Eek.

At my mum’s house with sister and respective families ( 9 of us)

Missus has just done a positive LFT.

This could kick-off big style 🙁

Just my mum in law here for Xmas, and she’s lovely tbh, far more likely to argue with my own family but wont see them until new year

The only argument I’m having is with the beers I had after the bottle of wine last night… that I then followed up with the single malt
My youngest was awake & excited at 6:15 this morning 😭😭

And curiously go south when it comes to actually wrapping said presents.

Sounds like ‘going south’ (ahem) is your Christmas treat? 🤪

One of the nice things here in Germany is that families get together on the 24th.

Turned up at the GF’s folks late, timing it so that her nieces had opened their presents and food was ready.

Left a few hours and bottles of red later.

Off to the workshop today.

Houns
Full Member

Can you give us a running commentary

Fortunately peace has broken out, the miracle of Christmas.

To be fair to all the grandmother in law was buried this week so everyone has been on edge since she passed so all it needed was a little spark for a cathartic bust up (RIP Rita, still liked the odd tipple at 100 and got to 101)

Firk me. I’ve a blind mother who insists on ‘helping’ in the kitchen, so far that has cost me 3 teapots and an induction cooktop she smashed ! So far we’ve had 2 testy interactions between my wife the in-laws abs my mother who all insist on cramming in to help ! It’s fuxking brilliant. Then my mum seems to have obtained a medical degree off Facebark. A self proclaimed expert in virology and Covid. My sister then added insult to insult by whatsapping me half pissed eating a curry 😂 She deserves a day off as she runs an ICU but wasn’t quick to put her hand up to host. I’ve been for a run and a bike ride with mrs nzcol and I’m on my second massive g and t !

I’m hiding in the bedroom. Nanny got covid on Thursday and my dad is vulnerable so despite negative LFT we couldn’t go see him (planned to be in the park, first time in months). The missus bought loads of presents, spent half the night wrapping them. The kids are now massively over stimulated cranky and fighting constantly over each others toys. Assuming negative LFT we’ll be off to my sisters tomorrow, then the kids and missus are going onto the “women should know their place daily mail reading its the immigrants fault” MIL (I’ve got 4 daughters). Fortunately I’ve been excused due to some last minute “work” that’s come up as men sometimes have to work and that’s OK. We don’t call her the Wicked Witch of the West for nothing. At least I’ll be in the shed with a beer and some bikes.

Just the two of us. We sacked off most of Christmas years ago, don’t even bother with presents. If we want something we buy it when we want it, not for baby Jesus.

Same for me and OH. Quick blast out this morning (brrr), back for coffee and a load of muddy bike stuff in the wash, daal for tea tonight. We ‘did’ the solstice on the 21st with a pheasant breast kiev, chips n peas and a nice bottle of red 😎

As for spending time with people you can barely tolerate- eff that shizz!

MIL is currently reading all of her emails out loud to everyone. Not telegram type messages from overseas relatives but MSE weekly top tips and offers from M&S

****. M6 here we come. Still, should be quiet at least.

What’s everyone’s thermostat stats looking like? Couldn’t remember if there’s usually a seperate thread for this

Anyone 25c+?

Quiet one here, had our Xmas dinner yesterday so we could concentrate on the toddler as he is now aware of Christmas. I’ve never seen presents opened so quickly. My family tomorrow where I will try not to respond to any eyebrow raising comments on covid etc. It got loud last time and it’s just not worth the confrontation.

What’s everyone’s thermostat stats looking like? Couldn’t remember if there’s usually a seperate thread for this

Anyone 25c+?

I wish. I’m sure the MiL lives in an Igloo

What’s everyone’s thermostat stats looking like? Couldn’t remember if there’s usually a seperate thread for this

Anyone 25c+?

Usual 17.5c here. I’d usually whack it up a bit when sitting around but leaving it low just out of stubbornness. A small, petty victory but a victory all the same.

21 degrees and obligatory STW woodburner going here at the moment. And the other half has a blanket. She’s happy though which is the main thing!

I’ve been informed I have to go to the in-laws tomorrow afternoon.
MIL & AIL compete to see who’s vapid conversation can be loudest.
BIL will bicker with everyone, the level of severity depending on how many arsehole tablets he had for lunch.
Mrs_H is on day 2 of a row of night shifts and won’t have slept properly & I’ll be in a mardy because tomorrow afternoons forecast is good and I won’t be out on my bike.

