Georgette Heyer Fans discussion
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Christmas Carol ꧁꧂ wrote: "Ahem! :) We are doing fish. Our daughter is pescatarian now. Sort of.So our menu
Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Guacamole with crackers & carrot sticks
Salmon (the girls are cooking)
Ham on the bone
Roast..."
Ok, I’m coming to dinner!
There's nothing on that menu I wouldn't want!
Susan in NC wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "Merry Christmas Eve Eve! I just had cherry/walnut scones and a perfect cup of tea while watching football and listening to the freight train on the couch (my husband is famous for h..."It's a pain to travel in, but it's great when you're inside looking out! "
That's the truth!
Aww my just turned 10 year old niece baked cookies ALL by herself! She made sugar cookies decorated with cinnamon sugar. She used her brand new hand mixer my parents gave her for her birthday. They tasted great. We ended up with 7 cookies eventually plus other desserts and good food. My nieces and nephews are excited for Santa. They were loud but cute. Tomorrow we can sleep in and my siblings will drop in and we'll exchange gifts. I got some nice loose leaf tea so I can sip tea and read.
Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!
QNPoohBear wrote: "Aww my just turned 10 year old niece baked cookies ALL by herself! She made sugar cookies decorated with cinnamon sugar. She used her brand new hand mixer my parents gave her for her birthday. They..."Those are the best presents! I got my grandgirl a decorating set for her birthday a couple of weeks ago, and she said it was the best present ever. Grownup things to do are the most fun!
No snow, but it’s -4 degrees Celsius and there’s such a hard, crisp white frost that it looks like a white Christmas 🎄 Merry Christmas everyone.
No white Christmas here in my part of Maryland and I'm just fine with that!Merry Christmas to my fellow GH fans who celebrate that holiday. and happy reading wishes to all.
Niece got more grown-up baking supplies for Christmas and I got Cook's Illustrated Baking Book and some real Cassia cinnamon. Niece wants me to come over so we can bake together. She got me Because of Winn-Dixie because she read it in school and really liked it and thought I would too. That was very sweet of her. I did love the book when I read it years ago but I never bought it. I got more tea too so I have plenty of tea to sip while I read my new books. The best reaction to a gift I got was from 6 year old nephew who finally discovered there IS life other than video games. Card games can be fun too. Who knew? ;-)
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Oh, Pooh Bear, sounds like your Christmas was sweet! Isn't it a breath of fresh air when the "youngsters" get excited about "old-fashioned" pastimes like reading, baking and card/board games! :) This Christmas has been rather weird for me. For the past 2-3 months my elderly dad was in the hospital and then hospice at the nursing home. He died and we buried him the week before Christmas. And, in a style befitting my Southern daddy, we had a huge party!, with great food and people coming to Maryland from all over the South to mourn, laugh and celebrate his life. I'll miss him and I'm sad, but I'm also thankful that he didn't suffer in his last days (I think he just got tired of living). I'm also exhausted and I finally succumbed (just in time for Christmas Eve!!) to a horrible, nasty sore throat and cold. I was determined not to have a dreary Christmas so I forced myself to put candles in all the windows and some greenery about the house. Too tired to put up my usual two Christmas trees so I just threw some strings of lights on the fireplace mantels --- and it's really quite cozy and I'm thinking I may have to just skip the trees again in years to come!
And now I'm looking forward to cozy, quiet reading of some Christmas books in the next week or two .... a little late, but still fun! And I'm VERY much looking forward to picking up The Toll-Gate in January!! I miss GH!
Jane, I’m so sorry about your dad, we lost my mom two years ago right after Christmas after a long illness, I know how tough that can be...sounds like you’ve got a good attitude, take care of yourself and enjoy your Christmas reading!Looking forward to The Toll-Gate, too!
Susan, thanks for the kind words. Holidays bring out the sweet and the sad, don't they? My Daddy was from High Point, NC and I think I recall you saying you lived somewhere in that general vicinity. All of my childhood Christmases were spent driving back and forth between NC and MD to make sure we visited all the relatives. I'm right now drinking a nostalgic cup of hot Russian Tea from one of my NC aunt's recipes; it's very sweet, aromatic and comforting. I wish Georgette had written a cozy Christmas story to go with my Russian tea!!
