Daily Check In October 12th

This is the front porch of our forum. Pull up a chair, and talk about whatever's on your mind.
User avatar
Mrscreative
Posts: 2119
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 5:06 pm

Re: Daily Check In October 12th

Post by Mrscreative »

Good morning everyone,

Woke up to some snow but it has mostly melted on the ground. This motivated me to finish up switching my clothes over. All my cute summery clothes I wore on the cruise have sadly been stored away until next season. And on with the bulky, chunky sweaters and fleece pants. Still have garden cleanup to do but was amazed to see all the kale and parsley that had grown. Even more amazed to see yet two more zucchinis and dd had already picked and used one! We had relatively mild weather when we were gone.

Rinty I am amazed by your yellow sticker bargains! I found the cost of living in London to be extremely expensive. We did discover the Embankment Grocery (situated on Albert Embankment, the same area as our hotel) and were able to pick up some breakfast pastries and fruit from there. We washed that down with the hotel's instant coffee in our room. The grocery was more like a convenience store but still much less expensive than eating out every day. I will say this - our hotel was in a good location and at least on the better side of the Thames River to get to Gatwick Airport using ground transportation. The Airport Pick up service worked out excellent both ways and offerred a flat rate of 63 pounds including both dh and myself and our luggage. I had no idea Gatwick was so far away from our hotel. We did pick up some yellow stickered yogurt from the Embankment Grocery though! Our hotel room didn't have a microwave and charged 20 pounds non refundable for the privilege of using the bar fridge (no thanks!!) We got around that simply by picking up our food daily and eating it immediately. We also discovered the Cafe Madeira on Albert Embankment offered decent supper options which cost a lot less if you ate in an area usually reserved for breakfast and lunch. Sure it lacked table cloths but the owner was very accommodating towards us and our dinner cost 19 pounds as opposed to about 50 pounds for our first meal. This was following our 10 mile walk! At this point we were famished!

I thought of you often Rinty those few days I was in London. Although we booked 3 nights, we didn't arrive the first night until about 7 pm and left the final day at 7 am. So we really had only two full days and spent almost a full day trying to connect with db-in-law. Heartbreaking we were there and so close but so far away. And talk about emotionally draining! I was really saddened not to make it to my ancestral home which is located in Streatham, We were warned by both hotel staff and also by our airport shuttle driver that this was a dangerous part of London where we would be a definite minority. So dh wouldn't allow me to go and I agreed best not to be mugged or worse. I did cross over the Lambeth bridge several times that I remember my Grandmother telling me about and paid special tribute to her there. Also marveled at Westminister Square and Big Ben. It appears that my great grandparents moved around to several boroughs as my Grandmother was born in Lambeth, her older brother a different borough and they left for Canada from Streatham. Also did a google search of the district which confirmed what we had been told. The second day it was impossible to catch a cab to central London. But on the positive side we enjoyed an incredible walking tour which was included in the HopOn Hop Off bus package and had very close access to the changing of the guards from some strategic viewing positions. It was after that that our nightmare began on the bus as dh was tired from walking and wanted to take the bus to get "closer" to our hotel! My goodness, we have made so many memories we'll be talking about them for years to come! Even though nothing at all worked out to plan in London (didn't even get to Picadilly Circus or inside a decent souvenir shop) we still had a good time! I also feel better after having given our hotel a one star rating! And requesting a partial refund of our deluxe bus tour.

I went to my Retirement Explorers group yesterday and we shared our favourite Thanksgiving recipes and treats. I pulled a zucchini loaf from the freezer as it was what I had on hand. Just no energy to make Rinty's Dutch apple cake with lemon sauce recipe! Didn't have all the necessary ingredients either! There's always another time. I also replenished my library books.

Floridacatlover, I'll see about posting more Instagram photos over the next little while. I just finished posting on Facebook after returning home. My free wifi access overseas was pretty limited and mostly confined to keeping in touch with both dd's and ensuring our bank accounts were all in order, as well as my AC Conversion pre loaded debit card.

