General Chat

Susan I hadnt heard of another earthquake in NZ, I do hope no one has been hurt and that any damage is minimal.

It is very windy and wet here ... and in my backyard the rain is pouring down in a force 50 gale - or so it seems. I had to go into the garage to get some bread out of the freezer, and the noise of the wind had to be heard to be believed.*shivers*

I never fancied Mrs Browns Boys, so havent seen it. I didnt watch Father Ted either. Not really my kind of humour, but I find I dont have a great deal of time to watch TV anyway, these days.

Give me Morecambe & Wise any day!
oh dear, I am giving my age away :-S
but they were such brilliantly funny men
I can watch their reruns again and again :-)

After Ernie Wise died, one of the cartoonists (I think it was Jac) ran a very clever cartoon in a daily paper. He'd drawn a stage, with a poster reading "Together Again - Morecambe & Wise", and there were lots of Angels queueing for tickets.

*mumbles through mouth full of food*
good afternoon everyone, I didnt expect y'all to catch me out eating. I only eat once a day - starting with breakfast and finishing with a midnight feast.

Dont fret Petunia dear, the turkey remains are in safe hands, and I guarantee there will be none left by midnight; you know what they say about feeding Gremlins. I will make sure the pork goes to a very good home as well. And it wont be the cat's home either :-D

The turkey carcass can be used to make soup. *burp* Waste not, want not.

Yes I had to reply to dear Lesley in kind, we poets of a feather must stick together. But I can (and do) write some serious verse when I put my mind to it. Alas, there is no one left who wants to hear me recite my work any more.

I once had a Poetry certificate sent me by one of the Vanity Press, as a "prize" for submitting a good poem for inclusion in their anthology. I then learned I would be required to purchase a copy of said anthology (and pay for it in advance) before they'd agree to actually include my work. They asked me to send more poems, but they didnt publish any of my work in the end, because the additional poem I submitted was a diatribe in rhyme on the antics of the Vanity Press. I tried to laminate the certificate but unfortunately something went wrong and it got damaged, and I couldnt replace it. I shouldve scanned it into the computer first, I realised with hindsight.

*thinks* I see someone received the entire works of William Shakespeare for Christmas ....... *sniffs*

Ah yes, the Passing of Time.
The older we are, the more years we have to compare each passing year with, and this is why time seems to go so very fast once we pass 40. And of course, it was a lifetime ago when I passed 40 and started rolling over the hill, and that downhill slide keeps going faster.

Oh Susan Mrs Brown's Boys is my favourite TV programme I find it so funny :-D I have tears of laughter steaming down my face whenever I watch it :-D my MOG bought me a DVD for Christmas it's called Mrs Brown's Boys Too Rude For TV :-0

Theresa I would want a dog as well for £50 :-D

Auntie Petunia I say to our fruits if you earn a £1 only spend 90p........................................ do they listen :-|

Sending some draught excluder and thermal unmentionables to CC. x

Susan can you send a cooked breakfast down the cyber hatch please, it sounds yummy :-D

Mr McCawber is a great friend of mine Auntie and I do listen to his lesson on a daily basis :-D

You all sound as if you had wonderful Christmas festivities Ladies. FTE phoned a couple of times on Christmas Day. It was a little strange without her but we could see photos on the medium of FTYs Facebook page. The merry crew looked very merry indeed :-D I have sent your new year greetings thank you Lesley :-D FTE often wondered what I was chuckling about when visiting Motie Towers :-D

Cherry dear, all this talk of Mr Paul Bearer, tutty tut. Isn't he the friend of Miss Ribble. A nasty couple of villains and no mistake :-| :-| :-|

Send them home at once dear :-D

Aunty, what a full house you had. I do hope you have survived the festivities :-D
FTY, OH and I visited the metropolis yesterday. We were educating our Brains at the science museum and had a root march to Harrods dear. On route we passed the plinth. Has Pat rish aaa been fashioning a rocking horse with a Cupid or something on it???? I thought you paid a fortune for her to attend woodwork lessons. Well I would demand your money back Auntie ;-)

Harrods was a little busy but we entertained ourselves in the pet department. Is that where you buy Trickies little outfits :-D :-D :-D £50 for a tiny little dress for a dawg. Oh how we laughed. OH was full of laughter and made many observations regarding the garments :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Orff now but back later


Teresa

Good evening gels.

What is all this poetry floating about. Are we being inspired by the ghost of good Will Shakeatalefeather? All this rhyming, and sonnet making. You are truly inspirational gels. You must have certificates gathering dust in drawers depicting you Grammar and Literature. Very impressive!!!!

