Well I’m sure your house is more festive than mine!
Yes sometimes medical or other stuff has to take a priority.
When we did celebrate Christmas I was never a fan of decorations. Too much mess for me.
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Yes sometimes medical or other stuff has to take a priority.
When we did celebrate Christmas I was never a fan of decorations. Too much mess for me.
I have to confess I've grown fond of my antique fake Christmas tree with paper-backed fabric ornaments. Whole thing fits in a shoe box under a worktable for 11 months of the year and sits on a worktable for the season. It was a solution while I had kitties who liked to climb any real trees, but I think it may remain a solution as long as I remember the hassle of bundling up a real one in a sheet after the season and dragging it out the house leaving needles everywhere anyway no matter what I did.
Bonsai sounds much more civilized of course, but I can't maintain an indoor climate to support such trees. Too dark and too dry in here in early winter, and sometimes too drafty depending on how lazy I was when winterizing the place.
Perfect.
I was more than half serious about the bonsai tree, (and so was Mother even though we both giggled dreadfully - the sort of giggling of people who thrill to poke at taboos); the shocked responses of a few of her (rather stuffy) friends confirmed that this avenue offered the promise of further and future exploration, but we didn't venture any farther at that time.
Anyway, I do like your tree; clearly, it meets the immediate need, and doesn't disrupt the house the rest of the time. An excellent idea.
For what it is worth, I do have a nice crib; I bought an exquisite and rather lovely, hand made, wooden one (naturally, it came with the expected cast of the crib) in the Christmas market in Vienna - (an amazing place; in general, I am not a fan of Christmas, but those antique Yuletide markets in the ancient cities of Europe are absolutely wonderful, cheerful, full of Christmas good will and some lovely products and stalls - yet not tawdry, not smothered by the commercial imperative and positively redolent with history and tradition) - en route back from Kosovo, where I had been monitoring elections - snow storms and flight connections meant that we spent almost two days in Vienna, nearly twenty years ago.
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The wares in those "old city" markets in Europe sound wonderful. I remember once in NYC going into the old Georg Jensen's on Fifth Avenue and seeing hand made Christmas ornaments and wreaths made of straw, imported from Denmark, Sweden, etc., they were phenomenal. I think now in the Madison Ave store all the stuff they sell is silver and gold, maybe some wood and stainless steel items for kids... times change... so do the traditions, apparently, or at least so do the aspirations of retailers on Madison Avenue.
I cannot be the only one waiting for some books on your election-monitoring work over the years, and not least some of the local adventures including the shopping.
Crèche scenes are so nice, my mom used to set one up each year on the buffet in the dining room. And in our music room she arranged a more secular winter wonderland scene on a credenza -- some puffy cotton batting laid out with some tinsel bits laid on it, a small oval mirror as a skating pond set in there somewhere some blown glass reindeer in the background and some imported figures including what I guess were some little ceramic Santa's elves with long red caps on, a couple of imported German or Czech ice skating figures, it all seemed quite magical (and a lot of work putting up and taking down).
The guy I took care of up the road here when his daughter was arranging for his assisted living had some wonderful Christmas decorations his mother had brought here from Poland when she and her husband immigrated to the states and landed at first in Brooklyn before coming upstate to farm.
He had never abandoned any of the fairly complex traditions of a Polish Christmas Eve, no matter if it was just him and his dog and a few invited local friends. On the eve itself he had me go out to the barn and fetch in some bits of clean straw to put under the table mats (to remind of Christ's humble birthplace).
And beforehand --for weeks-- he had us scouring far-flung supermarkets for all the right ingredients for the 12 course Christmas Eve dinner, and teaching us how to (spell and) prepare the dishes. Uszka, for instance: tiny dumplings stuffed with forest mushrooms is one of the courses, served right before the barszcz (borscht) and so before the carp and any of the herring dishes... honestly it was a feast unlike any I'd encountered save for a Chinese wedding.
He had got too old to go up and join the Italian American farmers who had always hunted and harvested and then dried local wild mushrooms every year, and it turned out they too had given that up in their great age when I called to inquire if they could spare some for his Christmas Eve dinner that one year. At their recommendation I talked him into using cremini mushrooms at least, otherwise it was going to be a 120 mile RT to a store that had "the right" dried ones.
Anyway it was a wondrous experience helping prepare for and then enjoy that Christmas Eve celebration, albeit also exhausting. I am not sure what Poles do on Christmas Day in Poland, but if it's something like crashing with your family and having breakfast at 11am.. or maybe 1pm... I was certainly still following their traditions that next day.
He had never abandoned any of the fairly complex traditions of a Polish Christmas Eve, no matter if it was just him and his dog and a few invited local friends. On the eve itself he had me go out to the barn and fetch in some bits of clean straw to put under the table mats (to remind of Christ's humble birthplace).
