Greetings Dear Readers.. I know.. I know that there has not been a post for two weeks but what can I do? Beaky HATES tapping on the iPad, MY toes are the wrong shape and SHE has been doing other stuff.. but here WE are.. gearing up for the Christmas holidays.
SHE was buying fresh walnuts this afternoon and a small bottle of the oil made from these delicious nuts.. the very same variety of nut that Ellie Goat gave ME a box of and which SHE stole.. Yes, SHE stole MY nuts.. and I shopped HER in a post about the dreadful deed.
Whilst standing in the shop SHE was reminded of other Christmas of years long past.. with beloved Bill in Georgetown and that wonderful time when they spent the holiday at Chateau Montebello in Quebec, with Hugo and Constance in Spain and of a Christmas in the Hill Country in Fredericksburg, Texas. That was amazing beyond belief.. where SHE experienced Texan winter weather and saw an Ice Storm..
Happy times indeedy..
It is a strange time of year.. and YOU know, if YOU have read MY posts, of how SHE hates the over commercialisation of this period, the hyped up 'only so many days left to do your shopping'..
spend spend..
With none of HER beloveds alive, SHE now chooses to spend the time quietly.. HER own church, bed, food, seeing a few friends, doing some voluntary work are enough.. perfect in fact.
For WE made the mistake a couple of years ago of going to spend it with an old friend and her husband.
OH DEAR.. BIG mistake.. it was pretty gruesome.
Why don't people 'test sleep' their guest bedrooms and bathrooms.. to check for radiators that don't work.. a spare light bulb would have been useful.. together with a small kettle and a tea / coffee tray.
For WHO wants a carafe of cold water in the early
morning when the house is still fast asleep and YOU are freezing and thirsty?
When WE invite people to stay.. WE plan happy stuff to do.. not dreary stuff like being dragged by the hostess around boring shops for last minute stuff, all of which was either tatt (YOU know WE don't do 'tatt') or eye-wateringly over-priced!
Years ago Hugo gave HER a glorious hat, a proper hat made by Lock of St.James's.. SHE has had it
for nearly forty years, it is a bit bashed and battered but now and again, SHE takes it back to Messrs Lock and they are sweet enough to put it back into shape for HER.. such a lovely shop.
To show how little thought had been given to having their friend to stay will now be demonstrated, WE want YOU to guess what they give HER as a present?
No.. YOU won't get a Reddie for this as I am more than sure none of YOU will get the answer.. They gave HER another hat.. in exactly the same style.. They knew HER size because SHE, of course, had HER most beloved hat with HER..
SHE gave the woman friend a necklace of two strands of fresh water pearls and for the husband a charming Murano Cockerel.. a wonderful table centrepiece
Now.. I know that some of YOU will be thinking.. how ungrateful SHE sounds as it is the 'thought'
that counts.
But THAT, Dear Reader, is exactly MY point, there was NO thought applied to having HER to stay, no bedroom preparation, no entertainment preparation, no present preparation, just NO thought at all.
Friends say that SHE is ridiculously easy to please for they know that SHE reads, SHE gardens, SHE cooks, SHE watches films and loves music.. one of HER most treasured gifts was given to HER several years ago.. a tiny glass parrot from Prague.
Thoughts.. so before YOU go off on YOUR expedition to purchase things for YOUR friends.. have a 'little' think about what they would like, need or want.. make a list.. stick to it!
One present SHE organised and gave to a friend is remembered every year, a lovely friend went through a very grim and very grizzly divorce.. the husband kept almost everything.. ugh.. so SHE got together with a couple of other friends and they collected for their lovely friend a starter pack of pretty decorations for her OWN Christmas tree.
One of HER most beloved friends used to give her friends a book of vouchers for fun or clever things.
How 'Yule Cool' was that and so much fun to do!
Mr.Foyle is about to step into OUR box.. pippip.. hopefully I will be back tomorrow, there is a homemade White Chocolate Cheesecake in the fridge. I will use that as a bribe to get HER to tap.
GeeGee Parrot.
December 7th, 2013.
SHE was buying fresh walnuts this afternoon and a small bottle of the oil made from these delicious nuts.. the very same variety of nut that Ellie Goat gave ME a box of and which SHE stole.. Yes, SHE stole MY nuts.. and I shopped HER in a post about the dreadful deed.
Whilst standing in the shop SHE was reminded of other Christmas of years long past.. with beloved Bill in Georgetown and that wonderful time when they spent the holiday at Chateau Montebello in Quebec, with Hugo and Constance in Spain and of a Christmas in the Hill Country in Fredericksburg, Texas. That was amazing beyond belief.. where SHE experienced Texan winter weather and saw an Ice Storm..
