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.

Meeces, how many m3 do you use a month? I think we will settle around 9-ish.

And that's exactly what our landlord will be like. Beggars belief! 😡

Try a 21% rent increase in December. To put it in line with other comparable properties in the area.

I'm hoping it doesn't do that again this December.

Ouch, that's painful!

I'm very glad our mortgaged 50% is fixed for 5 years as that going up too would be very painful.

Nobody will have any money for extras though, which is what ends up causing a recession. So it's very worrying all round.

Fluffy I don't actually know our water usage. I know that it amounts to less than £12 per month though because that's what we pay (plus the waste water charge) and every year since we've been here they've given us some money back.

Spencer that's an eye watering rise 😳

We had a delay with our mortgage fix last year and ended up doing a few months just tracking the interest rates and our payments went up each month. The last month was over £300 more than when we started. Bonkers!

We picked the car up today. It's nice.
I did nearly crash it straight away though because I thought I was in reverse and I wasn't, I was in 6th
DH was not amused

It's been a productive day here. I've potted on the mini roses DH got me got Valentine's Day. Tidied the garden, including pruning the random tree/bush we have that we have yet to identify and sweeping the patio.
Cleaned the conservatory and kitchen top to bottom and washed 2 children's rugby kits (as in the kits for 2 whole teams) and a load of our own.

Just having 5 then will sort the utility room while DH does living room and bathrooms. Then shower, pjs on and a chilled night I think.

Don’t worry Meeces I scraped our car a few weeks after we got it! Still so cross with myself. Sounds like a good day though. Our water supply is around £10 too. Waste £36! But we haven’t had a reading for that yet as that only just started taking it, before that it was being collected by tankers.

You are low users for 4 of you, Wreck. We pay £2 per m3 for supply, so it I'll be £18 at 9m3. Until it goes up! I don't think that's too bad though.

I weeded the front strip ready for my new plants arriving this week. Plus started painting the hall. I'm cleaning tomorrow as I've run out of motivation today!

We pay less than half that per m3!

Bloody hell! Your waste is dearer though. Ours is (currently) £1.35 per m3.

Ah yes ours is £2.17. We were billed from
october but didn’t start paying until January so are paying a bit off too. We haven’t had a meter reading since though…

We have to read our own meter every month! I like to do that anyway so we don't get into arrears.

The 2nd Rudolph Day tomorrow .
DH is whittering on about going to B&Q to get some things for the garden. No shortage of water here falling from the skies but of course we'll have increases / restrictions on use /threat of hose pipe bans in the summer .

We bought a water butt to catch rain for the plants , especially any fragile new potted plants .

Too early to buy anything planty , but I have some seeds in my mini greenhouse that are doing well.

Rents and house prices are bloody mad here . I was idly browsing through RightMove at York/Yorkshire (on the back of a thread on MN) . York is ££ but a few miles out of the centre much more reasonable .
My DS is looking for work in London which means he'll be with us for the duration (whicj I;m fine with ) I really don't want him spending loads on rent , and he's an evil little skinflint so he's happy to live here anyway .
DD works local (bus ride though she could walk!)

I saw a nice dress in John Lewis , didn't buy it on impulse but I came home . looked at it online then ordered . DS and DD have agreed to buy it as my Mothers Day present . (I don't eat much chocolate , don't drink alcohol, mo flowers due to The Cats , don't wear perfume and I have enough toiletries ) I've saved them from putting any effort into thinking about my present because I'm a Good Mum that way ,
I'll make them a nice meal , I;m far, far too tight fisted to spend money on a Mothers Day meal (even if it isn't my money !)

Meeces does your Juke have a reverse camera ? It's one of the niftiest things with mine . That and foldaway wing mirrors when the car is locked ,

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Morning! Happy Rudolph Day 🦌

Sun's shining again here - it was nice out yesterday, but I was knackered when we got in! My dad met us for a cuppa & bought me a new purse in Radley.

Nothing much planned for today - need to do a count of Advent Calendar fillers when the girls are occupied or out, so probably not today. I'm ordering a birthday present for dd1's bestie though so will look for a couple of little bits while I do that.

70 that's organised! Mine will likely get me pj's and a candle 😊

Morning!

Happy Rudolph Day! 🦌

Started off frozen solid here, but sunny and defrosting now. I took the dog out and we did about 7.5km, with loads of sniffing in the woods, so he should rest nicely for the day now.

I need to clean the bathrooms and carry on painting the hallway. It shouldn't take long. The small bit I did yesterday looks lovely today. It's such a nice colour (Midnight Navy).

