Have a Merman Christmas!

Edna:  Margie, I think I may have found your Christmas present, but I'm not sure I should buy it for you.  It panders to your lowest tastes, and I'm just not sure I want to do that.

 

Margie:  Oh Edna, I want one of each! Well, maybe 2 of those Candy Cane ones. I'll wash dishes for a year and never complain.

Edna:  Margie, I do believe I'd like a signed and notarized statement to that effect.  Merry Christmas to me!

Margie: Not so fast, nitwit! I wasn't born yesterday. I want to see the ornaments first. I'd best go buy some hooks too so Cousin T can hang all my ornaments from my bedroom ceiling.

Edna:  Lord knows it's been MANY yesterdays since you were born.  You've seen the ornaments, you idjit, they're all right there on that website.  I'll only buy them for you if you provide proof that you're going to stick to your promise.  Otherwise, it's lumps of coal in your stocking this year.

Margie: Edna, it makes me sad to think you don't trust your own sister. I'm glad Mama isn't here to see this. I'll get the proof and hand it to Deputy Jimmy when you show up with my ornaments then we'll trade.

No sister has ever made a life more complicated!

Edna:  You take all the joy out of gift-giving, Margie.


Photo courtesy of Blogadilla.com.  To see the Merman Christmas ornaments in all their glory, head over to Diamonds of the Sea.

IAMS Holiday Pet Adoption

Margie: Lots of pets need good homes so IAMS Holiday Adoption Drive is a worthy cause for you to participate in to help animals find a home.

Iams Home 4 the Holidays runs from October 1, 2010 to January 4, 2011. This year’s goal is to adopt 1.5 million pets

You can call this number for more information: 1-800-421-6456

Happy Presidents Day

Trivia Day

Margie: I sure am glad the holidays are over. They get on my last nerve. I don't like decorating and I don't cook anymore and I'm too broke to buy gifts. Speaking of gifts, the best gift I got is Edna being gone.

When Edna is gone I don't need my nerve pills, I can enjoy the peace and quiet, and I can play Jeopardy without Edna squawking like a banshee.

Today is Trivia Day and I love trivia games. It's too bad that Edna does too because she's a sore loser. If you ever want to play some trivia games then here are some places you can go.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming...

Dear readers,

Because of planned vacations and the holidays, things are going to be a little different around the Basement until after the new year. Beth (aka "Edna") is going on an extended holiday that will take her offline for a while. Jane (aka "Margie") will continue with the blog in Beth's absence and asks that you be patient with her.

Not to worry, the blog will be updated as regularly as it is now so please keep stopping by. And we also have some fun things planned! Starting this week, we are introducing a new feature here at the Basement, a "Best of Margie and Edna" series. We have many readers now who weren't with us from the beginning, so we're dusting off some of our favorite posts to share with you all every week.

As always, we deeply appreciate everyone who comes to visit us. Whether you're a daily or occasional visitor, we love you all! Because as much as we enjoy writing Margie and Edna for ourselves, we enjoy it even more with the kind of appreciative audience that we have.

Love,
Jane and Beth
aka "Margie and Edna"

Sunday Funnies

Margie: Why buy stamps to mail Christmas cards?

Here's my card to all my friends. (Not you, Edna).

Enjoy!!

Eggnog pie

Edna: Margie, look here at this recipe I got from a friend of mine. Eggnog pie! My lands, have you ever heard of such a thing?

Margie: I've never heard of that, Edna. My personal opinion is that it would be better if we replaced that rum extract with about a pint of good rum.

Edna: I knew you were going to say that. You probably don't remember the last time you tried to cook something that way, considering you drank all the rum and didn't leave any for the recipe. I let you sleep on the kitchen floor that night.

I think I'm going to try and make this for Christmas. We'll have to send Cousin T into town for the ingredients.

Margie: Edna, you're so mean to your elders.

If you're sending Cousin T to the store then you best have him pick up a larger bottle of rum. It'll warm up my old bones.

Edna: Ha! Elder is right.

I'll have Cousin T pick you up some rum, you old lush, but you'd best leave me a little bit for the pie.

Margie: Edna, you can ruin a pie better than anybody I know.

Edna: Then you don't have to eat any, fine by me.

Eggnog Pie

1 pre-made graham cracker crust
1 4-¾ ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups good eggnog
1/3 cup milk
splash rum extract (You can substitute 1/4 cup of rum for the rum extract, if desired)

Mix pudding, eggnog, milk and extract until thick. (Mixture will be very thick.) Then, pour into the shell and let sit in the fridge at least a day before serving.

Fun Friday: Edna's favorite holiday movie

Edna: Since the Christmas season has started, I've naturally started thinking about holiday movies. For a very long time, my favorite movie was It's a Wonderful Life. Now, I think that had more to do with my sweeping and grand affection for Jimmy Stewart rather than this being a truly heart-warming movie. Because let's face it, ladies and gentlemen, scratch the surface of that movie and you find all manner of depressing things. Suicidal thoughts, economic crisis, skullduggery, stinginess of soul, and a multitude of broken dreams, to name a few. I don't care that George Bailey discovers at the end that his life really is "wonderful." The fact still remains that the awful Mr. Potter goes unpunished for his foul deeds, and poor George not only can't hear out of one ear, but he never got to travel the world and build things like he wanted to. Quite frankly, every time I watch it and get to the part where Mary is hiding in the hydrangea bushes after the high school dance, I turn the blasted movie off because it's all downhill from there. Who needs that kind of depressing movie during the holidays?

Given the above complaints, it might surprise you all to learn that my favorite holiday movie is one that is sarcastic and starts out with a distinct lack of holiday cheer: Scrooged, with Bill Murray. Like It's a Wonderful Life, Scrooged also has as its focus a troubled young man, and it most certainly has its melancholy moments. But the beauty of Bill Murray's Frank Cross is that he knows he's past redemption, and he doesn't care. So it's mighty refreshing when he finds love and happiness at the end, because he didn't even think he was looking for it. Plus, what's not to love about Carol Kane as the surprisingly sadistic Ghost of Christmas Present? Now this is my kind of holiday movie!