Big hugs
Sister has, sigh, gone to meet toxic ex. Hopefully it goes well but I’m braced for the call.
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Sister has, sigh, gone to meet toxic ex. Hopefully it goes well but I’m braced for the call.
I'm awaiting Mr Beacon's experimental leftover haggis dinner, and feeling sad for my sister who has had a shocker of a chrimbo with her nightmare in-laws 
they are so snobbish about our family as we are quite chaotic and much less wealthy, but it really goes to show that money doesn't buy you happiness or a nice personality
they are so snobbish about our family as we are quite chaotic and much less wealthy, but it really goes to show that money doesn't buy you happiness or a nice personality
I hope everyone’s days are getting better than they were earlier. It all seems to be getting a bit much doesn’t it?
We bumped into an American neighbour who was obviously worried about family and they mentioned that there were some publications here who were threatening their weather over here. When I got home, I googled and they were right. I hope it’s all bluster and my beloved Met office is correct.
We had stir fry for dinner and I have made dahl in the slow cooker for tomorrow.
(Pity Me is very near a chicken farm. It has a tip too but lots of really good takeaways. By really good I mean lots of places do cheesy chips. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.)
We bumped into an American neighbour who was obviously worried about family and they mentioned that there were some publications here who were threatening their weather over here. When I got home, I googled and they were right. I hope it’s all bluster and my beloved Met office is correct.
We had stir fry for dinner and I have made dahl in the slow cooker for tomorrow.
(Pity Me is very near a chicken farm. It has a tip too but lots of really good takeaways. By really good I mean lots of places do cheesy chips. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.)
Thank you for the love and hugs + tbh shared tales of this weird period of time. Solidarity comrades - we’ve all got this 
Had 2.5 glass bottle cokes today to mitigate feelings of general despair and now feel nauseous remembering them 
@Hollaaa how was your journey + is your car still in the middle of no where + how was shopping pls?!
@traumatised sideboard how has your day been?
Had 2.5 glass bottle cokes today to mitigate feelings of general despair and now feel nauseous remembering them @Hollaaa how was your journey + is your car still in the middle of no where + how was shopping pls?!
@traumatised sideboard how has your day been?
it's even getting a bit much here and I've been mainly alone the whole time!
I've mentioned before how when mr kcc has his son, his son stays over at mr kcc's mam's house, and mr kcc hangs out with them in the day and comes home at night these days
it's been working since i stopped accompanying him when his dad was ill and died. i just wanted to be out of the way and I've never felt welcome at their house anyway, but i still showed up with mr kcc every other weekend anyway for 10 years
well, his son is at grandma's for the week and today is his birthday (a relatively big one)
mr kcc has come home exhausted and emotional tonight, saying he's gonna take a break after tomorrow from going up to see them and I'm just at a loss as to what to do
sorry, this may be hard to parse and i don't think im looking for advice, just oversharing once again
I've mentioned before how when mr kcc has his son, his son stays over at mr kcc's mam's house, and mr kcc hangs out with them in the day and comes home at night these days
it's been working since i stopped accompanying him when his dad was ill and died. i just wanted to be out of the way and I've never felt welcome at their house anyway, but i still showed up with mr kcc every other weekend anyway for 10 years
well, his son is at grandma's for the week and today is his birthday (a relatively big one)
mr kcc has come home exhausted and emotional tonight, saying he's gonna take a break after tomorrow from going up to see them and I'm just at a loss as to what to do
sorry, this may be hard to parse and i don't think im looking for advice, just oversharing once again
Here’s a very non-festive post. I know some of you are lovers of birds big and small, so I thought you might like to see these pics. Not wonderful shots as I haven’t taken them off my camera yet, so just took pics of my camera with my phone . We have lots of winter visitors around at the moment, as well as our year-round friends.
ETA sorry, @kachoochoo my post crossed with yours, didn’t mean to seem like an insensitive twit. That’s a horrible crappy fraught situation right there. Love to you and thinking about you both
. We have lots of winter visitors around at the moment, as well as our year-round friends.From top to bottom, a White Ibis, a Downy Woodpecker (a little lady-the males have redder heads), a Savannah Sparrow, a Dark Eyed Junco, an American Robin, one of a pair of Osprey who spend the winter here and who I see on the river almost every day, and one of my very favorite bird friends, a male Red Shouldered hawk.