I’ve had a lovely day. Wife left early for Christmas Dinner with her daughter and grandsons. I took the dog for a long walk by the sea, then had a huge plateful of spaghetti carbonara with a bottle of prosecco, followed by eclairs and coffee with calvados! Now curled up with a good book. Perfect. The dog seems happy, too.

No arguments here, but sister in laws family have been messaging her to say they’ve come down with covid, they visited SIL this last week and now SIL is with us.

Very brisk walk along the sea front this morning, just finished dinner, now on second glass of wine, and dilemma of what book to start in on.

Happy Xmas.

Got to say this thread has been a bit disappointing this year.
Having said that I don’t think the dog pisses in MILs garden and we go straight home post from a few years back will ever be topped.
Glad I don’t have to suffer any of it though.
Life’s too short for that kind of shit.

Was delighted to hear my father in law getting shut down very quickly by my mum and sister when he tried repeating a few very lazy Daily Mail tropes (apparently Boris ‘got Brexit done’).

He’s a nice enough gent, he might just have been bored since he was driving and couldn’t have a glass of fizz 😁

Got to say this thread has been a bit disappointing this year.
Having said that I don’t think the dog pisses in MILs garden and we go straight home post from a few years back will ever be topped.

Well said! That post was hilarious and can’t remember the author but would love to know whether they’re all on speaking terms now.

I tried looking for it earlier but Google-fu failed me before conf-call ended. Please someone find it.

Does anyone else ever wonder if they are the objectionable FIL, BIL etc that gets written up on these threads?

You’re wondering now aren’t you. 😉

Mrs Spekkie and I have had a quiet day at home. Spoke to her daughter in Colorado this afternoon – it was 8am there – without issues and her son in London this eve. Then spoke to my son in the UK after that – we’re flying over to visit him and his family in the UK on Monday and having a “proper” Christmas Dinner later this week which I’m really looking forward to . . . .

We’ve just done a Covid tests each and we’re both negative.

I am going to put new discs and pads on my truck to get outside tomorrow. Mtbing Monday 🙂

I tried looking for it earlier but Google-fu failed me before conf-call ended. Please someone find it.

Ask and ye shall receive.

Oldschool was the hero in question.

Well said! That post was hilarious and can’t remember the author but would love to know whether they’re all on speaking terms now.

It was me, and yes. We are on speaking terms now. Think that was the turning point, 😂
Get on great now to be fair.

head back home to eat nothing but pigs in blankets and pizza

That must be a serious numbers of PIBs, into 3 figures almost. 🙂

We had 64 between 8 of us, along with a turkey, 4 trays of stuffing, 5 trays of roast potatoes, roast parsnips and loads of veg.

Getting that cooked in a standard oven plus top oven was a serious feat. First tray of roasties was ready at 11:00

Gnommm

head back home to eat nothing but pigs in blankets and pizza

You can now do both of those simultaneously with a pigs in blankets pizza. We had one from Aldi the other week.

It was ok till the end then my mil called her daughter a miserable git then walked out .
Daughter was on form with jokes that would make jimmy Carr blush.
Alone now with Harry Potter on the tv *happy face*

Oh the dog is here and I’m fine with that

It was me, and yes. We are on speaking terms now. Think that was the turning point, 😂
Get on great now to be fair.

Wow! Pleased that you’re on good terms now, a relief all round I should think. Families eh?

Oh and thanks soundninjauk for retrieving the original thread.

You can now do both of those simultaneously with a pigs in blankets pizza. We had one from Aldi the other week.

*checks Aldis opening hours*

Some familiar names in that thread from 8 years ago!😁

Awesome. Thanks @soundninja.

FrankSinatra still living his best times at Christmas after eight years.

You can now do both of those simultaneously with a pigs in blankets pizza. We had one from Aldi the other week.

We had one of these yesterday but with pigs in blankets from Higginsons of Grange butchers and roasted onion – on homemade 72hr fermented sourdough bases and cooked in the Ooni outside. Bloody delicious!

We had one of these yesterday but with pigs in blankets from Higginsons of Grange butchers and roasted onion – on homemade 72hr fermented sourdough bases and cooked in the Ooni outside. Bloody delicious!

Peak STW…..

I try my best! Also peak tastiness so… 🤷🏻‍♂️ 😁

The bonus was that I was making the pizzas so a pig in blanket or two may have ended up as a topping 😁
I really did eat too many yesterday…
The visit to my mother’s didn’t go too badly though, stepfather was actually on good form, it was my sister I had to pull up for being racist, thankfully my other sister backed me up and it was nipped in the bud very quickly.