Spring has sprung...let's Countdown to Christmas 2024 (Thread 2)

[NoWordForFluffy]

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For the forgetful of thinking AKA me tomorrow, repeating the countdown!

🎄169🎄 - putting trees on this post as Christmas feels very close right now thanks to the cold and non stop rain.

Bird poo is annoying jennifer. We have a conservatory with a glass roof, and lots of regular bird visitors 🤢

I'm so tired today I'm struggling to concentrate. Going to go for a walk on my lunch break to wake myself up.

I was thinking about Christmas yesterday and thought I might host a little Christmas film afternoon/night for my sister and her dc in December (sister can come or take the time to stay home and get some wrapping etc done).
Hot chocolate, popcorn, hotdogs, all the lights on, blankets, a film or 2 - I think it'll be lovely

The bird poo came inside though, hitting my inside shutters 🤢 it must have timed it perfectly!!

Your film night sounds wonderful @NoCheesesForUsMeeces 🎄

Don't talk to me about sodding bird poo. The baby housemartins create more poo than is reasonable. Outside our front door is covered in it. 🤢

I've started to buy snacks and drinks for Christmas now shhhhh, don't tell the resident Grinches!

So far I have Pringles, Shloer and wine / fizz and I'm getting Kettle Chips and San Pellegrino this week. Starting to build up nice mix!

I’d love to be buying food ready, but I won’t be hosting anyone. My sister is hosting my parents and I expect MIL and FIL will want to host here, as SIL and BIL etc will go there too. I’d love to be going to my sister but we have to fly there, and can’t take DC presents etc. I’d love to have my family close by.

I hosted last year, and timed all the ready prepared food to perfection. Then got covid, and missed the rest of Christmas! (As I’ve moaned about many times already, sorry!)

I’ve bought a few presents already 🎁

Our cat has gone to the vets today due to a wound on his ear. He has to stay in tonight, then have an op tomorrow if he’s well enough. It was a burst abscess due to another cat bite. This is the third time this has happened, he’s 15 years old, and the bill will be roughly £900 again. We love him. But I could cry with the amount of money!

Oh poor kitty. That's a dear do, isn't it?

We always host Christmas so the kids don't have to go anywhere. I like doing it too! My family isn't near me either (though if they wanted a trek up the M6, they'd be welcome to join us!).

I forgot...I have a whole side of salmon in the freezer too. They were on Nectar price deal! Oh, and my roasties are in the freezer too.

We need to sort the freezers out to make room for any bits I find. They're in chaos right now! 🤣

QVC have Christmas shows on the 18th/20th/21st July , not sure if they're still doing Christmas in July on the 25th .
Though its an excuse to rebrand Clearance to CiJ and sell off stock.

They used to have really good deals from the USA , great brands.

Vet bills are fierce and always at the worst time though there's never a good time for a poor little cat to have an abscess in his ear

We also stay put on Christmas Day - got sick of shlepping around motorways and sharing rooms with the kids, it was ok when they were small but now they prefer to stay home. We host DH family early December then visit my family mid December so I feel like we've earned our Xmas sofa time.

My mum has a chest freezer in the garage and its very useful.

Sorry to hear about your cat Jennifer.

168 A mild-ish migraine got me so I’ve been in bed since 7 and have just woke up. Feel very discombobulated just now

I don’t think we’ll be hosting many (if any) people this Christmas although we have definitely decided we’re not going away this year.

FIL and my mum both like to stay home and cook, SIL & MIL (separately) live far away and my sister will stay home and do a buffet lunch so her dc don’t have to go anywhere.
We may possibly have my dad but that’ll be it so no need for stocking up unfortunately.

jennifer a few years ago we finally convinced FIL to come to us for dinner, DH cooked a perfect dinner -and they tested positive on Christmas morning! I had to do a distanced meals on wheels service.

Sorry about your poor cat. Ouch on the vet bill but I hope he’s feeling better soon.

Sorry to hear about your migraine Meeces, hope you're feeling better now.

70, I read Christmas shows as movies etc 🙄I'm now realising its shopping!!! I'll be tuning in, not done it before so fingers crossed for some good purchases.

Dry here finally so washing about to go out.

We had SO MUCH RAIN yesterday bloody forecast changed during the morning, so the washing couldn't go out.

It's out now, but the weather is ominous / changeable so may not last long!

Meeces, hope you feel better soon. 🤒

167 Morning. The sun is finally shining here although it's due to rain again later

I'm on the mend thankfully. After doing an office day with a fuzzy head yesterday I was exhausted but thankfully feeling better today.

I've taken to hanging my washing on the airer in the conservatory as we keep getting heavy showers. DH hates it because "it looks scruffy" but it's tough at the minute!

Random garden question - has anyone grown an Acer in a pot? Debating putting one out the front (bright but north facing) but not sure how well it would do.

Meeces we had an acer in a pot in our previous house. It must have lasted 10 years or more until the Beast from the East killed it off. It was very happy in the pot but I think three weeks of vicious sub zero temperatures and snow were just too much to survive.

