Woooooooahhhhh, we're half way there! Countdown to Christmas 2026 (thread 2)

[NoWordForFluffy]

183

Phew, it's a scorcher!

Happy birthday to 70's DD. Best date for a birthday ever!

@Magnoliasunrise, I've just seen chocolate oranges (even dark ones) for £1.80 at Morrisons.

Ah I just wrote a big post and it disappeared. I’m at club 1 with LO.
We’re out tonight at a laser light show- it’s going to be freezing.

Im having my traditional mid-Oct panic that I’ve left it late to get started even though I do this every year

We have a resident robin. I’d like to get to the point he trusts me enough to come close but LO is too chaotic so he sits on the shed roof or the top of the potting bench and watches me. He’s my favourite regular visitor, only slightly ahead of the fat pigeon pair that wander around aimlessly every day.

We have 5-6 wood pigeons which wander around, Meeces. They're very funny (and stupid / loud). Plus we get about 30 starlings when the food is first put out and we've two regular wagtails (one with a broken leg we call Hoppy!), plus two others who also sometimes come. Then there are a couple of magpies, but they don't come often.

I was cold overnight, so we're going to put the duvet (2.5 tog) on later. The nights are getting chilly, but as we have the French doors open all night we need the extra bedding for warmth!

We have a robin but we usually hear him rather than see him. We also have four magpies. One we call Tubs because he is huge and he makes a loud noise hopping down the shed roof. There are also a couple of jackdaws but they are more timid than the magpies.

I've just used a £20 off £80 voucher to get the final Christmas biscuits / chocolates / soft drinks from Morrisons on a click and collect tomorrow.

I just need to go to Asda to get a couple of 8 pack alcohol free lagers (Bavaria), then I'm sorted for drinks as we have a garage full of beer and fizz!

DH's builder mate never showed up in the end, and isn't replying to his messages, so I've asked the guys who did our garden if they've got availability to put the porch canopy up. The chances of getting it done this year are dwindling (though hopefully they have one day free somehow very soon, as it won't even take a full day in reality).

We have a gazillion magpies here. I’m not their biggest fan (they used to come in our house and steal the dogs food when he was around, as well as following him around the garden - I swear they were just entertaining themselves as he was blind and they would just hop behind him while he wandered around) and some starlings that appear whenever there’s food.

I have a soft spot for the pigeons. They are so gentle but also so stupid. I can’t have a bird food table due to rats and they don’t fit on the feeder so they just wander and hope to find scraps on the floor while the sparrows are feeding.

That’s annoying about the builder Fluffy but unfortunately not surprising.

I had a very quick trip into town to drop off some things to the Charity Shop and take DS to the gym.

Sainsbury have some crockery with a robin pattern that is quite pretty , might get a bowl for serving vegetables . The rest of my crockery is white with white serving dishes and I add in my random Christmas plates .
I got some skin care for DD Dec 1st Box and some branded underwear for DS from TKMaxx (Calvin Klein) he will not recognise or care

Ooh and
No Limoncello Pannetnne
Didn't see any Terrys Chocolate Orange - though they had the segments bags
Didn't look at gammon (not on my radar ) !

My Sainsburys only had dark Terry's chocolate oranges and they were about £2.50 so Morrisons it is - thanks Fluffy.

Also no lemoncurd pannetone either. Didn't get anything for the Christmas cupboard but am off to put air in tyres at local Tesco shortly so might have a look in there.

My cupboard will be bursting tomorrow, Magnolia (in fact, it's in bags on the cupboard, not in it, so the scavenger monsters don't bloody eat the lot ahead of time!).

Ooh, 70, did you order those 45 Snowman loo rolls? Mine have had their delivery date moved forwards to Monday. Must tell DH they're on the way.

I need to do a list of things I normally have for the buffet / dinner and see where we're up to. Not much left to get in reality, I don't think.

I did and yes, our delivery date has been moved (was 25th now supposed to be this week )
I will believe when I see with mine own eyes

68

I'm supervising the breadmaker doing a loaf and drinking a load of water .
Watching QVC and scanning Amazon <multi tasker >

I did washing as it was windy and bright , then it rained of course so had to quickly rescue it ..
I will plough through the rest tomorrow .
The bathroom needs cleaned , including the presky grout ,
A bag of clothes , mainly DDs , to go in the attic .

Morning!

70, does your bread maker go rogue if left alone? We time our bread maker to finish as we're getting up, so generally ignore it doing its thing!

It's a gorgeous day here today, though a little on the cool side. Annoyingly I was too warm with the duvet last night. <Sigh> The in between weather where neither clothing nor bedding choices are quite right!

