Ho ho ho...here we go round again! Countdown to Christmas 2025, thread 1

[NoWordForFluffy]

365

Evening!

I'm tired after today, but the buffet was a success. Tomorrow it's dinner!

Everyone seems to love their gifts, which is always good. 😊 Bed soon as it's all go again from the morning!

Freezing here too. -4° according to Met office 🥶 So glad I picked up my fleecy dressing gown today!
Went into the garden to break the ice on the bird bath and ended up doing a little inspection. I apparently plonked 2 mini rose plants under the potting bench at some point in early autumn and forgot about them - they were left inside their ceramic pots which had collected water and frozen the inside plastic pots into little ice cubes

Glad you didn't fall over Fluffy!

I've taken notes of the tv recommendations for when I have the brain power to watch. Right now I have a stinking cold and just can't be bothered to watch anything that requires any form of thinking/memory.
I did realise yesterday that there was a new Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas series in December though so I've started that - even in my zombie state I can watch people knit jumpers and decorate trees

349

Into the three hundred and forties

The car is covered in ice <pah> so I need to chip it out , then drive DD to work for our Traditional Sandwich&Croissant Friday .

Well, 🥶 🧊 ⛸️ for today's dog walk / run! We tried to stick to grassy areas / verges where possible so we didn't slide around! It was weirdly intermittent though. Some paths were clear and fine, then others (sometimes on the other side of the road) were treacherous!

He had a fun, sniffy, time though, so all is good!

Yep soooooo cold here too. I keep thinking its bloody cold then saying to myself well it IS January.

Was jolly glad to get home today though.

A new burger place has opened not too far away so burgers for dinner and I'm ridiculously excited which is the result of having a booze and treat free week.

I got my Christmas Money Tin off to a good start by wrestling £10 off DS ( there was visible perspiration on his little brow as he handed over the cash . The Queen his her eyes against the bright light )

I aim to put £10/week in and build up a nice Christmas fund .

The coldest day so far this year in these parts. The icy fields looked stunning in the sunlight.
MonkeyDog enjoyed cracking all the frozen puddles.

Really enjoying all the frosty photos. Although it has been cold I do agree it has been stunning, I think I’d take sunny and freezing over cloudy and warm if I’m honest. The car was frozen this morning when I dropped DS off before work, he was all bundled up with his coat, scarf, hat, and gloves on and he was still cold😂. Luckily we haven’t got anything to do this weekend, DH is off out with a friend tomorrow but I’m planning on staying inside and keeping warm.

It’s somehow already come to the time of the week where I need to meal plan for next week!. My least favourite part of being an adult is cooking. The planning, cooking and washing up just doesn’t seem worth it for at most half an hour of food. If I had endless money I’d get a private chef!.

348

Morning!

Still bloody 🥶🥶🥶 out there! We went through the estate and then into the woods today, trying to stick to grassy areas on the estate so it wasn't slippery! It was fine in the woods as it's dirt tracks etc.

FluffyDog is now snoozing (he got something up his nose in the woods, but he seems to have shifted it by sneezing loads!).

Tomorrow is meant to be a little warmer (first time the temp and the feels like are above 0° for days, even if only for a short while!) then Monday warmer again (totally tropical 9°!).

I need to do some housework today. And also prep dinner for later (beef shin and mushroom stew). If the chicken is defrosted for tomorrow I'll dismantle it (thighs) get the marinade on the go for it as well. We'll have butter chicken with that. I'm taking it easy this weekend though as I'm very tired after my first full week at work since w/c 2 Dec this week!

Evening. The house is quiet now after DS hosted a few beers and pizza with friends to celebrate his birthday. I had hoped to get out to the cinema with DH but there was nothing we could agree on so we hibernated and I carried on with my knitting.

Ahh Happy Birthday WoollyDS

Freezing here today . I went out this morning with DS then later with DD
Sunday I need to do some Sorting Out of the Utility .

I have recycled some household items , hung onto some things that I probably should recycle but I know if I do I'll kick myself . ( I have one of those milkjugs that;'s a cow where it pours the milk from it's mouth ! )

I am determined to do more in the garden this year , need to get a new very large pot for one of my climbers that needs potting on.
And not plant my tomatoes too early but not miss the optimum time as I was so pleased last year with my delicious tomatoes even though it wasn't the best year for them all round .

347

Happy Birthday for yesterday WoollyDS!

Still cold here but think we peaked yesterday at minus 6 when I took DS to training (rowing) at 7am and I was surprised the Thames wasn't frozen but a little check with my friend Mr Google told me the Thames hasn't frozen since 1963.

And in another interesting bit of history in the great frost fair of 1683 the Thames froze for 2 months.

I'm off to TKMaxx later to spend my Christmas voucher - I'm hoping the sales are still on.

Morning all,
Extremely heavy frost and fog here.

For the first time ever, DH has put the heating on OVERNIGHT 😳 over the past few days.
It's usually, "Jumper up everyone!"

I've been reflecting on Christmas 2024 and have started to make a few 2025 improvements.

1. I'm not going to do the huge Sainsbury's food shop in person. It's going to be an internet shop from now on.

Although I got there at 6am, it was so busy and stressful.

