Delusions of Grandeur

No this post isn't about our Christmas Decor -- that post will come soon enough, this one is just a little something to hold you over. Have you ever seen the show Keeping_Up_Appearances? This is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. A timeless classic about this older lady who certainly has Delusions of Grandeur.

Hyacinth, the lead character is the epitome of a snob, hopelessly trying to climb the social ladder and forever trying to impress her neighbors and friends. Additionally, Hyacinth likes to give the impression she’s of high social standing.

One of the most obvious examples of Hyacinth's snobbery involves her last name. According to her husband Richard, Bucket is pronounced as it is spelled. However for Hyacinth, it is pronounced "Bouquet," à la française. Despite her insistence on the more elegant French pronunciation most people usually call her "Mrs Bucket" or more disparagingly "The Bucket Woman," behind her back. The Vicar usually shouts the latter when noticing Hyacinth, then often attempts a speedy getaway before he is collared by the character. Hyacinth's neighbor Emmet is similarly amused by her pronunciation of "Bucket" as "Bouquet," although his most pressing problem with Hyacinth is that she's desperate to be in his amateur operatic society, and will "sing at him!" frequently.

She’s also a character who will look down on others, believing she is incomparably superior to those around her, and is particularly ashamed of her poorer relatives (sisters Daisy and Rose, and brother-in-law Onslow).

Her constant snobbery, boasting about wealth and connections she doesn't have, whilst repeatedly talking about her son Sheridan, all make Hyacinth disliked by almost everyone around her, including brother-in-law Onslow. However, Hyacinth's oblivious to the fact she is despised. For example, whilst on the phone, if a person hangs up, she blames a fault on the line, and cannot understand why so many people fail to covet invitations to her parties.

Hyacinth always tries to outdo her neighbors, especially the Barker-Finches of 23 Blossom Avenue, who seem to be her bitter social rivals. In one episode Hyacinth cannot bear the fact her neighbors get a celebrity to attend their BBQ, thus setting out to do the same for her function. In another episode, Hyacinth becomes jealous of a neighbor holidaying in the Caribbean, and goes to extreme lengths to convince those around her she too is considering going on an expensive holiday.

All in all its just funny -- often found on PBS, or the BBC check it out some time -- its truly worth your time. Here is the funniest short clip I could find of a scene involving Hycanth's intent to use a public telephone. Richard rarely gets after Hyacinth but in this scene he has finally had enough.

The City of Brotherly Love

We just got back from visiting my brother in Philadelphia. We had a great time! Here are some pics from our trip.

The Liberty Bell:

Independence Hall:
Ben Franklin's resting place:
Betsy Ross' house:
We were able to stand where Abe Lincoln once stood:

And we were in the room where the United States Constitution was signed:

And what would any trip be without pictures of Steve trying on hats and masks?
Not to be outdone, Matt showed off one of his many talents:
Thanks, Matt and Randi! We had a wonderful time!!!

It's Official

I, Amy, am officially now a Texan (or at least on paper anyway). After two years of residency and six attempts to get a Texas Driver's License, I was finally issued one today after losing my Oklahoma license at the airport last week. Believe it or not, if you lose your license, it makes transferring from state to state much easier than actually surrendering your license (at least in Texas).

Also, as of tomorrow, the holiday season officially begins. The Nortons are ready! We have ordered our Christmas cards, have purchased our Christmas stamps, have completed most of our gift shopping, have decorated both the inside and the outside of our house for Christmas and have made our travel plans for the month of December. Let the festivities begin!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

FOTOS, Continued

WOW! We have been really busy the last few days. Decorating for Christmas (the outside display begins today -- brace yourself), getting new furniture, switching some of the rooms in the house around, going to Tulsa, then off to Philadelphia real quick to meet Amy's brother's GF, and finally back home to a host of unfinished projects. I (Steve) wanted to finish off our Mexico pictures with some intermittent commentary.

The Polaroid camera used by the lady in the picture above was a HUGE hit. So many of these people had never had a picture of themselves. The most touching was a mother who got the first picture of her baby.

These two pictures are of our dramatic production. I was the understudy for Jesus, seen laughing above. (Thankfully, Jesus had a sense of humor). The lady seen reading from the script in the photo above was the self-appointed director of our little production. As the director, she made several comments that had the rest of us chuckling. Some of her comments, made before, during and after each performance, were:

• "Off the stage!" -- As you can see, there was no stage.
• "Please, people! Get off my stage!"
• To the translator who was wonderful with the children, "You're not the narrator. I am!" (The director did not speak a word of Spanish.)
• "That is why there is a script!"
• "Get ready, Jesus!"
• "Jesus has no lines."

Miss Abigail leading a time of worship. It was really neat to watch. Most of the kids really enjoyed it.

The lady above left is named Billie. She was accidentally assigned to the construction team with me and Amy. Soon after our arrival in Mexico, she defected to the cooking team. Billie is a very sweet lady and a great source of humor.

A time of reaching out and helping others -- this cat loved nacho cheese chips.

A lot of horse drawn carts in the city.

And what would a trip to Mexico be without a display of their cultural design techniques? Our room was pretty good compared to some of the others. There were two ladies who didn't have a toilet seat, perhaps it was discontinued.

Leave it to me to end a post with a picture of a toilet. All that's left of interest in our Mexico file was the fun crap that was sold at the border crossing -- there was a gigantic bleeding Jesus on a cross, lots of porcelain crap, the usual food stuffs and, a first for me, Miniature Schnauzer puppies. We were tempted by the puppies, but Maggie would not have approved.

This week is pretty mellow. We will spend Thanksgiving at home this year - a first for us. Coming up -- pictures from our trip to Philly and, of course, Christmas decor.

Happy Anniversary

Today we are celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary!!! The last four years have been amazing!

I love you, Steven! Thank you for marrying me! Happy Anniversary, my love!

P.S. If you haven't seen Steve's post from earlier today, see below. It's hilarious!!!

Well Now I've Seen It All

A quick break from our Missionary Montage and on to a little humor to keep you all chuckling on a beautiful Thursday.

Our new BFF we met while on our trip to Mexico works at a certain Natural History Museum and informed us of a fun addition to the gift shop. I'll give you all a few hints

Yes it comes with five loaves of bread
Yes it comes with two fish
Yes it comes with a jug for turning water into wine
And yes, of course, it comes with "GLOW IN THE DARK MIRACLE HANDS"

Here we have it!

A Deluxe Jesus Action Figure (indeed)

FOTOS

Here are a few of my (Steve's) favorite pictures from our first day in Mexico -- most of them speak for themselves.

This family is getting a new house compliments of the SOS organization. The gentleman in this picture helps SOS with every project they take on, often putting their work before his own needs. He hoped to eventually be able to raise his house to put a concrete floor in under it. They just decided to build him a new one -- which is why we are moving bricks in the picture below.

Above is Ms. Sophia and her 'Esposo' -- Amy and I worked on their house for about four hours on Saturday, painting it pink inside and out. Their home has a dirt floor , no running water or electricity. There is no insulation, holes in the roof (it was too windy to fix the roof), no inside walls, and a large hole in one wall where snakes, cats, and scorpions, often crawl in to visit.