happy saturday pups! how ya doing tonight?

Can I be a drag and put my heart on my sleeve?

Maybe there is a reason I don’t usually so up on weekends.

On edit: show up on weekends.

Hi Suz. Hope you had a good visit with your daughter & clan.

Nice & quiet weekend in south central Cali today. Off to the farmers market with daughter and grandtwins this a.m. … then a nice visit with my dad (who’d bought a new set of cars for the boys to play with)….

And then some grilled artichokes at the Beachside Cafe…..so, so delicious. Then some vanilla ice cream for the boys, who ate a ton of the grilled artichoke leaves….. so cute!

Lovely day in the wonderful sun.

Reindeer, not raindeer.

You okay, tuez? Hope you are well.

when researching this cartoon, i came across this interesting (at least to me) bit of trivia:

You may not know his name, at least not right away, but you’ve surely heard at least one of Johnny Marks’s songs at Christmastime. The brother-in-law of Robert L. May, who wrote the original story of “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” it was he who set the story to music. After failing to sell the song to, among others, Bing Crosby, Marks eventually found a enthusiastic listener in the person of singing cowboy Gene Autry. Autry’s Columbia recording of the song, in 1947, became the biggest hit of his career and made both men (and May, who owned the rights to the original story) very wealthy.

Forming his own publishing company, St. Nicholas Music, shortly thereafter, Marks began turning out a series of Yuletide classics that have come to be beloved by many: “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” (a beautiful setting of the Longfellow poem), “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Run, Rudolph, Run,” “A-Caroling We Go,” “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas,” and “Silver and Gold.” The latter two were introduced in the classic 1964 TV special “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” for which Marks provided the score. He also wrote one non-Christmas song that’s become a favorite, as well, “Anyone Can Move a Mountain.”

hey tuez — its late late night — you can be anything you wanna be.

how was your day?

Hi Suzanne and All!
Rudolph and the Spirit of Christmas. Really the first part freaked me out, but I love the “Night Before Christmas.” These marionettes spooked the hell out of me when I was little. They played this a few weeks every December for years. I was born in 1952.

hey dearie — we had a great time at the movies — saw the new bond film and it was good.

what a wonderful day! how are you gonna top that tomorrow?

hey kapock- fuck.. let me fix that. thank you for letting me know. dammit, i hate it when i do that.

how ya doing tonight?

I’m looking forward to reading the Sunday newspaper and doing the crossword puzzles….. and that is all!

I’ve been in talks with a parrot rescue the past couple of months to re-home my parrot and they may come and get her this week. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a few years.

I’m the first to admit she doesn’t get enough attention around here but she is well cared for. Tough decision.

ok, fixed! thanks again kapock!!!

hey ce — you still got snow on your new deck?

Wow, that is a tough one.

yay to doing nothing! tis what i have on tap tomorrow. i’ve had to get up two days in a row several hours before the crack of noon and it has had an impact on me (as evidenced by my typo on the forking post – jeebus). i need a day of sleeping until the crack of noon and then prolonged periods of doing nothing and vegging.

Heh. Alll tramped down and dirty now. That first fall of virgin snow is always pretty.

Hello, Suze and all. I shouldn’t be here, should be searching out my warm clothes and bringing in the cat litter from the car, but I’m not sure when I’ll be able to visit again, so here I am for a few minutes, anyway. No wi-fi at my Mom’s residence. I really gotta get a 4g phone, I guess.

tuezday, I’m sorry about your needing to re-home the parrot. That’s tough.

(((tuez))) what a hard decision. i had to give up bailey cat – she will always have a place in my heart but it was not in her best interests to be with me. she’s happy now taking care of the rodents on 4 acres. i still miss her tho

it is! i’m hoping the first snow here will make that metal garage i look at through my front windows look pretty *laughing*

hey tejan — did you find your gloves?

Hello out there!

Parrots are really intelligent and need lots of mental stimulation, that mine has not been getting. However, she is otherwise well cared for. So my dilemma has been a tight rope between physiological and social health.

That and admitting I’m a bad mom.

hey senator — how’s sacratomato tonight or are you down visiting the grandbabies?

You are a good mom. You made a tough decision and understand what is best for the critter. Hurts though.

That’s so hard. We took the loss of our relocated cats so hard. No one would take our two when we moved to France, except a dairy farmer. When we returned the next year, he said that they disappeared. Sad.

Sac is cold. I am going to Sonoma next weekend. Both daughters and babies will be there and we are having family time. I can’t wait.

Hey!

it is hard but it does help knowing that i had no other choice and that it was best for her

Your are a good Mom, with a great sense of what is important to your loved pet.

Hi Mary. Hi, all. Is Thanksgiving the best holiday of the year or WHAT?

cold here too — 37 and foggy outside. supposed to have a couple dry days in a row and i’m hoping for some sunshine.

