Christmas Pud

Christmas Day at Home
Like most other families, my Christmas wouldn't be complete without assembling toys with wordless instructions, drinking a fair amount of South African wine and Jack Daniels, and yelling. It felt like home.  Natalie enjoyed everything about the abundance of elfin charity...he really was a jollyold elf for the kiddo.Three story dollhouse, complete with dolls and furniture, coloring books, playdough and clay, Sylvanian cow family and caravan and My Little Pony etc and puzzles ad nauseum. I'm really hoping that she remembers this Christmas because this would be a great first Christmas to remember. My thanks to everyone who helped make this a great Christmas for the kiddo. Really. She's really happy and using her imagination in ways I hadn't seen yet.

I woke up first and was the ONLY one awake. Nat SLEPT IN!  It was nice having an hour to have coffee and read before the kid(s) woke up. When she did finally make it downstairs, immediately made a beeline for the house and she ignored all the lovely and might I say, gorgeously wrapped presents. Someone spent a lot of time wrapping those. I keed. Yeah, she ignored everything (read: us) for about twenty minutes and then eventually got around to opening a present. And then she wanted us to open them for her. This is so not my kid.

By the time it was time to get ready to leave for Brian and Ruth's house for Christmas dinner (1 pm) she still had several presents unopened. It wasn't like there was a bazillion presents... she just took her time with each one. Like I said, not my kid. No, I shouldn't say that... I've got the c-section scar and it's the holidays and all. She played with each toy before moving on to the next. The toy that got the most giggles out of her was the Toy Story Woody doll... the one with the removable hat. This Woody knows when his hat's missing  and when he's wearing it. She quite enjoyed tormenting Woody by giving the hat to him and then snatching it away. Tons of giggles. So I guess she really is my kid.

Christmas at Ruth's
Who wouldn't want to spend part of Christmas Day at the Hostess with the Mostest's house? Ruth is awesome! She put on the traditional English Christmas dinner: turkey, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, mashed turnips,  roast parsnips, cranberry sauce, steamed carrots, steamed Brussels sprouts with minty peas, Yorkshire pudding, GRAVY. And Christmas crackers. Yes, we wore the dinky, embarrassing, fun paper crowns after pulling the crackers... all through dinner. And I tried sherry! And I hate it!

I ate everything. Almost. But so worth it. I took the placename cards for our seats at the table. Have to have tangible momentoes, people.

Ruth's mother, Sue, and her mother's 'partner' Dave were there along with Dave's mother, Elsie who will be 100 in May...Lord willing. Elsie was really alert and with it the entire time. A little deaf but to be expected when we get that old.

I had a hard time keeping it together when Sue spoke. She's a very sweet, warm lady...used to be a Home Economics teacher. She just happens to talk like Terry Jones when he impersonates a woman. And given that Brian's name is Brian... well, I was a very good girl. I may have snorted enough once that I got a look from Sue and Dave but Dan says he didn't see or hear me be inappropriate.

And then there was Harvey. Ah, Harvey. I wanted to take him home... a big gentle yellow tub of a mixed-breed dog. When Harvey left to go home, Brian was all sad like. Me too. Harvey treated my feet like a well appreciated pillow. He was a great dog, only farted once.

And then there was Christmas pud. Pudding is not pudding like you, my fellow Americans, know pudding. This is not Bill Cosby pudding. It's pud, or dessert.

Sue: "Brian..." {I struggle to keep from quoting Monty Python} "...requested an Amaretto cheesecake for his Christmas pud."

Me: "Oh, what an interesting combination."

Sue: "Yes, since there's no recipe for Amaretto cheesecake, I've had to make it up."

I almost vomited in my mouth a bit but again, I'm on my best behavior.

Me: "Is that so?"

Sue: "Mmm, yes. So I asked him before I started baking it if he wanted it in the base or in the cheesecake part. You know, the amaretto? And he said yes. So it's a very rich cheesecake, lots of alcohol. Would Natalie like some jelly? I think you call it Jello?"

Me: "Sure. She likes jello."

It wasn't jello. Because Ruth and Sue are vegetarians, they don't keep gelatin around. So the jello wasn't jello, and the cheesecake wasn't your normal cheesecake.

But that cheesecake was the best cheesecake I've ever had and I really don't like cheesecake. And the traditional Christmas Pudding was pretty good too, and I don't like fruitcake either. It had brandy custard to drown it with. Aaaaaaah.

As we're eating, the Queen's Christmas Day Message comes on and since we're in the middle of eating, no one stops to go to the telly. Instead we turn on the radio to listen to it. You can read it for yourself. I was amused by the link that was created between King James VI of Scotland and the recent Paralympics...

And because Ruth is class, she had pressies ready for us after dinner. A Peppa Pig book and color pencils for Natalie and an assortment of tea for us. And because Sue is class, as she is Ruth's mum, she had a pressie for us too! A nice bottle of a French red. Wine is her thing and she remembered that we liked wine from the first time we met.

