Hey everyone, Mod R here. Or should I say the resident Grinch?
I feel Ilona on wanting holiday cheer (ffs!), but I for one have been desperately resisting the coming of winter. Like many of you, I don’t think the Roaring Whatthefucks 2020s have shown all they can do yet, so I’m not actually in any rush to head for 2025.
Autumn was gorgeous in England, at least in my little corner of it. Storybook picture-perfect season, with swan lakes, cosy pubs and castle gardens:
I tried to be outside all free hours of the day, with a “Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em” desperation, and the outside delivered.
But, as much as I’d like to make time stand still in this perpetual golden moment, the winter cold has already started, and once you reach a certain age, you know the magic of the season will only happen if you roll up your sleeves and get magicking.
I’m easing myself in, because that “26 days to January” countdown is too overwhelming. Today, I baked a cake; booked tickets to a traditional carol concert – in the “Ill-fated music room” of the Brighton Pavilion no less, so if I go suspiciously quiet after Wednesday, know I loved the Horde to the end! ; and switched the autumn Gilmore Girls marathon for the first oh-noes-they-kidnapped-Santa romp of the year.
The Get In The Spirit cake is this one, made with one of the awesome bundt cake tins Ilona got me for Christmas a couple of years ago. It’s best the next day when all the flavours “settle” and, as Nigella wisely advises, if you put a slice of it in the toaster, you end up with the most delicious no-fry French toast.
If you’ve thought “December already? HOW?! Whyyyy?” at any point this week, have yet to decorate, buy the presents, or figure out the holiday arrangements and menus, I raise my hot chocolate to you.
With all due apologies to the Elf on the Shelf, I fear we need the bigger guns this year. So may Horde Krampus be scary enough to chase away all other ills!
I have a grinch sign on my desk and another sign of the grind and Max that says, “If I can’t bring my dog I’m not coming.”
Mood! I also love how many signs that say “Dogs Welcome! People tolerated.” I’ve seen lately 😀
It me. The Max part, not the Grinch part.
I’m with you on the cold. In far West Texas we haven’t reached freezing yet. Probably next week. The record for the latest freeze is December 20.
As long as it’s not another Big Freeze! Fingers crossed!
I Love that baking tin, I have the same *suddenly feeling the need to bake*
We had our annual Christmas Party at work and I woke in the morning with “Bah, Humbug!” on my lips 🙄😀
But we’ll all will get there. eventually.
☕️ To “eventually”!
We got all our Christmas decorations up over Thanksgiving Weekend here, and it came with a sudden cold snap and several days of light snow.
The next two weekends I will be driving the county library’s bookmobile in a town’s Xmas parade, so I got to decorate the bookmobile this week.
It’s beginning to look very jolly in my neck of West Virginia.
That cake, Mod R! OMG
It’s ridiculously simple, the baking tin really does all your work for you!
I hear you Mod R about not having Christmas decorations up. I made a space for my Christmas tree, but haven’t the time, due to work, to put it up yet. Plus, I need to vacuum where the tree is going up. Hopefully this weekend I’ll have the tree up and decorated. The nice thing is I bought a revolving tree stand a few years ago. It really helps with tree decorating so you don’t have to do what I call the “tree decorating shuffle”.
The Horde will pull you back if we don’t hear from you after today. You know we will since we love you too. 😀
Morena is certainly putting her stamp on this time of year. Chernobog is sitting by his fire eating skewered meat and smiling at all of us. Roman…well he’s getting all his Disney characters to help him decorate. Oh, that’s where Mod R is…she’s with Roman. I won’t tell anyone.
😅 I wouldn’t say no to a Bonfire Saturnalia!
That cake looks delicious, Mod R!
Krampus as the next-level Elf on the Shelf….. interesting. I have never thought of it this way. I’ll take the Elf any day though (even though I’m not entirely sure what exactly the deal is) since I am Austrian and have seen many a Krampus before, and let me tell you: they are terrifying! I think I’m not the only Austrian woman who has had many years to cultivate her Krampus-phobia, since (and I speak from personal experience) the yearly “Krampus runs” (translating freely here) are either a fun time with friends or a scary run-and-hide-when-you-hear-their-bells-ringing experience. Therefore, I proudly declare Team Elf!
Krampus day is certainly one I’ll never forget from my year in Austria. My experience was rather fun, as we were young enough to outrun the Krampusse, but we took great care not to get too close to their brooms either…
Thank you, ModR and Anna for rekindling fun memories.
Nice photos! Yummy looking cake!
