Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness...and ramping up those Christmas preparations! Countdown to Christmas 2024 (thread 3) (title edited by MNHQ @request of OP)

[NoWordForFluffy]

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(Saves us checking the old thread tomorrow!)

Here goes, folks. New thread to see us through autumn!

70isaLimitNotaTarget no Guinea piggies aren’t flexible little bundles are they? I love the way the run on their little stubby legs. 💕 I miss my boy piggies so much. Can’t manage to adopt any now though with my mobility worsening. It’s not the piggies it’s the cage care.

pops in

in case anyone hasn't found them yet, I saw the yard sticks of Jaffa cakes in my local Poundland today - just a FYI!

pops out

To be honest, I've no idea why we needed a lecture on pet care! We're all fully capable of knowing who's responsible for the pets in our house. 🤷‍♀️

@TeddyBeans, I got mine in Iceland, but thank you for the heads up!

Love the views. It is cold here, so I am planning lots of winter food. Thank you for the sausage roll inspiration. I have just started a new job and that has overshadowed the Christmas prep, but I have promised myself I will do it this week and I've written it in my planner!

Would the sausage rolls count as homemade if I used bought sausage meat (but added ingredients) and ready made pastry? I like the idea of making some but I can't make pastry (or cakes & biscuits) to save my life

DH is still ill so we're not as ok as I was hoping we'd be going in to the weekend. I'm tired to my bones so will be having an early night.

Also, pet wise, I've only had dogs and 1 hamster but an ex had rats, lizards and a snake. I was terrified at the start but loved them after a short while. Very smart animals.

Yes, Meeces, that's how I do them. I've no bloody intention of making puff pastry! In fact, I've added puff pastry to our shopping for tomorrow!

I hope your DH is better soon.

Oh, just had my phone pre-op, so that's all sorted. 😁

🙋🏻‍♀️ another puff pastry buyer here (I do make shortcrust from scratch) and I bought sausage meat from the butcher. Mixed it with herbs to make sausage rolls = homemade as far as I'm concerned.

Good news Fluffy.

I have just wrapped the kids' presents. 🎁 While watching Home Alone 2! We watched Die Hard 2 first. 😁

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Into the 30s!

DH is currently sorting through shit in the garage, as we didn't half move with a load of useless stuff. I've concluded that we are never going to fit the car into it, sadly. Waaaaaay too many big things like wheelbarrows and BBQs!

I was helping, but the dog wouldn't piss off and leave us to it, so I've had to come upstairs with him. He needs his rest after his walk!

Its kind of made up - you slice the stale pannetoni and put into an oven dish, scatter white chocolate chunks and dried or fresh raspberries throughout and inbetween the pannetone and then just pour the egg mix over (its milk, cream, vanilla, eggs, sugar - made up like a custard), then bake for about 30 mins.

Just ordered a hammock and cube set for DD’s rats from Etsy. So another present sorted. Not much to get for DD as she’s an adult now. I will be getting pictures of her rats, hamster and her hamster and gerbils who died printed and framed. And she’s having a cute T-shirt. It’s similar to the sweatshirt she is having for her birthday and she’s already had her main birthday present of a rat playpen. Are you sensing a theme here? 😆💕 She adores her little furry kids.

🤦🏻‍♀️ Actually not everyone does. If this was the case animals wouldn’t be neglected, abused and/or dumped. It’s always a good time to remind everyone that animals should never be presents. I’m glad you understand but you are living on cloud cuckoo if you think everyone does.

Now back to presents that aren’t sentient creatures. And I seem to be mostly done with my shopping. 🤞 There tend to be fewer things when children get older and especially when they are adults. Nice and easy in recent years. 😌

Everyone on this thread does. It really wasn't needed. Go and find a pet-related thread if you want to lecture people. Honestly. 🙄

I also make sausage rolls with shop made puff pastry. So much nicer than shop bought sausage rolls and I'm not making my own puff pastry!

Had my first mince pies today! Also picked up the Aldi Christmas magazine, some nice looking buffet stuff.

We have a slight puff pastry situation. 😬 After discussing sausage rolls, DH bought two packs of pastry. And didn't tell me. So I have also bought 2 packs of puff pastry. Good jobs we've LOADS of sausages, isn't it?!

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How does it suddenly come around so fast every year?!?

DH needs to decide what he wants (we don't really buy for each other as we tend to buy stuff we want when we see it on offer, but he needs to pick something DC can wrap!), and I'll let DC loose in Poundland with a budget and a list of people to buy for, and then we're done apart from Santa presents.

I'm having to stop myself from starting new DIY and decorating tasks, because there's no way I'll get them done before it's time to put up the Christmas decorations and it'll be impossible after. I'm trying to take the edge off by ordering wallpaper samples for the hallway...

And I also buy my puff pastry. I am pretty good at cooking and baking, but pastry is definitely not one of my strengths!

TBF Fluffy , I was responding back in a similar vein to Pinkkis

Cats and dogs are more involved in day to day , you cannot ignore them.
Having kept guinea-pigs for years ( as a child and with my DD) I was constantly saddened and sickened to see how badly they are treated , rabbits are worse . Rabbits are the UKs most neglected pet , they shouldn;t be in a hutch.
I;ve never kept rabbits , I know enough to know I don't know enough.

I was a very active participant on Small Pets when I had the pigs .

I contacted my DD school when I was concerned about their guinea-pigs , really an Educational Facility should've done better .
I didn't win friends but I made sure those animals were safe .

Off to bed now , tucking my SoapBox away .

OP my apologies

As those of you reading my posts will see I was responding to people querying my use of the term “fancy rat” when I was writing about the gifts I had bought for my daughter. They mentioned other furries and as it is of course a thread about Christmas I was wary of my giving the idea that I might be giving animals as presents or condoning it. Hence my point or “lecture” (because there’s always one). Sorry OP if you feel that this took over the thread but after a recent terrible local issue I wanted to reiterate that I wasn’t advocating giving animals as presents. But I am very much in favour of giving presents to animals at Christmas.

Now can we please 🙏🏻 move on as I made clear I wanted to. I never intended to take over the thread. Back to Christmas presents whether for humans or animals. 😆💕

Spiced loaf toasted sounds really nice. 😋I’m another one who finds pannetone too dry.

This thread isn't about presents either! You want the bargains thread for presents talk.

70, I know you responded, but I just don't think this is the time / place for the conversation which started with a lecture, which was not appropriate, IMO.

@Pinkkisugarmouse, you keep making snidey comments about me ('there's always one' being the case in point in that post). Stop being so bloody rude.

The bugs are never ending in this house - DD still has a horrendous cough, and now I’ve got a terribly sore throat and just coughed, which sounded awful.

The plan is to put the tree and decorations up next weekend, and they’ll stay up until the 5th January. This will require a lot of cleaning prep as I didn’t get to join all the organised people on the cleanalong! I can’t wait to build the tree and see all the decorations again 🎄

DS is currently singing a medley of the songs from his nativity 🥰

Sorry to hear you aren't well Jennifer. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. I am soooooooo impressed you are getting the decorations up next weekend. I'll be starting from about 28th I think but not collecting the tree till 7th.

Off to M&S later - bought the wide legged trousers with sequin stripe down side for my go to xmas party pants but the 10's are too big and the 8's too small so I'm wondering if I ask nicely they'll make me a 9.

Got my Nigella Christmas book out yesterday so I was looking at ham recipes.