Goodnight and sweet dreams, Summer.

I hate to be a party pooper but I need to hit the hay

Sweet dreams yogi & moonie enjoy what's left of your birthday moonie

Leaving goodnight hugs for skylark & Ros

Awww fankoo Sweet  

Nite nite, sleep well and have sweet dreams  

Off for a bath and then bed.

Goodnight and sweet dreams, Birthday Boy, and I'm glad your birthday was a good one.

Hugs for Ros and Velvet.

Awww fankoo Yogi

Enjoy your bath

Nite nite, sleep well and have sweet dreams  

Nite nite, sleep well and have sweet dreams everyone. You have helped to make my day a special one

Good morning everyone

Cold, frosty and sunny here. I've just heard a neighbour scraping ice off their windscreen.

Thanks for the cake moonie, it looks yummy

Good morning everyone.

Weather is dry atm. No sign of frost up here, El.

Out and about in the afternoon, hoping to pick up a couple of Christmas gifts.

Have a good day everyone.

Good morning everyone, it's the first frost of the year here too, pale blue sky and it was the loveliest rosy dawn when I woke up, very cold though.

I might be speaking too soon but as far as I can see that's the last Christmas present bought.  I have nearly finished writing the Christmas cards, just a few more to do and I have received my first Christmas card so it really is just around the corner now

I hope the Christmas present shopping goes well Yogi and that you find exactly the right presents for the right people.  Well done on the Christmas wreaths Summer, I am sure they will be as beautiful as ever.

I am glad your birthday was just the way you like it moonie .  EL what do you and your brother cook for Christmas dinner?  The mum-to-be and the little sweetheart who thinks if you put a cushion over your head no-one can see you will be joining us for Christmas dinner this year.  Heaven knows what day we will be having it, it won't be Christmas Day as the little chef is working of course.

Hugs for Skylark and velvet - hope to see you both in the thread today and Ros of course later on

Enjoy your day everyone

Squiggle, you seem to have Christmas well under control

Our Christmas dinner main course will be from the M&S range for meals for 2, chicken based. Precisely what will depend on use by dates. As there's just the two of us that makes more sense than rossting a chicken and takes less time. And individual Christmas puddings of course.

M&S is just so wonderful for meals like that EL, if it was just me I would be having similar.  I have been cooking Christmas dinners for over 50 years now and can no longer cope with it all on my own.  Luckily my beautiful daughter will be helping.  After years of cooking 2 large chickens, one for hot, one for cold I am thinking of a turkey again.  My they are so expensive! Luckily I have some Nectar points saved.  But I am under strict instructions that I am not to even think of trying to get it in and out of the oven.  I start a few days early nowadays, doing the fresh breadcrumbs for the sausagemeat stuffing and the bread sauce.  Then do the stuffing and the bread sauce a couple of days ahead.  I used to do it all on the same day!! The menu is set in stone as we know what we like by now, the roasties have to be crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, the bread sauce has to be creamy and the parsnips and carrots are roasted in honey, but it's all worth it

Squiggle, it's good that you have your daughter able to help in the cooking as there's a lot of work involved. My parents didn't like turkey so we only ever had chicken.

There's an article today on the BBC website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30170595

which is about the world premiere in a theatre in Northampton of a play by the late Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman, The Crucible etc) which was written as a screen play back in the 1950s but never got made due to political tensions in the US at the time. It's about corruption in New York's docks in the 1950s and a dockworker who challenges the gangsters and officials.

And if that sounds at all familiar, Arthur Miller and Elia Kazan had intended to film it, but Miller was replaced by Budd Schulberg who with Kazan made "On the Waterfront".

Hi all 

Hope you all had a good weekend, a lot of chocolate going on ! 

Sorry i missed your birthday , moonie, hope it was a good one. 
Spent the weekend with my Granddaughter, have been busy the last few weeks so havent been giving her a lot of my time. 
You are on the ball this year squiggle, i have no cards bought or anything. I must get into gear!
Went into town yesterday for the official lighting of the Christmas Lights, it was very busy, as you can imagine  Was glad to be home, to honest. GD doesnt like crowds either. xx

Hi Skylark I am glad you have been able to spend the weekend with your granddaughter, did she like to see the lights?

It was so lovely this morning to see a woodpecker feeding from the bird feeder!  I have a large one with a ring around the bottom, it is sprung so that if a squirrel stands on it it shuts off the feeding ports, but it coped very well with the woodpecker.  Aren't birds resourceful?

