what you doing at the moment??

[ellsie]

I hope you enjoy Madagascar Clare,sounds warm and wonderful.
My daughter (4) has been sick :yucky: and sent home from school.
Saw a gromit mug in Ottakars yesterday but it was the wrong mug. This one had a pic of the were-rabbit film. Sorry Pam!
I used to go to concerts but at my age I expect I would make a fool of myself too!

[matt]

well cake number 1 was iced yesterday only 5 to go!!!:o

so we've passed 1000 posts. hurrah.

southampton is rather similar copper. they do studies at the university for traffic management then try them out on the residents. hence traffic lights on roundabouts, traffic delay signs (that never work properly) and so on.

just wish they would get rid of it all. i follow the theory that they are casuing more accidents. drivers get overloaded with things to watch and see and then don't look out for hazards themselves hence run over the litle old dears and kiddies because they didn't have a sign up for them!!!

cokkies made for daughter to sell tomorrow, rice crispy and choc chip, crunchy and chewy. how many she scoffs herself is another matter!

retail therapy for me today i think.:lol2:

[rebecca c]

I'll be joining you for the retail therapy today Matt. Shopping in London - may be Mr Conrans shop before I go to Guy's allergy clinic for my tests this afternoon - I'll let you know how I get on. Not pining too many hopes on it especially as they have already said they cant do anything about testing for intolerences....

[Pen]

Yikes! It is only November and we have had that white stuff falling out of the sky today... but it didn't settle. Here, it is referred to as 'flurries' when it does that, but it is just a fancy name for SNOW! Better find the gloves and scarf. We don't normally get snow until December, but then it comes in huge quantities and normally lasts right through to the middle of March. The attached piccy was taken last winter from my front door. Had to dig my recycling box out of the snow.

11

[matt]

yeah my sister always moans about it each year. well she chose to go! down here on the south caost a really bad snow fall could be all of two inches!!!

but then all hell breaks loose!

managed to resist the temptations yesterday. paid the final fee for the divorce then got two pressies for friends son, birthday and xmas then came home before i let myself go mad! the helpfull factor is i know how much cheaper i can get stuff on the web..

amazon here i come.:rolleyes:

[rebecca c]

I was good too and only got pressies. Except I got myself some turkish delight for xmas day - has corn starch in but not much else so we'll see.

Allergy clinic was a good experience. Saw Professor Lee he was kind, professional and thorough. My skin prick tests were clear so that is good and what I expected to be honest. However he said he was worried about me and just on my weight alone felt there was a lot of cause for concern. He took 15 tubes of blood off for testing, ordered xrays and lung tests and will book me in to the gastroentorologist (couldnt believe I have never been and thinks I need coeliac testing) and the dietician. Also did a thorough examination and was obviously concerned about ruling out cancer.

I cried with relief when I came out. OK so nothing may come of it but I am being properly cared for and having some of the nasties that worry me ruled out.:D :D :D

[cnc]

Rebecca, am glad you've had a positive experience. I hope they can help you. Good luck.

[linny]

Well done Rebecca! I'm a nervous wreck when I (or any of my family) have to go for tests. It's a huge relief to get home isn't it? My husband has an appointment with a skin specialist next month to try and find out what his mystery rash is!! He was referrred in April! At least now your're getting some attention and hopefully they will find what the culprit is. Good luck with it all.;)

[ellsie]

Good to get the ball rolling and the doc seems to want to do a thorough job. Great stuff!:)

[pinkfairy]

I have managed to get the soyatoo cream from my local healthstore beansfreaks. They ordered it for me. The squirty version was £1.69 and the double cream £1.55. Tastes good. I don't expect it will last long when the kids discover it.

Jane

[Copper]

I am really pleased for you Rebecca. At last somebody is concerned about you and willing to find out why you are not well. I think that knowing is probably better than not knowing what makes you ill.

[matt]

good to hear you had such a good doctor rebecca. as has been said hopefully they'll get to the root cause.
being ill is bad enough without having any idea why. with knowledge you can atleast avoid accurately the things you need to.
puts you back in control

well my cars legal again with two new tyres. fairly cheap aswell.:) and nice necklace for daughter from jeweller. again resisted splashing out loads on me but only just....;)

[Fozzybear]

Getting to see a good doctor really does make a difference - I'm glad to hear you've managed to see a good one Rebecca.

Thought I'd write a little about my week as I've had a very bumpy time, but not at all to do with my LI. I've spent all week working with another engineer trying to repair a piece of high voltage kit at work. It started off with a bad smell coming from it so we got it moved to our test room and ran it up. All seemed ok but I was looking in the back of the gear and one of the capacitors exploded like a gunshot! When we took it out we could see that It had blown a hole right through it's metal casing - that's a lot of energy! I felt pretty shaky after that as I'd been standing right by it when it went! We changed the whole bank of capacitors and ran the gear up again (very gingerly) and all seemed ok so we took it back and hooked it all up and tested it again, leaving it on to soaktest for a while. We handed it back and the next day got a call as there had been another loud bang, from a different part of the gear, so we got it back in the test room and looked again. All seemed ok but we then got a very loud rasping arcing noise from the gear and we knocked off the power quickly! A big resistor had blown and probably around 5000V had arced across it (should only be a few volts normally), which had fried the electronics connected to it. We fixed that and ran up again but no output - checked the chips and found another dead one so replaced it and ran up and got two very loud gunshot bangs from where we'd replaced the chips! An adjustable resistor (called a pot - think volume control on your stereo but small and on a circuit board) and another resistor were reduced to black carbon - at this point we packed up and decided to leave it over the weekend!

That was a fairly stressful week (all that was going on from Monday to Friday - I've condensed it to just the main things we did) with a lot of high blood pressure moments when we were running the gear! I blew off a bit of steam last night though by going on a bit of a spending spree! I've been saving extra money in a high interest account for the last year and the interest has come through so I've closed the account and moved most of the money to my other savings account, but I kept back some of it and bought some gadgets! I've replaced my DVD recorder (Panasonic DMR-E50) with a new Panasonic, the DMR-ES10, which does more whizzy things and should have better picture quality on the recordings, and I've also ordered a subwoofer for my home cinema setup. The subwoofer is a loudspeaker for making the bass sounds (deep thuds and rumbles) that normal speakers can't really make. It's a KEF PSW2500 and it's got a 250W amplifier built in to it! Fortunatly I've got a week or two wait before I get it as I will have to spend some time reorganising my lounge to fit it in - it's quite large. I'll be running it at low levels though - I don't want to annoy the neighbours.

I may have a poor social life but it does mean that I have money for gadgets! :thumbsup:

[Kamagrian]

I may have a poor social life but it does mean that I have money for gadgets! :thumbsup:Sounds like you've had a horribly stressful week, so I'd say gadget therapy is a good thing! :D

I've finally heard from my doctor. He's been talking to my consultant, who apparently remembers me because I'm 'a bit of a puzzle' as regards pancreatitis - in that I don't abuse my body, I don't have gallstones, I'm not an alcoholic etc. - and they've decided it's now an urgent situation as I'm still experiencing a lot of pain and nausea. They've referred me to the 'big important super-consultants' (my doctor's words, not mine) at the Hepato-Biliary Unit, and I'm expecting to be called in at short notice sometime next week, for an MRI scan and some other big tests.

Hopefully this means they'll find out why I'm still in so much pain, and they can do something about it! It's annoying, but I'm happy there's some movement in the matter now.

Hope everyone has a stunningly good weekend!

Gill x

[rebecca c]

Sound like you going to have a good christmas watching films fozzybear.:D

Gill I'm glad they are giving your case priority. I read about a case of pancreatitus in a womans mag in the doctors surgery yesterday, she had a lot of pain and turned out she had cysts blocking her tubes - they removed them and she got better. I hope they find out what is causing your pain quickly it really needs sorting out it is not fair that you are still going through it when you have been through so much.

I'm feeling a bit cruddy after the steroids I have taken for my asthma but we are off to see Harry Potter this afternoon and then the boys are having friends for a sleep over - we are making them a slap up mexican meal. Should be fun!

[Fozzybear]

Hmm... hope the uber-consultant figures it out Gill!

I'm feeling a bit more relaxed now, had a nice long walk around the village this morning and that was very thereputic - never underestimate the calming properties of a nice relaxed walk! Will be having a quiet day today (unless my brother gets stressed working on a PC he's giving to our parents!) and sit down with a good film tonight.

[Kamagrian]

I hope they find out what is causing your pain quickly it really needs sorting out it is not fair that you are still going through it when you have been through so much.

I'm feeling a bit cruddy after the steroids I have taken for my asthma but we are off to see Harry Potter this afternoon and then the boys are having friends for a sleep over - we are making them a slap up mexican meal. Should be fun!Sounds lovely, I always think a walk helps a lot. It's suddenly got really cold here, but I find it somehow comforting to get all wrapped up in scarf, gloves, boots and hat and brave the coming Scottish winter. Even if it does make me look stupid!

Mmm, I love Mexican food! Might have to make fajitas sometime this week and invite friends around. I think there's something friendly and companionable about sticking everything in the middle of the table and having them 'construct' their own dinners. Though I seem to have a lot of klutzy friends and it always takes time to clear up the resulting mess! :lol2:

Thanks for the good wishes - I'm a fairly indestructible type and I'm sure I'll be fine once they work out what's wrong. Apparently I have a raised danger of things like pancreatic cysts now as I've recently had acute pancreatitis, so maybe it's something like that and can be easily fixed. :) I hope so anyway...I know it sounds odd but I'd rather they FOUND something in the tests (so they could remedy the situation) than found nothing and left me still in unexplained pain. So here's hoping...

It seems to be cooking-and-baking day in our flat today. Matt's baking fresh bread (how great is he?) and also some homemade veggie samosas to share with friends who are coming around for games tomorrow. I've just finished making a batch of fresh apple sauce for some apple and oatmeal muffins I'm going to bake later. Everything smells great around here, it's like living in a country granny's cottage. :drool:

[matt]

good to hear they are getting you to see the organ grinder and not one of his monkeys, hopefully they will get to the cause of the problem and you can get on with things.

so an evetfull week on the testing bench then fozzy? high voltage electronics don't you just love em? so much fun when they go wrong and so bloody dangerous too....
would love the cinema set up but live in a terace. ok they're all ignorant and bang the doors all the time but at the moment i'm resisitng lowering myself to their levels. not looking forward to party season and new years though.

so how did the meximcan night go?

i went to weymouth and swanage yesterday. lovely and sunny but cold. had my fur hat on though and big very thick north face jacket. yep looked like the black michellin man with white face. but i was warm.... too cold and old to worry what others think.:lol2:

[rebecca c]

I rely on thermal underwear, again not a good look but I get so cold and I hate it yet I love being outdoors (and work outside too) so being warm is A1 priority. Need to buy some more actually.

Harry Potter was interesting it was very fast moving and loads was crammed in but they still missed big chunks of the story. Some excellent scenes with dragons etc and a nice little bit with the kids all chatting over their homework and being adolescent were my favourite bits. Not enough of Jarivs Cocker for my liking.

Mexican went down a storm and sleep over went well until they all woke up at 5 in the morning for a chat and I had to read the riot act. It is worth doing though as it makes the boys feel like the rented place is more of a home and my friend will have mine back in return....mmm what shall we do?

[goose]

Hello everyone, im back from my tour to tenerifie. And it was fantastic. weather was between 26 and 30 everyday.
Didn't suffer too much with the ibs' little problems at both ends of the airport as the waiting was getting the stress levels ticking but all in all it was a good holiday.
I must say very well done to the supermarkets over there as they all stock a large variety of dairy free products, which i may add seem to have a better selection than most of the supermarkets over hear.
And it made my life a hell of a lot easier.

So i would recommend going again although the resturants didn't cater much but i was happy to cook every now and again.

The only down side was coming back to -4 degrees weather in good old Aberdeen. and XMAS shopping!!!!!!!!!! aahhhh.:wacko: :wacko:

[Kamagrian]

Hello everyone, im back from my tour to tenerifie.I'm so jealous! I spent a couple of weeks in Tenerife July-August this year, and loved it. I wasn't dairy free back then, but it's good to know the supermarkets are well-stocked when I revisit the place. :)

Whereabouts did you go? I was on the Costa del Silencio - specifically Las Galletas.

[Copper]

Fozzybear, your working week sounds really scary and I thought my workplace was dangerous!

Goose, glad to hear that the holiday went well - that should set you up for the winter.

If we get about an inch of snow here in the south everything comes to a standstill. I am not sure that I would drive to work in those conditions as there are too many idiots on the roads normally.

PA and I saw Harry Potter yesterday. We were surrounded by hundreds of small children (most under the age of 12). There were some irritating boys behind us who chatted through most of the film. They knew the story and were anticipating events. It was good bit of escapism :)

[matt]

so a 7 year old girl not easily scared would she like harry potter or too much for her???

goose, haven't had my post card yet!!! you can go off people coming back and telling us stuff like that. when will you upload a few pictures???

believe me i use thermals aswell. i'm very tall and thin so my surface area is large to my body volume...i get cold no matter what, even a breeze in summer is enough to make me feel the cold. such is life.

well here i am at 2pm on sunday chat room open wondering if anyones going to turn up. gardeners question time on radio sad git that i am!

just potted up some primroses and pansies outside front door to brighten up the place.

[goose]

Me too. i was in costa del selencio. parque don jose.
fantastic quiet area and not to over crowded visited giates shopping which i picked up some bargains like wine 35p per litre?
Supermacado is the name of the supermarket to get the dairy free foods, which is located everwhere.:D

[Fozzybear]

so an evetfull week on the testing bench then fozzy? high voltage electronics don't you just love em? so much fun when they go wrong and so bloody dangerous too.... Normally I don't get involved with the high voltage stuff but with people leaving and the direction of our team moving towards supporting the high voltage departments rather than small stuff that I used to do I'm getting more involved. Still not involved in the BIG gear yet - we've got some test kit that runs at over 100,000V and produces more than 400,000 watts of output power! Most I've been involved with is 50,000V and I didn't like that much!

would love the cinema set up but live in a terace. ok they're all ignorant and bang the doors all the time but at the moment i'm resisitng lowering myself to their levels. not looking forward to party season and new years though.

