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Post by stepper on Dec 10, 2018 18:37:24 GMT -6
It's happened to me. I saved a link with it's title, and several weeks later I shared it without verifying the link was still valid. The link was the same, but the owner had edited the youtube post and replaced the original funny video with another racier one. The one I meant to send out was fairly innocent - what I actually sent out was about Melissa Rauch's Accidental "Big Bang Theory" scene that had to be reshot. They were filming and she was cold, but in the scene she was under a sheet in bed and she rubbed her hands to try to warm them up. On film it looked like she was rubbing something else and they had to reshoot that scene. I suspect that story is still available on youtube.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 10, 2018 19:19:49 GMT -6
ummmmmmmm ... There's a statute of limitations. Yeah. A statute of limitations. And your chance to get me back has long ago run out.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 10, 2018 19:21:48 GMT -6
stepper: Good to know. I was thinking it couldn't happen. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 11, 2018 8:20:13 GMT -6
Oh, no, no, no, Missy. "When you least expect it" nullifies any statute of limitations when paybacks are involved. It's in the rule book.
The Hunt for Henry and Phyllis continues, but has taken a baby step forward.
The Years-Long Christmas Stocking Hunt has just taken precedence for the moment; I just got a phone call, and have to run. This hunt may finally (after 17 years!) come to an end!
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 11, 2018 17:57:06 GMT -6
Ooooh. Happy hunting.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 12, 2018 9:19:12 GMT -6
I think it'll turn out happy. It's just a little thing, but something BP has mentioned every Christmas for as long as I can remember - her Christmas stocking is different than ours. She is not sentimental about material stuff - not like LX, who has to save everything - so for BP to mention the stocking difference means it's a big deal for her. When we got out the Christmas decorations a couple of weeks ago, again she said, "It really bums me that my stocking is different".
For LX's first Christmas - actually, it was after Christmas that I was browsing the discounted shelves of at all places, a CVS drugstore - and I found three stockings. There's nothing particularly special about about them; they're a nice size and well-made, easily holding bottles of lotions, candles, packages of socks, and whatever else I usually put in them. They're not fancy or anything, except for maybe the satin ribbon loop to hang them - they look quilted, but aren't; it's just the pattern of the material, and each background pattern is slightly different, but matching, and they all have a different Christmasy type figure featured - a Santa, an angel, and a snowman. Six years later BP was born, and of course, I couldn't find a matching stocking that long after I'd purchased the others. For years, I have scoured every place that sells stockings, on-line, and in person, for a stocking that looks even remotely similar without any luck. I've even looked for similar fabric, thinking maybe Xena Sis could make one - no luck there either.
Then the week of Thanksgiving, I was changing the linens on the beds, when I happened to glance at the top shelf of the linen closet where I keep stuff that isn't used often (because I can't really reach up that high without getting a chair to stand on). BP's baby quilt! My boss made it for her when she was born. I never noticed it before, but it's the same colors of the stockings with alternating quilt blocks of teddy bears, and hearts, bordered by material with stars - the star material looks almost exactly like one of the patterns on the stockings. Xena Sis called yesterday morning - she and her Hubs just got back from their annual Mexico vacation, and she's ready to get to work on the stocking.
She's also making one for LX's Boyfriend, pieced together out of stockings that Mom's friend made for each of us years ago, when BP was a baby. I've saved them only because Mom's friend put a lot of work into them, with embroidery, quilting, and lots of embellishments - but the stockings are ridiculous. They're big enough to fit a 3-year child with room leftover for that child's toys. What do you do with something like that - you can't hang them, and you can't possibly fill them. You could hang one as a front door decoration, I suppose - it'd cover the entire door! And I've got four of them! They were packed away in a box, threatened to never see the light of day again, until I got them out last week to be reworked into a normal-sized stocking for the Boyfriend...and in the box is where I found LX's toilet paper roll ornament.
She just called - they're coming here for Christmas after-all. I must remember to move the toilet paper roll back to the front of the tree. Remind me!