It seems to behave itself , but the past couple of times I've thought "It doesn't seem to be kneading the dough as much " so I wondered if it was going into a decine .
Bread was fine , I woke up to the sound of DH slicing the bread for toast .
I had just enough flour for an XL loaf .

Bread flour on the Sainsbury order .

With you on the in-between weather. Got 2 loads out on line for brilliantly breezy day then as I was walking back in suddenly chucked it down and I had to grab washing and run in, I HATE it when that happens.

I've been having hot water bottle in bed with summer duvet still on. DH likes to be freezing with window open.

I forgot I was supposed to be putting the bread machine on (too much wine last night) so we had no lovely loaf this morning. I went to the tip though and that cheered me up.

67

Its soooooooo dark this morning and has been really cold this weekend. DC said it is colder inside the house than outside. We are having the heating war already. I am pushing for November but will probably split the difference and put it on at the weekend.

Monday again but its half term next week, yipppppeeeee.

Morning!

I tested the heating last night to make sure it works...it does, and I was too hot quite quickly (only had it on for about 20 minutes)!

I agree with your DS re the temperature out and inside. It's definitely on the turn. I also agree with you about how dark it is. It was mostly dark for the whole dog run today. Though that'll improve briefly when the blocks go back.

I'm off Thursday and Friday this week, and it's my Monday off next week, so a nice break. Then I'm doing the same again in a fortnight when it's my birthday. So it'll be a busy week this week trying to get everything done.

We have had our heating on for a couple of weeks as the mornings have been chilly and the towels weren't drying very well. It went on properly this weekend as both me and my husband were cold plus it kept raining and we needed to dry the washing on airers.

We’ve had the heating on a few times for a mix of feeling cold and drying clothes. DH needs to sort out the timer and get it back to
coming on for an hour in the mornings now (I say DH as we have an app that he set up and can’t remember the password to and I’m locked out 🙄).
I have brought LO’s fleecey oodie thing downstairs and unpacked my thick dressing gown in readiness for the cold though (I’d prefer the house a little cold and to
bundle up).

It’s my day off but it’s a busy one. I’m currently at the garage having my car re-MOTd after it failed last week. Then food shop, home to unpack it all, paint some things for the office, then take LO to a speech and language appointment. Then I have an annoying hour where I drop him back to school and if I go home I’ll only be there for 25 mins before having to go back to pick him up so I may take a cross stitch and just sit in the car.
Then home, feed him, then club until 5:30.
And I started the day tired.

Will probably light a winter/Christmas candle tonight now it’s getting cold and dark. DH probably won’t notice but I think it’s time to start making the evenings cosy.

It's developed into a gorgeous day here. I've opened the French door in the lounge as it's so lovely. The only thing at this time of year is making sure we close the window early enough, else it does get chilly. 🥶

We have rain forecast all day tomorrow, so that'll be fun!

In fact, on checking the forecast it appears that we have rain forecast for the next week. 😫

Change of plans here - DS appointment started late and there are temporary traffic lights along the way so he would only have been back in school for half an hour so I just brought him home.
We had a nice hour or so just playing - he’s usually tired and hungry by the time he gets home so I’ve enjoyed just spending the time with him.

We’re about to go to club. Then it’s home to hang the washing to dry but aside from that all my jobs are done today (with extra) so I’ll have cross stitch time tonight.

Fluffy I checked our forecast as DH wants to do outside jobs for an hour each evening this week but it looks similar to yours 😩

Sounds like a lovely use of the time, Meeces.

I'm about to start doing more cross stitch. It's one of the cards which has a whole bloody background of sky to stitch. 😫

The guys who did our garden are coming round next week to quote for the porch canopy installation. At least there are some reliable builders out there!

66

Good luck with the cross stitching - I was tidying under my desk and found the quarter finished cross stitch from 2 years ago. I will have to give to second hand shop with all the yarn otherwise it will carry on mocking me.

Rain here all week too I think - off up North for a bit next week and raining there too.

We had a plumber come to fix a leak at the weekend and he made a right mess. The leak was fixed but the kitchen cupboard door was damaged and the floor scratched. I can get reliable most trades but not plumbers for some reason.

Morning!

It's so grim this morning. It was mizzling all the way round the dog run / walk which meant that visibility was shocking. Not helpful at speed! We can't see across the fields opposite right now due to the murkiness.

Thankfully DH can do that kind of plumbing job, Magnolia, but it does annoy me how casual some tradesmen are about not damaging surrounding areas.

I'm sleeping like the dead now we have the duvet on! I'm not sure of the reason, but it's wonderful! Other than waking up is bloody hard.