It was you I was mostly thinking about when the New York Times breaking news dropped the story into my lap. I remembered you saying your new job was about 30 miles (km?) from London and you were heading that way soon. Sounds like you can go into the new Tier 4 but once you do traveling out of it is a messy beast. I hope you find a pleasant abode in a congenial neighborhood where you can at least go outside for walks and wave at strangers from afar. Shops open that you can easily nip into for food and drink necessities. Glad you’re getting a package sent off for Christmas even if you can’t be with family for the opening of it. I find sending gifts to be more fun than getting them.
My big day of Christmas celebration is Boxing Day. My daughter and I have started a tradition of me spending the whole day with them instead of trying to juggle a few hour visit in with them on Christmas or Christmas Eve when my ex’s new gal pal has, after 15 years, made it impossible for us to celebrate all together as we used to, in spite of the divorce. I have a lovely, long, relaxed day with my granddaughter all to myself. Comfy clothes, hot chocolate tea parties throughout the day and we putter around playing and reading while she opens a present every hour or so and then plays with it at length until time to open another one. We feast on fancy leftovers pulled out of the fridge without much effort needed on the part of any grown-up. Spirits are consumed throughout the day, in pleasant moderation and variety. Bubbly something happens in the evening when we open our Christmas crackers. SIL grew up in Canada so the family comes by Boxing Day honestly.
So I’ll have lots of time to read and post on Christmas Eve and Christmas if you and boofae want to join me. I’ll be solo at home, reading and sipping hot drinks in my pajamas and robe, no doubt with a minimum of two cats on my laps at all times. A roaring fireplace would be nice but the one in my house was bricked up decades ago when the furnace was installed. I do have a small fire ring in the back yard and depending on my northern Midwest weather Christmas Day I might get some wood and sit outside with a rum or brandy toddy for a bit. My wi-fi reaches that far so I can still Mump out there.
Can’t say I’ve ever felt a desire to put socks on my tongue, whether in cheek or not.
Nut, hope your move only becomes complicated, not impossible.
Night-time phone calls don’t have much effect on me – the phone is seldom loud enough to wake me. I do have three first cousins (and the widow of a fourth) in their 70s, and Lady SCAdian’s parents are in their 80s, but other than that my oldest living relative is nine years younger than I am.
Woke up 11ish, got up 12ish after reading some more of Sir Pterry’s work (Nation). Good book, and quite amusing in places – though it doesn’t have me laughing out loud the way Wodehouse always does. Have breakfasted, more or less, but not caffeinated yet, and need to go take my morning meds.
We got lunch from the local deli - holy crap on a cracker, were they busy!!! I ordered on line, but it would have been faster if I’d just gone there and stood in line.
Laundry is done. I need to clean the critter fountain now, and tidy the kitchen. Then walk, I think.
Whooo! I was right about my prediction that it would be a busy day. I’m catching my breath on my lunch break. We had one order - y’all - totalling $1,600 dollars worth!
Before you go picturing some Snoop Dogg type … there wasn’t a scrap of weed in her bag. It was all vape cartridges.
Tongue-in-cheek socks are hard to explain. Irreverent ? Poking fun at the status quo? Having something frivolous to wear to interviews or work when dress shirts and ties are required? Dress codes rarely specify much limiting about socks. My shrink son wears Freud socks to fellowship interviews or departmental meetings. I’m always on the look out for psych socks for him since that’s the only work clothes fun he can have and he needs an outlet so he doesn’t need to run screaming out of the office or exam room or rounds with stuffy self-important attendings. He just flashes his socks at them.
So tongue-in-cheeks socks are a mom hobby of mine.
That’s how we used to do it.
I just mentioned this to Wifey and she agreed that we should start doing groats again.
BTW, we used Bob’s Red Mill groats. The actual mill is in East Portland and we’ve been there. Bob’s stuff is (relatively) pricey, but very good.
Our house was built ca 1890; don’t know if there was once a fireplace in either the living room or the kitchen (the chimney is between the two), but if there was one it’s been covered over so well that there’s nothing to show where it was. The back room was heated by a woodstove – there’s a metal plate in the back wall to cover the spot where the stovepipe connected to the other chimney.
Lady SCAdian takes eggnog, adds milk to extend it – a sort of “eggnog helper”, as it were – and some sort of alcohol (I prefer RumChata or package-store eggnog), and steams it.
I would love to visit their factory. They are one of the few pricier food brands that I found are always worth it. My daughter, who has celiac disease has found them to be a very reliable and trustworthy supplier of gluten-free foods.
The prices got much more doable for me when my local grocery chain stated carrying the full range of Bob’s Red Mill and I no longer needed to go to Whole Foods for my oatmeal and muesli.
Mine was circa 1880 (my city considers it an historic property and there are all sorts of rules), it has a brick fireplace in the big, central parlor, which has been closed off inside. Still have the brick hearth and a pretty mantel, but the fireplace itself is now covered with a decorative cast iron plate. How they kept the bedrooms and front parlor warm I shudder to think.
Oooo, these sound good. Light eggnog and RumChata are going on my grocery list. Thanks for the idea.