On the positive side - we have quite a few Euros and pounds left on my card. We'll convert them to American dollars as no sense converting to Canadian and then to American. You lose money with every conversion.

Still feeling a bit loopy but the congestion has subsided. I'm finding the jet lag more severe returning. But we did go 26 hours without any sleep and that 8 hour layover in Toronto was like h*ll! It also took almost 2 hours to drive to Gatwick from our hotel.

Later on will review all the flyers and make a shopping list based on items on sale. Both dh and I really enjoyed the cruise portion of our trip and it's certainly the way to go and still see a lot of Europe - too old to be packing up and moving on from hotel to hotel every day! Dh is actually open to another cruise but think it will be at least 18 months before we consider. We still haven't recovered from this trip!

Creative


`
ChristmasTrees
Posts: 3982
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 12:53 am

Re: Daily Check In October 12th

Post by ChristmasTrees »

rinty wrote: Sat Oct 12, 2019 4:47 am Morning !

Just watched the Vienna marathon. Under 2 hours , wonderful ! Well done Eliud Kigchoge !

DH is off doing the shopping, he won't find a Yellow Sticker at this hour. Mind you he is fairly rigid with the list and its basically dairy and a cauliflower ;)

I had a lie in til 8am and it was WONDERFUL. When I said that I could cover two peoples jobs on the Friday before last I meant for ONE day............did it for the next week too and I am pretty much done. I must have lost weight though as I snatched about 10 mins break overall at work and I'm there til 5.30 and too tired to eat much when I was at home.

Lovely moment yesterday , I left as the after school group were having their tea and I realised I was starving......" Ooooh ! " say I " I just fancy a nice cheesy crisp could anyone spare me one ?"

These are their favourites and you basically have to prise them from their cold dead hands but those darling little beasties recognised a need and a dozen 5 to 7 yr olds raced over each holding a couple of squished crisps....and you better believe I ate them :shock: The older kids decided I could manage and chomped away stolidly not meeting my eyes..............

ANYWAY, got two loads of washing done and hung to dry on racks, one more to go. House is okay, an hours housework will make it company ready.

Today I do need to fix my glasses and pack away all the Christmas presents on one place so no chance of any duplicate gifts cos I forget stuff.

Found a wonderful youtuber who had several simple Halloween crafts, I love papercrafting so that's Craft Club sorted. They simply aren't seamstresses this time so I am playing to their strengths. The 3 d paper punkins are gorgeous and very effective if you make a bowlful of different sizes .

Babysitting tonight but no problem there.

Watched more crafting stuff and its revitalised me, the person doing it was sooooo enthusiastic and " Have A Go !"

I might pop out for some toiletries for a quick trip abroad ( oooh ! exciting !) but otherwise don't want to be tempted to spend anything so tucked up here watching the rain.

Have a lovely weekend all !

Edited to add.DH returned with his Caveman " I Bring FOOD " vibe and 2 large quiche Lorraine and a pack 'o four pork pies..........YELLOW STICKER lunches for the week, total of £1.05 for all three .
Rinty,
A smile on my face due to your children/crisps story... :)
Well done on your DH's shopping skills!
ChristmasTrees
Posts: 3982
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 12:53 am

Re: Daily Check In October 12th

Post by ChristmasTrees »

Jackielou wrote: Sat Oct 12, 2019 10:40 am Good morning fellow frugalites,

Slept in as I was up late visiting with the "boys" (who of course are men now, but will always be my babies). Eldest actually made it home around 9:30 last night. Seems yesterday was his prep period before the end of the day, and because the teachers had no meetings after the students left, he decided to leave at about 11:30 am. Hence the surprise when he came through the door.

This morning everyone but me is still in bed sound asleep. I will do a few tasks then head out the door to enjoy a lovely brisk (and I do mean brisk) walk. I will remember a headband and gloves today.

Frugally speaking this will be a no spend day, though I might make a quick trip to the library at some point to get more reading material and renew a book, this will be a no drive day as well. I will spend the time feeding my family and preparing for "the feast" as the sons have called big meals since they were small.