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 12, 2018 17:37:18 GMT -6
Well I hope it works out. Christmas is all about family, and making everyone happy ... for one moment in time.
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Post by stepper on Dec 12, 2018 18:53:48 GMT -6
You should do it now instead of telling us to remind you. She'll show up unexpectedly and then it'll be too late. Now! Stop reading and do it now!! (That good enough?)
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 12, 2018 22:22:06 GMT -6
Put it on your phone calendar ... that's what I do.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 14, 2018 7:05:19 GMT -6
Wait!!!!
<runs off to the room where the Christmas tree stands, reaches to the back of the tree, finds the "ornament", moves it to the front of the tree, trying to position it in the same place and angle as in the since deleted photo text.>
Whew! Ok, thanks.
Actually I did it two days ago just in case.
I am running off though in a minute - going to Crazy Cheryl's for coffee and jelly tasting. She makes the best jellies that she sells at the farmer's market, and I want to get some for stocking stuffers for my two jelly lovers, and for little gifts for a couple of friends. Only problem is trying to decide which jellies - she makes nearly two dozen different blends!
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Post by Phalon on Dec 15, 2018 10:33:16 GMT -6
Had a lot of fun at Crazy Cheryl's yesterday tasting jellies - even though I immensely dislike jelly. I find them, jams, and preserves way too sweet; Crazy Cheryl's were no exception. She had made muffins with carrots, coconut, walnuts, and apples in them as a tasting vehicle. The muffins were delicious by themselves, and I hated to ruin the taste of them with jelly! I'd put just the teeny-tiniest bit of jelly that just the very, very tip of a knife could hold, and smear in on what was a nibble of muffin, cracking up Crazy Cheryl, and causing her to roll her eyes at the same time.
The jellies aren't for me though so it doesn't matter that I don't like them; the taste testing determined what I'd buy to give to give to other people - a big jar of blackberry and a small jar of rhubarb for the Boyfriend's stocking (who, while they were living here, grossed me out while watching him make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because he'd use so much jelly it oozed out the sides and seeped through the bread), a big jar of blackberry basil for BP, and small jars of apple spice, blueberry lavender, plum spice, and apple maple to give as little gifts to friends.
Being Crazy Cheryl, who, along with being one of the craziest people I know, is one of the nicest, and giving-ist people I know, she would not let me leave without taking muffins home with me, despite my protests; I am trying to keep sweets out of the house this season!
My solution (because she ignored my protests): The muffins are in individual cupcake-type cups (can you tell I don't bake? I don't know what those things are called), and they perfectly fit into a small cellophane bag sealed with a twist-tie. I put a small jar of jelly with a bagged muffin on top into bigger cellophane bags, and tied that with pretty wired-ribbon. (Dang, I will never use ribbon other than the wired kind again - it's so much easier to work with, and makes much nicer bows in my opinion.)
Off to make jelly deliveries today. A right jelly old elf, I am! And getting the muffins out of the house at the same time, thwarting a little round belly that shakes when I laugh like a bowl full of jelly!
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 15, 2018 19:47:41 GMT -6
I wonder if jelly can be made with less sugar? Maybe something else can be substituted to give it a natural sweetness that isn't so overpowering? I try not to put too much jelly on toast. My tummy can't stand foods that are too rich. Dad could eat a whole box of chocolate covered cherries, but more than three would make me puke. And no way I can eat more than a small square of fudge.
And during my oatmeal recipe searches, I discovered juices can be used instead of milk and water ... oooh ... that might be something to try. Queeny said her husband ate it like cereal ... in a bowl of milk. So, I thought I'd try and find cereal 'trail' mix recipes. The more options and ways to eat it, perhaps I can and will finally get oats into a daily meal plan. I'm going to include steel cut oats when I get to Wal-Mart though. It's supposed to be the healthiest form of oats. I can't find it locally.