He and his partner live here year round, have raised three lots of fledglings since I’ve “known them”, have been here through tornados and hurricanes and I have a huge, huge soft spot for them both. (I only know this is the male because I see them so often I recognize their chest feather markings, and when I saw them together one day, realized this was the male as she’s quite a lot bigger than him- females birds of prey are generally quite a bit bigger than the males). This is my zen thing to do. I discovered birdwatching during the pandemic and now I don’t know what I’d do without it.
Hope you’re all doing well and also staying warm (and in the case of dearest MCM staying cool)
He and his partner live here year round, have raised three lots of fledglings since I’ve “known them”, have been here through tornados and hurricanes and I have a huge, huge soft spot for them both. (I only know this is the male because I see them so often I recognize their chest feather markings, and when I saw them together one day, realized this was the male as she’s quite a lot bigger than him- females birds of prey are generally quite a bit bigger than the males). This is my zen thing to do. I discovered birdwatching during the pandemic and now I don’t know what I’d do without it.
Hope you’re all doing well and also staying warm (and in the case of dearest MCM staying cool)
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@heretoreaditall2019 shopping was good in the end, I got warm fancy socks, and when we stopped for coffee we got free apple tarts because they were about to close. Lunch was delish (no eels) and we did some very fancy food shopping (cake and cocktails). I managed to resist buying anything else, slim pickings on the sales front really but there's nothing we actually need. It was lovely to get out of the house.
The car was fine but I kept my hat on until we were well and truly home again.
@kach I feel your pain, that shiz is tough to be in, and to observe.
Went into Harvey Nicks toilets and there was poo on the seats and no soap or loo roll, disappointing. Yes, that Harvey Nicks near the infamous yellow sticker Sainsbos and a non-chain branch of Indian restaurants, in restaurant parlance.
@kach I feel your pain, that shiz is tough to be in, and to observe.
I need an embedded
emoji for the Harvey Nicks part, dearest one! Glad the rest of the day was good though Here’s a very non-festive post. I know some of you are lovers of birds big and small, so I thought you might like to see these pics. Not wonderful shots as I haven’t taken them off my camera yet, so just took pics of my camera with my phone
ETA sorry, @kachoochoo my post crossed with yours, didn’t mean to seem like an insensitive twit. That’s a horrible crappy fraught situation right there. Love to you and thinking about you bothFrom top to bottom, a White Ibis, a Downy Woodpecker (a little lady-the males have redder heads), a Savannah Sparrow, a Dark Eyed Junco, an American Robin, one of a pair of Osprey who spend the winter here and who I see on the river almost every day, and one of my very favorite bird friends, a male Red Shouldered hawk.
He and his partner live here year round, have raised three lots of fledglings since I’ve “known them”, have been here through tornados and hurricanes and I have a huge, huge soft spot for them both. (I only know this is the male because I see them so often I recognize their chest feather markings, and when I saw them together one day, realized this was the male as she’s quite a lot bigger than him- females birds of prey are generally quite a bit bigger than the males). This is my zen thing to do. I discovered birdwatching during the pandemic and now I don’t know what I’d do without it.
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Hope you’re all doing well and also staying warm (and in the case of dearest MCM staying cool)
hey, don't worry
this is what we're all here for. a bit of venting, companionship, distraction and a *lot* of animals
i love funky looking birds
like, we don't get many round here. i get excited when i see the same old heron sitting in the same old spot on the weir between our flat complex and lidl
I'm on day two of leftovers and my body composition is now 90% vegan sausage rolls and Tesco oriental snack selection. The gym was open today but I couldn't persuade myself to go. Instead I went and marvelled at the eighth wonder of the world: the queue to get into the John Lewis car park. There must have been absolute scenes inside.
I love your bird friends Vali. My most recent sighting that made me gasp in wonder like I would at an unexpected butterfly was a similarly unexpected kingfisher that zipped through the car park.
I love your bird friends Vali. My most recent sighting that made me gasp in wonder like I would at an unexpected butterfly was a similarly unexpected kingfisher that zipped through the car park.
I'm so sorry KCC. That sounds tit.
We had a change of plans as the car started playing up. Was meant to drive 5 hours to in-laws but as I went on a short drive this morning the electrics and the engine lights started to flash and the car went into limp mode so we can't risk it.
ASD child has definitely had enough of the weird change to routine and even plaintively said to me "why do we spend so much money just for one day?" and I agreed that we would do a less spendy xmas next year but when they ask for giant lego sets which make them so happy what do you do? Luckily our house guests (my mum and her partner) are understanding and pretty chill. Though they do bicker a bit.
