Tag Archives: Christmas

Inspired By…The Original Single Girl

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I was catching up on reading last weekend’s Times magazine (and listening to some Laura Branigan, but that’s another story!) and I dipped into a column that I have not read for quite sometime – Things You Only Know If You’re Single written by the fabulously single Hannah Betts.

(For those of you who don’t know, I am, once again, a single girl – again, another story, and unrelated to Laura Branigan.)

Anyway, the topic of singledom was this – that “Elizabeth I was the original career single”. Intrigued, I read on.

Betts includes some supporting quotes (which I will share here as if you want to read the column on-line for yourselves, The Times in their commercial wisdom, will now make you pay to read their stuff) such as,

“Better beggar woman and single than queen and married”

which, while I don’t subscribe to being the marrying kind, seems a little blinkered and/or extreme; and one which is entirely up my street:

“I will have here but one mistress and no master”

There is a lot written about Elizabeth, her life and her reign during the Golden Age – a lot of which I’ve read.  But I was inspired to go-a-googling to see if I could find a statement that would sum up how much this frivolous yet wily and conservative political genius achieved during the 44 years of her reign…

When she ascended the throne in 1558, England was an impoverished country torn apart by religious squabbles. When she died at Richmond Palace on the 24th March 1603, England was one of the most powerful and prosperous countries in the world.  (http://www.elizabethi.org)/)

So the Virgin Queen pretty much rocked her world. But I have to admit, I don’t think I’d have ever been prepared to forego potential sexual misadventures for it (be honest, would you?!!)…and let’s face it, THAT horse bolted a long time ago.

But Betts is right – Elizabeth I is absolutely a true hero among ‘lone ranger’ icons.

ps…it’s exactly 3 weeks ’til Christmas today…and while the beloved widget thingy (which is on my blog for those of you receiving this by email) is still marching festively towards the 25th, the advent calendar will be marking its annual pilgrimage towards the big day in a communal fashion on the office filing cupboard… 

Did Somebody Mention Christmas?

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Last we left things (see Lazy Saturday), I was bracing myself for a rather chilly foray into Kingston to run a couple of errands before heading over to A’s for red wine (yes more), a home-cooked dinner and some girly telly. 

So I set out just after 4pm (you know, just after our ‘sun’ has gone down and it’s, well…dark), crunching down the sporadically-gritted path to the bus stop, resolutely telling myself that a) it was not as cold as my nose was telling me it was, b) it was ok not to walk all they way into Kingston today because it was cold/it was dark/time didn’t permit and c) that I would feel much better with these errands off the to-do list. 

And then I got into Kingston to find…

…the lights are up…
…the tree is out…
…and there’s a gorgeous new old-fashioned sweet shop in Castle Street (where I spent about 20 minutes wondering around in child-like amazement).

Buoyed by all this festive cheer (and a reunion with my phone which seemed to go quite smoothly), I crunched on to A’s who had promised an evening of home-cooked lasagne and mooching on the couch, curled up under blankets and just feeling all warm and toasty. 

I didn’t think it could get any better, but it did… 

She was making lamingtons when I got there!

Eeeeeeeeeee (aka squeal of excitement)!
Delicious little chocolate-dipped, coconut-covered bundles of sponge-cake yumminess!

And not wanting to be rude, I had three…

I think Christmas may have come a little early (27 days actually) this year!

Adding Up The Small Things…

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In my weekly peruse of Dr Alan Zimmerman’s Tuesday Tip, I found another little pearl of wisdom I had to share…

“Bigness comes from doing many small things well. Individually, they are not very dramatic transactions. Together though, they add up.”  Edward S. Finkelstein

Sounds like my life at the moment!

And with the widget thingy telling me that there’s only 41 sleeps to Christmas, I am suspecting that unless I get cracking on a few small things, I may be faced with a rather large ‘transaction’ (aka meltdown) in a few weeks time…

Methinks it’s time to get some skates on!

A Game Of Tag…You’re It!

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I got this game from a fellow blogger Ladaisi, via Seeded Buzz. Seemed like a fun thing to try and she wrote out the rules so beautifully that I couldn’t help but leap in and ‘have a crack’ at it.  So, these are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.  Yep
2. Paste these rules on your blog post.  Yep
3. Respond to the following prompts (in bold).  Yep
4. Add a prompt of your own and answer it.  Yep no. 8
5. Tag a few other bloggers at the bottom of the post. Yep
6. Leave “Tagged You” notices on their blog/Facebook. Soon
7. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve written the post. Before Soon
————————————————————
1) The best investment you ever made:
Travelling and books…both expand minds, possibilities and stomachs.

2) If you could’ve written any book, directed any movie, and composed any song, which three would you pick:
I would have written The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (such a gloriously unexpected surprise), directed The Devil Wears Prada (all those fab clothes…sigh), and written Born To Be Alive by Patrick Hernandez (showing my age a little here!)

