Soop's warm and welcoming kitchen for kindly folk...

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Suedonim double sh*t
However hopefully this has been found out in good time to start the treatment, but I expect you, like me, would rather take it on yourself than see one of your children poorly
How lovely Hellogirl to have the one In Memory bauble on a tree. A poignant Christmas.
I have just heard that my first ever teenage boyfriend died on Sunday. I hadn’t seen him for nearly 60 years and although he was a nice boy, he was totally Mr Wrong. How my parents kept quiet I shall never know but they were wise enough to welcome him to Sunday tea , knowing that if they had expressed their disapproval that would only have made him all the more irresistible!
We’d got in touch through Facebook a few years back which was nice and brought back some happy memories (and some I would rather not remember) but he had married a lovely girl from our town, sadly losing her to cancer 12 or so years ago.
Sad but nice that they are together again.
I have a poorly pooch today, she pulled a dew claw doing zoomies round the paddock at the kennels which necessitated an expensive trip to the vet where they actually removed the claw as it was loose. Much squealing and GSOD (greyhound scream of death) I went and sat in the car park! Poor girlie.
With kind thoughts to all of you with ills or sadnesses, nunight.

No, sued it’s not fair. Life can be so hard at times. Our child’s hurt is our own, no matter how old they are. I’m so sorry. You must be beyond worry. Many get well wishes for your son and my love to you all.

I’ve just had some not-so-good news about my DS. The cancer had spread to lymph nodes. They still think they removed it all but he needs to have chemo as a precautionary measure. Sh*t. We really had hoped we could all put this behind us in the New Year but now he’ll have to have all this horrible treatment. It’s not fair. 😰😰😰

Hello all. Just popping in to see how everyone is.
Suedonim pleased about your son and daughter. Hope they are doing well.
Grandmafrenchnice to see you. Sorry you’ve not been in the best of health.
Soop I’m sending a gentle hug and hope that things improve for you soon.
Baggs I hope for the best from your daughters treatment. Hope she builds up strength now.
Hellogirl thinking of you
Hope all those feeling poorly are on the mend soon.
Welcome to anyone I haven’t met before.
Good wishes to all and last but never least 👋 hello Urms 😊

Hello everyone, another late report. I finished decorating the tree and then did a Waitrose shop. They had no Martini or vanilla extract! I coated the Christmas cake in thick marzipan and will ice it at the end of the week. I also decorated a sort of Chocolate log/shed with chocolate frosting and put it back in the freezer. OH and I have been watching His Dark Materials. Highly recommended. I had a sad email today from my uncle. My one remaining aunt, who is 91, has been moved to a Home. She has double dementia and such severe osteoporosis that she is barely mobile. She used to be a tall graceful woman with black hair, amazing cheekbones and a beautiful skin. She always dressed in Jaeger and looked immaculate. I will visit her after Christmas but have been warned she probably won’t remember me or the visit.

Safe journey tomorrow, brook, hope you enjoy your time with your family.
Our snow all melted overnight on Sunday, (exactly a week after it arrived)!
A drastic rise in temperature here in Cambs.,

My ( & DH's) symptoms are a bit better, I'm taking time to recover.
Hospital rescheduled DH's procedure for this Thursday, so hopefully he will be fit enough & virus free to go.

Warm wishes to all, especially those with extra problems.

Hi all, I have a flashing Christmas jumper on, we’ve been to the festive quiz at our local, nowhere near winning, but good fun.
Oh Blossoming I hope you improve rapidly.
I hope the physio helps neine ‘it’ll get worse before it gets better’ never helpful.
Safe and expedient journey tomorrow brook 🤞
We must start wrapping tomorrow, she said, again..
Sleep well all x

Oh dear Urms that made me laugh though!

‘Evening All’

We’ve done little apart from the the grandchildren to their swimming lessons. Last one till 9 January when on that day, we plan to ✈️ Out to Spain. So the coaches let them have fun floats and they were all in Christmas jumpers pool side!

We laughed taking them back. “I-Spy” is the go-to game for the short journey and once a week is enough to keep it fresh. The Boy Wonder is getting trickier. “Something beginning with ‘O’ and then an ‘M’”.

L’il Miss was (at 5y) trying to compute. 😮
Me: is it inside or outside the car?
BW: inside.

Hmm.
Nope - we had to ‘give up’.
“Old Man”!

Oh my! Our driver laughed. We know where we land now.
Happy Days.

I finally got the Christmas tree up yesterday. We bought a living tree which can be planted outside after the season is over then brought back in for next year. That’s the plan, anyway! I must take a photo of it tomorrow. Still have other decs to do, also planned for tomorrow.