I heard of a guy whose only neighbours played loud music late at night and wouldn't turn it down so he set his surround kit up against the wall and cranked it up playing Saving Private Ryan on DVD. They couldn't compete and turned theirs off! :D

I don't want to upset my neighbours too much so don't play it really loud - I just want a subwoofer on my system to reinforce the bass a little and take some of the strain of the main stereo speakers, which should sound better if they don't have to handle the deep bass.


Fozzybear, your working week sounds really scary and I thought my workplace was dangerous!
We've had a fair bit of training on safety (and CPR/defibrillator use in case the worst happens!) but I certainly treat the high voltage kit with a lot of respect. We always work in twos for safety and you really need your wits about you - there have been fatalities caused by people not following the rules and taking risks. As someone who is most definitely not a danger junkie I am very, very cautious around this kit! It doesn't protect your nerves against things blowing up though! The guy I'm working with has worked on high voltage kit for decades and still gets very jumpy when things are banging and arcs start cracking over.

...not looking forward to going back tomorrow! :unsure:

[ellsie]

My girls have just seen Harry P and loved it,ages 10 and 12. They thought it was a bit scary but the basilisk was worse, so Matt depends on how much she likes Harry P.:)

[rebecca c]

Matt my son is 7 and not easily scared. He was upset when Cedric died and cried also pretty scared of Voldemort scenes but I dont think it was more than he could cope with. We have read the book a couple of times so he knew what to expect. I would think your daughter should be alright but you may have to be prepared to pop outside for scarey bits if the worst came to the worst.

[Kamagrian]

Supermacado is the name of the supermarket to get the dairy free foods, which is located everwhere.:DI've noticed Spar are quite big out there at the moment. Seemed odd to be in this little Spanish-speaking harbour town and say 'I'm just nipping down to the Spar'. But yes, I loved Silencio, it suited its name for peace and quiet. Exactly what I needed before relocating to Scotland, changing jobs and moving in with my boyfriend!

[matt]

well might risk a trip to the cinema with her then. she's into the conceptof harry potter but hasn't read the books. i think she's seen the earlier films but not sure...well if she gets scared we can always come out as i'm not into it at allso no loss for me.

[Pam]

The length of the HP films has always put me off as they are usually nearer the 3 hour mark than 2 hours and that is a long time for me to sit still never mind the children. We usually wait until they are out on DVD.

We have a cinema speaker system for the DVD player including a subwoofer. We are lucky that we are in the corner of an L shaped terrace so our living room walls have either a staircase or the kitchen separating them from our neighbours and as one of them lives in Japan for 99% of the time she won't be complaining anyway. The sound effects are very good though and you tend to jump and look behind you at certain noises, even watching Coronation Street through the sound system (sad, I know) and you can hear the cars driving past as if they are driving past your own house, you don't realise how much background noise they put into these programmes until you boost it up.

Hubby has just built the kids a new pc this weekend using this case http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=584&category_id=52&manufacturer_id=0# The picture doesn't do it justice as the front is all silver and the blue bubble tubes are much brighter. He has customised on the light up bits (floppy drive etc) to light up blue and has put a red light inside it (I'm sure blue would be nicer) as it has a perspex side panel. The kids are thrilled with it.

[ellsie]

Matt ,why not try hiring or borrowing the previous Potter DVD's or videos to watch with her at home first. Then you would know if she would be likely to enjoy it and she would be more familiar with the character.:)

[goose]

hey everyone, well having being the first day back to work after what seems a long distant memory [holiday].
Im having the worst cramps ever. ibs has flared up big time. But although i may be suffering, i just realised how satisfying my job is. no matter how i feel
my clients are always on hand with all the war stories and all the old time jokes, which makes me realise why i get up every morning:clap:

oh, i need a hot water bottie.

[Bet]

Matt

Took my 7 yr old to see HP yesterday and she loved it - only scared at end when Voldermort appears in graveyard scene - she was ok closing her eyes for this bit and didnt have nightmares last night thank goodness. However, if youre not into HP think you will find the film hard to follow in places, would probably be best to see earlier ones first.

[matt]

may well take the risk then. can't see this weekend coming so looks like the follwoing sat if still showing or else we'll wait till next year and rent the dvd. unless i come accross a copy.....not that i would ofcourse! terrible

i'm not into hp at all so it would be torture to watch the first three? dvd's. i can put up with this one as treat for the little horror.;)

the things i do for her......

if only they'd get a cinema with comfy seats. settees etc. then sit back and nod off while the little dears watch their films.:cool:

[cnc]

if only they'd get a cinema with comfy seats. settees etc. then sit back and nod off while the little dears watch their films.:cool:
Vue cinemas do a GoldSeat showing for certain films a bit more expensive but apparently well worth it- more leg room etc. However I think it might be for over 18s or something- which means no kids :D
Was going to have a lie in,(exceedingly tired) but have got my flu jab this morning. So up early, get jabbed, work, lecture, and then back to bed I think is my plan for the morning.

[linny]

Sorry to hear you had such a bad day Goose:( . I suffer with stomach cramps a lot - not nice are they. I now take codeine as well as co-proxamol to 'ease' the pain. What do you do as a job? Sorry if you've said before but I don't always get to read all the posts. Hope you're feeling a bit better today;) .

[goose]

hey linny, im a carer out in the community. which i love i hate being stuck inside all day and seeing the same things all the time. so this way i get out and about. they all live around the same area so its nice and easy to get about. although this weather aint the greatest at 6 in the morning.
But once the morning baths are out the way it soon warms up.:cool:

[matt]

anyone any good with the back massages?
five xmas cakes marzipanned yesterday nearly three hours bent over a worktop thats too low!!!
well they all are for me.
but job well done and just need to spend several hours icing them all now.

apart from that was too tired to do anything else.

on a seperate topic.

this website is good for hints and tips for money off:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

go and register at this site and we might all be able to get a discount card for petrol:

http://www.pipelinecard.org/

appears to be ok just a mtter of getting enough people to register.

[Kamagrian]

anyone any good with the back massages?
five xmas cakes marzipanned yesterday nearly three hours bent over a worktop thats too low!!!I'm qualified in Swedish Body Massage therapy....but you have to come here, and it'll cost you one of those cakes! :lol2:

[goose]

Na no good at massages. just feeding, bathing and puting to bed i do

[rebecca c]

Matt I dont think you need to feel bad about being tired after marzipaning the cakes I call that a job well done. How are you going to ice them smooth or rough. When I was young it was always my job to rough ice the cake. I am thinking of making the boys a chocolate log for christmas. (no double meanings intended)

But may not have time for baking. People are now phoning me to try and fix dates for exchanging on our house but as ever there are some gliches to sort out, time to take and deep breath before I step back into the fray. Once more unto the breach.....

Which reminds me has anyone else been enjoy the shakespeare series on Monday nights as much as me? They've really been really good fun.

Going to bed early tonight as I am shattered.

[Pen]

Yeah, I qualified in Swedish massage (and other body therapies) too (1985). No cakes for me though!:(

[matt]

bit of a trek to either canada or scotland. would take either up but then the public transport home would make any problem come back double. seats too cramped!

going to make the royal icing from packet then ice as smooth as i can. not perfect but will taste nice hopefully. that's all that matters. several thin layers tends to work best. task for tomorrow and sunday i expect. though maybe today if too wet/cold.:cool:

[Kamagrian]

Yeah, I qualified in Swedish massage (and other body therapies) too (1985). No cakes for me though!:(Ooh, which ones? I did aromatherapy, swedish, reflexology with all the stuff you have to do around it to qualify (nutrition, anatomy, basic counselling, etc). Shame you don't live nearer, we could swap therapies! ;) Do you find it really hard to get anyone to give you a massage since you qualified? I've found nobody will do one for me because they're afraid I'll heckle or something! Course, I'd be so pleased to be GETTING a massage that I'd just make happy noises. :lol2:

[cnc]

I've found nobody will do one for me because they're afraid I'll heckle or something!
A lot of people have been too nervous to ever provide massages for me, as I'm notorious for getting damaged, and so people decide generally its better not to risk it because they're scared of what will happen!!:rolleyes:

Am going to make pizza shortly, before going to watch a stage version of Grease and then bed I think. Was meant to be reading about Economic Geography and its Funny Turns.... Anyone got any interest in this, because I don't really!!

[goose]

I would like to saftely say it winter up hear in scotland.
Ive spent the last 9 hours walking round the community in 2 inches of snowfall, and harsh winds. so it was great to nip in past the moose noose dairy free juice bar on the way home for some refreshments.
Im looking for a good tasting cheese to make home made pizza and toasties, can anyone help.:ph34r: :ph34r:

[Lan]

Hi all, As everyone will expect I have to recommend the melting cheezley. Really nice and melts quite a lot when grated. I also use Parmasano as makes an alternative to powdered cheese. Good luck with the pizza and let us know how it goes. Lan

[Pen]

Ooh, which ones? I did aromatherapy, swedish, reflexology with all the stuff you have to do around it to qualify (nutrition, anatomy, basic counselling, etc). Shame you don't live nearer, we could swap therapies! ;) Do you find it really hard to get anyone to give you a massage since you qualified? I've found nobody will do one for me because they're afraid I'll heckle or something! Course, I'd be so pleased to be GETTING a massage that I'd just make happy noises. :lol2:
I did my course at Steiner in London in 84 (not 85 as I previously said), so that is a looooooooongg time ago! I think the theory stuff we did was equivalent to a first year nursing course. Body Therapies were/included massage, Slendertone, G5, Vacuum Suction (cupping). I did electrolysis too, but gave up the 'beauty therapy' part of the course (facials, manicures, waxing etc) as I didn't enjoy any of that. I think I prefer to give rather than receive massages--esp shoulder/back area, but arthritis in thumb prefers I didn't do any massages at all. I am more inclined to do energy work.

[Pen]

I would like to saftely say it winter up hear in scotland.
Ive spent the last 9 hours walking round the community in 2 inches of snowfall, and harsh winds.
Our winter just arrive here too--far too early in the season to have snow on the ground! We must have had about an inch of it so far (overnight and during the day today), but it is still flurrying out there. There was a bitter wind as I walked back from the subway 30 minutes ago. Brrrr! Just checked the TV for local temperatures, and it is currently -9 degrees C out there, but with the 'windchill' factor it feels like -18!! But it can get as low as -22 (the coldest I remember it being here) with -40 windchill in the depths of winter.

[matt]

my nephews pyjama day in toronto today i think. perfectly timed for the snow!!

any time you guys want a volunteer to practice the massages on come on down!

i've never been trained but have been told i give a good massage!!!:cool:

no snow here but then that's not a huge suprise. hasn;t stopped the chickens from running around panic buying. queues at tesco were ridiculous! only popped in for a acouple of thingsfor mum.:angry:

[Pam]

No snow here at all yet (good).

Goose, I use Tofutti slices on pizza, they don't taste great but they do melt and stop the pizza drying out. If you want melting cheezly you should probably go for mozarella flavour rather than cheddar as cheddar is not particularly good.

[Kamagrian]

Which reminds me has anyone else been enjoy the shakespeare series on Monday nights as much as me? They've really been really good fun.
Missed the first one, sadly - but I LOVED 'Taming of the Shrew'. Her face must've hurt so much after acting a scowl for that long.... :lol2:

[Lan]

Hi all, The weather here is brilliant. I have had a day off work as unable to get in. We are snowed in. Have taken loads of photos and will post them when I get them processed. Feels good as love snow and building snowmen with my friends little girl later. Oh well, back to the grind of relaxing and going out for a drink later tonight. Enjoy. Lan

[Kamagrian]

Hi all, The weather here is brilliant. I have had a day off work as unable to get in. We are snowed in.I love snow so long as I don't have to DO anything in it... I stepped out of the office for a doctor's appointment to a veritable blizzard! Got so cold that I bought myself the following items on the way back:

A padded, black cord, furry-hooded parka
Thermal leggings!
Warm, padded FLAT boots (this is unusual for me)
Thermal socksI'm now toasty warm. Thank you. :lol2:

Doctor says that new symptoms (I won't go into details, they're not pleasant) are almost certainly part of the pancreatic/hepato-biliary problems and just prove I need those tests NOW. However, the H-B unit are somewhat dragging their heels as they have a long list. So I have an ultrasound scan on Tuesday, then hopefully an MRI sometime later in the week. *sigh*

Do you think they're hoping I'll pop my clogs in the meantime, so they don't have to treat me? :unsure:

[ellsie]

Not a flake of snow to be seen here,much to my daughter's disgust. She wanted a day off school!

[Copper]

Snow is nice if you can stay indoors and look at it. I really feel the cold. I remember the winter of 1963 - the endless pile of grey snow on the pavements, chilblains and frozen milk at school.

[rebecca c]

Gill keep at it, I know its hard when you're ill but the system is not geared up to help you unless you push for it - its completely ridiculous but a fact.

I had to push a good doctor hard for my allergy referral but when I got there the attitude was I was a priority case not borderline or what was I doing there which has vindicated my actions and the expense to the NHS.

The NHS was set up to keep everyone well and working - you work in an incredibly important job make sure they work to keep you working.

I hate the cold but dont mind as long as I am wrapped up warm. Can take or leave the snow (unless I have the chance to go skiing or walking in it) but the kids love it so I shant wish it away. I have bought 2 new thermal tops - all they had in size 8 in M&S! Couldnt cope with the kind of cold Pen has so I dont think I'd better move to Canada for those mountains after all!!!

[Fozzybear]

Had a little snow today, but just light flurries. I rushed out of the house without my gloves or a jumper and really felt it as I was standing in the wind for 20 minutes waiting for the bus and then at work I was walking back and forth across the yard all day. Brrr!

I've got Monday off from work so I need to work out something to do. I just thought I'd take it as I've one extra day left of my allocation and after the last two weeks at work I really feel the need for a long weekend. I did book today off but I had to go in because I couldn't really go on holiday and leave the guy I'm working with to handle the repair on his own (didn't seem fair) and a package I was expecting was due to be delivered today (it actually arrived at gone 6 last night but goods-in was shut so it went to security at the main gate, who of course stuck it in the corner and didn't let anyone know it had arrived - I had to go and ask if they had it).

