Play Book Tag discussion
Footnotes
>
Tuesday Kaffeeklatsch 12/18/23 - Downunder Time!
date
newest »
newest »
message 51:
by
Joanne
(new)
Dec 24, 2023 02:46PM
Enjoy your time Amy, and give your Scott a kiss on the cheek from me for being a trooper, and all round good guy!
reply
|
flag
Merry Christmas!For the first time ever, we didn't put up a Christmas tree this year. But the mantle is beautifully decorated and we having stockings hung up for Santa, and that's enough for me. Mrs Santa is going to settle down now for a long winter's nap. It's been that kind of week.
Anita was asking about short books for the end of the year. I can't find the post now, but I would suggest Open Throat from the ToB list. It's very short and I really enjoyed it.
Amy - holiday times with family are a rollercoaster, especially with aging parents. And exhausting. But also full of laughter, stories, priceless moments like the one with you dad at a local spot. Bless Scott! Maybe you can sneak him off for a romantic dinner, just the 2 of you, leaving the kids ane your parents to have an evening of just 'the grands' altogether, a special memory for just the grandkids and grandparents.Blessings and joy of the holidays to all.
Well we had a lovely traditional Jewish Christmas Eve~ I made a beautiful table for 8 and lit candles and put Christmas music on with Alexa, and we had a ton of Chinese Food Takeout. It was perfect and delicious. But.. we were strangely only five. The kid (our son's friend) never showed up for the Christmas Eve dinner, he doesn't emerge much from downstairs. He seems like a nice kid. I don't know if he just doesn't eat Chinese Food, (I have gathered that at 18, he still eats like a toddler), or if he was just shy or unsociable. But he never turned up. We barely see him. He stays downstairs a lot and disappears with our older sons. He says his family doesn't do much for Christmas, and he was really excited to come here instead, so I don't think its that. They are already out on the mountain this morning. Saint Scott drove them. Cameron and I are going later when I have a chance to have the weather warm up. They want to be back by the Celtics.Anyway, speaking of Cameron, he also ate nothing. I think the Chinese Food scared him. And my mother? She was cold and went for a quick nap, and wasn't seen until this morning. Cameron and I shared the last of the baguettes this morning, I read a bit more of Fourth Wing, and am having tea and listening to a little Christmas music and writing to you all. This is what Jewish Christmas looks like. May you all have a joyous meaningful and soulful holiday. We will see you on the other side.
Have fun skiing Amy! You have me craving Chinese food now-but we have a ton of Polish goodies to plow through today-Pierogi, Kapusta, Polish Sausage, Ham and good rye bread a Seven Sisters torte yum yum
Cameron and I are on top of the mountain! Fabulous to ski on Christmas Day. tried to post in the trailblazers. Will see if the reception works up here. Everyone have a merry Christmas.
I'm glad you're enjoying your time in Aspen, Amy, and durable power of attorney is a very important step. My parents did the opposite--they've been grooming my sister since she was quite young and already she can do banking for my dad--complicated things that were my mother's job before her memory loss. She's the only local child, but also financially set and completely trustworthy with money, etc. One of my brothers is the back up, and the best choice of my brothers for the job (not that my other brothers are bad people, of course.)
Happy holidays, all! We're at the quiet part of our Christmas Day where we all are doing our own things which is traditional for us. Our families all live far away so we greet them via phone.
Merry Christmas to all. My daughter and I just got off of a 3 time zone family facetime. Mostly so we could watch the tiny one open her presents. Best present of the day.... another grandchild on the way!
Jgrace wrote: "Merry Christmas to all. My daughter and I just got off of a 3 time zone family facetime. Mostly so we could watch the tiny one open her presents. Best present of the day.... another grandchild on..."
So fun and congratulations!
Jgrace wrote: "Merry Christmas to all. My daughter and I just got off of a 3 time zone family facetime. Mostly so we could watch the tiny one open her presents. Best present of the day.... another grandchild on..."
Congratulations JG! That is a wonderful gift
Such fun, JGrace! It’s Boxing Day afternoon here and my lot have just left (including an overexcited four year old who didn’t get a lot of sleep last night), so I now have a book in hand and plan to ignore the world for an hour or two!