My mouth was watering as I read your post, it all sounds delicious!

Hi Skylark I too don't like being in crowds of people all close to each other so I don't go to things such as the local switching on of the Christmas lights.

Summer, I hope your work Christmas decorations go well I assume you won't be having a black Christmas tree this year

Squiggle, you are lucky to get to see a woodpecker in your garden, little chance where I live.

Skylark, I'm glad you had a good weekend with your granddaughter.

We are having our Christmas dinner courtesy of M&S this year too. We ordered one of their Christmas food packages. Any food left over will be polished off when the family visit on Boxing Day.

We are having a turkey crown as a whole turkey is just too big for three of us and the breast meat of the crown is easier for slicing for sandwiches on Boxing Day.

I managed to get a few Christmas gifts while I was out and about, but I couldn't get a couple of clothing items as they didn't have the right sizes. 

Hi Summer and squiggle x

Strange you saying that squiggle , about birds. Granddaughter and myself were in a book shop in town yesterday. I said no, not buying anything till Santa comes! But she found a book on British birds and wanted it. So we came home and made a bird feeder from old shoe boxes! She loves all sorts of nature. Plus Life Story was on BBC, first of all it was about birds, she was enthralled. Plus gave me time to sit down with a cuppa  Promised her we will take the bus out next Sunday to the countryside so she can explore nature . As you know we live in a large city so not much birds to be seen, apart from the usual species. 

Yes she loved the lights, as all kids do. She is beside herself with Christmas, as she is all year round !

Enjoy, Summer rooting around the decs 

Gloucester hasn't come out too well in a survey on tipping waiters.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/u...s-revealed---4676003

Worst city in the UK.

(Over the years I have tipped waiters unless the meal has been dreadful)

Edinburgh and Glasgow came out of it quite well - goes against the tight-fisted Scot image.

We almost always tip, unless, as you mentioned El, the meal or the service was particularly bad.

You would never have thought of Gloucester as the worst city for tipping, well done Edinburgh and Glasgow though Needless to say there are no large cities near me at all but I always tip, unless of course the service is really bad.

Afternoon Velvet.

I'm okay, how are things with you?

That's good.

Sorry didnt see you there Yogi, i posted but it never went through  

Going out Christmas shopping on Wed , dreading the thought! I am becoming a bah old humbug !! Havent got plans for the meal yet, or anything else. Sounds all yummy those who have it sorted 
When i first saw about tipping, i thought it was about the council. My son works on the bins, and its all he talks about! 
I only tip if i have good service, and dont have a sour face throwing food at me!
Hi Velvet , what you been up to ? 

 I know what you mean.

 Always pals to chat to here , honey  xx

Hi Buddies  

Its flippin cold here now. Just came in from shopping for the third time today 

I just saw a brass monkey 

Hope you day has been warmer than mine  

The client who had the ankle operations months ago came to see me this afternoon. He's more mobile than he was but still has a dull pain the whole time and can't wear shoes. There is hope that he will be able to return to work on a part time basis in mid January (so almost 18 months off work).

lol Wrap up warm, Moonie.

Gosh, that's been a long, slow recovery for him, poor man.

I think it's gonna be a winter longjohns night tonight Yogi 

 Have you got a onesie?

Shhhh! maybe

Oh thats a shame, but not terribly unusual, depending on the break, and the state of his bones.I.E, if he is arthritic , or on any drugs, that will weaken his bones. It does take a long time to recover from such a break, on the ankle, because of the weight put on it, and other issues, sometimes one just cannot stop from moving! Rest and move when appropriate. Hope he recovers soon x 

Yes, very cold here too, my son wants a onesie, but too tall. It nips in places 
Keep warm , moonie x

You just don't realise that suddenly you can be faced with such a long recovery period.  We all take our ankle joints for granted, poor guy it must be so frustrating for him.

Skylark, my client's ankle was in such a bad state that it had to be replaced. He's 55 but he said that he was getting pain from his toes curling up against each other and some arthritis. He will probably need orthopedic boots. The problem is that he works in a M&S store so should be wearing shoes and wearing shoes is much more painful than wearing boots. M&S have been very good to him keeping him on their payroll for this length of time.

It is very frustrating for him.

I know M&S is a good employer but what a thing to happen to him, poor guy, and so young to be getting such a problem with his ankle from arthritis.  I have a touch of it in my ankles, as well as lots of joints but that is just terrible.