Joy Nash's Blog, page 6

“Don’t you think you should call me Elsie?” “Mrs. Hughes! Not while we’re at WORK!”

Downton Abbey's back (yay!), and for the last season (sob!). It’s a bittersweet reunion. I’ve got some mixed feelings. So many interesting story lines were wrapped up last season, and two of my favorite characters – Tom and Rose – have scooted off to carefree and (presumably) egalitarian lives in America.

I’m rooting for Lady Edith this season. This girl needs some love!! She can’t even win when she’s settling. She’s been dissed by her big sister, deceived by a scurrilous scarred war veteran, left at the altar by a near-senior citizen, scorned for getting a job, and seduced by her boss—who just happened to be hiding a secret insane wife (hello, Jane Eyre!). When Edith’s lover tries to get a divorce in Germany, he’s murdered by fucking 1920’s Hitler! Can’t a girl catch a break? No! She’s pregnant. After giving the baby to a nice tenant farmer family, she can’t stay away. The farmer’s wife flips out, convinced Edith is sleeping with her (come on, he’s not so great a prize) husband. Currently Edith owns and runs her former fiancé’s newspaper empire, and Ep 1 has her on the phone with her passive-aggressive dick of an editor, who can’t handle having a female boss. My advice? Move to London, Edith! Yesterday! Fire the dick editor! Knock some heads together! Get yourself some of that Roaring Twenties sexual freedom!

My hopes for Lady Edith aside, the prize for best story line in Season 6, Ep 1? Hands down it’s nervous bride Mrs. Hughes, who sends flighty cook Mrs. Patmore to broach the delicate subject of marital sex expectations with Mr. Carson!

Oh. My. God.

“She wants to know if you’d expect her to do her…ahem…wifely duty?”
“Why of course, I’d expect any good wife would want to do her wifely d—OH! THAT DUTY!”

Cue scarlet-faced butler.

Mr. Carson’s subsequent soliloquy on the merits of his beloved Mrs. Hughes was very, very proper, and very, very touching. And that’s why we all love Downton.

“Don’t you think you should call me Elsie?” “Mrs. Hughes! Not while we’re at WORK!”

Downton Abbey's back (yay!), and for the last season (sob!). It’s a bittersweet reunion. I’ve got some mixed feelings. So many interesting story lines were wrapped up last season, and two of my favorite characters – Tom and Rose – have scooted off to carefree and (presumably) egalitarian lives in America.  
I’m rooting for Lady Edith this season. This girl needs some love!! She can’t even win when she’s settling. She’s been dissed by her big sister, deceived by a scurrilous scarred war veteran, left at the altar by a near-senior citizen, scorned for getting a job, and seduced by her boss—who just happened to be hiding a secret insane wife (hello, Jane Eyre!). When Edith’s lover tries to get a divorce in Germany, he’s murdered by fucking 1920’s Hitler! Can’t a girl catch a break? No! She’s pregnant. After giving the baby to a nice tenant farmer family, she can’t stay away. The farmer’s wife flips out, convinced Edith is sleeping with her (come on, he’s not so great a prize) husband. Currently Edith owns and runs her former fiancé’s newspaper empire, and Ep 1 has her on the phone with her passive-aggressive dick of an editor, who can’t handle having a female boss. My advice? Move to London, Edith! Yesterday! Fire the dick editor! Knock some heads together! Get yourself some of that Roaring Twenties sexual freedom!
My hopes for Lady Edith aside, the prize for best story line in Season 6, Ep 1? Hands down it’s nervous bride Mrs. Hughes, who sends flighty cook Mrs. Patmore to broach the delicate subject of marital sex expectations with Mr. Carson!
Oh. My. God.
“She wants to know if you’d expect her to do her…ahem…wifely duty?”  “Why of course, I’d expect any good wife would want to do her wifely d—OH! THAT DUTY!”
Cue scarlet-faced butler.
Mr. Carson’s subsequent soliloquy on the merits of his beloved Mrs. Hughes was very, very proper, and very, very touching. And that’s why we all love Downton.

Whew, cooking and shopping have sidetracked me for the la...

Whew, cooking and shopping have sidetracked me for the last few days - I can't believe it's already Christmas Eve!

Today I'll round out the list of Icelandic Yule Lads I've been neglecting

Dec 22 - Doorway Sniffer
Hangs out in your doorway sniffing for baked goods. Guard your cookies!


Dec 23 - Meat Hook
Tries to grab your holiday ham and turkey with the hook on the end of his stick. Beware!


Dec 24 - Candle Stealer
Don't get burned by this Christmas Eve felon!


photo credits: Iceland24blog

Merry Christmas!

Hide your sausages and close your blinds!!

Missing any pepperoni?

I skipped yesterday's Icelandic Yule Lad because COOKIES, so today's post is a double dose of trouble.

December 20th's Yule Lad is Sausage Swiper. I guess he likes to play Hide the Salami... O.o


The December 21st Yule Lad is no less sketchy! Keep your curtains and blinds closed today, because Window Peeper is lurking outside...
 

Cookies!

Spent all day yesterday with my kids making my mom's Italian honey cookies!
Dough
Rolling  
 Cutting 
 Shaping
Ready to fry!
Frying
 Ready to dip!
Dipping in honey
All done! Yum!  
For all the ambitious honey lovers out there, here's the recipe!

Hide your yogurt!

Hide your Dannon, Chobani and Oikos--the Skyr Gobbler arrives today! Skyr is Icelandic-style yogurt. In a pinch, I'm sure this Icelandic Yule Lad will lap up any fermented milk product he can lay his hands on.


 photo credit: iceland24blog

My own mission today? Making 12 dozen of my mother's Italian honey cookies for my extended family Christmas party tomorrow. This all-day project includes dough mixing, dough rolling, dough frying, then dipping fried dough in warm honey. (All hands in house are pressed into service!)

Yum! Check back tomorrow for pictures :-) 

 

Bumps and bangs in the night...

Today's Icelandic Yule Lad is a noisy little guy! Door Slammer especially loves to do his thing in the middle of the night. (I bet he's related to Smoke Alarm Battery Killer.)

He's gonna have to beat my dog at it...

 Lights are on our tree, and the stockings are hung. Still quite a bit of shopping to be done...

Today's Icelandic Yule Lad--Bowl Licker--hides under your bed, waiting for you to put your bowl down on the floor so he can lick up the leftovers. If this loose-tongued lad visits my house, he's gonna have a tough time getting to the bowls before my dog does!






 

Don't bother washing your pots today!

Today's Icelandic Yule Lad is called Pot Scraper. Any pots you forget to wash tonight will be...ahem...spit clean by morning!

And you thought the mall Santa was scary...

You're gonna want to watch out for your wooden spoons today--Icelandic Yule Lad #4, the Spoon Licker, is here! Poor guy. He's so skinny because he never gets to eat a full spoonful of anything.


photo credit: Iceland24blog
Where do the Yule Lads came from? Well, their mom is the evil ogress known as Grýla The Child Eater. You think Santa Claus and his wimpy Naughty and Nice list is a threat? Grýla's hobby is  snatching up misbehaving children and boiling them into a stew! O.o
 



 Photo credit: Salvor Gissurardottir Nov 2006 via Wikipedia