A new year, a new way of life

 
Happy New Year to all

Get a cuppa this is going to be a long post.

So how was yours? I am still trying to make my mind up, ha ha.

It was one of those Christmas where things kept changing, and little changes can be so irritating can’t they?

First of all number 1 said he was going to the Delectable L’s (from now on to be called DL) on Christmas Eve for tea, then they were both back here to spend Christmas Eve, Christmas day and night here, then go back to her house Boxing day morning. So I planned a meal for me and hubby for Christmas Eve and had planned to go through the house Boxing Day morning then have a rest before we went away. However what did happen was number 1 didn’t go to DL’s Christmas Eve so had tea with us, (not a problem I always cook to much), then DL came later and stayed until Boxing day afternoon, which meant I couldn’t go through the house in the morning (she doesn’t get up until late, then tends to go back to bed again), so I was still at it up until bed time. Oh hum.  Then the phone packed up, so we couldn’t ring anyone to say thank you and a merry one.

Christmas day morning after opening presents, (I had a box set of Dr Who, clothes, smelly’s, green and black chocs, money, kitchen clock). We packed the back pack with bread, seed and nuts and went to Leasowles nature reserve, it used to be called park, but their doing it up so now it’s a reserve. The bits they have done are coming along quite nicely, they have cleared and re-banked one of the pools and put in a lovely little rock waterfall, it will look lovely when it as all grown over. Once there we fed the ducks, birds, squirrels and anything else that fancied bread, seed or nuts and had a nice couple of hours walking. Then back to cook dinner.

We have a big bottle into which we throw all our pennies and five p’s, we empty it just before Christmas and found we had enough to go on a little break in the wendy house, so that’s what we did.

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Star rating

* Never again

* * Poor

*** Watchable

**** Good

***** Very Good

****** I want to watch it again

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Larks Rise to Candleford Christmas special

******

A lovely gentle ghost story for Christmas. The ghost of a young girl who drown 80 years before returns to Candleford looking for family. She leaves anyone she meets with the uncontrollable urge to speak their minds and clear the air.  As with all good stories, people pull together and the young girls name is found out, and she is given a grave with her name, so can rest in peace.

I love this program anyway and wasn’t disappointed with this special.

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Clash of the Santas

*****

Colin and Howie fight it out over who is the best Santa, Howie a non believer is nominated to represent England in a Santa competition after stepping into help when the Santa he has taken his little girl to see walks out.  As ever a funny program, (just like all the others, Christmas lights, northern lights and city lights).  Heart warming without being sloppy.

And if you believe hard enough anything can happen.

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A  Christmas carol The Musical

*

Staring Kelsey Muldoon, what can I say? I love A Christmas Carol and have seen it in many forms. But this one takes the top prize for worst ever. I found it so boring I kept going out of the room to do jobs, hoping that it would have got better when I got back, it didn’t. The songs were annoying, the story very loosely set around the true story and the acting tired. Not one that will be on my Must see this version again.

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Christmas with the Kranks

***

This film started out well, then got very silly, then went back to being good.  Fed up with all the hustle and bustle of Christmas not to mention the expense, Luther,  (Tim Allen) decides that he and his wife will go on a Caribbean cruise. So after he books it all his neighbours decide he is a scrooge. There then follows a few fun bits with sun beds and refusing to but Christmas trees and cards. They then get a phone call to say their daughter is on her way back with boyfriend in tow, who has never had an America Christmas. So then after trying to get a tree and a Oak honey ham, (in a tin? Must be an America thing). And failing the whole street pulls together to give them a Christmas. Ahhh. 

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My family Christmas special

****

As much fun as ever, Ben up to his usual tricks, first he buys Susan a vacuum cleaner for Christmas, then a very expensive necklace, which he takes back and try’s to re-buy in the sale and fails. Susan gets an M E B and Ben spoils the day in his usual selfish childish manner. I wish they could have brought Nick back for a visit, that would have been the icing on the cake.

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Gavin & Stacey Christmas special

****

I just love this program, Gavin gets a promotion and tells everyone on Christmas day, but it means he has to move to Barry, much to the alarm of his mom, who blames Stacy, and it sends Smithy into a rage, well now he will have to find a new best friend! Smithy feels pushed out of his baby’s life by Nessa’s new boyfriend, and Nessa feels sorry for him. And are we never going to find out what happen on the camping trip?

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Dr Who Christmas Special

*****

A new doctor? Well not really. The king of the cybermen was a woman, and the spaceship looked like Ironman, then there was all the new cybermen that could climb walls and even a few hairy ones. The story was a bit lacking in something, not sure what, but it was. A sad bit at the end when the Doctor admits that all his companies have broken his heart, ahhh. Not one of the best, but it’s still Doctor Who.

