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Christmas holidays
@dsklausler I will have to check it out.
In my mind it isn't Christmas until "Die Hard" is up. Other greats include "Young Sherlock Homes", "Jingle all the way", "White Christmas", Tin Tin, and a couple of James Bond Movies.
Here's my story.
My "children" no longer live at home. We carry on our tradition of cutting our own tree. Mostly at Wifey's insistence. We live in the suburbs, so we drive out a ways to a tree farm; this year, about an hour near a small rural town. Wifey insisted that we take the Outback so we could put the tree on the roof (like in A Christmas Story). She was very nostalgic this year - and missing her two adult children very much (haven't seen our PhD student son in 3 years; Dresden,DE).
It was quite unusual this time around... we usually have to bundle up for 20F or lower, with snow and ice, but this time I only wore gloves to minimize the sap from the freshly cut tree - low 40s in the sun. We followed that up with a stop in town to the classic diner. Real soup, and real locally ground beef in the burger - not from Gordon Food Service (GFS is a huge commercial ?food? supplier common to suburbia restaurants). Maybe it's my ego, but I choose to tip those hard working farm-folk generously, and their reaction is always priceless.
This year I didn't swear or yell once while pruning and getting the tree into the house and into the stand. Wifey did her usual excellent artsy-fartsy decorating, and as soon as the "blanket" was laid around the base of the tree, both cats claimed a spot. Outdoor lighting and decorating are classic white lights and pine bows. Gifts are always wrapped with a theme (again Wifey). This years coverings are all from used craft paper, and old maps (we drive a lot).
We await our daughter's visit, as she is much closer (than son) - from the thoroughbred capitol of the world.
We used to burn last-years-tree on christmas morning, but for the first time, we are not, as I have switched the fireplace to gas (for resale "safety"; and we're downsizing).
Later that night, we will head to my brother's place to participate in his annual gift grab bag. To minimize the disparity between familial incomes, and expenses in general, there are two limits: 1. 10USD maximum; and 2. it must be FOOD. Great fun as the packages vary from 20 packs of Ramen to SPAM, and Snickers bars, mixed nuts, cheap booze and even canned fishies. Drinking, eating, and catching up on all of the 30 or so family members. Sometimes even card games afterwards. Ages now go from <1 to 84+.
That's it... I am smiling a bit writing this.
Quote from congjing yu on December 14, 2021, 8:09 pm@dsklausler I will have to check it out.
In my mind it isn't Christmas until "Die Hard" is up. Other greats include "Young Sherlock Homes", "Jingle all the way", "White Christmas", Tin Tin, and a couple of James Bond Movies.
If you have never watched A Christmas Story, I suggest it strongly. Darren McGavin is priceless.
"My father worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium, a master."
@laoban4site You are much too kind about my gift wrapping. The reactions I get are usually "it looks nice and expensive, but what a waste". Which I agree is true, but besides the point. What we would like to know is, what new food tradition will you create this Xmas for your daughter? I love Chinese food, but it's not Xmas, you know? Are you going to try to cook (I realise that's insanely hard given everything you already have to do)? Perhaps there is a Western restaurant that has a good reputation that you can buy from to prepare for your Xmas holiday?
I don't know about your dietary restrictions for surgery foods, but may I suggest a special mousse cake or pie (Chinese bakeries these days are actually pretty good with making Western desserts these days). How about an ice cream "buche de noel"? I also hear that many Russian ice cream desserts are now available in China (better milk quality, and of course the Russians have their own unique Xmas traditions).
Is it possible to get authentic Texas BBQ there? A BBQ Xmas would be unique and delicious! Pulled pork, or smoked baby back ribs, with creamy homemade Mac and cheese that has been baked with a cheddar crust and crispy Parmesan topping. With bits of crispy bacon. Or smoked roast beef. That's not bad for your blood pressure, right?
You know, this reminds me of the American food I still miss. Like pumpkin pie (believe it or not, the chain restaurant "Carrows" actually makes an amazing pumpkin pie that's smooth, custardy, with the right amount of sweetness).
@dsklausler my apologies, this actually belongs to another thread, but you mentioned something about your mantid not communicating with you. My mantid immediately communicated with me the day I wrote in a request for them in my affirmation campaign. They communicated with me later that day by fucking with my mouse (the cursor was moving all over the document I was working on--right clock, delete, etc). I initially thought I got hacked (I checked my Mac terminal). At that time, I recorded this strange anomaly and didn't think it was them. But get this, an old screenshot that I took from 2019 that I KNOW I deleted showed up on my Home Screen. WTF! I look at my trash bin, and the oldest stuff there was September 2020! I know it wasn't on my Home Screen before because I arrange all the folders and put up my "dream board".
So I email MM, and I mention that my dreams (I wanted to learn the true roles of my bio family members, as I suspected they were more prison guards who were "keeping tabs on me" than people I should trust) were confusing, and thought that maybe I fucked up the way I wrote my affirmations. So MM gives me some examples on how this should be done. So next day, I rewrite the request to make the wording clearer. I say my affirmations. A few hours later, my mouse gets fucked with again! I panic. I record this incident on my "fucked up incidents" journal (yes, I have been keeping a journal like this since 2020) and notice the last incident was when I wrote that request to my mantid.
