The elf is starting to sort out his Christmas lights for the outside of our house. Takes him a few days to get up what was once an afternoons bonding session with the Almost Mrs. Bimbo.

Does anyone else put up lights on their house???

Lucky1 said:

The elf is starting to sort out his Christmas lights for the outside of our house. Takes him a few days to get up what was once an afternoons bonding session with the Almost Mrs. Bimbo.

Does anyone else put up lights on their house???

Would love to do it one day – in moderation though, I hate the massive tacky displays. However it’ll be a long time before we get the front of the house looking respectable enough to want to draw attention to it.. :D

Can’t see my house from the road. Too many trees.

To quote HP in another thread,

“2 bloody hours to get out of the carpark was a complete joke!! it’s hectares of parking spaces for thousands of vehicles, with one exit that becomes one hell of a bottleneck and caused a traffic jam of a magnitude that London would be proud of! it was backed up for several klms. We couldn’t even move to re park the car and go back for a coffee to wait it all out.
I’m telling their management never to expect us to visit again.”
===========================================

Heh heh. Festive innit ;-)

Bah Humbug. No lights external nor internal for us. Noticed today that Coles had Easter Buns for sale…

ffs.

pain master said:

Bah Humbug. No lights external nor internal for us. Noticed today that Coles had Easter Buns for sale…

ffs.

I agree with you PM. Won’t be any deccys here, or lights.
We will dec daughters house out. though inside only.

Theres whole blocks of houses here that go all out with the lights and garden ornaments, and it’s becoming a sort of modern tradition now to take the family for a walk to see them. I cannot be bothered!

Longy said:

To quote HP in another thread,

“2 bloody hours to get out of the carpark was a complete joke!! it’s hectares of parking spaces for thousands of vehicles, with one exit that becomes one hell of a bottleneck and caused a traffic jam of a magnitude that London would be proud of! it was backed up for several klms. We couldn’t even move to re park the car and go back for a coffee to wait it all out.
I’m telling their management never to expect us to visit again.”
===========================================

Heh heh. Festive innit ;-)

Laugh then! LOL Actually we were all singing xmassy songs to pass the time and changing the lyrics to suit a traffic jam! lol. And to drown out all the car horns and shouting motorists getting extremely frustrated.

Long shifts at work for me.

>Noticed today that Coles had Easter Buns for sale…

That’s for easter 2011 !!

8^)

Noticed some festive lights on the side of the road on the way home from work tonight.

Luckily they were booking someone else.

CollieWA said:

>Noticed today that Coles had Easter Buns for sale…

That’s for easter 2011 !!

8^)

Of course, last month’s 2010 range have passed their expiration date.

CollieWA said:

Noticed some festive lights on the side of the road on the way home from work tonight.

Luckily they were booking someone else.

ROTF….well done …lol

roughbarked said:

Can’t see my house from the road. Too many trees.

Ditto…but not too many trees, just in strategic spots…even the JW’s don’t know we’re here…

Happy Potter said:

pain master said:

Bah Humbug. No lights external nor internal for us. Noticed today that Coles had Easter Buns for sale…

ffs.

I agree with you PM. Won’t be any deccys here, or lights.
We will dec daughters house out. though inside only.

Theres whole blocks of houses here that go all out with the lights and garden ornaments, and it’s becoming a sort of modern tradition now to take the family for a walk to see them. I cannot be bothered!

Oh, I loved to take the children driving of a night to see the displays…one lady put her heart and soul into this (actually speaking, quite a few did)…and it was generally said of her 3-window displays (which had a different theme every year) that they were reminiscent of McWhirters in the Valley, later Myer in the City…but I don’t think Myer do it anymore…shame… a lot of the older ladies put great thought into their manger scenes as well…you can tell the sparky families, or those with sparky friends…tremendous shows…

…but not for us…just the inside lights on Christmas Eve, a product of our days of choosing a she-oak on Chirstmas Eve, stuck in a bucket of sand…

…but not for us…just the inside lights on Christmas Eve, a product of our days of choosing a she-oak on Chirstmas Eve, stuck in a bucket of sand…
———————
we have a small but pretty gum tree in a pot for our tree this year. so a few lights on there i guess. this is not a suburban street and no one around here lights up the house. the tree will be visible thru’ the window as cars flash past at 80kph.

Cranky people / crowded car parks / crowded shops /

Grasshopper said:

Cranky people / crowded car parks / crowded shops /

It also means flashing lights that keep me awake.. wish the neighbours didn’t do it.

roughbarked said:

Grasshopper said:

Cranky people / crowded car parks / crowded shops /

It also means flashing lights that keep me awake.. wish the neighbours didn’t do it.