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Post by stepper on Dec 16, 2018 19:27:49 GMT -6
Okay - I'm cheating and combining replies again. Maybe the doll likes gooseberry jelly, and razzleberry pie. You could ask when it comes to visit you! Personally, I like the standard concord grape jelly. Steppet isn't so narrow minded as I am, but has a preference for apple jelly and apple butter. I don't see why not. There are many different kinds of jellies and jams, why not different levels of sweetness? If you made your own, you could sweeten-to-taste couldn't you? I know there are jellies and jams for diabetics, perhaps one of those would suit you. I'm sorry I can't recommend one - I never got around to trying any of them out. I suppose I could, but I rarely have more than two - chocolate covered cherries are okay but aren't at the top of my favorites list. Fudge on the other hand, is right up there near the top. Two favorites include a marshmallow walnut fudge recipe that I got from mom, and one Steppet's mother makes called peanut butter melt-aways. Mom's can be made soft & chewy (my preference) or a touch more solid. The melt-aways are soft and really do sort of melt away in your mouth - it's really good! Unfortunately, for the past few years, Steppet's mom hasn't made any - she's in her 90's and doesn't do a lot of cooking or baking any more. I'm asking for her recipe so I can make some for both of us. Must have been a heck of a muffin! And before I forget - I'm glad you got the green decoration on the front of the tree where it belongs. We have everything mailed out that's going anywhere. Bro from El Paso is coming to town the day after Christmas and talked me into waiting - he'll bring our stuff with him and pick up his while he's here. His birthday is early in January so he get's that at the same time. This year he's breaking with tradition though. No golf games this time. S-I-L said he's covered for golf already. That leaves me with Red Lobster as a second choice - it's his favorite restaurant - so he's getting gift cards to go there. They go every Sunday after church and sure these will suit him. Then I did pretty much the same thing for the one in NJ except he's getting a Red Lobster and a Texas Roadhouse. I know one of my presents this year - it's a two pound box of Salt Water Taffy's. It was shipped directly from the manufacturer on the NJ boardwalk so it's not like it was hard to figure it out. I'll have to share them because otherwise I'll over indulge. It got so windy here last week I had to turn off the yard blow-ups. A cold front was coming in and it was just too windy for them. Even deflated they were flapping around more than I like. Now it's starting to warm up again. They say for the first day of winter we'll be in the 70s. I'd prefer cooler temperatures.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 19, 2018 0:28:51 GMT -6
I think you can add just about anything, you've just got to find a combination that you like. Since we've been talking about jelly, you can maybe substitute the cocoa you haven't liked for jelly? My boss eats oatmeal every morning - she puts chopped nuts, fruit, and maple syrup in hers. LX's boyfriend ate his like your friend's husband - with milk like cereal, and actually he put Raisin Bran in the bowl with his oatmeal, and peanut butter granola too! I got sidetracked the other day when I posted that link to the Tajin seasoning - there is a ton of recipes on the site, and I was browsing, thinking everything looked good, and while doing so, came across some overnight oat ideas: www.thespruceeats.com/easy-overnight-oats-recipes-4178299Very sweet (pun not intended, but it fits!) of you to do that for your mother-in-law. Fudge is too sweet for me - it always looks and smells so good, but I take a bite and bluck! Brownies on the other hand - those are near the top of my chocolate indulgence list. This year for the first time, I didn't have to order D!cks on-line, and anxiously wait for the D!cks to come in the mail - I could buy D!cks in person! (sorry, I couldn't resist) My (ex)sis-in-law said the kids were really looking forward to the same gift certificates I've sent for the past five years or so; I had wondered if their tastes had changed any, especially since my niece just started college this fall. She has always been easy - a Barnes and Noble card, which I can pick up at either the drug store or grocery store here. My nephew likes D!cks Sporting Goods, which we don't have around here, and neither the drug store or grocery store had the cards either; I've always had to order it on-line, wait for it to come, hoping it gets here in time for me to mail both gift certificates in the same package. When I was getting the Barnes and Noble card though, this year, they also had D!cks! I got the package mailed Monday; it's the only thing I had to mail... ...except Christmas