I email MM again, and he confirms it. It was my Mantid. The commander chimes in, saying I was acting really dense (a dunderhead). Once I got confirmation from MM's message, I start to do my my makeup (putting on the war paint). I was about to launch photo booth (I use it as a mirror) but it was already up for me! OK, maybe I just forgot I launched it already, so perhaps we can dismiss this. So I start playing Xmas music on Youtube. I accidentally choose the wrong Bing Crosby album and there is a commercial after every song. So I look up to the ceiling and ask my Mantid if they could assist me by cutting out the annoying commercials so I can enjoy my Xmas music in peace. I click on another Bing Crosby video, and lo and behold...NO COMMERCIALS. I have played this video before and YouTube would cut it up here and there and place commercials, but not this time. In fact, once it finished it went to the next Frank Sinatra/Bing Crosby video seamlessly with no commercial breaks: I measured it, I think we are talking a solid 1:20 minutes with ZERO commercials like I requested. I only stopped the video once I was done with the war paint.
Sorry that this is so long, but I just want to say that your Mantid can communicate with you in a way you can understand. It did with me. Others here in the forum talked about seeing little mantises here and there, my mantid decided that I needed an "extra strong" signal that I would understand. This was NOT a dream.
I don't know if you tried to talk to your Mantid via affirmations, and got denied/ignored. But if you haven't done it, I suggest that you try. What can it hurt?
A few days ago, after I had a strange dream (I was entering a cat contest, some of the contests were "bouncing ping pong balls obstacle" and "fetch" and I was way behind in trying my cat), I saw some pieces of paper like what you would see in a fortune cookie. The words would materialise on several pieces of paper, and it read "The... Domain and Mantids...wish you...a happy holidays". I'm not kidding. My brain is not experiencing a meltdown.
You could say that it might have been me, dreaming an idealised encounter or interaction. I see how that's completely possible. But it also could have been really them. I have never had a Xmas themed dream before, and that segment was the only thing remotely Xmas related. So they wished me a Merry Xmas (take it or leave it).
And you know, I guess this is where I finally say Merry Xmas to you! Your description of your holiday festivities sound really fun! (Apologies for the long winded post)
You wrote a lot and there is so much that I can comment on. So I will just run through some bullet points.
[1] Your (guardian angel) mantid is there with you all the time. So, all you need to do is vocalize anything you want to say to them. It has to be out loud. You cannot just simply think it. You must say out loud. Then you must calm down and listen for the answer. If you are a "dunderhead" they might resort to fucking around with your electronics to get your attention, but if you have any reasonable amount of awareness you should be able to pickup answers.
[2] They can write messages to you. This is really true, but I don't know the system or how it works. Prior to "my retirement", they completely illustrated a book that I had showing the feducials, the view outside my jail cell in the ADC, how the field would look like with cavitation, etc. And I looked at those pictures fascinated, but at the time didn't understand them. So I took the book to my therapist. (She was helping me deal with the stress and anxiety of losing my family, a divorce, a job loss, and the criminal system trying to put me in prison.) And all the images were gone. And the text was different! So this thing about a message on a scrap of paper is a REAL thing. Do not think that you are losing your mind.
[3] They can easily affect electronics. You know this, but I want to underline this fact. They can do amazing things, and if you are proficient with typing or using the computer you will see some impossible things happen when they want to get your attention. When this happens. Listen. You vocalize out loud "What are you trying to tell me?" and listen for the message back.
Exciting times. -MM
Oh, and about the new traditions. Well, we are starting off making new ones because our daughter is just now growing up. So far we have some ideas...
[1] Hotpot. We live in Zhuhai. There are two seasons. Very Hot, and a brief chill. During the "brief chill", it lasts about two months. December and January, so it's a perfect time to Hot pot. This is sort of like Fondue, only with oil instead of cheese, and all sorts of meats and vegetables instead of breads. I figure that she would enjoy playing around with the long forks. And Things, but we worry that it might be too flavorful for her still.
You have different oils to cook the food in. And different morsels to put on the sticks, then once cooked you can make different sauces to dip the cooked food into. This is something that I really want to get her started on.
[2] Crunchy french bread. Right now, there is a bakery near our home that makes baguettes. It migrated up here from Vietnam where there is a strong French cuisine. I have been getting the bread, heating it in the microwave and adding hot butter to it. She loves it. She's a crunchy girl.
[3] Spreads. This is just a selection of cold cuts, olives, nuts, cheeses. Pickles and cookies. We are moving slowly on this. But she immediately loves the nuts and the raisins, and the broccoli. She's not yet a fan of the olives and cheeses. But she will be.
[4] Pizza. I know it's very common in the USA and Europe. But we tend to eat different foods here locally. A lot of fresh sea foods, lots of oysters, and shrimp and shell fish. So the Pizza is a special treat. Especially a thin crust. It's almost unheard of here in China. So yeah. It's a major event for us. It's a Christmas event.