Get a spray bottle with water and a few drops of detergent.
spray the window.
Roll alfoil onto the window.
Squeegee it on to eliminate bubbles.
Sorted ;-)

Longy said:

roughbarked said:

Grasshopper said:

Cranky people / crowded car parks / crowded shops /

It also means flashing lights that keep me awake.. wish the neighbours didn’t do it.

Get a spray bottle with water and a few drops of detergent.
spray the window.
Roll alfoil onto the window.
Squeegee it on to eliminate bubbles.
Sorted ;-)

heh right back at them.

heh right back at them.
++++++++++++++++
Actually, it’ll totally black out your room.
I use it when i’m working nightshift.
Helps keep the room cooler too.

Longy said:

heh right back at them.
++++++++++++++++
Actually, it’ll totally black out your room.
I use it when i’m working nightshift.
Helps keep the room cooler too.

good tip. :)

Longy said:

heh right back at them.
++++++++++++++++
Actually, it’ll totally black out your room.
I use it when i’m working nightshift.
Helps keep the room cooler too.

Yeh, my brother used to do this.. he is some kind of freak who needs to sleep in a freezer-like environment.

More lights have gone up ….. still the roof to be done.

A guy at the top of the hill is a sparky…so he’s got lights! first time since he’s moved in, actually.

He has marked (with lights) a landing strip for Santa, he has some reindeer already there (to keep Rudolph company?) and then winking coloured lights leading from the landing strip and up the front stairs, to the front door…I guess as they have no Chimney, Santa needs to know where to go…there’s other winkin’ and blinkin’ lights draped through the shrubs, and I love riding past it of a night during my bike/walk session…

There’s a guy nearby here on a dead end cul de sac and he has put out his Xmas Display. I’m impressed with the simple fact that he is doing it for himself and not the passing traffic. And it is a simple display… me thinks his heart is in the right spot.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v348/Platycat/Xmaslights.jpg

Grasshopper said:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v348/Platycat/Xmaslights.jpg

Oh surely not! Santa would never do that…would he?

I guess it just my take on Xmas lol

I’m having a chicken and champagne breakfast on a pink and silver theme…this is because the rest of the household have to travel east for work the next day…

I was just going to roast a couple of chickens with a leaf of sage and half a lime in the cavity: done in a “cook-in” bag, this comes up nicely.

Also planned for the menu is a Weight Watchers baked ham…these are very popular…

There are recipes for chicken breasts cooked in champagne or just white wine: will these refrigerate OK? If not, I’ll just stick to the tried and true roast chicken…

the whole will be a cold collation with savoury and sweet finger food, homemade bread sticks and home made pesto (if possible, otherwise a commercial pesto if that makes life easier in the long run),,,fruit…limited champagne (for driving safety), alcohol-free punch…maybe homemade yeast muffins to go with the commercial jams.. mostly stuff that can be made ahead and either refrigerated or frozen…altho’ freezer room is limited as it’s full of half of “the little white feller” (one of my steers)

This is the one time of the year when we’re all together, and as the children grow older these family gatherings may not happen so frequently…especially as I’m not one of those mothers that insist on catering year in year out and not letting anybody else have a go…

I haven’t got this breakfast thing under control, so all suggestions are welcome…HINT HINT…

Dinetta said:

I haven’t got this breakfast thing under control, so all suggestions are welcome…HINT HINT…

if you have trouble eating a big breakfast in the morning. then do as the hobbits do and have two! sometimes something light to start with settles my stomach enough to have something more substantial a little later.

Dinetta said:

I haven’t got this breakfast thing under control, so all suggestions are welcome…HINT HINT…

lemon and sugar pikelets

pepe said:

Dinetta said:

I haven’t got this breakfast thing under control, so all suggestions are welcome…HINT HINT…

lemon and sugar pikelets

sound good, tell me more!

I had a Chrissy breakfast a couple years back , seeing as all the kids had made lunch arrangements with their partners families.
Blueberry pancakes w maple syrup , scotch eggs ,egg and bacon omelettes (had spinach chives and cheddar cheese in) , corn fritters, orange juice and pineapple juice.
Mind you I ended up with 30 for brekky as friends got wind and invited themselves! (welcomed tho). Tea pot and coffee pot with a bit of mistletoe on the lids ,were the centrepieces lol.
I didn’t make a theme as such, but one rule, all had to attend in their PJ’s and dressing gowns. Which sent my 3 daughters in a pretty PJ buying frenzy lol.
It was fantastic and we have vowed to do it again one xmas.

