Thyme Tuesday

[Kittykatt]

Triple Dog Dare!

Pick 3 things
Do them
Post your TaDas!

»»—-Cheers! WTG! Ygg!—-««

Don't think about it. Just do it!
~~ I Triple Dog Dare ya! ~~
Good Morning!
»»————　✼　————««

[Kittykatt]

Sun-loving thyme is attractive, compact and easy to grow. This popular evergreen culinary herb, which often flowers even in winter , brings rich Mediterranean flavours to soups, sauces and many other dishes.

All types of thyme like a warm, sunny location, either in free-draining soil or containers
There are many different types of thyme, in a range of flavours, colours, and growth habits. In summer they produce clusters of tiny pink, mauve or white flowers that are rich in nectar, providing a feast for bees and other pollinating insects. Thyme thrives in full sun and free-draining conditions, in the ground or in containers.

As thyme is evergreen, you can pick sprigs all year round, although the new growth in spring and summer has the best flavour. Common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) has a sweet, earthy, peppery taste that adds depth to many dishes, and is a key ingredient in traditional bouquet garni and herbes de Provence.

[Kittykatt]

Good morning everyone and happy Wednesday!

Gma, winter soups are so warming, especially after clearing all that snow!

KitKat, all the kitties are very well, thank you for asking, and currently sitting on the bed in a row waiting for their morning treat!

Take no debts into the new year.

This is a very good idea, Dogged !

Today I need to clean downstairs, and take down more Christmas decorations. I'll just stack them on the bed for now, and put everything properly away in their boxes in the drawers under the bed this evening when DH is out. I'm going to send DH down to the bus depot to see if his phone has been handed in - he's still seems remarkably unbothered about it, which is starting to drive me.a bit nuts. If there's no joy there, I'll post a message on Nextdoor, as there's a possibility someone may have picked it up. I also need to do the Waitrose order this evening as we're having a delivery tomorrow, due to new year on Thursday.

[Kittykatt]

To do:

Appointments:
Tuesday:
DH??
At home for me
9 pm LAST TOUCHES TO WAITROSE ORDER
Wednesday: New Year's Eve
DH??
9-10 am Waitrose delivery
PA groceries
Clean kitchen
Hoover car?
Laxapet for Jude and Matilda
Thursday: New Year's Day
DH off work
No church today, so at home for me
Friday:
DH off work
At home for me
Saturday:
DH??
At home for me
Text DF E - not this week
Sunday:
Church 9.30 am
Visit DFE for coffee? Not this week, we're doing coffees after church
Laxapet Jude and Matilda
Set up new Waitrose delivery

Future dates to note:
7/1 order inhalers
6/1 Freddie - Solensia 8.30 am
8/1 Jude weight check 2 pm

Outstanding deliveries:

Extras:
Email NW when I have a reply from RP
Put pictures back WIP
Order new orthotics - wait until ankle settles
Can I do 15 minutes of decluttering each day?
Digital decluttering- Google Photos for 2024 and 2025
Pick up my footprints
House tasks: Replace the bit of mortar that's fallen out of the edge of the roof (I think its called the verge? Can this wait until we get the house painted when a roof ladder will be in place?) I need for it to stop raining before I ask anyone to come and look!
Verge and ridge tiles on garage roof
Sort out cabinet that wobbles - does the back need some sort of bracing ? MJ will sort it out in the new year
Take up and hem those thick winter curtains for the kitchen
Book eye test for me
Sort prints and put in albums (this will probably be an activity to do on wet days!) WIP I am now working on 2025
Think about setting up Guardianship for F,J and M - looked on Cats' Protection, I need their microchip numbers, approximate DOB, colour and markings and useful information about them. Bookmark link with local recommended solicitors (also ask DF CW?)
Change health centres to the one nearest us? We're going to do this in January

To do:
Early morning:
Cuddles and treats on the bed with Matilda, Jude and Freddie
Cup of tea
QT
Lightbox session
Make bed
Shower / wash hair/ moisturiser and sunblock/ clean and floss teeth
DH launched
Physio exercises and back exercises
Proprioceptors exercises X1 x2 x3
S/S bathroom
Get dressed
Breakfast and meds / supplements - me
DRINK WATER #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8
Check bank account
Go for my walk

