Morning everyone, much brighter start here today so hoping some of the snow melts so we can get on a do something. Apart from feeding the birds and a bit of snow shovelling, done very little the past 2 days-bored now.Â
I am the same as you @Lizzie27 - I choose and buy something and OH pays for it. Except this time it wouldn't accept his card so I paid with mine. And as our money is our money, whether in his bank account or mine, that all seemed fair enough. The parcel arrived and I told him I had no idea what it was - perhaps he should hide it. It is still there, in the packaging it arrived in. I wonder if he will wrap it as is or if he'll actually remove it from the packaging first?
Gosh @D0rdogne_Damsel - 60 Christmas lunches - and all those mince pies! Glad you managed to have a nice time with Charlie after the interview. Hopefully he can put it behind him.
@Pat E - could you send your son's present to his work? Ah - I see that is what you have done @Dovefromabove! The woman I started my little shop with had her birthday on Christmas Day. She is so lovely she said she really didn't mind combined birthday and Christmas or if they forgot it was her birthday too. I always gave her a birthday present, in birthday paper.
The sun is out and I must get a move on - meeting a couple of friends for coffee in town...
Good morning/afternoon. Later posting as I was later getting up and then we decided to go to the cemetery with the family wreathes. Goodness, it was bitter cold up there - it always is on the cool side, even on warm summer days.Â
A much brighter day here today, but still with a keen frost. Warming up with a coffee now before I tackle the chilli to go in the slow cooker for tonight’s dinner. Goodness, @D0rdogne_Damsel, that’s a lot of mince pies and lunches! It will certainly have kept you very busy. We enjoyed our Christmas lunch at the GC yesterday. It was delicious, and plenty of it (had to give my OH some of my turkey as there was so much). Didn’t need any tea, anyway. 😊
Goodness! Â Everyone has been so busy in the run up before Christmas. Â Hard to believe it's all happening next week!!
Cold here too, luckily there is no wind, so walking is pleasant if you are well wrapped up.  No snow here but -0°C temperatures in the morning and up to 5°C pm.  Dull and gloomy.  Temperatures are expected to rise over the weekend and early next week. Â
A little update on my friend in Melbourne that has just been diagnosed with bowel cancer: Â The surgeon is going to operate at the end of the month. Â It hasn't spread to her other organs. Â No colostomy bag. Â No chemotherapy at this stage. Â She's still scared though. Â Such an ordeal and such a devastating word. Â Â So much progress has been made in the last 10 years since my late husband had his lung cancer . Â One of his friends (68) is in remission after cancer of the liver - can you believe it?!! Â
Still icy cold here. The heating came on in the (unused over winter) master bedroom, so it must have reached the frost setting of about 5 degrees! That’s why we move into the spare room this time of year.Â
Feeling a bit better so some cabin fever setting in now.Â
Turning very icy here again too,  but at least we had sun today so we didn't need our heating on for about 5 hours across the middle of the day. That plus doing h**se wk has kept us warm. 😱 At least we are ready for when we get our tree, hopefully, if it thaws out at the weekend.Â
Hello all, the roads/orchard path were all okay this morning but boy, it felt much colder than yesterday. Wind had moved round to the west as well so I had it in my face all the way home. We've got DIL staying tonight so I've changed and washed bed linen, cleaned the bathrooms and OH vacuumed the carpets. Much to my surprise when I was watching ETTC after lunch, a SM delivery arrived - I'd got the days mixed up.
We were rather naughty then, opened the Ecclefechan tarts and one each with a cuppa. Will have to order some more for next week!
@tui34, your friend's op sounds as though they've caught it in good time so she should make a good recovery. Best wishes to her.
@didyw, my presie is a bit too big to wrap so I told OH not to bother, it's a folding rustic iron shelving unit for the terrace on which I hope to grow strawberries next year. Couldn't think of anything else I wanted or needed. I've got one already opposite the kitchen window so I can keep tabs on pots that need watering.
I do feel quite sorry for people who have birthdays near to Xmas. Fortunately most of our family ones are either March/April ones (trying to beat the tax man) or July ones.
I hope it goes well for your Melbourne friend @tui34.
It's been milder today. I braved the ladder and the cold loft so now we have a crib, there are more decorations on the little tree and the sitting room has some tinsel and glass balls hanging off the beams.