cards, which I haven't even started yet! Same thing with the two pound jar of nuts - sea-salted pecans, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, and peanuts - my boss gave me Sunday (she was really too good to me this year; it must have been a great season. Along with the nuts, she gave me a gorgeous piece of pottery, and a very generous Christmas bonus). The nuts are so good - very fresh, and I've already put a dent in the jar. Hubs might have a few, but he can't eat many; BP will maybe grab a couple every so often, but they are too tempting for me - it's so easy to grab a handful here and there. I'll have to bag some up in those cellophane bags I have, and give them to neighbors and Xena Sis. Crazy Cheryl. LX's friend, Niki's parents. Maybe BP's boyfriend...and anyone else I can think of! I knew that had to be the reason there aren't many of them around here - I can't see them holding up well in the wind. Deflated, I imagine them to look like the melted Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 19, 2018 2:59:05 GMT -6
Phalon: Thanks for the link. I did put jelly in my Overnight Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal, and it's super sweetness helped a lot. But, alas, this recipe is just too rich for me. But a PB&J overnight oatmeal might work better. I also found a recipe for an overnight oatmeal cookie recipe. I love oatmeal cookies, and I have raisins too. I'm a tad hungry right now, so I think I'll try GrapeNuts with Oats and see how well I like the oats raw in milk.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 19, 2018 4:45:58 GMT -6
I put a half cup each of oats and GrapeNuts in a bowl of milk and sugar. It wasn’t bad. I think I should have let it set for a wee bit, as the oats had a husky taste to it. I hope I added enough milk. I read it can cause bloating and gas if not enough liquid is consumed. I think next time I’ll add a fourth a cup of GrapeNuts though.
I think I can eat it this way more often than the other. But I’ll still try to find other ways to fix it too. Changing it up will probably help keep me eating them. I’ll check out other cereals to add to the mix. I did a search and found that each way of eating them has its own benefits.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 21, 2018 13:22:55 GMT -6
I'm hoping to get everything done today - I'm almost there. Trying to do a little here and there, as I'm here typing.
Finished up the shopping a couple of days ago; I really only had a few things to get, some stocking stuffers, and a couple of gift certificates for BP - one at the salon, and the other at the nail place. She's always appreciated a gift certificate to get her nails done, and there are two places in town - the problem is she's been to both places, but has a definite preference, not caring for the other one at all, and I can never remember which is which. I texted her best friend's Mom, asking her to ask her daughter if she knew, and she texted me back with the answer as I started walking downtown. I get about 50 feet from the door of the nail place, and get a text from BP - "It's the wrong one."
It's a good thing, at least in this instance, that teenage girls don't keep secrets very well. At least the salon gift certificate will be a surprise; there was very little on her wish list, most of it practical stuff she needs, and I always like to throw one or two surprises under the tree. Everyone can use a little pampering now and then, and she'll never expect the "salon treatment".
All I have left to get is a restaurant gift certificate for the neighbors; they are truly the best neighbors ever.
I haven't booked the breweries tour for Hubs yet; they only book reservations a month out, and I'm thinking late January/early February would be a good time, right around when the winter doldrums start to set in. Turns out, with what looks like right now an inevitable partial government shutdown, the money that the tour would cost, might come in handy - Hubs will still be required to work, but won't get paid until the shutdown is over (hopefully, he'll get paid in full; there seems at this point to be some confusion as to whether the holidays - Christmas Eve, Christmas day, and New Years Day, will be unpaid time off). I'll just print off the tour description though, and put it with the Time History of Beer magazine.
Yesterday morning, there were seven gifts I had ordered on-line, that hadn't come yet - it wouldn't be Christmas for me, if there wasn't that last-minute oh-my-god-is-everything-going-to-get-done? rush. The mailman delivered four of the seven yesterday afternoon, both UPS and Fed-Ex came yesterday evening with one each. Still waiting for one gift to come in the mail - this one is for Hubs also. He seems to be having a very food-centric Christmas this year - the gift I'm waiting for is to go in his "Pickle Emergency Kit" (no pun intended).
