Countdown to Christmas 2024: And So We Begin (Thread 1)

[NoWordForFluffy]

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It's a leap year next year, so an extra day to wait!

I've ordered 120 baubles today, as WeRChristmas sent me a 50% code for today only. Annoyingly I could get our new tree way cheaper today! 😭

I'm exhausted now I've finally had time to sit and relax. Tomorrow is a chill day.

The sun has been out but it looks like it is clouding over. No snow forecast thankfully. I am working from home today. On Thursday I have a day of catching up on e-learning as we don't really have time during the shift. Then in the office on Friday.

I am using my heated cushion today. What a fabulous present it is.

It’s a toasty 2° here now… have just popped home for some lunch before getting dd and bringing her home then back to the same town (10 miles away) for work for the third time today 🥴

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Morning
Thinking about getting up , watching news on TV and gearing up to it .
Shower. Clothes.Coffee Breakfast
Then a couple of things I need to buy for Mum

Morning!

Cold day today. Forecast is to be barely above freezing (and feels like below freezing) all day! 🥶🥶🥶

I've no idea what day it is today as we didn't go into the office yesterday due to the weather. I'm now out of kilter!

Sounds like a nice chilled start, 70 unlike my actual chilled start walking the dog at 6am!

We left washing out last night and it was damp but flapping at 6. By 7 it had frozen almost solid! 🤣 Freeze dried is still dried, however! At least our drying / airing rack is in situ in the massive downstairs loo. It can come in later and hang up there.

It was above freezing this morning but didn’t get above 3°. They’ve closed some local roads as places are still quite flooded here and it’s going to be -5° overnight so they’ll be lethal.

Sounds hideous, Wreck. I came across so much black ice this morning. It's horrendous on foot, let alone in a car!

Our awful letting agent / landlady finally told the DPS to release our full deposit today (day 10, so the very end of the period for response). We're finally rid of that place! It was a relief, as we were sure they'd try to deduct loads (for spurious reasons!).

Very icy underfoot here too .

I did notice (minor whinge alert). I don’t open January magazines until after New Yeears Eve as they’re normally full of horoscopes and dieting and holiday articles. So I kept my Good Housekeeping in its paper wrapper……..there was a lot in it that was Christmas related. That should all be in the December issue. <stamps foot >
Even worse the February one I kept to read on the train was rubbish , hardly anything of substance.
I have a subscription DH got as a special offer once it runs out I won’t renew and I’ll just go back to buying the Christmas issue.

Cold here too (but not as cold in some of your parts of the country).
Did have to de-ice the car this morning though (office day).

Slightly stressful day. Was 'poached' for a new project with a whole new team so I feel very 🤯

Fluffy I'm so glad you're getting your deposit back!

Us too, Meeces! We half-killed ourselves cleaning and tidying before we gave the keys back. I'd have been furious if they hadn't!

Are you permanently poached? All good experience!

Poached for the next 6 months to a year apparently. Initially I felt a bit miffed as assumed my manager wanted rid of me but now I know a bit more, I think it's more that the project will use things I've learned this year and can hit the ground running.
You're right, I need to stop being a negative bugger - it'll be good experience for me.

70 when I going the library I found out I can get online magazines so I'm going to do that and have a nose at the Christmas GH in November to help decide if I need to buy it

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Morning!

🥶🥶🥶 here again! Crispy dog walk, which he loves! The sunrise is looking pretty impressive from the lounge window. 😍

I actually bought no Christmas magazines last year. I think moving house helped that; too much other stuff going on!

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This morning I'm lucky to be in one piece! We're under a yellow warning for ice and I can confirm that yes, it's icy! 😬😬 The dog was sick of the word 'slow' today!

I came across a car accident where the driver who was clearly driving too fast heading to a roundabout had mounted the kerb, taken a small tree out and then carried on to hit a sign, I think. His car was very poorly-looking in bits!

Oh dear! So many people don’t drive to the conditions. Dh’s gear stick was frozen this morning, or something like that. I stopped listening as he was stressing over it 😅

I’m off work today thankfully it’s been a long week. Dd is in school (best week we’ve had in ages, two mornings in) so I’ll have to collect her in a few hours which doesn’t leave me much time really.

I spent the last 2 days unpacking and falling over piles of things, trying to get some order on everything. The removals team built my wardrobes and dining table, an half the couch (1 box didn't arrive from IKEA...). They ran out of time for the bed but at least I should be able to do that and there was a single bed they put together which came from home (so at least I was off the airbed! 2 nights on that was enough for my back). And only 2 candlestick and 1 plastic tub broken in the whole lot 🫣 all the beds in a colleague's shipment were broken on arrival in October!

And Brussels had its biggest snowfall in a decade - but I was barely out in it! Nice walk to the office this morning though - bright and brisk weather!