[Twinkle]

... If you want melting cheezly you should probably go for mozarella flavour rather than cheddar as cheddar is not particularly good.

Funnily enough, I can't really tell the difference between the different flavours of melting Cheezely, especially if they're on a pizza, but I think they're all okay. I've been a bit baffled by the comments of dislike for Cheezely and people preferring Scheese. True, I haven't tried Scheese for about 6 years, but I remember it being foul.

At this present moment I am wearing two jumpers, two pairs of socks and a snood, and trying to decide whether to wait for the heating to warm up the house or go outside for a brisk walk so I'll feel the benefit when I come back in.

[Lan]

Hi Twinkle and thank you. It is nice to know that other people appreciate Cheezley, as we seem to be in the minority. I can tell the difference in the melting varieties, but just about. Lan

[matt]

good luck kicking the depts up the backside to hurry along the appointment. i won't hurt to phone them and bug them into giving you a date...they might get fed up with you and get you done, make sure they know you'll go in short notice in case of cancellation.

i have nearly always got several layers of thermals on!!! my parka is designed for winter mountaineering!! north face winter one. so not cheap, down filled very warm. then fur hat, i look like the michelin man but a black version.

not a single flake here but then when do we ever have the fun? all the cold wind none of the snow.

would love canada but not the cold, would never happen.

meant to be going out for a geocaching day today in farnborough, but how cold/icy is it going to be. don't fancy spending the day stuck in traffic!

5 xmas cakes needing icing.....need to decide.

not exactly the end of the world either way really.:)

[Pam]

No snow here but a very cold wind. I was in the office all day yesterday having to close the blinds to the sun so I could see the computer screen. Our office was really warm from the sun shining in, so it made us even colder if we went out. The kids are disappointed but as others have said, snow is ok if you don't have to do anything. I also work in a part of Social Services where our staff need to get out to see people in the community to help the needy so snow and bad weather can mean that they don't get the service they need.

[cnc]

Good luck Gill- keep pestering them.

The grand total of snow yesterday was about 10 flakes. Not enough to do anything with :( No snow predicted for the next five days, which probably means its going to pour down with snow in the next few days or will wait till next weekend when I'm going home!!

[Kamagrian]

Well this is typical...yesterday I got caught out because it was mild when I set off to work, then blizzard-like and freezing cold later. So I had to buy warm clothes.

Today, it was really cold when I set out, so I put all my new warm things on....and what happens? It gets warmer again, so now I'm sweltering!

I swear Scotland has 5 seasons a day. :lol2:

As for tests - my doctor suggested that when I'm in for my ultrasound next Tuesday, I mention that I'm due an MRI and basically ask if they can find out anything about it. He's hoping that as I'm IN the hospital at the time, they might take some notice of me. My doc's actually very good and has been brilliant about the pancreatitis hassles. It's just the hospital dragging their heels about stuff. I'm sure I'll be OK though, I'm fairly indestructible. Apparently the most likely cause of the current pain is a stone in my pancreas, in which case it's a fairly simple (but painful-sounding!) procedure involving sticking a tube down my throat, into the ducts, and removing it.

Aww Matt, you sound adorable all wrapped up Womble-like for winter! Can we have pictures? ;) And what on earth is geocaching? I'm curious now.

[matt]

sure i've explained geocaching but for those that don't know.

basically a container is hidden somewhere and the co-ordinates are noted using a gps. then a page is made on a website listing where the cache is, sometimes with a puzzle to solve before you get the co-ords, or sometimes you have to follow several clues before you find the container. they tend to get left in places where there are nice views or good walks. it's treasure hunting for adults, and kids if we let them come along.
i've used it to combat fatigue, it's an incentive to keep going when you get too tired. sounds lame but if you like walking and seeing new things then it's lots of fun.

i'll see if the daughter took any of me in all the gear yesterday. she took loads so it'll take a while to sort through them all.

good day out yesterday with other nutters who think it's a good idea to hunt tupperware....then onto a pub where the normal people got to buy food and drinks... while i sneaked out to the car for a few mins to eat something i'd taken along with me...well i still enjoyed it so that's all that matters.
and my daughter won the best decorated snowman compettition!:)

[cnc]

and my daughter won the best decorated snowman compettition!:)

You dressed your daughter as a snowman!?!:lol2:

I am as usual, tired. The yoga plus a walk around town yesterday were a bit much and meant I spent an hour in bed before going to a friends birthday party. Why on earth I got up at 9 is beyond me, will probably do some work and then go back to bed for a bit :)

Hope you're all having good weekends.

[goose]

Well, i got my next appointment through for the hospital, got to go back on the 12th of december.

Was diaginosed of having IBS 2 months ago, but not yet sure what is making symtoms worse so have been Dairy Free since then to see how i go.

That has made a difference, although still suffer bouts of stomach cramps etc every now and again, and still get very worse when im under stress and very ancious. The only main problem i have is maintaining the cramps to a level that i can live with so trying various pain relief that will help. tried colpermin not too bad, and have tried mebeverine, they were a disaster and give up on them.

The one thing i do find is i go off food very easy and never feel like food once i get it, strange. does anyone else find this or is it just me.:unsure:

[matt]

have to admit i got so fed up with the hassle i only eat the barest amountto keep me alive!!! bad habit to get into

[Lan]

Hi Matt.

Be like me on a see food diet, see food and eat it!!!!

:p:p:p:p

Lan

[matt]

my problem is that from not eating much your stomach shrinks and you get used to smaller meals. only way to stretch stomach is to eat a little too much and feel bloated and a little sick....cue panic attacks.:o

so the desire is willing, the brain is not and the stomach is incapable!

but did get the cakes iced yesterday. mix up some coloured icing today to decorate then they are all finished. just a matter of getting them to their destinations now! not too early or they'll get scoffed early.:mad:

well not that it really matters. as long as they are enjoyed.

[Pam]

I finally made my christmas cakes yesterday. I made 2 and the recipe I used said to cook them for 5 hours but they were actually in for nearer 6. Half of the smaller one has been eaten already - well you have to make a taster don't you? These are the first moist cakes I have made in my fan oven - they usually come out dry and overcooked. I cooked them at 90 degrees with a large tray of water in the bottom of the oven and they survived. So I'm quite proud of myself and will have to keep the recipe safe.

The first time I ever made christmas cakes was from a really old Good Housekeeping recipe and it never occurred to me that the temperatures were in Fahrenheit instead of Centigrade, so when it said 250 degrees, that is what I used - the result a burnt crust within 30 minutes and lots of smoke. I'm glad I didn't go out and leave it.

[rebecca c]

Oh no asthma is flaring up again. Hopefully I can beat it with inhalers but more than likely I'll be on the steroids again. Probably have to pack up the stuff in the old house this week and meant to be working on Wednesday - hope I dont have to cancel that.

Ho hum. Had a good weekend. Went to see the Constant Gardener which was very good.

[Fozzybear]

Yesterday I was fighting off a low-grade headache. I had wanted to sort out my bedroom/office, which is a right tip, but didn't feel up to doing much more than sorting out the boxes of my PC bits and bobs (screws, cables, brackets, manuals and so on) and sorting out some of my clothes. I've been having problems with my TiVo (a video recorder that uses computer hard disk drives rather than tapes or dvds) so I recorded off the programmes I wanted to keep and reset/reformatted it. That took quite a while as it had to go through the whole setup again, including building the database of tv programmes, which took about 5 or 6 hours! Probably took longer than normal as I've replaced the 40GB hard drive with two 120GB drives!

:killer:"...best thing to do is grab yerself a chair at the staring window."


:lol2: Getting a bit Grandpa-like there! I went for a walk while the TiVo was sorting itself out and that cleared my head a bit - I should have gone for a walk in the morning.

:stupid:

EDIT: changed my avatar so it has a transparent background - blends in a bit better now and doesn't look quite so overpowering.

[cnc]

Well, I feel incredibly lazy. I took myself off to bed with hot chocolate and trashy magazines about 9.30 last night, and then finally got up about 12 hours later. The result= I can actually focus on the same spot, without things bouncing around :D The downside-I'm still tired, (no surprise there then) and have got lots of work to do!!
Rebecca hope your asthma settles down.

[goose]

Well i finally fought my way through the xmas shopping crowd to find a nice little health food shop. although they were not very helpful, too busy putting up decorations?

I managed to get motzarela cheesly, and some greens and black chocolate.
going to try and make pizza tomorrow but not sure if the cheese will be any good. anyone tried that flavour. tried the chedder and was awful.

[Copper]

Rebecca - I hope the asthma improves. I guess the cold weather doesn't help.

Fozzybear - headaches that go on for hours are not good are they? I get very tired when I have 2 day headaches :( At least you were able to play with your toys :D

Claire - look on the bright side, at least you are still able to get up and about. No bouncing things is good.

[cnc]

Yes, I know I'm lucky I'm not bedridden, but its frustrating as I am up and about and can't do what I want. The lack of focus has returned so think I shall have a rest for a while, especially as I have boat club dinner this evening. Must get my dress :unsure: out of the wardrobe.

[Fozzybear]

When I was really bad with my LI I used to get unfocussed, tired and unbalanced (as in couldn't stand up - not as in I went mental) so I've got a 'bit' of an idea of what you're going through Claire - not at all nice!

My headache went away yesterday evening and today I'd booked off work but didn't have any plans of what to do with it so late morning I went for a walk. Unfortunately I overdid it a bit and 5 and a half miles later (by my GPS) I've got some nice blisters and my inner thighs have chapped on the seam of my jeans - ouch! I'm walking like a cowboy, but it's a bit better now as I've had a long bath and put some skin cream on the sore bits. I think I need new shoes and jeans!

[matt]

so my xmas cakes are no decorated. see gallery for shots of two of them. i always use a farmhouse kitchen receipe...now there's an old book for you!

copper what's the latest with the store room saga? you've not updated us.

headaches...thankfully my medication still works against the migraines not pleasant but better than the migraine.:(

fozzy, have i tried to coerce you into geocaching? shame to have a gps and like walking and not combine the two with a little bit of treasure hunt with good views thrown in. if you're tempted or interested pm me. i'll fill you in.

know how you feel claire. when i was in the job the first night would always involve staying up for 24 hours. by the time i got home i was not on the smae planet as anyone else. gets very confusing in the winter when you go to sleep in the dark and wake up in the dark not having a clue if you been asleep for ten minutes or 10 hours.:lol2:

mozerella cheesly...bleugh. scheese mozerrella yum. no idea if any good on pizza though:p

[Steve]

Hi Matt,

If you wanted to add the images into your posts as well just click on the "my Pics" link in editor window and you can select any images that you have added to the gallery.

[Copper]

Just a quick posting as off out to buy an orchid I hope.

Matt where were the "look daft but warm" photos taken?

More trivia from me later.

[goose]

How mad can u get, It's like - 4 outside the snow is starting to fall, AGAIN?
The roads and pavements are like a ice rink and im munching into a tofutti dairy free cone.

If thats not bad enough, the bus drivers for First bus have decided to go on strick this weekend and it's too bloody cold to walk into town. it's causing mayhem in Aberdeen i can tell u, and all for an extra 1 percent rise in wages.

:soapbox: :crying: :crying: Well at least i have enough dairy free food to last over the weekend, or that would really give me something to get on my soap box for.:D

[Kamagrian]

Awww - Matt, that picture of you and your little girl Caitlin is ADORABLE! You both look really smiley. :D

[Fozzybear]

fozzy, have i tried to coerce you into geocaching? shame to have a gps and like walking and not combine the two with a little bit of treasure hunt with good views thrown in. if you're tempted or interested pm me. i'll fill you in.
I have looked on the geocaching site and there are some caches near me but I have to say that it doesn't really appeal - I fill the time when walking either just relaxing, looking out for wildlife or taking photos. I tend to use my GPS (when I remember to take it!) just to see how far I've walked and to look at things like directions and altitudes. Mainly it's for gizmo-factor, I didn't buy it with an aim to use it seriously - it was quite a cheap one (Garmin Etrex Camo, I paid about £75 for it).

[matt]

yeah i thought about adding the photos to the thread but didn't want to fill the thread with pictures when nice and easy for people to pop over to the gallery.
photos taken in a little nature reserve in farnborough next to a sainsburys. they apparently made it when making the store so they have done one thing that's worthwhile. :D
first geocache we found that day. then went on to do two more. including one near the main railway line. caitlin waved at traindriver who tooted his horn and made her day!:)

goose....well if you will live that close to the artic.....
matt from the sunny south coast:cool:

[matt]

fozzy, fair enough. that unit would be fine to cache with. good excuse to get a pda if you haven't got one.
i used it as a good motivator to keep me going walking. took me to lots of great places aswell that i would never have found otherwise.

[goose]

Today is St Andrews Day, and to all you down south, that day means to the Scots - another excuse for a piss up. Unfortunatly i cant drink so i did'nt have whisky in my porrage this morning, but will be having haggis,neeps and tatties for my tea.
:drunk: :drunk: :drunk:

[cnc]

Goose, the flag on college was up for St Andrews Day today :)

Well my day was going ok, apart from it being bitterly cold, and the usual exhaustion, until I decided to sit at the computer, which because I'm slightly stupid involved me putting the chair onto my little toe. Its now a nice mix of purple and red, and I'm not very happy :( :(
Am off to see Harry Potter this evening, but am having curry first :) Then a busy day tomorrow.

Meal for 24- my advance birthday meal :D

Hope you're all ok- Goose enjoy the neeps and tatties :eat:

[Fozzybear]

I got (for me) a little adventurous and tried a bit of student-style cooking last night. I sometimes cook a basic variant of Essex Chilli Con Carne (mince, chopped toms and onion, baked beans, chilli powder) but I tried doing a bit more to it. My brother has been messing around with chillis with loads of veg in them so taking a cue from him I made this:

1 red onion - chopped
2/3 red pepper - chopped
500g lean steak mince
1 tin Somerfield red kidney beans in chilli sauce
1 tin Tesco reduced sugar/salt baked beans
1 carton (390g) Sainsburys premium chopped tomatoes
1 tsp mild chilli powder
a glug of soy sauce
a splash of water (was a little thick)

cooked up for an hour in a big pan it tasted really nice on it's own in a bowl with a slice of home-baked bread. It makes loads so I've got it in the fridge to use up over the next few days - I won't make any new friends at work with my diet over the next few days (parp!!). :lol2:

For me it's quite adventurous as I don't normally do things like vegetable chopping, but it's still a pretty simple meal to cook.