Happy times indeedy..
It is a strange time of year.. and YOU know, if YOU have read MY posts, of how SHE hates the over commercialisation of this period, the hyped up 'only so many days left to do your shopping'..
spend spend..
With none of HER beloveds alive, SHE now chooses to spend the time quietly.. HER own church, bed, food, seeing a few friends, doing some voluntary work are enough.. perfect in fact.
For WE made the mistake a couple of years ago of going to spend it with an old friend and her husband.
OH DEAR.. BIG mistake.. it was pretty gruesome.
Why don't people 'test sleep' their guest bedrooms and bathrooms.. to check for radiators that don't work.. a spare light bulb would have been useful.. together with a small kettle and a tea / coffee tray.
For WHO wants a carafe of cold water in the early
morning when the house is still fast asleep and YOU are freezing and thirsty?
When WE invite people to stay.. WE plan happy stuff to do.. not dreary stuff like being dragged by the hostess around boring shops for last minute stuff, all of which was either tatt (YOU know WE don't do 'tatt') or eye-wateringly over-priced!
Years ago Hugo gave HER a glorious hat, a proper hat made by Lock of St.James's.. SHE has had it
for nearly forty years, it is a bit bashed and battered but now and again, SHE takes it back to Messrs Lock and they are sweet enough to put it back into shape for HER.. such a lovely shop.
To show how little thought had been given to having their friend to stay will now be demonstrated, WE want YOU to guess what they give HER as a present?
No.. YOU won't get a Reddie for this as I am more than sure none of YOU will get the answer.. They gave HER another hat.. in exactly the same style.. They knew HER size because SHE, of course, had HER most beloved hat with HER..
SHE gave the woman friend a necklace of two strands of fresh water pearls and for the husband a charming Murano Cockerel.. a wonderful table centrepiece
Now.. I know that some of YOU will be thinking.. how ungrateful SHE sounds as it is the 'thought'
that counts.
But THAT, Dear Reader, is exactly MY point, there was NO thought applied to having HER to stay, no bedroom preparation, no entertainment preparation, no present preparation, just NO thought at all.
Friends say that SHE is ridiculously easy to please for they know that SHE reads, SHE gardens, SHE cooks, SHE watches films and loves music.. one of HER most treasured gifts was given to HER several years ago.. a tiny glass parrot from Prague.
Thoughts.. so before YOU go off on YOUR expedition to purchase things for YOUR friends.. have a 'little' think about what they would like, need or want.. make a list.. stick to it!
One present SHE organised and gave to a friend is remembered every year, a lovely friend went through a very grim and very grizzly divorce.. the husband kept almost everything.. ugh.. so SHE got together with a couple of other friends and they collected for their lovely friend a starter pack of pretty decorations for her OWN Christmas tree.
One of HER most beloved friends used to give her friends a book of vouchers for fun or clever things.
How 'Yule Cool' was that and so much fun to do!
Mr.Foyle is about to step into OUR box.. pippip.. hopefully I will be back tomorrow, there is a homemade White Chocolate Cheesecake in the fridge. I will use that as a bribe to get HER to tap.
GeeGee Parrot.
December 7th, 2013.
I agree with you about "thoughtless" gifts. I'd rather not get such a gift at all! I'm not v. couth because I always ASK my recipient if they would like to have such-&-such, & if it's an item of clothing, a color preference. I've found that pieces of jewelry are the real culprits. I have received earrings for baby girls and necklaces for the fat lady at the freak show. Well, the recipients seem genuinely GLAD that I asked, & sometimes they tell me that they really WOULDN'T like that particular item. I'm not a bit put off. I'm totally GLAD to know. For the rest of your ideas about receiving...well it's as good as lessons from Miss Manners. Since I'm one of these careless American dames I really need to be jacked-up by a proper English lady sometimes. I'm grateful to HER.
ReplyDeleteAh yes.. the receiving of presents.. one of HER favourite subjects..
ReplyDeleteIf someone has taken the trouble to think of something that the receiver would find useful.. like pretty printed ribbon from that marvellous company The Little Printed Ribbon Company and sent it to you to use on your children's christmas presents.. YOU would think that a hand written card or even a telephone call would be a nice and polite way to say "Thank you".. afterall, the gift had to be ordered, packed up and posted to the receiver.. it did not just 'happen' , did it?
So to the three young women who DID not bother to say or write "thank you" to HER for the present.. tough.. not another is coming your way!