And beforehand --for weeks-- he had us scouring far-flung supermarkets for all the right ingredients for the 12 course Christmas Eve dinner, and teaching us how to (spell and) prepare the dishes. Uszka, for instance: tiny dumplings stuffed with forest mushrooms is one of the courses, served right before the barszcz (borscht) and so before the carp and any of the herring dishes... honestly it was a feast unlike any I'd encountered save for a Chinese wedding.
He had got too old to go up and join the Italian American farmers who had always hunted and harvested and then dried local wild mushrooms every year, and it turned out they too had given that up in their great age when I called to inquire if they could spare some for his Christmas Eve dinner that one year. At their recommendation I talked him into using cremini mushrooms at least, otherwise it was going to be a 120 mile RT to a store that had "the right" dried ones.
Anyway it was a wondrous experience helping prepare for and then enjoy that Christmas Eve celebration, albeit also exhausting. I am not sure what Poles do on Christmas Day in Poland, but if it's something like crashing with your family and having breakfast at 11am.. or maybe 1pm... I was certainly still following their traditions that next day.
I cannot be the only one waiting for some books on your election-monitoring work over the years, and not least some of the local adventures including the shopping.
Crèche scenes are so nice, my mom used to set one up each year on the buffet in the dining room. And in our music room she arranged a more secular winter wonderland scene on a credenza -- some puffy cotton batting laid out with some tinsel bits laid on it, a small oval mirror as a skating pond set in there somewhere some blown glass reindeer in the background and some imported figures including what I guess were some little ceramic Santa's elves with long red caps on, a couple of imported German or Czech ice skating figures, it all seemed quite magical (and a lot of work putting up and taking down).
Why didn’t I get any Red Apple stickers with my Red iPhone XR? 
I got Gold stickers with my Gold MBA. How can Apple fail so hard?
Why don’t they want to do red, blue, black, coral and blue stickers.
Lazy Apple. I want the right color stickers to all my devices
The Golden stickers are very nice though. The white is only ok that I got with my RED XR
I got Gold stickers with my Gold MBA. How can Apple fail so hard?
Why don’t they want to do red, blue, black, coral and blue stickers.
Lazy Apple. I want the right color stickers to all my devices
The Golden stickers are very nice though. The white is only ok that I got with my RED XR
I was looking for the source images that MacRumors Forums uses for emoticons and found this sprite sheet is loaded on every thread:
Turns out there are extra emoji Arn and co. are saving us from.
Turns out there are extra emoji Arn and co. are saving us from.
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Just glancing at that chart threatens to set off a migraine.
I can feel my temple twitching at the sight.
I struggle to work out what the ones we have mean!
Apple (obviously) Happy (like when Apple release a product you want in your price range)Cheeky wink (not really sure why you would use this unless you are being cheeky!) Unhappy (like when Apple don't release a product you want in your price range). Angry (my natural state) Confused (as above!) Cool (that's me!) Cheeky joke? (I've been known to make a few cheeky comments from time to time) Regular joke (use this one the most as internet humour doesn't always translate) Shy maybe? Rolls eyes? Not a clue!
That gave me a chuckle! I threw the sheet behind spoiler tags for your sake, but it's interesting to think of all the default XenForo features, lying dormant behind a couple octothorps, that have been deemed unessary for this forum.
I wouldn't mind that cute sleeping emoji, and I'd love to know what those zero points we all have were originally for.
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You and me both.I struggle to work out what the ones we have mean!
Seems like you've got a pretty good handle on our meager allotment of emotions.
I’m just a grumpy old man!That gave me a chuckle! I threw the sheet behind spoiler tags for your sake, but it's interesting to think of all the default XenForo features, lying dormant behind a couple octothorps, that have been deemed unessary for this forum.
I wouldn't mind that cute sleeping emoji, and I'd love to know what those zero points we all have were originally for.
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You and me both.
Christmas cards. Mentioned on another thread. Seems I face this choice every year. Or most years.
Hmmm.
Hmmm.
For the past several years now I have stopped sending physical Christmas cards and instead I simply send email greetings to those for whom I have an email address. This is a whole lot quicker and easier than the whole process of choosing and purchasing cards or making them oneself, addressing the envelopes either by hand or with computer-generated labels printed out, writing a personal note or simply signing one's name on the card, affixing stamps to the envelopes and then trotting the whole stack over to the post office for mailing.....
True, this means that the recipient won't have a pretty or interesting card to display on the mantel or in a cherished Christmas bowl, and if this has been the only means of keeping in touch, without that annual Christmas card tradition changes of address and family situations may never be shared and learned. If someone doesn't have an email address or it is unknown to those who have been sending them cards each year, a personal connection is then lost, which can be unfortunate. In today's era of Facebook and Twitter, though, this loss of contact is less likely to happen but among the elderly there are still going to be those who do not use a computer because they choose not to do so or because they are physically unable to do so due to health issues of one sort or another.