I sorted out my mother's little desk that she left a note in before she died to say she wanted it to go to me. That took a while, so much sentimental stuff in there, but also a lot of rubbish. There was a lovely photo of my brother who died when he was 21, cancer, and some letters he wrote when he was at boarding school.
I ended up with an empty drawer to keep Christmas cards, lists and letters in. I found the Christmas card box in the loft and a bag of new cards that I bought last winter when in Norfolk. I should have enough for next year. I also found a couple of boxes of crackers that I will take to Son 2's.
I haven't touched the growing pile of ironing but I did another wash today so there will be more ironing tomorrow.
My new photo album should have been delivered today by the postman. I was in all day but I found a note in the letter box to say he couldn't deliver it as I was out and to go and pick it up from the Post Office tomorrow.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gosh @D0rdogne_Damsel - 60 Christmas lunches - and all those mince pies! Glad you managed to have a nice time with Charlie after the interview. Hopefully he can put it behind him.
@Pat E - could you send your son's present to his work?
Ah - I see that is what you have done @Dovefromabove! The woman I started my little shop with had her birthday on Christmas Day. She is so lovely she said she really didn't mind combined birthday and Christmas or if they forgot it was her birthday too. I always gave her a birthday present, in birthday paper.
The sun is out and I must get a move on - meeting a couple of friends for coffee in town...
Later posting as I was later getting up and then we decided to go to the cemetery with the family wreathes. Goodness, it was bitter cold up there - it always is on the cool side, even on warm summer days.Â
Goodness, @D0rdogne_Damsel, that’s a lot of mince pies and lunches! It will certainly have kept you very busy.
We enjoyed our Christmas lunch at the GC yesterday. It was delicious, and plenty of it (had to give my OH some of my turkey as there was so much). Didn’t need any tea, anyway. 😊
Goodness! Â Everyone has been so busy in the run up before Christmas. Â Hard to believe it's all happening next week!!
Cold here too, luckily there is no wind, so walking is pleasant if you are well wrapped up.  No snow here but -0°C temperatures in the morning and up to 5°C pm.  Dull and gloomy.  Temperatures are expected to rise over the weekend and early next week. Â
A little update on my friend in Melbourne that has just been diagnosed with bowel cancer: Â The surgeon is going to operate at the end of the month. Â It hasn't spread to her other organs. Â No colostomy bag. Â No chemotherapy at this stage. Â She's still scared though. Â Such an ordeal and such a devastating word. Â Â So much progress has been made in the last 10 years since my late husband had his lung cancer . Â One of his friends (68) is in remission after cancer of the liver - can you believe it?!! Â
Stay warm everybody and stay safe.
Tui
(Santa and kids, school photos, etc. etc. )Â
night allÂ
Still icy cold here. The heating came on in the (unused over winter) master bedroom, so it must have reached the frost setting of about 5 degrees! That’s why we move into the spare room this time of year.Â
We were rather naughty then, opened the Ecclefechan tarts and one each with a cuppa.
Will have to order some more for next week!
@tui34, your friend's op sounds as though they've caught it in good time so she should make a good recovery. Best wishes to her.
@didyw, my presie is a bit too big to wrap so I told OH not to bother, it's a folding rustic iron shelving unit for the terrace on which I hope to grow strawberries next year. Couldn't think of anything else I wanted or needed. I've got one already opposite the kitchen window so I can keep tabs on pots that need watering.
I do feel quite sorry for people who have birthdays near to Xmas. Fortunately most of our family ones are either March/April ones (trying to beat the tax man) or July ones.
I hope it goes well for your Melbourne friend @tui34.
It's been milder today. I braved the ladder and the cold loft so now we have a crib, there are more decorations on the little tree and the sitting room has some tinsel and glass balls hanging off the beams.
I sorted out my mother's little desk that she left a note in before she died to say she wanted it to go to me. That took a while, so much sentimental stuff in there, but also a lot of rubbish. There was a lovely photo of my brother who died when he was 21, cancer, and some letters he wrote when he was at boarding school.
I ended up with an empty drawer to keep Christmas cards, lists and letters in. I found the Christmas card box in the loft and a bag of new cards that I bought last winter when in Norfolk. I should have enough for next year. I also found a couple of boxes of crackers that I will take to Son 2's.
I haven't touched the growing pile of ironing but I did another wash today so there will be more ironing tomorrow.
My new photo album should have been delivered today by the postman. I was in all day but I found a note in the letter box to say he couldn't deliver it as I was out and to go and pick it up from the Post Office tomorrow.