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Wallace & Gromit A Matter of loaf and death

******

You can’t beat a bit of Wallace and Gromit at anytime of the year. 12 bakers’ dead, all the more work for Wallace, (who is now a baker). The villain of the peace Piella Bakewell, who used to advertise bread while flying in a balloon, but now to fat the balloon can’t take her weight, so she’s got it in for bakers, it’s the stuff they bake that made her fat. Piella wants Wallace to make her bakers dozen, but as ever Gromit saves the day with the help of the adorable Fluffles.

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The Royle Family Christmas special

****

A turkey put in a bubble bath to defrost, burnt potatoes, a blue Caribbean punch with a banana floating in it, and kids left at their uncles because ‘Christmas is not for kids’ It could only be The Royle Family. Good fun all round

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Jonathan Creek Christmas special

******

Only what I would have expected, all twists and turns, a good story line and that bath!  I do love Jonathan Creek.

Be Happy

Merry Christmas to all

Yesterday I had cooked a ham, done one load of washing, got the bus into Oldbury done a bit of shopping, (all the things I said I wasn’t going to buy this year, well if you can’t eat and drink a little too much at this time of year when can you)? And was back home by 8.20am. I put on some Christmas music and set to work making cranberry sauce, Jamie Oliver’s mince pies, with my home made mincemeat,(only one jar left now), which didn’t turn out quiet right. Jamie said not to grease the tins, his popped out, mine didn’t. Never mind they are still edible and the mint chocolate puds for Christmas day. I then sorted out the pantry so that all the Christmas goodies will fit in, and began to unpack all the nice’s. I couldn’t get all the mince pies in the tin, so I had to eat some, I couldn’t get all the nuts in the tub, so I had to eat some, I couldn’t get all the crackers in the barrel, so I had to eat some, I felt a bit sick by dinner time! I then folded the napkins, fans for the Christmas Eve meal and candles for the Christmas day dinner.

So today it’s cleaning and cooking before our Christmas Eve tea.

All that is left for me to say is

Have a very merry Christmas and a peaceful new year’

And may the New Year make all your dreams come true

Be happy andspread the love

Quiz I got 80%

Oh I am sooooo excited

Yesterday I walked into town to get the last bits for Christmas, I wish I hadn’t put my coat on; it was far to warm for this time of the year 13 degrees c and 76% humidity. All the shops had the heating on turned up to ‘December day’ and people were becoming very irritated. I had a wonder into Woolies to see if they had any photo albums, (they hadn’t), in fact there wasn’t a lot of anything in there. The staff were being very rude to the customers; I suppose they think now they don’t have to keep their jobs they don’t have to be polite. I heard one woman ask the price of something and the assistance snapped ‘There’s a bloody price tag if you look’ and another woman asked if she could have some money knocked off because the box was damaged to which the reply was, ‘There’s already 50% off that’s a good enough deal.’ Now if I was working there and in their position I would be more inclined to give things away, ‘Yes I will take another £5 off, here take this as well and make it a big present.’ After all what are they going to do to you, sack you a couple of days early?

be happy and spread some Christmas love and joy

Now everyone sing, you know the tune, just hover over the pictures for the words.
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me…

Did you enjoy that?

On Saturday night we went to the Pavilion (another trip from hubby’s works), for a Christmas meal and a Robbie Williams tribute act. On the whole the meal was nice and given how many people there were to be served and how many waitresses there were it went quiet smoothly. I started with minestrone soup, which was either out of a tin or someone had slipped with the salt!

Then I had Turkey, sausage, stuffing, broccoli, carrots, roast potatoes and cranberry sauce. Not a sprout in sight, and the roasts weren’t. They were boiled in their skins with oil on the top, but still very nice.

For pud I had a lovely raspberry tore.

Then it should have been tea/coffee mints and a mince pie. I got the mince pie and nothing else; it all fell apart a bit. But I didn’t complain, the poor little girls were run of their feet and they had coped so well up until then, Hubby said it was because they all wanted to go home.

Then on to Robbie, well for entertainment you have to given him 10/10, we never stopped laughing! We were told he was really good and charged £600 a night, (he sings for an hour). Well if you can call it that. We never caught his real name as we couldn’t understand a word he was saying, he screamed into the mike, even for the ballads and when he pulled the faces that Robbie pulls he looked in pain or else slightly mad, a bit scary at times. HA HA. He couldn’t hit some notes, so turned the mike to the audience to sing those bits, like I say we laughed all night, although I am told that was not the idea! He did look a little like him, I will give him that.

