At cards last night, we all took a small gift and did swaps. I ended up with a cute little Christmas friend:
I really thought we were gunna have to wind some of them around the base, but no. They all fitted on the tree. It looks amazing there, reflecting on the ranch sliders.
Today I shall be carrying on with wrapping Christmas presents.
I will be doing that all day. I have a feeling I will be going out for more paper and ribbon etc later on though.
12.05 pm: And Brylee and I have been out to The Base. I got a few more wrapping supplies and not much else. It wasn't busy at all, which was a big relief.
Once school finishes I am picking it will be diabolical.
I've sent them an email, and talked to the office manager about needing to see them. We are still waiting.
Meanwhile the balance of the payment from us is due on Friday, after that it starts accruing interest. I have no intention of paying interest!
Now... back to my gift wrapping. I'm not even half way yet!
Hello? It's been VERY QUIET on here the past few days. Are we all busy?
2.40 pm: And I'm done for the day! Sitting in a stinking hot sewing room wrapping presents for hours. I have wrapped presents for 11 people, and have 8 to go.
There's a couple of 'gaps' which I will have to go shopping for in the next day or two.
But I can almost see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Imagine having to buy presents for 19 people!
I think next Christmas it will have to be for the Grandchildren only, and a lucky dip type thing for adults.
Otherwise ... it's just not sustainable.
What do you do in your family, if it's a big family?
So... I did suggest to Stew that I send another email to the asphalt company, pointing out that we are still waiting for them to come back and talk to us about the issues with the driveway. AND I wanted to point out that we would not be paying the balance owing until said issues are resolved.
But he said NO.
He said we shall wait until Friday (being a week after 'completion), then if we have not seen or heard from them, we go from there.
I always follow Stew's advice, cos he is pretty much always right.
NOT always, but in matters like this.... he is.
I've had a good afternoon. I put me feet up so they wouldn't swell too much. It's a very warm day. Not blisteringly hot, but certainly warm.
Dinner this evening was beef meatballs in a sweet 'n' sticky sauce, with pasta on the side. Was rather nice, very filling.
Brylee keeps making me jump outta my skin. I'm not used to having her here again... she walks into the room and I jump in fright!
Right. Time to sign off for the day and head off to bed soon. Catch ya tomorrow.
Decorations looks super...ive got 1200 string of lights on my 7ft tree, the rule of thumb is 100 lights per foot of tree but i like lots of twinkle
ReplyDeleteYour tree looks great.
ReplyDeleteIt is beginning to look a lot like Christmas here too.
We just got more than a foot of snow. We have to shovel paths for the doggy to go potty outside!
Decorations look amazing! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
ReplyDeleteHey, so what are they doing about your leaky drive?? I hope you're chasing them up about that! It won't be doing your substructure any good having all that water there!
We have sent them an email asking them to come back to discuss our concerns. I also rang and talked to the office manager. She said they were out of town (Tuesday)... but she would let them know we want to see them back here. So we wait....
DeleteI think you should email them & put in writing that you are not happy, and are waiting for contact from the managers. In the meantime you will not be paying the balance of the bill until it has been sorted to your satisfaction and point out that you will not be incurring any interest or other additional costs until it has been sorted to your satisfaction. Keep a note of every call & interaction so it is clear you have been chasing them & not ignoring the bill.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely only buy for the grandkids! Adults don't do presents in our house unless it's a cheap token kind of thing. Make sure you advise that company that no payment will be made until they come and check and document all correspondence with them.
ReplyDeleteWe are still trying to find a way out of getting presents for the ever increasing family size. But other relatives want to keep doing it. I agree - it is not sustainable or fun. So many people. We see them twice a year. What in the world are we suposed to get them? Just call me Scrooge!
ReplyDeleteDo the driveway piddles always start from the same place/s? Have they reassured you in any way that piddles on a driveway are normal or expected after such work? I think the piddles are more alarming than leaving messy edges. But for $10K - they should have laid bricks one by one! That is outrageous!
We do a secret Santa for everyone including the kids. Then I usually give the grandies money
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't wait a week mainly because of the leaks. If it was just the messy edges... yes. But these leaks need to be addressed right away becaure ... what is it.... is it doing damage anywhere?
ReplyDeleteIn hubbys family his parents gave to their children presents but when the children had kids the grandkids got presents.
ReplyDeleteAt any stage did the asphalt company suggest it wasn't a good idea to lay new asphalt over old without excavating the old? I am thinking it could possibly be more weight on a water table. I agree with Stew that it is better to wait mentioning payment (or not) until the company has been to investigate otherwise you are putting them on the back foot. Hopefully they won't have to excavate to rectify the problems. Audrey BTW, we only buy for the grandkids (and great-grandkids) now and the older grandkids only ever want money or prezzy cards these days.
ReplyDeleteJust give everyone a $20 gift card
ReplyDeleteI buy for my kids and grandkids but not heaps. But then I have 3 kids and 6 grandkids!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful sight to see as you drive in....the tree and the lights are beautiful 😍
ReplyDeleteDouble shifts the last few days, it's hot and it's nearly killed me. 😫
We had an iPhone upgrade and I have not been able to comment using my phone ever since. On my end, it looks like it takes, but on your end, I suspect they are not going thru. That might be the issue with low volume comments.
ReplyDeleteI am still fretting over the piddling driveway. If it freezes where you are that could cause cracks, expansion, and pot holes. And if it doesn't freeze where you are - I still think the water is problematic, it could cause erosion from underneath / inside etc....
ReplyDeleteOn my moms side we have exchanged only handmade ornaments, we have also had adults exchange names and set an extremely small spending limit for each of the kids. My dads side, but for the kids and the adults have to bring one gift (females bring a female gift and males bring a male gift) with a spending limit
ReplyDeleteI think you probably need a get a second opinion on the driveway.
ReplyDeleteThe water thing is both crazy and very scary.
I am also worried about the mixture they used in general, from the pictures it looks very gravel-y. Maybe it is a difference in weather/areas, but it seems like it should be more solid. I think that is part of why the edges are so frayed looking.
So sorry you have had such a time of it.