I'm so happy that I got to spend the day with these people.


Boxing Day at Low's
It has been a long (but not really long) time since we've been able to spend time with Paul and Sonia. Paul's been traveling for work and Sonia's time is taken up by her job's extra duties (Form Tutor) as well as being mom to Melissa. So it was a lovely surprise when Dan asked if I wanted to spend Boxing Day with  the Lows. Paul picked us up because, lovely of lovlies, the damn buses don't run on Christmas Day OR the day after, Boxing Day.

There was another couple there who have a son the same age as Melissa, @ 18 months. Natalie didn't really play with the two, but she entertained herself just fine as usual.

The Lows made salad and mini-baked potatoes for lunch. Now, Sonia's French and Paul's Australian, so this lunch seemed to be a really interesting combination of the two cultures... They set up an indoor electric raclette in the middle of the table. There was sliced onions and peppers, deli sliced ham, prosciutto, and salami, and a soft cheese to melt and put on the potatoes. The organization and activity of this meal was the best part of the meal. Until the pud came out. It was a Christmas Log, which is this chocolate cake with vanilla cream and chocolate frosting that's rolled up. Looks like a Swiss roll.

I WANT A RACLETTE! Seriously... I haven't had that much fun eating since I ate a deep fried Oreo at the Texas State Fair in 2003 or 2004.

The Lows also had a present for us and one for Natalie.   I feel like a schmuck, because I didn't have anything for R&B and I didn't have anything for S&P. Yeah, yeah... I know that I don't have to get people presents just because they get me presents. But I also know that I have to get people presents who give me presents and I because happen to like those people. I just wasn't thinking clearly.

So, summary:
Good Christmas? Yesh.
Want to come home? Yesh.
Hate it here? Sometimesh. And having increase in the frequency of black episodes.
Miss people? Shure.
Bored? Oh dear God, yes.
Hungry? Yup. Imma go see if there's pud.

I have to share this... it's just too dang good.

I follow a blog called Sisters authored by this amazing photographer. He did this for his girls.

It's a bit late for me to do this this year, but I've bookmarked it and I think I'll get it going next year. You can do one for any age group and it's really personalized. No, I'm not getting any money for talking about it.

Another blog I follow, Calling People Names is also amazing; she's not a photographer, but she's really really funny. She did Elf on the Shelf with her daughter. Again, too late for me this year, but when I find the Elf on the Shelf, I'll probably do that with Natalie too.

Combining the best of both worlds, technology and paper. Whatever reaches kids, I guess, lets us say that the ends justify the means.

Alan is recognized

Met Alan today. He's the proud owner of two Westies. He lives around the corner from us, with his wife Jan. Natalie absolutely loves those dogs. They hang out in their windows and if we have the trolley (hand cart for groceries) they will bark their fool heads off. They won't bark if we don't have the trolley! They also are quite fierce to anyone wearing red... which means they go after the Post man as he walks by.

How did I meet Alan? Formally? On the bus. I think that one day, while Natalie was throwing a fit on the sidewalk, he walked by and asked if she was okay. This was back in August.

He was very funny and sadly, because I didn't have a thing to write with or on, I can't remember what he said so that I can share with you. We did talk about his Westies (Flora and Bella) are handling the weather and lack of outdoor exercise. We talked about how convenient Langley Moor is as far as its location and amenities. We got off the bus at the same stop and he walked with me as far as the Tesco. It was there that I introduced myself finally.

The bus today was of middling size, so for the Durham to Brandon loop, which Langley Moor is on, it's a bit small. I was one of the first people on, so I got prime real estate location; up front, with leg room. The bus filled up and of course I was going to have to share my seat. No objections there...except that your seat partner may smell or be offensive in some other way. One of the last passengers to get on the bus, second to last even, was this gentleman who looked vaguely familiar. He had kind eyes. I would rather have him sit with me with his three small bags than the harried tight-eyed woman with the mean mouth and the overstuffed, over large bag containing her Christmas shopping. He was surprised that I moved over and called me "duck".

So I started to talk to him. Thank God I'm not too far gone in my head that I can still reach out and make the small connections. After asking if those were his dogs, I told him that Natalie loves looking to see if the 'puppies' (they're full grown but small dogs) are in the window. He chuckled of course. Everyone laughs at my three year old, but in a good way. He seemed pleased to be recognized.  I think we're all pleased when we're recognized by others...Not in the creepy stalker way, just in the fact that there's something that about me that you remembered as you observed me passing through a corner of your life

***

I had a pre-Christmas drinky in the pub today with Ruth. Originally we thought to meet for coffee at Joannie's Cafe, but why kid ourselves? As I was leaving to go run my errands, the two gentlemen two tables over wished us a Happy Christmas. Then one of them asked me if I was Canadian since I sounded Canadian. That's a first. Usually, I get Australian. Go figure. Anyways, I said no, that I was from Oklahoma. And he'd never heard of it. This is a first too. Sometimes I get people who don't know where it is, but they immediately begin belching out the glorious state song, "Oklahoma". So I do what I normally do when the person doesn't know where it is...I ask them, 'do you know where Texas is?' He didn't know that either. So I asked, 'you know the Gulf of Mexico?' A vague apprehensive look, but eventually affirmative.