In Christmas news I bought some luggage style labels this week. I've got plenty of paper and raffia ribbon but was short of tags.

I also bought DS a couple of sets of guitar strings to go in his stocking. However, he's been away on a school trip so I took the opportunity to deep clean his room and have found enough strings to restock a music festival 😂😂

Our cat came back yesterday from the vets, feeling very sorry for himself. He looks so sad, and we have 10 days ahead where he has to stay in. But hopefully he’ll recover well and be outside lounging in the sunshine soon. Can’t come soon enough for either of us! He’s in the hallway, which means he has a little look each time we leave, to see if it’s worth trying to escape. He hasn’t bothered trying yet.

@NoCheesesForUsMeeces Our house is full of washing right now too!

He’s in the hallway, which means he has a little look each time we leave, to see if it’s worth trying to escape. He hasn’t bothered trying yet

awww , is he wearing The Cone of Shame?

Our cats haven't been confined to barracks since we got them ( they'd gone through their inital settling in , I think about 8 weeks till they went out )
Apart from NYE when the male injured himself and on Vet advice we kept him indoors with nothing to climb on. He had a face like thunder
And the look he had when he was allowed out , he eyerolled himself inside out .

Yes, he has the cone of shame on. He’s banging into things, and struggling to work out how to eat his food. He’s managing though - 1 day down!! Back to the vets tomorrow for a checkup, fingers crossed they’re happy with him.

Bless him. I hope he's feeling better soon. 🐈‍⬛

Not amazing weather again today. One day it'll be dry for the entire 24 hours (no idea when, mind you!).

I've had such a busy week this week. I've got work being thrown at me from all directions!

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Ha! Woolly it's guitar picks here , every time I lift something in DS room there are guitar picks under it . He got a wallet with assorted picks as his Cats' Present a couple of years ago , he thought it was a standard wallet but was really pleased when he saw what it was .

Should be dry here today <cross fingers> I have a full load of towels in the wash waiting to go out

Not sure how the next 9 days will go. He managed to get his cone off and give his stitches a good scratch, and knocked his water bowl over so water went everywhere.

Sunshine here but we have new turf, so can’t walk on the grass for 2-3 weeks. Which means the line can’t be used for drying - very frustrating but at least we have lovely green grass to look at.

DC get their report today, and it will be challenging. I was very academic and tried hard at school and did well, the more effort I put it, the better I did. I stupidly presumed when I had kids, they’d be the same. But it hasn’t worked out like that. DC find things very difficult, and also doesn’t want to put the effort in as much. I need to make sure I remain really positive, as they are progressing well. DC find writing very hard, and never wants to read. So it’s really hard to keep that all going. But I really need to speak about positive things in this report today. I wish DC found things easier.

I should make it clear that I wish DC were at average ability across writing, reading maths etc. I’m not the parent disappointed at second place, I just wish for DC to meet expectations for the year today.

The Cone of Shame 😂that really made me laugh 70. I remember our sadly departed ginger Tom having the cone of shame after one of his many scraps and he figured out if he jammed himself in the right size space and walked backwards he could pull it off. Total nightmare for 5 days, I made the family take it in turns to cat sit him. He was furious. Everyone was delighted when his enforced homestay ended.

In christmas news I found some homemade mincemeat at the back of the cupboard, not sure how many years it has been there but I put enough booze in to preserve for several years so may well be okay.

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I am going to have a weekend of tidying , washing , hopefully get DH to tidy up the garden and shove DS out with the cannister vacuum to clean the car.

Going to avoid going " out out " though it might be quieter with the football .

We watched one of the "Sorted Food" episodes where they made a gingerbread house - I've tried this once and it was such a faff , never again.

Car MOT/Service/Tax this month then I'll look for DD Dec 1st Box gifts ( she loves nail polish , I buy her Orly , Nails Inc and Mylee)

Morning!

I'm currently suffering the playground on our estate with the kids. Were the only ones here after the 4 kids who were playing when we arrived went...nothing I said, honest! 🤣

I'm bored. They seem ok. For now!

It's meant to rain later, briefly. Rain is so very tedious now! I think it might be the air show this weekend. DH thinks we'll see the planes from the lounge, so that'll be good!

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I pruned things in the garden, not too much as there might be birds nesting , but the branches that overhang the path and the brambles <bane of my gardening life >

My muscles will whinge at me over the next couple of days I;m sure you shouldn't bend like that at your age they'll say ,

I also got a chunk of gardening done yesterday. It was one of those days when I went out to just dead head a couple of roses and ended up doing 3 hours of weeding, replanting, pruning and sweeping. I think I may have even still been in my pyjamas.

Its nice to get up to the next day though and see all your hard work.

I used my new clippers to do the edges again as the grass had grown loads since last week! It's nice to see it all neat. I'm hoping the herbs I've put along the fence all grow well so I have the massive mixed bush I'm aiming for by next year. I took a rosemary from a pot and put it in the ground last week. It seems not to have minded so far, which is good!

It's meant to rain today for a bit. It's only managed spitting so far. Hopefully short lived!