Bust workday today, then continuing to put order on the chaos for the weekend. And finding a dress (that's both clean and fits 😳) for a Ministerial dinner on Monday night

I bought the edition of GH in shops in early Nov (Mary Berry on cover - was that Dec?) and only got halfway through with other distractions. So it's at home still for next winter. Otherwise no Christmas mags this season.

It was -1 this morning here, in the Channel Islands. Very unusual for here, especially as we live about 50m from the beach. Sea is so still today, all boats should arrive and there will be lots of choice at the supermarkets! Over Christmas we had so many cancelled boats, the shops were quite empty for days.

I’m on the lookout for a nice a4 size box, to keep my Christmas magazines in from this year. I happily read them in Oct/Nov, then was so busy, missed the chance in December. So I’m saving them all, and will probably start reading them again in November (secretly probably September!!).

I used to answer the phones in a car insurance claims dept and if it was icy we would have to get extra people ready because the amount of people who would skid/slide etc was ridiculous.

I'm glad I haven't had to take my car out today - it's in a shaded spot on the drive so it's still frozen, and it's old so the heaters don't get warm for ages 🥶

I went out and put water out for the birds this morning as realised most spots will be frozen. Have quite enjoyed watching them flit in and out (except the magpies which are a PITA).

Biddy Brussels sounds chaotic but pretty.

Jennifer I keep Christmas magazines in an a4 box I received a present in years ago. It's tatty now but I don't mind.
I've slipped it into the bottom of the spare room cupboard with my craft stash so I can dip in and out whenever the mood takes me

Can I join in please? I really love Christmas. I won’t tend to do anything towards it I confess, not properly, till September. But I like thinking about it any time of the year. I probably won’t post much till later in the year but thought I’d say hello.

We put our decorations up 1st Saturday in December. And don’t take them down till 6th January. I do like to celebrate for 12 days after Christmas. But also like to start fairly early. So I suppose I’m really greedy!

My children are 22, 19 and 12 and all still really love Christmas.

Christmas just gone was a success. I was a bit nervous as after my mum died in 2021 we rented a cottage for those 2 subsequent Christmasses, but there are 7 of us needing 4 rooms (Me and DH, my DF and DS, 2 DDs and my DMil) plus a cat and a house rabbit and places that could take us all were just prohibitively expensive this time around. We bit the bullet and had Christmas at home. It was lovely actually and we made space to remember my DM that felt natural and joyful. So I’ll aim to do similar this year.

I like this thread. It seems a happy place.

I thought you might like to see a photo of our rabbit Sydney enjoying the tree light this year just gone.

oh I think I need a Sydney. I've got a daft dog and a grumpy child, can we swap please?

Oh I love Sydney! Pleased you enjoyed Christmas, I also don’t do anything until September at the earliest but I LOVE Christmas and this thread.

Sydney is full of personality and super intelligent. Unlike our daft cat! Both are lovely. And we can them both on holiday whenever we can.

Oh Sydney is lovely and your tree is beautiful.

I'm still decluttering and I have to admit that my collection of Christmas magazines bit the dust this week. Obviously this means that I can buy new ones this year 😂

I had a CT scan yesterday, in a mobile unit that was warmer than inside the hospital got told off for being late when I was early...then told off for asking where the loo was 🙄 because they were running behind. Not my problem...I was early & wanted the loo 🤷‍♀️ . Then dd1 told me off for telling the woman not to speak to me like a 4yo at work who is not where they've been asked to be at a certain point in the day (i.e. carpet time/tidying time) <sigh>

Then today I was told oncology would call me back if there was a problem with me changing my appointment to a phone call next week. Bit tough if it is a problem really; dd1 is at a uni open day & my "in case" person for dd2 has picked up an extra shift at work. Dd2 doesn't want dragging out of school for my app (fair enough - I don't really want to go for a nice chat about the weather & no I don't have any issues), & I can't magically be an hour away by bus, with her, at 3pm, when she finishes school at 3:15 🙄 But they'll let me know if it's not ok 🤷‍♀️ So glad these people are all sensible & can see that actually being there might be difficult if I don't want to leave a 14yo without access to a trusted adult if there's a problem 🤔

@LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood clearly we all need a Sydney 😍 Are the candles on your tree battery operated?

Welcome lady and Sydney (who is gorgeous).
I’m also interested in the tree candles…

We (me & DH) have been away for the last few Christmases but are planning to be at home this year.
Sorry about upright DM 💐

Wreck I love the thread too. So nice to throw Christmas questions out in the summer and not be moaned at!

You chucked Christmas magazines Buck? Have you checked with Fluffy that you’re still allowed on the thread?

Lucysmam I hope you receive some common sense regarding your appointment, and I hope the scan and news is good 🤞🏻🤞🏻

My dad has just left - he was collecting some furniture that we didn’t want so I should be able to clean the spare room and make it into a proper office this weekend.