🦞Lockdown friends still together🦞

One year, when my mother was far from well, she asked my help with her impending long and totally unnecessary Christmas card list which was about to overwhelme her.

We had a conversation about what use they were when she was in regular correspondence with her very few real friends. How much she spent on cards and postage and the hassle of waste paper disposal a few days later.

We couldn’t see a single redeeming feature, so she didn’t buy into it that year, or ever again, never regretted and instead made a donation to the Heart Foundation every year.

My mother wasn’t an arty-crafty person so didn’t even have the pleasure of actually making the cards as NotS does and I used to – but only for sale at the church Christmas Fayre.

NotS that sort of travelling is no hassle when you are young and they didn't take winter clothing, deciding to buy basics in UK. So they are travelling very light anyway.

I hope the scrabling in the walls was mice Grammaretto, when I had a rat in my ceiling, it sounded like a Morriss Dancer in hobnail boots.
Smelled like one too.

So Slough of despond has had a very hard kick up the btm and sent on it's way and hopefully not to return anytime soon. It did utterly floor me and seemed to come from nowhere but I suppose if we knew sadness was approaching we'd turn tail and hot foot it in the opposite direction at speed. Talking of speed that's what I need if Christmas is going to actually happen...why oh why do I write a list half way through October to act as an aide memoire only to totally ignore it until the third week of December. In fairness the cards that needed posting have gone ( just). Not Spaghetti... Yours are just beautiful...and much appreciated by their recipients I'm sure. ..
Grammaretto....I squirmed and clutched my nether regions whilst reading about the possible night visitors at your daughter's farm. I am utterly terrified of r.ts...DH roars wth laughter if one appears on the TV as my lower half literally goes into some sort is spasm. You were very brave to stay in bed.
Doodle..I always have tissues to hand at a Carol concert...I have been asked to apply for the position of School Governor and last week attended the early years nativity play. It was just lovely and I had to firmly concentrate on not crying when memories of my girls playing various roles came into my head especially daughter no 3 as the Angel Gabriel complete wth wings made with feathers from the hat my mother wore to my first wedding. Little Drummer boy does it for me every time....my lovely 6ft 5in Dad standing in the kitchen singing it.... He died when I was 9 aged 42. Ioved and missed still.
Kaimoana... Gubbins will have such amazing memories of this trip. Oh to have that energy again.
The whole process of sorting out what you are entitled to sounds a nightmare. I really hope that get their act together soon and people actually start to communicate between departments. Grrrrr.
Jan..I too wish you a much happier 2025 and that your daughter's health continues to improve and the shock of your friend's death is starting to recede a a little. May she rest in peace.
I'm making mince pies today...or I will be if I stop procrastinating.... I also should be going to the gym....if either of those happens it will be a miracle as will my hand reaching out for the hoover. The domestic goddess has gone on holiday along with the inner Nigella it seems....😂.
Hope to see my Welsh buddy back on here soon.

"4 days here, 3 days there" sounds so exhausting with all the packing and unpacking - but if you want to do a lot I suppose that's what you need to do. It sounds like they are having a good trip nevertheless, Kaimoana

Doodle there is a very special sort of peace at a carol concert. How especially beautiful and moving to have one at the hospice.

What an extraordinary thing to have a carpenter engineer a tiny screw for you on the cruise. Presumably they have all sorts of facilities on board thar you usually wouldn't know about

It makes me remember when we stayed at a very fancy hotel in Paris for our honeymoon and housekeeping were able to produce a bunch of about 300 keys to unlock our suitcase! They said to ring room service when we were leaving for locking.
We went out for dinner on our first night and whilst gone our suitcases were unpacked and all our clothes put on hangers and in drawers (thank goodnessit was a honeymoon and all my underwear was new - or nearly new. ). My knitted teddy "Stripey" was in bed ahead of us, arms folded over the turn-backed sheet.
How the other half lives!

I'm glad you are braving the emotional turmoil of carol services Doodle - they are such lovely, heart-warming times.

Yes, DS and family are travelling - 4 days here, 3 days there. They will spend their last week in London seeing as much of the Natural History & Science Museums as poss and any other historic places too.