Me: "Okay {gestures to the side} Here's the Gulf. {raise hand} Here's Texas. {raise hand further} Here's Oklahoma."

The Guy's Friend who's been very quiet: "He knew where it is, pet. I know where it is too. Happy Christmas, ladies."

I LOVE GEORDIES AND THEIR NICKNAMES FOR WOMEN!

Also, I think that Ruth may have had a slight fear/intimidation issue with Peter from the pub which is why I never saw her there before. But now, since I've basically explained about Peter to her (and Brian), we may have more meet-ups in the pub, her and me.

Blueberries, More Snow, and a Day Trip to Newcastle

8:45 am:
Hopefully, in what has amounted to be an epically frustrating half year, today will be the last step I am required to complete in becoming a teacher here. We're off to Newcastle to take in ONE piece of paper that MUST be seen IN PERSON by the minions of the supply agency.

As the Mad Hatter said to Alice, I've lost much of my muchness. Where the hell is my Vorpal Sword? All these Jabberwockys are crushing. Frabjous Day is coming.


EDIT (8:15 pm):
Received phone call not too much longer after I originally posted the above. Due to snow, no one would be in the office, so... I didn't need to bring the paper, I can just mail it.  It was really nice of the girl to call me. We ended up going anyways still. Dan wanted to go to the IKEA store.  Still looking for a couch. I hate IKEA.

Still feel like this is Wonderland... things are ever so slightly different here and also ever so slightly different from town to town. TIL that the Metro in Newcastle does not really go to the MetroCentre. And that the Metro is not the same as the MetroCentre. That the MetroCentre is so big, that there's a special bus to transport people from one store to another.

If you prefer my Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows type of posts, then quit reading. I don't care.

Since you're still reading, then I'm happy to answer your question of "how are you?" You know, if we talked on the phone? Instead of lying and saying, "fine, thanks," this is what I'd say to you. Still feel like I'm fighting imaginary but metaphorical monsters with inadequate weapons. Or that I'm encased in jello; I don't get as much done in a day as I used to. And when I do it, it takes an inappropriately long time to get done.  And maybe I'll get distracted and my tasks aren't even accomplished. So it builds up and ultimately, right now, here sucks.

We saw Peppa Pig!

It really was a spur of the moment, sign catching the corner of my eye kind of thing. No pomp and circumstance, just queue up and take a picture when it's your turn. 

And did I get a picture of Natalie hugging Peppa? No, because the throng of waiting little girls intimidated me. So instead, we get to cherish a picture of Peppa smashing Natalie's head down. C'est la vie.

Banned from Wetherspoon's.

More so here than back home, is the following: Christmas work party. I've been to at least one work party of Monroney's faculty and staff and I may have attended others. Usually they're held at the home of a faculty member and it can be surreal visiting the home of someone you see everyday but don't know that well. I don't remember many of these parties very well, mainly I guess because nothing much happened that was memorable. And the people were people I saw nearly every day. Nearly, because some days, you don't always see each faculty member that you work with. I'd like to think that I connected with everyone I worked with at least once, just so that I cannot be accused of ignoring some individuals. I think I've gotten off track already.

On Saturday, I met up with the crazies from the charity shop for our Christmas work party. Based on the adverts I've seen around , I suppose it's more common to have the work party at a restaurant/bar/pub. There are all sorts of incentives; lower prices if you book early, special menu, SPACE. Ours wasn't tame. Originally, the plan was to go to Wetherspoon's, the pub/restaurant next door to the shop. Easy to get to, everybody knows where it is, blah blah blah. And it's very reasonably priced and comfortable. Has a fireplace. I'm looking forward to it actually.

I text Laura to let her know I'm on my way. She replies that she'll be waiting for me at the station. I text back, pragmatic and all, "Nah, go on and get a table {smiley face}." because I know that being the Saturday before Christmas, things are likely to be busy. I arrive at the bus station, and there's Laura with her new boyfriend, and Lauren and John. This ticks me off. I want to yell at her, "For crying out loud, this is going to be a busy night and I'd like to be able to sit at a table and not stand because I'm wearing a pair of 3 inch stiletto boots and I'm not going to want to stand the entire night because these damn boots are already killing my knees!"

But what I said instead was, "Are we waiting for somebody?" Oh no, just me. Well, what are we waiting for, let's go across the street! Apparently, Wetherspoon's is off. Lee's been banned.

What? How does one go about getting banned from a chain pub? I'm not surprised, Lee's a bit of a meth-head to my mind. He's nice, but he's a spaz. They're all spazzes.  Here's how it happens that I don't get to go to Wetherspoon's and instead, have to go to Yates. Lee and Shelley get drunk at Wetherspoon's. They're kicked out for what must be inappropriate or anti-social behavior. They snuck back in, got kicked back out again. Lee then became mouthy with the manager.