I have a few frugal tasks to accomplish and then now that the two quilts are pinned together or sandwiched, I think a bit of sewing is in order at some point today. Hubby's sweater for Christmas is coming along, but I also need to get started on the sewing portion of his gift. I really would like to be done by the end of this month.

I had planned on making a sausage casserole for supper tonight (it is even on the monthly menu plan I make), but have decided that perhaps feeding the guys something they love and might not get too often is appropriate. So tonight we will be having Biorkies or as the DS's call them Cabbage Bread. All I have to do is pull them out of the freezer and cook them. I may serve some raw veggies on the side or make some homemade fries.

Today I am so grateful to have a full house once again.

Everybody have a great day. Take care.
Jackie, Enjoy your "boys" being home!
ChristmasTrees
Posts: 3982
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 12:53 am

Re: Daily Check In October 12th

Post by ChristmasTrees »

Hello all. DH had an outpatient surgery yesterday so we are taking things easy for the next few days. I say we...because if I don't take it easy....he won't either. He is good...feeling better today than yesterday.
So...just puttering around the house getting smal things done.
gaylejackson2
Posts: 3172
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2015 1:13 pm
Location: Utah

Re: Daily Check In October 12th

Post by gaylejackson2 »

rinty wrote: Sat Oct 12, 2019 4:47 am Morning !

Just watched the Vienna marathon. Under 2 hours , wonderful ! Well done Eliud Kigchoge !

DH is off doing the shopping, he won't find a Yellow Sticker at this hour. Mind you he is fairly rigid with the list and its basically dairy and a cauliflower ;)

I had a lie in til 8am and it was WONDERFUL. When I said that I could cover two peoples jobs on the Friday before last I meant for ONE day............did it for the next week too and I am pretty much done. I must have lost weight though as I snatched about 10 mins break overall at work and I'm there til 5.30 and too tired to eat much when I was at home.

Lovely moment yesterday , I left as the after school group were having their tea and I realised I was starving......" Ooooh ! " say I " I just fancy a nice cheesy crisp could anyone spare me one ?"

These are their favourites and you basically have to prise them from their cold dead hands but those darling little beasties recognised a need and a dozen 5 to 7 yr olds raced over each holding a couple of squished crisps....and you better believe I ate them :shock: The older kids decided I could manage and chomped away stolidly not meeting my eyes..............

ANYWAY, got two loads of washing done and hung to dry on racks, one more to go. House is okay, an hours housework will make it company ready.

Today I do need to fix my glasses and pack away all the Christmas presents on one place so no chance of any duplicate gifts cos I forget stuff.

Found a wonderful youtuber who had several simple Halloween crafts, I love papercrafting so that's Craft Club sorted. They simply aren't seamstresses this time so I am playing to their strengths. The 3 d paper punkins are gorgeous and very effective if you make a bowlful of different sizes .

Babysitting tonight but no problem there.

Watched more crafting stuff and its revitalised me, the person doing it was sooooo enthusiastic and " Have A Go !"

I might pop out for some toiletries for a quick trip abroad ( oooh ! exciting !) but otherwise don't want to be tempted to spend anything so tucked up here watching the rain.

Have a lovely weekend all !

Edited to add.DH returned with his Caveman " I Bring FOOD " vibe and 2 large quiche Lorraine and a pack 'o four pork pies..........YELLOW STICKER lunches for the week, total of £1.05 for all three .
I Love💛 Your posts. ((Hugs))
clemencia2us
Posts: 11445
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 9:21 am

Re: Daily Check In October 12th

Post by clemencia2us »

It was freezing cold for us here in south texas. Well for me it was. Very windy.

I was supposed to go to a football game, but no way. My ears were hurting and my throat felt a little rough

I was dreading getting up today. I signed up and paid for a 5k event. Those things are not free. I set my alarm for 6. Took the boys outside and was surprised that it wasn't that cold out. It will be 90 again on monday - thank goodness!

I made it to the event. Actually had fun. Wasn't too bad. I walked it of course with some friends. My toe that is still swollen made it. I even got second place for my age group. Won't tell you how many in my age group - :lol:

It was a good outing. I will sleep well tonight.
Post Reply