[5] Singapore food. There is a local Singapore restaurant nearby. And we love the delicious food and the tasty preparations.They really know how to eat well in Malaysia / Singapore. And there is this French influence on the Vietnam food that is just astounding.
Now, all this is a little surprising as you might expect cakes and desserts. But she's only two and all the sugar would be a nightmare. However... The big treat is fresh brownies. And this is the real treat that she associates with Christmas. And I know that it is weird, but she doesn't like ice cream or milk. She's a peanut butter girl. So she loves peanut butter on moist brownies spread on crunchy french bread with hot peanut butter on top. Yucch!
But that's her Christmas.
There's so much to eat and enjoy. I want to make it a little special with the Christmas pizza, and the Christmas Hot Pot, and the Christmas brownies, and the Christmas baguettes.
You make do with what you have available and turn it into something special.
It isn't Christmas until Hans falls from the Nakatomi tower
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Quote from congjing yu on December 15, 2021, 10:11 amOh, and about the new traditions. Well, we are starting off making new ones because our daughter is just now growing up. So far we have some ideas...
[1] Hotpot. We live in Zhuhai. There are two seasons. Very Hot, and a brief chill. During the "brief chill", it lasts about two months. December and January, so it's a perfect time to Hot pot. This is sort of like Fondue, only with oil instead of cheese, and all sorts of meats and vegetables instead of breads. I figure that she would enjoy playing around with the long forks. And Things, but we worry that it might be too flavorful for her still.
You have different oils to cook the food in. And different morsels to put on the sticks, then once cooked you can make different sauces to dip the cooked food into. This is something that I really want to get her started on.
[2] Crunchy french bread. Right now, there is a bakery near our home that makes baguettes. It migrated up here from Vietnam where there is a strong French cuisine. I have been getting the bread, heating it in the microwave and adding hot butter to it. She loves it. She's a crunchy girl.
[3] Spreads. This is just a selection of cold cuts, olives, nuts, cheeses. Pickles and cookies. We are moving slowly on this. But she immediately loves the nuts and the raisins, and the broccoli. She's not yet a fan of the olives and cheeses. But she will be.
[4] Pizza. I know it's very common in the USA and Europe. But we tend to eat different foods here locally. A lot of fresh sea foods, lots of oysters, and shrimp and shell fish. So the Pizza is a special treat. Especially a thin crust. It's almost unheard of here in China. So yeah. It's a major event for us. It's a Christmas event.
[5] Singapore food. There is a local Singapore restaurant nearby. And we love the delicious food and the tasty preparations.They really know how to eat well in Malaysia / Singapore. And there is this French influence on the Vietnam food that is just astounding.
Now, all this is a little surprising as you might expect cakes and desserts. But she's only two and all the sugar would be a nightmare. However... The big treat is fresh brownies. And this is the real treat that she associates with Christmas. And I know that it is weird, but she doesn't like ice cream or milk. She's a peanut butter girl. So she loves peanut butter on moist brownies spread on crunchy french bread with hot peanut butter on top. Yucch!
But that's her Christmas.
There's so much to eat and enjoy. I want to make it a little special with the Christmas pizza, and the Christmas Hot Pot, and the Christmas brownies, and the Christmas baguettes.
You make do with what you have available and turn it into something special.
Wifey is also known as Moody Mom Baking, really. Her best are deserts and BREAD!
Quote from congjing yu on December 15, 2021, 9:46 amYou wrote a lot and there is so much that I can comment on. So I will just run through some bullet points.
[1] Your (guardian angel) mantid is there with you all the time. So, all you need to do is vocalize anything you want to say to them. It has to be out loud. You cannot just simply think it. You must say out loud. Then you must calm down and listen for the answer. If you are a "dunderhead" they might resort to fucking around with your electronics to get your attention, but if you have any reasonable amount of awareness you should be able to pickup answers.
[2] They can write messages to you. This is really true, but I don't know the system or how it works. Prior to "my retirement", they completely illustrated a book that I had showing the feducials, the view outside my jail cell in the ADC, how the field would look like with cavitation, etc. And I looked at those pictures fascinated, but at the time didn't understand them. So I took the book to my therapist. (She was helping me deal with the stress and anxiety of losing my family, a divorce, a job loss, and the criminal system trying to put me in prison.) And all the images were gone. And the text was different! So this thing about a message on a scrap of paper is a REAL thing. Do not think that you are losing your mind.
[3] They can easily affect electronics. You know this, but I want to underline this fact. They can do amazing things, and if you are proficient with typing or using the computer you will see some impossible things happen when they want to get your attention. When this happens. Listen. You vocalize out loud "What are you trying to tell me?" and listen for the message back.
Exciting times. -MM
I am telling you that I sincerely tried. I honestly spoke and said that I need something a little more OBVIOUS as an acknowledgement - and it should know that I am untrained in such matters, right? Nothing. Yeah, I gave up; this is why I am leaning towards Me being different - and not in a good way.