To be fair, Yates has good deals too. And the road to hell is paved with them. And when one goes out to drink in the UK, one must think ahead. For instance, the press of bodies at the bar is unsavoury. I hate it. Every pub seems to be the same. People, mainly men, order their pints, receive them and then proceed to stay put. They don't leave. So it gets very crowded there and that's why you've got to think ahead. Otherwise, each time you're out of beverage, you've got to brave the throng of aging chavs. You could be in danger of spilling their pint if you keep going back and forth and no one wants to see that. It isn't pretty.

So, my version of thinking ahead is to get the big glass of wine, 250 mL. I leave with a glass... and the bottle. Well, why not? It was only £5.95. Not a bad deal. Especially if it prevents me from dealing with belligerent baldies. Seriously. They could see I was wanting to get to the till, but did they move even a shoulder? NO.

Really, I'm making this sound as if I had a ghastly time. I didn't. I had a lovely time.

Front row: Lauren and Lee
Back: Me, Shelley, Laura, and Laura's new beau, Matt
Not pictured: John, Chris, and Chris

Even if there was trauma drama going on between Lauren, Lee and Shelley, I still had a fun time out. How could I not?

But, because I'm the old lady of the club, I left at around 8:45. Mainly, because of my damn boots. I'm never wearing those again. And also because the youngins' wanted to go to Studio. Not my scene, really.

What do we miss if we never look up?

Upper Right Corner: Vengeful Dove! Puffin in lower left.

Recently I noticed two wooden birds above the windows of Bimbi's, the fish and chips restaurant in the market square.

Upper Left Corner: It's a puffin!

And then I saw this little guy above the entrance of the posh tea shoppe.

So, this made me wonder if there were others located around the square. Yes, there are.

I really can't tell what it is. Maybe a bird on its back?

A parrot and something else.

A Barclay's lemur. He likes to move it, move it.

The other Barclay's lemur.

Finding these, just discovering that they exist, made me disproportionately happy that day. And I also noticed that there were many empty brackets that are not specifically assigned to hanging baskets (which are evident in the spring). This makes me wonder if there were more of these fun gargoyles in the past, but for some reason, were taken down and never replaced. And I also wondered about the choices... Puffins are found on/around Lindisfarne so that makes sense and doves are ubiquitous representatives... but a parrot? A chameleon? Lemurs? What's their significance? Why were these animals chosen to observe the bustle of the marketplace?

I did go into the tea shoppe to ask about the chameleon. The manager said she'd never noticed he was there until she began to work in the shop and that she'd shopped in Durham for all her life. I've even mentioned the critters to a couple of people in the shop and was met with a few blank stares and raised eyebrows. So I'm going to go into the tourist center tomorrow and see if they have any info.

What else have I been missing? It has been @ 6.5 months here and I've just recently noticed these objets d'folk art? At least I have some company; there are others who've lived here their entire lives and don't know these wooden animals are watching them as they walk by.

Christmas Trad.

Your originally scheduled program will begin shortly. Please click on the links from today's sponsors. Please feel free to purchase any item with all major forms of laughter.

Christmas in the UK
I have found this group and this group shall be mine, and it'll be my group. Also, look for Gap Yah .Yah, do it... before I CHUNDER EVERYWHERE!  Oh mi gobdolly rocks! I had to clean my laptop... it is not wise to drink coffee whilst viewing this vid.

Newport State of Mind
You're really only going to get this if you know about Empire State of Mind. Or Newport. Or both.


Dan's off to LONDON this morning. After watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I don't think I can ever pronounce LONDON like I used to.

Working on my own version of Christmas activities here. We don't have cable, so we don't watch television and therefore will not be able to watch the Queen's Speech this year. (Okay, if you didn't click on the first link above, then you have no idea what I'm talking about...so stop now, go back, and click the damn link, Jabroni!)

Thank you.

So here's some Christmas trad for you. That's traditions, mate. Sorted.

Combine this with syrup and now you know why their turkeys always look so damn beautiful. 

Thanks to mom for sending me to Brownies. That's where I derived this activity.

My quarter. Done just to show Natalie what the point is.

So fierce is Natalie.

But cloves hurt tiny little fingers, so I ended up finishing it.

Happy National Lemon Cupcake Day.

I goofed. And on National Ice Cream and Violins Day too.

Okay, so.  Yeah. I made a deaf guy embarrassed about his spelling and embarrassed myself as well in the process. But I didn't mean to!  This guy owns the local florist shop where I bought this:

Decoration of mantel. No tree, but a lovely greenery piece. Christmas figures courtesy of SJB. 

Let's have some explanatory background, shall we?

When you see things that are obviously the Brrrrritish spelling, you can tell.... usually there's an extra 'u' in the word; colour, honour, etc. This I knew already when I moved here.

