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!

Can't remember where I read it, maybe on here somewhere, but someone's dog got a pine needle from a real tree embedded in their side and cost thousands in emergency surgery! I'll stick to fake trees. 😬

We also don't have the money for real trees each year I'd prefer to spend that amount on booze and food!

My real tree loving friend decided that she couldn't justify the cost anymore last year.

I bought two little ones to grow to put by the front door. They've really not grown as much as I'd hoped, so I foresee buying others once they're in the shop.

@NoWordForFluffy i love the idea of having a couple by the front door in pots. With lights on.

I think I have bought all DDs presents but need another pair of pyjamas for winter. She has her Christmas ones stashed away for Dec 1st.

Now just need to make sure I don;t get The Twitch.

DH and DS birthdays are before Christmas but they're sorted then DS Christmas ( money for him at request)

Santa's Best Carlisle Pre-Lit Christmas Tree with Storage Bag & Remote Control - QVC UK

QVC TSV (Todays Special Value) Pre-lIt Trees in 4ft-8ft in natural or white frosted
The biggest one is £480 that would need to outlive me at that price but the last real tree I bought was over £50 and that was well over seven years ago .

We have a real tree if we can get one for a good price (I used to go to IKEA), but I have an ok artificial just in case!
I have a cold and the house to myself today so watched a CCF.

79 - Into the 70's!!

I put fairy lights on the shed last night after DH cut through the cable of the last lot. Its covered in a passionflower which has gone a bit rampant so I couldnt get the old ones out just stuck the new ones on the top. I was inspired by Fluffy to get them on when the weather isnt too cold. Then I can have the grand switch on in December.

70 I'm very impressed that you're already ticking people off your list.

Hope you feel better soon Constantly - my DS is full of a horrible cold too.

Feel better @ConstantlyCooking! This cold doing the rounds is horrible. Hope your DS is better soon @Magnoliasunrise

DH has taken annual leave today so we are off to Chester for a nice day of pootling :)

@70isaLimitNotaTarget
£50???! Here's me thinking a real tree would cost about £25...which it about 30 years ago!

@NoWordForFluffy
Eek, that's a bit scary re the pine needle. MonkeyDog loves splooting on the living room carpet so maybe we'll stick to our artificial trees!

Morning!

Feeling better vibes being sent to all the poorly people! The change to autumn always seems to bring bugs with it, doesn't it?

@MonkeyTennis34, I reckon if you want a nice big bushy tree, you're looking at more than £50 in some places now. 😬 But yes, I'm happy to stick with artificial trees so FluffyDog doesn't come to mischief (he's now FluffyDog as he's 2 today...no longer a pup!).

Crappy weather to start the day. Meant to improve later though.

@NoWordForFluffy

Happy 2nd birthday to FluffyDog!

MonkeyDog is 3 but still very much a puppy....he woke us up barking at 4am this morning...not for a wee, I think he just wanted to see me 🙄

Well, yes, there is the labratwat issue to deal with in relation to how fast (or otherwise!) they grow up! FluffyDog often barks at stuff outside overnight still. He never really did at the old house, but shows no sign of stopping here yet!

Same here about M& S but my reaction tends to be how much? Or I could make that a lot cheaper .
However I do recognise that they do by far the best ginger beer so. If I'm living here at Christmas I will be getting the bus to the nearest town with an M& S and stocking up.

Fake tree here..and just one. Too much hassle otherwise. DCs are adults now..think only 1 of them will be here so tempted not to borher at all,tbh.

Called in at the garden centre on the way home and saw this tree which both DH and I liked. Never had a frosted one before so would be a nice change and pre lit so no battling the lights!

@Hopingforno2in2024
That is a glorious tree, so full.

Beware, with the snowy fake trees, they do shed snow over the years so will appear less full as time goes on.

I usually strategically place a large bauble in front of a spindly spot 👍🏻

@GettingStuffed I got a M&S christmas food to order slot and ended up thinking the exact same - how much could i make that for. I think the chocolate yule log was £15 and its a minimum spend of £50 so i ditched it. I wanted to save some time but realised i can make the yule log and freeze it up to a month in advance. There wasn't much other stuff I fancied tbh.

But now I'll have M&S ginger beer plus the clementine and cranberrry prosecco that someone mentioned on my M&S in real life shopping list.

Hope you've all had lovely days today.

@Magnoliasunrise if you can get an Ocado delivery then you can get the M&S stuff delivered. I get an Ocado delivery about once every 10 weeks or so and stock up on freezable M&S deli bits and dishwasher tabs. In the pre Christmas delivery I might have been known to add the cranberry Buck's Fizz by the case

Happy birthday FluffyDog

Ginger Beer you say ...... I don;t drink alcohol so I like Fentimans Ginger Beer with lime cordial .

I fancy buying some of the almond-ey mince pies , just to Take One For The Team you understand

FluffyDog has had a nice birthday!

I might get in on the ginger beer bandwagon bet it mixes with vodka well!

this is a VERY good idea, thank you.😊

Oh and Happy BIrthday Fluffydog.

Now I can't stop thinking about almond-ey mince pies and vodka and ginger beer (I think it would be rude not to try it).

Happy Birthday FluffyDog 🦴🍗

I'm not a fan of ginger beer but I really like a whiskey and ginger ale so like to treat myself to a bottle of nice stuff every so often to go with the whiskey u pilfer from MrMeeces

I had a really intense but strange migraine today. Normally I get some warning but this one came from nowhere and made me vomit (which is unusual). My vision went, couldn't even take my meds as it wouldn't stay down so I went to bed with a cold mask and 3 hours later it just lifted
I've managed to eat some jam on toast and keep down some water. Feel slightly nauseous but perfectly fine apart from that.
So weird. I blame peri

@70isaLimitNotaTarget You had me chuckling on the bathroom thread, when you wrote about cracking your knuckles before listing your bathroom decorations 🤣
Also, every time I see your username I want to write Lisa, the L after the isa catches me out every time!

I’ve been lurking on the thread - I did draft a long post a few days ago. But realised it was just one big moan, so didn’t post.
Happy birthday to FluffyDog. Hope you feel better @NoCheesesForUsMeeces.
Poor DC has been ill for a few days, hopefully on the mend now but has been scary at times. I’ve had tonsillitis, luckily it cleared up by itself. My parents visited for a few days but didn’t manage to do much due to illness.

Thank you all for the wishes for a speedy recovery. . I have also picked up a copy of the Waitrose food to order to browse. I really like the almond mince pies and the packs of mini pies with different toppings, but am trying to resist until December mid- November, but I may buy a pack or two for the freezer'