Happy Xmas To All Pets

[fenwoman]

Hope you have all been good and not sicked in mummy's shoes or pooped on the stairs etc and that 'doggy christmas' and 'santa claws' will bring you something nice. Don't eat the mince pie left out for him, don't roll in the reindeer poop and if doggies se a strange man entering the house by way of the chimney, don't bite his bum! He's a good guy.

 

[happyannie]

You deserve a double of holiday cheer. I found the page about your chickens very interesting.

 

[fenwoman]

Thanks for the reply I'm just potty about feathered creatures of all kinds.
Incidentally I went to my son in Cambridge and cooked xmas dinner for 7 people including 5 Italians who had never experienced a trad' english xmas dinner. The mother of my Italian future daughter in law and I communicated with gestures and grimaces but understood each other with the help of translations from future D.I.L. She exporessed disbelief that I actually had all the animals I said I had and I went online and showed her my photobucket pictures hehe. She looked at me in amazement. I expect she is wondering what sort of crazy family her daughter will be marrying into.She was stunned that my son started to do the pile of washing up as apparently Italian men would rather have pins stuck in their eyes than demean themselves doing a womans work, but I got future D.I.L. to tell her that us English women train our men and dogs with firmness

 

[PlecMama]

They don't have animals in the house because they think they're dirty. And the men never do girl-work, their job is to sit round the table cracking walnuts and drinking wine until the place is cleared up. The women all go in the kitchen together and one wipes the food off, one washes plates, one dries and one puts away. You have to be in the family for a good number of years before someone trusts you to do any of these jobs correctly, and it seems that the job of plate-washer is held in somewhat higher regard and is done by whoever's kitchen produced the meal.

Uh-oh, Plecmama's been married before...lol

 

[happyannie]

I once heard a reporter on our public radio extolling the many virtues of life in Italy..sitting around in cafes drinking coffee and whatever.. and just such a slow pace of life that the poor fools in the US just couldn't comprehend.... I thought yes that's why so many people come over here for medical treatments cuz our reseachers aren't wasting away their days in a street cafe and I'm sure it is just the same way in the UK too. While we might pay the price for a more intense way of life still..... we get things accomplished and are contributing more to the betterment of humankind by finding new better ways of doing things etc etc.

PS--I'm not sure what a traditional English Christmas is all about.... poppers? Yorkshire pudding and roast? Plum pudding with hard sauce? I'm of English descent and we had some of those things..... but it's far enough diluted that most other customs weren't observed I'm sure. My great-grandma was born in Suffolk County and her family left the legacy of a recipe for Yorkshire pudding that leaves the others in the dust! Anyway, it's a pretty picture-the traditional English Christmas.....

 

[fenwoman]

They don't have animals in the house because they think they're dirty. And the men never do girl-work, their job is to sit round the table cracking walnuts and drinking wine until the place is cleared up. The women all go in the kitchen together and one wipes the food off, one washes plates, one dries and one puts away. You have to be in the family for a good number of years before someone trusts you to do any of these jobs correctly, and it seems that the job of plate-washer is held in somewhat higher regard and is done by whoever's kitchen produced the meal.

Uh-oh, Plecmama's been married before...lol

Future DIL's family have dogs in the house. The chap I met in November when they all came over for her graduation ceremony. He is the prison governor in Rome (I think it's Rome). Anyway, big hard chap and has a small lap dog in the house which he adores.
I plan on taking Italian lessons next year as I have been invited over to DIL's mothers place in Turin. I'm planning on how to arrange things here so's I can go for a weekend
If it works out ok, then I'll be able to visit my likkle bruvver in the south of France too Yippeeeeee!!!!!
I must admit that La Mama was appalled that Antonella and my son have 2 kittens in the flat complete with litter tray in the bathroom and was horrified that Anto' kissed the kittens but she seemed to be coming round to acceptance and was actually caught with one of the kittens on her lap, stroking him and talking to him in Italian lol.It's great meeting new people from a different country and learning a new language. Ciao

 

[fenwoman]

I once heard a reporter on our public radio extolling the many virtues of life in Italy..sitting around in cafes drinking coffee and whatever.. and just such a slow pace of life that the poor fools in the US just couldn't comprehend.... I thought yes that's why so many people come over here for medical treatments cuz our reseachers aren't wasting away their days in a street cafe and I'm sure it is just the same way in the UK too. While we might pay the price for a more intense way of life still..... we get things accomplished and are contributing more to the betterment of humankind by finding new better ways of doing things etc etc.