All went well at Orthopaedics. I was in his office barely 10 minutes. I am to go for an MRI early next year.

After numerous emails over 3 weeks from various different people, none of whom read any of mine or those of my doctor, the govt dept who should have supplied me with a taxi voucher 3 weeks ago (I had to cancel one apt on the 12th due to their incompetence), finally (Friday 5pm) sent very complicated details of how to obtain one.
First sign up to a website (not theirs) with all my details, then put in password and the last 4 digits of a phone they know I don't have, then.......and so on.

Thanks to my doctor, Nurse Hana was asked last week if she'd assist.
Her schedule it tight so once we were waiting at the clinic, she (fully sighted) tried to follow these steps as I was happy to take the taxi home to free her for her next home visit.
The numbers given were all wrong.

After the fiasco of the WINZ visit I am convince NZ, having lost more than 135,000 people every single month recently, now employs baboons.

However, after a short hiatus for a gnashing of teeths, I relaxed. Nil carborundum as they say.

After the heat-spike of yesterday it hasn't been above 19 degrees today, rainy and wet.

Of course the plasterers came at the crack of pre-dawn Grammaretto and I hope they plastered over it while they were there

Sorry Doodle perhaps I forgot to say I went to DD's yesterday in the Highlands. It was her birthday weekend so they went out to dinner after the pantomime and a Christmas party in the village hall. Santa came and all the kids were high as kites.

Then the girls entertained me and eventually we went to bed. As far as I know my house has no rats but their house probably has.

Lovely cards NotSpaghetti well done.

Thank you Doodle.

I've drawn four different rough outlines, have printed them onto card and then improvised how I've cut them out (within my drawings) with craft knives.
Two trees to an A4 sheet makes a decent size A5 card and then I fold a paper sheet inside to write on. Most have a layer of tissue between the outer and inner layers.
Here's a photo of what I'm doing.

Thanks for your nice comments.
I've made Christmas cards since I was a child. Every year I think I'll start early but I don't. 🙄

It's so satisfying when they are done though - and some people really appreciate them.

Nfk my carol concert was at the hospice. There is a church one next Sunday and I’m going to that too (equipped with copious tissues)
Today’s singing was really good. I met some new people and had a good chat with those sitting at the same table. Managed to fit in a quick trip to Waitrose on the way home.
Kaimoana are you son and family moving around visiting lots of places or are they going to stay someplace while he looks for a job?
Ixion it sounds as though your pre Christmas box was well received. That was an early start for a FT message.🤣
Notspaghetti, Glad you both got your glasses fixed, I lost the screw out of my only pair of glasses when we were on a cruise once. I asked at reception if they could help and she said she’d put a call through to the carpenter !! Man with tool belt dutifully arrived and said I’ll bring them to your room when fixed. 30 minutes later returned glasses fully fixed with a hand made little screw that stayed in place for years.
Those Christmas cards are truly lovely. How do you make them?
Grammaretto I think I’ve missed something somewhere. Are you not at home? I’ve not heard you mention rats before 😱
Oh Jan what a dreadful shock about your friend. Must have been so upsetting
Glas to hear your DD is doing well. Hope all her appointments and check ups go well

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202412/medium-450396-1000026778.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202412/medium-749701-1000026777.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202412/medium-54760-1000026691.jpg

Here are some Christmas cards I've finished - in case anyone is interested.

They are all hand cut so dreadfully slow. I've made about 20 now some on a champagne colour card and some white... I will not be making cut-out cards next year that's for sure!

