The OFFICIAL buddy bench/naughty bench thread No. 6

[Teaandcakeplease]

Come hither all those who haven't found their place on mumsnet, have scrapped in Aibu or crossed words in chat. The buddy bench shalt not judge.

The buddy bench will hand out wine and cakes, it will join you on your scoffathons getting pissed

All those who sit on the bench, will have their sins erased and be given a warm welcome and cheerful chat from CheerfulYank, gomummy, tiredmum, Elmo, valiumredhead and far, far too many more to mention.

Welcome to the buddy bench, we look forward to meeting you all

Oh and don't forget, last one to leave polishes bench and locks up!

I still haven't seen that one! I should.

We don't have any either Gomummy ! I really don't like it and hope it snows before Christmas!

It is strange, isn't it Cheerful? Finding it hard to get into the spirit of Christmas without it! And yes, you must see Miracle on 34th Street if you haven't, it is an annual event for me. :)

If you need a laugh, check out this thread

No I've seen Miracle on 34th Street, old and new, several times. :) I LOVE it. It's Scrooged I haven't seen. Which is odd because I love A Christmas Carol in all forms. DH, DS and I are actually going to watch the animated, Jim Carrey voiced one tonight after we decorate cookies. I love that one!

We went to the beach today to slide around on the ice...DS is keen to try skating again. He wanted nothing to do with it last year so I really hope he likes it this year. In my mind I want him to play hockey soooooo much, but I won't say that as I don't want to pressure him. :o

That thread is HILARIOUS!

Oops, sorry Cheerful, crossed wires. Well I'm sure you'll like Scrooged too! :)

No pressuring him...Just slip one of those little cut-down hockey sticks into his hands as he sleeps and whisper "he shoots, he scores!" for a subliminal message...

I've been singing the Minnesota Wild theme song to him since before he was born. I hope he wants to play, I've got to be able to hold my head up in society, you know! :o

I do kwym, totally!

DH will tell you the theme song thing doesn't work, he's been doing it since pregnancy too. Sadly, at dinner the other night he hummed the "Good Ol' Hockey Game" tune and asked DS if he knew what the words were. He was momentarily puffed up when DS said "Yes!" but then rapidly deflated when DS said "Angels we have heard on high, sleet and singing in the rain."

Hellooooo! :) Are you all busy getting ready for Christmas?

I have just finished drywalling a PITA location and am ever so proud of my finished job.

I am cut, scraped, filthy, have made a horrible mess, and DS has tracked drywall dust everywhere. But, I am pleased.

In two days I will paint it. And then no more DIY until after the holidays!!!

What are you all up to today?

Good job! :) I am a terrible dry-waller.

DS had his Christmas program yesterday; it was so cute. They sang their days of the week and months of the year song and showed us their sign language, then did some Christmas songs and a little poem that started "I couldn't buy a gift for you, 'cause I am very small..." and then went on to talk about all the things they could give us, like kisses and hugs. So sweet!

I have a friend staying over tonight because DS doesn't have school tomorrow and she's going to watch him. (His break starts a week before mine.) So I'm just tidying up for that.

Ugh, I have the worst cramps! :( I hate that! Makes me feel like doing absolutely nothing except for curling up in a ball and drinking hot things. And whimpering. :(

Hello! :)

Sorry have neglected the bench recently, hope you are all well? x

Hot water bottle yanky? x

Thanks! :)

Ugh, miserable cramps. :(

Your DS' Christmas program sounds quite adorable though! I think I'd be blubbering at the poem.

Good to see you back Valium, how are things?

Same as my old buggy gomummy it's the bigger style with the 3 wheels, which is also what my new one is like I just know there are loadsa mnetters that hate that style

I sort of noticed that on a thread one time too Tiredmum, but it's a necessity here as there are no sidewalks or anything like that. Disclaimer - there are also no buses or subways (tube?) or other public transit, which is what I believe people were annoyed about on the thread I read!

GoMummy would you like a recipe to make mince meat? Then all you do is make tiny short crust pastry pies and fill with a large tea spoon of mince meat and cook at 200 degrees for about 20 mins.

I WANT IT! I've always wanted to make mince pies!

OK assuming you have these ingredients the quantities are:

225g (8 oz) cooking apples, peeled, cored
450g (1 lb) currants
450g (1 lb) sultanas
450g (1 lb) seedless raisins
100g (4 oz) chopped mixed peel
175g (6 oz) shredded suet
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
Half a teaspoon of salt
450g (1 lb) demerara sugar
Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Half a teaspoon of ground cloves
Half a teaspoon of ground nutmeg
Half a teaspoon of ground mace
Half a teaspoon of ground allspice
200 ml (7 fl oz) brandy

1. Chop apples finely and place them in a large bowl with all the remaining ingredients. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly together, cover and leave to stand for 2 days. Stir the mixture occasionally.
2. Stir well and pack into jars to within 2.5cm (1 inch) from the top. Cover as for jam, and allow the mincemeat to mature for at least 2 weeks before using. Store in a cool dry place and use within a year of preparation.

Copyright The Good Housekeeping step by step cookbook 1980

Roll the shortcrust pastry out to 0.3cm thick, cut out 15 rounds with a 7.5cm fluted cutter and 15 rounds with 5.5cm fluted cutter. Place the larger rounds in a patty tin or similar, put a teaspoon of mincemeat in each. Damp the edges of the pasty and place the smaller round on top. Make a slit in each one, sprinkle with a bit of sugar and put in a pre heated oven at 220 degrees for 15-20 mins, until lightly brown on top. Serve hot or cold and keep in a sealed container.

Well that's the way I do it.

Sounds delicious! I've never heard of shredded suet though...will do some googling. :)

Well if there's a specialist website that sells Traditional British things and ships, then search for "atora shredded vegetable suet"

Apparently I can substitute vegetable shortening. I will try them next week! :)

Oooh, thank you Tea!!! Sounds very rich and flavourful. I don't have mace to hand atm but will pick some up when shopping next week and definitely give it a try over the holidays! I have no idea why but I expected it to be a kind of shepherd's pie! Way off base there!

Cheerful, we can buy suet at the butcher's, maybe you can too? It is in the grocery store as well but is not the same, even if they say it is, it has things added to give it a longer shelf life. Best substitute seems to be lard, but it is squishier to work with.

Am now wondering if it is something different to what you use though Tea, it is not vegetable based? The suet I've used is like hard animal fat?