Congratulations, JGrace! What marvelous news!Touching base with far flung family and friends is a tradition both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I have been enjoying all the goodies sent by family and colleagues, especially my sister's homemade Christmas cookies. Weather is very mild here and as dusk fell I headed out of tghe house to head to 5th Avenue and the Bergdorf Windows and the Rockefeller Center Tree. Now home and settling in for pizza and my current book. I need some 'me' time, lol.
That’s so wonderful JG! Best present ever!!!!
KateNZ wrote: "Such fun, JGrace! It’s Boxing Day afternoon here and my lot have just left (including an overexcited four year old who didn’t get a lot of sleep last night), so I now have a book in hand and plan..."
I miss Boxing Day which isn't a holiday in the States.
I think I'm in trouble for spreading the word so soon. They are wisely holding off for a few weeks before a general announcement. Beginnings can be fragile. (Just don't tell them that I told you already;)
Jgrace wrote: "I think I'm in trouble for spreading the word so soon. They are wisely holding off for a few weeks before a general announcement. Beginnings can be fragile. (Just don't tell them that I told you al..."What news? 😉
Our lips are sealed....
Jgrace wrote: "I think I'm in trouble for spreading the word so soon. They are wisely holding off for a few weeks before a general announcement. Beginnings can be fragile. (Just don't tell them that I told you al..."Okay ... but it's like when a favorite author announces a new book "coming next year" and we still have to wait for the title and the specifics.
Still, congrats on the new "edition"!
Well, I am now finally back in Boston. We might have New Year’s plans. We’ve been sort of skirting the issue with our best friends, and have landed on nothing yet. I am trusting something will come together. Both of my older college boys sons have serious sleepover parties to go to. So we’re trying to figure out how to farm out the 13-year-old. Who has a lead on that I think. This one might evolve. I had an absolutely spectacular birthday. I feel quite blessed. The news about my parents is this. it was great to be with them for the week, but every time I see them blown away by how much age and life has deteriorated for them. My husband is an absolute saint, and really didn’t have much of a vacation. Neither did I, but he was beyond unbelievable. All he did was take care of them and us. by the time we left yesterday we really had to get the hell out of there because it was just too much. And poor Scott, who is simply amazing! But on the other hand, I was afraid to leave them. Even for an hour. I have no idea how they maneuver through the world.
So I have a couple of days that are rather unscheduled, and at the same time are filled with so many and so much to do it’s not even funny . But one of those is researching treatment options for my mother.
Ann☕ wrote: "Well, it's a rainy and wet December 30th on the west coast, which is fine. After experiencing several years of drought in 2020 and 2021, I think we should welcome the rain. Anyone have plans for ..."
Isn't it great! I gave my hubby a rain gauge for Christmas and we installed it yesterday, so looking forward to checking it. No big plans for New Years.
We will be having Dungeness crab some way. Thinking about cioppino.
My phone only lets me post a little at a time and crazily enough and those of you who know me know this is crazy, because of the time difference, I’m still in bed. But I did manage to read 60% of happy place. Anyway, back on the update, I may have mentioned a week ago that I was able to steal my father for a little bit of coffee and talk time, and he agreed to start the process for durable power of attorney, as well as secretly switch me to his primary healthcare proxy in case something happens to him. We were able to talk about the fact that Mom is getting worse and that if something happens to him that we are royally fucked. That was an unpleasant and I apologize. I really need to be able to take care of Mom and finances. He also gave me the report that came from the neurologist. we spoke more about how things are going there and about this wonderful organization that exists in Aspen that I know can support and help them but he feels he’s not ready. so I will see them in 2 1/2 weeks. They are flying out to New York City and I have to help them close out our New York City apartment. All of this is so stressful. But I am blessed that I’ve had them this long and then I can be there for them during this time. It’s crazy. But I’m also grateful and filled with a lot of love.
Your family is lucky to have you, Amy - and Scott! At my age, I see many people who have no family involved in their medical care, life decisions, or even visiting them. But sometimes it's tougher on the family members than the person involved who isn't really aware of how bad off they are.My son seems to have given me the Christmas present of a cold, he had some symptoms when he was here (not covid, we have both tested). But I hadn't seen him for months so it was great to hang out with him. We have an invitation to drive 4.5 hours for New Years to Minneapolis to see old friends from the Scrabble club we started in 1977. Still ongoing, it is one of the oldest in North America. But it depends if I feel up to it.