It was. Truly.

I had a vegan thanksgiving. It sucked.

hey that guy — what didja cook for your favorite holiday? i like thanksgiving and christmas with christmas edging out slightly. i fix a thanksgiving type of meal for christmas so its sorta thanksgiving with presents

oh noz mary — was it vegan on purpose?

OMG, trying not to snort water through nose! We had both super meat AND vegetarian meals, and they were wonderful, really. Sorry, senator!

That’s like hardly Thanksgiving at all! No turkey or gravy? What’s the point? I hope you got some great corn pudding or something. How does one even make a Thanksgiving dinner without butter????

or was it sorta like this?

My acupuncturist daughter said never trust a vegan cause they are always grumpy. Low on B 12 vitamins or something like that.

We had tofurkey. Blerg. Why make pretend meat? Weird.

Our favorite movie! We have the house here to visit, and my neighbor has the leg lamp in his window!

oh yuck

i hear its a christmas museum now… saw something about it on tv i think

Did he win the lamp?

I agree. My vegetarian DIL and my son made a lentil veg soup tonight that was so tasty and wonderful, that I passed all the chicken and ham to others. I guess one needs a really good cook, and that is that!

I console myself, as I’ve spent 14 years providing daily fresh fruits and veggies, and expensive parrot equivalent trail mix but it’s still tearing me apart. She deserves more than spending another 14 years confined to a cage, although she’s only been stuck in her cage for about 2 years.

Suz: Smoked turkey breast, smoked in my back yard, grilled veggie kebabs, Spinach salad with beans, onions, chicken, avocado, sugar-free, fresh cranberry sauce. You gotta try it. The cranberries provide enough pectin to thicken the “sauce” part of it.

Cinnamon, vanilla, stevia and sugar-free maple syrup added to the sauce. Dessert ROCKED this year.

Oh, and we have a second dessert…

BROWNIES!!! And I think we know just what that means. >:-O

Sorta yes… I’ve never visited, as it is.

Probably not, as they sell them online.

i love ralphie and his movie ce. its one that i will watch — iirc some cable company runs a ralphie marathon all day long on christmas eve or christmas…. tbs maybe?

After some foodie chit-chat on CT’s thread earlier this week, I did what someone suggested and put LOTS of butter into my mashed potatoes….. way more than I usually do. I’m going to say that they were the BEST mashed potatoes I’ve ever made… or ever tasted! Heck, you only do this once a year, might as well enjoy it.

LOLOL! I looove that movie! So glad it’s time for it to run again. I don’t have a working vcr or dvd player, so I have to wait for it to come around again.

marymcurmin: so, tell us, what was on your vegan dinner menu? Who cooked?

grrrrr two desserts just is. not. fair.

i had figured you for a deep fried turkey kinda guy

so you guys would not be upset if i featured a clip or two from that movie up top — even if it wasn’t set to music?

butter, half and half, and garlic. my mom makes the best garlic mashed potatoes evah and that’s her secret, lotsa butter, half and half, and garlic.

Oh no, I’m a smoker-owning, barbecue-GOD. There is NO barbecue worth eating in the Bay Area except MINE. :-D

I started smoking turkeys more than 20 years ago. My process has passed into Zen. :-D

I had dinner with my neighbors. They cooked tofu in big balls the size of footballs with stuffing inside. And fake gravy. Over cooked string beans and pasta with fake cheese.

I can understand not eating meat. Or eating far less meat. But no eggs, cheese, butter, pasta?????

Maybe PBS too. Home movie here! It was my mother’s fav movie. Nice having my almost 90 year old Dad here for Thanksgiving. Still sprightly after all these years.

*laughing* your chain is soooooo easy to yank dood *more laughing*

Upset??? Not hardly! You’ll wait a few days, though, please please? (Since I won’t be able to see it then…well, that’s a tad selfish of me. And I can always watch later, just not join the discussion live).

So, I’ll say now…I missed the movie totally in the theaters, as I guess most people did. Could not believe it when I saw it on tv; being from Indiana and of an age to have discovered Jean Shepherd on PBS in the ’70′s, I had read the books the movie is loosely based on already. My first hubs and I used to read them to each other aloud, and crack up.
Even though Shepherd’s era was a bit earlier and his location farther north than either of us, so much just rang so true and familiar. But I guess it isn’t just Hoosiers who feel that way, or the movie wouldn’t be so popular. ; )

it was x#2′s fav christmas movie but i don’t hold that against ralphie…

send me an email when ya return and i’ll hold off until then.

You do realize revenge is a dish best served sold… ;-D

And at least a pint of sour cream per 5 lbs.