As I’ve started watching The Crown again, I have a question for Nut or BooFae. Are you taught in school all the royal and such titles and forms of address and ranks, and who curtseys/bows to whom and all that? I’m guessing it’s poor form to try to high-five the Queen, even in non-plague times.
I vaguely recall a lesson eons ago about the written and spoken honorifics for various government and church folk, and while I don’t remember any of them, I suppose I could find what I needed before embarrassing myself in the halls of Congress. Not that it’s very likely that I’ll encounter any such personages.
Critter fountain is clean, dishwasher has been emptied, and kitchen is more or less tidied. Off to walk now.
Blimey no, not even when we had a royal visit to the school. They just told us to be on our best behaviour. It’s not as though we regularly bump into royals down the pub or anything; if you’re going to be meeting one to speak to, they give you a brief beforehand, otherwise they generally go round with people to keep the plebs away.
Well, good, then I don’t feel so uninformed. I’ve figured there’s a difference between Your Majesty and Your Highness and Your Royal Dudeness from context on TV, but I never cared enough to actually look it all up.
I’ve walked, and due to the size of my lunch, I’m passing on supper since I’s still stuffded. Gotta feed Higgs, tho - she’s such a nag. And off I go!!
Afternoon all. Was at soccer from 9am to 3pm then pooped out and came home. Got the heat turned up and things are warming nicely. Dinner will be Fettuchini Alfredo ala Microwave.
It turns out that they won’t be getting any more of the turquoise zip-up hoodies until after the first of the year, so I resolved to get Mrs. L.A. another colour. It’s been difficult to ‘sneak out’ to get one though.
Yesterday I needed to go to Costco to get the Christmas roast. Perfect opportunity to swing by the brewery! Only… Mrs. L.A. wanted to go with me. She never wants to go with me… especially not to Costco! But I was saved by the bell… or vibrating phone, anyway. I got a text from Paso del Norte offering a ‘coupon’.
Mrs. L.A. asked if I wanted Mexican food for dinner. Aha! I could go pick up the food (since there’s no dine-in for now), and go to the brewery on the way home! Only… Mrs. L.A. wanted to go with me.
Finally, I needed to go to the credit union today. Alone. I went to the brewery and got a hoodie. I got her a pullover one, since she prefers pullovers. All they had was black, as the pullover colours are more limited. It has the Beach Cat logo, and the cat is wearing a mask and a Santa hat. I thought it was festive. I also got her a Beach Cat plague mask.
ETA: Here’s the shirt, if you’re on Facebook: Redirecting...
We got some cash at the ATM and went to the mall to pick up the 2020 Waterford Snowflake ornament. Once done we had a great lunch at one of our favorites and stopped at the grocery store on the way home.
Home again, home again, jiggety-jig. I should finish off that pot roast, but I have a gnawin’ and a cravin’ for crispy chicken nickels. But that would be just a little treat, so I may do both.
It’s just wild and crazy times around here.
She’ll be thrilled with it, I’m sure, even if it’s not turquoise.
So you’re the one that folks think of when they get a middle of the night phone call herald?
bumba, I like Bob’s Red Mill yellow grits. Sprout’s Market had quite of few of their cereals, etc in the bulk bins pre-pandemic. Now, they package all of their bulk items up before hand. I’ll be glad when this is all over and the bulk bins come back, given that I’m purchasing for one person.
I went to Lebanon and bought a metric shit ton of supplies for $13. Then, I hit the Kroger there. Holy cow! I guess I’ve become used to my county being pretty serious about masking in public, but there were some in there who didn’t even bother hanging one on an ear or wearing it half mast. I used to like grocery shopping, but right now, it pretty much sucks.
After taking Nelson to the dog park (he got to see his buds Ollie and Bosco there), I ordered good Chinese takeout from the parking lot and picked up some gat yaw and poke wontons. Twas good. Now to chill while watching a bio of Charles Dickens.
Chicken nuggets were yummy. Got home, pulled out cheese spread & crackers.
Got distracted by nail polish (wanted to purtify with bright green, for the holiday) and now I’m sitting here on the group W bench … erm, I mean, my papasan … staring at my snack, with wet fingernails.
I did some Christmas shopping. Got my mom some Walker’s shortbread. The bakery was out of the kalamata olive bread I wanted. And World Market was out of the ginger cookies I like, But I did buy a new dachshund ornament from them. Got myself some lapsang souchang tea fro the same place with the shortbread, it’s from a store called Brits. And right next to Brits a new shop had opened that has baked goods for dogs, as well as dogfood, dog clothing, dog you name it. I got a second dachshund ornament there, with a dog in a Santa hat saying :“Dear Santa, define naughty.”
Heaved bags. Then for Second Sort, I unloaded a 20 footer, helped unload a 53 footed and unloaded a pig.Then I did laundry and napped.
{Brown Inside Joke]What do you call an 80lbs. chocolate bunny? An Easter irreg![/Brown Inside Joke]
Last time I felt like I had tongue socks, I had had too much tequila the night before.
Then, I hit the Kroger there. Holy cow! I guess I’ve become used to my county being pretty serious about masking in public, but there were some in there who didn’t even bother hanging one on an ear or wearing it half mast. 
I used to like grocery shopping, but right now, it pretty much sucks.