Jane wrote: "Susan, thanks for the kind words. Holidays bring out the sweet and the sad, don't they? My Daddy was from High Point, NC and I think I recall you saying you lived somewhere in that general vicinity..."Oh Jane, I am so sorry!
My late mother's birthday was on the 20th of December & she died on the 26th, so I am always a little low before Christmas. The good thing is, my kids come home for Christmas & they help me get through it.
Jane wrote: "Susan, thanks for the kind words. Holidays bring out the sweet and the sad, don't they? My Daddy was from High Point, NC and I think I recall you saying you lived somewhere in that general vicinity..."Yes, I’m in Greensboro! You are so right about the holiday memories and feelings, both happy and sad. Your tea sounds amazing! I think I’ll have to make a good cuppa after lunch...Savor it, peace and serenity to you!
Christmas Carol ꧁꧂ wrote: "Jane wrote: "Susan, thanks for the kind words. Holidays bring out the sweet and the sad, don't they? My Daddy was from High Point, NC and I think I recall you saying you lived somewhere in that gen..."Oh, Carol, I’m sorry, but so glad you have the kids and comfort of good memories to get you through the sad times. My mom’s birthday was December 22, so I feel you.
Jane wrote: "Oh, Pooh Bear, sounds like your Christmas was sweet! Isn't it a breath of fresh air when the "youngsters" get excited about "old-fashioned" pastimes like reading, baking and card/board games! :) ..."
I know just how you are feeling, Jane. My Mum died on Christmas Eve afternoon. She wasn't well and we knew she was terminal, but all doctors said 6-8 weeks, but around 11am that morning she haemorrhaged from her liver, so by 3.30pm she was gone with hardly time for goodbyes. With the suddenness of her passing that Christmas was quite eerie. Even though that was 32 years ago, I remember it like yesterday.
Carol, thank you for your sweet words.It must be extra hard for you and Susan to remember your moms' birthdays and deaths right around Christmas. (I imagine this Christmas might be hard for Teresa, too.) I'm glad you have family to help add some sweetness to the sadness, to share in the old memories and to keep making new memories.
I'm actually looking forward to January. I'm retired so I want to take some time to just relax and hibernate. I would love some snow to make my hibernation even cozier!!! (Hopefully we don't get 36 inches and I regret that previous sentence and end up wishing I was in warm NZ with Carol!!)
I was gonna say, be careful what you wish for - we had a crazy, heavy, historic snow right before Christmas, and it threw everyone for a loop for several days...
Lesley wrote: "Jane wrote: "Oh, Pooh Bear, sounds like your Christmas was sweet! Isn't it a breath of fresh air when the "youngsters" get excited about "old-fashioned" pastimes like reading, baking and card/board..."Oh Lesley, I'm so sorry about your mom! And on Christmas Eve, how terribly sad. I think the suddenness would make it extra hard to handle and I'm sorry that happened for you. (At least with my Dad, at the end, we had plenty of time to just sit and hold hands and look at photos and listen to good music and love on him.) And no matter how long ago your mom died, I know it still can hurt to think about. And the eeriness you spoke of is so true, there's nothing quite like that quiet, eerie feeling in the house after someone dies. Thirty years ago we rushed my mom to the hospital for emergency surgery the week before Christmas and found out she had a huge brain tumor that couldn't be healed. That was another very unsettling Christmas (although she somehow defied all the doctor's predictions and lived through one more Christmas).
What is it with people dying around the holidays?!? I used to work in eldercare and this phenomenon always baffled me. I suppose there are lots of us out there who have tears along with joy during the holidays.
I'm looking forward to the group-read of The Toll-Gate because I think that will be a fun diversion. Nothing like Georgette Heyer to help pull us out of any doldrums!!
Susan in NC wrote: "I was gonna say, be careful what you wish for - we had a crazy, heavy, historic snow right before Christmas, and it threw everyone for a loop for several days..."Susan, I know!! I'm crazy to wish for snow! Almost all of my relatives are in the south and most of them are in NC; we were amazed at how many shoveled out of the snow and ice and came up to MD for the funeral (crazy family!).
Jane wrote: "Lesley wrote: "Jane wrote: "Oh, Pooh Bear, sounds like your Christmas was sweet! Isn't it a breath of fresh air when the "youngsters" get excited about "old-fashioned" pastimes like reading, baking..."Yes, indeed!