[matt]

i can offer you some home grown dried chillis!

i got some seeds so had to grow them but my ibs is not going to let me eat them. shame as used to love chilli and curries.
happy to put some in the post!

:D

claire you're hopeless!

well hope the scots had a good st andrews day and didn't consume too much alcohol. todays the first of december so i think the decorations can go up!!! well caitlin's home for the day with a bit of a cold and any excuse.
need to brighten things up a little.:cool:

[Pam]

What am I doing at the moment? I'm struck down by a case of insomnia, so I'm waiting to see if Matt will join me in Chat.

We also grow chillies matt, but I'm not keen on really hot food so hubby uses them more than I do (lots of separate meals in our house).

Sorry, I'm feeling sorry for myself this morning, I've been awake since 2am and already watched Holby City "on demand", so I thought someone else might be around on here at this time who might keep me company.

I made my daughter's advent calendar last night - stripped out a Kinnerton Barbie calendar and refilled it with Tesco organic dark chocolate. I put it back in the box before it had completely set though and I notice that there are grease marks on the front where the card has touched the chocolate. I don't suppose she will mind though, she is just pleased to get a window to open every day. Hubby is not happy, he wanted a Cadbury one so that he could have the innards that I removed, Kinnerton just isn't the same for him.

[cnc]

I've got my advent lollipop tree up (I made it yesterday, took me long enough as well!!) Not sure I can stomach a lolly quite so early in the morning.
I want to still be in bed, but had to get up to get some books this morning which I failed miserably to do. Have a meeting at 11 as well, but just had my 12o'clock meeting cancelled- which obviously I'm devastated about :D:D
Means I can spend longer getting ready for my meal this evening :) - will probably end up packing, as thats kind of what I really shoudl be doing :unsure:

(My foot hurts this morning....)

[goose]

oh dear Claire you not having one of the best days, never mind its only 24 days to chiristmas and i put up the xmas tree this morning,

although the Cat was quick enough to run up the middle of it and make me do it all over again, i think it's gonna be a long 24 days?

Had a great St Andrews day yesterday, went to church, not religious but made the effort for the day, and enjoyed the haggis,neeps and tatties.
Although boyfriend put too much butter in the tatties and im feeling the effects today.:catchase:

[Copper]

Claire have a great time at your meal tonight.

Yesterday my 24 bars of Kinnerton chocolate were delivered :o

I am feeling slightly wrecked as we still have a mouse on the loose under the bedroom floorboards. It woke me up early this morning as it was scrabbling by the radiator pipes :( We have had the odd mouse in the house before but at least they had the decency to stay in a place where I could set a humane trap. We are not going to lift the carpet and floorboards to liberate this mouse.

More news about the nasty chemical store later as I have to go and see my mother now.

[Copper]

I am back now and should be cooking the dinner.

The wiring has been put in place for the new fans in the nasty chemical store. We are just waiting for the new fan to be delivered - I am not holding my breath. We now have a new technician working on the Poole site so the store is his responsibility. I have two more days at that site then I will be back in Bournemouth. I will phone and ask how things are going at Poole.

[goose]

i like your new atavar copper, its cute

[cnc]

Copper, good luck with getting the fume cupboard sorted.

My meal was very nice- got a combined Birthday and Christmas present of a bean bag with a dalmation dog cover (ears and tail)- my parents are going to love me on Saturday!! Its a very nice present though :)
I'm absolutely exhausted and in quite a lot of pain with my foot (have to see the doctor tomorrow any way so may ask him to look at it then as well....) Had cheeseless pizza- was yummy :) Will expand on this and more about various presents tomorrow, as there is as ever a small saga to go with this!!
But now I need sleep

Hope you are all ok

[matt]

well pam must think i'm really rude but i had been and gone by that time. i didn't ignore her, honestly. be nice to have someone to chat to at stupid o'clock.

so the saga of the store develops further......

and we await the list of presents received! you're end of term this weekend isn't it claire?

xmas decs up yesterday, nice tasteless fibre optic tree and balls hung from ceiling. and 30 metres of xmas lights got cheap last year. strung all around the room!!! tacky? ofcourse.:lol2:

today's just study then collect horror to take her swimming so quiet then trip to guildford tomorrow.

have a good day all.:cool:

[Pam]

Well, Matt, I discovered the new games in the arcade instead. I slept a bit longer today too and I'm not up so early normally, so you've had your chance and missed it.

Our decs won't go up for a couple of weeks - well maybe next weekend. We don't usually put them up more than 2 weeks before the day. I still haven't done much christmas shopping and not written any cards yet! I've been and picked my present up though (Booja Booja truffles!)

[cnc]

Yeah, home this weekend, which is why my life at the moment seems to consist of various meetings think I've got 4 meetings plus packing today, how exciting!! Oh plus I need to go into town to get some of the dairy free truffles and things from town :)

[Pen]

Today is my first weekday at home since I started working on this particular assignment on Nov 3 :) . I ended up doing 18 days of telemarketing work for the show (M-F, 8-4) which ended this Monday. Then Tuesday to yesterday (Thursday) this week I have been at the Convention Centre working at the Trade Show (on construction :hammer:, concrete, etc) as one of the room monitors (lots of standing about, collecting and scanning tickets, and stopping the wrong people sneaking into the rooms that they were not entitled to be in). It was sooooooo nice not having to get up at 6 am today (had to get up even earlier on Wednesday... at 4.45!:violin: ). I think I will just enjoy slobbing about and enjoy doing nothing in particular today.

[goose]

Well, i today spend the endless hours racking through the town for xmas pressies, and everything else that goes with this time of the year.

I have written all my xmas cards out and just away to wrap the pressies up. god im so organised this year.
Then ive got to go through a huge rota list on the list of clients i have to do tommorow, this is the busiest time of the year for us.
so u could say im working over the weekend.:cry:

[Copper]

I got to work this morning and spent 10 minutes in the car watching the pouring rain. I then spent the whole morning on the fruit fly experiment as the students had the morning off. I had to put the flies to sleep so I could transfer them to new tubes ready for the students to count next week.

This afternoon I had a very quick lunch - chocolate spread on home made brown bread then went out to the bank and a couple of shops. I managed to get back just as a storm was starting. It is now blowing a gale. I can't believe I got away without a drenching.

I am now making more bread. I have to clean the kitchen and put some washing on. I will rush through those chores as a family history internet shop has a 50% sale at the mo but only for a few days. I will have to see what I would like to buy in this special sale and get my order in today.

[matt]

well most of the needed presents bought for daughter, some more balls hung from the ceiling yesterday. a couple of xmas cards done as they have to go to canada and usa. will pull out my finger to get the rest done.

some open uni work done yesterday. and daughter to swimming.

off to guildford today for a xmas fayre at my sisters school. was going to drop off mum and daughter and then go caching but i think i've been instructed to hang around by a cetain 7 year old!:rolleyes:

[Copper]

I have just discovered sheepteroids in the arcade :) My youngest daughter will enjoy playing this in the holidays. It doesn't show my score though :(

[cnc]

Have had a busy day. Packing and presents!! Sleep time soon I think, am very very tired.

Lots of presents, and two cakes now :)

Hope you are all having a nice weekend.

[Kamagrian]

I haven't done my xmas shopping yet! I think I'm going to be dependent on Amazon and other websites or postal gift services this year (for the few I can afford!) as that way they have to handle the postage problems. ;) Going to start looking tomorrow and order as much as I can. Matt's easy - we've decided to buy an epic boardgame between us as our main gift to each other, and I have a fairly good idea of some CDs and books that'd make him smile a lot.

My main news this week is the new cat we've adopted through Cats Protection - but I won't rave about her here as I've talked about it on another thread (just couldn't keep it to myself, I'm a huge cat fan!). :D We also got a new dining table, chairs and TV corner unit, all in distressed waxed pine. I do wonder if the distressing bit involves telling traumatic lies to the tree...

Work's been mad, external delays are incredibly frustrating as it's not as if I can just work an extra weekend to hurry things along - it's out of my control and I hate that in work terms!

I've finally (FINALLY) been referred to the Hepato-Biliary specialist unit and I'm having a CT scan on the 16th December at the latest. My ultrasound this week unfortunately showed up that my pancreas is STILL inflamed...this doesn't bode well, especially since I've been doing everything by the book. The main danger at the moment is that whatever's causing the inflammation will cause the problem that put me in hospital to come back, or cause diabetes or (if it's tiny stones) jaundice. At the moment I'm still on strong painkillers and I'm sick of feeling out of it - I have too much to do to consider myself ill! ;) I'm very tired too, which isn't a great way to feel.

Anyway...rant over, as is my novel-like catching up! Really I'm OK, it's just bugging me a bit. And the new cat and furniture are tops, so I can't actually complain. :D

[matt]

copper what's happened to pa? not heard from her in a while?

kami. atleast you have some good news to go with the hassle. hopefully the ct scan will find something, atleast they can then try to deal with it. incredibly frustrating to be ill without knowing why. and without the ability to treat it.:( try to look on the bright side... some people pay good money to feel out of it!!! you get it for free.... yeah i know but that's just the irrevelant me:lol2:

to and from guildford yesterday if stays dry today a nice walk in the forest. maybe a little open uni work then chat room at 2 to see who else will be there!

have a nice day all:)

[rebecca c]

Gill I always find that the worst bit of being ill, not being able to get everything done, the frustration is immense.

Well we are all going to the park so the boys can run with their Dad and I can watch with the dog and then something warm like the sealife centre this afternoon.

I've had a sleepless night, never used to get these, hardly at all actually except when ill. I dont think they are going to become a permanant feature just that I am really going through it in all areas of life at the moment. Feel sorry for you insomniacs my sleepless nights are still few and far between, I dont know how you cope.

The main thing is the kids are happy and settled despite the bizarre moving arrangements and looking forward to xmas whereever it may be spent.

[paranoidangel]

copper what's happened to pa? not heard from her in a while?

I've just been so tired I haven't had the energy to do half the things I usually do - which includes coming in here. Copper told me about the arcade being up last night, and when I got here there were 159 unread posts! Needless to say I didn't read them and went straight to the arcade :)

[matt]

good to hear from you again, that'll teach you to not pop in regularly! but terrible you don't read them and go straight to the arcade! no pudding without eating your greens!

how do we insomniacs cope? no idea. just in the habit of going to bed at 9pm wake loads of times during night then finally give up at 3am.

spend the day tired. nodding off if i let myself sit quietly.

ho hum

[cnc]

Well, I'm home again now, and very very tired :S
Birthday was nice, lots of presents, (packing room up and travelling was less fun though)
Am hoping that this break from uni will help me recover....

[Kamagrian]

Well, I'm home again now, and very very tired :S
Birthday was nice, lots of presents, (packing room up and travelling was less fun though)
Am hoping that this break from uni will help me recover....Happy belated birthday! Sorry I was lax in sending greetings! :unsure:

I hope the break does you good and helps you feel better too - you have to be shipshape and spritely by the 16th! :lol2:

[Pen]

Claire, belated birthday greetings from me too. I must have missed the posts around your birthday (oh, it was yesterday), and then when I read your most recent post about packing and presents, I thought you were talking about Christmas presents (only realized when I saw Gill's message). Sorry I missed it. Hope it was a good one.
:birthday:
(There should be a 'belated' birthday smiley.)

Pen

[matt]

my fault i should have posted a happy birthday thread. sorry

lovely sunny walk in the forest for me yesterday. until the noisy family turned up!!!:mad:

did see a marsh harrier though which was a first for me.:)

[Steve]

my fault i should have posted a happy birthday thread.

I'll have to set up the forum to automatically generate them again.

[Copper]

I am really sorry that I missed your birthday Claire. I was obviously brain dead when I read your posts about pressies and cakes.

:band:

[Pen]

I'll have to set up the forum to automatically generate them again.
Would you be able to add the gender icons again, too?

[Copper]

I actually noticed the gender icons were missing yesterday. I am not very observant!!!!

[Kamagrian]

I actually noticed the gender icons were missing yesterday. I am not very observant!!!!I didn't notice until I read about it, so you're doing better than I am! :lol2:

[paranoidangel]

Happy belated Birthday, Claire. We obviously need the automatically generated posts!

[cnc]

Thanks for the wishes everyone.
I've slept through a fair amount of it, so its not too bad :D

[rebecca c]

I'm later than everyone else...Happy Birthday Claire..Any good pressies?

A busy day trying to chivy things on so we can get into the new house before Christmas....solicitors are a law unto themselves (theres a joke there somewhere or maybe several). And I will be able to see the funny side in six months time.

Also scanned the boys artwork into the computer so that they can have their usual slick cards for friends.

College tomorrow, lunch with a class mate and then packing for the rest of the week...oh joy.:)

[Pam]

Nice to see you back in Yorkshire Claire. I hope you managed to enjoy the part of your birthday that you were able to stay awake.

There's some Booja Booja waiting in Cleckheaton for you - Ginger Wine or Champagne truffles are sat there on the counter just calling out your name. I went in and grabbed mine a couple of weeks ago.

[matt]

where's our choccies then pam???

well all my foreign cards have gone as of yesterday. carefull i'm almost being organised!!!
still got to pring out loads to be sent in uk but not as much of a rush with them.
then go online to find 48 new posts this morning!!! hurrah:o :D

[Pam]

Buy your own Matt!

[Copper]

|I have a day off work (Time Off In Lieu) so I am spending the morning in the local hospital. I am taking my mother to her heart clinic appointment. I have just rushed around here with the cleaner but didn't have the heart to turf the cat off the sofa, so I will have to do the lounge when I get back this afternoon.

I am hoping to get some family history done this afternoon/evening.

I posted all of my cards yesterday after standing in a queue as people were sending gifts around the world. I thought it would be quiet at lunch time in my local little post office.

Some idiot turned the boiler off at work yesterday. I left at lunch time and I was very cold. The heating was on when I got there at 8.30am. The temperature went down to 14 degrees C from 16 in just 20 mins!!! The other technician said he would leave just after 1pm if the boiler had not been switched back on. I will find out on Thursday if he did leave.