Happy Potter said:

I didn’t make a theme as such, but one rule, all had to attend in their PJ’s and dressing gowns. Which sent my 3 daughters in a pretty PJ buying frenzy lol.
It was fantastic and we have vowed to do it again one xmas.

Dressing gowns!! In December?! Isn’t it a little too hot??? Sounds like a fun idea though :)

For Mr Bon & I Christmas morning is “our” part of the day, for our little family. Lunch is his folks/siblings, dinner is my folks/siblings. But morning is a beautiful quiet time for us and the dogalog :)

Happy Potter said:

I had a Chrissy breakfast a couple years back , seeing as all the kids had made lunch arrangements with their partners families.
Blueberry pancakes w maple syrup , scotch eggs ,egg and bacon omelettes (had spinach chives and cheddar cheese in) , corn fritters, orange juice and pineapple juice.
Mind you I ended up with 30 for brekky as friends got wind and invited themselves! (welcomed tho). Tea pot and coffee pot with a bit of mistletoe on the lids ,were the centrepieces lol.
I didn’t make a theme as such, but one rule, all had to attend in their PJ’s and dressing gowns. Which sent my 3 daughters in a pretty PJ buying frenzy lol.
It was fantastic and we have vowed to do it again one xmas.

Christmas breakfast has been a regular for us the last few years so that #1 daughter and husband can attend the obligatory Christmas lunch with his family. Eggnog is a regular. Things like fresh fruit and yogurt in parfait glasses, something like crepes or whatever takes my fancy for “main course”. Easier than doing a big lunch.

bon008 said:

Happy Potter said:

I didn’t make a theme as such, but one rule, all had to attend in their PJ’s and dressing gowns. Which sent my 3 daughters in a pretty PJ buying frenzy lol.
It was fantastic and we have vowed to do it again one xmas.

Dressing gowns!! In December?! Isn’t it a little too hot??? Sounds like a fun idea though :)

For Mr Bon & I Christmas morning is “our” part of the day, for our little family. Lunch is his folks/siblings, dinner is my folks/siblings. But morning is a beautiful quiet time for us and the dogalog :)

The heat in Dec’ is what sent the girls on a PJ buying spree, and me too because my old chenille gown was too hot and had a hole on the shoulder, and hubby didn’t own a dressing gown at all. Got hubby a silky superman wrap and I got a pretty white broderie anglaise cotton nightie with a matching brunch coat, but I was still weighty then and got told I looked like a big fluffy meringue lol.

Dinetta said:

pepe said:

Dinetta said:

I haven’t got this breakfast thing under control, so all suggestions are welcome…HINT HINT…

lemon and sugar pikelets

sound good, tell me more!

women’s weekly cookbook. very plain food

1 cup s.r flour, pinch salt, quarter teasp. bicarb soda, half cup sour milk, 3 tablesp sugar, 1 egg, 1 tablesp. of melted butter

mix dry ingredients incl sugar. beat to a smooth batter with egg and milk then add the melted butter and stir in. drop spoonfuls of mix into hot greased pan and turn when the mix goes bubbly on top.

Booze is moving more than food at the shopping centres. Also the stupidmarket special cat-a-logs have pages of booze advertised.

pepe said:

Dinetta said:

pepe said:

lemon and sugar pikelets

sound good, tell me more!

women’s weekly cookbook. very plain food

1 cup s.r flour, pinch salt, quarter teasp. bicarb soda, half cup sour milk, 3 tablesp sugar, 1 egg, 1 tablesp. of melted butter

mix dry ingredients incl sugar. beat to a smooth batter with egg and milk then add the melted butter and stir in. drop spoonfuls of mix into hot greased pan and turn when the mix goes bubbly on top.

Thanks Pepe, I haven’t been able to get on to my computer as I have a young lad fresh out of boarding school here hogging the workings…

Drum roll………………………………..

Our lights:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqIcYXsEKoM

Lovely :)

Not too OTT like some places, just nice and cheerful :)

Nice one Lucky… jee your street looks really dark, do you have any street lights on? Or does the Elf bust ‘em so that his Xmas display is better???

Lucky1 said:

Drum roll………………………………..

Our lights:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqIcYXsEKoM

You would even say it glows.

Lovely Lucky and Elf :)

pain master said:

Nice one Lucky… jee your street looks really dark, do you have any street lights on? Or does the Elf bust ‘em so that his Xmas display is better???