Garden:
15 minutes in tiny front garden
15 minutes in back garden

Cats:
Cats’ breakfast and meds / supplements
Fresh water in cat bowls
Scoop cat trays
Check Jude’s bowl
Check Matilda's bowl
Walk Freddie
Lap time with Jude, Freddie and Matilda
Play with Jude, Freddie and Matilda
Head rubs with Jude, Freddie and Matilda
Cats' supper

House:
Rubbish down to wheelie bins
Kitchen clean up
Unload DW
Load DW
Run DW when full
Unload DW
PUPA downstairs
Quick dust sitting room
Quick hoover downstairs
PUPA upstairs
Quick dust bedrooms
Quick hoover upstairs
Lunch
Supper
Lay out clothes for tomorrow
Journal three things I am thankful for today
Hand cream

Extra house tasks:

Monday:
Clean bathroom
Clean spare room
Clean bedroom
Wash spare room throw and cat blankets

Tuesday:
Clean hall
Clean sitting room
Clean stairs
Empty hoover before starting work
Wheelie bins back when dustmen have been
Filing paperwork for 15 minutes

Wednesday:
Clean kitchen

Garden extras:
Water pots
Feed pots weekly

Financial:
More work on budget WIP

[FrenchFlybebe]

◕‿◕ * * * Good Morning! * * * ◕‿◕

Kittykatt, thanks for the start. Thyme and rosemary are blooming all-year and they are great in cooking too. The perfect plant. We intend to grow both in front of the entrance veranda to replace an interesting but unedible bush the previous owner planted here, which blooms two weeks a year. I hope the bus people have your DH's phone. It is indeed weird that it doesn't bother him. There are so many things on a phone today, including so many safety systems, I wouldn't want my phone to get into the wrong hands.

Doggedly thanks for the heating advice. indeed, self-heating is what I did in my previous workplace - a cold and damp office in a shipyard with a heating system in the room that worked like a toaster : very hot, smell of burnt stuff, but only the immediate surrounding was hot. So I used a radiant thing under the desk. Looks like you've been productive yesterday.

Gma your card arrived yesterday, thanks ! Good luck staying warm in the cold. Soup sounds a great option.

No payroll today - thanks for your sympathy yesterday - but I will work tomorrow. This is due to me having some leftover "rest" hours that had to be used before 2026. I would have preferred to take 31st off and work today, but this is what Unpleasant Boss has chosen for herself, so at least I will work quietly tomorrow. She was there yesterday but, fortunately, too busy bothering someone else on another issue.
Cold day, cold week. Had blood test - due to a painful belly episode last week that the dr couldn't explain. MrNG will probably go to a café to work on his internship report, due mid January. I'll entertain the kids and hopefully get things done in the house.

TADAs
up, drove to blood test lab
had test, quick groc trip on the way back
breakfast and light coffee

TODO
FIRST : clean pellet stove and start it ! We have 14°C inside and it's not enough.
a lol started
what's for lunch, what's for dinner
also : empty dw + feed kids when they get out of bed

[FrenchFlybebe]

One kid stumbled out of bed. Apparently it is the 10yo one. Dishevelled and half-awake. And hungry.

TADAs
pellet stove cleaned and started
lol started
dw emptied
also, pots and pants vs human : 3-0 victory for human
leftover dahl and rice packed into two lunch boxes, and in freezer

TODO
see what's for lunch, what's for dinner
re-start washer with larger load
feed kids

... and hoping to get lots more done : get rid of kids' homework, FACE, cook easy meals, get the kids out in the open air even if it is freezing, refill bird feeder, a badroom to clean, 2 bedrooms to vacuum, my own bedroom to declutter (work in progress) before 2026...

[FrenchFlybebe]

I played cards with the kids, then told them to play without me for awhile as I needed to check online for my blood tests results. I had less than two minutes of fight-free time.
Now they're both in their bedrooms doing a kind of noise contest, DS10 is listening to old CDs MrNG gave him, so we have the Doors playing, while DS7 is playing on our tiny electric piano, a ridiculously high-pitched improvisation without rhythm. The mix of both is far from harmonious.

TADAs
kids fed breakfast
bfast table mostly cleaned up
played two different card games with DKids
checked online results for blood test (all fine)
cooked veggies, marinated tofu, for lunch

TODOs
lol on indoors drying rack near the stove
fry tofu, serve "Buddha bowls" of veggies, couscous and tofu
quiet time for online admni stuff?

SHEM :
“You don’t need a new plan for next year. You need a commitment.” – Seth Godin

[kitkat]

Thyme Tuesday? A good reminder for me to use up the fresh thyme languishing in the fridge...