[cnc]

Nice to see you back in Yorkshire Claire. I hope you managed to enjoy the part of your birthday that you were able to stay awake.
Yorkshire is less sunny but warmer than Cambridge, so its quite nice to be home!!
Birthday was nice, quite sedate :)

There's some Booja Booja waiting in Cleckheaton for you - Ginger Wine or Champagne truffles are sat there on the counter just calling out your name. I went in and grabbed mine a couple of weeks ago.
When I'm feeling awake enough to drive that far I will go and grab them, thanks for letting me know :) Might aim to go there on Friday.

[matt]

most of my xmas cards went yesterday:D

no doubt i'll remember someone or get one i didn't expect on christmas eve....:(
always the way!

a wander round salisbury today i think then get my daughter.:cool: trying to not spend too much cash on shiney things.

[Pam]

Haven't started writing my cards yet. When is/was the last date for posting to France? I HATE writing christmas cards! I'm not getting very far with present buying either as we have been so busy recently. I think I will hibernate for a couple of months instead (but I will have to fill up on Booja Booja and G&B to build up my fat levels first).

[matt]

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400023&mediaId=17800253

post office site for last postal dates

france would appear to be 14th for aitmail.:)

[goose]

Hey all, Finally managed to write all my xmas cards out and post them, and have wrapped all the presents up. Thats it, im not doing anymore.

My first day off in 2 months and i get woken by a digger, which decided to lift all the slabs outside in the street - at 7.30 this morning?:rant:

you would think they have better things to do at this time of the year. and after an hour break and a nap. they are back hammering and drilling again.
oh spare me. Ill be glad to get back to work tommorrow.

[Steve]

Would you be able to add the gender icons again, too?
Ok, i have added these :D

I'll find some bigger images later

[Kamagrian]

Quick update...

Went back to the hospital to see the surgical consultant today, and it didn't go particularly well (I started throwing up when I got there, which never bodes well!). As well as telling me he was considering admitting me, he said the results from my ultrasound scan last week weren't great as they showed my pancreas is still swollen, despite my adherence to my restricted diet and other instructions.

So...he's referred me to the pancreas experts and he says that after my CT scan next week they might decide to remove my gallbladder, just in case some small problem in there is causing or exacerbating the pancreatic problem.

They've brought my Hepato-Biliary unit appointment forward to the 10th and the H-B consultant has written to me personally about my case, stating that it was urgent and very important that I attend for my scan and clinic appointments ASAP. In a way this was sort of nice but also quite worrying!

Anyway...that's the medical update. I feel bad for the TMI thing, but since the pancreas problem is what made me dairy free in the first place, I suppose it's relevant! :lol2:

In other news....if any of you ever have to use building contractors or furnishing contractors in the Edinburgh or Glasgow areas, contact me first so I can tell you which ones NOT to employ! External delays abound at the refuge, and we're probably not going to be able to open until after the Christmas break now. Sigh.

[rebecca c]

Gill I'm glad they are looking after you properly even if it is bad news - it explains the continued pain. Thinking of you and hoping you get some more info before xmas so you can relax.

Packing all day today and waiting for a phone call from our vendor to see if she will be set to complete before xmas (very stressful).

With the possibilty of two more furniture moves before xmas and going back to get results from the allergy consultant next week I am not feeling that cheerful, but the possibilty of not being in the new house is even more grim. Being in the rented house with half our stuff in boxes:( ....what a to do.

Oh well just have to keep on keeping on, making the boys christmas nice is my incentive to keep going.

Also worrying because I've lost more weight and cant get it back on but its hardly suprising really. Must make myself a lemon drizzle cake to cheer myself up - job for this evening if I can be bothered.

Did my good deed for the day found a lost dog and got him back to his owner, he was quite sweet although I started to panic about being landed with him and he weed on my house plants! !!!!!

[Copper]

Gill I posted a reply earlier but it didn't get here I see - must be out in the ether then.

I hope that you improve soon and the results are not as bad as feared. If you have to go back into hospital I hope that somebody can keep us posted.

I guess you will just have to keep being good and hope for the best. I am sure that your kitty is looking after you :)

[Pen]

Thanks, Steve, for the return of the gender icons!

Love the snowflakes too :thumbsup: .

[matt]

i hope you're feeling better soon and that they find something they can fix with one of the scans.....:)

seems daft wishing for someone to find out whats wrong with them but better to know i hope.

got to make a cake today i think for friends birthday on saturday. choccy one that again i'm not going to be able to eat. well atleast they'll like it i hope. for some reason the nutter is having a bbq!:lol2:

got to wake madam up later to get her to school in time. not for a while yet though. finished getting her xmas presents yesterday. so 5 things for her to finds and unwrap. yes find, she wants father xmas to hide them so she has to hunt.... well whatever makes her enjoy the day more.:D

[ellsie]

At least if you are vomiting on them they will beleive you have a real problem!
Hope they suss it out and you can get back to normal soon.

[rebecca c]

Matt, will you be having your daughter on Christmas Day?

When I was little Father Christmas let his reindeer into the house and they left chewed up carrots and straw everywhere. When my Mum came down and found the mess the air went blue. We were in tears begging her because she said if he couldn't control his reindeer he couldnt come again.

Then a few years ago when the boys were starting to question his existence the same thing happened at our house, and they pooed everywhere as well (it was chocolate!) and my language wasnt as bad as my mums.

I highly recommend it as a good bit of fun and a good story to tell, how upset the kids get is up to you my mum is just a bit of a drama queen - if you dont mind a bit of mess!

[Kamagrian]

When I was little Father Christmas let his reindeer into the house and they left chewed up carrots and straw everywhere. When my Mum came down and found the mess the air went blue. We were in tears begging her because she said if he couldn't control his reindeer he couldnt come again.LOL - I haven't giggled so much in ages as when I read this. What a fantastic idea! I'll have to pass it onto the mother of my godchildren... :lol2:

[matt]

after some negotiations i get her at 2pm then overnight and all boxing day.

she's already told me that she wants father xmas to hide her presents around the house. i think she still believes but i have my suspisions. what a m i saying? i still believe!!!!:o

birthday of friend tomorrow who's having a bbq!!!! so long drive to exeter in the morning. cake to finish off today for him, loads of choc required. and present to wrap.

[Pen]

Woke up this morning to find 4-5" of snow on the ground (wasn't expecting that even though they show snow on the forecast pictures for most days, but usually that just means flurries). There is no 'snow day' though, and daughter is getting ready to walk to school (oh, she will be soooo pleased!!).

Went for my first acupuncture appointment yesterday to help get my hormones rebalanced. The TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner told me that my estrogen dominance could be a thing of the past in about three months--yes:)!! Was told that the problem stemmed from my controlling liver (we're talking 'Five Element Theory'; not Western Medicine) and that I need to stop eating foods that stimulate it. Being on an already restricted diet, I have recently discovered the joys of spices (even bought a new spice grinder so I could grind whole spices) to make my food more interesting, and use spices most days. Well, guess who now can't have spices... or alcohol, sugar, caffeine!? So no white wine with my Christmas turkey?? Sugar and caffeine, no problem. I am trying to find a more comprehensive list of 'stimulating foods' so if anyone can help, please let me know.

[goose]

Pen, what a life you lead. is there anything you can eat:D

[goose]

Wish it was snowing in scotland, make it feel more xmas.
Although its icy enough for snow.

Not looking forward to my hospital visit on monday, as not sure what to expect. Im hoping i have not to cut anything else out on my diet, although i have lost some weight on the dairy free diet which conserns me a little. i'll have to speak to the specialist about it.

[Pen]

Pen, what a life you lead. is there anything you can eat:D
Yes, I do eat despite all the restrictions. Breakfasts are usually sugar-free cornflakes with freshly ground flax and sunflower seeds and goats' milk (oh, but the TCM practitioner told me I needed to cut out dairy products too because milk has estrogen in it, but she was happy if I still used just a 'little'.) Today for breakfast I had quinoa porridge made mainly with water, and sweetened with a little honey. Lunches are often fresh vegetable/rice stir fry (previously with lots of cayenne pepper). Yesterday I had a fry-up--potatoes, tomato, mushrooms and eggs--yummy. Soemtimes I make corn tortillas or pancakes. Dinners are usually meat or fish with fresh veggies and potatoes or rice 'pasta.' Snacks only happen if I get hypoglycemic, and are medjool dates, bananas and the very occasional bag of crisps. I drink water, berry juices, berry herbal tea, spearmint tea (although I have a feeling that that is a stimulating food), and the very, very occasional cup of tea (but shouldn't really). I cook just about everything from scratch and don't knowingly eat artificial additives of any kind and so the food I eat is nourishing and tasty (well, it was with the use of spices!) and I rarely get hungry between meals.

Oh, I have also been told by the TCM practitioner that I can't have onions (can't eat them anyway) and garlic!! Agggh! No garlic???!!!

[goose]

you poor thing pen, it must be difficult to go out anywhere and order stuff, and i thought i struggled on the dairy free.

[rebecca c]

I have accupuncture and my accupuncturist/osteopath and my nutrionist have all said they think I have a weakness in the liver. I dont eat spices much because I am intolerant of salicylate which is high in spices. I also dont drink alcohol or caffeine or much else really mainly water and the occasional chamomile tea. I miss chocolate the most and I'm far too serious most of the time and a good drink used to cure that problem and be a good way to let off steam!!!!

Oh well, normally I'd look forward to eating top quality food at christmas but as we dont even know where we will be yet (although looks more likely to be the new house) I doubt I'll have time for special food shopping.

Sorry bit down today, PMT, worried about all results due back next week, house move to sort out, potential house purchase in the offing etc etc.

But really who cares I've got all the kids stuff and it will be enough just to watch them opening it all. About time I organised myself a good night out too.;)

[Pen]

you poor thing pen, it must be difficult to go out anywhere and order stuff, and i thought i struggled on the dairy free.
I think I have only eaten out 'for pleasure' three times since my dietary change, but the last time was in July. I have no intentions of eating out for fun again as there is almost nothing on a menu that I could eat and that would be a treat for me (a plain bowl of lettuce leaves doesn't really do it for me). There is too much risk of getting gluten (and other foods from my banned list) in a restaurant--even a generic 'vegetable oil' can contain gluten, and I reacted to the foods in those three meals out. Maybe at a top (expensive, exclusive) restaurant there would be more of a chance of getting acceptable food (but far too expensive for me) whereas many other restaurants rely on pre-packaged frozen food that often has gluten-containing additives ('flavourings'). The last time I ate out due to necessity (not pleasure) was a month or two ago when I was in a shopping mall over lunchtime, and I found a fast food place (New York Fries) that had fries (chips) that were real, unadulterated potato cooked it sunflower oil. They were great and I was fine. When I am working, I take my lunch with me. I'm not complaining about not being able to have a nice meal out--I recognise it's just one of those things I need to avoid in order to make sure I am sticking to my diet, and regaining my health (and it's working so far):) .

[Pen]

I have accupuncture and my accupuncturist/osteopath and my nutrionist have all said they think I have a weakness in the liver... Sorry bit down today, PMT....Is your acupuncturist treating you for estrogen dominance (PMS/PMT) too? I would be interested to hear about others' experiences of getting acupuncture for this purpose. Here is a list of symptoms of estrogen dominance http://www.johnleemd.com/store/estrogen_dom.html.

[matt]

well i'm off to exeter today two hours driving each way, could stay but easier to come home thn change routines in morning.

have had accupuncture i past might try again later but not going to start seeing any other types of eastern practitioner. can't drink alcohol though might try again over xmas.
garlic seems to be ok at the moment...
spices tend to disagree somewhat.

could be worse.

have a good saturday all. xmas shopping??? don't spend too much on me!!:lol2:

[Fozzybear]

I should have been going to Rugby with a friend and my brother to see an old school friend but I've been feeling rough on and off this week and decided not to go as I've been feeling travel sick just getting the bus home from town so didn't fancy a long car journey. Was a good choice as I woke up with a steaming migraine this morning!

Also, in other news (;)), I went in to my local hi-fi shop on the way home yesterday to chase them on my subwoofer order and they'd got it in! They brought it round last night and I've got it roughly set up but it sounds pretty good! Adds a lot to The Incredibles, where the expslosions are much more punchy and I got a sense of the vibration from the car engines - quite impressive! I didn't have it too loud though as I don't want to upset the neighbours.

This is the one I got, its the KEF PSW2500 in Dark Oak:

http://www.forsdick.dsl.pipex.com/FORUMS/sub.jpg
http://www.forsdick.dsl.pipex.com/FORUMS/sub1.jpg
http://www.forsdick.dsl.pipex.com/FORUMS/sub2.jpg

[goose]

:soapbox: Im having a not so great day either. this site doesn't want to play anymore and its annoying, i have the worst cramps. my boyfriend who is suppose to be treating me to a night out, has to work late and i just fell coming up the stair to the flat

If anyone else is having as good a day as im having ull get a gold star!!

[Nic]

Well, I just spent an afternoon and evening singing next to someone who can't (won't?) count beats and seems to think everything should be half a tone flat. And followed me half a beat behind. Except for any difficult entries, when she was a good two beats behind. Which kept making me think I was wrong - which I wasn't, generally, since I was counting and watching the conductor. Which she really should have been doing too, but wasn't. Aaagh!

However, its probably not as bad as your day, goose. At least the chatting in the interval was fun, and the orchestra was good. Plus I did manage to find one (only one) non-dairy sandwich in Waitrose (well, it said it contained dairy on the allergy box, but there wasn't any in the ingredients, and anyway I'm not sure where you would *put* dairy in a peking duck roll). So I did get supper.

Nic

[rebecca c]

Person who is meant to be selling me her house in the next couple of weeks is putting up her christmas tree and no sign of packing so I doubt very much if we will be exchanging with her this week, even though her solicitor says its in the offing. I think the tree is definitely a bad sign but maybe I'm just paranoid, never have had much luck with house purchases. So its probably going to be xmas in the rented place with half our stuff stacked around us in boxes. Think I might go out and get a lorry load of wrapping paper to wrap the boxes in.