It is ironic, though, that now, when I am retired and have all the time in the world to do special projects such as creating my own Christmas cards and/or purchasing, writing and sending out commercial ones, that I don't do it any more!
True, this means that the recipient won't have a pretty or interesting card to display on the mantel or in a cherished Christmas bowl, and if this has been the only means of keeping in touch, without that annual Christmas card tradition changes of address and family situations may never be shared and learned. If someone doesn't have an email address or it is unknown to those who have been sending them cards each year, a personal connection is then lost, which can be unfortunate. In today's era of Facebook and Twitter, though, this loss of contact is less likely to happen but among the elderly there are still going to be those who do not use a computer because they choose not to do so or because they are physically unable to do so due to health issues of one sort or another.
It is ironic, though, that now, when I am retired and have all the time in the world to do special projects such as creating my own Christmas cards and/or purchasing, writing and sending out commercial ones, that I don't do it any more!
The sun has set and reaching for tea instead of a cocktail tonight.
Last year, we threw out the old Christmas tree skirt because one of the cats threw up on it. We still have a skirt from a mini tree, so that's the one I put on.
My tree is wearing a mini skirt.
My tree is a dendrophile's dream.
My tree is wearing a mini skirt.
My tree is a dendrophile's dream.
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"*gates" are on my mind right now as I look at the forum spy.
One of the things I hate that Steve Jobs did was popularize the term 'antennagate' with the iPhone 4. Now, on the forums anytime people dislike something about an Apple product or have a problem, real or perceived, they call it a *gate.
When we look at where the gate term came from, President Nixon's scandal and coverup in the hotel Watergate for his reelection, it doesn't fit with all of these problems that people complain about at Apple. Chances are a lot of these people who use the term have no idea where it originated from anyhow.
I just saw a thread with the term 'nitgate' in the title about the brightness of the 2018 MacBook Air screen. Yes, the nits are lower than some would like, but that doesn't mean its a scandal or that Apple is trying to coverup any wrongdoing. The *gate term is being employed incorrectly almost every time on the forums and it bugs me to see people use it with all of their complaints.
One of the things I hate that Steve Jobs did was popularize the term 'antennagate' with the iPhone 4. Now, on the forums anytime people dislike something about an Apple product or have a problem, real or perceived, they call it a *gate.
When we look at where the gate term came from, President Nixon's scandal and coverup in the hotel Watergate for his reelection, it doesn't fit with all of these problems that people complain about at Apple. Chances are a lot of these people who use the term have no idea where it originated from anyhow.
I just saw a thread with the term 'nitgate' in the title about the brightness of the 2018 MacBook Air screen. Yes, the nits are lower than some would like, but that doesn't mean its a scandal or that Apple is trying to coverup any wrongdoing. The *gate term is being employed incorrectly almost every time on the forums and it bugs me to see people use it with all of their complaints.
I agree with you on the issue of imprecision and sloppiness in using this term so casually and lazily without knowledge of (or respect for) where it originated.
However, I can also see it as an example of how language changes and evolves over time.
And, by incorporating an expression into the way language is used and, in turn, integrating that into people's lives, and their lived experience, the new term itself also often undergoes a change in its meaning and how it comes to be used.
Similarly, the elevator comedians who shrewdly spot you carrying something slightly unusual (such as an office plant) and then says something witty like, “oh, is it ‘bring your ficus to work’ day?”
100% agree! The trend to discover a floor in a product is so annoying. Especially on YouTube.
The Nikon fail, Apple fail, Sony fail is just click bait designed to earn that person some revenue or a new follower.
Similarly the XXXX release the best phone/camera/computer ever works in the same way.
It’s just marketing.
How about the actual truth.
XXXX release a new product. It’s slightly better than the old one. Not going to change your life, but if you’re in the market for a new gadget, here’s a review.
And don’t even get me started on unboxing videos. We don’t need to see you open a box or your mothers basement!
What has the world come to? I need to get back to the 90’s. Everything was better then!
I get that. But I don't have to like it.
Oh, to a very large extent, I'm pretty much in complete agreement with you.
For everyone’s info, we still have no new government in Sweden
2 different potential new prime ministers (last sitting from left & 1 from right) has been up to election in the parliament.
None have been accepted with enough votes
They have 2 more tries to go before we’ll have a re-election in Sweden
Most likely the same 2 will be tried again.
They just have to be more successful in the co-operation to get the mid-parties on their side.
My bet is that our last Prime minister will be most successful to negotiate. He was closer then the other guy.
I think this discussion is very good though for Sweden.
2 different potential new prime ministers (last sitting from left & 1 from right) has been up to election in the parliament.
None have been accepted with enough votes
They have 2 more tries to go before we’ll have a re-election in Sweden
Most likely the same 2 will be tried again.
They just have to be more successful in the co-operation to get the mid-parties on their side.
My bet is that our last Prime minister will be most successful to negotiate. He was closer then the other guy.
I think this discussion is very good though for Sweden.
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