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! 🤣🤣

Morning! Fluffy I hope the pain is easing for you, and 🤢 at the thought of the sweaty sling!

Firefly DH & I are currently debating a trip this summer as we don't have anything planned. With everything that's been happening we didn't want to be too far away but things are hopefully easing so it may be a possibility

70 I am a Christmas heathen because I don't eat sprouts

Welcome to the friendliest corner of mn mcdonalds
This thread is mostly Christmas, gardens/allotments and crafting, with the odd complaints about DHs and work thrown in

Things are improving with DH here. We have to visit family who live away today so yesterday DH surprised me with a night away in Liverpool, somewhere I'd never been but always wanted to go.
Haven't had chance to do much but have been touristy and has a nice meal out and some drinks

Hi all,
Started to plan this year as is going to be a bit different. For first time after 12 years, we will be spending Christmas with my family back in Spain.
I have paid for the plane tickets already. 😱
I need to start budgeting for presents ( what on earth 12/10 yo girls like nowadays?)
My usual food planning is out the window. I don't even know if I should be preparing my blackberry whisky this year!
Anyone has plan Christmas abroad?
I think I probably should check Christmas ordering online and get things delivered to my dad's house, and wrap there meanwhile someone else entertains my 5 yo 😂

More sprout heathens here. I had them on the shopping list for our first Christmas alone together and DH had to remind me that neither of us like them 😂.

Has anyone else been checking out how the blackberries are doing where you are? I moved from the north to the south and I still get taken by surprise at how early they are ready

Ours are nowhere near ready here, Granny (NW coast).

How can anyone not like sprouts they are delicious .
Part of my late (very late) Christmas Eve preparations is peeling the sprouts , taking off the end and cutting a cross in the stem (y'know to let Satan out ).
Then they go in the fridge in a sealed container and the next day steamed until still a bit crunchy and served with chestnuts (Teddy Bears Noses)

What's not to love .
We have a Christmas Rule that even my DS will eat one .

South East here - they’re coming on nicely round here!

Sorry that was a reply to @GrannyWeatherwaxsBroomstick , can you tell I don’t post all that often 😆

NE, our blackberries won't be ready for at least another month.

We're entering the 'crumble void', when the rhubarb season ends but apples and blackberries aren't ready yet!

I don't mind sprouts, as long as they're served with bacon and chestnuts. I think I mostly just like the bacon and chestnuts 😁

Lala I'd be tempted to order from Spanish Amazon, or maybe you asked Santa to drop the big presents off at home because you wouldn't be able to get them on the plane!

I looked up to see if blackberries were the same as brambles (Google search tells me they are )

In that case , I haven't seen any berries here , though I keep cutting them back they are the bane of my life ans come through from my NDN gardens.
I'll have a quick nosey and see if they have any .

I'm in Essex

70 I usually always call them brambles, and I still say we're going 'brambling'. Technically it's the plant that's brambles and the fruit are blackberries but when I've called the fruit brambles before it's confused people.

And now I've written this, it's one of those words where you think 'ooh, that looks strange' 🤔. But even spell check is happy with 'brambling' 🤷

168

Morning!

I'm out of the sling today, whoop whoop. It's been given a good wash this morning, as I'm still going to wear it in certain places where I want people to fuck off out of my way not walk towards / knock my arm.

Back seeing my surgeon today. Then physio tomorrow. Then a wound check on 20 July.

Firefly, some words look proper odd when written down, especially multiple times!

I'm very rude and didn't say hi to our new people yesterday. 👋 Welcome to the non-contentious part of MN!

How did it go with the surgeon today, Fluffy?

lalanbaba I've done Christmas abroad a few times, but just me and DH going away and those years we either don't do presents or do tokens that we can pack.
Only big challenge on those years for us is to get everyone's presents bought, wrapped and delivered early.
My advice would be to buy them an experience of some sort then they can open things that are related to it and a voucher or something - I imagine transporting anything big is going to be a PITA.

Granny blackberries are nowhere near ready here (S Wales).

Firefly isn't there a blackberry cocktail called a bramble? 🤔

Hope the surgeon visit was ok today Fluffy

Weather has been dire here (non stop rain) and work has been horrendous. All in all, a totally shit day!

Hope you're tucked up with a crappy Christmas film and a glass of wine, Crazy.

Or a bramble cocktail 😉

Went well with the surgeon. I see him again in about 5 weeks (should be 4, but he's away). This is very different from my last op when I saw the surgeon once afterwards for 10 minutes! I had 30 minutes today. Plus he's going to x-ray me before I'm discharged.

I'm to wean myself off the sling, so I'll wear it when I'm tired.

Glad things went well with the surgeon Fluffy. 30 minutes is amazing, I’ve only ever got 10, really impressed.
Hope weaning off the sling goes well and you don’t need it too much.

167

Morning!

It's physio day today. Back to Liverpool for my 3pm appointment.

Granny, I initially went private for the first consultation, MRI and x-ray and follow up consultation. I was then referred back to the same surgeon on the NHS at the private hospital. I don't know if this is the service his patients get at the NHS hospital he works at, or if it's the private treatment standard, but I'm more than happy to go along with it!

166 That number seems very small all of a sudden!

My Instagram algorithm is a mind reader. It's been grey, cold and wet here and things are still stressful so last night I went to bed early, got myself all cosy and started scrolling - lots and lots of Christmas videos appeared Felt weird considering it's July but they were relaxing to watch

Fluffy you're definitely getting good service!

Firefly I investigated the Bramble cocktail but it includes and I can't drink that 🤢
Settled for a good whiskey and a Christmas episode of Brooklyn Nine Nine instead

Also, I ordered some gifts for my niece and nephew from the Works yesterday and a Christmas stamp from clearance fell into my basket... £2 - bargain!

I can't drink gin either, Crazy! 🤢🤢

Watching Christmas stuff does sound soothing.

Hi folks. I had an interview yesterday and will be starting a new job soon. I also have a new phone and I have swapped from android to apple and it has been a learning curve. Doing a teams interview was an interesting experience on a phone I didn't know!

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJ4Qad6p/

Congratulations on your new job why 🎉

I have done my annual oven clean and I really need to defrost my freezers soon. It's a fine balance between it being too warm to store the food safely and too cold for the defrost to happen quickly enough - I'll run down the frozen food levels and see if I can do them next weekend.

165

Well done whydoes

I'm multi-tasking baking banana bread (had some very ripe bananas glaring at me from the fruit bowl) doing washing , cleaning and packing ( going away for a couple of days ) and dipping into MN (obvs)