?.......... Why ? ..........Just run out of oooomph for a proper Advent post today - it was supposed to be all about mistletoe......... but I got sidetracked by watching a film.(I really must venture out and see if the mistletoe I spotted within reach last year is still there).
This is the Nativity Scene by the main gate of the Church. It's lit up at night.
And this has appeared on top of the post box, not a good photo I'm afraid as the sun (which was a pleasure to see after so many dull days) was just wrong for a better photo.
I made something for the two Christmas hampers this week that I shall Never EVER do again. It was very simple, it was only pickled red cabbage but blimey I ended up with bits of red cabbage all over the place and purple chopping board, colander and sink.
The first jars I used were too big so I had to sterilise some smaller ones and move the cabbage from one to t'other and the kitchen smelled horrible from the pickling vinegar even though the extractor fan had been on.
Apart from that it was fine!
Although I don't even know if it will be edible..... Hey Ho.
Next year I won't be moving house or living in holiday lets so hopefully will be able to do more proper chutneys.
One hamper has gone to my sister and I'll give the other to BiL to take to his sister on Christmas day, as he is calling in on his way past. She thought I'd said I didn't want to do presents anymore (why would I say that?) so my gift will be something off my uptheamazon wish list ....but maybe late! (I did say please don't worry and I love making the hampers anyway, which I really do.)
(Photos of hampers on the 27th)
I've been shouting at this book below all week. As I said on my Library Book Photo post it's by an American author so how good it was depended on the authors research. Well. The book is obviously written for American readers and no effort has been made to change the words we don't use here. So taps are faucets (Now if I know a faucet is a tap then why can't American readers know that a tap is a faucet!)
And in all the books about WWII I've read, the Anderson shelter built into peoples gardens to help protect them from bombs and shrapnel was NEVER called an 'Andy!' NEVER!
There are several other weird figures of speech too, in fact too many to list. But I'm persevering just to see how many more times I'll be shouting!
Back Tomorrow
Sue
I liked that book…lol…am in America…love your blog…Merry Christmas…
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading my wafflings. I'm glad you enjoyed the book, it's a good story just annoying for all the things that are wrong for the people who live in London to say in 1940!
DeleteLol true
DeleteThe book sounds worth reading just for the fun of finding the weird figures of speech! Have a happy Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI determined to finish it!
DeleteWhen I first started blogging, a Pastor's wife in the States asked me to review her book, as she hoped it would sell in the UK. I sent her a copy of my review, and she was really offended that I'd said that I felt it has a lot of American terms for which UK readers might need explanation (inc faucets for taps and stalls for toilet cubicles) She said please could I rewrite the review and take out the negative comments, as she thought reviews should always be positive. I replied that they should be a fair and honest evaluation. So much for transatlantic co-operation! Have you read 84 Charing Cross Road? Now THAT is a good US book about a London bookshop.
ReplyDeleteLoved 84 Charing Cross Rd and the film and then I read her other books too
DeleteI'm surprised you haven't hurled that book against the wall yet, but I suppose, it's Library property so that has prevented you! Research is important and if you are aiming at a British audience, you need to do some!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that the Pickled Red Cabbage will be fine. It's something I've made regularly down the years but goodness, it does stain everything.
I've got half a jar for me to try so I'll see!
DeleteI really love these post box toppers that are so fashionable at the moment. I suppose there's a standard pattern or the topper itself and then people add their own figures on top. I might have a go myself at some point, if I get motivated.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the pickled red cabbage will be absolutely fine. xx
xx
I was very surprised to see it - the local face book page says the lady sneaked in and measured the top without anyone noticing and then put it on in the dark with no one seeing. Good Fun
DeleteI make red pickled cabbage throughout the year so I am sorry to hear of your staining experience. I layer it in foil parcels, concertina'd and seal the foil at the sides and ends over night. I don't rinse it but put straight in the jars. I don't boil the vinegar (not sure whether you did or not) and have never experienced any vinegar smells. I toss some peppercorns into the jar with the vinegar. It needs to be eaten quickly, within two to three weeks because it soon goes soggy so I only make a couple of jars at a time for myself.