So, I was unprepared for 'tyre'. Even right now, blogger doesn't recognize Brrrrritish words as the correct spelling... yay for patriotic, xenophobic Google! Anyway...ahem.

Took me a bit to figure out what a tyre is. It's a tire. But when you say you're tired here, you don't use 'tyred'. I guess it is just another way to dichotomize. Kind of like saying 'haitch' instead of 'aitch' for the letter 'h' is indicative of which social class you're a part.

Right. So, I'm in the shop and I thought I'd make some conversation and portray myself as the person I'd like others to think I am: an interested person in others' culture. Because, really! I am! So it went down like this:

Me: I noticed your sign outside.

Guy: Oh, yes?

Me: Yeah, and I've wondered for a while, if you know, like wreath is spelled differently here?

Guy: Pardon?

Me: Well, you know...like how the tire (tyre, hee hee) is spelled with a 'y'. Back home we spell it with an 'i'.

 Guy: *stares at me* {Remember people, he's deaf?}

Me: *louder* YOU KNOW? YOU GOT THE WORD 'WREATH' ON YOUR SIGN OUTSIDE?

Guy: Ah. I suppose I misspelled it, then?

Me: Uh. I don't know?

***

Walking down the street today to get a fuse for the fuse/breaker box {that made for a fun morning} I saw his sign. It'd been edited. To say 'wreath' instead of 'wreth'.

It made me sad, I guess. I reckon that it'd've been neat to think that it is spelled sans 'a'.

***

Am also realizing that "Love Actually" has parts about it that aren't plot mechanisms to tell a story. Being the #1 music act for Christmas? That's real. Ant and Dec, the hosts on the MTV-ish show? They're real. Liam Neeson moving on after his wife's death? That's real too.

National Ding-a-Ling Day

Lunch at the Duke of Wellington... went to this posh pub just up the street on Friday 10th with Ruth.  Yes, same Ruth that is hostess with mostest. She's a great gal and can prolly drink me under the table. But just about anybody else can so that's not such a big accomplishment, really.

I had the Fisherman's Pie and green beans. Fisherman's Pie is the fishier version of Shepherd's Pie or Farmer's Pie. Instead of beef or lamb, it's fish. Topped off with a creamy white sauce, some mash (mashed potatoes), and cheese and all baked in one bowl... I didn't really need to eat dinner after.

Ruth and her husband Brian moved back from Australia in May, so they've also had the same experience of moving an entire life across the world. Only difference outside of it being Australia? They didn't do it with kids. They don't have any yet.

So, I really enjoyed myself and I don't think I got stupid drunk...so, one can say I continued my good work in trying to make a friend. Talked about everything one talks about when one is getting to know a new woman... husbands, kids, job issues, home-making, background information... It's the human equivalent of when dogs sniff each other's butts. I must have sounded (smelt) okay, because Ruth wants to have a girls' night out in Newcastle, so I can see just how hardcore these North East women are when it comes to plumage.

Wow, two animal references to describe women's behavior.

***

The snow is completely gone. Hung around for two weeks but in two days time, it melted clean gone. Even in our backyard which does not receive much sunlight. However, and this is a big however, there's more to come within the week. And Dan is back but goes to London later this week. Let's all keep fingers crossed that there'll be no problems with the de-icer trains.

The Scottish minister of transportation resigned because of the weather and how his department handled it. After reading related articles and comments from other readers, I'm thinking the Scottish are a big ol' bunch of babies. And that it is out of character, or is it?

***

I'm putting together small-ish boxes to send home to a select few. Would you be so kind as to tell me what items you think should go in said boxes? The theme is "Brrrrrrritish".  So far I've got Hobnobs, Digestives, Twinings tea, Trolley key chains, Marmite, and Christmas pudding.

In keeping with this theme, I've come across your Link of the Day.
ICONS

This has given me some ideas, but sadly, those ideas are items that can be purchased in the states. Scarcity is the ticket. Anyways, I definitely would appreciate some suggestions, if you think of them.

I so wish I was not a noob when it comes to the internet.

<

National Take It In the Ear Day

oh whatever that means!

Something interesting that I noticed...actually three things.

1) There are a variety of gargoyles in the market square. They are not typical gargoyles. They are birds. Little carven birds of a multitude of species. One would think that they are representative of the birds of the North East but when you notice the chameleon, you tend to change your mind. Pictures to follow soon.

2) I cannot upload a video on here to save my life at the same time while uploading to youtube. I hate this IP. If you've gone to my channel, it ain't on there yet. I'm working on it.

3) October and November each have 24 posts. I think to myself, wow. I could make that an actual thing each month.

Kept Natalie today *again* mainly because I'm a wuss when it comes to the two mile journey that takes 90 minutes to complete. Yes, we could walk, but the sidewalks are not cleared and there's hills and there's construction. So, must brave the elements and wait for the bus and hopefully, if it is convenient for the driver, be picked up in reasonable time frame. You will not believe how many buses are running routes, yet say they are Not In Service.