I must say I cannot warm to Mrs Brown, dear Upsidedown Susan. He reminds me too much of Old Mother Riley. He was a man dressed as a lady who had his wife play his daughter too. I like a more gentle humour myself. I do like Father Ted.

It is STILL raining here. We are just putting the finishing touches for the Ark. I think Pat-trish-aaaaah is making some kind of roller arrangement to move it from the back to the front of the house. If the rain keeps on araining, we shall sail away quite easily.

Cherry dear, can I leave it to you to dispose of the remnants of the turkey dear? I think there are a few stray cats wandering around. Also that pork could do with being lost too. I did think of taking it to the Mission, but there is no enough to go around. And I do think it is rather degrading to fight over a wishbone............

Only a few more days until the end of the year dears. Where has this year gawn?
We are all a year older, and hopefully wiser. We are certainly all a little poorer, what with the rising price of EVERYTHING, and of course Christmas.

I hope you have not hammered the plastic too much over the last few weeks dear.

Remember, Mr McCawber had the right idea, do not let your outgoings exceed your income. Here endeth the first lesson!!!!

Goodnight dears, keep warm and dry.

Auntie Petunia

Morning all,

CC, your OH might be related to someone I know..... A right Noah Tall :-D.

Well our weather hasn't improved, haven't seen the sun since the 25th. I read there was a small earthquake in NZ again.... There is another tropical cyclone building in the Pacific, may or may not hit NZ. Don't you just love Summer :-P.

OH and I are off to the big smoke today for a night. We are staying in a nice hotel and will have a meal out. Like we really need more food but hey ho!!.

My male fruit is going home today, he purchased a few dvd's of Mrs Brown's Boys which we have been watching. Must say we did have a few chuckles. Did you know it is recorded in Scotland?....

Better get on, OH wants a cooked breakfast and is about to attempt to cook :-D......

Toodle pip
Susan

twas not a breeze Lesley dear, more like a flippin' draught
which blew through all the cracks, up, down, fore, and aft.
this is the problem with houses so old,
and if I may make so bold
the problems would be sorted by some double glazing.
which installed correctly can be really amazing.
as it doesnt just keep out draughts, but noises too.
I mean, who wants to hear jet planes all night the noo.

But, Motie Towers is protected by a preservation order
which extends all the way to the herbaceous border.
So how does one tell Petunia to replace the old glass.
One might just as well be talking up the brick wall.

:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Have I ever introduced you ladies to my spouse?
His name is Noah.
Noah Tall.
he thinks he does, anyroad. ;-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ merrily waves to one and all, even if I did really have a sober Christmas (as opposed to a "merry" one, LOL).

CC

Susan you are naughty ;-) but nice :-D :-D :-D

Again Christmas has past :-( a marvellous one it was to :-D even though it has left me feeling mmmmmmmmmmmm what's the word I'm looking for:-S cream crackered I think is apt.

7 adults and 1 babe was enough for me Susan how on earth did you cope with 32 people and 4 dogs :-S............what breed of dog is your grand pup with a jaw like Jaws?

Theresa I hope you survived the festivities and the floods :-D............ when you speak to FTE again please wish her a VERY Happy New Year from me x

My goodness such Christmas goings on at The Towers

Red wine is fine when you dine
On the settee I would draw the line

A walking stick used as a disguise
To much hard stuff will lead to a demise

Auntie Petunia you have a new phone
Crank it up for a Smokey ring tone

CC I hope you weren't sitting in a breeze
That really would not help your knees

:-D :-D :-D

I hadnt realised Mrs Berry lived in a shoe, Petunia dear. I ran out of fingers and toes trying to count all those children .............

are your feet clean Susan? can I borrow your tootsies please? Glad to hear you had a great time - sorry I couldnt make it to your Christmas bbq on the beach, but my broomstick was grounded by NorAd.

So it was the Scottish Play that Beatrice was trying to recite, dear Petunia? What an accent. What improvisation. Well, perhaps for next Christmas you could buy her a cauldron, and if she manages to cast a spell she may well get the recitation correct.

Dont worry about the spilled wine and the red cushions Petunia dear - give me enough time, and enough red wine, and I will match up the shading perfectly :-D :-D :-D

BTW dear, please dont leave that little crank handle on the sofa - I really dont need such a surprise when I sit down.