Good morning! I'm thinking I should join today, seeing that it has been working for me:)
FFly - good idea for edible plants near the entrance.
kittykatt thanks for the start - you take good care of those cats:)

And thus the day begins:

breakfast for pup
med/supplements for me
D2S
lol

[FrenchFlybebe]

Hi kitkat ! Glad to know this place is good for you

TADAs
lol on indoors drying rack near the stove
fry tofu, serve "Buddha bowls" of veggies, couscous and tofu
meal half cleaned up (DS7 is supposed to help, but hasnt)
quiet time for online admin stuff - in progress

TODOs
quiet time until 3.30 : hopefully some things I want to get done for me
3.30-4.30 table tennis, 5-mn-walk away
4.30 afternoon snacks
5-7pm screens (meaning TV or tablet or the console)

[helia]

I like thyme flavors in a variety of foods. Oh, I hope that dh's phone is found, Kitty.
Sounds like at least it's a quiet week payroll-wise FFB with not much contact with your unpleasant boss. I hope it's nothing serious with your stomach. Enjoy time with your boys.
What will you make with the languishing thyme, kitkat?

It's so good to see you all here this morning! It is almost 7 a.m. on the west coast and still dark.

Before we left the house yesterday, I finished the memorial thank yous (except for one that is adress-less) and swished our nice bidet toilet, in case RH and KE want to use it. I got the kitchen reclaimed, picked up dog toys strewn all around the house and - of course, packed.

We arrived later than expected yesterday; our plane got caught in a short snowstorm. We got deiced but then we couldn't leave the airport in time (a plane must fly within 30 minutes of being deiced) because the crews couldn't keep up with the snow on the runways. Finally they had a clear runway - but it was more than 30 minutes later, so we got deiced again. We left 1.5 hours late -- BUT we got here safely. The most important thing by far. It was an uneventful flight once we were in the air. On the flight, I finished the payroll curriculum review and composed an overdue message to colleague and friend JD.

Once here, we picked up some food at TJ (they have good gluten free items for the girls) and then food for dinner at a pub (ds had called in the order). We then went straight to ds + F's house where we ate dinner with them + her mother. And. . .I got to hold Isabella who has grown so much! Born premature around 6 pounds, she is now over 11 pounds at 2 months. She was making eyes and smiling at dd30 when she held her! But when I held her, she fell soundly asleep. So, we didn't get to the airbnb until around 7:30 pm, which was 10:30 pm to our bodies. We were all very tired.

I think I had a long sleep last night; I woke up for good around 6:30.

Today, we'll rendezvous with ds + F in the afternoon at some point. Then, the Ss (friends of ours from grad school days; we vacation with them once a year - sort of) and their daughter A will join us for dinner at ds + F's home. The Ss' daughter, A, just happens to live not far from ds + F! SO, another dinner party tonight - 9 adults and 1 baby. Dd30 is going to make the main. She can keep it gluten free. I'll make a big salad.

Next:
- some qt
- back exercises
- s2s and self care

Later:
- make the bed
- grocery list
- grocery store at some point
- Can I get in a jog?
- visit with Ds + F
- what can we do to help them?
- dinner: help dd30, make a salad
- dinner for 9
- visit with the Ss and A
- help with clean up
- duolingo
- health apps
- read for fun
- email EP
- email ML
- eventually, family pic

TaDas!
- coffee
- email deletions and weather website; high of 48 here with some sun

WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
Tue Dinner with the Ss in WA
Wed + Thu Visit/ help with baby and cooking
Fri TRAVEL home
Sat NOTHING
Sun 10 - Church/ Host Dinner for 8?

Mon Groceries
Tue KS2J get together
Wed
Thu 2-3 work out with AS
Fri dinner date with dh
Sat 5:30 - 9-ish CG1
Sun 10 - church/ 3:30 - 6 CG2 - we host/ 6 - ? host Sunday dinner


December Brain Dumps
This Week - House
- can I scrub the tile in our shower?
- clean sheets on bed

This Week - Deskwork
- make appointment with optometrist and food doctor
- schedule mammogram
- reach out to JK?

This Week - Errands
- get Mom's bags of stuff to the charity
- C and E's gifts in the mail

General Brain Dump
- progress decluttering clothes - wip
- new phone eventually

Mom
- go through bag of Mom's knick knacks