Like Ann we are also hunkering down-we stopped going out NY's eve years ago. I will make something for dinner, whatever I can manage and find in the freezer. I will be making Eaton's Mess https://natashaskitchen.com/eton-mess/ , which KateNZ told me she made for Christmas. I don't have any strawberries, but I do have blueberries and some currents and blackberries from our garden in the freezer, and they were just waiting for something special to be made with them. My daughter took me on outing yesterday to get me out of the house and we went to Trader Joes, so I have everything else I need to make it. And no doubt I will be sleeping before the year turns
Our family tradition is making tacos for New Year's Eve. I never go out. I don't drink so there's really nothing appealing about it for me. I try to stay up until midnight, but don't always make it. When our family was together over New Year's we would play Scrabble or other board games, but those days are gone.
I usually just watch a movie on NYE. I don't take time to do that often, so it's something I do to do something different. But I have a long book I'm trying to finish this year (only started last night), so I might end up reading after all!
My parents' wedding anniversary was New Year's Day, so my family tradition was to always stay home and enjoy the evening together, toasting Mom & Dad at midnight. Hubby and I went out the first NYE we were dating (THE Red dress!), but have stayed home ever since. We're not planning anything special, though I do have some bubbly in the fridge. But he's getting over a bad cold, so we may not even open it.
We’re having a quiet one tonight … if having a four and a half year old staying overnight plus having a new and cheerfully conversational cat around the place counts as quiet 🤣It’s 4.20pm and I’ll be lucky not to fall asleep in my chair before dinner, never mind staying up to midnight to see the new year in!!!
I don't really have a tradition for New Years Eve, not ever. I've gone to parties where it's all about food and eating into the New Year with everyone chipping in (those are the best!), I hosted a mystery game party one year which was a blast. I've gone to theater and concerts coupled with dinner into midnight, hanging out in a piano bar, even a couple of times in Times Square (with family members who wanted to go) though that was in the early 1990s - first time was a blast second was not so great though my teenage niece (the only reason we did it a second time) had a blast. I've been on a plane travelling to Cairo to start a vacation, or back from Paris after spending Christmas in Stuttgart with my brother. I've celebrated it in Disneyland (one of the best ever), visiting friends all over including a memorable one in Charleston. I've also had ones not so fun -- when the tax code was amended in 1986 and again in 2008, there were closings that had to happen before Jan 1 - and those were spent in a conference room filled with exhausted lawyers getting the deal done (we even had to 'freeze the clock' on a particullarly complex one). And another time I was so emotionally drained from what I had to do for a client that on my way home I bought take out chinese, a bunch of flowers, and a bag full of paperback books and hibernated. I think I fell asleep before midnight that time.
These days I tend to stay home in jammies and watch old movies. I'm usually pretty tired by New Years Eve - work is always a bear in December and Christmas is my big holiday. New Year's Eve is the one time I actually tend to fall asleep before midnight!
This year is a jammies in my blanket fort year. I plan to make a big pot of spaghetti bolognese (which I would have made already had I not read and slept most of today away). I might start a new jigsaw puzzle.
I have a bottle of bubbles received for Christmas in the fridge, and 1kg of mussels to cook for my husband. We will probably watch some T20 cricket, and I have one more book I want to finish today, and there is no way I will be awake for midnight, but I will be woken by my daughter going outside to see the fireworks, as she has had to cancel her own plans due to Covid.
Theresa wrote: "I don't really have a tradition for New Years Eve, not ever. I've gone to parties where it's all about food and eating into the New Year with everone chipping in (those are the best!), I hosted a m..."Your post reminds me of years past when I was in Accounting and Finance and we could not take any vacation in December and had to work long hours on Year End Closing while everyone else was off work and celebrating. So glad those days are over!
Just on a whim I did a 2nd covid test after having cold symptoms for a few days and testing negative a couple of days ago - clearly positive! It is my 2nd time, as I had avoided it for 3 years but got it in June of this year along with a huge group after a church event. This time I was around a number of people between Dec 23-25 and had pretty much given up masking. I qualify for Paxlovid based on my age but because of the holiday weekend, it took over 3 hours from a callback from my clinic, then I had to call another number for Paxlovid prescription and have been waiting a while for them to call back. Really not feeling bad, just have runny nose & congestion. Surprisingly, my husband has no symptoms and tests negative although our house is only about 700 sq ft with one bedroom & one bathroom. Hopefully he will stay that way. By now there seems no point in trying to isolate from each other.