Hogging the fire dear? I think you were confusing me with the Ghost of Christmas Past. I was seated in the arm chair in the corner by the door, trying to keep warm, well wrapped up in a white shroud, ready for Mr Paul Bearer.

CC

Yes dears, byeeeeeeee! No you did not overstay your welcome at all. No I do love to have a full house at Christmas. The fact that we were full to the rafters was not an inconvenience at all.

Pat-trish-aaaaah beggered off to the North Pole, so left it all to Mrs Berry, how could I let those poor little children be without their Mama over Christmas? I couldnt, so they arrived too. Talk about the old woman who lived in the shoe!!!!! Mr Berry must be a stirling chap to have fathered all those children. No wonder he stayed at home on his own. He needed the rest.

Yes, Georgianna I do appreciate your present, who else would have thought to have given me a wind-up mobile phone? Yes, I know I do sometimes go out and forget about the time. But unless I am talking constantly, how does the phone run down in an hour? The little crank handle is very diddy, but surely it will stick into me thigh if I carry it in that dear little dorothy bag you insist I wear on my belt. Octavia dear, please dont give it another thought that you spilled your red wine on my new sofa-bed. I know it too is red, but the stain does show a little. I do appreciate your suggestion of spilling more onto the other cushion to match, but I do think I will desist.

Forgive me dears, but is it normal for both your gentleman husbands to sleep quite so much. Those walking sticks they carry all the time are a little light to be solid wood are they not dears? Do you think possibly they could be hollow? Hollow enough to carry a tot or two of something Scottish?

No Beatrice of course you have not been boring? How could you be? Not everyone can recite all the The Scottish Play by heart. If only we had let you get it over and done with in one go, instead of carrying on inbetween courses like you did. And the recitation of the Witches as you were stirring your pud and brandy butter was truly .................well truly something to behold.

Cherry dear, I know you are a martyr to you back, knees, legs etc. But hogging the fire all the time was just a tad self centred dear. You know how big the rooms are, they do need heating a little. The poor canary was all puffed up most of the time trying to keep warm. Poor tweety pie!!!!

I do hope that dear Lesley, Teresa and Upsidedown Susan had a lovely, lovely Christmas with their families.

Also, a coooooeeeeee to dear DET [such a pretty name] for popping in to see me just before Christmas. Please feel free to pop in anytime dear.

You will be please to know that poor man at St Jumbos is now feeling better dears, now that he has packed his trunk away..............................on top of the wardrobe.

I hope that you all enjoyed the festivities dear, and that you kept up your fluid levels so that you did not get dehydrated with all the liquid refreshments...............you know what I mean.

Good night dears
Auntie Petunia

Hello CC,

I certainly hope that Mr Paul Bearer does not come calling..... Heavens to murgatroyd. As for the rest of your visitors, send them packing I say...
I hope your Christmas Day was a good one, did you , like the rest of us, eat far too much and drink more than we should??

Our day was pleasant but hectic. With 32 for lunch, things were a little busy. But we managed, the rain stayed away so that was even better. I shall be disposing of all the leftovers today. We are 'over' it. Not too much left, a few sweet treats that I am trying not to eat. :-D.

We had four dogs here on Christmas Day,, it felt a bit like Crufts. Our grand puppy and my sisters little mut had a whale of a time playing chasey. Our pup could fit the other mut into her mouth (but didn't). They had such fun together, it was a joy to watch. My Mama's dog didn't want to participate in tearing around the garden :-P
A few morsels managed to find there way into the pooches mouths..

I am back to work today, hopefully not all day. I shall smile sweetly at the boss;-).

