It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Off Topic Chat

BK5 · 03-06-2026 07:57AM

@Posy and @appledrop, I'm in Ashbourne so not too far away, must have gone into a deep sleep.

Up early this morning and dropped my Dad into the Mater, he is getting surgery to remove a small section of his bowel, unfortunately cancer was detected, but after scans etc they seem confident he should be fine and bowel cancer is not the worst to react to treatment so he should be okay 🤞

My poor sister is a real worrier, she's worried about Dad and has a daughter starting the Junior Cert today, she's a wreck, poor thing.

Best of luck to anyone starting exams today 🍀

CheerLouth · 03-06-2026 09:59AM

Hope your Dad will have a swift recovery @BK5

Jude13 · 03-06-2026 10:06AM

@BK5 best of luck to your Dad, mine had about 1.5ft taken out, plus some colon that was just after Christmas. All tests have been good since then so he will hopefully have the Stoma bag off this summer.

BK5 · 03-06-2026 12:36PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124520532#Comment_124520532

From what we've gathered Dad is only getting a small section removed so won't need a stoma bag, just needs observing after for infections and his system starts working agian. Should be in for about a week.

Hope your Dad is going from strength to strength in his recovery.

Jude13 · 03-06-2026 02:16PM

Good to hear your Dad won't need the stoma bag. Not to be mean but my Dad is a miracle that he is around, he has never looked after himself. First heart attack at 42, stents and bypasses to beat the band over 30 years, none of that was enough of a wake up call to stop with the pints and loose the belly. This latest incident, at 76, scared the crap out of him (pun intended). He lost the weight or they wouldn't operate, and is being well behaved to ensure that the Stoma can be reversed.

I hope your Dad is in and out in a flash.

Cork Lass · 03-06-2026 05:34PM

Hope your dad makes a full and speedy recovery @BK5 and good luck to everyone with kids doing exams.

tscul32 · 03-06-2026 06:02PM

@BK5 what was my dad 2 years ago, still fine now, cancer hasn't made a reappearance yet.

LC started here today too for the middle elf. Be glad when it's over.

DvB · 03-06-2026 06:18PM

Hope everything works out for the best @BK5

My 2 started their JC today, think the Mrs was more stressed than they were.

freshpopcorn · 03-06-2026 06:30PM

We'll nearly be back in season!

BK5 · 03-06-2026 06:52PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124521193#Comment_124521193

My Dad is also 76, he'll be 77 next week. Have to say he is very robust for his age, he has only spent 1 night in hospital in his entire life and that was after getting his prostate removed. He wasn't even born in a hospital.

Anyway his surgery has gone well and he had a short phone call with my sister a while ago so hopefully he recovers well now, I think the fact he has to spend 5 to 10 days in hospital more a pain than the actual surgery.

Good to hear your Dad has improved his lifestyle lately, may he have many more years.

BK5 · 03-06-2026 06:53PM

Thanks very much to all of you for the kind messages ❤️

Jude13 · 04-06-2026 06:29AM

@BK5 great to hear he is out and recovering.

@freshpopcorn nail on the head, I still have a cart load of Temu Halloween decorations waiting. Between getting stuff delivered on amazon and my recent flight I think I will bin them off as we have enough plastic in our lives. I could do with a good scary movie, has anyone watched Scream 7? Scream 1 is in my top 10 movies ever, it came out when I was about 14 and got me into horror movies like the Thing etc.

DvB · 04-06-2026 07:21AM

Watched 'Abigail' on netflix last night, wasn't expecting much but it was a decent watch to be fair, especially for anyone who likes a vampire flick!

Was filmed in Dublin too, some very recognizable landmarks in it.

Aisling(",) · 04-06-2026 09:10AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124522749#Comment_124522749

Scream 1 is perfection. Scream 7 is god awful. I still enjoyed it but it is not a good film!

If you've not seen them I'd recommend Sinister and Sinister 2 for something that will keep you on edge. They seem to have flown under the radar a bit for most people.I watched the Black Phone 1 and 2 recently and enjoyed.

I'm doing a bit of a summerween plan at the moment. So I've lined up the Lost Boys, American Horror Story: 1984, Pet Semetary, Summer of 84 (not seen this one before) and maybe the first few paranormal activites because I've not seen them in donkeys.

I'm trying to catch backrooms and obsession before they go out of the cinema too.

With decorations you can make a lot if you're a little bit crafty.We have a Halloween party every year so it's kind of our thing.We made graves out of some left over plywood and the ghouls were two pieces of wood, a pool noodle, a foam head and some painters tarps. The pallet (that we call the gates to hell) was just what the plywood came on.The lights we've had for years and they get used for everything!

I think this year we're going to make an arch out of some wood and expanding foam with bones and stuff into it to look like an ossuary entrance think if I do it in three pieces it'll be easy to store if I strap it to the rafters of the shed….

Princess Calla · 04-06-2026 09:51AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124522960#Comment_124522960

That's class....love the lights.