Today we went to another city, to visit Waitrose and buy some treats, then to a branch of Lakeland. Ours closed down during the pandemic and I hadn’t realised how much I missed it until I went in today! Dh is now the proud possessor of a new steam floor cleaner.

I’ve sent a parcel to my son in the US. It was collected from a local post office near here this afternoon and should arrive at his home in the Mid West by Wednesday evening. I bet if I sent my dd, two miles away, a Christmas card it wouldn’t arrive until the festivities are over. 🤔

I’m sorry you’re not feeling too bright, Blossoming. How miserable.

Have a good trip, Brooke. Hopefully you are now snow-free - ours disappeared between lunch and tea today!

Soop the ironing will keep - unfortunately!

A peaceful evening to you all. Xxx

Hoping you feel better soon Blossoming take care ❤️

Hope you feel better tomorrow Blossoming. Sleep well.

I haven’t caught up with you all yet but I wanted to say hello to GrandmaFrench 👋 Hope you are recovering well and life is good up there in French France.

Not feeling my best today after a bad night, early night for me.

Good evening kitchen pals, had quite a busy day but I’m all sorted now for my trip to DD1s in Cambridge tomorrow. Given that there’s so much travel disruption just now I’m hoping with everything crossed that I get there ok tomorrow and back home again on Friday…
The weather has warmed up quite a bit and most of the snow and ice has melted today, so it’s not as slippery.
So sad about that young girl neine but hoping someone is there to help her through these darkest days, Thank goodness a well trained and expert negotiator was there to help
Sounds like you had a lovely but exhausting time with the family maw hope you’ve been recovering today!

My sincere apologies to you lovely lot for my tardiness. I suddenly needed to prepare for the festivities as I had previously convinced myself that I would not, under any circumstances, allow the event to stress me.

My most tender hugs go to Baggs and Hellogirl1.

Grannygravy I shall never be able to truly claim to have "caught up". This lot are amazing. I cannot thank our Kitcheners enough for their kind, ongoing support.

Grannmarie Another lovely post from you. Seasalt clothing is most desirable.

Maw "A Spy Among Friends" is on out to-watch list.

NaughtyNeine PLEASE may that distressed young girl receive all the support and comfort that she needs.

Welcome back, Hiraeth. Congratulations on creating a super stunning tree.

hulahoop Was your husbands parastomal hernia large? Our GP is loathe to have me under the surgeon's knife. To date, my hernia measures 17" in circumference.

As I have already stressed, I am not a footie fan. Yet, the final of the World Cup was a match I shall never forget. Messi won our hearts. Well done, Argentina.

I am once again surrounded by stuff that needs sorting and all that jazz. I also have far too much ironing. That will have to wait until tomorrow. We also expect visitors tomorrow afternoon. It's all go...

Take the best possible care of yourselves, especially on the roads.

With my love to you all. Until tomorrow's visit,

An early morning visit to the kitchen today. I hope that poorly people are feeling much better but still resting up. Fergus is soooo scrummy..I wanted to scoop him up for a cwtch.
Lovely to read that your son is 'getting there ' Yia. What is it they say .. 'How do you walk a thousand miles...you take the first step'.
Baggs and Hellogirl...I keep you and your families in my prayers.
It's been a mixed weekend. I had an appointment with the physio on Friday and finally it looks like she has found out what is causing the pain in the butt... literally. It seems I have hamstring tendinopathy. I had no idea your hamstrings went so far. She did say she thought there would be reactions after our session and she wasn't wrong. Not too bad initially but by the evening it was not good. Saturday I needed to go into town to get DOH some gloves..bless him he has gone all through those minus 6 days without any. The Local brass band were playing and it felt very Christmassy. The 'pie man ' was there too and I picked up 2 of his steak and kidney ones. We've had them before and they are delicious. Back home...full of plans of how to fill the time until DOH came home. (He was working until 12.30 then had his weekly meeting with others who are thinking of becoming a Catholic). Non of the plans came to fruition...I took painkillers and fell asleep.
We cancelled going to lunch with friends near Bath yesterday...and as it turned out we would have probably not made it to them as the motorway was closed because a young girl was on the bridge threatening to jump. It came up on the Nextdoor app as it was happening and I couldn't think straight and along with many others prayed that the negotiator would be able to persuade her to change her mind. I felt sick until it was confirmed that it had ended well. I'm still choked just writing this... Please God she will get the help she needs and the police involved are comforted by the fact that they saved her life.
Instead of a lovely roast dinner at a country pub we ended up having a marmite sandwich (me) and a ham and coleslaw one for DOH. I finally got round to making the wreath....it was actually good therapy after the above....and he watched the football...!!!! Each to their own as they say.
To make up for missing lunch...we had sirloin steak and chips for dinner...and shared a bottle of the fabulous Shiraz from Aldi that is on offer in our nearest branch..down from £7.99 to £2.99.... It's flying out of the door....and a lot of it is flying in our direction. !!!!!