I worry we are all a bit anti-social and most of us have retreated to our private spaces for large parts of the day. But maybe that helps us all get along ok?
We had a change of plans as the car started playing up. Was meant to drive 5 hours to in-laws but as I went on a short drive this morning the electrics and the engine lights started to flash and the car went into limp mode so we can't risk it.
ASD child has definitely had enough of the weird change to routine and even plaintively said to me "why do we spend so much money just for one day?" and I agreed that we would do a less spendy xmas next year but when they ask for giant lego sets which make them so happy what do you do? Luckily our house guests (my mum and her partner) are understanding and pretty chill. Though they do bicker a bit.
I worry we are all a bit anti-social and most of us have retreated to our private spaces for large parts of the day. But maybe that helps us all get along ok?
I'm with you lads. Totally get the solitary thing.
I found staying with my sister rewarding (because I love her and miss her) but also frustrating.
She bought herself the latest iPhone (over £1000) but barely turned the heating on whilst I was there. I said I was cold a couple of times to no avail. Meanwhile she's told my parents she has over £500 worth of credit on her account. Am I the hole for wanting to be warm at Christmas?
I ended up cooking most of the dinner last night, which I wasn't really expecting. I dunno, I just think if I had a guest for Christmas for the first time in years, I'd be taking care of them a bit?
Now at my parents house, it's nice and toasty. Mum was drinking but fortunately not too much and she cooked us a lovely belated boxing day tea. Fried mash included because she knows it's my favourite
Home tomorrow and very much looking forward to my own flat and my own routine!
I found staying with my sister rewarding (because I love her and miss her) but also frustrating.
She bought herself the latest iPhone (over £1000) but barely turned the heating on whilst I was there. I said I was cold a couple of times to no avail. Meanwhile she's told my parents she has over £500 worth of credit on her account. Am I the hole for wanting to be warm at Christmas?
I ended up cooking most of the dinner last night, which I wasn't really expecting. I dunno, I just think if I had a guest for Christmas for the first time in years, I'd be taking care of them a bit?
Now at my parents house, it's nice and toasty. Mum was drinking but fortunately not too much and she cooked us a lovely belated boxing day tea. Fried mash included because she knows it's my favourite
Home tomorrow and very much looking forward to my own flat and my own routine!
Evening all. I got my kids back this morning for the rest of the school holidays so that feels good. But it also means lots of socialising and making sure they see family and friends so it’s gonna be exhausting. I spent Boxing Day on my own after dropping them at their other mum’s so that was nice. Just a bit of time to potter around and watch tit tv. Lots of love to everyone having a tough time xx
Vali, your birds are amazing! One of the biggest reasons I don't let my little bears outside unsupervised is because I don't want them hurting any birds. Instead they can chatter through the windows at them.
Susan has a pigeon friend, we've made up a silly storyline about them and all. The pigeon sits on the back fence and Susan chats to it, it's very cute.
The temperature has dropped about 10 degrees whilst I was napping, I always stress out when we have the aircon going as it's quite expensive to use but if we are all
More comfortable it's worth it.
Susan has a pigeon friend, we've made up a silly storyline about them and all. The pigeon sits on the back fence and Susan chats to it, it's very cute.
The temperature has dropped about 10 degrees whilst I was napping, I always stress out when we have the aircon going as it's quite expensive to use but if we are all
More comfortable it's worth it.
Hi friends, I don’t often frequent these parts, so hope you don’t mind an interloper looking to offload.
I’ve had a down few days tbh. Mr Laz and I had the Christmas Day we wanted, just us and the dog, nice and chilled. We didn’t buy big gifts for each other because we’re getting married (and nobody knows) and we’d just bought our rings at the start of the month.
Neither of us get many gifts from others which we’re fine with.
We both get a joint gift from my sister, which I always look forward to and we get something each from my mum and that’s it. Both really happy with what we got.
I think the downer came because I’ve been asking my mum for ages what we could get her for Christmas and she just kept saying she didn’t know. Then she said my sister was taking her away on a European city break as a Christmas gift so could I just give her € so I sent money (£100) to her bank.
I said to mum I might book a flight and go and join them for a day or two and she said “oh she’s booked the hotel already, there won’t be room for you in the room so you’d need to book your own room” which id have done anyway but it was just that was her first reaction rather than “yeah that would be really lovely, we might be able to get a bigger room if you come”.