3) Weirdest quirk:
My adoration of Alfie Bear…oh and a serious addiction to peanut butter…and cheese (although not together!)

4) One wish immediately granted:
Debts…gone!

5) Most expensive hobby:
Eating out…I just love great food (and wine) in great company! And it doesn’t always come cheap…

6) An inexhaustible gift-card at which store:
Waitrose…there’s that food thing again!

7) In another lifetime, you’d be:
A writer…although this life’s not over yet…

8) The most famous/interesting member of your family tree:
Famous: Bernadette Devlin
Interesting: Bishop Ferdinand Hamer

So I’m tagging:
Seen the Elephant, Marmite and Fluff, The Vegemite Wife, Clever Girl Goes Blog, Memoirs of a TSUNAMI Girl, Postcards From Across The Pond, Ham Life

So the game is afoot! And you are IT…

ps…If I haven’t tagged you and you’d like to participate, don’t be shy…jump on in! And if you are one of these annoyingly organised, OCD types and have done all your Christmas shopping, I could not think of a better way to while away the 43 days until the fat man in the red suit pops in…

Sleeps To Go…

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Just a quick update for all you planners and list makers out there:

  • There are only 78 sleeps to go until Christmas Day;
  • There are only 27 sleeps to go til we see S in Fawlty Towers on board the Hispaniola;
  • There are only 11 sleeps to go on the Lil Chicky Birthday Countdown; and
  • There are only 3 sleeps to go until I go back to work…

So I’m off to spend the afternoon with a good book in my favourite little reading spot…

View of my reading spot from my window

In the afternoon this gets a glorious couple of hours of gorgeous sunshine…so fingers crossed that the weather holds out!

Sleeps To Go…Better Not Cry

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I haven’t seen any actual evidence of this whilst out and about myself but I have been reliably informed via email, facebook updates, blog posts and ads that Christmas has begun to cast its long shadow into the world again.

And as always, it just seemed too early to be right.  So I investigated further only to discover that there are in fact 90 days until the fat man in the red suit (or whatever your version is) comes to town.

My first thought was ugh!!!  Immediately followed by ‘hmmmmm, how can I embrace this in a sustainable-til-Dec-25 yet ridiculously childish fashion?’

So the new look Gidday From The UK blog has a guest widget…an attempt to bring a little festive cheer to the shortening days and fallling temperatures and to chart that rollercoaster of feelings (eg. excitement, dismay and the somewhere in between) that relate to any impending time of Yule. 

I may even try a little earlybird planning to get on Santa’s ‘nice’ list…

ps…you should also know that the Lil Chicky Birthday Countdown is also underway…only 23 sleeps to go Chicky!!!

Just One Festive Sleep To Go And It’s Already Christmas…Somewhere

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Here I am on Christmas Eve, catching up on all my Christmas emails and trying to respond in kind with a fab e-card (which is presenting some technical challenges to say the least!) when I realised that Christmas Day has already arrived for my Aussie family and friends so although they might not be up and about just yet, in case I don’t crack the e-card….

Wishing you all a magical Christmas
and every success and happiness in 2010…

Love from me, J & Alfie Bear (of course!)

xxx

20 Festive Sleeps To Go…

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I cannot quite believe we are in December and I am already starting to put things in my diary for next year…like next catchups with friends (we are now hugging goodbye saying ‘see you next year’) and routine appointments (like my next hairdresser’s appointment is now January 30th!) 

There are only 20 sleeps to go until Christmas Day, the shops are getting crazy-busy, parking in Kingston has officially become challenging and brightly-wrapped parcels from home are starting to form quite a festive pile under the Christmas tree. And we are off for our first Christmas event tonight – J’s daughter’s Christmas Dance Show – complete with roast turkey meal and all the yuletime trimmings. 

Just where did the year go?  Can anyone tell me??

Time to get festive

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Christmas is creeping up on us all and with the 1st December approaching (on Tuesday), there was much excitement in our household when the cupboard under the stairs was opened, many boxes and bags were rummaged through and a very important Hamer ritual took place…the annual decoration of the Christmas Tree.

(I know it’s not officially December yet but if we are rounding to the closest weekend, Tuesday is def. closer to this weekend than next!)

So with 26 sleeps to go, I tested the lights, laid out all of the ornaments – an eclectic mix of cheap ‘fillers’ and gorgeous treats from my travels over the last few years – and spent a couple of joyful hours filling my flat with Christmas…

So so pretty…I’m feeling very pleased with my efforts indeed.  And it does makes me all childishly excited to turn all of the living room lights off and to sit in the lovely glow of Christmas…

But what’s that I can hear?  A few rustling sounds and a bear-ish grunt or two…hmmm let’s investigate…

Oh it’s Alfie Bear – he has stolen Mummy’s Christmas hat and is admiring his very first Christmas tree!

Remember…26 sleeps to go people…time to get festive!