Hootin' Anni's Christmas MeMe

1. Christmas is Exciting. [fill in the blank with ONE WORD]

2. In memories, what was the best part of your Christmases past?
Waking up early as a very small child and creeping downstairs with my brother to see what was under the tree, and then trying to guess what was in the presents. Come to think of it, I still try and guess what's inside the presents.

3. Was Santa ever good to you? [describe how and what]
Always! Every year! But I think that the one present that stands out is the first Christmas I spent away from home when I was 9. My parents must have arranged with my aunt to get me a walking and talking doll. If I held the doll's hand and walked, her legs moved and she walked with me. Even though I missed being home, that stands out as one of the biggest surprises I ever got.

4. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or both?
Christmas Day, always. We all sit down together with cups of coffee or tea and take it in turns to open one present each. It's lovely, because you can really enjoy the whole process of unwrapping and discovering. One person gets the job of writing down who got what from whom, so that there are no awkward 'thank you for the um um um....' moments.

5. Is there something you make each and every year? [craft or recipe]
Not really. Sometimes I'll make a craft, sometimes I'll cook a recipe. Of course, the one constant is the Christmas Turkey.

6. What is your favorite five[5] Christmas songs/hymns?
God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, We Three Kings, Good King Wenceslas, Silent Night, Angels We Have Heard On High. (I could go on, and I'm not even sure that I've got the titles right.)

7. Is there a new tradition for Christmas since your childhood days?
Each of the children get a personalised Christmas tree decoration. They've each had one since their first Christmas, and when they eventually have their own tree to decorate, they'll each have a unique set of decorations to start off with.

8. Describe one of your Christmas trips. [whether it's across town or across country]
We're planning to go to my brother's house for Christmas Day. He lives about one hour away by car. The road there meanders through windy roads and villages, and at one stage climbs uphill through a wood. It should be quite spectacular if we get a White Christmas, something that doesn't happen often here.

9. Do you have a special Christmas outfit to wear for the day?
Not yet, but I'm sure I will do by the time Christmas is here.

10. Have YOU or any of your family members sat on Santa's lap?
My kids always sat on Santa's lap when they were little.

11. What is/or will be on your Christmas tree this year?
All our family decorations. There are so many personalised ones for the children now, that there's little room left for anything else. We have an Angel at the top of the tree.

12. Do you/or have you decorated your yard for Christmas?
Just lights on a tree. Most of my decorations are indoors, but I do put icicle lights outside my front door.

You can find Hootin' Anni's Blog here .

My Favourite T-shirt

I bought this T-shirts more years ago than I care to say. It was hanging on a rail that lined an open walkway in a Middle Eastern market, and I bought it for a song.






I've noticed that the material is starting to get thin and small holes are appearing here and there, so thought I'd take pictures of it for posterity.




If you click a picture it will enlarge.

Janey is visiting for a while

Hooli’s here for just one day

But Janey the bunny is here to stay
Till January
Or when the days
Get longer

Hooray!

Found My Pink Gloves

I found my lost pink gloves. Frantic searching has now ceased. Hooray!

No more frozen fingers! These gloves may not be beautiful, but they're sooooo warm!

Quizzing the Quizmaster

We had a quiz in our village hall last weekend. Not many people came because the date had been rearranged at the last moment. However, there were enough people for four teams, and a quizmaster who must have collected every unknown piece of information he could find anywhere.

As is usual at these events, the Mobile Fish and Chip van arrived, and freshly made portions were handed around. While we enjoyed our meal the Quizmaster entertained us with questions selected from a book he was rifling through in a seemingly random way.

Most of the questions were pretty obscure, but we all had a guess at the answers. But one question flummoxed everybody. It was, "What is the meaning of pornology?" You can imagine the various guesses people made, but the Quizmaster assured us it had nothing to do with naughty pictures or the birds and bees. No connection with art, photography, filmmaking and any other thing we could think of.

We all gave up in the end, and he finally gave us the answer. "Pornology is the study of fruit!" (!!!!!!?)

Well I looked the word up, I searched the internet, I looked in every dictionary I could lay my hands on, and the word 'pornology', with that definition, didn't seem to exist anywhere. But I kept on looking and finally found the word 'pomology' - meaning, 'the study of fruit'.

Conclusion? Either the Quizmaster misread his book, or the book in question has a serious typo!

My Lost Pink Gloves

I’ve lost my gloves. They’re pink (yes pink, really) and they’re made from soft thermal material which is quite thick, but so warm. I put them away somewhere for the summer and now I can’t remember where. I tucked them away together with a matching thermal hat, and a stripy coordinating hat and scarf. If I can find just one of these things, I’ll find my pink gloves.

You couldn’t pick coins out of a purse easily when you’re wearing my pink gloves, but they’re utterly brilliant for driving a car on a cold day. There’s nothing worse than getting into a freezing cold car, putting your hands on a freezing cold steering wheel, and then trying to ignore the pain of freezing cold fingers as you’re driving.

My pink gloves do away with all of that pain. I keep them on the radiator just inside the door, and pick them up when I pick up my car keys. They’re toasty warm, and protect my hands from icy steering wheels until the car warms up enough for me to go bare-handed.

I’m almost tempted to go out and buy a new pair. In fact, I have been looking, but I haven’t found anything remotely resembling my pink gloves on sale anywhere. I wonder what I’ll find first, my old pair or a brand new pair in the shops!

If I do buy a new pair of gloves, I can almost guarantee I’ll find my old pink pair the very next day.

A little bit of Nepal in Bristol

I went out to dinner in Bristol last week. The restaurant was called The Kathmandu, and it served Nepalese and Indian curries.

We decided we should try the Nepalese dishes on the menu, and they actually had, as a starter, a Nepalese Platter for four people to share. This contained Wo - a sort of meat and lentil patty (like a mini burger), and Mo Mo - a truly delicious dumpling filled with meat. Both the Wo and the Mo Mo had a really unusual, and very tasty, spicy sauce on them. Also in the Platter were chicken and lamb choylas which are a type of sizzler meat dish that's cooked with garlic and ginger, and which made me think of kebabs.

For the main course, we tried to stick with Nepalese dishes and had a good selection to share. The taste reminded me that one of the reasons why my husband and I had loved Kathmandu in Nepal was because the food there was so nice. We'd loved Nepal for a lot of other reasons too, the sights, the sounds, the people, the culture, the arts and the freedom.

When we'd visited Nepal (long long ago, before children) we'd been trekking, so the food we ate was pretty basic. But we had a day or two in Kathmandu at the start and end of the trek, and the meals we ate then were absolutely scrumptious. Eating at The Kathmandu Restaurant in Bristol brought all these memories flooding back!

Lazy me

I was reminded by a friend who checked out this blog that I have neglected it for more than one month. So much for the 'daily' ramblings. They're turning more into 'monthly' ramblings.

I went away to Spain for a week, and when I came back I got busy with other stuff. So I think I'll share some of my holiday photos.

A doorway in Marbella....

The sunset as seen from my hotel room..













A series of statues by Salvador Dali in Marbella...
These lead all the way down to the beach.





Loved Marbella, especially the old part of the town.

Check this out.