You have had a horrible year Jan. Let's hope 2025 is far better.
Good news about your DD though
😀

Oh Jan, terrible news about your friend. She knew she wasn't right, obviously. Maybe she had taken to her bed...
It feels odd to follow that with "good news about your daughter" - but it truly is.
I'm sure you feel a bit odd having been in contact with your friend just a short time before. I do hope her daughter is OK and that her death was gentle and/or quick.
🙏

Hello All and thank you to everyone who has asked about my daughter. She seems to be doing very well. I’m saying that cautiously as she has a check up in Norwich tomorrow but hopefully all will be ok. Then another hospital appt at beginning of Jan at Papworth hospital in Cambridge for a check up for the sleep apnea.
Had another shock on Thursday when one of my oldest and closest friends died very suddenly. Trying to think of how long I had known her and it must be over 30 years. She was due to meet for coffee with several other friends but didn’t turn up so I texted her to be told she was feeling dreadful. Several hours later her daughter phoned to say she had been found dead at home. I was the last person who had contact with her. That’s the third sudden death we have had in the last few weeks. I have really had enough of 2024 and sincerely hope 2025 will be better for so many people. On that cheerful note I will go away before I drag everyone down with me! Hope you’ve all had a good weekend!

Yes how is your DD Jan?

My DSiL said he's always wanted to grow his own bay 🍃 leaves.
This could be a good present if I can
find one.
But will a bay tree grow in Scotland?

Cornishman is coming back tonight for tea and the movie. It's a silent film accompanied by the a wonderful pianist.

The plasterers are due at the crack of pre dawn. 7.30am to take the ceiling down.
My DGC tell me there are rats. They don't seem too bothered. I guess if you live in an old stone house on a working farm and you keep hens and dogs, it's to be expected.

I shall now be thinking of Gubbins living in her old Mews house. Such an adventure for them all.

Jan, I keep thinking about your daughter. How is she doing?

🥰
Love and good wishes to all of you - especially those struggling somewhat. It's a happy and sad time of year I know
Thinking of you
🕊

ixion, yes, technically it's a long haul to spring - bug I have numerous spring bulbs already doing their thing... why?

Yesterday my husband and I both visited our optician to see if our glasses could be mended. I had a screw fall out (!) about three weeks ago and as I had a spare pair (older, very slightly different prescription) I've been wearing those recently. Then last week my husband came in from the rain and put his glasses on the stairs (🤐) whilst he took his wet coat and boots off. He then carefully skipped round them to go up to find some dry trousers... of course on the way down he trod on them and turned the frame into a parallelogram. The lenses had popped but weren't broken.
Anyway, we called in to the opticians to see if they could do anything - mine have irregular screws (of course) and had to leave them there. Three cheers, in about an hour they are fixed! No charge. How amazing was that!
I've been back with chocolate biscuits. We are both (especially his nibs) delighted.

Today I've been helping sons-in-law with gifts for my adult daughters. Why they think I'm better placed to know what's in my daughters' heads than they do, is a mystery - but I suppose you sometimes appreciate running things past someone else

Now, having sorted a vaccuum problem I'm back to making Christmas cards. A "chore" I both love and hate. Maybe I'll post a photo or two in a little while

So much for a morning of pre-planned busyness, when I was FTimed by the DGC continuously, it would seem, from 8.00. I mean, really? On a Sunday?🤷‍♀️
We made contact at 9.00, via a smirking DS.
#^Hey Nana^ was true to form. (he's 6). It's been a day of mixed emotions for me, Nana. It transpires that they went on an outing to the Australia Zoo, where pocket money facilitated the purchase of a particularly tacky mood ring, complete with colour-changing blue tiger. Sometimes it tells me that I am very happy, so then I have to be. Hmm, tail wagging dog, methinks.
They opened a pre-Christmas activity box I had sent. Seeing his younger brother brandishing a pair of scissors, and ready to tear into said box, his older brother (9) said Hey, be careful. These things cost money, you know!' 😱Yay!

I wonder if Grammaretto resolved the issue of the beastie(s) in the night. A regular occurrence, do you know? I'm glad you had a jolly day yesterday. Is this part of the family you will host again at Christmas?

Thank you, too, for the Carol link, Kaimoana. It was beautiful- and amazingly talented. I hope to join in the carol singing on Tuesday in Trafalgar Square, when I am in town doing Christmassy things.

I hope Doodle and Nfk are able to enjoy theirs this evening. 🔔 🌲🎵

Any chance of you rejoining us yet, Cherry? I do hope so. 💻

I love that carol Kaimoana. That's a beautiful rendition of it, and it was lovely to have the subtitles as it's all so fast. Thank you.