Hubs goes through phases (I call them food obsessions), in which he goes through periods of time that he develops an affinity for a particular kind of food. One year it was sour Jelly Belly jelly beans during which he would order pounds of them on-line because it was difficult to find them around here in stores; the following year, it was turkey jerky. This year it is pickles - Vlasic Lightly Salted Kosher Dill Spears to be exact. It's become a family joke, this pickle obsession of his. LX and the Boyfriend had made for him a sweatshirt with a quote of his that he says nearly every mealtime as he takes a bite of his favorite pickle. In his "Pickle Emergency Kit", I'm including a t-shirt that says "Got Pickles?" on it, so he doesn't even need to verbally ask anymore if I got them at the store, a "Don't Panic, Just Focus on the Pickle Juice" coffee mug (he drinks a swig or two of the pickle juice! Ick!) for when he's down to his last spear, and a 3-month subscription to the Pickle-of-the-Month Club (yes, there is actually such a thing) during which a box of four jars of different specialty gourmet pickles will be delivered right to his doorstep - just in case Vlasic ever decides to stop making Lightly Salted Kosher Dill Spears - and because I think he might need to broaden his pickle horizons. Oh, and a box of pickle-shaped Band-Aids for every other emergency; Hubs, remember, tends to be a bit accident prone! (I shamelessly crack myself up.)
Also for Hubs, BP made up a nice basket (some of which is still in the fridge, which I keep shoving to the back so he won't see it) of his favorite Christmas Eve and Christmas Day snacks. Family tradition is that we each open one gift on Christmas Eve; we've done this since the girls were little, basically because then there were three can't-wait-until-Christmas-morning kids in the house - one of them being Hubs! We play games and watch movies late into the night on Christmas Eve, and BP wants the basket to be his Christmas Eve gift so he has something to munch on during the festivities - something aside from pickles, that is!
Urgent phone call requires that I run off - Carmex tubes and Bloody Marys at Xena Sis's await. (Don't even try to figure that one out)
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 22, 2018 0:41:20 GMT -6
My refrigerator conked out, so I now have one of Mom's, and it still has this on the door:
Salty Pickles
3 quarts water 1 quart vinegar 1 cup salt
Heat to boiling and pour over cucumbers in jars.
This was a treat whenever we went to Grandmothers house. I haven't had Salty Pickles in years, I may have to divide this recipe and make a much smaller batch. Sometimes she added some peppers to the jars to give them some heat.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 22, 2018 13:02:12 GMT -6
Mom made "refrigerator pickles" - OMG, they were so crisp and so good! She made both dill and bread and butter; I always preferred the bread and butter, which is still my pickle preference. She's got lots of handwritten recipes (one even in Dad's writing) for pickles in her recipe book - most of which are just a list of ingredients; she was one of those wing-it cooks, who eye-balled things instead of measuring. Kind makes it hard (almost impossible!) to make things that taste like how they did when I was a kid!
I was in a rush just a bit ago to at least get a few Christmas cards written and in the mail, and darn it! Twice, when addressing the envelope because I was trying to do more than one thing at a time, I started to put the address of the person who I was sending the card to, in the return address's place. Remember when Christmas card box came with extra envelopes? They don't any more. I put the correctly addressed cards out for the mailman, and darn it again, found that I missed him! I saw his mail truck still at the corner though; he parks at the top of the street, walks down our side first, and then back up the other side. Whew! I was able to catch him across the street.
Christmas 2018 trivia: Hallmark produced 38 new Christmas movies for this season. All of them, I understand, have the same plot.
