What a week it’s been! I’ve really enjoyed my visit over at T.B.’s blog, thanks again so much T.B. and also not only to all of you who took the time to go over and read my guest post but also to all the lovely new friends that she and I have both made as a result! It’s been amazing!
I think that a little celebration is in order, don’t you? It is the season to be jolly after all (you can take that any way you want) and I think it fits rather nicely with the way some people refer to me as being ‘bubbly’. Apparently.
My Aspie daughter would, however, disagree, preferring to call me ‘annoying’, as in, ‘Mom, you’re talking too loud!’ or, when taking her out and about in the car to run errands and enjoying singing along enthusiastically to a favourite song on the radio and ‘dancing’ to the beat with my head and hands (you know what I mean), I am rudely interrupted with a ‘Stop it Mom, everyone can see!’ So of course I keep doing it. Aspie daughter laughs in spite of her disgust at her thoroughly embarrassing mother.
Bubbly, annoying, loud, whatever. I’m not like that all the time, in fact, often I’m very quiet really. Still, I like to call it blowing off steam and since I’m panicking about Christmas big time and all that I have left to do I think there is only one solution.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said it best:
‘Too much of anything is bad but too much champagne is just right’.
Celebrate!
(c) copyright Sherri Matthews 2013
Scotty, I have to agree totally. Actually, I’m a cheap date really as a lovely, chilled bottle of cava will do just as nicely. Lidle do a particularly nice one. Of course, poor Hubby has another take on this rather effervescent subject.
He took me out to dinner once, in the early days, to a lovely country house hotel called Ston Easton just outside the glorious city of Bath. This is not a place that you would go for any old meal , and certainly not cheap. I hadn’t been to such a place for a very long time and felt thoroughly spoiled. Treated like a queen in fact. The problem is that I think that the entire experience went to my head and I began to have ideas above my station. (Downton Abbey anyone?)
Whilst perusing the menu, Hubby (not my hubby then I might add) asked me what I would like to drink. “Shall we order a bottle of champagne?” I blithely suggested. The poor man looked at me, turned a whiter shade of pale and looked momentarily as if he was about to fall off his overstuffed chair. It hadn’t even occurred to me that the cheapest bottle of champers would have set him back a cool several hundred pounds.
Of course I didn’t find this out until later (several years later in fact). Somehow he managed to persuade me to have ‘just one glass to start with’ and then we moved on to wine. I’m amazed that he still wanted to marry me.
Belated birthday celebrations this weekend, Christmas decs going up and manic online ordering. Time to crack open that bubbly.
Cheers!
Have a great weekend and I’ll see you bright and bushy-tailed on Monday 🙂
A View From My Summerhouse 
I wish I could have seen his face when you suggested champagne. Those are the best memories. On one of our first dates the better half dumped an entire glass of beer in my lap, not intentionally I think. I was still on my best behavior then 😉 We still laugh about it.
Thanks so much for appearing on my blog. It’s been a hoot and wonderful meeting so many new friends! Enjoy your bubbly. We also like cava. Have a marvelous weekend!
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Ha Ha! Yes, his face was a picture, poor guy, and I can just imagine the scene when you had that glass of beer dumped in your lap! A great ice-breaker if ever I heard of one 😉
Yes, it has been a hoot, love that, and thanks again TB. I know you enjoy your bubbles too…ching ching 🙂
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The funny thing about the beer getting dumped in our lap our waitress was so energetic and I think on crack. As soon as the beer was in my lap, so was she with a napkin. That surprised me even more 😉
Hope you are having a great weekend!
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Ha Ha!!! I can just imagine that scene!!
Just catching up now as you can see – had a lovely weekend thanks but no nearer to getting things ready for Christmas other than getting a great deal on a Christmas tree from B&Q!!
Hope you had a lovely weekend, looking forward to Wednesday 😉
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Bright and bushy tailed on Monday? I doubt it after necking down that lot. Prairie Oysters all round, I’d say 🙂
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Ha Ha! Well, I wasn’t speaking for myself, obviously 😉 Have a great weekend Jenny x
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Cheers!! Have a wonderful weekend lol xx
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Cheers to you too MP, enjoy the peace and quiet, lol 😉 xoxox
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What a great story, Sherri! Hum, I guess we’ll have to wait and see how bright-eyed and bushy-tail you are come Monday. Enjoy your time with Nicky and the family!!!