ReplyDeleteI'm not overly keen on anything with vinegar - love fresh beetroot - can't stand pickled so I'm not even sure I shall like this - actually have no idea why i made it!
DeleteI eat it mainly with cold meats but it also goes well with cheese.
DeleteMy sister (5 years older than me, and always rather bossy) decreed last year that we, being her household, mine and our brother's, would not 'do' Christmas presents. Perhaps sensible, but a bit miserable. She has now decided that the same will apply this year. It removes a lot of effort, but also a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteOh dear! I would be disappointed too.
DeleteI really enjoy the gathering of things through the year for the hampers so will carry on regardless!
It's not just books where the Americans get it wrong. Even our beloved Mary Poppins's "robin, feathering its nest" wasn't a wee robin as we know it, it was a big American robin. And as for the real dogs version of 101 Dalmatians - there were raccoons in the barn! Aaaargh!
ReplyDeleteOh yes I remember that robin!
DeleteI wonder if the Americans say the same about our little chubby robin>
ReplyDeleteProbably!
DeleteOh no! Another individual cancels Christmas gifts??? That's just wrong. My cousin did this once and I invited her for tea with my house fully decorated and lavished her with Christmas and she was converted. I love your nativity scenes. I must try making pickled cabbage. Over many years, I am proud to say: "I've built a good British vocabulary". The caveat is, always room for improvement.
ReplyDeleteShe thought I was cancelling presents for her and her husband - but I've never done that.
DeleteDid stop buying for grown up niece and nephews a few years ago now I have grandchildren.
I am an American Anglophile who much prefers English mysteries. Some of the charm is the different words for the same thing. I wouldn't want that to change.
ReplyDeleteHistorical errors like "Andy" would having me yelling though.
Merry Christmas to you and your family. Your blog is a daily must read.
I'm glad you enjoy the blog.
DeleteI would just like a book that's set in England to be written with English words! But I'm still reading it so it's all OK
I hate the smell of pickling vinegar so much I now buy any chutneys that I eat ... although the homemade ones were more delicious. And I have never attempted pickling red cabbage, I can imagine the carnage in your kitchen though.
ReplyDeleteI love that post box topper, I hope it doesn't get rained on!!
Normally when I'm making chutney i'm immune to the smell but the recipe I used for this special vinegar was a bit odd and smelly
DeleteI always use ordinary vinegar; it was good enough for my mother so it's good enough for me! That and a few peppercorns.
DeleteI use ordinary vinegar, if and when I ever use the stuff, but when I'm pickling with it I just call it pickling vinegar. And that's good enough for me!!
DeleteI love the postbox topper. We have been lucky enough to have lots in our town this year too. Arilx
ReplyDeleteI saw your post and thought - well, that will never happen here - but then it did - although we only have 1 post box in the village!
DeleteIt's a thing that is going on all round the country.
DeleteAmericans always assume that their usage - "elevator" not "lift" "toward" not "towards" and pronouncing "schedule" as "skedule" - is universally understood. Sometimes the differences are alarming if funny, as with "knocking someone up" meaning in the US "getting a girl pregnant"! Roderick
ReplyDeleteIf I read that book, I'd yell at it, too. I like Britishisms.
ReplyDeleteI'm an American, and it annoys the heck out of me when editors "Americanize" British books. The fact we're even picking that book up is a strong indication that we are literate and curious enough to figure it out.
ReplyDeleteI am Australian and find 'americanisms' frustrating,especially when spellcheck takes the letter 'u' out of words!!! I think it is a bit insulting to an author (and possibly the American audience) when they change things,even the Harry Potter books. Would we change Jane Austen or even Shakespeare??
ReplyDelete