the quirky brunette: Sunday Summary | Lo! He comes with clouuuuuds descending ...

Dear FOQ

Let us just have a moment to appreciate the sheer fact that Blogger now features emojis! 👍😁

---

This fortnight, I have mostly been ...

Reading 📕

Such a bizarre and wondrous book.

My only criticism would be that it only needs two viewpoints, if that – those of the two integral characters, North and Callanish. Everyone else is peripheral, and I am significantly less interested in their perspectives!

Finishing 📚

which was enjoyable, and coaxed me back into my own writing on some level, but got a little silly and by-the-numbers towards the end.

Watching 📼📺

Oy with the poodles already

Yes, Gilmore girls is back for a mini season of four special episodes (and while we do not, and should not, celebrate Thanksgiving as a public holiday in this country so what's with all the appropriation?), I am grateful. Muchly.

I popped round to AJ's last evening to binge-watch the series, only to discover that each episode was over two hours long so we got as far as mid-summer (after winter and spring) before fatigue caught up with me, so will have to finish binge-watching at another time.

No spoilers please. (We're British.)

I love Kirk a bit. Will just say that.

And Kelly Bishop is magnificent. She's shrunk and her hair has grown bigger but she is by far the superior Gilmore girl.

Rewatching

Jane Eyre

Father Ted

Bleak House

Also ten years old, this masterpiece.

How young does Carey Mulligan look??

Celebrating 🍰🍷

... the birthday of this minxy youngster – Ms Jocelyne – at topping local hideout, The Home Cottage,

along with a handful of fellow Voiceroxers, ex, present and honorary:

Kate

Jude

Pete

Glenda 'n' Mike

and Steve

Germs had, sadly, caught up with me, and so I looked more like this

than any discernible hip, happening party animal, but 'twas a pleasant night nonetheless.

And the light fittings remained intact in spite of the birthday girl's best efforts.

Going all-out alien 👽

with this beauty:

as we had another one of our epic Nats and Bee Big Nights In! (No drunken escapades this time, you'll be glad to read, Linda!)

Why so blue? I hear you ask, to which I reply, it's amazing what you can do with black light and UV makeup!

And for our next electropop album cover:

We were up crazy-silly-early on Saturday morning to drive over to Creepy Crawley where we had Plans to trawl Primarni in search of Christmas pyjamas and jumpers and other delectables.

But first, the inevitable morning-after-the-night-before greasy breakfast had to happen, courtesy of the wonderfully un-greasy and very friendly Cafe Giardino:

{Posh bird}

I cannot possibly attest to the origin of those flamingos.
I mean, maybe we schlepped into Toy Barnhaus before we went for breakfast.
And maybe we didn't.
I'm revealing nothing.

Mission Christmas PJs was slightly disappointing – not a great selection in Primarni, in all honesty – but I did manage to come away with these little numbers:

{Splashing out ...}

We wandered on to H&M, and in spite of me having indulged in one, and only one, 'Black Friday' sale deal and buying Ma QB and myself matching Christmas jumpers on Friday, I then saw it appropriate to add this slinky little number to the wardrobe:

{Perfect for the next few Mondays at work!}

Oh, c'mon, who doesn't love a food-related Christmas pun? Eh? Eh?

Singing Advent Carols 🎄🎤

Animatin' 💻

{'Alright, look like the raggle-taggle bunch of halfwit hams you are.
Claus, hold up the camera and look lively, you mangy buffoon.
...Wait, we're missing Dave.
Dave?
Where's Dave?
DAVE!'
'Urrrrgh...'}

Pinterest Pins of the Fortnight 📌

One verbal • one visual

and one that just struck my fancy:

Fortnightly Web Finds

Walking lifts your mood – even when you don't expect it to | on the British Psychological Society Digest site | Apologies, one of my friends shared this and I can't for the life of me remember who it was ...

{via}

I'm so over the M&S Christmas advert: Sainsbury's have nailed it with theirs (and a lot of Southern passengers can relate to poor Dave) | via here

Rescue goat feels less anxious in her duck costume | Oh! | on The Dodo | via Glenda

Disclaimer: I'm not sure any goat's anxiety will be helped by the animal being anthropomorphised and placed in a shopping trolley seat for children, but whaddo I know?

A lovely idea for an Advent Calendar: a calendar of good deeds and kindness to perform all month | via Alice D | on Make Today Happy (you can download the calendar from the MTH site)
Love these genius wine bottle labels! | on Bored Panda | via Cousin Jo H | because booze and books are A Harwood Thing