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Ha ha! Thanks Jill, you have a great weekend too 🙂 x
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You certainly deserve a bottle of champagne NOW. 😀 For celebratory reasons. You know…
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Of course, absolutely Tess! Have a great weekend 🙂 x
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🙂
Clink. Have a great weekend too.
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I love that quote! Have fun decorating your house for the holidays. Remember to enjoy it!
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Thanks Bev, will do. Just catching up with a few things here (and of course had to get back on my blog just for a few minutes!!) and then on with the decorating. Yes, that is very important to remember, enjoy it and not get stressed when the lights don’t work and are very tangled which they always are… you have a lovely weekend too 🙂 x
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I love you reference to F. Scott–when he refers to champagne, I always wonder if he drove Zelda to drink or vice versa. Little Scotty gave some interesting interviews that both applauded and ranted against all the “bubbly” in the parents’ lives.
After decorating for Christmas, the best “bubbly” is probably the very warm kind you soak in!
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Ahh yes, that is a very interesting point Marylin. As with all these things, there are always two sides and viewpoints to the story…
The kind of bubbly which you describe does sound heavenly. Sadly, we don’t have a bath! I know that sounds awful, but what I mean to say is we gutted our upstairs bathroom and put in a big walk-in shower instead thinking I wouldn’t miss a bath!! How wrong could I be?
Now, whenever we go away we make sure to get a room that has a nice bath as well as a shower – cost permitting of course! Our room that we recently stayed in had a freestanding one and you better believe that I took every opportunity to have as many lovely, bubbly soaks as possible 🙂
Have a lovely weekend Marylin 🙂 x
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Happy belated birthday. Great story.
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Thanks so much Irene, glad you enjoyed reading 🙂
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We’re enjoying Pear Brandy at our home this holiday season…locally made and quite wonderful! And, of course I completely stocked on up it because it’s made solely for fundraising purposes in support of a terrific local non-profit organization. Cheers from our home to yours! (And, have a great weekend! 🙂 )
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Ooh, that sounds lovely, I’ve never had Pear Brandy before! Cheers to you too, and hope you had a great weekend 🙂
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Enjoy your weekend Sherri 🙂 Cheers! A toast to you and yours: “A simple celebration, a gathering of friends; here is wishing you great happiness, a joy that never ends.”
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I love that quote Theresa, and I will remember it, thank you for sharing it! Cheers to you too and I hope had a super weekend 🙂 x
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I guess your sparkle drowned out any champagne’s sparkle. 🙂
I hope that the storm in your area has passed and everyone is safe. 🙂
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Ha Ha!! Thanks so much Imelda! Well, I guess I did something right for once, even if it wasn’t asking for a bottle of very pricey champers.. 😉
Yes, thank you for asking, no more storms but we didn’t get it as bad as some further north of us. Things seems to be calmer again … for now!!
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Have a lovely weekend Sherri! Bubbly and chocolate are important food groups, so load up on that stuff – maybe not the Cristal though LOL! 😀 xx
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Thanks Jo! Yes, I agree, and Cristal or not, so long as it fizzes…!! hope you had a great weekend 🙂 xx
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The SF quote sounds rather Oscar Wilde ish – the one about the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. I do like the idea of too much champagne being just right, but like you I drink cava, far cheaper, and as I live in Gib and Spain, a more local drink. We went to a posh hotel here in Gib for a silver wedding drink. He ordered beer and I asked if they did cava (at least I didn’t ask for champagne) by the glass. They did, and actually it wasn’t horrifically expensive. I was only allowed one though and as the food was uninteresting we left and went to an Indian for our anniversary lunch.
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Yes, I know what you mean! I think there was a lot more behind that quote than just taking it for face value, as I did on this occasion for very obvious reasons, lol!!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who likes cava, I think it is great! I hope that your anniversary meal at the Indian was up to the mark and that you had a lovely time and maybe more than one glass of cava 🙂
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Obviously, you had a wonderful week. Mine was just so-so but not bad. I hope I can get into the holiday spirit like you have.