My diy crafts are faces painted onto milk bottles with glo sticks inside......I may need to up my game 😅

Posy · 04-06-2026 03:53PM

Any word on your dad, @BK5 ? Has he had his op yet? Fingers crossed he has a swift recovery.

Horrible clammy weather to be stuck in hospital for- the air con in work has packed in and it's horrible. 😑 But at least I can run out of the building once it hits 5pm!

freshpopcorn · 04-06-2026 04:36PM

Just got caught up on the thread. I like to keep it for a treat.

@Jude13 Hope things have settled down where you are.

@Cork Lass Hope your recovering well from your surgery.

@Smell the glove Congratulations on your bundle of joy.

@DvB It's great you've the mortgage paid off now. You'll have extra to buy Christmas decorations.

@tscul32 Well done on finishing your masters.

@BK5 Hope your dad is recovering well.

I have noticed TRS30 stopped posting also.

Sorry for anybody I missed with news. I deleted my post last night and had to start again.

Other topics I missed.

I don't think World Book Day was really done much when I was at school. I would have wanted to go Christmas themed if it was.

On social media I blocked loads of politcians and news sites. My news is mainly made up of Christmas, cats and old and new TV programs I enjoy. If I want to read the news I read the news.

Nothing really exciting happened over the past few months.

We're doing a major tidy up outside our house. Also getting new window and doors later in the year. No idea how the wreath is going to go on the new door.

The year is certainly flying by only one more Christmas free month now technically. Weather hasn't being great. Hopefully the Summer picks up.

Good luck to anybody doing Exams.

I'll finish by saying I'll try and keep more up to date with the tread & I'll show ye the Easter Decorations.

BK5 · 04-06-2026 05:45PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124524145#Comment_124524145

Hi Posy. Yes, he had the op yesterday morning and he rang us this afternoon and he was in good form all things considered, he's tired and sore but not in any pain. On liquids at present, so we'll see in the next few days how well he recovers and his timeframe for getting home.

Thought there was a little chilly wind about today and this morning and I thought - will this Winter ever end?

BK5 · 04-06-2026 05:48PM

Hi @freshpopcorn , Dad is doing well as can be expected, thank you.

You say only one more Christmas free month, do you mean June or July? Because you can always watch the Christmas in July movies that will be on the Hallmark and Great TV channels if you're into those movies. My brother's wife watches them and it drives him mental ha ha.

DvB · 04-06-2026 06:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124524475#Comment_124524475

Was on site earlier & got soaked with sideways rain… it definitely felt closer to einter than it had any right to.

Was the same in westport yesterday, wet, wet, wet.

Cork Lass · 04-06-2026 07:05PM

Thanks for asking @freshpopcorn , my recovery is going really well and I’m absolutely delighted with myself 😀.

freshpopcorn · 04-06-2026 07:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124524488#Comment_124524488

I was going to say no Christmas free months because the Harrods often open their Christmas Shop in July. However my countdown generally goes around the Brown Thomas Christmas Christmas Shop.

Another good point about the Movie channel.

BK5 · 07-06-2026 08:53AM

Hope everyone is having a good weekend, Dad's is recovering well and is really hoping he is discharged tomorrow, he wants his own bed and surroundings now.

What is up with the weather this year? We put the heating on for an hour on Friday evening and nearly put it on last night as well. I ended up putting on a light jumper. I've always said I'd love a place in Spain and it's weather like this that convinces you to go for it.

Princess Calla · 07-06-2026 10:17AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124530444#Comment_124530444

Glad he's doing well. He's right to want to get out as fast as possible.

My sister has semi retired to Spain....she keeps her cards close to her chest so none of us really know what she's up to......so she has zero fear of visitors 😂😂 gotta love families 😅

freshpopcorn · 07-06-2026 11:47AM

It's mad to think that in two weeks it will be the longest day of the year!

DvB · 07-06-2026 05:43PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124530726#Comment_124530726

mad to think Tuesday & we're into the 100's on the countdown. We're very close to half way now.

L1011 · 07-06-2026 05:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124531716#Comment_124531716

I'm booking my leave tomorrow to go to the Donegal house for the solstice and bonfire night (Johns Eve) - that's basically the start of the run to Christmas for me

DenMan · 07-06-2026 11:17PM

Hey guys, hope you're all keeping well. It's hard to believe we're into June already and this time two weeks it's the Summer Solstice. That's scary, this year is truly warping by. We've plenty of milestones to reach before we're into December, so let's enjoy the journey. ☺️

CheerLouth · 08-06-2026 11:08AM

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! Hard to believe that this is the second last full week of the school year! Time has gone so fast this year - even Jan/Feb which were a year long each!

I defrosted my freezer yesterday which always feels like a Christmas job 😅

leahyl · 08-06-2026 11:35AM

Good morning all! I'm afraid I haven't been keeping up with this thread for the last while so have no clue what's going on with people. Moved in my house on May bank holiday so here a month already…..going good, bit strange initially, had lived at home for nearly 41 years so…..! But delighted to have my own space. Already freaking that I won't have space for a nice size Christmas tree in my living room!😀

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Off Topic Chat

Comments

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" Charles Dickens

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" Charles Dickens