Thread 11 - TalkLair: “The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles.”

[Kucinghitam]

Whoops, missed the filling up of the previous thread! (thread 10).

Although the nights are gradually drawing in, the new lair of JTT escapees is all cosy and homey inside. The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

I would love that too! I'm going to see how things are going as the year progresses but all things being equal I'd love to visit by the middle of the year. I have to sort out my passport in that I do no have a valid passport and it's bugging me. I have all the documents to go for either a British or an Irish and in an ideal world one day I'll have both. Getting back into the UK with the British one, galavanting about Europe with the Irish one!

Everyone on this thread is a long way east of me. Great to hear your small signs of progress Mouse - onward and upward!

We have snow due on Sunday. Time to fire up the snowblower!

I'm glad to hear that your diet is picking up, Mouse. Don't worry about "Me me me," we're all happy to read your posts.

I live in wet and windy Cowes, thankfully up the top of the hill (windy but no flooding)

I'm pleased to hear that you're getting some lovely food @MouseMinge (speaking as someone who lives to eat).

Kuc Manor is in Leeds, to my eternal sorrow. I do not do well with the Northern climate in particular the darker winters (awaits one-upmanship from @SinnerBoy). Having said that, yesterday was dry and even sunny at times, not windy at all, and we went for a lovely long walk. In my ideal lottery-winning world though, I'd move back down south somewhere.

Anybody's Christmas decorations still up? I was going to take everything down on January 2, but was outvoted by the rest of the household who insisted they stay up until Twelfth Night. I must admit I love looking at the tree so I didn't argue too hard.

All my decs are up and I'm going to try to pretend that I'm Swedish, as apparently they leave them up till 13th February. Mine were late going up this year, and so I feel like I haven't had my fill of staring at them yet.

One up!

Only joking, it's much wetter down your way...

NE Scotland and very fed up with the rain and dark. Made it out twice for walks over the holiday period, so feeling the need for sunlight and air. Major dose of January blues with the return to work.

Tree comes down tomorrow, normally do it before the return to work but I’m enjoying the twinkly lights.

Sinner has been two-upped by Medee!

I've decided that we will start de-Christmassing the house today, by (a) throwing away the now-wilted spring of mistletoe over the door; (b) disassembling the Christmas Lego. But the tree and the rest of the decs will get another 24 hours of glory.

Then the house will get almost a month of normality before we put up all the Chinese New Year decorations - I'm thinking crazyblingredgoldredgoldeyesore...

I'm in west Oxfordshire, on the edge of the Cotswolds. We call the town we live in Pleasantville, because it's attractive, big enough to have all we need, small enough that you meet people you know when out and about and is generally pleasant. Saying that, at the moment it's very, very soggy.

All our decs stay up until Women's Christmas. The lights round the living room bookcases stay up all year, but not permantly in use - they are switched on from Advent until Candlemas.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LittleChristmas

I'm due home next week and ours will come down a couple of days after that.

Mine came down on the 2nd during a necessary cleaning and tidying spree.

I took all my decorations down on Tuesday night, and I'm fairly sure I haven't left a rogue ornament anywhere (last year I found 2 Santas hiding in the book case in February)

@Vegemiteandhoneyontoast Have you not seen the film Pleasantville? (actually ISTR it was spoken about here before).

@Kucinghitam it's not the Northern Climate, it's the Yorkshire climate! it is much milder this side of the Pennines.

Mr Steph took our decs down on Tuesday. I had no hand, act or part in it and I was pretty happy about that. House seems huge now.

Nearly all of my decks, well my pretend tree (it's from Hobby craft, a medium sized , stand alone, white branch thing that can be decorated for Christmas, Easter, whatever) came down very early because I got a lovely bouquet from a cousin in Ireland and wanted those on show instead. One of my window ledges, my plant window, got properly fairy lit though and they're staying. There's a teeny real tree by my front window that will leave today or tomorrow. I've been meaning to do it for days. I love fairy lights, I think most of us do, and having them up all year round is the delight.

@Kucinghitam would it be possible to post some photos when you decorate for Chinese new year? I'd love to see it! Which animal are we heading into? I've already forgotten which one we've been on this past year.

Thanks all for geographic info. Living in the south in terms of a better climate is the dog's but in terms of beauty it almost feels like the further north you go the more insanely beautiful it gets. That said Sussex is a stunning county and I'm so glad I live here.

In other geographic news. The rain has stopped!

I'll be sure to take some photos of my CNY decorations when they're up @MouseMinge! Also, I will be back home in Malaysia later this month and there are usually insanely elaborate decorations in the public spaces there - I will photograph those too.

We're in the Year of the Rabbit now, and going into the Year of the Dragon.

Correction, came home from the office at lunchtime and the other half has been busy deChristmassing. Necessary but sad.

Dragon years scare me a bit as 1988 was life changing in not very good ways. 2000 was life changing in a good way, 2012 was in a bad way. I suppose I should just stop being superstitious.

Most of my Christmas decorations will come down on whatever day after Little Christmas I can get someone to come in while I climb ladders so they can call an ambulance or an undertaker as required. I'll leave the lights up indefinitely, and the crib (which also has lights) until Candlemas.

I'll be sorry to see all the pretty coloured things go away, but I've bought two pots of hyacinths to replace the bunches of holly at the end of the living room and am quite looking forward to them.

2024 is following in the footsteps of 2023 alas, first funeral of the year was on NYD, first visit of condolence on Jan 2nd, first sighting of a death notice of a (distant) pal of my mother, Jan 3rd.

Enough!

I love fairy lights, I think most of us do, and having them up all year round is the delight.

Yeah, we've some on a bookcase and they just bring a bit of light whimsy or something?

That's a tough start to the year, DE. Hope it's a case of bad news coming in threes and that's the worst of the year over.

@duc748 yes, several times, it's why we picked the name for this place. I like this town very much, it's well laid out, not a lot happens and is one of those rare places where drivers have manners.

I love fairy lights, I think most of us do, and having them up all year round is the delight.

Yes, I love them too, especially the tiny white lights. Been meaning to get some for years but have never got around to sorting any. Maybe this should be the year for doing so.

The area I work in is insanely beautiful, though not looking its best just now because everything is so wet. Here's the view from there this morning, including some of the approximately 100 sheep that got into the garden over New Year, when walkers left the big gate open. The lawns are sodden and covered in hoof prints and there is wet sheep shit absolutely everywhere. I'm going to ignore it until the weather dries it up a bit.

I will probably de-Christmas tomorrow. I do love the sparkliness of the tree though so I will be sad to pack it all away. I think I’ll keep the red, orange and yellow fairy lights handy though as I may decide the warm glow they add to the fireplace is needed through the dark days of winter.

Lots and lots of rain here (suburban north west London) over the last couple of days. I don’t care if it’s cold but the rain is rubbish.