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I hope you have a better week Glynis and that the holiday spirit comes to you soon. Sometimes it takes time 🙂 x
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If that photo is anything to go by… I’d say you intent on a great weekend… enjoy… thanks to you my book nears the end, have pumped out the last 30000 words in this last week and have just two chapters to go… then the first draft is over… so you know what I’ll be doing this weekend… tapping away on the laptop…
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Ha Ha! Thanks Bulldog!! Actually that photo was taken a couple of years ago when we did a murder mystery at our house for the family. Great fun. We enjoyed our bubbly this weekend but nothing like that!!!
Wow, that’s fantastic, I’m so thrilled to hear that you are so inspired to write. I haven’t done anymore writing on my memoir (shhhh, don’t tell TB, or you know what she will say and do…yikes!!) as it’s just impossible for me at the moment with so many distractions but I am resolved to get back to it asap.
See…now it is you who is inspring me 🙂
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Hey now, I’m not that bad. Trust me, I know how to fit in fun as well. Have fun and then get back to work!
Bulldog, I’m so happy to hear the news. Almost done with the first draft. That’s amazing!
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Ha Ha! No, you are not TB, in fact you are really, really lovely and as I’ve always said, I NEED you to keep me going!!! I loved your reply over at the guest post…’Drink then write’. All about getting the balance right and you know how to do that, so I’ve got to learn to relax and not get so stressed!!!!!
I know, that is amazing news. Do you think I will soon be saying that about a first draft? Wow, now that would be amazing… 🙂
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I’ll do my best to keep you going. I do it for selfish reasons though, since I really want to read it. You’ll be surprised how quickly the first draft arrives once you get going. Then you get the fun job of editing. I’m editing a novel now–just shoot me 😉 Five hours today and I can’t remember where to insert a comma, apostrophe, question mark, or period.
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Yikes, that sounds like the most difficult bit, and I’m not looking forward to that. I can imagine that you just get to the point where you can’t read another word! I feel like that after being on the laptop for hours. Gets too much…
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Yes we must keep this from TBM… I am on my last chapter and then comes the dreaded Edit, something I’m not looking forward to at this stage… once I’ve done the first edit I will give it to someone else, whom I still have to find…
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Ha Ha!!! Well done, wow, that’s great Bulldog, fantastic news.
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Good for you Rob. I’m editing a novel right now. I hope you enjoy it more than I do. But it’s all part of the process. Best of luck!
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What a great story! Enjoy your bubbly, you deserve it 🙂
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Ha Ha!!! Thanks so much Lilka, I hope you had a super weekend 🙂 x
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Hi Sherri, congratulations on everything you have been doing recently and your achievements. I raise a glass of water to celebrate with you. Just to let you know, I have finally got around to publishing your redundancy success story on http://www.beatredundancyblues.wordpress.com and http://www.beatredundancyblues.co.uk/Redundancy/blog/ Thanks so much.
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Thanks so much Sandra!!! Cheers!!!
Wow, you’ve been very busy this weekend! I’ve already commented on your blog posts for all the awards and am preparing my posts as we speak! I was already doing some when all yours came in so perfect timing, as like you, I won’t be able to do any more now until next year!!
I am thrilled that you chose to share my story on your ‘redundancy’ blog, I’ve done a link to this in my acceptance post for the Blog of the Year Award as you will shortly see. I’m honoured that you find my story a ‘success’ when, as I said before, I felt so washed up and useless when I was made redundant – twice!!!
You are doing a marvellous job Sandra, you really do inspire me and many others, and again, thanks so much for all your kindness and support 🙂
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I do the at-the-wheel dancing too 😉 it’s what all the cool cats do, just hate it when people interrupt with their car horns and expletives when the light has been green for several seconds. All I do is lean out the window and blame it on the boogie…. 😉
Well I don’t drink any alcohol, I think I can get hyper/’bubbly’ enough as it is, and one of the last times it happened, I got sloshed and ended up with the ball-and-chain. I learnt my lesson, there and then.
Hope you have fun, don’t drink too much… however, if you do, certainly do a post while tipsy. I’m sure it would be fun to read! 😉
Having a bit of downtime this weekend; been exhausting the last few days helping ma and pa prepare for the floods on the coast (they were completely unaffected, very lucky). However, those decorations need to go up soon, I’m being nagged; maybe I could do with some bubbly after all…!
