Melting from the heat, yet still Counting down to Christmas 2025 (thread 2)

[NoWordForFluffy]

OK, so you all went on a bloody posting frenzy!

Can someone add the countdown from today to make it easier tomorrow? Thanking you!

129
Into the hundred and twenties

Biddy Christmas/Birthdays being close together does ttake some planning doesn't it !
DS has a December birthday , he got a nice big TV for his 18th , and an electric guitar +amp for his 21st . Both his choice .

I bought him a replacement Classic as part of his 22nd ( he gave his original one to Charity Shop as it was his starter guitar and the new one was a Fender Classic )

70, you've given us two countdowns in one day! 129 is tomorrow!

A gorgeous day here today. DH and I took the dog for a walk this morning. Lots of sniffing and other doggies to say hello to!

Housework and then lounging in the sunshine here.

Oh Bum !
So I did .

It is 130

I have to take my shoes'n'socks off to count above 10.

I am not wishing my life away but I was up late last night /early this morning drinking water ( and only water I hasten to add)

It's been a beautiful day but it was definitely too cool to sit out and eat dinner at 6:30.

I'm on top of the laundry including the ironing so I think I've earned the glass of wine I've just poured.

Waiting for dd to drop off so I can have my not so well earned glass of wine

Spent today with friends at an NT place, so not much done other than 2 loads of washing.

129 (I think)

My holiday excess drinking has caught up with me, I'm feeling a bit under the weather.

Thankfully DS is staying with friends, DD won't surface till noon and I've frozen my gym membership for August so I don't feel guilty about not going to the gym. I also did 3 hours of holiday clothes ironing yesterday so I've earned a morning on the sofa.

Thankfully its a lot cooler.

Evening. Checking in from our break in the Lake District. I’m so excited - there’s a Booths not far away and I’ve told DH I want to go before we go home. It’ll be too early for Christmas stuff but I’d like to be able to say I’ve been to one at least

It’s been a very long day. Our 5 our journey took 7.5 as we had an extended stop for lunch and another shorter one for me as I felt so sick so no drinking going on here for today.

Older dd still on holiday with her bf.
Dd at a pre gcse results garden party 🥳
Dh is at his dad's watching sport on sky.
I'm watching trashy tv and feeling very tired.
I bought some mini peppermint candy canes today 🎄😃

I've sorted out some more old shoes and bags...they will go to a local pre loved shop whose profits go to charity.
Have done some financial admin today, too.
Didn't have to wait too long on the phone to HMRC!

That's exciting re Booths, Meeces. I have to limit how much I go, else I'd be bankrupt. 😬🤣

I've had a day off today, and I took DS to get his secondary school PE kit and blazer. I've then started to clean their lounge of Lego on the floor, but it's a slow, thankless, task! It might end up being finished on my next day off, as there is quite a bit of storage jiggery pokery to do, which I can't face just now!

But I do need to get it done so that their Christmas tree fits in this year! 🎄

Meeces you'll be converted and start ordering the Booths Christmas Book and checking availability for delivery .

I think I;m doing well if I get the Waitrose .
Our are a bit of a drive , one is better than the other ( the furthest one , natch)
I can get the Lemon Curd in the John Lewis Waitrose but it is small .

Are you having a lie down in a dark room Fluffy after shelling out for uniform? It's always the cost of PE stuff that floors me - although talking to other parents at results day last week seemed to indicate we had got away very lightly with uniform over the last seven years. 2 blazers (compulsory change due to prep/seniors) 2 PE tops, 2 pairs of trackie bottoms, 2 trackie tops, one pair of PE shorts, one pair of rugby shorts and a rugby top. The shorts were Gary Lineker 1986-esque by sixth form but he had the legs for it 😂

It hasn't been hideous, Woolly, though I think he will have at least two more of everything during his time there, as he's not really had a proper boy's growth spurt yet (and sizing up wasn't really possible as there's no 32/34 in the boys' stuff. It goes 30/32 up to 34/36. And the latter bloody drowned the poor kid!

Schools are only allowed to insist on 3 badged items from Sept 26 anyway, so that may help.

DD should manage with one lot (if we discount the fact she lost her entire PE kit in March!) as she's almost stopped growing now. She's still a few inches off me though, but I think her stuff will be OK even then.

I’m new to this and started reading this thread thinking WTF! But I’m sort of being seduced…I’m in Hove watching lithe and trendy 20-somethings roll home from the beach but it’s made me conjure up Kate Bush’s gorgeous Lionheart:

Oh, England, my lionheart
I'm in your garden fading fast in your arms
The soldiers soften, the war is over
The air raid shelters are blooming clover
Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes
My London Bridge in rain again

I know what you mean about being drowned by uniform Fluffy. My senior school back in the dark ages had a "school outfitter" that visited once a year. They measured the incoming pupils at transfer day and must have used a tape measure marked in some weird measuring system. My school coat (compulsory and completely unsuitable for the British weather) fitted me until I left school at 18 despite me being completely flat chested at 11 and rivalling Diana Dors post puberty.

@TenaciousDeedswe chat bollox for most of the year but things turn festive as we approach Halloween and Bonfire night.

I feel a bit guilty as I've told mum I'm unavailable tomorrow...
I'm going to take dd out for a pre gcse results day treat 💙

Our secondary gets around the logo stuff by their colours.

kilt style patterns and striped blouses. Good luck at finding them in a supermarket.

we buy on the bigger side to try and make them last.

my sons school insist on logo. But they provide us with 3 sets in return for free.

@swampwitch0enjoy your pre gcse day out

I’m dreading the school uniform costs when we get there. For now we’re mostly getting away with uniform from the school eco shop which costs almost nothing but we costed up the logo polo tops at £40 ish for the year new and jumpers £60. Would go for supermarket trousers and shoes but that’s still £150 for a child who is only in reception (and will inevitably have random growth spurts/stain/rip/lose some clothing)

I remember my dm taking us to the one school uniform supplier when I went to comp (high school now I suppose) and spending £££ on a jumper I never wore.
Are PE kits still as awful and sexist as they were then? Ours were logo’d polo shirts x2, 1 pair of awful football looking shorts, a netball skirt and netball knickers and a pair of trainers wasted on me as I used to skip PE fro year 8 onwards as the teacher was a bully

Fluffy is there anything specific you’d recommend in Booths? It’s DHs birthday while we’re here so I may buy him a cake…

Meeces, obviously the 🧀 counter! It's amazing. 😋

The bakery is also fantastic. The booze section has some really interesting stuff in it as well.

I love choosing my own eggs from the basket, rather than buying them already boxed! (It's the small things!)

There is a curry counter as well, which we've not used, but looks brilliant.

If you wander round you'll find loads to get!

Re uniform costs, I think the new rules will cut your costs right down. In England, primary schools can't make logo stuff compulsory anyway. Not sure about Wales.

128

Morning!

Office day today, so I've marched to the station and am now far too hot! No doubt I'll be frozen to death once I'm there, by the fierce aircon! 😩🥶

It's grey today. And was only half light when we got up. That definitely signals incoming autumn! 🍂

Bloody duplicate post. Glitchy MN.

Yep I'm with you there Fluffy, I got up early and opened the kitchen doors and there was definitely a chill in the air.

Swamp - good idea to do pre GCSE results celebration just in case, I wish I'd thought of that 😬- DS is off to the Reading festival straight after picking up results so I wont have to deal with it either way.

Now I've got Booths envy.....