Morning Ante. Where have those weeks gone? I really like looking at your Advent wreath because it is so Christmassy. For some odd reason last night - about 21:30 - someone across the way seemed to think it would be a good idea to set off some loud fireworks. I did think when I heard the first bang that there had been a crash in the Lane. I then wondered if they had decided to hold a party, with friends, to watch the football and most people will know that result by now. It was very noisy though for about 10 minutes.
Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
This afternoon we are going to a Carol Service. I've made 2 doz mince pies to be served after the service. Others have donated mince pies too. There used to be about 200 people, English and French who came but numbers have dropped a lot. It used to be held in an old abbey but now it's in the Abbey chapel. So many people have gone back to the UK or died. New people don't seem to be replacing them. Maybe another of the joys of Brexit ☹️
This morning I'll write Christmas cards for friends and family in France.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Good morning everyone .Debs have a lovely afternoon with family and friends .LB enjoy your day, if you are going out take care .Ante the festive candles are lovely, third one already glowing .Soon be Christmas .Enjoy your day .Busy enjoy your Carol service .The singing is always a real treat .
Morning all. Feeling much better now after a couple of days feeling really grot with a heavy cold. Came on really quickly and cleared up just as fast which is good.
Did the Xmas tree and other decs on Friday & yesterday. Just need to finish off in the dining room & clear up the mess. We're going to a photographic exhibition in town this afternoon so I think I'll also pick up a few bits from the SM in case we get the forecast snow tonight which could make driving my little car on our country lane a bit tricksy tomorrow.
At 8am today our nearest weather station said it was -7C & this was the view from our bedroom window - brrrr!
LB - you take care if you're going out today.
Ante - I suspect quite a few Brits will be cheering your team on this week. I didn't watch it but the Argentinia / NL match sounded like a rather unpleasant and dirty one. There is, of course, a little history between Argentinia & the UK both on and off the pitch...
@Biglad - I really enjoyed the big match last night - thought both teams played really well. That first French goal was a corker! In your professional opinion, should we have had a third (ie first of three) penalty after that tackle on HK in the first half? I don't think we even got an edge of the box free kick did we?
Hazel - you're right about the town centres - it's very sad to see. It's one of the reasons we love going to Germany. It's still very much a cash / small town economy. They do have supermarkets and chain stores in the bigger towns & cities, but all the small towns still have busy high streets with local bakers, butchers and lots of individual shops. I suspect it's because there are lots of banks which people need to visit regularly to deal with cash. It still catches us out a bit if we go for a meal and have to find (say) €50 in notes to pay the bill!
SGL - lovely to 'see' you. My very best wishes and thoughts are with you and your OH - take care.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
T'bird, I', glad to hear that you are much better now. It looks cold, but your garden is beautiful under the frost. Nice that you finished with decorations, must be lovely. Must say that I know much about relation between UK and Argentina, so I bet that a lot of brits will support Croatia in next match. Have a nice day and rest, especially after coming back from down under. 😂
I'm watching Christmas movie, and after that must continue with baking. One more batch, then decorate biscuits, and parcel will be ready for tomorrow.
Hazel I looked on line and many are in administration. The high street in the centres will look so different in the future, very bad news for the staff. Ante enjoy your homemade biscuits. LB the suns out and it feels warmer, a little.
Good afternoon. We woke to a light dusting of snow this morning, but the frost was gone. Now the snow has cleared completely and it’s trying to brighten up.
Not long back from church. It was the tree lighting and gift giving service today. We are supporting the local food banks. Very cold in church, despite there being some heating on, but it’s a big old building to heat up and the congregation is small these days, so not much warmth to go round. Hugging a warm mug of coffee now to thaw out. Your garden looks beautiful with its frosty covering @Topbird - there’s something magical about it isn’t there?
Well, I’d better get on. I need to prep tonight’s dinner, for slow cooking - lamb tagine. Take care everyone, especially if venturing out in the icy weather.
@Topbird not sure it's a "professional" opinion but I thought it was a foul. The vagaries of VAR mean that, if they think it took place outside the area, they don't get involved. If they think it was inside, they ask the referee to go and take a look at the monitor (which invariably results in him awarding the penalty). I assume they deemed it outside, but it looked mighty close to my completely unbiased eyes
I'm a bit late to the party but I've got my fruit soaking! Couple of questions for festive cake-making veterans :-
- butter. Unsalted or salted? - I couldn't find muscovado sugar in the SM. Is dark brown sugar a viable alternative? Or exactly the same thing?