So why not take my P.O.S. car? Ladies and gentlemen, because I wish to make life a little more difficult. It's been declared SORN. Standard Off Road Notification. My wings are clipped. Please do not speak of this to us. It is not for discussion. Also, I felt it among the heights of idiocy to continue to pay tax on a car that is over 17 years old. I'd pay for a tag, but not tax. I'd pay for insurance, but not the fee to purchase insurance.  I want to rip some heads off. Again, this is not up for discussion. I'm merely enraged by the amount of circus one puts oneself through when owning a vehicle in this country.

***

My friend Lauren did some wonderful playing around with a picture that I posted here earlier... I share with you:

Lauren Helvey did all this.  I think that she made the picture something special. When is she going to start her own blog that I can follow and comment upon?  Thanks Lauren!

National Cotton Candy Day and National Remember Remember the Seventh of December.

Okay, I just made that last National Day up. But seriously folks, it caught me by surprise that today is December 7th. I can't remember the last time I didn't talk/learn/teach/listen to PSAs about 12-7-1941. Lemme tell ya, it ain't in the collective national consciousness here.

Today was the Tuesday performance of the Nursery/Reception classes' Nativity Play. Natalie is an angel and so that's what she was in the play. Hurka durr!

Doncha just love red-eyed pictures that capture the moment for eternal posterity?

I didn't go to today's performance because I was not assigned to today's performance. I'm assigned to the second one, on Thursday. Fine by me. They'll do better on Thursday. I'll be giving Dan's ticket away since he's in France. Hmmm... that's a gives me a good idea for the next poll.

Bought her a halo today, too late to be in the picture above. Found it in a card shop, so even though she didn't have it today, she'll have it for Thursday, the most important day. I told her it was an angel hat. She's currently sporting it while gazing intently into our hand-held mirror and speaking in a squeakier than normal voice.

Me: "What do you think about your halo?"

Nat: "My top! It's getting fluffy!"

True. Because it has little feathers that on it that obviously were taken from baby birds. Just so my kid can impersonate the heavenly host.

Been there, done that. When I was five-ish,  I attended a churchie school. Lutheran, maybe. Can't remember. Not important.  Anyway, I was a angel in that nativity play and I remember being ticked off that I didn't get the big speaking part. Gabriel.

It went to a girl who quite rightly (I know it now) should have it. I'm sure my mom and dad's memories are different... to them, she was a little kid who was probably mumbling or maybe she read with gusto. All I remember is falling on the damn stairs that they built to display all us kindergarteners so we could sing "Away in a Manger" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing".

Apparently, not so much in Church of England schools. Nope, in C of E, angels are klutzes... not soaring sopranos and reverberating tenors as only five year olds can phrase.

You can also see another video on my youtube channel. mbrueokie.

Good news: My FBI background check came in!  Thanks very much Fibbies! And now, I can finally work. And get paid. Doing what I enjoy.

National Wear Brown Shoes Day was also the day we visited Santa's Grotto.

Me: Hey kiddo, you wanna give them some money?
Her: No.

Kids playing a brass quartet...they were very good, even if she didn't want to hand over the 20p. I know, I know. I'm cheap. But back off, Antoni! It was all the loose change I had.

In line for seeing Santa.

Santa's house.

Much excitement! And rightly so! for £3, Natalie got good conversation with Santa, did not have to sit on his lap, and got a wrapped present that cost more than the entry fee.

That's what it's like here. Some things are exorbitantly priced and others, well, you get some damn fine value out of it.

Like the merry-go-round, for instance. At 80p a ride...

...that gets that big of a smile? Yeah, is definitely worth it.

Army band, I think. Can't be too sure, since they seem to be wearing Santa hats in lieu of the feathered berets I saw earlier. So refresh!

Hostess with the mostest, or how I learned to love adult parties.

Went to grownup Christmas party last night. I've never been to a party quite like it. Dan met Brian and Ruth at the pub.They invited him to sit with them since he was alone. Turns out, they've moved back here recently. They were living in Australia and moved back to the county in May... SAME AS US! Just kidding.

This couple were extremely charming and welcoming to us. They were absolutely lovely to Natalie. Every one of those couple's friends and family were just as charming and welcoming as they were. The family friend who also moonlights as a card was entertaining, verbose, and mildly vexing. But not for me. Seemed he was intent on setting things on fire with Chinese lantern balloons.

It was very relaxing, fun, impressive. I'm having a time of it trying to get started on this anecdote.

We walked there, so they're close by. Just down the High Street; southern edge of Langley Moor. Maybe another 100 yards, then it's Meadowfield. I'm digressing already. Damn.

They live in one of the row, terrace houses. Three floors. And almighty Hermione's handbag, the house is deceptively large. From the exterior, you wouldn't know that there was space for large couches and a 12 seater dining room table.

