It’s so bloody cold! Gone are the days I’d be whizzing around the park in a t-shirt in January, now I need 6 layers of thermals just to get out of the front door. Brrrrr.

[Photo of Jake by Leslie Collingridge at Stock Xchng.]

No time then to muse on the fact that the newly discovered to fit underwired bra (lacy and lilac, thankyewverymuch) I’m wearing is so well boned it makes a perfect settling spot for a mug of tea when cwtched up on the sofa.

Nor to kick myself for using the last of my PayPal funds to register a domain that has wonderful subdomain possibilities (like ma.gnolia or del.icio.us). Except that it was 3 a.m. and I registered the wrong bloody one. Pffft. Still, the More Words website came in handy for checking words ending in [insert variable here]. I am such a twpin sometimes.

Coming up: “Daisy’s weight loss secrets” and “The pros and cons of losing weight”.

Not only did I burn my finger while taking the fish out of the oven (there’s a large hole in the oven glove and yes, I managed to find it) but after running the finger under the cold water tap I turned to chop the salad tomatoes and… sliced through the blister.

Ouch doesn’t begin to describe it.

1. Elaborate on your default icon.
Default icon? Um, well the favicon is a pink daisy. Oh dammit, that reminds me that I must replace the Christmas banner rotation tonight.

2. What’s your current relationship status?
Living in blissful sin for the past 13 years.

3. Ever have a near-death experience?
Yes. And an out of body one too.

4. Name an obvious quality you have.
Optimism and friendliness.

5. What’s the name of the song that’s stuck in your head right now?
A New York state of mind, Billy Joel. I think I could hear it in the background on the BBC a short time ago.

6. Name a celebrity you would marry.
Nancy wrote, “I can’t imagine anything worse than being married to a celebrity.” Me neither.

7. Who will cut and paste this first?
No idea!

8. Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity?
Yes. Oh, you want to know who? Martin Mccutcheon and The Vicar of Dibley. But that was before I lost six and a half stone this year (or 91 lb and 41 kg in foreign). Heh. If you could see your face right now.

9. Do you wear a watch? What kind?
Never.

10. Do you have anything pierced?
Ears, once each.

11. Do you have any tattoos?
Nope. But I’d love to have a tiny ladybird at the base of my spine.

12. Do you like pain?
Nope.

13. Do you like to shop?
Nancy wrote, “Only for books. Looooove to shop for books.” Me too!

14. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
Chocolate past its sell-by date at the corner shop. I’m going to melt it down and make a chocolate mousse at the weekend.

15. What was the last thing you paid for with your credit card?
Dan Cederholm’s Bulletproof Web Design when it came out in 2005.

16. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?
My eldest brother en-route from Wales by train. He’s now here for a long weekend.

17. What is on your desktop background?
The subject of a future post.

18. What is the background on your cell phone?
A daisy. No, really.

19. What was the last movie you watched?
The Usual Suspects. Again.

20. What was the last book you read?
Non-fiction: currently re-reading Virginia DeBolt’s Integrated HTML and CSS and CSS Mastery.

You know that old saying, never judge a book by its cover? Well despite excellent reviews I’d never bought/borrowed the DeBolt book because I don’t like the cover. Shameful, eh? Then I was rummaging through a large box of books at a car boot sale late last year and came across it – wait for it – with the front cover torn off. After a bit of haggling I got it for the princely sum of 20 pence and you know what? Never judge a book by its cover. Heh.

Fiction: currently reading this month’s Spine Tingler magazine (free 9.6mb pdf download). I’m a sucker for a good ghostly or supernatural tale.

If you’ve managed to read this far, consider yourself roundly tagged.

Highlights of the afternoon:

• Finding cute-as-pie pyjamas for the granddaughters reduced to £3 a set in the pre Christmas sale.
• Being served coffee by the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her smile lit up the room.
• Asking advice on finding a book suitable for a Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, etc. fan to find that the extremely helpful chap in Books Etc. was American, blog-aware and happy to point me to book I think he’ll love Eric Scholosser’s Reefer Madness.
• Racing back to the car at 16:24, sure that we’d overrun our three hour Pay & Display ticket, to find that it was valid until 16:24. Wheeee!

p.s. I had some Christmassy links saved up to share but the gremlins seem to have eaten them so I’ll point you instead to Graeme’s fine collection over at Lazy Laces.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Don’t like either I’m afraid, can I have a nice cup of tea instead please?

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps and puts them under the tree. Unless it’s another #13.

3. Coloured lights or white on tree/house? White on tree, no outdoor lights.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? It’s never been a tradition in our family.

5. When do you put your decorations up? At the last minute.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? My mother’s bread sauce.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Standing in front of Our Lady’s grotto during an outdoor Midnight Mass, holding lit candles and all heads bowed in silent prayer when a drunken wag passed by on his way home from the pub and shouted “You’ve forgotten to pay the electricity bill again then, Father?” Or the time my mother quizzed us mercilessly on who had been snooping in their bedroom for hidden Christmas gifts. We all denied it vigorously until she produced a half-eaten jam sandwich she’d found under the bed.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Can’t remember when but it was undoubtedly one of my evil brothers.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Rarely. Sometimes after midnight we’ll open a small gift to keep up going until the morning.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Until a few years ago with decorations I’ve been collecting from various parts of the world for many years. But I stored them in my mother-in-law’s attic and they disappeared when we sold the house and moved her to a nursing home. So I bought a much smaller tree and started collecting again. But it’s not the same.

11. Snow, love it or dread it? Love it.

12. Do you know how to ice skate? Yes but haven’t for many years.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? A fishing rod for himself smuggled unseen in the back of the car from here to Wales.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Seeing family at home in Wales.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? My mother’s trifle eaten on Boxing Day.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? See #14.

17. What tops your tree? A pretty little cream and silver winged angel. Will take a picture when the tree is up.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Definitely giving, especially with the grandchildren being so young.

19. Favorite Christmas Song? Stop the Cavalry by Jonah Louie. But all Christmas tunes should be banned from the wireless and in-store soundtracks until 18 December.

20. Favorite flavor of Candy Canes? Never tasted one but I’m guessing they’re similar to the British stick of rock sold at the seaside in which case I’ll pass thank you.

A visit from a fellow blogger of course!

Alas it was a flying visit, a stopover on his way from Norfolk to Cardiff but it was lovely to meet him. He was just as I expected and nothing at all like I expected so I hope he’ll make a return appearance so that I can gossip tell you a little more.

So instead of hiding away feeling miserable, here’s a filler post to get me started again. More soon. But first I’m off to reply to emails and catch up on what’s been happening in your corners of the world.

A bientôt.

Go read Anna’s post, “You’ve got the loveliest skin … and so much of it.”.