Darkish street, there is an orange light to the left of our house, more in front of the neighbour’s driveway. But yep…… its a darkish joint.

bon008 said:

Lovely :)

Not too OTT like some places, just nice and cheerful :)

I’ll tell the elf:) and thanks.

Happy Potter said:

Lucky1 said:

Drum roll………………………………..

Our lights:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqIcYXsEKoM

You would even say it glows.

Lovely Lucky and Elf :)

:D ta.

Lucky1 said:

Drum roll………………………………..

Our lights:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqIcYXsEKoM

Looks like a dinosaur all lit up, with walking legs and beating heart and all…!

no-ones inside ! the lights are out ! time to creep down the chimeny.
what the ?…. where’s the chimney?

very nice elf and L1

Am I the only one who found that vid a little creepy? Looked like the house was walking towards you…

hortfurball said:

Am I the only one who found that vid a little creepy? Looked like the house was walking towards you…

Nah, I got the impression that Lucky was walking towards the house..

There is a house out near my mums on a bit of acreage that goes all out. Massive display and they encourage you to come and walk around, a gold coin donation goes to a different charity each year. They are so popular that the council drops the speed limit to sixty from November to mid January.

pain master said:

hortfurball said:

Am I the only one who found that vid a little creepy? Looked like the house was walking towards you…

Nah, I got the impression that Lucky was walking towards the house..

I know that’s what’s ACTUALLY happening, but have a couple of glasses of wine and watch it again, LOL!
It’s attacking I swear! :D

http://bellsouthpwp.net/h/o/holm5215/Untilxmas/Index.html

A Politically Correct Christmas Story

‘Twas the night before Christmas and Santa’s a wreck…
How to live in a world that’s politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to “Elves”.
“Vertically Challenged” they were calling themselves.
And labour conditions at the North Pole
were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,
Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.
And equal employment had made it quite clear
That Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid
Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his sleigh;
The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A.
And people had started to call for the cops
When they heard sled noises on their rooftops.
Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his elves quite frightened.
His fur trimmed red suit was called “Unenlightened.”

And to show you the strangeness of life’s ebbs and flows,
Rudolf was suing over unauthorised use of his nose
And had gone on TV, in front of the nation,
Demanding millions in over-due compensation.
So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife,
Who suddenly said she’d enough of this life,

Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,
Demanding from now on her title was Ms.
And as for the gifts, why, he’d never had a notion
That making a choice could cause so much commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,
Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.

Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing to aim, Nothing to shoot.
Nothing that clamoured or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls, or just for the boys.
Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.
Nothing that’s warlike or non-pacifistic.

No candy or sweets…they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.
And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,
Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.
For they raised the hackles of those psychological
Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.

No baseball, no football…someone could get hurt;
Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt.
Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe;
And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.
So Santa just stood there, dishevelled, perplexed;
He just could not figure out what to do next.

He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,
But you’ve got to be careful with that word today.
His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;
Nothing fully acceptable was to be found.
Something special was needed, a gift that he might
Give to all without angering the left or the right.

A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,
Each group of people, every religion;
Every ethnicity, every hue,
Everyone, everywhere…even you.
So here is that gift, it’s price beyond worth…
May you and your loved ones, enjoy peace on Earth.

Lucky1 said:

http://bellsouthpwp.net/h/o/holm5215/Untilxmas/Index.html

Aaaaaghhhhhh ——— It’s so close!!!

Twas the night before Christmas, I’m glued to the tree.

I’m wondering what Santa brought just for me.

Could it be fat quarters or a pattern or lace?

Or a quilt kit, I said, with a smile on my face.

And that’s when I heard him,

“Hi Santa,” I said

“You know….good little girls should be in their beds “.

“I know I should Santa, and now I’ve got caught.

But I was just so excited to see what you brought

“Well, let’s take a look in this room where you work.”

He shook his head quickly, And left with a jerk.

I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.

“You’ve got enough stuff, I’ll see you next year!”

Lucky1 said:

Twas the night before Christmas, I’m glued to the tree.

I’m wondering what Santa brought just for me.

Could it be fat quarters or a pattern or lace?

Or a quilt kit, I said, with a smile on my face.

And that’s when I heard him,

“Hi Santa,” I said

“You know….good little girls should be in their beds “.

“I know I should Santa, and now I’ve got caught.

But I was just so excited to see what you brought

“Well, let’s take a look in this room where you work.”

He shook his head quickly, And left with a jerk.

I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.

“You’ve got enough stuff, I’ll see you next year!”

lol! very good :)

bluegreen said:

So here is that gift, it’s price beyond worth…
May you and your loved ones, enjoy peace on Earth.

That was very clever.