Xena Sis and I don't exchange Christmas gifts, but when she called me over for Bloody Marys yesterday, I had to give her a little something I'd made especially for her...because I just couldn't resist. When I was at the store the other day, I found just what I was looking for - a tiny 3" Christmas stocking - basic red with white trim. On one of the large, hideously ugly stockings that I gave to her to see if she could use any part of them to make a stocking for The Boyfriend, was a hideously ugly calico cat rag doll wearing a plaid dress and red felt coat, glued (and stitched for good measure) on the stocking's front. It was, I suppose, meant to be folksy, but with its gangly extra-long arms and legs, it looked more like a Creepy-@ss Bill the Cat plastered on the stocking in some kind of torturous pose. We laughed and laughed about how ugly that poor cat was when I picked up the finished stockings, and she insisted I take the ugly ones back home (instead of pitching them in the trash) in case I ever needed her to make me an ugly Christmas sweater. I thought it would be "cute" to put the cat in the little stocking to give her as a Christmas ornament - or at least the cat's head, because the doll was way too big. I unceremoniously cut off its head, and pried the glued thing off the large stocking; I even made a babushka for it from the plaid dress material so that the glue and material stuck on the back of its head would be hidden. Alas, even the head was too big for the stocking, and it hung at an angle that made it appear as if it had a broken neck. Maybe just a bit too macabre for a Christmas ornament. Threw the babuska-ed cat head in the trash, and cut off the cat's legs at the knees, and stuck them in the stocking knees-first, so that it looked like the cat was buried in the stocking with just its feet sticking out. I glued the legs in with lotsa Super Glue for good measure. Voila! A must-hang back-of-the-tree-toilet-paper-roll-like Christmas ornament! Too funny - funnier still after a Blood Mary.
Crazy Cheryl just dropped off her yearly array of Christmas cookies. So far, I can vouch for the Chocolate Snicker Doodles!!! (discreetly wipes crumbs from face.)
Ok, I'm off to spread Christmas cheer.
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Post by stepper on Dec 23, 2018 21:16:32 GMT -6
I know! Right!!?? Why does this always happen? Why oh why, just because it’s Christmas time, does The Grinch ALWAYS fall under the spell of Cindy Lou Who who is no more than two? Our hero is clearly older and more experienced, but he continues to lose his mind when encountered with this otherwise helpless little girl. And if that’s not bad enough, what about Mr. Scrooge?? He spends a lifetime making a buck and what happens? The Cratchits drug him or something happens making this poor man have strange and horrible dreams that leave him so bewildered he gives stuff away – spending his hard-earned booty on coal and a coal scuttle! And making it worse, Hallmark has all these single script movies celebrating what? Things that make no sense at all. None of these people act normally – many are caught up in a life altering experience where on Christmas Eve (or there about) they find themselves dumped by some longtime lover who in the past couple of days has decided that the loser is a loser and the new love is gooder, so they dump the loser. Magically, our erstwhile loser isn’t angry, moody, upset, suicidal, or anything close to distraught. Instead, they are completely accepting of the obviously wise move on the part of the hero of what is clearly a fantasy on a scale belonging to the Brothers Grimm. To quote the real hero, “Bah!! Humbug!!”
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Post by Phalon on Dec 24, 2018 14:27:42 GMT -6
I've watched a couple while wrapping gifts, and aside from the one-plot-fits-all (and sometimes bad acting with poorly written dialog), they really aren't bad. At least you know they are going to end happily-ever-after. And the bookstores, inns, diners, and general stores, as well every inch of the generic small towns in which they all seem to take place are decorated to the hilt for Christmas.
I had to go to the post office today - well, I didn't have to, but felt like taking a walk; though the temperature is at the freezing mark, the sun is shining and the wind isn't blowing. The Boyfriend had some photos made yesterday and a card to mail to his Mom in Oregon, he and LX to Indiana yesterday afternoon to visit his stepdad and step-sibs, should be back here around dinner; he was going to mail the envelope to his Mom after Christmas. I figured I'd just take it to the post office while I was out walking anyway.