There was a tree in the front room's window, then another tree in the dining room, just as large. In the nook under the stairs there was a miniature tree, although still quite sizable too. It was sitting atop a buffet (maybe? could've been a dresser.)

I was mildly irritated that I had to take off my *new* boots when we entered. But I totally understand why we did. I wouldn't have wanted to mess up her house by any means. And with all the mucky slush on the way, well, I took them off without any fuss. But I had my embarrassment because I was wearing my old white and gray athletic socks and my new pants were petite cut so, I looked awful from midcalf down. However, I'm fairly certain the rest of me was fabu. Just going off of Dan's catcall when he saw me. I actually went out and bought a party shirt for the occasion. Sparkly top. Make-up. Earrings. Autumn would've been proud. Crap, digressing again. What I'm eventually getting to is the food. I'm a foodie. It's what I noticed.

There were COURSES. Maybe it'd be better for me to say what I'm used to first. That way, you'll understand hopefully?  Typical for standard party in my *youth* (I can't help but snicker at that) was a table shoved against a wall or a cluttered counter with large bowls of chips and/or pretzels, some confection of sweetness but only if it was a classy party. The iniquitable veggie tray and salsas and dips and quesos. Oh, and if I was feeling particulary Martha Stewarty, the lovely bacon and brown sugar wrapped wienies. All this largesse accompanied by the alcohol which was the main objective of our/my parties. Please know that I'm basically combining every party I attended since August 1997 until May 2010 into one so that I can recall what is tantamount to a trough or pasture. Moo.

 Some parties didn't even have tasty refreshments that crunched. I will say that up until now, the best parties were always the ones Autumn had. Am I right y'all? Yeah. Digressing. Just trying to say that I really like my friend's skills even though... can't go anywhere with this.

So, first we're greeted and asked if we'd like some mulled wine!

Me: I love mulled wine! We're so much alike!

Me in Real Life: "Oh yes, please. I love it!"

Then, there's this long table in the dining room with lots of platters that have really interesting looking things. I tried one of each because a good many weren't anything like what we serve at our parties. Here's a brief summary...of round one
Mini scotch eggs- this size is scrambled eggs, surrounded by sausage..then battered and deep fried. I think I mentioned deep fried Twinkies to my conversation companion at this point. All I got in return was "Huh? What's a Twinkie?"
Cheesy poufs- yes, seriously.
Twiglets- tasted like a burned oven scraping
Veggie quiche- didn't eat! Hate quiche.
Vegetarian sausage on toothpicks, with pickled cocktail pearl onions and cheese. - Liked the sausage, I'd serve it.
Ubiquitous vegetable tray- Everything was julienned. Weird. Nice. But weird.
Small bowls of Nacho Cheese Doritos- I couldn't believe it ! Where do you get this!
large tray of cherry tomatoes, green olives and Wensleydale cheese cubes on toothpicks.
Surrounded by Pringles, salt and vinger & sour cream and onion


And then, began round two....which is simultaneous but towards the end of round one.
Sausage rolls
Pizza
Cheese tray with 5 different artisan cheeses (THEY WERE ROUND AND HAD BITS!)
Along with a Camembert. Oh so very stinky.

And finally, but I'm sure there was more to come; we left as it was close to 10:30 pm.
Homemade gingerbread cookies. Dipped in Chocolate
Homemade mincemeat pie.

Now, all while this is happening, people are standing around talking in the various rooms of the ground floor, just having a great time in general. And I was one of them. Ruth, the hostess, between her hostessing duties and talking to her friends, went out of her way to make sure my glass was always full, that I was okay. She even had her high school friend (also named Ruth) follow me around so that I would not be cut off from adult conversation while watching my kiddo prance around in the front room. Friend Ruth was lovely to talk to. Cousin Hannah was presh, just presh. She has two boys, one around Natalie's age and was sorry she didn't bring him for Natalie to meet.  And then, when I told Hostess Ruth I was done for the night (she had asked me if I wanted to have a top off) she asked me if I would like a coffee and then asked me how I liked my coffee! Then she brought it to me after saying it might be about ten minutes since she had some things to sort out before... I dunno, I quit listening at that point. I was just blown away by someone asking me how I take my  coffee.

Then! As we're leaving because we know we've got a tired little girl (and who'm I kidding...tired mom) Hostess Ruth says, quite sincerely, that she was sorry she didn't get to talk to me more and wondered if I might like to go on a lunch for drinks arrangement?


Me: OH HELL YEAH! You betchur ass I'd love to go have a drinky with a classy dame like you! You're close to my age! You've Traveled. You seem sane!

Me in Real Life: "That would be absolutely lovely. I think we've got your phone number still, on the Tesco receipt."

Ruth: "And that's a ..."

Me stopped listening because Me was screaming,"YOU IDIOT! CAN'T YOU JUST SAY YES AND SHUT THE HELL UP GRACIOUSLY? TESCO RECEIPT?!", while I'm scrambling around the entry hall looking for all child related paraphenalia and transportables, scarves and hats.