[matt]

well i had a good day in exeter but tiring in the car too and fro then when i tried to go to sleep last night the neighbours decided to have a party....:mad:

ok so it's at 9pm but when do i ever wake them at 3am?

sorry to hear about delay in house move rebecca. does sound like she's settled in for the next couple of weeks. there's always the chance though...

goose, hope you didn't injure yourself too much with the fall.

where would they put dairy in the sandwich?
in the spread, or in the duck as a filler. turkey nearly always has it. i'd bet on the spread though. did it make you ill??

[Copper]

I am sorry to hear about the house Rebecca. As she has put the tree up it doesn't look like she is planning a move this side of Xmas. You could look on the bright side and think New Year - new house.

Matt - glad you got back ok. I was thinking of you as lots of driving makes me tired. Bad timing with the party next door :(

Goose I hope you have not hurt yourself too badly.

Fozzy - travel sickness is horrible isn't it. I used to feel ill on buses too but seem to have got over that in my old age. I still have to sit in the front of cars and watch the road in front. It is better if I drive though.

Yesterday I had a rubbish day. I was so tired that I just had not got the energy to do anything including family history. I don't feel much better today but I have to get on with things so I have a fruit cake in the oven for my mum. I owe people emails and I really must contact Matt :) This week I have to make some curtains for my mum and do an awful lot of baking. I have to go to the dentist, finish the shopping and take my mum shopping. It is going to be a busy week so it is a good job I am not at work.

[Fozzybear]

I used to have really terrible travel sickness, but I started taking lots of short bus journeys and I've mostly got over it now. I can't read maps or books in a car though and if the road is really windy or hilly I get nauseous but not to the extent of being sick. I take mints to suck on the journey, which help a lot.

[Copper]

I have never actually been travel sick but the feeling is pretty grim. I usually suck mints too :)

[Kamagrian]

Eep...sounds like you're all having a pretty awful time of it right now. I feel impotent to ACTUALLY do anything to help, but this is heartfelt and for all of you...

:icon_grou

Hope today's looking considerably brighter for you all.

Gill x

[matt]

thankfully i don't suffer from that but then i am a complete hopeless pasenger. can't stand it. will avoid public transport at all costs. not in control....

mint or ginger meant to be good for travel sickness.

so what celebrations are we going to have when copper finally breaks through the 1000 mark?????
been a long time coming.

hope no one's too close to that fire in hemel. looks bad but a minor miracle that no one's dead as far as i know.

[goose]

Things lookin a bit better today, managing to log in and out ok.
Although the other prob still there.

And i have a huge lump and bruise on the front of my leg, as the stairs are made of stone. But ill soldier on regardless.:blush:

[Fozzybear]

If no-one's died then that's truly amazing as it seems to be a really huge explosion and fire! I hope that stays true and we don't get any fatalities. I read that the M1 was closed down, not sure if that'll affect my brother coming back from Rugby tomorrow...

Gill, here's a :icon_grou back atcha. I'm not feeling too bad today, other than feeling a bit tired, possibly from not getting a brilliant nights sleep. I'm hoping that whatever I have isn't going to develop into something nasty. Still I've got time to mess about with my new home cinema subwoofer - listening to Joss Stone's Mind Body and Soul CD is putting it to the test, some real heavy bass on that cd! Will give Star Wars a go in a bit, that should be good! :starwars:

[cnc]

Am so tired at the moment, think thats probably due to having to think!! Have just sent an email off to the company I want to go to Madagscar with to see whether they think my project will be feasible....
Probably should do some more work, but think I'll have a laze about first- have had quite a busy morning.
Ohhh a hot chocolate has just been made for me, so I'm off to curl up on the sofa!! Hope you all have a better week.

[Copper]

It has been tough trying to reach the magic 1000 :D

[Kamagrian]

Am so tired at the moment, think thats probably due to having to think!! Have just sent an email off to the company I want to go to Madagscar with to see whether they think my project will be feasible....
Probably should do some more work, but think I'll have a laze about first- have had quite a busy morning.
Ohhh a hot chocolate has just been made for me, so I'm off to curl up on the sofa!! Hope you all have a better week.At least you're resting nicely and being pampered in your exhaustion! Good luck with the Madagascar enquiries - it all sounds very exciting.

I promise you hot chocolate on Friday! :cool: If we both look pathetic, we might even persuade Matt to make it for us.......I have some lovely Fairtrade hot choccy and cocoa in.

I'm pretty weak and pained today but in good spirits psychologically-speaking. Had a friend around for board games (Mesopotamia and San Juan this time), and a really yummy lunch, so life's not too bad. We'll see if the CT shows up anything fixable on Friday - I'm with you on that, Matt - I'd rather they found something so they could treat it, than either find nothing or find something untreatable. So keep a mad old redhead in your thoughts on Friday. :lol2:

Chair of the Board wants to talk to me tomorrow, so hope that's positive stuff rather than negative! We have a fairly honest and open professional relationship, so it's probably all fine, though she's probably as annoyed and frustrated as I am that I'm probably going to have to put our opening back until January 9th. Bah for contractor delays! Bah, I say!!

Gill-In-A-Box (a kinda feminine Jack-in-a-box?)
xxx

[matt]

well here's another monday but it means less than 14 days till xmas :)

two more posts for copper to reach the magic 1000. what will the reply be on that siginficant comment? has to be something profound!!! not that there's any pressure you understand!

come on claire, rellax but get some of that work done!! i'm a fine one to talk why do today what you can put off till tomorrow was always my motto.

gill we'll all be thinking on friday i'm sure and i hope todays chat goes ok. builders...enough said.

[rebecca c]

Today I will be mostly shouting at estate agents and solicitors!

But this afternoon I am going to see both my boys in their school play and the eldest has some speaking parts as he is very into drama. some other parents who have seen it have told me he is great so I shall shortly get glammed up so I can go and be a proud Mum. Better take some tissues.

[goose]

Thinks looking better already this week, Have just been to the hospital for my 3 monthly visit and things are looking good.

Have lost weight but its nothing to be concerned about and the dairy free seeem's to be the cause of the ibs flare ups.

since the past 3 months i have never felt better, ok ive had bad days but it's alot better since i changed my diet, and stuck to it.
So i have not to go back until 3 months time. yipppee.:clap:

[cnc]

Matt, I sent the necessary email about the dissertation. Dissertation isn't written until next year, but have to plan the travel and stuff soon.
Am spending this afternoon cleaning the kitchen, how fun?!

Goose am glad you're getting better.

Rebecca, enjoy the play, I'm sure they will both make you very proud.

[linny]

Well done Goose, glad you're feeling better.

I haven't been around for a while as I've had major problems with my tooth. I'm on the 3rd lot of anti-biotics as I have a nerve infection in one side of my mouth this time. Last Thursday night I slept for half an hour. :( I'm now waiting for a hospital appointment to have the horrible tooth taken out. The dentist doesn't want to do it as I take numerous tablets and I have arthritis in my jaw. I hope I can have it taken out soon as I think I'm going mad!! Before Christmas would be good??? Please!!!

[rebecca c]

Well my son is clearly bound for super stardom and obviously my youngest was the best singer in his class and all the children I've ever looked after were definitely the best looking and most talented in the show!!!:clap:

But then I may be a little prejudiced.

Shouting at estate agents may not of helped but by god it has made me feel better.

Linny that sounds terrible I hope you get it sorted as soon as possible, when you have pain in your head/mouth there is not getting away from it, its the worst.:(

[matt]

estate agents get loads of cash for very little wrk really so get your moneys worth by venting at them!

hope the tooth is feeling better soon. terrible but atleast getting it done before xmas. should mean you can enjoy the festivities. fingers crossed.

well i was very domesticated and cleaned up then took ma shopping yesterday!! what an exciting life i lead. did go for a walk. once the sun came up out from behind the clouds. no sign of the smog cloud from hemel though it's meant to be heading straight for copper and i!

quick trip to newbury today. meet up with a friend and maybe grab some geocaches on the way.
hope the weather holds and it isn't too cold.

[Copper]

Linny - I hope that they can extract your tooth before Xmas.

Rebecca - a little rant does make you feel better doesn't it.

Pain hmm I have to say that the worst pain I have experienced was when my daughter scratched my eye ball. The only pills that work for that are those that send you into cloud cuckoo land :)

Matt - I hope you make it to Newbury ok as the traffic report on radio 2 this morning mentioned a problem in that area.

[goose]

Oh 1 more to go Copper and you'll hit the target.:clap:

Matt have a great day out. I did some house work this morning, i tend to keep on top of it so i does'nt get too bad.

Linny hope u feel better soon.There is nothing more painful than sore teeth:thumbsdow

Me im not too bad today, bruise on my leg is getting a bit purple like, but its on the mend. off out to do some clients this afternoon and then relax all evening.

[pinkfairy]

Glad your feeling better linny.

Hope you have your tooth out before christmas linny. Hope you feel better soon.

I have been out with my mum all day today and have finally finished my christmas present shopping!! Hurray.
Only the food shop to do.
Has anybody got some simple ideas (dairy free of course) for party dips and nibbles. If so I would be really grateful. This is my first dairy free christmas, so making party food seems like it is going to be hard work.

Jane

[Kamagrian]

I agree with earlier quotes, Linny - I really hope your tooth problems are gone by Christmas. Toothache is one of those horrible inescapable pains! :unsure:

As for dips, Pinkfairy - I like Tofutti Creamy Smooth (various versions) blended up with a bit of soya milk. Makes a lovely creamy dip for dairyfree tortilla chips. And homemade salsa is always a good bet...though I just realised I didn't check your intolerances before I typed this, so please forgive me if I'm completely off the mark for you! You could always rustle up some of the muffins or brownies from the recipes section - tiny brownies or mini-muffins always seem to go down well at my parties.

I finally gave up today. Spent all yesterday extremely ill, in pain, fainted once, threw up five times. And yes, I KNOW it's morbid of me to count! ;) Got an emergency appointment with a doctor this morning, who seemed very surprised that I was still working and told me in no uncertain terms to GO HOME. I explained to her that I'm still on job probation and the last thing I want is to lose my only source of income, but she was having none of it. :( So I came home, cancelled my meetings and promised that I'd consider taking tomorrow off too. I'm totally shattered, so I think there's a good chance I'll end up taking tomorrow off. I HATE taking time off work, so I'm pretty miserable about this, especially since I can't even get anything done while I'm stuck inside, as I'm too exhausted. Bah.

Right, enough of my self-pity. Hope this finds people smiling and looking forward to time off over the holidays!

Gill x

[goose]

you poor thing gill, hope you feel better soon, and the doctor is right, Take it easy. Work or no work, your health is more important than anything else.

[cnc]

Gill, do as you're told for once and rest!! Hope you start feeling better soon :)

I won't comment on how I'm feeling at the moment, as I'll just get told off for being hypocritical :D

Hope everyones pains/ injuries get better in time for the festive season.

[Nic]

I do hope you all feel better - it seems like everyone is ill!

Jane - on dips, how about whizzing up some avocadoes and garlic for guacamole? Very easy and tasty. And 'creamy' without dairy. Also houmous (I usually get the red pepper sort as its more interesting) is good. And smoked salmon offcuts whizzed up with silken tofu, lemon juice and black pepper is good, too. It does depend on having a magimix, though, otherwise the whizzing is not very whizzy.:D

Nic

[rebecca c]

Gill - do as the doctor says get some rest - please. I know how frustrating it is and I am just as bad as you and just try to keep going, I have done so when I have been really ill but still not as ill as you. Look after yourself so you can get better, get treatment and then go back to work raring to go.

Moan and rant here as much as you like - thats partly what we are here for and when you are as ill as you are you deserve all the support you can get.

Tomorrow I am working shovelling horse manure in someones garden but I'm looking forward to it because I have just spent the day leaving my home and talking to estate agents -its got to be better than that. Apparently the solicitors are having a tough time because they have to open letters on the day they arrive (a task it would appear which is way beyond their meagre abilities). Why they cant use email like the rest of us is apparently not even worth asking. See I'm ranting now.

[matt]

gill i know you're worried about work but you're not going to do much from hospital are you? and that's where you're headed if you don't take it easy!

claire as if we'd tell you off for being hypocritical! whoever do you mean?!!:lol2:

slicitors don't use email because they couldn't chrage as much. every letter gets costed at set price for time and postage etc and i think on a positive note they can't be forged as easy.

copper, no pressure.....1000 post today!!!!! make i good!

rebecca, if you fancy a trip my garden could do with some stuff doing. not far down the coast.

my trip to newbury went fine. the problem was on the m4 not the a34. found a couple of caches then met with friend and chatted for a couple of hours. nice day out.

simple dip. garlic and mayo!

[cnc]

Gill, hope you've been resting as we've all said.

Am having a bit of a bad day, am exhausted, think I must have done to much yesterday :( Am meant to be packing today as I head off to Darlington and Edinburgh tomorrow. So I might not be around much for the next week.
Need to bake brownies as well.
Hope things start improving for everyone soon.

[Kamagrian]

Thanks to all of you for being so supportive - gold stars for net.companionship above and beyond the call of duty!

I've been resting, but still in pain. I'm going to work tomorrow (staff party, no way I'm missing that even though I can't drink!) and Friday (children's party, and I promised to wear a silly hat), but it's my CT on Friday morning and hopefully they'll actually find something they can fix! Either that or I'll ask if they can mercifully put me down. ;)

Claire, get yerself fit and well for Friday or I'll be forced to pamper the living daylights out of you! Be warned. :lol2:

Hope everyone's feeling bright a breezy today. I love the salmon-and-tofu dip idea, going to give that a try as I miss creamy salmon things!

Gill x

[matt]

miss parties! not unless they tie you down to the bed. especially kiddies parties. as long as they are at someone elses house preferably with other peoples kids. wind them up feed them junk and watch them go!! just as long as you don't have to tidy up or deal with them when they come down from the sugar high!

you two meeting up in edinburgh? have a good time if you do. keep meaning to visit again sometime. aunt to stay with up there. she's doing the sensible thing and coming down here for the festive period. well she knows i've made a cake!

24 hours to go till the scan.....good luck. really hope that you come on friday afternoon and tell us soem good news.

sorry excuses will not be tolerated, i will be hear like normal, though not sunday afternoon, so i expect to have stuff to read. so no running off and haing fun and forgetting to come online!:mellow:

[cnc]

Well I'm nearly packed, barring the last minute wash of a jumper I wanted to take away with me, which I discovered had a wine stain on it at about 8.30 last night!! Am puzzled as to how the wine got there-its not mine!! (and on a related note, sorry am too lazy to post this anywhere else, whilst in Asda yesterday I discovered a gluten and wheat free beer is sold there).