1. Similarly, I didn't buy enough wrapping paper so ended up going to Asda on the 23rd....carnage!

I'll buy 5 rolls this year in November 🤣

Morning all!
Food shop early yesterday morning, it was lovely and quiet!
HAPPY YESTERDAY BIRTHDAY to @TheWoollybacksWife son 🎉
DS birthday coming up so had a nosey yesterday at what I've got to wrap. Pyjamas and a t shirt I'd bought him although the correct age, they're really big! 🙈 so they've been put away for Christmas! I felt quite smug knowing I'd started already!
Roast dinner today and will prob go for a walk.
@Magnoliasunrise I hope you get yourself something nice with your voucher!
@70isaLimitNotaTarget I say every year that im going to do more with the garden but don't! Strawberries were awful last year then died off. Tomatoes the plants grew wellbeing no tasty tomatoes! I also need larger pots as our (me and son planted together, which was nice as he enjoyed watching them grow) sunflowers didn't grow that tall. I might actually plant straight into the ground this year 🤔

Happy birthday to WoollyDS! 🎉🍻

It's a gorgeous day here today. Lovely and sunny. We've had all the windows open to air the house as it's so nice! It's still bloody cold (if now above freezing, apparently)!

The ground was still affected by black ice this morning though. In the woods the paths we went on today were also rather icy (though parts were defrosting and they were muddy / slippery!).

I've just sat down after doing the cleaning. Felt like a big job today, not sure why. Though whose idea it was to install porous loo seats is beyond me...I did put Pink Stuff all round the rims and cleaned it off, so that added extra time to the task, as that's very good for resolving the young lad + porous loo seats problem!

I need to clean the window and TV, but I'm staying sitting down for a bit longer first!

345

We seem to have missed a day!

We're finally rid of the ice. It rained overnight, so any remnants are now gone, I'd think.

I'm in the office today, so I'm currently waiting for a train (annoyingly I'd forgotten they'd changed times, so I just missed the previous one by seconds!).

Good Morning all, chilly but not too baltic here in the Home Counties.

Dilligaf Dog is being his usual daft self, chasing pigeons out of his garden. Goodness only knows what he'd do if he caught one.

Today's boring update: Am off to a school event tomorrow and I've been asked to wear a white T-shirt. I've had every drawer out, rifled through the wardrobe and I don't have a plain white T-Shirt. 🙃

Happy belated birthday to your DS wooly

It’s practically tropical here compared to last week. The sun has been tricking me into thinking spring is coming. I get ahead of myself every year expecting spring when it’s way too early, I need to let myself enjoy winter after Christmas, but I really struggle.
We spent the weekend sorting out the nursery and planning for DS’s birthday. It falls that time do the year where it might be freezing but it also could be quite nice, so I’m trying to plan accordingly!.

I'm a long time lurker who has enjoyed the threads for ages.

Christmas went well - roast beef was a good choice (had turkey at Thanksgiving - in US - and didn't feel like another). I must not forget to roast the parsnips this year.

I decided to start nailing down the presents by the start of November last year as some had to be put in the post. This was the right call. Everything arrived on time and the weather was pleasant for shopping at the end of autumn, traffic wasn't bad, and shops weren't crowded. I prefer to shop in person.

I went to a closing down sale at a great local independent bookshop at the weekend, and picked up some art books for a quarter of the normal price, so the present situation for 2025 is off to a good start.

Ooh, PSA: if you're as dim as me and hadn't scrolled all the way through your Sainsbury's year thing, make sure you do, as there are bonus points towards the end of it!

DH is the second highest buyer of Fruit Pastilles in one of our local shops! Woooo! 🤣

Thanks for the heads up. I have just had a look, and I was the no.1 buyer for Terry’s truffles in my local store! I’ve just remembered I bought a number of boxes to fill gifts I was making earlier in the year ☺️.

344

What is this Sainsburys year thing @NoWordForFluffy ? I have FOMO!!!

I'm hoping for my rakuten cash back payment today but I'm not holding my breath as the one mid December mysteriously failed to arrive.

Got some nice bits in TK Maxx with the voucher. I've now turned my focus to bags of compost as need to get some indoor bulbs planted and also want to sort out the borders in our garden.

The post Christmas blues are receding and Spring will be starting to spring soon.🌷

Welcome to the new joiners 😊

It basically tells you what 3 things you bought most, how many times you shopped, money saved with Nectar and split of your shopping across types of goods. It's relatively interesting, I suppose!

I'm also waiting for Rakuten cash back today. I didn't know it wasn't certain, so time will tell.

My cash back arrived. Including my £25 bonus from a referral. ☺️

Checking in towards the end of a lovely day. Did a toddler group this morning then home for lunch.
Mentioned the park and they said "outside? Wellies on? Flowers?" While pointing out of the window so we wrapped up and spent an hour in the garden. It's freezing here but we filled the bird feeders, checked on the spring bulbs (they're coming up a fair bit already which I feel is a bit early) then I checked pots, tidied and did some weeding while LO very helpfully watered the grass and a pot or 2 whilst soaking themselves 😂

It appears I collected all my bulbs, popped them in a trough and covered with soil with intention of planting them in seperate pots then forgot so it's very crowded. Will have to sort those out.
I also discovered that I missed a few bulbs in a pot that I left on the floor next to my planters and my strawberries spread into it so there are small strawberry plants, early spring bulbs and a few weeds plonked in together
Definitely need to do some work out there!

My dm is popping in for a cuppa any minute and staying for bath time and DH has a late meeting so won't be home until bedtime has been done. Im looking forward to whatever he organises for our tea and chilling out this evening!

My Sainsburys year thing would be :
Alpro Soya Milk
mushrooms
peppers
Whiskas cat foot