Jane wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "I was gonna say, be careful what you wish for - we had a crazy, heavy, historic snow right before Christmas, and it threw everyone for a loop for several days..."Susan, I know..."
The strange part was having to shovel; as you probably know from your NC relatives, we usually enjoy the rare snow from inside the house with our bread and milk everyone rushes to buy, wait a day, and it melts away on its own!
But God love ‘em for making the effort so they could come see your dad off!
So our Christmas celebrations, and our 39th wedding anniversary have just passed us by - not with a bang - but a whimper! Sunday we were due to drive up to Aberdeen with son and daughter-i-l and granddaughter to have a pre Christmas lunch with our grandson and his girlfriend. A rare opportunity to be together and one we were looking forward to.
However, on Thursday, I start with a snuffle and sore throat and my husband starts to show signs of a heavy cold. By Saturday night we are fully infected and unfit and have cancelled out; and our son has been and done the Santa thing - exchanging presents and cards.
On Christmas Day, my husband George brought my 93 year old Mum (who has Alzheimer’s), up to our place for Christmas dinner. I got up out of bed, ate 1 slice of Turkey and 2 sprouts, drank a glass of champagne and then went back to bed and slept.
We had been due to go to a hotel for 2 nights to celebrate our wedding anniversary yesterday, but that got cancelled too. Today is our anniversary and I woke up with conjunctivitis, still stuffed up and my chest feeling like it had been wrapped in a brace - and then slept for most of the day.
So that was Christmas 2018 - here’s hoping for an improved 2019! Sending best wishes to you all and looking forward to reading The Toll-Gate!
Susan in Perthshire wrote: "So our Christmas celebrations, and our 39th wedding anniversary have just passed us by - not with a bang - but a whimper! Sunday we were due to drive up to Aberdeen with son and daughter-i-l and g..."
Amen, sister, to a better 2019 - I feel your pain, I was diagnosed with shingles on Christmas Eve! So, it’s been an itchy, burning holiday for me - but I am so sorry about your anniversary and Christmas holiday plans scuppered! I hope you and George feel better very soon and get to make up for your anniversary trip - and enjoy Hogmanay- I hope you’re both healthier by then!
Thank you Susan - I think Hogmanay will be quiet but we are going to re-schedule our anniversary break for mid Jan and celebrate then! Sorry to hear about the Shingles - hope that gets cleared up,real fast! xx
Susan in Perthshire wrote: "Thank you Susan - I think Hogmanay will be quiet but we are going to re-schedule our anniversary break for mid Jan and celebrate then! Sorry to hear about the Shingles - hope that gets cleared up,r..."Good to hear - it’ll perk up the January blahs to take your anniversary trip, and thanks! I’m just glad I got in for the last appointment of the day before my doctor’s office closed on Christmas Eve at noon - by getting on the antiviral meds quickly I think it’s helped lessen the attack, and I learned I can still get the shingles vaccine once this clears up, and I will! I recommend everyone do it - I didn’t think I was at risk until I was older, but surprise!😱🥵
Oh gracious! Jane, I'm sorry for the loss of your father. Loved ones always do pass on around the holidays. My thoughts are with everyone experiencing illness and sadness this holiday season. May the new year bring more light and sparkle into your lives! I am also looking forward to the group read of The Toll-Gate. I have to go get it from the library as soon as they open after a brief winter break.
Thank you, my dear, and I wish you “light and sparkle” as well - what a beautiful sentiment!😊
Jane wrote: "Oh, Pooh Bear, sounds like your Christmas was sweet! Isn't it a breath of fresh air when the "youngsters" get excited about "old-fashioned" pastimes like reading, baking and card/board games! :) ..."
So so sorry to hear about your Dad. Never easy to lose them but it seems extra cruel at this time of year. Glad to hear you're looking forward to The Toll Gate. One of my favs so hopefully we'll have some good chat about it. Be better soon.
Susan in NC wrote: "Thank you, my dear, and I wish you “light and sparkle” as well - what a beautiful sentiment!😊"It was borrowed from Jane Austen, who quipped that Pride and Prejudice was rather too "light, bright and sparkling." The description fits Georgette Heyer's novels better!
Ah, of course! And you’re right, it definitely applies to Heyer as well!😀
Thank you everyone for the kind words.Scotland Susan, oh, you poor thing!! The conjunctivitis was just like a cherry on the top of all that yuckiness! Here's hoping you feel better soon and have a lovely Anniversary celebration in January!