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Ha Ha! I’ll remember that next time I get road rage – oops, I meant get a bit annoyed – and will just blame it on the boogie, lol 😉
Yes, I do remember you saying something before about what happened when you last had a few…drinks that is!! 😉
Don’t worry, it was actually quite a low-key weekend, just hanging out with my boy, not getting half the things done that I should have, and here I am blogging when I should be out shopping as still half the pressies not bought, food not got and I’m in complete denial. And that ain’t a river in Eqypt baby!! Hubby says Christmas will happen. I said I’m not b***** Mary Poppins!!!!
Ok, sorry about that , got a bit off track there…
Anyway, on a serious note, I’m so glad that your family were/are all ok after the awful storms and floods, I did think of you up in Norfolk and wondered how you were all getting on. Phew, that’s a relief. It’s actually sunny here in Somerset right now, hope with you too…
Oh, and yes, better get those decs up, time is pressing. Says I…guess what hubby will be doing when he gets home this evening? Loft time…
Have a great day JG 🙂
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Oh Sherri, this is the true meaning of Christmas! I am in the same pickle. We only shipped in our first box of mince pies at the weekend, and they’re usually filling the cupboards by November. Presents, ha! We’ve barely begun. You pre-empted my denial joke. Shame you didn’t use the word insane anywhere, I could have done a similar gag…
Yeah, I live in Norwich now so wasn’t in danger, but grew up on the coast, Hopton-on-Sea, which was largely unscathed thanks to sea defences. The only thing damaged were mum’s Christmas chocolate box in the rush (literally, a tiny crease in the corner), which she was most angry about in the middle of a panic stations evacuation. That’s my mumsey for you! I was upstairs; the way she was screaming about it I thought a tidal wave had ripped through the house.
Thanks for your concern! Yes unfortunately for you I am still here 🙂 It has been quite sunny and warm ever since, really – quite nice.
I have put the tree up this morning! Just waiting for a cat to knock it over. Have a good’un yourself! Careful with that umbrella 😉
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Oh dear!! I can just imagine it – thank goodness it wasn’t a tidal wave lol 🙂
Of course I’m happy your’re still there and not swept away, that would be awful…
Well done! Yes, we’ve had a few disasters tree wise like that so I know just what you mean!! Guess what, ours is now decorated so things are progressing. Sounds like you will be busy too. Have fun 🙂
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Congratulations. I have nominated you for the Sunshine and Versatile Blogger Awards http://quirkybooks.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/sunshine-and-versatile-blog-awards/
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Many thanks Sandra for thinking of me, I really appreciate it 🙂
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Congratulations, I have nominated you for 2 more awards. http://quirkybooks.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/double-awards-dragons-loyalty-award-and-the-wordpress-family-award/
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Thank you again Sandra, you are too kind. Watch out for the post 🙂
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Amazing and Thank you for writing which is quite good and best wishes always, and greetings. Kindness blossoms in your heart
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Thank you very much for dropping by and commenting. Have a great day 🙂
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Enjoy another award http://quirkybooks.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/blog-of-the-year-2013/ Happy Christmas.
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Wow, as I said Sandra, you have been so very kind to give me all these awards, you have really made my day! Bless you my dear friend 🙂
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What a wonderful gent your husband is not to let on about the terrible panic you must have set off in him!
I like your picture of all those beautiful glasses containing beautiful stuff.
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Ha ha! Yes, can you imagine? No longer he went pale, poor guy!!!
That photo was taken a couple of years ago when we did a murder mystery at our house, which was great fun. We didn’t have quite that much bubbly this weekend since it was just the four of us and Aspie Daughter doesn’t drink alcohol – well, not much anyway!
Hope you had a great weekend Denise 🙂 x
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Hi Sherri – Here is another star for you: http://quirkybooks.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/blog-of-the-year-2013-twice-more/
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Post going up shortly – I guess this means I have three stars right off the bat with the first from Mike at Eye-Dancers and now two from you – wow, I can’t believe it, what a way to finish the year out! I can’t thank you enough Sandra – you have a great week 🙂 x
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Hope you had a fantastically bubbly weekend Sherri.
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Thanks Andrea, love that – ‘fantastically bubbly weekend’! It’s been frenetic ever since, trying to get Christmas off the ground, as you well know. Think I need to stock up on copious amounts of the bubbly to see me through, lol 😉
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You don’t need any excuse for bubbly! That is quite a lot of champagne you have poured there, though!
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