Hello everyone. I’m in bed now after a busy day. I spent most of the morning wrapping presents. There are still two or three more to come but as we all know the post isn’t really working. OH put the Christmas tree up and I put some decorations up. Thing is, he was watching football from 3 pm so I left him to it and will complete the tree tomorrow. I cooked our favourite beef bourguignon for dinner followed by a lemon surprise pudding with lashings of cream. I am about to read an old Jeeves and Wooster. Good night 🥱

X posts Maw glad you enjoyed having your family over. What a good idea to open some presents a little ahead of The Day. Enjoy your cheese & wine, it’s likely well deserved as you reflect upon the day. x

‘Evening All’

Home now & in my pj’s after a lovely pre-Christmas family dinner at our favourite Italian restaurant. My stepfather looked very smart. He wore his tartan tie in his clan colours.
💙

L’il Miss looked super cute as she’d been to a birthday party earlier and had her face painted as Rudolph with a sparkly red nose. The staff commented and she was in her element!

Lovely tree hiraeth it looks so cosy in that glow - I could pull up a chair next to it and be most relaxed. I love Christmas lights. I find them calming and reassuring. Topsy the baby Fergus is beyond gorgeous. I giggled when I saw the photo of his new skill. Beautiful boy.

Well ‘Strictly’ is over for another year.
And the World Cup for another four.

We move on. x

Oof, Kitcheners - I am zorsted !

They have all gone home, and bless Ds.and SILs for massive clearing up but I have been on my feet since 7 getting everything ready then the whirlwind onslaught of 9 (eldest D had to stay away as she has Covid) grown ups and 6 grandchildren - excited to see their cousins and by the sight of the presents round the tree.
We decided they could open theirs today as we will not all be together on Christmas Day and it reduces the gift-fest next weekend.
So sitting down with a glass of leftover red, some leftover cheese and biscuits a watching “ A Spy Among Friends”
I hope you have had a pleasant weekend, that the bitter cold is abating and that you all stay safe.

Evening kitcheners hope all pipelines feel better soon.
Soop my oh had a hernia following his stoma he had repair which worked well.We have done all present wrapping today thank goodness it's done .
Lovely to hear from you grandmafrench .Hope everyone has a good night 🌙.

Good evening, Soop and lovely Kitchen people!🥰

How lovely to see you again Grandmafrench! Best wishes to you and to your DH for his forthcoming surgery.

YiaYia, well done to your dear son for beginning a phased return to his workplace. He'll get there, one step at a time.

How lovely to see Fergus, Nannytopsy, what a happy wee boy!

Sending love and prayers to Baggs and Hellogirl, to help you through these difficult days. 💕🙏

I wish Grandmabatty and our other Covid warriors speedy recoveries in time for Christmas.

Dsister1 and I went to M and S this afternoon, I was looking for some party food but I came home with a lovely Seasalt dress for Christmas day !

DH and I have just about finished all the Christmas wrapping...we do it in stages because we have 3 sons, 3*Ds in L*, 3 DGC, plus siblings, nephews and friends to wrap for...

Safe journey to Brook and all Kitchen folk travelling this Christmas. Enjoy your family get togethers.

Keep warm and avoid the ice. I went to place a Christmas wreath on our family memorial bench at the local Marian shrine yesterday. It was like an ice rink, I nearly lost my balance a couple of times. I'm not fond of driving/ walking in these conditions. Thankfully it's a bit milder today.

TOYA, especially those with illness, worries or sorrow. I will bid you all an early NNGB, I'm off for a quick bath, cosy pjs then back downstairs to watch The Handmaid's Tale.

Take away solves lots of problems Kitty! 🤣

Good evening everyone, I haven’t posted for a long time but read your lovely posts quite often.
My Christmas tree is up and decorated which I dragged in from my patio and it’s standing quite straight! My grand children will be delighted when they see it tomorrow.
Lovely memories when my husband was alive choosing the tree and us decorating it together .
I’m now going to finish a few Lindt peppermint chocs and a glass of wine . Enjoy the evening and thanks SOOP for starting such a kindly kitchen which makes me feel warm in and out .

Hello dear kitcheners, I have been trying to catch up but as usual I fail.

It was lovely to see Grandmafrench ,

I have everything crossed for your DD Baggs

Will endeavour to do better with keeping up
XX