*laughing* dood

i remember when we met at nahant’s meetup and you were talking about your que setup and the smoker etc.

she doesn’t use sour cream. i’ll have to give that a try next time i make them

When I’ve been a guest for Thanksgiving, I often went home and cooked a smaller version of the meal for myself: turkey breast baked over home made stuffing, gravy, potatoes, green beans, watermelon rind pickles, cranberry-orange relish. Just gotta do it.

Delish, and remember, you are only eating a few tablespoons, not the whole pot.

i’m a solo so i do get to eat the entire pot

Well, come sit by me.

Awww. I’m so sorry.
Yeah, I remember years ago when we were all just learning to eat vegetarian, it was all about trying to make things taste like or have mouth-feel texture like meat. Then we got more sophisticated and figured out that there are plenty of vegetarian, even vegan main dishes that are also tasty and delicious, even.
Too bad your neighbors are still back in the seventies. If cupcakes can be made both vegan and delicious, then such cruddy food just ain’t necessary.

In fact, the author, who’s well-known for vegan cooking, has a regular cookbook. Maybe you should give your neighbors a copy for Christmas?

i’ll bring the pot and that guy can bring the brownies

That is so sweet! I expect it’ll only be a few days. Will know more once I get there. and maybe there’ll be a doctor visit that will clear things up a bit.

Sounds perfect. I’ll bring the White wine.

On re-read, DO bring the pot. Heh heh. I should leave.

you are going to help your mom after she was in the hospital. tis the least i can do

be sure to keep me posted and remember, 30 more nights to go…

heheheh sorry ce, i could not resist the play on words

why should you leave?

I remember that, too. I’m passionate about good Q.

I’ll bring ribs n links, too! Home-made sauce (no-sugar, low-carb, ‘natch)

I hadda return a bunch of books to the library today, since I don’t know when I’ll be back; didn’t want to risk having them go overdue and not even get to read them. Among them was this

I was really hoping to try some of the recipes, especially a sour cream dough for …uh oh, brain freeze, now I can’t remember what! Cookies? Rugelach? Good grief. Can’t believe I forgot…all I remember right now is that it sounded delicious!

So late here Suzanne — you guys on the Pacific are hours earlier. It is 2:10 am and I have four house guests upstairs who will leave in four hours. My children make great fun of me posting anything past ten o”clock. Sigh.

it was fun talking to you and j that afternoon. nahant sure had a great meetup.

can you recheck them out after your return?

oh. ok. nevermind. i thought it was play on words…..

four houseguests! oh my – 4hours… that’s not a lotta sleep ce

Sigh. Speaking of needing to leave, guess I better finish up my tasks. Gotta leave for the airport in a few hours now. I’ll sleep on the plane.

I’ll miss you guys, and the morning crew, now visiting a new diner known as Over Easy. There’s an amazing community here.

(oh, and Suze, yeah, I found the gloves. Whew.)

Kisses, I’m leaving.

g’nite tejan (i’m glad you found them) safe travels and stay warm!

g’nite smooches back, ce

Oh, yeah, if they’re not out again. I meant to print out the list but of course, didn’t get it done. I’ll remember the Bakery book. ; )

I lurve my Kindle; no longer have to pack four or five books, with all their weight and bulk, to have something to read on flight and while there. May pack my yarn and knitting needles and make another stab at learning to knit.

Better go, I guess. Thanks so much for the company and good wishes, all, and to Suze for her steady work as host.

yay for your kindle!

Best wishes on your trip, tejana!

today when jen and i went to the movies, after standing in line, it was our turn to get our tickets.

i asked for two for skyfall and the guy looked at me and jen and said one senior and one matinee $15. as we walked into the theater, i told jen that was the first time evah that i had gotten a senior discount. she said she was wondering what they considered senior there.

i’m not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing… do i look old enough to be a senior or perhaps it was my cane.

Suze, we enjoyed that day, too.

I remember the mini-shock of that first “senior discount” …. now I just love that someone/anyone gives seniors a break! I’d dye my hair gray if I thought it would help. (And, yep, I’m a solid senior, but my hair’s still dark…. that doesn’t stop me from taking the discounts!)

i’ve got some strands but yeah….. it was a shock

gotta admit, it made us laugh when one popcorn, one small soda, and one bottled water cost $15.75 — more than our tix for the movie

i know last time he tried to do a meetup only one or two people said they would be there… it would be nice if we could get the meetups going again

Hi folks. So Suzanne did you like Skyfall?

It was beautiful in SF today, we went to Chrissy field warm and clear .
This is best time of year.

hey spocko — i spent half the movie trying to figure out where i knew the actors from… it was good — different than other bond film. i liked craig nelson as bond and judi dench as m.

what didja do at chrissy field?

fuck i did it again

tis time for me to get horizontal peeps. thank you for stopping by and commenting. i’m still gobsmacked that i get to hang out here. lln and you lln pups were a big part of my i’m thankful for list.

i’m looking forward to seeing what tut has up his sleeve this week. hope i see ya there.

g’nite all