Like Arnie, I shall be back.

~~~~~~ to all

Susan ( who weighs more than she did on the 24th :-D)

hic !
One hopes that you have all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones, that the tinsel cooked well and the turkey glittered nicely on your Christmas tree, and that you are not feeling toooo flat now that the midwinter seasonal festivities are drawing to a close.
One is very relaxed on the couch in the Morning Room in Motie Towers, all alone in front of the log fire, with my constant companions Des Peration, Percy Verence, Dan Druff, Arthur Itis, and Imogen Erryfriend. You know of course that Demi Moore named one of her children Rumer. Well, I am also expecting Rumer Tism to leave her calling card very soon, on account of the rain, and no doubt Paul Bearer will be paying one a visit one rainy afternoon.
Poor Pat rish aaaaaah seems to have had a wonderful time in the North Pole, and we were able to track her via NorAd you know, because for several years NorAd have provided a telephone service (manned by lovely volunteers) tracking Santa and telling all the excited children (who telephoned) just where in the world Santa was, at any given moment.
Of course, Elf and Safety were a bit iffy this year, because Santa was not safely strapped in his seat and they didnt approve of the sacks wobbling about on the back seat. But that was soon sorted, with some double sided sticky tape and a length of string. And, a wire coat hangar.
Dear Petunia has gone charging off with that Beatrice, following a telephone call from St Jumbo's, it was a trunk call from that man who impersonates elephants.
Mrs Berry is cuddling up to a bottle of cooking sherry in the kitchen, and I am in the excellent company of Dom Perignon - and I havent broken one of the Csar's crystal glasses. Yet. I will not be toasting the Csar, as that would mean throwing all the glasses into the fireplace.
Normal service will be resumed very soon ...........
hic!

CC

Dear all I hope you have/had a peaceful Christmas.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire and our stockings all hung by the chimney with care.

Merry Christmas Lesley x

Happy Christmas DET to you and all your family :0)

Lesley I was very very afraid in Sainsbugs. they had run out of nuts and Baileys!!!
I have managed to drive through the flood :0)

I hope you had a very merry Christmas Susan :0)

Aunty and Cherry keep the home fires burning, i will be popping up to the Towers on Thursday :0)

FTE has just rang, the captain has put out a message. Father Christmas has arrived to see everyone. He has come down the ships funnel. FTE and her fellow fruits have just been to see him, She is having a great time.

We have been to the crib service earlier, phoned the Aunts and settled down to cheese and biscuits and a glass of somthing nice

Love and hugs to all


Teresa

Merry Christmas Auntie Petunia, and the rest of the Jolly Band.

Thanks for the chuckles through the year :-D

The guests are arriving, and the old homestead is looking very jolly.

I do hope these candles on the Christmas tree are safe. We shall eat very soon, and then have a sing-song around the piano.

May I just wish you all a Very Merry Christmas Dears.

See you at the other end of the festivities.

Affectionately
Auntie Petunia

Well , tis the 24th here already and things are about to get very busy in this house.

Petunia, thank you for your lovely speech, yes , you have been very busy this past year. Spreading goodwill to one and all, wether needed or not :-S. Your energy levels are to be admired, as is your ability to be in the right place at the right time....

CC, I have had our Turkey defrosting since Sarturday afternoon (in the fridge, I assure you)... It is rather a large bird. Gawd only knows how long it will take to cook through.. Yesterday I cooked some boneless Turkeys for a friend, we had a rather lovely lunch at hers. Anyhow, I followed the timings and temperatures as stated on the packaging. Lo, the ruddy things were not cooked through... Panic swept in for a bit, back into the oven on a higher temp and hey presto, they cooked :-D, and were quite delicious :-).

I send my best wishes to our merry band of Motettes, to all our sometimes contributors and to those who peep but don't post. It has been alot of fun, the world is certainly a much smaller place with the bonus of the ether...

~~~~~~ to Teresa and Lesley, hope to 'see' you all again soon.

Keep warm and safe and have a lovely time with your loved ones. We shall be trying to keep cool and dry at the same time. We are supposed to get the tail end of Cyclone Evan that hit Samoa and Fiji... I hope those in the UK, affected by the terrible flooding, will have some semblence of a Happy Christmas <3.

Toodle pip for now. I have a list of jobs to attend to before our visitors descend on us today. I must just drop by the Welsh thread to leave a greeting :-)

Susan

my word what a remarkable speech, dear Petunia. It must have taken you all of ten minutes to rehearse that, and I am most impressed with the way you didnt once stop to draw breath. I declare your oratory fervour has left me feeling quite fatigued, so please be a dear, dear, and shift over on the chaise longue as I'd like to collapse for a little while in front of the log fire, if I may please.

*sinks down with a grateful sigh*
In case you are wondering what is on my head, I went to collect the turkey crown this afternoon. The Christmas tree at Chez CC is up and decorated, the cards have been bluetacked around the hallway, and Old Father Time is standing in the porch. SainsCo have given me a huuuuge box of Thorntons chocolates for ordering the turkey crown from them, which is wonderful because they'd already given me a £5 off voucher to help pay for the turkey.

No dear, I havent opened the box of Thorntons yet dear. Do you think I am greedy dear? No dear I shall offer them around on Christmas Day when Georgianna, Octavia, and Beatrice are here. Then I shall sit back and watch all of you gain the lbs ..... :-D

Ah well, time for bed, said Zebedee.