getting up now 😲 but have to get the spare room back in order after pulling out all sorts yesterday.

Glad to hear you put your boss right Crazy - and don't forget to acknowledge that when you have a chance 1on1, so he has a chance to apologise without losing face in front of others. 💃 (closest to "strong woman" I can find!)

I did find 2 separate stashes of Xmas mags in yesterday's rummage- going back to at least 2004!🤭 So I'll get stuck into those the next few weeks but will look with interest to hear what 70s and others have to say about good ones to get this year 🤣

Ooh, 70, I'm off to Sainsbury's later! Must resist especially as they're the same every year!

Crazy, well done for standing up to him. He was bloody wrong to not have investigated before throwing accusations.

Crap weather here today. Definitely autumnal. 🍂

I love the Christmas mags but like Fluffy do find that they rehash the same stuff over and over every year. I buy them for the gorgeous room decor and table settings that I never copy. One of these days I will have an inglenook fireplace to drape in fairy lights and a dramatic dark red dining room with a chandelier.

Ah yes, the dream Christmas home. Which would be utterly impractical in August 🤣

I do love getting the magazine, then when the kids go back starting to make plans, but there's so many better things I could buy with that money. Like an entire book! So I plan to just get out one of the magazines from 10 years ago that I have tenderly hoarded under the bed. I will have forgotten everything in it, so all decor and recipes will seem brand new.

I washed our bedding this morning and in honour of Rudolph Day I used my Christmas scented fabric softener. Wasn't able to line dry, as it rained, but never mind.

Ooh, and I found a frog in the garden. I had an old, large planter that I emptied in the spring and was using to keep all those random plant pots in out of the way. It filled with rain water, and as I walked past it earlier I heard a 'plop' and there he was! I'm very excited!

@BiddyPop how was Kildare village?

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Christmas Scented fabric softener eh? Do tell Firefly
I use Ecover Apple Bloosom & Almond and I washed DD bedding today -not due to Rudolph Day , just a good laundry day

DH is painting the downstairs loo over the BH , he;s done the gloss which stinks of course . I do like the smell of emulsion though .
I fancied a dark French Navy for the walls (tiles are white/navy) but it's a small windowless room and as I don't like any other shade of blue , I picked Brilliant White !
DH was relieved , he thought the French Navy was barmy ( and obviously only my opinion counts in home decor ! )

@70isaLimitNotaTarget we redecorated the downstairs loo at the last bh. Must be a thing 😄
Obviously I too am the only one allowed to choose colours so the walls and floor are white tile but the one non-tiled wall is lime green. We do have a window though so I think it works

I'd have just gone for French Navy. I have a yearning for dark blue! 🤣

I need to pop to the allotment now and pick whatever is ripe / feed the birds. We're off down south tomorrow, so I've plenty to do here, so will go back in the week (I've the week off) to do some weeding.

It absolutely chucked it down most of last night. Thankfully a dry forecast today!

Coleslaw I found a jacket and pair of shoes I was looking for, but not a lot else for me (but I am a 20 so harder to get size generally) - the lady in Hobbs said they don't do that size when I asked if they had any of the red jackets in 20, but I get a lot in Hobbs and had a blue 20 jacket in my hand at the time 🤣. Lots of teens there though, and plenty for a smaller size lady.