Tag: Christmas

Christmas in Sept.

Would you believe that on the very day that TR spotted his first Christmas tree of 2013 sparkling away in the top floor window of a local high-rise that I received a Christmas present from 2012!

Let me explain …

As I’ve mentioned previously on these pages I’d never win an audition for one of Snow White’s 7 dwarfs, (I would however make an excellent Prince Charming, but that of course is just my opinion)

No, I’m much too tall for that and happily leave those roles to shall we say the vertically challenged. Continue reading “Christmas in Sept.”

Halfway between Christmas and New Year

Half between Christmas and New Year and more than half the contents of the fridge are used up, with some waiting to be used as leftovers. It is a bit of a juggling act, balancing the nutritional needs of the family and occasional special dietary requirements, against other commitments and time factors dictated by ‘use by’ dates!
Today I checked all the dates, and promptly made trifle to use up the special custard I had bought for the purpose. We haven’t yet needed the gammon (but it will be used on Friday).

I haven’t been food shopping for a week, unless you count the dash for milk yesterday. My current guest left this morning and new ones arrive tomorrow. Today I have a long list of things to do. Bed linen changeover will be tight. A new menu plan needs to be devised and shopped for.

Why am I blogging?

Until yesterday we hadn’t seen sunshine for days: then about 3pm a slant of sunshine slipped in, to light up my front door – via a reflection in my neighbour’s window. How strange. The sun goes down behind the house and the front door only usually sees the sun early in the morning. I was lucky to see it. I just popped out to collect something from the car.

House guest

It’s strange isn’t it, how an additional person in the home can change the whole dynamic of the household? And in this household we have two additional personalities at the moment…. Pippi Long Stocking (the kitten’s screen name) and Milly (Mother-in-Law’s pseudonym)

Pippi is climbing curtains/ investigating everything/ catching mouse wires / being totally endearing and Milly is being Milly, advising, in her own specific way on how we should be dealing with these and various other issues /helping to decide on the viewing schedules and various other aspects of household management. And like any good daughter-in-law/ wife / mother/ etc I’m doing my best to keep the balance in the household by accommodating what I can and only standing up to what I feel it is necessary to stand up to.

So it is, we have had to have Eastenders on for the last few nights.

Eastenders, for the uninitiated, is a soap opera of the lowest order. And as Milly is a woman of the highest order, I simply can not understand how she could be so addicted to this violent program where no one is nice to anyone else, everyone has a foul, loud mouth and the relationships are fickle and adulterous. I can’t bear it.

Last night was OK. I found things to do in the kitchen. Any minute now I may have to find more things to do in the kitchen… having missed it on TV she’s watching it on her laptop!!!

I have, however found a good treatment for the curtain climbing cat. I have filled a hand held sprayer with water. Scout has been very anxious to use it, but Pippi avoided the curtains until just now, and just now he’s gone up to his room, so when Pippi climbed the curtains – it was up to me….. and let me tell you, the water spray had just the right effect.
Very satisfying.

I have decided on tomorrow’s evening meal (gingered beef) and I plan to put it in the new slow cooker in the morning. But perhaps I can save morning time by a little judicious preparation now? At least until Eastenders is over?

Ghoulish

I know I’m slow… maybe it’s because I don’t watch much TV, but at the weekend I discovered that Cadbury are making and selling creme eggs now and colouring them differently, using green… and marketing them as ‘Screme Eggs’ for the Halloween market.
(I really don’t like Halloween anyway: I am appalled by the amount of tat produced and don’t want anything to do with ‘trick or treating’ having seen what it can do to elderly frail nerves.) Continue reading “Ghoulish”

Anyone for a mince pie?

I don’t have a Christmas card for any of you but do help yourself to a mince pie.  There’s Courvoisier cream or a dab of brandy butter to go with, if you like.

Merry Christmas to all the Charioteers and thanks for the laughs and the interesting views and debate over the year.

Sorry I haven’t had time to read more and make a bigger contribution over the last month or two but time has been in short supply.  Must try harder in New Year!

Best wishes for a happy and peaceful Christmas, however you choose to spend it. 😀