P&O Cruisers - What are things like where YOU are?

[Josy1953]

I had a very welcome text on my phone when I got up.  My niece's  husband has said that he will take the children to school this morning so that I don't need to go out in this foul weather.

Sometimes it is the little things that mean a lot.

[DamianG]

10 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Our news is that today we both retired ....

It's been an emotional time but now chilling amidst the many Champagne bottles we've been given. 

Cheaper holidays here we come ....

How lovely and what great timing on your part. Christmas to celebrate and a Caribbean cruise to look forward to in the new year, fantastic!

Congratulations to both of you.

[kalos]

Morning it's 9.c and the high winds have settled down somewhat.

I know your expecting a joke about retired pensioners but non of them work.

Being retired is a good job and you know your doing it right when all the days

seem to merge ,so much fun you ask yourself "what day is it ?"

 

Good news for those who dislike dark mornings .. It's getting a bit more light 

from today 😃

 

Have a good day 🙂

[Josy1953]

Thanks for reminding me that the mornings are going to get a bit lighter.  I hate driving when it is dark, I always manage to meet oncoming traffic who don't realise that full beam dazzles the drivers coming from the opposite direction. 

Since I retired until the last few months I stayed at home until it got light but I don't think the school would accept my niece's children going in late just to suit my dislike of driving in the dark.

[P&O SUE]

10 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

Almost 14 years for us Phil and it's still good. The best job we've ever had☺️

Avril

My mum gets more pension than I get in wages!! 

[P&O SUE]

11 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Our news is that today we both retired ....

It's been an emotional time but now chilling amidst the many Champagne bottles we've been given. 

Cheaper holidays here we come ....

Happy retirement! Not jealous at all…,

[P&O SUE]

8 hours ago, Ardennais said:

Best wishes for a very happy retirement.  I know full well that teaching is great but restrictive in terms of choosing your own holiday dates, which I’ve been able to do in my new job since leaving teaching in 2019. Not close to being ready to retire though! 

After 30 years in teaching my sister now works part time in a library! She loves been able to holiday outside of August! 
 

She’s also got involved with teaching adults to read arranged by the library.

[P&O SUE]

2 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

I had a very welcome text on my phone when I got up.  My niece's  husband has said that he will take the children to school this morning so that I don't need to go out in this foul weather.

Sometimes it is the little things that mean a lot.

Wow, I’m surprised they’re still in school. Round here most schools broke up Tuesday/Wednesday.

[P&O SUE]

Morning all, after today I have 5 days off. I’m looking forward to Christmas Day itself as we’ll be all together at our son’s. Mum, John and I, my sister and her husband.

 

Then we have the task of getting everything together for mum’s move on the 29th! I’ve got some stick on name labels from good old Amazon!

 

Hope everyone has a lovely day spent the way they want to.

[Josy1953]

1 minute ago, P&O SUE said:

Wow, I’m surprised they’re still in school. Round here most schools broke up Tuesday/Wednesday.

They finish at 13:10 today so only a half day. 

I have spoken to their dad because when their mum was alive we always took mum and the children out for dinner on the last day of term so I had booked to take them out for lunch today,  he said that he knew because they told him this morning that we were picking them up to go for lunch.

[Eddie99]

14 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Morning all, after today I have 5 days off. I’m looking forward to Christmas Day itself as we’ll be all together at our son’s. Mum, John and I, my sister and her husband.

 

Then we have the task of getting everything together for mum’s move on the 29th! I’ve got some stick on name labels from good old Amazon!

 

Hope everyone has a lovely day spent the way they want to.

That sounds lovely!

 

Yes, I remember fixing name labels in my Mum’s clothing & belongings & thinking that life goes round in circles.  It didn’t seem that long since I’d been doing it for my children’s school stuff

 

Next year you’ll have the fun of the care home Xmas party.  I still smile remembering seeing Father Christmas give one old duck a parcel, carefully explain that it was his special present to her, only to have the reply “Alright.  Now b*gger off!”.  Bless them.  But they were lovely do’s, with singing and mince pies and the staff’s children helping out and having fun.  

[Eddie99]

12 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Our news is that today we both retired ....

It's been an emotional time but now chilling amidst the many Champagne bottles we've been given. 

Cheaper holidays here we come ....

