poppyshake

Oh I know that Michelle .. it's just they get a bit cobwebby after a while and are never the same

Am I the only one who hates saying goodbye (or au revoir ) to their bookblog? I'm just getting cosy .. I might not like the new place. It'll be a lot emptier (for five mins )

I was disappointed with it

*shouts* ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE!

Hi Vixen The very best of luck with your reading in 2014 I love looking at TBR lists .. it's like peeking at people's bookshelves .. I try to do that if I'm walking past a house with its curtains open You've got some great reads ahead of you (in particular the Jane Austen's, Jane Eyre, Life of Pi, The Help and The Perks of being a Wallflower) Happy Reading!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

I work from home and it's not demanding or particularly strenuous so I do most of the housework and cooking etc. Alan works really unsociable shifts so the last thing I'd expect is for him to come home and start doing housework. He does actually do most of the vacuuming though and washes the kitchen/bathroom floor. He cleans up after Molly too though we take it in turns to feed her. If he is here in the morning then he will always make the first cuppa and bring me breakfast in bed, but that's not often ... only Sunday usually (but on days/weeks off etc .. every day ) He has very minimal understanding of the washing machine and it is shocking to see him hang anything on an airer ... he hangs clothes up like they're coats and just sort of drapes them over all bunched up .. consequently they never dry. Nine times out of ten I cook and wash up (dishwasher is broken ) but at the weekends he is happy to do both. I used to work really awkward shifts and he would happily iron my stuff for work etc and when I'm unwell he does the best he can to do everything though obviously that's difficult and often there's a bit of an unholy mess to deal with later down the line. I take on the lion's share of the housework because I have far more time to do it .. he doesn't expect it and wouldn't probably notice if it didn't get done .. he doesn't mind mess. We are neither of us uber tidy but usually the house is only about an hour away from being presentable I guess if he did expect it I might feel resentful .. I know I would in fact because my first husband was very particular about the house being tidy (only it was me that had to do it). He would go nuts if the rug tassels weren't straight Although I probably shouldn't, I blame him very much for being ill in the first place because I had a full time job and was having to work hard as soon as I got home to keep the home shiny like a new pin (or else there was trouble.) I had a bad bout of flu and then bang!! .. I was ill for months with what they thought was a virus but later (much later .. years later) said was ME. I do think though that far too much emphasis is placed on eliminating germs and eliminating draughts etc .. here we all are in our hermetically sealed boxes scrubbing our hands every five mins (on cookery progs they drive me nuts with it .. you wouldn't have got Keith Floyd caring less about washing his hands or double dipping .. sharing saliva is good for you ) .. and then there's all that stuff about not eating peanuts from a communal bowl ... honestly I'm having some of those peanuts if they're put in front of me Obviously it's different for people that suffer from any allergies or anxiety connected to dust or mess etc but other than that we should all eat a pound of dirt before we die .. so my Nan said (I've not been weighing mine so I'm not sure how far I've progressed ) .. you need to build up your resistance to germs and you can only do that by being exposed to them.

I love faggots and mash I had the best faggots ever in Hay-on-Wye .. I still dream about them

.. possibly him never wanting to be in hold had something to do with it

Oops I've just read today that they have split .. or are on the verge of splitting. Hope I didn't put the kibosh on it

Actually Brian .. thanks for that .. I may have used the term but I had no idea what it meant Every day's an education

You could've but, alas, it's a distant memory now

Yes but you get to have the experience .. it's going to cost us about £20 for two but the cinema won't be anything like as grand. We keep two sets of 3D glasses in our glovebox .. I guess they'll be fine .. Peter Jackson hasn't figured a way of getting even more money out of us has he? However I am seeing it Friday so I'll know all about how wonderful/dire it is before you .. I will try to keep a lid on it though

Round the Christmas Fire: Festive Stories Amazon's Synopsis: If the weather outside is frightful, draw up a chair to the fire, get the chesnuts roasting, and find an echo to every mood in this collection of funny, surprising, moving and magical festive stories from some of our greatest authors. Including stories from Laurie Lee, Truman Capote, Kenneth Graham, John Cheever, Sue Towsend, Nancy Mitford, Dylan Thomas, Charles Dickens, John Julius Norwich, P.G. Wodehouse and Stella Gibbons, among many others. Review: Well the weather outside is frightful so perfect time to be cosying up with this book. Not all of them are short stories, some are Christmassy extracts taken from longer stories (for instance Cider with Rosie and The Wind in the Willows). I had already read more than half of them .. though some of them a long time ago and anyway I can re-visit good Christmas stories yearly ... I love anything like that. It's a fantastic collection and I'm glad to say that there were none that I skipped (or wanted to ) and none that were boring or letting the side down. Probably the stand out stories are Stella Gibbons' Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales and Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory .. but as I said they are all great and well worth reading. Perfect book for dipping into over Christmas (d*mn! ) I did sit by the fire to read some of them .. I didn't roast chestnuts though .. I just dunked a digestive Maybe I should have savoured them more slowly .. I have rather gobbled them up but once started it's hard to stop 4/5

Hit Janet on the head!! Sorry frankie .. I did indeed mean a four wheel drive (thanks Hayley) .. to use with the tow rope. I don't know if you can drive .. I can't but surely - together - we could work it out. I've driven a lot in dreams so it can't be that different Anyway .. if Janet's in trouble then we must risk life and limb Ahh .. Janet is safe and sound .. jolly good I will if you give me chocolate .. I'm very sorry about the noncommon font *looks shamefaced* even on forums I find a way of being troublesome ... they should lock me up really for my own sake

Oh I got pink writing Janet in a ditch and covered with snow!! Jumping Jehosaphat! what will we do? .. have you got a tow rope frankie? and a 4x4 I reckon Janet is busy having the most marvellous time as all Janet's should be Thank you for playing the pretending game frankie .. I liked it .. can we play again tomorrow?

I'm jealous now .. I want a Poppyshake Wrote: I'm very happy that you applied yourself to applying ... I hope they will keep their end of the bargain and supply you with something suitable .. soon I haven't seen or heard from Janet but her name is on the member's online today list and 30 mins ago she finished On The Black Hill according to Goodreads so I think our dear Janet is safe

Oh man ... I'm deeply envious but will try and cover it That's fantastic Steve

When Karen was dancing I really liked her (with Bill Turnbull and Mark Ramprakash anyway) and voted for her to win with Mark. But, increasingly, on ITT I find she maddens me. It's not the criticism I mind (though she is just as capable of having favourites and being blind to their faults as the rest of us so, in my view, she's not impartial) .. it's that she's a little bit smug and also a bit of a show-off .. now obviously all the dancers are show-offs but some come across better. Ian doesn't irritate me at all and yet he shows off something terrible .. there's humour though and he doesn't have that 'I know best' attitude. Karen Hauer is hard to warm to at all but then Kevin likes her well enough to marry her perhaps she improves upon acquaintance Both girls are great dancers though .. Karen and Mark's Salsa is still my fave Salsa ever.

.. sounds yummy Marie Just eaten chicken and chips .. did put some salad on the plate also

I loved One Hundred Years of Solitude too .. very, very special

Great seeing everyone's progress .. well done all I couldn't commit .. I had a wedding to attend on Saturday and Christmas shopping/wrapping/cooking/stressing to do on Friday/Sunday I did read a bit but didn't keep totals I forgot Hope to get off to a good start in January by taking part

Ah ok .. thanks frankie

Have lost the ability to post video's They weren't that bad were they?

She's a loon .. but a lovely and talented one