Afterward, I walked to the corner store on the way home; the grocery store was all out of Bailey's yesterday except the caramel-flavored kind, and I do like a little Bailey's in my coffee on Christmas morning. I got to talking with an older woman while waiting for the cashier; she'd walked there also, and we agreed it was good to get out and walk in the cold - invigorating! She's 70, walks everywhere in town, not having a car, and though she doesn't mind it, she wished she had someone to walk with sometimes. She lives in an apartment just a few blocks out of my way, so I said, what the heck, I'll walk with you. Actually, I showed her a new way of getting there just by cutting through the neighborhood, shaving 5 minutes off her walk. Having moved here from Chicago a couple of years ago, and I guess being elderly and maybe not entirely comfortable safety-wise walking by herself, she'd always stuck to the main road. She kept saying 'you can't do this in Chicago'. Interesting and sweet lady; I hope we bump into each other again.
Speaking of older people, the Hunt for Henry and Phyllis led to nothing but dead-ends, though there is a bit of hope after Christmas. They aren't at assisted living housing that my neighbor said he thought they went to; or maybe due to privacy laws, they can't tell me that they are there. Another neighbor said that he thought the assisted living housing was just temporary; they may have moved into an apartment and have a home-health aide visit regularly. My one last hope is that Xena Sis said there is a man in her church that sometimes volunteers driving the senior bus, which picks up elderly people and takes them on their errands. Maybe he knows where they live - if he does, it'll be after Christmas before learn anything.
Out on the side porch just a bit ago while letting the dog out, I saw something that made me laugh...though I tried very hard not to do it aloud. The back-door kitty-corner neighbor's granddaughter (aged 12 or 13), had a bedroom window open, and was trying to sneak out Christmas gifts onto their back deck, presumably to hide them from their intended recipients. She gently dropped one to the deck, but the other must have been fragile, because she kept leaning further and further out the window, not wanting to drop it a great distance (it's a ranch-style house, so the drop couldn't have been more than five feet). Finally, she gave up trying to stretch that far, and climbed out the window, setting the package on the deck. But how to get back in through the window? I honestly don't know, because I came inside, not wanting her to hear me laughing!
Gotta get the lasagna going. Kids should be in from Indiana soon. Lots planned for after dinner tonight.
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Post by stepper on Dec 24, 2018 18:52:47 GMT -6
Ditto. It bothered me about the friend and I just had to do something, but part of resolving their problems includes moving so I had to go small. I took a WAG on a gift she'd like and got her a Starbucks card. And of course, I had to get it post marked today. It can't get there in time for Christmas, but at least it was mailed.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 29, 2018 9:54:35 GMT -6
I'm sure it'll be perfect - gift cards like that are always appreciated.
I'd venture to say, we had one of the best Christmases ever. During the day on Christmas Eve, I took the restaurant gift card to the neighbors, and invited them over during the evening for some Christmas cheer (LX made punch). There was a knock on the door, and in they walked - all five of them! I was expecting the grown-ups, but the kids, all home from college for the holidays, came too. It was so nice having everyone here; it's been ages since our entire families have been together - with our kids all living in different places now, it seems whenever we do something, someone is missing. Niki too, LX's best friend since their Dairy Queen days in high school came shortly after; for the past 3 years or so, it's become tradition that she spends the evening of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning here. We all chatted, laughed, and played games until two in the morning.
After the Christmas morning festivities, LX set about to cooking - she cooked the entire day (with me doing dishes and cleaning up after her, because I have to say though she's become a really good cook, she's a messy one!). We had sooo much food; way too much, and the fridge is still packed. When we sat down to eat, BP found out one of her friends was not having a Christmas dinner; her mom, and elementary school teacher, is recently divorced and had to take a second job waiting tables (actually, I know 3 teachers with second jobs at this same restaurant). She was working at the restaurant, and wouldn't be off work until 8 or 9pm; they were just going to do pizza afterward. BP called her friend over, and we fixed up big containers of food for her to take home, and surprise her Mom with a ready-made Christmas feast. They even had dessert - big slabs of chocolate cheesecake (the neighbors had brought an entire cheesecake over on Christmas Eve, and since I'm the only one who likes cheesecake in the house, I was all too glad to get rid of most of it!)