@lucysmam over the years I've got Mothers Day down to a Fine Art .
Everything gets hoiked up in price and 99% of things on offer I don't need or use

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Candles are off the list here too (cats again)

DS usually wanders through puts his debit card in front of my computer and says "You can have £30" so I order something .

When they were little we'd go out somewhere with them (park or cinema)
Now I buy dinner from M&S so it's easy to prep , though I do roast potatoes , you cannot beat fresh ones .

When my DSis and I were young (about 6yo/8yo) we used to go to the Salvation Army , on Mothering Sunday (as it was back then) we were given a card and a small bar of chocolate (about 2oz) each to give to our Mother .

Of course we ate one of the bars on the way home (Big Sis was the instigator I was an innocent by-stander) . I think we told Mum years later

To celebrate Rudolph Day I had a leftover Christmas Panettone ( mini one about the size of a teacup) sliced and toasted with lemon curd for breakfast .

Happy Rudolph Day

70 we bought 2 water butts the year we moved in because we're on a water meter.
Do you have yours connected to any guttering? We put guttering around the shed and that feeds the butts so they very rarely run dry.

The car does have a reverse camera. I'm not used to it so didn't use it yesterday.
I don't mind the cameras but I hate parking sensors. The beeping does my head in.

My favourite thing right now is just the super light steering. My little car has one of the earliest forms of power steering so it's manageable but nothing like the new one!

I've booked a carvery for Mother's Day (mums choice) and will probably buy her a charm for her bracelet.
I miss the days when we were young and my dad would take us shopping. My poor mum, we'd buy her the most random things (an ornamental sheep wearing a jumper, plastic daisies, giant joke sunglasses, lots and lots of slippers) and she always acted so so happy with them.

I feel like I've taken a step backwards today. Woke myself up at 5:30 coughing and haven't really stopped since. So annoying.
DH is cooking lunch for us and FIL.
I'm refusing to partake in any prep or cooking so will lay the table and pour drinks, eat then celebrate Rudolph day when they leave by crocheting my Christmas lights blanket.

Midnight Navy looks gorgeous @NoWordForFluffy and if it's the Crown one they recommend pairing it with Crown Hare which is a pinky/beigey/lilac,
Beautiful colour ( and I love hares so I was instantly attracted ) but I;m not sure about pairing it with navy .

I wanted French Navy for our very small cloakroom but there's no natural light so we went with brilliant white and a huge mirror .
The tiles are dark blue

Meeces my front parking sensor was going mad the other day as I was driving, it wouldn’t stop. I pulled over and there was a piece of rubbish covering it!

I remember going into a local pharmacy/shop with my step mum to choose my mum a Mother’s Day present. A picked a few different things (must have been 8 or 9) including a ‘mum’ deodorant. After I had given them I heard my mum joke to one of her friends that I must think she smells (possibly I have some other smellies) and it really upset me.

DH is going to set up guttering for the water butt . I think it'll need to be fairly constantly filling with rain so it doesn't go all stagnant .

It's mainly for the plants at the end of our garden, filling watering cans is a ballsache and though DD says she'll do it when we're away I have a sneaking suspicion that she won't , plants are not top of her priority list

Also got some of those pointy spikey things that go on a 2 litre bottle and they drip water so they can have them too .
Though I think (as I'm a very rubbish novice gardener ) that giving plants a proper soak so the roots get watered less often is better than watering the surface daily ? I think I read that somewhere or made it up .

I like that colour, 70. I was wondering what to do on the other wall, as I think it would be too much having blue on both sides. It looks nice on the one side I've done it. Took loads of paint though; new build walls are thirsty!

Happy Rudolph Day all!

Thats a lovely colour Fluffy - I did our spare room in it a year or so ago and I've still not painted behind the radiator 😬. I've now decided its a "feature".

I'm enjoying the lovely Mothers Day ideas - I've definitely learnt to buy my own over the years.

DH lifted it off the wall so I could paint behind it! Can't say the same for the bedrooms! 😬🤣

Happy Rudolph Day🤔

As a newbie Ive been scratching my head as I was catching up on the posts and Ive only just clocked on 😊Please don't boot me off the thread!

Today I'm enjoying making up a little Easter stocking for young adult DC consisting of scratch cards, ester egg, sweets, bottle of plonk anything else I can think of.

Bright and sunny day here in the north although the ground is still saturated.

@belgiumchocolates don't worry , you have another 9 Rudolph Days ahead of you this year

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Is everyone MIA ?

I;m looking at Easter Eggs for my dear DC , if I buy them now then I will get the ones they want (and I have terrible FOMO)

Soon be into the two hundreds !

70, I have planned in my head to either book a Tesco slot this week, or go into town on Saturday, to get my girls the ones I want for them too!