Fall in most of Texas was hot and dry. I myself am contemplating the last lawn mow of the year, maybe tomorrow since it’s actually raining today and assuming my mower will start. It hasn’t been in use since Aug. We finally got rain in early Nov. All the still living grass greened up and the weeds yelled yea! and took off with vengeance. And of course let the raking begin. Only the cottonwood has dropped anything locally. But no global warming here, nope.
Sorry, feeling rather grinchish today despite getting most of the holiday decorating finished already.
Hot chocolate cheers!
Resident Grinch -lol
Around here we have Salty Reindeer!
Love the “Roaring Whatthefucks 2020’s” comment. I’m going to steal that!
I already sent it to my adult kids. It’s perfect!
This California girl is going to Bozeman next week. **Stands, hands on hips and surveys the closet.** Krampus save me, I’m gonna die in that weather.
Merry and bright BDH, merry and bright!
Layers are your friend in the cold. 😁
Beautiful! – both the photos and the cake. Thanks Mod R!
Yeeeaaaahhhhhh, I’m kind of ready for this “hold my beer” year to be over. I’m not saying next year will be better or worse, it just won’t be -this- year and right now, that’s good enough.
^^ What she said.
No snow at the moment and my entire family has come down with the flu so it’s not feeling very holidaying here either.
Enjoy the Brighton Pavilion! And look out for the Mott piano, made by some great-great-relative of mine on my mother’s side.
My Christmas will be spent at sea, 12 days visiting Lisbon and the Canary Islands, hopefully in sunshine, on Cunard’s Queen Victoria.
That sounds wonderful! And will do!
Nj started its cold snap here. It was 20°F at the bus stop and my 11 yr old asked why he needed to go to school on such a cold day. He is usually an outside kid, but the cold always makes him grumpy unless there is snow on the ground, then miraculously he’s not cold anymore.
Inside I decorated, the tree is up, stockings are hung, but I have no desire to lug out the outside decor in the cold. And I actually finished Christmas shopping too. But the outside..in the cold…I usually love it but this year Im kind of meh.
My mom is the baker of the family and I am patiently waiting for my Birthday cake which is Trinidad Black Cake. Usually its done by the first but she couldnt find her favorite rum until Sunday, so Ive got a week before its done. My bday is on the 20th so its not like its late or anything.
Mod R thank you for the pretty pics!
Just made the date to get my downstairs rugs to the cleaners. Now to start on the ancestral cookie recipes -several of which need to age for 3 weeks for the flavors to blend. I’ll save a plate for Roman.
Last year I told everyone who invited me that I already had plans for Christmas Day. As one friend in the know put it, my plans were to go hiking with my closest family member, i.e. my dog. It was a lovely, peaceful day in the woods. I did go to my own family’s Christmas a few days later, also lovely.
Not sure yet about Christmas Day this year. The woods are waiting if I need them.
That’s exactly what I’m craving for Christmas day. A walk in crisp air and in as much wilderness as I can find in England.
I am not putting my (tiny artificial) Christmas tree up this year. It would require more progress than I’ve made toward cleaning my place – and while I’m happy with said progress, it still isn’t enough to put anything that is already where it belongs out into the middle of it.
Ohhhh, pretty pictures. I’m with some of the rest of the folks here in dry, windy West Texas. I wouldn’t mind a little snow as long as I can stay inside, under many blankets, drinking various and assorted hot beverages and watching B&W movies.
I’ve been wanting to turn to those – any recommendations? I prefer comedies, thank you!
My grandad used to sit me on his knee every Saturday from a tiny toddler to secondary school (basically the entire 1980s) to watch old movies. He especially loved Westerns (blech) and musicals (yay) and anything James Cagney or Norman Wisdom.
So maybe it’s nostalgia but you can’t go wrong with Norman Wisdom, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin for some good old slapstick, often with a touch of pathos (and occasional singing from Norman who was actually pretty good).
There were a lot of films you’d think were just a musical, because people were singing, but actually had a definite comedic or romantic aspect – I think maybe it was just expected to have singing back then. So if you don’t mind that then it will really open up the field.
Cary Grant did quite a few comedies, but I haven’t seen them much recently, don’t know how they all hold up, but alongside James Stewart gotta be worth a look.
Individual titles I’d say Arsenic and Old Lace; The Lavender Hill Mob; Passport to Pimlico; The Ladykillers (NOT the horrible remake); The Great Dictator; Kind Hearts and Coronets; Some Like it Hot; To Be or Not To Be.
And of course it’s that time of year, you could always watch It’s a Wonderful Life (or my preference, Harvey).
Oh and seeing as you’re a Brit now, you are obliged to watch the original first two St Trinians films if you haven’t already – The Belles of St Trinians and Blue Murder at St Trinians. You can ignore the other films if you like, it goes downhill from those.