Be Happy and spread some love and joy at Christmas time

let’s all sing again go on it’s Christmas

more animals

Be Happy and spread some Christmas love and joy

Can you believe there are only 4 days to go

On the news this morning a report about the fact that oil prices are coming down and so is petrol and diesel, so why haven’t we had a letter to say our gas is going down? I only ask because when gas prices started to rise very sharply earlier in the year we were told it was because the price of oil was rising, well it’s on its way down now so why aren’t the gas bills?

Sat here looking at the Christmas tree and the ever growing pile of gifts underneath it, I can’t help wondering how many of them will truly be wanted or useful. Now don’t get me wrong I am grateful for what ever I receive, because that person as thought about me, even if only for a split second. I have known some very ungrateful people who cast presents aside with comments of ‘What am I supposed to do with that’ or ‘I wish they hadn’t bothered’ News flash it’s the thought people. I think one of the nicest present I received was a plastic hen; number 1 gave me one mother’s day. What he had done was brought a hen for a family in Africa in my name, they got the live hen and I got a little plastic one, I have since acquired a goat and a sheep.

A thing that drives me mad is when people buy for some people and not others in the same house, it’s happen this year. Someone has brought me, number1 and the delectable L a gift but not hubby. I hate that, if its money don’t buy anything for anyone, or just buy a token bottle of bubble bath or choc’s. It’s no good I am going to have to go out and buy him a present and forge the name on the tag, and hope he forgets to thank them!

I have flicked through the Christmas TV Times, (Christmas is the only time we buy a TV paper), and there’s not a lot on, either that or I just wasn’t looking, (which is not unlikely). The things I want to see are,

Larks Rise to Candleford Christmas special

Clash of the Santas

Christmas with the Kranks

My family Christmas special

Gavin & Stacey Christmas special

Doctor Who Christmas special

Wallace & Gromit A Matter of loaf and death

The Royle Family Christmas special

Jonathan Creek Christmas special

I shall be giving them my star rating after I have seen them, that is of course if I do manage to see them and not forget they are on.

Be Happy and Spread the Love and Christmas joy

I just love this one it’s so funny

We have had three lovely cards, (well more than three but three really nice ones), each has a snow scene with trees and two lone people walking hand in hand through the snow, I like to think it’s me and hubby. As usual hubby found a card that made me laugh, on the front it says

For my wonderful wife at Christmas

You’ve got the one essential ingredient that makes you a perfect wife!…

(Then inside)

You don’t expect a perfect Husband

Be Happy and spread the Christmas love and joy

I love this one, I shall be singing all day

As spring arrived? Only I went out this morning and it was warm and the little birds were singing their heads off.

Be Happy and spread some love and Christmas joy

Only a few days left now, yesterday I went to get some more Christmas presents from hubby, because apparently two pairs of jeans and a jumper a Christmas present don’t make. So I have had another jumper, I really don’t want anything and was quite happy with jeans. But would he have it? No he would not. Hopefully now he will be happy.

not long now

Be Happy and spread the love and joy

here’s an interesting read

snowballing horses

Right now I am going to have a bit of a moan, because I think I need it.

Yesterday we received mail with one ripped open AGAIN, this is not the first time this has happen, and what do we get when we report it? You have to contact the person who sent it you! What is the point in that? Anything missing has disappeared on route from them to us, and this includes personal details which is what our latest ripped letter included. We have also received mail for other people who live streets away and will they do anything? You have guessed it. I am so angry I could scream, in fact I think I will ARRRRRRR.

I heard on the news yesterday that parts of the U.S. have been hit by ice storms, we call it freezing rain here and I remember having it here a few years ago. I was working as a Lollypop lady at the time. I had a game and half getting out of the house to start with, as the door had frozen shut. I had to walk to work holding on to fences and hedges and cars. I have never been so scared in my life. Cars and Lorries were sliding all over the road and bouncing of the gutters, children and parents were sliding all over the place, and I had to stand in the middle of the road! It didn’t thaw for a couple of days; I hope to never see it again. Not as bad as in the U.S. I know and that is why my heart goes out to them.

The winter sickness bug is taking hold here in the UK, it’s worse than last year, more hospital wards are closing because of it, and flu is on the increase so we need the wards open. Thing is with the sickness bug a lot of the spreading could be stopped if people washed their hands.

So whoever it was that won the X factor will properly be the Christmas number 1, I am fed up with sensible Christmas number 1’s I think it’s time we had a silly one, or one we can all belt out, (bring back slade) that’s what I say!

Be happy and spread some love and Christmas joy