Hi folks: Don't forget to check the last pages of the previous chat for links, comments, and all the usual twaddle. :-)
A quick hi to all. Just managed about half an inch of snow at home last night but unusually there was snow by the Solway where I work, and it stayed there all day. I think it might last a couple of days. There's quite a lot on the hills of course, but being unused to it here, the councils are never prepared and the roads are quite slippy.
Gary - it was my OH with the mash on top and bottom of shepherds, hope you liked it! Lovely doggy pics. Thanks to everyone for pics and links (we could spend all day looking, couldn't we?)
Sunflower hearts are going down really quickly now, and fat is popular. Had four goldfinches and two robins among the usual suspects yesterday.
Terry in Cumbria
Everyone:
Happy Winter Solstice!!! I hope the longest night of the year brings you joy, wisdom, renewal, and peace.
Aquilareen, Wattle, and everyone in the Southern Hemisphere:
Happy Summer Solstice to you!!! I hope the longest day of the year brings you happiness and the abundance of summer.
Unknown said: Everyone: Happy Winter Solstice!!! I hope the longest night of the year brings you joy, wisdom, renewal, and peace. Aquilareen, Wattle, and everyone in the Southern Hemisphere: Happy Summer Solstice to you!!! I hope the longest day of the year brings you happiness and the abundance of summer.
Beautifully expressed, Diane - and thank you!
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Diane - Thank you for the good wishes. I hope the turning of the year brings you and all up there in the Northern Hemisphere much joy and brighter days.
Annette - I carefully angled the camera to avoid the washing. I am tempted to go out now, hang a sheet on the line & photo it, only it. LOL
Caerann - we say "knickers in a knot"
Now I have forgotten who said what - sorry - re too much food. It amazes me what some people buy for Xmas. I may buy extra but then I factor in that we shall have the leftovers for other meals. eg the turkey turns into turkey croquettes and soup. I don't buy anything that we can't/won't use ourselves. As for buying 2 (now sometimes 3) to get the discounts, well, I don't buy any at all. I would rather do without than try to store double (or triple). On a brighter note, a fruit & veg shop nearby is not doing very well, so they now have a loyalty card and a pensioner 10% discount. It hasn't improved customer numbers, alas for them.
Himself was eyeing the Xmas card collection and muttering that they all were addressed to me or to both of us. I asked, "How many cards do you send out?" No comment. Our posties have been striking in the lead-up to Xmas. Some mail is getting through thanks to casuals (especially window letters of course), but I forsee a bundle of late cards next week or later. They will include the ones I didn't expect . . . I sent a few emails greetings this year. But I can't put the replies up !!!!!! This is Dau#2's cat Jasper who stayed with us a few days after last Christmas.
Terry in Cumbria - I noticed the snow clouds seemed to be hanging over the actual Firth today - very unusual - and there seemed to be a high cloud system moving slowly from east to west and a lower one moving more quickly the other way - strange!
HAMISH thank you for the lovely card, and Merry Xmas to you. Dillon hasn't learned how to do that yet so spaniels 10 Goldies 0
OG i really liked your pied wagtail photo.
Good night all
AQ - I was going to say I look forward to seeing your washing on the line, but it sounded rather pervie, so I won't!!! Very nice cat, and obviously made himself very much at home there!!
Hello again to all and thanks for your good wishes. Feeling a bit better today and have until Friday to get well and recover. This year we celebrate the holiday on the 25th and the 26th; John and I will have a quiet day on the 24th with some cooking and baking for the family fest on Xmas Day. On the 26th we shall all go out and meet with my brother (the farmer) and his family for a pizza buffet so all of the fun and none of the mess that will be. I have to echo the thought that the holidays seem to have come back so quickly and will be over with way too soon.
Lindybird Lane is looking very Christmas-like.
Thanks to Hamish for the wonderful card, such a clever one isn't he?
Margobird: Sorry to hear you bonked your noggin. Those sideview mirrors are always jumping out and getting the way! Have enjoyed your train quips today, btw.
George G: That's a brilliant idea to take the relations out for a meal! No worries over shopping, wrapping gifts and toting them around in who-knows-what kind of weather conditions.
Back later folks!
OG - Washing on the line. On the farm when my mother was first married (this was back in the 1930s), she would get up early Monday morning, light the copper to heat the water for the weekly wash, etc, etc. No matter how early she started, a neighbour, an older lady 2 miles away across the hills, would have her washing out first. One morning Mum hung the dirty sheets on the line. She was first! Then she phoned and confessed !!!!
Some Christmas thoughts I have gathered over the years:-
As my children got older, I got used to buying Christmas presents that (a) I couldn't spell, (b) I had no idea what they were used for, (c) leaked grease.
Christmas is the time when a smart child sends a letter to Father Christmas, but a smarter one writes to his/her grandparents.
Child’s last minute letter - Father Christmas, I want to put in a new order quickly as I just found the things I asked you for under the spare-room bed .
The three stages of man: (1) He believes in Father Christmas, (2) He doesn't believe in Father Christmas, (3) He is Father Christmas.
There are two kinds of Christmas presents - those you don't like and those you didn't get.
To perceive Christmas through its wrapping becomes more difficult with every year.
Not yet in the dictionary: "Christmess" is the domestic chaos five minutes after the presents are opened . . .