Oh, I am a St Trinian megafan! Thank you so much for the other recs!
Some Like it Hot with Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe. and Tony Curtis. It’s kind of slow at the beginning. However. the speed picks up. It’s hilarious. 😁
Today’s high in my part of the Tucson foothills should be as bout 21C. I had too many years in Fairbanks, Alaska to want anymore cold in my life.
Watch “Some like it hot”. It’s hilarious.
It is cold here today with lows in the 20’s this morning. For Christmas, I just want to be in my home. For the last 8 months I’ve been living in a rented room with all of my possessions (save the contents of one suitcase) in storage. Building anything is a nightmare! Eventually it will be done and will be the LAST time I ever have to move.
BDH, I hope you all have a very Merry holiday season.
ModR, beautiful music and countryside sound fantastic. The cake looks scrumptious.
HA, all the best to you, the kids, and the fur babies. Here’s to a wonderful new year filled with joy and laughter and as little drama as possible.
I got my tree up today, and that completes my Christmas decor. 🙂
Thank you, ModR!
working up to Holly Jolly here. I’ve signed up for a local drive thru of Christmas in the Redwoods in a couple of weeks and plan a walk with my Kid2 through a lighted sculpture garden just down the road from us.
You are reminding me I need to fix my nonworking toaster situation.
And a raised hot cocoa to you as well. Gorgeous pictures! Thanks for sharing. My solution to winter is goose down vests. I have 3 from ebay, all the same so that I never run out of a warm one to wear. Shearling slippers that are too big because they were too small for dad. So I clomp about, my slippers shouting “winter” with every step. May you stay warm, find the magic and live in a cozy place warmer than a castle.
If it’s a weekday, I’m working, and type the date frequently. I still can’t believe it’s December. If life could jut slow a little bit, just a little, so I could breathe, that would be grand.
Today was a hard day. Today I said goodbye to an old friend, at the age of 36, we met at 8 in primary school (UK). She planned her funeral and it was beautiful and very her, but still so hard. So I’m sorely lacking in any kinda festive cheer right now. I just want to snuggle up under a duvet and stay there for a while. If Christmas and the new year could wait another couple months, that would be grand.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
My condolences, keep on keeping on.
Hugs. My condolences. 🙁
I made my first fruitcake of the season (not too heavy, I’ll make this recipe again), and made sbiten for the first time (delicious). Will make another batch soon and try wine instead of water. Haven’t decorated yet (spray painting pine cones is on the agenda this week). I’m definitely easing into the holidays.
Easy does it :D. Which jam did you use for the sbiten?
This particular December is extra busy for me – my teenage son’s birthday is on the 18th, my wedding day is on the 13th (only nine more days to go!!! 😱😱🤯🤯😳😳), of course Christmas… and before that, my son’s flying to Idaho on the 20th for the holidays with my ex-husband and won’t be back until after the New Year.
And we still haven’t bought the presents yet, put up the inside decorations, or anything like that. *-falls over-* Very very busy month for us.
I almost forgot, it’s a somewhat chilly 30F ish here in lovely Portland, Oregon… and I’ve finally been here long enough to acclimate and find such temperatures cold. So…. Brrrrrr!!!! I moved here from Idaho almost 3 years ago, and in SE Idaho where I’m from, it’s regularly -25F degrees in the winter (before adding the windchill.) But I absolutely love it here in Oregon. No regrets whatsoever about moving.
Yep, Morena in action. 😁
I decided yesterday that actually I’m not giving gift cards but getting real presents after all, so am doing crazy mad shopping skills. Thank goodness for online!
No decorations up but my niece has discovered the songs Jingle Bells and Father Christmas, he got stuck. . . which we are singing on loop so I’m ready to stave my own head in!
I love Brighton Pavilion, everything is so madly, wildly ornate and plush, it’s fantastic. I can only imagine how enchanting carols in the surroundings must be. Enjoy them and greet the dragons for me.
I do not, and never have, understood the do not like Winter thing? I am on the daily grateful to live with four distinct seasons. I actually just put up with Summer to get the other three. I feel the cold more as I am a bit older but I love Winter. I want snow ! Gloomy days to balance the sunny ones. There is nothing more gorgeous than the sun after an ice storm! No peace more profound than the hush after a deep snowfall. Plus Christmas! Thanks for the post Mod R ! Glad you had an awesome Autumn! The cake looks magical!
I’m with you about liking winter. After practically hibernating in the summer due to some days being over 100 degrees F, I want to get out when the weather turns cold.
and here we are just starting Summer but instead of lots of sunshine it has done nothing but rain 🙁 🙁