Afties all. I forgot to post this morning😬 We were supposed to go up to sons today( OH to help with some decorating and me, to play😂). After getting breakfast, tidying up, hair washed, stuff ready to go, son texted( he had worked overnight) saying not to go as the main dual carriageway up to his,house, was blocked with an accident,,police cars, ambulances all over, and the ground and roads were covered in ice, frost and snow, Too dangerous to venture out after all. So, I then spent a good part of an hour and half..ish, trying to get into the greenhouse and shed( all frozen up) and clearing the bird baths of solid ice and filling up with fresh water. Filled the mealy worm tray with food too .We had woken up to a very heavy frost, it looked like snow in places as it was so deep. We've also taken three cyclamens into the greenhouse, the frost was too heavy for them. It's still very cold but when I rang my mum, she hadn't even had any frost let alone snow, and her area was forecast with plenty of snow. The area had missed getting it. Toobird, I'm glad to hear your cold has gone now but just take it easy for a while, you don't want another. Maybe time to take things a little easier to give the body time to fully recover. Rosie, yes, a lot of good shops have gone into administration now, our large town centre has been demolished now, for a new project involving creating an entertainment " space" ( who for, goodness only knows) and many of the shops have gone. Some have been relocated to a different part of the town, but we've lost Boots, Debenhams, B and M, smaller shops, indoor market, Specsavers , jewellers and so on and so forth. We do not now have a high street. Terrible really. But that's the council for you. Wasting money when it wasn't necessary or needed at all. They've also demolished a huge car park, so where do cars park now to get into their new entertainment space? Rant over......😡🤬 Sorry for long post, I'm off now to have a rest and do some knitting. Rubee how is your OH? Any better? How are you getting along with your knitted boy doll?
Posts
Very frosty, -5°.
This afternoon we are going to a Carol Service. I've made 2 doz mince pies to be served after the service. Others have donated mince pies too. There used to be about 200 people, English and French who came but numbers have dropped a lot. It used to be held in an old abbey but now it's in the Abbey chapel. So many people have gone back to the UK or died. New people don't seem to be replacing them. Maybe another of the joys of Brexit ☹️
This morning I'll write Christmas cards for friends and family in France.
Did the Xmas tree and other decs on Friday & yesterday. Just need to finish off in the dining room & clear up the mess. We're going to a photographic exhibition in town this afternoon so I think I'll also pick up a few bits from the SM in case we get the forecast snow tonight which could make driving my little car on our country lane a bit tricksy tomorrow.
At 8am today our nearest weather station said it was -7C & this was the view from our bedroom window - brrrr!
LB - you take care if you're going out today.
Ante - I suspect quite a few Brits will be cheering your team on this week. I didn't watch it but the Argentinia / NL match sounded like a rather unpleasant and dirty one. There is, of course, a little history between Argentinia & the UK both on and off the pitch...
@Biglad - I really enjoyed the big match last night - thought both teams played really well. That first French goal was a corker! In your professional opinion, should we have had a third (ie first of three) penalty after that tackle on HK in the first half? I don't think we even got an edge of the box free kick did we?
Hazel - you're right about the town centres - it's very sad to see. It's one of the reasons we love going to Germany. It's still very much a cash / small town economy. They do have supermarkets and chain stores in the bigger towns & cities, but all the small towns still have busy high streets with local bakers, butchers and lots of individual shops. I suspect it's because there are lots of banks which people need to visit regularly to deal with cash. It still catches us out a bit if we go for a meal and have to find (say) €50 in notes to pay the bill!
SGL - lovely to 'see' you. My very best wishes and thoughts are with you and your OH - take care.
Have a nice day and rest, especially after coming back from down under. 😂
I'm watching Christmas movie, and after that must continue with baking. One more batch, then decorate biscuits, and parcel will be ready for tomorrow.
Your garden looks beautiful with its frosty covering @Topbird - there’s something magical about it isn’t there?
Take care everyone, especially if venturing out in the icy weather.
@Topbird not sure it's a "professional" opinion
I'm a bit late to the party but I've got my fruit soaking! Couple of questions for festive cake-making veterans :-
- butter. Unsalted or salted?
- I couldn't find muscovado sugar in the SM. Is dark brown sugar a viable alternative? Or exactly the same thing?
It's still very cold but when I rang my mum, she hadn't even had any frost let alone snow, and her area was forecast with plenty of snow. The area had missed getting it.
Toobird, I'm glad to hear your cold has gone now but just take it easy for a while, you don't want another. Maybe time to take things a little easier to give the body time to fully recover.
Rosie, yes, a lot of good shops have gone into administration now, our large town centre has been demolished now, for a new project involving creating an entertainment " space" ( who for, goodness only knows) and many of the shops have gone. Some have been relocated to a different part of the town, but we've lost Boots, Debenhams, B and M, smaller shops, indoor market, Specsavers , jewellers and so on and so forth. We do not now have a high street. Terrible really. But that's the council for you. Wasting money when it wasn't necessary or needed at all. They've also demolished a huge car park, so where do cars park now to get into their new entertainment space?
Rant over......😡🤬
Sorry for long post, I'm off now to have a rest and do some knitting.
Rubee how is your OH? Any better? How are you getting along with your knitted boy doll?