Things that have made you happy today 2025

Going back to the WFP, just to be boring, it will be reclaimed automatically by HMRC if your taxable income is over £35,000. Haven't received my half share with hubby yet. So it's only £100 for me.

We used to send about 30 XMAS cards. It's now down to half that as everyone is dying. And non returners are removed from the list after 2 years. But I like looking at them and buying them. I've already had one by mistake for another road nearby. It has the post code correctly, but the sender has used a French 7. So I presume the machinery can't read it, so a human does it and bungs it in with our road. I'll walk round there today and post it myself.

 

According to the press yesterday, M&S are considering opening a new food store in our town!

 

We buy essential supplements from a well known chemist. 30 days cost £17.50 but buy 3 and you save £17.50. None in stock locally so on the internet found we could click and collect. The cost has come down (because of what they call black friday) to £8.75. So even without 3 for 2 still a saving of over £8. However much to our delight the 3 for 2 still applies so decided to get 6 pkts which has saved us £70. Amazing and very grateful and very happy.

 

Congratulations. I keep the fingers crossed that they go for it.

I go to M&S only and don’t bother any longer going to another shop.
Our M&S is the “cathedral” of our entire area in 30 miles radius. The Cafe is like a huge railway station packed with 100 visitors (pensioners, babies and their mums and their prams). The Foodhall looks like Regent Street, is always busy and so big that it has got 80% of their entire products covered. The clothes are also running out of space. Since opening the extended ! store (doubled in size) I suggested to them to build a second one next door.
I read an article in the Guardian yesterday where the author justified why she was part of the half a mile queue in Camden when M&S opened a new Foodhall there and this with another one obviously just 1 mile far.
Bath also gets now a huge Foodhall. The one as part of the main store is just too small.

 

I was walking up my road and just as I passed a neighbour's house their Christmas wreath fell off the front door with perfect comic timing. Serves them right for putting decorations up in November.

 

Cleaned the light well and the high glass shelves and all the glass on them without breaking anything.

 

I've got my small outdoor trees set up and ready to set the timer to begin lighting them on Monday.

And I managed to duplicate the type of drying system I saw on an old "All Creatures Great and Small" episode that aired here on Thursday. Theirs had a wooden rack that lowered from the ceiling to load up and then raise again. I didn't have thick wooden dowels and they are too expensive to buy so I made mine from tubing originally used for a small greenhouse that had a plastic cover. And pulleys that are meant for roman shade systems. And with thick cord meant for traverse drapes. And the lines are leftover from an old retractable line.

It raises and lowers nicely and is tucked up out of the way when not in use. In the cellar.

 

A bit like a Sheila Maid @CanadianLori? Very useful of there is a source of heat nearby.

 

Never heard of sheila maid but thank you, I shall google that. The cellar is cool but has some cental heat and I have a wall mounted oscillating fan next to the unit. The rafters down there are 8 feet from the painted concrete floor so lots of air circulates.

 

Aha. Yes, they are a nice. Mine started with me making a 40 x 60 inch metal frame. Lots of hack sawing made my right arm a little rubbery for a bit but loads of funs. I only have one support post down there so angling the pulleys was important. It is a 1000 sqare foot cellar but have partitioned most of it for granddaughter and her friends to hang out. My miter saw is in that area so I need a way to raise the drying rack out of it's way.

 

Lovely walk in the winter sunshine

 

@Friendly what are the posts please? Are they to keep people/animals from walking there?

 

Hi @CanadianLori they are tree saplings.
Enfield: Plan for London's largest nature haven

 

They are hollow tubes @CanadianLori to protect saplings from destructive wildlife.

 

We live on an "open plan estate" and this makes it visually very attractive as we are only allowed lawns and shrubs in our front gardens. But some 6 months ago a chap moved in up the road and built a wall around his front garden. To cut a long story short he was told by the planning department to apply for planning permission, because part of the wall was too high next to the highway (planning departments don't deal with open plan covenants). So lots of us responded and his application was refused mainly because it breached the open plan covenant. Hooray! So he will have to pull it down. That is still to happen, but there is an enforcement on it.