So how was it for you?

[LadyA]

Hope everyone had a good festive season.

Here, little went according to plans! Nevertheless, a good, happy and peaceful time was (safely) enjoyed by all the family.

Plans were for mum and I to go to my daughter for lunch on Christmas day. I will admit, I had my doubts about this, as I didn't know how mum would cope for so long with 2 extremely excited small boys! However, as things panned out, we couldn't go.

It all started to go pear shaped on Thursday morning (23rd), when I got a call from mum's care assistant, saying she was unable to wake mum, and her breathing was funny. Ambulance called, and by the time I got there, mum was awake and giggling with the paramedics. However, they took her to hospital as she had been very difficult to rouse, and her BP was very high. So, I spent the day in A&E with her. They did several tests, but couldn't find anything really wrong. So, home we went.

Thursday evening, call from daughter. Eldest grandson (almost 5) had suddenly complained of a sore neck, had become very sleepy, and then started vomiting. Out of hours doc said to take him straight to hospital. He had anti vomiting stuff and fluids by IV, and recovered - a nasty virus the doc thinks. At this point - Friday morning, Christmas eve, I took myself to the local artisan supermarket and bought two of their turkey, ham and all the trimmings ready meals to have on standby! Excellent food cooked on site. Grandson was perfectly fine all day, so Friday evening, we decided that we would go to daughter after all for lunch. But, alas, Christmas morning, the poor boy started vomiting again. However, it didn't last long, and he gradually recovered over the morning. I didn't want to chance mum catching anything though, so ready-meals it was!

All sounds grim, but as it turned out, it was for the best. Christmas day here was the foulest day, weather wise! Torrential rain literally all day. Mum's mobility is very poor, so we would have been soaked through trying to get her in and out of the car. As it was, she and I enjoyed an excellent meal in the quiet and comfort of her own home, and I spent the morning with my dau, son in law and grandsons.

Today, I took down and put away the Christmas tree and decorations. All done Christmassing for another year! And let's hope by next Christmas, covid surges, restrictions etc. will be something we talk about as "Remember when...."


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[Icemaiden]

Do you put your decorations up very early, Lady A?

Ours don't go up until the week before Christmas, so they stay up for the full 12 days of Christmas & don't come down until 6th January. It would be quite a faff to put them up just for a week...

 

[LadyA]

First weekend in December. With only myself here, and surging covid cases meaning I've had nobody in the house over Christmas, I almost didn't bother, but I think it was good to make some effort.
I've always taken them down (except a nativity scene, which stays out until after New Year) just before New Year, and have always cleaned the house thoroughly to welcome the new year.

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[MrsBiscuit]

Gosh LadyA, any of one those medical events would be hard to cope with for most people, let alone all of them. I wish you and all your family health and happiness for the coming New Year.

On the subject of decorations, a friend of mine told me that in England we used to keep 'decorations' up till Candlemas which is something like 2nd Feb I believe, but it changed sometime in the Victorian era.

 

[Hen-Gen]

Scotland embraced the Gregorian calendar in C16th. But one island up here called Foula has stubbornly refused to fully incorporate it fully in to their lives and even today celebrates Xmas on Jan 6th and NYD on Jan 13th in accord with the Julian calendar.

 

[Marigold]

You know how, on a roller coaster, you feel ‘thank God we’ve got round this, now I can get off’?
And instead of slowing down and stopping, it simply hurtles on round again, and the loops are worse because this time you know what’s coming?
But at least you know that, surely, the ride will be limited to two circuits?
Think again!

Happy New Year, everyone!
Try this for size;
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/01/the-corona-coaster-entering-year-3-of-this-ride-that-none-of-us-asked-to-go-on

 

[Hen-Gen]

Happy new year to you all. A difficult year but we’ve come through unscathed.

 

[Icemaiden]

Good for Foula, Hen-Gen!

I'm hoping for an unscathed 2022. 2021 has been a heap of poo for me- all funerals & no weddings...

 

[Margaid]

Love it Marigold although I must say in many respects my roller coaster has been for other reasons.

I've only seen my sister twice since lockdown - she used to comas and stay every 6 weeks or so. She was due to come for this weekend but on Christmas day asked one of her grandson to give her a shove to hell her up off the sofa. He didn't know his own strength (and it was leather) so she landed on her knees then flat on her face. She didn't feel she could drive and although I offered to fetch her, we decide to postpone the visit - again!

 

[LadyA]

Gosh, Margaid, that was unfortunate! Hope she's OK now.

I'm hoping to see my sister and my youngest brother this year. Haven't seen them since 2019, as they're living overseas.

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[LadyA]

This festive season just keeps right on giving!

One day last week during a(nother) torrential downpour, I was putting stuff into the attic. The first thing that greeted me up there was the sight of a wooden storage box with a very wet lid, and the sound of a steady "drip, drip" - my roof was leaking! I thought it was just a loose ridge tile, called a builder I've used before fir minor repairs, and he came on Tuesday for a look.

Sadly, it was not a loose tile. The old roofing felt under the tiles was basically disintegrating - he said it's just age, and it was the cheapest felt that was available at the time (the house is 40 years old. ). He showed me how, if you put your finger on the felt in the attic, it goes straight through.

So, all the tiles and laths (?) have to be removed, and the felt replaced. A job costing just shy of €4,000! [emoji24][emoji24]

The builders were here at the crack of dawn this morning (around 8) and by evening, gad the front of the roof done. Thank God for a small house!

Fingers crossed that this will be the end of things going amiss for a while!

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[Marigold]

Oh dear! So sorry! Although I suppose it might have been even worse, if you hadn’t happened to go up to the attic in the rainstorm, and found the leak before it caused more damage. I’m glad you got hold of a builder so quickly - round here at the moment it’s really difficult to get any building work done without delays. They’re blaming it on shortage of materials due to Brexit.

 

[LadyA]

I was surprised myself at the speed of service! It's usually hard to get anyone here too - tradesmen seem to be very busy, all the time.

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[bigyetiman]

That was very impressive, let's hope nothing else goes wrong

 

[LadyA]

Well, rain (and wind) stopped play! But today was calm, dry and mild, and again they were here before first light setting up tools & equipment, so when daylight came they were ready to start work.
I think he regretted doing such a very good job when he fixed my loose ridge tiles 3 or 4 years ago - they had to haul a concrete saw onto the roof to get them off! [emoji23]
Thy have another couple of rows of tile to put on, so [emoji1696][emoji1696]that the weather holds!

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[bigyetiman]

A work colleague has just bought a house that needs some TLC and he has just found out that it needs a new roof. Best timeline he has is 6-8 months. Told him he was living in the wrong place

 

[LadyA]

There's a house near me - a tiny old cottage - that's having an extension built. They started around end November/beginning of December.
Yesterday, they were tiling the roof! Looks like only a couple of guys there, beavering away from before first light until dark.

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[Margaid]

There's a house near me - a tiny old cottage - that's having an extension built. They started around end November/beginning of December.
Yesterday, they were tiling the roof! Looks like only a couple of guys there, beavering away from before first light until dark.

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You can't do any of the inside work until it's weatherproof and with a new build, that's only about half way through.

 

[LadyA]

Yes I know - and there are no windows or doors in yet.
But I couldn't believe how fast the walls and roof went up.
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[Margaid]

They do though, that's the point! One gets all excited because the roof is on and then comes the disappointing realisation that there is still a HUGE amount to do. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.