Doodle it looked like an intact castle with battlements they were roaming along.
Inside, lovely club-shaped windows ♣ through which DS shot to reveal countryside. A very strident woman was giving a commentary, in the background.

The house they are renting is lovely; looked like a converted mews but very old, so more likely from the days hawks were kept there rather than the later stables. DS did a walk-through to a living room opening onto a garden.
Northumberland next week.

Grammaretto I made an apologetic bow towards your chiropracter today as the weather gods poked out their tongues and at me as we reached 27 degrees Not exactly a heat wave as predictions say 20-21 for the next few days but I looked at your beautiful, icy photo a few times and pretended I was cool!

Nfk One of the many things I miss, not having transport, is being able to go to things like carol services.

I too love the old ones but there is one modern one I like too, especially this version.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSUFzC6_fp8
(NO instruments but the voice in this video)

Middle of the night, howling wind and scampering in the walls of this old farmhouse. Ofcourse I woke and can't get back to sleep.
I am thinking of Cherry. I expect she may also be awake.
I had a lovely time with the girls.
Panto in the afternoon, party in the village hall, watching strictly on TV whilst listening to all the chatter.
I must try to get back to sleep 😴
I shall be thinking of Gubbins in her castle and Nfk cavorting naked on that beach and trying not to think of what is in the wall beside my head rats ? bats?

I typed an answer to your remark about purity Kaimoana, but then decided, in the name of decorum, to delete it!

I'm going to a carol concert tomorrow too Doodle. Love a good carolling. I get quite put out when they don't stick to the old well known ones which I can really belt out. I need a full church as my voice isn't what it once was and the missed notes are best disguised by the singing of everyone else. Have a good time.

Kaimoana it sounds as though your son and family are making the most of exploring. Hat part of the country are they in? Exploring castles in this weather can be a bit chilly especially if they’re just remains.
I bet Gubbins finds it exciting
I went for a meal with DS1 and family. Nice to see our granddaughters home for Christmas
Been out for lunch today with friends. Bit chaotic as they’d given our table to another family. They offered a bench seat but I said I’d specifically requested chairs. Eventually they opened up a closed bit of the restaurant for just us, lovely, peace and quiet for a nice chat.
Church tomorrow morning then ( with trepidation) I’m going to a carol concert. Just hope I get through it ok.
Have a good weekend all

Gubbins is haunting castles and clearly enjoying the experiences. Today's video shows her going up wide, stone steps in dim light, carrying a mediaeval-style lantern

DS, when asked said they'd seen so many historic places he wasn't quite sure which this one was

Cherry continues to battle the digital gremlins think of her on Monday please when she goes for a health check.

Nfk you made me laugh so much with this:

"Oh, ixion, I'd forgotten the v**g*n rule. That definitely counts me out. I shall wait until the weather warms up."

<thinks>
Mmm, in warm weather everyone in Norfolk can become pure again? Magic

It's a long haul til the encouraging signs of Spring, isn't it? Do you overwinter your camper bubble?

I hope Grammaretto is being well looked after by her DGC and enjoys the break.

Any news of Gubbins? She'll be thrilled to have met up with her Daddy again. Airport Arrivals and Departures Halls can be so emotionally charged, can't they? DS was his usual chilled self as I wept all over him on leaving, last time we were there. Not so the airport chappie, who was somewhat nonplussed.
Could be that I was holding up the queue.

Oh, ixion, I'd forgotten the v**g*n rule. That definitely counts me out. I shall wait until the weather warms up.

Evening all. Just come home from dinner with DS1 and family. It was lovely to see them all but now I’m full and tired.
Jan, sunshine, what’s that. Hope your DD is doing well.
Naughtyneine you sound quite sad. I hope things resolve themselves somehow*
Nfk, Slough of despond, I like that. I think that’s where I’ve been the last few days. Hoping to catch a bus to somewhere better. I’ve had enough of this visit,
Dont go catching a chill dancing in the garden. If it’s dark the neighbours won’t notice. How about floodlights 🤣