.

Oh no, a new Anne again doesn’t bode well if another lock out has occurred! You have found us again Anne but for how long?

Chicken casserole was delicious if I do say so myself. Looked at a variety of recipes and decided Good Housekeeping’s called for veggie additions that were snoozing in my fridge and then I swapped Spanish Chorizo for bacon bits and slow cooked for 5 hours…. Perfection and maybe something John would enjoy Patsy with a few roast potatoes. My gravy sauce would stick to his ribs!

I did hear on our radio news about the tornadoes, apparently the strongest ever recorded. The extreme weather events are becoming as scary as the pandemic.

For the first time in over 50 years I heard “It’s a marshmallow world in the Winter, when the snow comes to cover the ground” on my favourite radio station and that tells me Christmas isn’t far away!
Usually when it comes to music on the day, I skip from Phil Spector’s Christmas album to carols from Kings College, Cambridge choir so quite a contrast.

Time to put my head down.
Jackie 💤

I was without internet service until an hour ago, apparently due to a big outage over a wide area from around 3.30am. Engineers reporting a power surge but no reason why and someone mentioned a storm but I wasn’t aware of one last night. Anyway, just like JillyBurg, I’m back!

A bleak, grey day but not raining at the moment so I’ll take the opportunity to muck out the hens and at least snip a few wayward branches off the hedge ready for my new trellis.

Back later,
Jackie

https://youtu.be/5Zhft-sDkBA

I’m searching through YouTube for Christmas music and found Enya, one of my favourites so with the fire lit and George laid out drying his washed tummy while Betty snores in her bed, all is peaceful. While I cleaned out the hens and trimmed the hedge my neighbours took George out for a walk to the Quoit. Only problem was the amount of mud and grit he picked up on his legs and undercarriage so as soon as they returned, into the baby bath he had to go otherwise I just knew he would try to dry himself rolling on my bed! Luckily I’d just lit the fire so he should soon dry.

Lin, your post must have disappeared as I typed mine last night as there was no sign of it then. Your mention of the lovely electric over blanket made me look back! Strange goings on generally on MFP, that’s for sure. Good luck with the parcel hunt. We are warned that due to staff shortages, our mail service is going to be chaotic so I need to find a postbox that my cards will fit in. Most around this area are Victorian, built into someone’s cottage wall and designed for personal, small notelets! Ah, the good old days!

Sandy, Robby is a fabulous singer and such confidence! I’m not sure I would have been brave enough at his age! Grandma’s are always allowed to be proud and I’m so pleased for Robby that the school is working out for him.
Cosy apartment and beautiful coloured lamps.

I shall definitely make more casseroles in the future Anne as they are so easy to prepare and I want to get myself back to cooking a variety of meals. That time with the renovations going on had me living on easy options but since I’ve always enjoyed time in my kitchen, nothing is that difficult. I just watched a video of Mary Berry preparing marinated pork tenderloin wearing a beautiful white polka dot blouse. She showed how, after a couple of hours in the fridge, to shake off the marinade and promptly dropped the pork with a splat that sent juices everywhere, including across her front! Good for her, she kept that piece of video in!I

Time to steam veggies and reheat the casserole.

Stay safe friends.
Jackie 🥰

Yes, lovely video SANDY and you have every right to be very proud of him. My babiest grandson Derek will by 29 this coming week ''Yikes", enjoy Robby before he is "all grown up".

Now girls a word of caution. do NOT make Jamie Olivers cookies from his Revolution cookbook. Oh my, they are addictive and I can't keep my greedy little paws out of the cookie jar! Good for Mary Berry JACKIE, and its good to know even the most talented of cooks have their bad moments.

Mark and Mary Jo have departed leaving Jilly and myself in quietude.

Anne.

PATSY, Funny you should mention that about the berries because my holly bush has very few this year as well. Warmer winters? Sorry to keep poking my nose in but I can hardly believe I'm back.
Anne

Oh my goodness Patsy, your delightful coffee table in my house wouldn’t last 5 minutes without either a naughty Irish cat sitting in the middle or Miss Podge, Betty knocking it for six as she searched for the tasty treat with her name on it!

Goodnight! Midnight so off to bed. 🛌 😴
Jackie

Patsy, what a beautiful room. ❤️ I love your decorations. It must be a very comfortable space for relaxing.

Hello Anne, Sandy and Jackie.

I have errands today.

Lin🙋🏼‍♀️
❤️❤️

Hello sneakers! Wow! Time is running by faster and faster. As for my decorations, I do love them and I have a tremendous amount that will stay packed up. The photos on the side table are MpMo and Mazzie is there too. I love our dogs, past and present. I often feel their presence still. I know that may sound weird but I know animals have a spirit. John feels it too. He has said as much.

We are still under our famous atmospheric river. Rain and dark,clouds. I am in great need of Christmas lights and happy music. Today I am listening to Vivaldi. Always a good choice.

Sandy: I have to put coloring on my hair again but here is a very sad thing. The color I have been using has been changed. I liked this color because it wasn’t too startling and blended nicely with my salt and pepper grey. My mom used to say we were black Irish. Dark hair and dark freckles on milk white skin. We are polka-dot people! I love your busy holiday activities.

Anne: yes! Grand idea! A snifter of good Irish whiskey and a nibble of cheese and a couple of cold water crackers. Christmas! Come join us, sneakers, one and all!

Jackie: Katie has throughly investigated the Santa tea party. There is doggie slobber on all the little tea set pieces. Even the candle has been examined.

Lin: out and about! I have an errand list that is just staring at me. Must get to it soon.
Turn on happiness before it is too late!
Patsy☘️🐕🦴🎶🎶🎶🎶

Good afternoon. Several errands accomplished today but many more still on the list. Wow, it is busy out there. It was just too busy for me to feel comfortable shopping inside the stores. The weather is too nice apparently bringing out lots of people to grocery stores, drug stores and the shopping area near the post office.

