Georgie Girl

Yes, there is a Santa, Georgie Girl. He goes by three letters. BBC.

What a great night. I am curled up on my luscious living platform (chair and a half w/ ottoman) and watching the Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special. Then I stumble upon this article that says the Christmas special is the last episode.  

So the detective in me starts to kick in and then I find THIS article on BBC News that says they have announced there WILL be a third season.  Who to believe?  The article on BBC was posted 21DEC. Obviously, I must believe it cause there is associated video. You can tell how important this is to me, right?

How could I ever think the BBC would let me down? To confirm, there is a third series in the works.

I have to have more Nessa. More Smithy. PLUS the Christmas Special has this insane cliff hanger. In my detective work it finally sunk in that the actors that play Smithy & Nessa write the series together which makes sense because their relationship is the most nuanced and appealing to me (Gavin and Stacey are a bit sicky sweet now).

So I can sit back on my luscious living platform and rest easy.  There will be more Gavin and Stacey. Oh yes, there will. 

I *heart* Bleak House

So a bit ago I told you guys I was watching Little Dorrit. It's goods but I read that Bleak House is much better. So being a Charles Dickens kind of gal right now, I just started watching Bleak House while I still finish up Little Dorrit. 

Woah baby. It's AWESOME - officially it is butter.  The scenic work is fantastic, the story is compelling and mysterious and I love the cast (some excellent at creepy, some at being likable). Delicious to know I have so many episodes left to watch - about 6!

Christmas Morning

We have cinnamon rolls with raisins sprinkled on top. Wait, let me be clear. I have cinnamon rolls hot out of the oven with raisins. The dogs get a a cinnamon roll (no raisins) on matching plates while wearing matching outfits.

New fave thing: 4" of memory foam

I am in heaven.  Bought this 4" memory foam topper for my bed. I am probably now at least 3 feet off the ground  ( I have a very high antique bed so now I am super-high up).  The memory foam is wonderful - soft yet firm. The dogs are loving it too.

The Queen's Christmas address

I was transfixed at Queen Elizabeth's Christmas message this morning (10AM BBC Americas) because I was having such a surreal Christmas this year that I needed a little royal interruption.  It was lovely. Harry is a doll in the video - so charming.  Another highlight for me was when I noticed that the same triple strand of pearls the Queen was wearing in her 2008 address is the same triple strand she is wearing in the video of her playing with a young Prince Charles 60 years ago.  Ah, tradition.

The surreal Christmas ended today with another homemade meal that I meticulously cooked, packed and toted over to the hospital. I was really in the Christmas spirit till everything got absorbed in this health related tail spin. Supposedly we will have a family Christmas this weekend at some point - but I just am not sure I can get in the spirit 

Oh never fear, I shall rally!  Just that this Christmas is a crossroads for my family - and in my opinion, a good one. I am sitting here with a mug of hot apple cider watching "About Jane". Tomorrow I am deep cleaning the house (honestly I already did the kitchen tonight - everything but cleaning out the inside of the fridge!).  Happy Christmas!!

Oh wait, one more thing, the girls had Christmas cinnamon rolls this morning. They had a lovely morning and we celebrated Christmas morning together. I will post pictures sometime this weekend.

Peace and health to you and yours tonight where ever you may be. 

Menu Madness

I am helping out with Christmas Eve dinner - my Grandmother is in the hospital so I'm providing the viddles for the folks stopping by spending a few moments. The key to the menu is ease of transport and portions. I've only had about 24 hours to think it through so I am a wee bit stressed. (Read between the lines: worried.)

I'm going with the concept of small sandwiches on soft tasty rolls that I will bake right before I leave for the hospital and an assortment of mini-pitas.  The filling will be up to each person and I have the following to choose from:

• pork tenderloin (pre-sliced in sandwich friendly portions baked with apples)
• Boar's Head meats (turkey, ham, and a third I haven't decided on yet since I haven't purchased this yet!)
• cheeses (pre-cut into small sandwich portions in Swiss, cheddar, pepperjack)
• condiments (spicy mustard, mustard, mayo)
• Red Pepper dip
• Spinach dip
• Broccoli Salad
• Green Beans
• Homemade Pumpkin Pie (about 1AM I finished this one)
• Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

  I'm dizzy just writing it all down - but glad I did. Now I have an instant check list!  The hidden advantages of blogging! (remembering things, capturing journaling, making friends and managing TO DO lists :-)

  
  

Merry Little Christmas

Sweet tidings of peace and joy to you all from the Girls.  Merry Christmas.

Hip hip hooray for Horlick's

Was in World Market doing last minute Christmas stocking stuffer shopping. Found some coffees for my parents and some Swedish gingersnap cookies for a friend's parents. As I was perusing the hot cocoa section I found Horlick's.  This UK drink is a malted beverage - available in several flavors - marketed as part of a night time ritual. So basically I was intrigued by the packaging at first- the vanilla moon on puffy blue clouds and the shape of the canister (marketing makes me smile).

The drink is a mild malted milk beverage that I would like to try in the chocolate flavor. I can understand why folks like to drink it before bed. I accidentally mixed my first taste with water. I am going to try it with milk instead.

Peaceful Horlick dreams. 

The ultimate method to carry bunches of Christmas presents.

Officially, I have decided to share my secret. A few years ago I went to IKEA and purchased these requisite large blue bags to carry home my bounty.  At the time I immediately thought, this may be the ULTIMATE Christmas present carrying concept!

Last Christmas was the first official "present test". I declared these bags a workhorse success at transporting LARGE volumes of various sized packages to and from houses with ease.  They are gigantic, flexible and waterproof. 

Here is a picture of one haul of presents that I'm taking to my parents' early - I have two of them ready to go and I have room for more odds and ends.  The cool thing is that these can also be used to bring your gifts home in one piece!

TV, menus and twinkling tree.

I have been watching Top Gear and Whatever Martha. These two shows rock. Neither are what they seem.  Top Gear is such a fun show and the cinematic way that the car testing is done looks Oscar worth. Check out this segment below from Top Gear - so funny. Then there is Whatever Martha (also on Sirius Channel 112). On this show Alexis (Martha's daughter) and her friend Jennifer review old Martha Stewart segments - and make me pee in my pants (or something like that). This is just one mild example of a typical segment. Being a lover of all acerbic wit (and sometimes just dang sarcastic).... this is right up my alley. Tonight we had a lovely dinner - spinach ravioli with pesto and a pickled cucumber salad. The tree was so pretty!