NC Susan, oh, you poor thing, too!! Shingles?! Yuck. When Merck first came out with the vaccine I was in charge of vaccination clinics and it was so hard to convince people that they needed the shot. Most people don't think they need it until it's too late or they meet someone experiencing the excruciating pain. I'm glad to hear you were able to start antiviral meds so quickly and I hope you start to feel some relief.
Pooh Bear, I love the notion of "light, bright and sparkling".
I'm looking forward to a sparkling 2019!!!
I agree, here's to a bright and sparkling 2019!
Will wonders never cease! Younger niece and nephew actually played a BOARD GAME and liked it! Nieces have also discovered "old" movies are the best. 10 year old declared that after her favorite Japanese anime films, her next two favorite movies are Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. Both girls also enjoyed quite a few "old" movies from their parents' childhood/my teen years- the olden days of the 1990s! We're going to watch Anne of Green Gables next-the proper one from the 1980s that is NOT on Netflix. We will also watch Meet Me in St. Louis though I know 10 year old will wrinkle her nose at the romance. They're learning Netflix is not the be all end all of movies! Imagine that?!
QNPoohBear wrote: "Will wonders never cease! Younger niece and nephew actually played a BOARD GAME and liked it! Nieces have also discovered "old" movies are the best. 10 year old declared that after her favorite Jap..."Yay! And Meet Me in St. Louis, one of my favorites! They might get a kick out of the portrayal of life back then, particularly the two little girls’ Halloween exploits!
Great to see the younger generation loving the oldies.
To all my GH friends--A wish for a Happy New Year!
Dear lord, may 2019 be better than 2018!
Happy New Year to all 2018 is ending nicely: the Toll Gate threads are up!
Old movies tend to be so much more clever than our modern stuff! I watched a Ginger Rogers/David Niven film, Batchelor Mother, the other day and I thoroughly appreciated it(of course, I am a huge Ginger fan). I love it when kids appreciate them, too.And a happy, mellow new year to all!
Karlyne wrote: "Old movies tend to be so much more clever than our modern stuff! I watched a Ginger Rogers/David Niven film, Batchelor Mother, the other day and I thoroughly appreciated it(of course, I am a huge G..."I love that film, and that era of movies!
Barb in Maryland wrote: "To all my GH friends--A wish for a Happy New Year!
Dear lord, may 2019 be better than 2018!"
Amen, sister!
Louise Sparrow wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "Old movies tend to be so much more clever than our modern stuff! I watched a Ginger Rogers/David Niven film, Batchelor Mother, the other day and I thoroughly appreciated it(of cours..."Me, too!
Barb in Maryland wrote: "To all my GH friends--A wish for a Happy New Year!
Dear lord, may 2019 be better than 2018!"
Amen to that Barb!!!
Here’s to a wonderful 2019 for us all!
Reporting in from 'snow-not so -pocolypse' in the greater Baltimore, MD area. From the hysteria that occurs anytime 'snow' is mentioned in the forecast, the non-Maryland observer would have thought we were facing the 'end of times' But no--a mere 4-6 inches in our neighborhood. However, schools in the area are already closed for tomorrow.
Here's hoping everyone is having a good start to the new year---with or without snow!
Hang in there - we had icy rain, power flicked off and on overnight (clocks blinking this morning), but we had power, so hope things stay calm up your way as well - we’ve had enough exciting weather lately, haven’t we?!
We have blue skies and 20 degrees! Brrr, but gorgeous!
Overcast and cold but dry today, thank goodness!
Coolish this morning. We are going for a walk, then to the beach.
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Georgette Heyer Fans
Books mentioned in this topic
The Peppermint Mocha Murder (other topics)The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (other topics)
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (other topics)
The Toll-Gate (other topics)
The Toll-Gate (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Molly Thynne (other topics)Georgette Heyer (other topics)
George Bellairs (other topics)
Amos Bronson Alcott (other topics)
Amos Bronson Alcott (other topics)
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So our menu
Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Guacamole with crackers & carrot sticks
Salmon (the girls are cooking)
Ham on the bone
Roast potatoes
Salad
A cake I made that I'm sure will taste better than it looks
Brandy Snaps
Boysenberries with Greek Yoghurt.