Dan's standing there writing something on his trademark mini-books and handing the paper to Brian who very sweetly is not judging me. But I really think that an outsider watching that exchange would've also found a lot to laugh at.

I assume is my phone number for Brian to give to Ruth when she is no longer having to deal with slobbery Me. Slobbery is like when you're running around with your head cut off (chickens do) and you're looking for stuff so that you don't leave it behind. And you're also happy but anxious to make good impression on someone who has just invited you to their house and you don't know them and they don't know you but you feel like you owe it to them to hide the ugly. Because you've just met and all.

So I try to recoup. It didn't go well in my head.

Me in RL: "I'll give you a call this week. Natalie's school may be out because of the weather, but there might be a day when we can get together for lunch or drinks."

Ruth: "Oh Natalie should come...."

I quit listening. I gotta stop doing that because I don't recall conversations well when I respond to stuff that I only half listen to.

Me: Natalie should come? Oh lady. You don't have any kids. Ain't no way imma be rockin' dat sweet pint with her in the room.

Instead, what I said was,

Me in RL: "Sure thing! Sounds great!"

National Roof Over Your Head Day

   This accordion musician is usually to be found on the Silver St Bridge in rain, snow, or sun. I have always enjoyed hearing him playing, even if he doesn't play much variety. For me, is one of the things here that mean "Durham". Today, he wasn't playing his usual song. He was playing 'Frosty the Snowman'. IMMD!

And I'm grateful for that. And for potable water. And non-frozen sewer pipes. Our sewer pipe is exposed to the elements! So weird.

St Oswald's was open today and thank goodness. From the moment Natalie woke up, it was snap snap snap snap at mommy. Dan commented on it and got on to Nat for it. And you know what? I hadn't realized she was crabby until he said something and then it was BANG. I could see it then.  So we got out in good time, standing room only on the bus. Natalie was very good on the bus. She most always is.

I've taken a few pictures for you because it seems that I get more traffic when I have pictures than not.

First: Last night's dinner: Roast chicken, stuffing and BRUSSELS SPROUTS! Hey hey hey calm down now. This was a dinner of firsts: first time to roast chicken, first time to roast BrusSprouts, first time to use 15 pence stuffing. And it was very very very very very good!

No, that's a chicken. My oven is really small.

Apologies. I didn't get to my camera fast enough before Dan found the chicken.

This is the appropriate amount for two people and a 3 year old to consume.  But dear sweet goodness,  did I have gas later that night!

"Do you know what the word 'nada' means? In all those Mexican films you made, did you ever pick up what it means?" "Isn't it a light chicken gravy?"
Aah! I don't recommend the chicken Bisto. But beef Bisto ain't bad. I'd eat beef Bisto straight.

First clear day in a week.

Went shopping today. I had three objectives: purchase a coat, try on the boots at Clark's, get shoes for Natalie's nativity play. The place: Prince Bishops shopping mall.

Signs posted at intervals warned shoppers to beware of falling snow. There was music playing on outdoor speakers. Quite festive. At the end of this lane is Santa's Workshop.

National Fritters Day and Post 51. There be aliens here, yar!

CHEESE! Hurry up mom! Take the dang picture!

While grocery shopping at Tesco yesterday, I made two impulse purchases. You can see them above. We needed an advent calendar! And The Snowman DVD! The calendar was £1.99 I think, and The Snowman was only £6. What a deal!

What can I tell you? Another day of snow. Got the big fat flakes again! School is closed. I made fruit tarts and for dinner, I'm going to make a roast chicken, for the first time!

and yes, I did buy two so that I could save £3... I got another one that was priced £6! 

 I will take pictures of the process. This should be fun. I have project!  Even have recipe ready to go. SO EASY.

Today is Thursday, trash day. Think they'll come?

Our backyard is just as lovely as the front:

Day 6. Also known as National Pie Day and Eat a Red Apple Day.

It has snowed each day, off and on throughout the days. I'm glad Dan was able to make it back, but he leaves again at the end of the week to go back to Orsay. 

UK MSN has pictures posted by readers that are really beautiful. They're of the snowfall and the impact of it on the area. Much of the pictures are from the northern half of England and from Scotland. Looking forward to seeing some from the south, that is, if the snowfall gets to that area.

Well, today I believe I will get Natalie to her school. It is open today. I have a conference with her teacher too, this afternoon. We'll see how the weather pans out for us. We've had a great time playing outside; we made a castle that looks just like the top of Mr Oogey Boogey-man's head. We threw snowballs at the house to make our kid laugh her head off. We've watched Christmas movies to get into a fun spirit for the holidays. The only trips I've made outside of our street have been to the grocery store...and that was four or five days ago.  I've done dishes, but that's about all I've done for housework. More needs to be done. I need a shower. I'm irritable. I'd like to get some greenery to decorate the mantel. 

I think I'm going to stop here so that I don't segue into complaints as I am dangerously close to doing so.