Yup, Gill has very kindly invited me to visit. I think she needs someone to make sure shes resting properly, so be warned Gill!! So I'm going up to Darlington in about an hour and half, then up to Edinburgh on Friday (present delivery to a relative who lives just down the road as well!) and then back to Darlington. Am spending the week at Ians Dads'. Can't imagine it'll be all that peaceful, but am taking brownies to pacify the two young uns!!

Matt, I'll get online when I can, but am making no promises, not sure there's electricity that far North!! :D
Will be back for a few days before Christmas though.

[pinkfairy]

Gill

Look after yourself!! The most important thing in the world is your health!! SO get well soon.

I know its difficult with your job. I had to give up my job just after I went dairy free as my body went through really bad withdrawel symptons. I felt like I had flu but without a running nose and I got really bad shakes and panic attacks. I am hoping to start work again in the new year. I also may look for a career change as being an interior designer was very stressful and lots of hours. Also if your employers are not that understanding to your health then they are not worth working for.

Thanks for some of the party food ideas. I'll give them a try.

Jane

[goose]

Now Claire there's no need for that, of course we have power this far north, it you two scotland needs to brave itself for Claire and Gill together, now thats dangerous?

[goose]

Not having too hot of a day today, Have got a urinary tract infection and in agony, although life must go on and i have mountains of stuff to do in 10 days i must go and get stocked up on non dairy foods, get all the clients xmas cards posted. and it's my turn to make xmas cake this year, oh Matt you could make it for me and post it since your so good at making cakes. how about a bribe a favour in return:D

[Copper]

Ok my 1000th post - has to be special don't you think?

Matt and I met up today. He is not as nutty as he thinks. :) I am sure I spoke complete nonsense some of the time as I am shattered. We got on well I think, maybe next time I will have some wheat/gluten/dairy/egg free muffins to offer.

My heating packed up on Wednesday, getting up to a cold house was a bit of a shock. Luckily we had two very old fan heaters which were pressed inot operation. The poor cat was petrified of the heaters and would only walk past them if we switched them off :lol2: The gas man fixed the heating this morning so now we are warm again.

I have broken my sewing record and have made two pairs of curtains and linings in three days. (I did have other things to do too) My mother is very happy with them and they will make her east facing kitchen much warmer.

Gill, I am very worried about you. Please rest and I hope all goes well tomorrow. Keep us posted.

Goose, I hope your infection clears up quickly. I had that once years ago and it was not nice.

I think I am too late to wish Claire a good time away :(

[rebecca c]

Get well soon Goose.

Enjoy those parties Gill.

I went to get my results from the allergy specialist today, the Professor was away but I got the all clear from one of the doctors in his team. No dodgy results at all so very good news:D . Just to see the dietician and gastroentorologist now and work out a way to put some weight on.

Also the exchange on the house started today and should be done tomorrow for completion and moving in next thursday. Not quite ready for a smiley face on that one but not long to wait and then major celebrations and a lot of packing.

Went to see Jeff Wall photos at the tate modern today, I highly recommend it, amazing photos both technically and creatively. Very quiet in there too as everyone was obviously christmas shopping.

Copper doesn't it feel a bit strange meeting someone you've only ever talked to online?- no offense Matt not that your strange of course.

[Copper]

Well I can't believe that I invited Matt round but we have "known" each other for a year or more. I found him easy to talk to and it felt as though we had known each other for ages. It will be interesting to hear how Matt felt.

I have worked in a college for long enough now to get a feel for people. I can spot a pratt in a few minutes. I have a 6th sense (inherited from the Romany we are rumoured to have in the family tree?) for danger and Matt has never given out bad vibes.

Rebecca - great news about the results and the house.

I can't see me ever putting a foot inside Tate modern. I prefer artists like Constable. I am a traditonal woman in all things art and folk.

[Kamagrian]

Not having too hot of a day today, Have got a urinary tract infection and in agonyEep, you poor thing! UTIs are horrible, they make you feel so yucky. :( Hope you're feeling much better soon. :hug:

[Kamagrian]

Ok my 1000th post - has to be special don't you think?
CONGRATULATIONS!

You go girl! :lol2:

Matt and I met up today. He is not as nutty as he thinks. :) I'm deeply disappointed to hear that. Matt, be nuttier. At once.

Glad to hear your heating's fixed too - last thing you need this time of year is to have it break down!Gill, I am very worried about you. Please rest and I hope all goes well tomorrow. Keep us posted.Aww, please don't be worried! I'm sure it'll all be good, and I'm sure it'll be something easily fixed. I'm crossing my fingers for stones that are too small to show up on an ultrasound, or some other benign blockage. Or a gallbladder problem, which would only involve whipping that out. I'm pretty indestructible, so don't worry. :cool:

Thanks to everyone for all the lovely wishes you've been giving me - it's really made my day to log on and see such nice things. You're all stars. *beam*

Oh, and the work party was hilarious. It's the first time I've had a member of my staff make obscene gestures at me, but I was making out-of-hours remarks about her bowling, so I was definitely asking for it. :lol2:

Gill x

[Kamagrian]

24 hours to go till the scan.....good luck. really hope that you come on friday afternoon and tell us soem good news.
sorry excuses will not be tolerated, i will be hear like normal, though not sunday afternoon, so i expect to have stuff to read. so no running off and haing fun and forgetting to come online!Well that's me told! :lol2: I shall attempt to log on on Saturday and let everyone know what happened, if not before.Matt, I'll get online when I can, but am making no promises, not sure there's electricity that far North!! Ooh, you cheeky monkey! Actually, my secret's out...I'm actually working from a crofter's cottage with an outside loo, logging on from a clockwork laptop. The backup battery is powered by hamsters on Ritalin. No, really!

I'm sure Edinburgh's perfectly safe from me and Claire. We're going to be ever-so well behaved. Paragons of virtue, you might say. *innocent look*

[matt]

well i was on my best behaviour. but me not nutty? yeah right i was there for three hours and soemhow didn't set off the pratt/ nutter alarm!!! wonders will never cease. feel odd to meet someone...well as copper said we've been chatting online for quite a while. i think it's nearer two years not one.

nice to put a face to all the posts ! hope the scottish meeting goes well, goose should hop in the car and make it a group meeting!

house exchange on thursday just before xmas!!!! are they mad? but atleast it's done i suppose. good luck with that one.

gil. we await the postings to let us know about today...good luck. here's hoping they find something.

the xmas postings...well either you all come and keep posting or i'll just post away and fill all the threads with wild ramblings.....and no i doubt that you'd spot the difference:lol2:

[Copper]

Oh I shall be here over Xmas don't worry :lol2: We can ramble together!

[goose]

Hey everyone, feeling bit better today wrapped up warm with heat pack on back and scarf, gloves and hat on.

Iwould have gone to meet the other two Matt if i had the day off, but have to go out and look after the olds.Getting into the spirit today. only 9 days to go and it blizzards with snow today, but more and likley it willl be sunny by tea-time.:cool:
Copper hows the whoofer going.

[Copper]

Copper hows the whoofer going.

Is this a Scottish phrase or have I lost the plot? :confused:

[rebecca c]

We have exchanged on the house and will be moving in next Thursday.:dance:

I can have my head back now, it feels so much better. Hope everyone elses luck changes as mine seems to have done.

[Copper]

Great news Rebecca - what a relief that must be for you.

:clap:

I guess this will make your Xmas a little more hectic. :xmas:

[Kamagrian]

I'm REALLY pleased for you, Rebecca - it must be a huge relief to be able to relax about the house now. :lol2:

Well, I had the CT scan this morning. They didn't make me drink the contrast as they'd changed their mind and decided to put me on an IV pump (TONS of the stuff, which felt much stronger than the contrast they've used on me before) instead. So...into the Giant Plastic Doughnut Of Doom and lots of noise later, they let me out again.

Unfortunately the contrast had a nasty effect on my digestion, so I figured attending the charity's family party was probably the last thing I needed. I did a bit of work from home instead, and rested for the rest of the day. Feeling fine now, the effects have worn off so I'm back to my usual (half-dead!) self.

Do I get brownie points for reporting in, Matt? ;)

Claire's train was cancelled, so she's arriving in about an hour. I'm about to go and meet her, and there's a whole ovenful of baked potatoes waiting in the oven to warm us up with some roast chicken for dinner. I'm even getting hold of some Tofutti Better Pecan for afters (naughty but wonderful!). So, Goose...if you're passing by Edinburgh tonight and get hungry, look us up. :lol2:

Hugs to all, have a lovely Friday night.

Gill x

[Copper]

Well done for reporting in but when do you get their verdict?

Claire's train was cancelled :o Why am I not surprised. I hope you both have a great time together. You can rest together :D

[rebecca c]

Well Gill I am glad you got the scan out the way.

You and Claire have a great night, I'm very jealous of Claire because it sounds like you are such a good cook. Also Harvey Nichs and Zara to go shopping in, mmm thats not fair.

[Kamagrian]

You and Claire have a great night, I'm very jealous of Claire because it sounds like you are such a good cook. Also Harvey Nichs and Zara to go shopping in, mmm thats not fair.She's not here long enough to go shopping! We might head out to the farmer's market tomorrow morning though, nice food things there.

As for my cooking - I cooked VERY plain stuff this evening, so it was hardly luxurious! Just did the chicken and baked tatties. She doesn't seem to have been poisoned yet though... :lol2:

She's lovely and mad. All the best people are. ;)

[Kamagrian]

Well done for reporting in but when do you get their verdict?Apparently it takes 7-10 days to get the results back to the consultant - there are hundreds of images to scan through. With the holiday period and so on, I'll probably not hear much until my next appointment on the 10th of January. Or at least if I DO hear before then, it's probably fairly urgent and therefore bad news! So...I don't want to. ;)

[cnc]

She doesn't seem to have been poisoned yet though... :lol2:
Well I'm still alive!! Food was good, and shes a very kind host. Quite tired, stupid train.... :mad:
Have got to take a wander across to my Aunts shortly but its not too far so won't be too bad :)


She's lovely and mad. All the best people are. ;)

Why thank you Gill!! Although to be fair shes not much saner than me. The topics of conversation have been of the highest quality of course!! Ranging from the overheard comments of the kids on the train, to various injuries and other pleasant topics....

Probably should actually go and speak to her now I guess!!
Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

[goose]

Claire it would be easier to put a map on your location at the moment.
A big welcome to Scotland from me hope you 2 have a great night. :drunk::drunk:

[matt]

that's better some good news all round by people. glad things are going well.

house moves hospital tests and so on. who says it's not the season of good tidings?

meant to be seeing narnia this morning if ex brings daughter over early enough. here's hoping?

have a great saturday all. enjoy the hassle in the shops!
:o

[Fozzybear]

I had intended to go to Ipswich but I feel a bit tired after a long week at work and I've only really just realised that this is my last weekend before Christmas so I need to pull my finger out and get cleaning and present wrapping. I need to get the decorations up too.

A busy weekend ahead I think!

[Copper]

We (the girls in the family) are planning to see Narnia on Boxing Day.

[rebecca c]

Think I might go and see narnia tomorrow with the boys as Mike is going to see Arsenal Chelsea-big match that one. So let me know what it is like Matt.

[cnc]

I have returned to Darlington now.
Am in a bit of a bad way, due to the travelling, not Gills cooking!! She was a wonderful host.
Hopefully I can get pampered a bit this evening :D

Hope you all are having a nice weekend

[Kamagrian]

Hope you all are having a nice weekendBetter due to the good company, thanks - it was lovely to meet you! :lol2:

I'm very impressed by your potato-CPR abilities. I wish I could say that the potato's recovering well, but I'm afraid....I ate it.

Sorry.

It died for a good cause. If that's any consolation.

[matt]

sorry no narnia review.
she'd been kept up the night before till gone 9pm at the pub! so when she got up she didn't feel up to the cinema which must mean she felt really bad becasue normally hell needs to freeze over before she'll change her mind.

off to kew this morning to see their display and ice rink and meet with some friends. lots of driving but hopefully worth it. just a pain with having to pack two meals for me!

then maybe narnia on monday though might just leave it till after xmas now to get a quiet day. just hope still on. that or wait for dvd.

hope not too cold today. on with the fur hat and thick coat i think.

have a nice day all
:lol2:

[rebecca c]

Narnia was pretty good. The child actors were excellent. Felt Aslan was a bit weak. My main reservations are the ones I have about the plot so hardly the film makers fault. Not too keen on the war and father xmas giving out weapons to children as presents. Lucy was superb and for me it was her who pulled the whole film together. Edmund was also good, needless to say my youngest identified with him.:)

[Fozzybear]

Well I had a pretty productive weekend. I managed to get some cleaning done, sorted out my understairs cupboard, reorganised my music cd collection (in Caselogic flip albums, like this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005ATMG/202-5227946-6589417)one), put up the Christmas decorations and I've done most of my present wrapping. I feel pretty tired now - I need a good long soak in the bath and an early night! I still need to put away some junk, clean upstairs and a bit in the kitchen and bathroom but I think that I did ok considering that I was tired at the start of the weekend. I hope I don't have a demanding day at work tomorrow! -_-

[matt]

well kew was cold but good. very few xmas decs though. damn big ice rink.

resisted the 1/2 price sale of village bakery gluten and dairy free cake, mince pies and fruit slices as don't know the normal price and i'd not eat them i expect they were selling at £5 £3 and £2 ish respectively for anyone who might be going.

so nice quiet day today with daughter doing nothing in particular.

:)

[Copper]

I assume that Caitlin's school has broken up for the Xmas holidays already. I have been told that schools finish on Wednesday around here. We are going to do a fortnights shopping this Wednesday morning (early :( ) to avoid the crowds. Why do people stock up for a seige? Why do they need soooo many loaves of bread? Nobody has room for sandwiches after all the sweeties, mince pies and Xmas pud, do they?