PS--I'm not sure what a traditional English Christmas is all about.... poppers? Yorkshire pudding and roast? Plum pudding with hard sauce? I'm of English descent and we had some of those things..... but it's far enough diluted that most other customs weren't observed I'm sure. My great-grandma was born in Suffolk County and her family left the legacy of a recipe for Yorkshire pudding that leaves the others in the dust! Anyway, it's a pretty picture-the traditional English Christmas.....

English xmas dinner is usually turkey or goose, with roast and mashed potatoes and brussells sprouts although I hate them so we had baby carrots and brocolli instead. Then there is stuffing to go with the turkey, cranberry sauce, and although yorkshire pudding is traditionally served with roast beef, I love it so much I have it with any roast. Afterwards usually xmas pudding but not many people like it so I had the alternative trifle made by myself but not with sherry as it was for the 3 young sisters of Antonella. Then after that lot, mince pies, Xmas cake etc. We ate at 7pm as my son was at work until then, but for lunch La Mama made pasta with a proper Italian sauce made from scratch and it was delicious.
Don't believe that all the European countries are backwards. I for one would choose to go into hospital in Italy, France, Germany or Spain rather than one of the dirty ones here in the UK.
Pst. We just call it Suffolk here not Suffolk county lol. Suffolk is part of East Anglia where I live and a very very pretty place indeed with rolling hills.
The world is a wonderful place and each country's traditions and people are interesting. I adore languages and like to learn them. I can only speak fluent English and German at present with enough French to get by, some Spanish and now a bit of Italian too. I really enjoy exchanging ideas, teaching people about my culture and learning about theirs. We may not always agree on things but it's nice to learn anyway and accept that things may be different elsewhere. I am very proud to be English but class myself as European too. The idea of sitting in the sunshine taking life easy, certainly appeals to me In fact I am still toying with the idea of selling up and moving to France, Spain or Italy one day before I'm too old. And I will take all of my animals with me too.

 

[PlecMama]

I am very proud to be English but class myself as European too.

That's interesting. I am English and I hate to be thought of as British and couldn't even imagine being thought of as a European. I am married to an American and he understands this, I guess it's sort of like being referred to here as a "Yank" when he's a Southerner.

 

[fenwoman]

I am very proud to be English but class myself as European too.

That's interesting. I am English and I hate to be thought of as British and couldn't even imagine being thought of as a European. I am married to an American and he understands this, I guess it's sort of like being referred to here as a "Yank" when he's a Southerner.

I love being European. Mainland Europe is our closest land mass. I grew up in Germany and my parents lived in Spain. I have lived in or visited most European countries and now have family in France too. I love the fact that I can pop across in an hour for a weekend and enjoy a totally different culture. The only countries I didn't take to were Canada when I lived there (although the canadian people are great) and America which I visited. The problem I had was that there is no real history inasmuch as I can walk into the village here or any village in Europe and place my hand on a building whre, 1000 years ago, another person like me, had placed their hand or look at paintings and art that is 500 years old. I like the fact that if I drive for 5 hours, the people speak differently, eat differently and the shops are different. In Canada, if I drove for 5 hours, I would not even be out of the province. If I flew in a plane to a different province, the malls are the same, the people are the same, look the same, speak the same, the food is the same, with the same shops in the malls. No real sense of identity at all.
I'm proud to be an English European . Viva la difference!