My nieces and nephews are all grown up and similarly just want money from me (there are 4 of them and they get £80 each) but then get lots of gifts from other people and I just felt a bit meh.
Why does nobody want me to buy them gifts? Everything just feels really impersonal and it made me quite down.
My family live 250 miles away from me, we could have gone but the trains are a nightmare at the mo and we didn’t want to put the dog to a sitter anyway. I had a lovely Christmas Day, it just felt a bit isolating when my mum was telling me how much of a nice time she had with all the family, and then it felt almost secondary to say “how was your wee day then, did you get something nice?”
I feel a bit forgotten tbh. Oh well, I’ll move on, I’m sure. I was a bit tearful yesterday though.
This time of year is difficult.
I’ve had a down few days tbh. Mr Laz and I had the Christmas Day we wanted, just us and the dog, nice and chilled. We didn’t buy big gifts for each other because we’re getting married (and nobody knows) and we’d just bought our rings at the start of the month.
Neither of us get many gifts from others which we’re fine with.
We both get a joint gift from my sister, which I always look forward to and we get something each from my mum and that’s it. Both really happy with what we got.
I think the downer came because I’ve been asking my mum for ages what we could get her for Christmas and she just kept saying she didn’t know. Then she said my sister was taking her away on a European city break as a Christmas gift so could I just give her € so I sent money (£100) to her bank.
I said to mum I might book a flight and go and join them for a day or two and she said “oh she’s booked the hotel already, there won’t be room for you in the room so you’d need to book your own room” which id have done anyway but it was just that was her first reaction rather than “yeah that would be really lovely, we might be able to get a bigger room if you come”.
My nieces and nephews are all grown up and similarly just want money from me (there are 4 of them and they get £80 each) but then get lots of gifts from other people and I just felt a bit meh.
Why does nobody want me to buy them gifts? Everything just feels really impersonal and it made me quite down.
My family live 250 miles away from me, we could have gone but the trains are a nightmare at the mo and we didn’t want to put the dog to a sitter anyway. I had a lovely Christmas Day, it just felt a bit isolating when my mum was telling me how much of a nice time she had with all the family, and then it felt almost secondary to say “how was your wee day then, did you get something nice?”
I feel a bit forgotten tbh. Oh well, I’ll move on, I’m sure. I was a bit tearful yesterday though.
This time of year is difficult.
Xmas email from bro (L.A.)
Attachments
It’s the time of year magnifying everything. Perhaps you can do some things in the summer with them, make plans for a visit, or get together?
Thank you dear heart. Yes, I agree; this time of year magnifies things for sure. I think I’ve just felt very left out tbh. I’m a big girl, and I’ll get over it.
Thanks once again xxx
I am feeling very grumpy as I have to WORK today. entirely my own fault as I run my own business and we're really snowed at the moment. Also jealous of Mr Beacon going off on a trip round the garden centres without me to buy bargain pots
Made this today. GOOD LORDY
CHILLI JAM - Makes about 5 normal jam jars worth
2 red onions - peeled, sliced fine
4 Ramiro sweet red peppers - cored, deseeded, sliced fine
6 red chillies, sliced
6 garlic cloves, diced finely
800g tin plum chopped tomato
10 fresh tomatoes
400g soft light brown sugar
300ml red wine vinegar
4 lemongrass stalks, remove outer layer, chop fine
Onions, Peppers, Chillies, Garlic and Lemon Grass into Mixer
Add 1/3rd of the vinegar plus all tomatoes
Blitz until smooth
Into a pan with rest of vinegar and sugar.
Bring to boil.
Simmer for hour and a half.
CHILLI JAM - Makes about 5 normal jam jars worth
2 red onions - peeled, sliced fine
4 Ramiro sweet red peppers - cored, deseeded, sliced fine
6 red chillies, sliced
6 garlic cloves, diced finely
800g tin plum chopped tomato
10 fresh tomatoes
400g soft light brown sugar
300ml red wine vinegar
4 lemongrass stalks, remove outer layer, chop fine
Onions, Peppers, Chillies, Garlic and Lemon Grass into Mixer
Add 1/3rd of the vinegar plus all tomatoes
Blitz until smooth
Into a pan with rest of vinegar and sugar.
Bring to boil.
Simmer for hour and a half.
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