Robin P wrote: "Just on a whim I did a 2nd covid test after having cold symptoms for a few days and testing negative a couple of days ago - clearly positive! It is my 2nd time, as I had avoided it for 3 years but ..."Oh no! I hope it doesn’t get any worse for you. Two of us are sick here, and it didn’t even occur to me it could be Covid (we were vaccinated last month). I really want to go to sleep now, and ask my husband to wake me up at 11:30. Not that it matters if I watch the ball drop on tv.
Robin P wrote: "Just on a whim I did a 2nd covid test after having cold symptoms for a few days and testing negative a couple of days ago - clearly positive! It is my 2nd time, as I had avoided it for 3 years but ..."Oh no! I'm sorry you've ended up with it again. :-(
The weekend before Christmas, I had a friend's Christmas party and a dinner theatre that I went to. Decided last minute to wear a mask, since I would be travelling for Christmas. I was the only one.
At the dinner theater, it was just about full, and I saw only one other person with a mask. I took two buses to where I was going - about 12ish hours, and I think I saw one other wearing a mask on one the first bus (only about 4 hours).
With family, though, I wasn't masking. My brother and his family, my parents, and my SIL's family, as well.
*knock on wood, so far, so good.
Ah, Robin, so sorry! There is definitely an upswing and I am reminding myself to mask up when out and about. But it sounds pretty mild and fingers crossed your hubby doesn't get it.
Jgrace wrote: "I think I'm in trouble for spreading the word so soon. They are wisely holding off for a few weeks before a general announcement. Beginnings can be fragile. (Just don't tell them that I told you al..."I'm both happy for you and a wee bit envious.
Robin P wrote: "Just on a whim I did a 2nd covid test after having cold symptoms for a few days and testing negative a couple of days ago - clearly positive! It is my 2nd time, as I had avoided it for 3 years but ..."Not everyone gets it--I think about 50 percent of white people don't if Iceland is the same for all white people, and obviously it may well not be given that most of the population is descended from people who lived in isolation for a long time.
I have never had it even when others in my house have tested positive, for which I'm grateful.
So sorry to hear you are a victim, yet again! I hope your script arrives quickly-curl up in a blanket fort and read!
Robin P wrote: "Just on a whim I did a 2nd covid test after having cold symptoms for a few days and testing negative a couple of days ago - clearly positive! It is my 2nd time, as I had avoided it for 3 years but ..."My daughter tested positive 2 days ago, her third time. I am not testing positive, but have had a sore throat for over a week, and the worst head pains, possibly sinus related.
Couldn't sleep last night, the cricket was exciting, my daughter broke up with her boyfriend, and the neighbours were noisy. And anticipating the clean slate of a new reading year ;)
Karin wrote: "Jgrace wrote: "I think I'm in trouble for spreading the word so soon. They are wisely holding off for a few weeks before a general announcement. Beginnings can be fragile. (Just don't tell them tha..."Thank you, Karen. My daughter and I are going to Hawaii for little one's 1st birthday in 2 weeks. My vaccinations are up to date but I think I'll be masking for the flight. Wouldn't want to bring the a virus of any kind with me.
For tonight my plan is to finish my last book of the year and if I'm awake enough I might catch up on my book reviews.
Happy New Year to all!
I got my prescription already and I have an automatic excuse to get out of everything. I was cautious the week before Christmas but over the weekend had a chance to see old coworkers I hadn't seen in literally years and then family. My husband did have Covid in 2022. His choir went on a trip which had been postponed twice and right after they returned several of them had it. He wasn't very sick either, which was good because I was in St. Louis with my daughter and couldn't help him. So I just stayed away an extra week. He never got it from me the first time I had it and is still fine. Our son went from our house after Christmas to meet a friend for lunch before driving home and since found out that friend tested positive a few days later. But he is still ok.The one unfortunate thing is that we have a good friend coming from an hour and a half away to have surgery which will keep her in the hospital in our town for up to 5 days, and her husband in a hotel adjoining the hospital. We had planned to visit and also to have her husband over sometimes for a break but of course we can't go near them until I test negative. She is ordinarily a big reader but the surgery affects her eyes so I recommended audiobooks.
My husband and I have had every possible vaccination, I think 7, and I'm sure that helps.
