What is your most arduous chore?
Shovelling snow off the sidewalks of a corner house.
Philip Stigger, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
• Cleaning the bathtub.
David Tulanian, Los Angeles, California, US
• Anything to do with computers.
Lorna Kaino, Fremantle, Western Australia
• Weeding.
Pat Phillips, Adelaide, South Australia
• Small talk.
Sunil Bajaria, Bromley, UK
• Figuring out which one to put off until later.
John Ralston, Mountain View, California, US
• Keeling the pots like greasy Joan.
Ursula Nixon, Bodalla, NSW, Australia
• Cutting toenails. Contorting like Houdini to do my own and wrestling with my terrier to do hers.
Reiner Jaakson, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
• Getting one of my witty answers published in Notes & Queries.
Malcolm Shuttleworth, Odenthal, Germany
’Twas the season to be jolly
What was your personal highlight from the Christmas season?
My four-year-old neighbour Dominic getting his first real bicycle – bright green! – and helping him round and round the courtyard.
RM Fransson, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, US
• Our family all being away, friends providing us a warm invitation to enjoy Christmas dinner with them and their family.
Terence Rowell, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Sharing a glass of port and a mince pie with Santa Claus.
Charlie Bamforth, Davis, California, US
• The Christmas eve rituals being over, it is spending Christmas Day – parents, children and grandmother (that’s me) – in our pyjamas, lounging, snacking, playing cards, looking at an Agatha Christie, or some like, film.
Amy Gibson, London, UK
• When it’s all over.
Michael Davis, Sydney, Australia
• Twelfth Night.
David Isaacs, Sydney, Australia
• Turning on the dishwasher and relaxing with the family for the rest of the evening.
Joan Dawson, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Enjoying spicy gingerbread and warming mulled wine at Nuremberg’s Christmas fair.
David Tucker, Halle, Germany
• Being around for it.
Jim Dewar, Gosford, NSW, Australia
No coffee? That will be tough
What’s the worst thing about being dead?
Being misquoted by the living!
Gemma Smith, Durham, UK
• Buddhists tell us the bardos can be pretty terrifying, but if things calm down, missing out on material pleasures will be hard: eating, drinking, sex, drugs … no coffee!
C Henderson, Taradale, Victoria, Australia
• Being unable to change your mind.
Koko Clark, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
• Nothing. At all.
Judith Umbach, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• No sky to stare at, no trees to climb in and no chocolate to bite.
Brigitte Franssen, Robertsbridge, UK
Patience is a virtue, they say
Where have the wallflowers gone?
They still exist, they just aren’t on Facebook or Twitter.
Richard Orlando, Westmount, Quebec, Canada
• We’re still here, waiting.
Donna Samoyloff, Toronto, Canada
Any answers?
What is the difference between an optimist and a pollyanna?
Lorna Kaino, Fremantle, Western Australia
The most onomatopoeic word is?
Joan Dawson, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Send answers to weekly.nandq@theguardian.com or Guardian Weekly, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, UK