Now, comes the part of Christmas I find the hardest - taking down the decorations.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 29, 2018 18:52:54 GMT -6
I had Christmas Eve dinner with my sister's family. I got a Christmas card with an Amazon card in it. I haven't checked to see what it's worth yet, figured I'd wait until after the holidays, and the holiday mail spree. I'm thinking of getting an Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 31, 2018 9:28:45 GMT -6
Sweet! You've been talking about getting one of those Instant Pots for a long time.
It's that time. Some people would probably think it's kind of odd, (except LX, who looks forward to it probably more than I do; she gets the same gift) but one of my favorite Christmas gifts every year is a new refrigerator calendar, and a daily planner. I went through the new calendar this morning, and marked all the dates for appointments and goings-on that I had written on the back of the old calendar. The calendar, smack-dab, front-and-center on the fridge serves as a family reminder of who needs to be where on what date and time; the daily planner I use as more of a to-do list. I can understand why LX looks forward to getting these simple things every year - she is a list-maker, way more organized than I'll ever be. But as disorganized as I am, there is something I find pleasurable - exciting, even - about having an empty calendar, and blank pages of a planner, ready to be filled.
And with that, I wish you all a very Happy New Year, filled with only the best of what life has to offer.
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Post by moonglum on Dec 31, 2018 9:53:47 GMT -6
A very Happy and prosperous New year to you all.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jan 2, 2019 4:03:50 GMT -6
Yeppers. I do tend to 'think' about doing something ages before I actually do it. But I think I'm ready to do more than 'intending to' this time.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jan 2, 2019 4:20:09 GMT -6
Oh. And Happy 'Belated' New Year.
My company kept me offline most of the weekend. I did more cooking than I intended to. I wouldn't have bothered with cooking anything special for January 1st, but my guest wanted black-eyed peas and kraut & wieners and cornbread. Well, I was out of bacon grease, and I don't know of any way to season black-eyed peas or beans other than with some kind of pork ... so I had to dig the half of picnic ham out of the freezer and cook it for about 8 hours in the crockpot. Used some of the liquid to season the peas, and will freeze the rest. Will freeze some of the shredded ham as well. I tend to cook a ham until it falls apart because I can't slice one. I kept thinking how it would have been done a lot faster with an Instant Pot. So, no wieners and kraut. Just shredded ham sandwiches, black-eyed peas, and cornbread. And some left over casserole from Saturday.
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Post by Phalon on Jan 3, 2019 6:49:28 GMT -6
<smile>
Hubs would have loved that - but definitely without the kraut and wieners. Ham sandwiches, black-eyed peas, and cornbread though - he would have been over-the-moon! Add in mustard greens, and he would have thought he died and went to....
...South Carolina!
We didn't do anything special for New Year's. It was just Hubs and I, and going out on New Year's Eve has lost its appeal long ago. It was nice though; we just watched a movie (The Book of Eli - which I didn't like when I saw it years ago; I loved it this time around), and broke open a two-serving sized bottle of champagne for a toast.
The small bottle of champagne was one of two that were in our room at the haunted inn. I never did get back to that story, but we had an absolute blast...and after the restaurant closed for the evening, aside from one other guest staying the night, we had the entire inn to ourselves to explore. There wasn't an inn-keeper that stayed overnight. Kind of a "Shining" like feel to it...except Hubs didn't go "here's Johnny" insane!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jan 5, 2019 5:48:01 GMT -6
Guess what I ordered on Amazon last night ... this morning? And I used my gift card for $30 of the $187.01 price tag. Because I had included an order for extra seals and a steamer basket. I won't get the order until the end of the month. They're expecting for them to be back in stock soonish.
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