I am packing up the trash now to put out at the curb for morning pickup. I will crush the boxes another day. The recycling will not be picked up tomorrow.

In amongst all this stuff, I got an idea for next year’s Christmas card and die cut several things to see if they would work together in terms of scale. I am not convinced but I guess I have some time to work on it. 😂 I punched out loads of hearts in several colors with the paper that was on the way to being tossed. I thought it would be nice to have lots of shapes to work with but oh my, with strong sunshine, I found out the paper really is not at all good. The color does not go through to the core. All the edges are white rather than pink or red, etc. Not good. I would need to find some method to disguise all those white edges which would take forever! I do not think trying to save that paper is worth it.

Jackie, what do you think you will do with your hair? Add more pink? Or go wild with another color altogether? A lady at church changes her color each time she has her hair done. My favorites so far have been blue and purple. Pink was 3rd! 😃😄😃I like your haircut. 👍🏻👍🏻 Oh, and I found the package. I was lucky, the wind was so strong it could have been blown into the next steeet!

Patsy, I thought of you today as I drove about listening (and singing along) to Christmas music. It was lovely. I have always been addicted to singing in the car. One reason, in a long list, contributing to divorce! Changes to product such as hair color are unwelcome when we get in a routine and are used to seeing the same color at the end right? I never did my own, I had the color done at the hairdresser but they changed the formulation and suddenly I was allergic to it with a burning head and red bumps on my scalp. I immediately decided to live with whatever hair I had on my head of whatever color.

Sandy, good grief! You will be running continually from now until Christmas. 🙃

Anne, are you having a quiet day? How’s the Bean? I am suffering from a lack of birdies. A big black cat showed up and stalked along the top of my fence. I have not had a bird come to visit since then. They used to hop around on the fence, fly over to perch on the deck railing and play in the pine tree. Even the squirrels are not showing up as often. I am somewhat upset with that cat!

I have nothing to show from my house but I did see this Thelwell cartoon. They always make me laugh.



And another teapot


Be safe everyone. Wishing us all good health and much happiness.

Lin🙋🏼‍♀️
❤️❤️

Hello!

I will be leaving soon to try to finish the errands I skipped yesterday due to full parking lots. 🤞🏻

Anne, good job getting that appointment for Jilly. Sorry the things have to be done but very responsible to take care of your little one.

Hope to see you all later.

Lin🙋🏼‍♀️
❤️❤️

A quiet day although a healthy long walk on the moors. On the way home I stopped at the little post office perched on top of the moor to post a parcel but they were closed so that the owners could attend a funeral. The pub car park was filling up and dozens pouring into the place so I assume that’s where the wake was to be held. Not a mask in sight! 🙄😳
I’ve chopped a few logs into smaller, manageable pieces and chopped kindling as well as ordering more fuel to be delivered Thursday so that should all get me through to the New Year.
Dan phoned to let me know he will be here tomorrow to start the trellis construction and that’s about all today. Pasta and salad for my easy option evening meal then I might string a few fairy lights across the ceiling!

Loved the Thelwell cartoon Lin, especially Santa’s expression! 😆. My hair will probably receive a few fresh streaks of pink once the current colour fades but generally let the grey stay. That’s unless we go into lockdown again because I have a spare box of the bright pink all over hair colour I used last year tucked away in the bathroom cabinet!
Last night I read your post with the peppermint teapot picture and had a dream that a couple of men I didn’t know were helping themselves to my supply. It was all quite amicable but what a strange dream!

Sandy’s plans have left me feeling exhausted just thinking about them!

Washing George’s feet after our walk, I checked his claws and saw they need to be clipped so I might attempt that job tomorrow.

George and Betty are snoozing after their evening kibble so time to cook my pasta.
Jackie 🥰

Back home. I did get to both the drugstore and Whole Foods and the number of people in each were reasonable. BUT, shelves were pretty bare, for the things I wanted. The grocery store close to me has discount day tomorrow and I also have a little gift card. We will see. We are expecting horrendous winds tomorrow and some rural schools are already cancelling school tomorrow as they are afraid the buses may tip over in the wind. Storms are also expected in the evening.

Sandy, well thanks for doing the car wash rain dance. 😂 as long as it doesn’t bring snow! Have fun with the kiddos this afternoon. I come from family (both sides) with gray or white hair. I didn’t have a chance. My mom had relatively dark brown hair and was horrified when she started to get some white hair. Her mom had perfectly white hair, nary a brown hair survived. That scared her so she had her hair dyed for years. My dad didn’t care for it but that wasn’t a battle he was going to win. As her health got worse, she finally could not sit in the chair at the beauty shop for long so her hair ended up a mix of brown and white. Actually quite a bit of brown, she called it salt and pepper. But no one in the family whose hair didn’t turn some other color, or for the men, bald spots or being completely bald.

Jackie, yipes, nail trimming! Oh George, do some meditating so you can be Zen tomorrow. Good job getting stocked up on fuel! For a different type of fuel, I thought about topping up my car’s tank while I was out but decided it really wouldn’t take much fuel so not worth the trip to the station. I am sure I will feel different about it when it’s below zero and I have to stand out there and pump gas! Sorry the post office was closed. And I hope the trellis construction goes well. 🤞🏻 Yipes what a dream, men stealing your peppermint. Horror movie!

Anne, is Mark working at your house today? My eyesight is really not good. I don’t think being online all the time is helping my eyes at all.

Hi Patsy, did I miss your post again? Hope you and John and Katie are well.

Lin🙋🏼‍♀️
❤️❤️

Wow, a way out teapot!