[goose]

I can never understand why people go so bloody mad at this time of the year.,
most of us have forgotten what xmas is all about. The way i see it, is if you dont remember it or run out of something - forget it,life still goes on, who's gonna worry if you forgot sprouts, god there is alot of people in this world that wont see bloody xmas
Its a time to forgive, forget and celebrate jesus, not money, presents and food. (thats my moan for today sorted out) how is everyone!!:soapbox:

[Kamagrian]

Hey Goose, we're not all like that! :) Although I'm not conventionally religious, I celebrate the festive season as a time of renewal, family, love and giving - and I hate the commercialisation of the time as much as anyone. I also dislike the way it gets earlier every year, and have been known to walk straight out of shops playing carols and suchlike in October or November, after explaining to staff that I find it unacceptable. Matt and I will basically be locking ourselves in, inviting our loved ones to pop in anytime they like to share our hospitality, and having a gentle, peaceful time together.

Anyway....off that annoyance....

I've been a veritable Betty Crocker this weekend. When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to bake treats for the whole family at this time of year and some of my fondest memories are sitting on a high stool by her side, watching and helping. Since (a) I enjoy baking and reminiscing and (b) it means I can ensure no dairy goes into my treats, I decided to bake properly for the first time in years. I was a bit rusty, but....it all came out really well!!

I made a big batch of my special marzipan mince pies (with added orange extract and chopped almonds), with glazed and brown-sugared tops. Also did a big batch of lemon curd tarts, and berry jam tarts. :drool:

It was supposed to be the batch to last us until Hogmanay, but I have a horrible feeling I'll have to bake another lot before Christmas as Matt's developing an addiction... :lol2: I can't eat many as they're full-fat, but it was really good to have one warm mince pie last night, split open with Alpro cream in it.

Anyway, sorry for sounding proud of myself but I've not had very much energy recently, so I was really pleased to be able to make things - and even more pleased when they came out edible. The smells from the kitchen took me straight back to my grandmother's house, it was lovely.

[matt]

feel as proud as you ant. congrats for a good baking session. but like you said get ready to be back baking as if they're good then they will go very quickly.
tkae it as a compliment.
one of the xmas cakes i made has already nearly totally gone!! as long as it was enjoyed i don't mind.

keep meaning to do some baking for me but never seem to get round to it. maybe in the new year.

saw narnia yesterday. well caitlin liked it, it wasok for me but then it's meant as a kids film. quite a lot of violence but no blood and guts so no worse than the little dears see on the tv or in computer games!

xmas...i wish it wasn't so commercial but you'll never change that now. i can still remember being happy to wake up to find a satsuma and nuts in the stocking and get a couple of simple presnts. oh and the glass of very strong snowball in the morning if staying at nans!!! god bless them not knowing about measures or what not to give 12 year old kids!!!!:lol2:

[Kamagrian]

feel as proud as you ant. congrats for a good baking session. but like you said get ready to be back baking as if they're good then they will go very quickly.
tkae it as a compliment.
Oh, I do - I never mind my cooking disappearing so long as it's enjoyed. If I have friends around for dinner, I tend to fill the table and love to watch it disappear - I'm old fashioned about hospitality, and I really like having friends eating, chatting and sharing time around a table. Guess it's my old Irish roots!

Matt, you should've said you probably wouldn't be able to bake pies and suchlike for yourself this year - I could have sent a Red Gill Food Parcel! :lol2: Been known to send large boxes of cookies around the country to friends in need of a sugar fix...

[goose]

Hey everyone, well having a lazy afternoon today, this morning had a few clients to do and get some shopping done,
Got my dairy free items stocked up, Tru free custard creams (i love em)
some raspberry licorice logs, and need i say a lot of plamil dairy free chocolate bars.
Alittle bit worried as this is my first dairy free xmas lunch so have bought soya custard incase mum has got a big cream pudding for sweet.

[cnc]

I could have sent a Red Gill Food Parcel! :lol2: Been known to send large boxes of cookies around the country to friends in need of a sugar fix...

Hmmm, I'm very interested in this!! Poor nomadic student and all that :D

Sorry I haven't been around much, am still not back home, and have been quite bad and had a lazy few days, but its been quite nice as well.

Off to see Narnia soon, I refused to go see King Kong which is stupidly long.

Hope you are all ok, and I will be back online more after tomorrow, well until the 24th....

[Kamagrian]

Hmmm, I'm very interested in this!! Poor nomadic student and all that :DI'll consider you on the waiting list - haven't baked cookies for a while, but when I do I tend to bake too many so sending a few to people is a nice way to spread a bit of happiness (and calories!). :D

[Twinkle]

I made a big batch of my special marzipan mince pies (with added orange extract and chopped almonds)

That sounds gooood! can you post a recipe/instructions here, please? :)

[matt]

gill you've started something here! you ready to be posting large boxes all over the country in january?

aunt to collect today from the airport.

trufree custard creams....another addict here!

[Copper]

We have just spent far too long doing the shopping in Tesco. We got there just after 8am and it was failry busy. We don't need to shop again until Wed 4th Jan.

I now have to bake lots of goodies for PA to eat. I also have to get the housework done before the youngest treasure arrives home late tomorrow afternoon.

[Kamagrian]

That sounds gooood! can you post a recipe/instructions here, please? :)It's less a recipe and more just an idea I came up with (so doesn't seem worth posting in the recipes section!), but here you go...


Marzipan Mince Pies

Ingredients

1 batch shortcrust pastry made with Trex or dairy-free spread (I use Vitalite), or 1 block pre-made non-dairy shortcrust pastry
1 jar non-dairy mincemeat (I used Co-Op)
Few drops natural orange extract*, or to taste
Handful of blanched flaked almonds, finely chopped
1 pack good almond marzipan, I used Anthon Berg which is 60% almond!
1 egg
Some soft brown or demerara sugarMethod(ish)

Preheat oven to 200C (180 if fan-assisted)/ 400F / Gas mark 6.
Grease a 12-hole bun (mini-muffin) tin with Vitalite or a little oil.
Put mincemeat into a bowl. Add orange extract (maybe a little lemon extract too), and chopped almonds, and mix well. Taste and add more if needed. Do not eat the whole bowl.
Roll out the pastry fairly thinly on a floured surface to cut out 12 rounds. Use these to line the bun tin, pressing down lightly so you get a good, deep area to fill. Roll out again and cut 12 smaller rounds which will make the tops of the pies. Set these aside.
Roll out the marzipan thinly on a floured surface and cut out 12 rounds the same size as the tops of the pies. Place one round in each pie shell, pressing down lightly so that you can still fit lots of mincemeat in!
Fill the shells with mincemeat to just below the tops of the pies.
Lightly dampen the edges of the pie tops with a clean finger dipped in water, and place over the pies, gently pressing at the edges in a (probably vain) attempt to seal. I always overstuff my pies. Oh well.
Beat the egg in a bowl and use to glaze the pies. Sprinkle with a little brown sugar.
Bake in the preheated oven for around 15-20 minutes or until golden and cooked.* I like Boyajian orange oil best, but you can buy a natural orange extract from Supercook in big supermarkets now too. :)

[Kamagrian]

gill you've started something here! you ready to be posting large boxes all over the country in january?Eep! I have a full-time job and it's not as a baker! :lol2: But we'll see.....

[rebecca c]

Gill I'm tempted to put in an order but it sounds like you will have your hands full as it is. Your marzipan mince pies sound amazing.

Well I'm nearly done packing then its off the see the Pogues tonight with Mike and an old friend. So lets hope Shane makes it, every year I wonder if it will be his last. I shall have a good old bop.:)

Moving tomorrow. Hurrah!!!

[Copper]

Have a great time tonight Rebecca and good luck with the move tomorrow.

[cnc]

Well I'm back home for now :) Haven't much to say (travelling has made me very tired). Will try and post properly tomorrow.

Rebecca hope you enjoy the Pogues, and good luck with the move.

Take care everyone

[matt]

hope the move goes well and the pogues were good.

so copper all set then for the litle dears to arrive? large piles of goodies that will last about one third of the time you think they should. that's the trouble of being good at baking. i know atleast one of the xmas cakes i've made had already been eaten!!!:lol2:

dad to scan this morning then daughter later until xmas eve. wrapped all her presents last night ready to be hidden on the day. must make her cake on saturday. been given my instructions choc sponge with choc icing in it. all for her. i think some will end up in the freezer! not sending it home with her to be scoffed by ungratefull ex-in-laws with caitlin having none.:angry:

so who's going to be in the chat room on xmas day then?

[Copper]

Hmm I made a cake from the book "The AiA Gluten and Dairy Free Cookbook". It was described as a yummy chocolate cake - it looked ok when cooked and then it fell apart when I tried to remove it from the tin :( I don't think that I will make that again.

Today I will be making biscuits - I can't see how that can go wrong.

I do have the double choc muffins in the freezer and they never fail.

All of the recipes I am trying out contain chocolate - notice a theme?

[cnc]

Chocolate cake and brownies to make on Friday, before we go away- ensures that there is food for me to eat, when everyone else is scoffing away!!

Copper: Chocolate is a good thing to have in cakey things, so its all good :D

[Copper]

This baking is a bit stressful as I have to make it with wheat and gluten free flour for PA.

Cocoa in the cakes is good as it helps to mask the distinctive taste of the special flour. I can't be bothered to make cake for me so I will help PA eat hers. Him indoors has bought his usual Tesco cream gateau (chocolate of course). The youngest treasure does not like cake!

[cnc]

Doesn't like cake?? Surely not!!

Hope the cooking all goes well, and I'm sure it will be well appreciated.

I'm off to have a rest now, have spent the afternoon searching the internet for papers on local labour markets :unsure:

[Copper]

I have just taste tested the cake I made yesterday and it is vile. It will be in the bin very soon. I will just use my usual recipe and substitute the Doves flour. A job for tomorrow I think.

Just baking the biscuits and they are looking good so far.

keep resting Claire :)

[Fozzybear]

I was having a pretty bad week and feeling rather depressed, but am on the up now thanks to tomorrow being my last day before Christmas (leave work at 1pm!), finally finding the last (we hope!) fault on the modulator we've been working on for the last week or so, and topped off with getting a real bargin in a charity bookshop on the way home.

I go in the RNIB bookshop here quite a bit and have bought loads of books there and also given them sackfulls of my old books. Tonight I went in looking for Dickens books (there's a particular set of hardbacks from the seventies I've just started collecting) and also for David Attenborough books, which I'm also collecting (along with the programmes on DVD). I didn't find any of the Dickens books but they had a copy of The Living Planet hardback, in pretty good condition. I bought that along with a (slightly dog-eared) copy of Life On Earth and a Nick Hornby paperback for £4 and got the bus home.

I've just put them on my bookshelf with my other Attenboroughs but looked in them as I did and to my astonishment found that the Living Planet is signed by David! I certainly didn't expect that, especially as I paid less than £2 for the book! It made my day, it really did! I've met David before at a book signing and he signed my copies of the Life on Air autobiography and also the Life Of Mammals DVD set so getting another signed book is a really good addition to my collection! I'm really chuffed, as you can probably tell from all the exclaimation points!!!! :dance:

[Copper]

I can see how excited you are Fozzybear. It is great when things happen like that isn't it?

[Fozzybear]

:D My good cheer when I left work was somewhat tempered by the crowds of sullen shoppers in town but getting home and finding that signature in the book really did make my week! Sometimes it only takes a small thing to totally change your mood - this certainly did.

Well, I've got the dishes in the dishwasher, the bread's baking in the breadmaker and I've finished my chores for the evening. I think I'm going to sit down with a nice cold glass of pepsi and watch a cheery Christmas film - Elf will fit the bill I think. :)

Night night all...

[matt]

great to hear the good news fozzy.

copper have you tried one of those ground almond cakes that are flourless? they are meant to be lovely and moist, or even did you see the f word. fearnley whittingstall did a flourless chestnut cake type thing very very chocolate and moist.

well i decided that no one else was going to get me anything on the day so i ordered some stuff for myself. i know have two xmas presents with third on the way!!
neww freeview box. old one knackered and 2nd hand
3 books from amazon

and in the post. a shiney new canon 350d!!!! ho ho ho merry christmas:lol2:

[Fozzybear]

Is that 350D now in your hot little hands or on its way? I hope we're going to get a review! :D

[Copper]

PA is intolerant to almonds too :( I have just baked my usual choc victoria sponge and just substituted the flour and egg replacer. It looks good and I have even iced the top and sandwiched together with yet more choc icing. :D

Oh Matt you naughty boy I thought that you were waiting for the sales! We expect a full run down on this camera. We are thinking about buying a digital camera in the summer so we shall want to know why you chose this particular camera.

[Kamagrian]

I hope nobody minds, but as there was a nice response to my posting of my mince pies 'recipe', I've copied it to the recipes section. I was initially unsure of whether it should go in there since it's less a recipe and more an idea!

[Copper]

O course we don't mind Gill. Those of us with limited imagination (err me) rely on you for ideas. :D

[Steve]

I hope nobody minds, but as there was a nice response to my posting of my mince pies 'recipe', I've copied it to the recipes section. I was initially unsure of whether it should go in there since it's less a recipe and more an idea!

That's fine :D

[Kamagrian]

O course we don't mind Gill. Those of us with limited imagination (err me) rely on you for ideas. :DTee hee - at least I have a use in the world! :lol2: If you use ideas, I want a full report on whether they went down well!

I have to bake tomorrow. Again. There's one paltry lemon tart left from that HUGE batch I made last weekend...though admittedly I ate a few myself. *blush*

I've finally finished for Christmas - no work until Wednesday! Well, apart from popping into the refuge tomorrow afternoon to pick up a few things, but that's my own fault for having too much to carry today. I have a batch of honey-soy chicken in the oven for dinner, with some garlic potatoes, and I've laid the table out all nice and Christmassy for a bit of a celebration, because....

Matt got the new job he applied for!!


Things have been pretty tight for us recently as he's been paid a ridiculously small amount by the investment bank he's been working for, but this is with another bank and pays much better. Additionally they want to train him for some more technical investment roles he's really interested in. So that's a lovely Christmas gift for us. :) He's starting his new job on the same day we're planning to open the new refuge, so it's all go in January!

In general, I'm in a good mood. Only a phone call from my doctor could ruin it. :cool: Hope similar good things happen to everyone else.

Gill x