ENJOY! 🎉 

 

It will take you a little while to adjust.  There’s a period where you can’t really believe you don’t have to get up and go to work - that it’s all a lovely dream.  Then you settle into your contented retirement and wonder how you ever fitted work in to your new, busy schedule

[Eddie99]

15 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Good evening.

It is our Sarah's birthday on Christmas eve and I am bringing her to ours on Christmas day and she will stay at ours.

Pauline has the table all ready.

A special Happy Birthday to your Sarah from me Graham.  🎂. 
We Xmas birthdays have to stick together

I’m sure you’ll all have a wonderful time

[indiana123]

Sometimes we look at the calendar and moan as we have booked too many things.  Sometimes we ask each other what we have planned and the answer is 'nothing'.  BUT the most asked question is "what day is it?" 

 

(That is apart from "Now what did I come in this room for!")

[bobstheboy]

Many congratulations to you both. The best decision I ever made 27 years ago.

[Eddie99]

Apparently, because of leap years and 365 and a quarter day revolutions, the solstice this year is today, 22nd, not 21st as we generally think 

So

[mrsgoggins]

15 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Good evening.

It is our Sarah's birthday on Christmas eve and I am bringing her to ours on Christmas day and she will stay at ours.

Pauline has the table all ready.

 

That all looks fabulous and so inviting Graham!

 

It's DH's birthday on Christmas Eve and we are going out for lunch to our favourite Italian restaurant.  Christmas Day is spent with our son and family.  His DW is vegetarian, so I cook the turkey crown and a veggie main and set off 40 miles up the M6.  The turkey will be well rested by then!

 

Good wishes to all whose lives I follow on here, those who are semi-lurkers (like myself) and also full-time lurkers.  A happy, healthy and peaceful Christmas and New Year to all.

[Adawn47]

59 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

My mum gets more pension than I get in wages!! 

I have to admit that we're better off being retired, but we had to plan for it. It also helps not having any travel costs either☺️

Avril

[lincslady]

Thank goodness for the shortest day having arrived.

 

Re clothes in a care home - when I had respite care for a few weeks, and it applied to everybody, they put a little button with the room number on it to identify you, no need for tapes.  I would have thought this was usual practice, and they are not a nuisance - just a bit hard to get off when you no longer need them!

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, Adawn47 said:

I have to admit that we're better off being retired, but we had to plan for it. It also helps not having any travel costs either☺️

Avril

The main reason is of course that those not working do not pay NI contributions, nor do they need to pay any pension contributions.

[twotravellersLondon]

For those who weren't with the 5,000+ folk from all over the country in the Albert Hall for the Carol Concert yesterday evening... those of us who were there were encouraged to photo and video some of the performance and pass on the joy to others.

 

 

 

 

[Adawn47]

46 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

A special Happy Birthday to your Sarah from me Graham.  🎂. 
We Xmas birthdays have to stick together

I’m sure you’ll all have a wonderful time

My youngest grandson will be 27 on Christmas Day, so that's another one for your list.

Avril

[Splice the mainbrace]

Wind as moderated somewhat after being strong all day yesterday, our neighbours are having to redo their outside Christmas lights.

 

I met up with ex work colleagues yesterday for a Christmas drink and it was exactly 5 years since I retired ( I don’t know where the time has gone). The work place has changed so much since covid with very flexible working days in the office and when hours are worked. Also they now ‘hot desk’ where you don’t have your own desk, to me part of making going to work more bare able was having a desk that was yours arranged to your own liking with personal items permanently around you.

 

One negative thing that retirement has brought me is laziness, when I worked I planned and did at the weekends tasks in my free time, now I put things off knowing I could do things at any time but often put it off and off 😃 Oh another thing is that I worry more about things as I have more time to think about them, when working it was very busy at work and at home where there was little time to think and contemplate things. Everything else though 👍

[ohnonotmeagain]

I don't come on "here" as much as I used to, so just catching up with everything......goodness a lot has been going on,  both good, bad and utterly dreadful!

Anyway wishing everyone a Happy Christmas 🎄  and hope next year everyone's dreams and wishes come true. 

Love to you all ❤️

[Josy1953]

1 hour ago, P&O SUE said:

My mum gets more pension than I get in wages!! 

Sue, I think that is true of a lot of pensioners particularly those of us who were part of a final salary pension scheme. I feel sorry for the younger people who are going to have to work longer and won't get such good pensions at the end.