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Post by Sirenna on Nov 19, 2006 19:11:39 GMT -5
LOL! I'm actually Aunty Sam. (my name is Samantha) Actually, Actually I'm Aunty Tham! (how cute is that! She's almost three ) No, I won't be able to see her or my new nephew this christmas or anytime soon because of work and family obligations - someone has to look after the cat while the other cats play. This time it's me but I entertain delusions of packing the cat up in his crate and shipping both him and I off to BC via Air Canada.
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Post by Techguy on Nov 21, 2006 15:36:27 GMT -5
I satisfied Mrs. T's wish to get the holiday lights up EARLY this year. She originally wanted the entire house and garage plus the hedges outlined in lights. We arrived at a compromise and settled on just doing up the front windows. I just finished putting up the lighted snowflake, candy cane and Christmas tree sculptures and framing the windows in multicolor lights. The test lighting went perfectly, so Thanksgiving night they will get turned on for real and will be lit every night at least through New Year's!
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Post by BegToDiffer on Nov 26, 2006 21:17:47 GMT -5
I love other people's holiday light displays. I enjoy driving around in search of the "best" house. I'm sure Techguy's are no exception. I remember the year we put the lights up and did the whole front yard. It was a nice day in November. When it was time to take them down, it was a freezing, ice filled day in January. Never again for me.
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Post by sarahlee on Nov 27, 2006 8:41:56 GMT -5
I spent Friday evening singing carols at a local mansion/museum...The night was warm, (about 70) with a beautiful, starry sky. Candlelight, fir branches, wassail and happy patrons made for a mellow evening. A nice way to start the season.
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Post by Patcat on Nov 27, 2006 10:09:27 GMT -5
I like Christmas...at times I even love it. I love the movies, the music, the food, the lights, the stories. But I'm not a great decorator myself...I usually just throw the balled up Christmas lights on the apartment balcony and turn them on. I call it "The Christmas LightBall".
Patcat
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Post by Patcat on Nov 27, 2006 16:00:24 GMT -5
Janetthyland;
Oh, that sounds very cool. Here in Indiana we have Santa Claus Land, occasionally noted as Santa's vacation home (although why Santa would want to vacation in Southern Indiana is a bit of a puzzlement--although it is a very lovely area).
Patcat
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Post by sarahlee on Nov 27, 2006 18:06:22 GMT -5
janetH--truly a magical experience, you must tell us more about it when (or if) you and the kiddos get back... When The Youngest was little, he told all his friends that "HO-HO" (Santa) was his mommy's best friend, and he had the pictures to prove it! (He took the pics to school for "show and tell".) I was singing with my friend Jack, who is 6'4", has a big ol' bushy white beard, and weighs about 300 lbs. (We also rented him out as Paul Bunyan!) He sang bass and wore a beautiful, green "Father Christmas" costume. We made quite a pair, since I am only 5' 1", with my hair up!
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outsider
Silver Shield Investigator
Posts: 98
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Post by outsider on Nov 27, 2006 19:41:10 GMT -5
Oh Patcat, you had me in stitches -- I can picture your "Christmas LightBall" -- I think the idea is a stroke of genius.
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Post by Techguy on Nov 28, 2006 0:01:32 GMT -5
"Christmas Lightball" ;D--oh I've been there, done that before Mrs. T came along and put some order in my holiday displays. I'm OK with the decorating, just so I don't have to climb ladders or go OUTSIDE in the cold to do it. I can't stress enough how pleased I am that my wife went along with my compromise suggestion to just do the windows (from the INSIDE) and leave the ladder in the garage where it belongs!
The lights did turn out very nicely. And I beat all the neighbors on the block getting the lights up and turned on, an added bonus! Nyah!
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Post by Sirenna on Nov 28, 2006 1:29:25 GMT -5
That''s the christmas spirit, Tech!
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Post by NikkiGreen on Nov 28, 2006 12:33:33 GMT -5
That's right, Techguy. That's the spirit! And thank you for your kinds words. My thanks also to Elizabethbay, Catbird, LOCIfan and everyone else for their words of condolence. Congratulations, Auntie Sam! I hope you get to see your little nephew, in person, soon. Observer, my thoughts and prayers are also with you and your family. I hope your nephew returns safe and very soon. Patcat, your Christmas light display sounds fascinating.
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Post by Patcat on Nov 28, 2006 14:56:41 GMT -5
Well, of course the best Christmas Lightballs are arranged by my cats. Still, my two are relatively calm about Christmas. A friend of mine couldn't find the baby Jesus for her Nativity set one Christmas until she discovered her two cats batting it around.
Cats. Don't even respect the Lord and Savior.
Patcat (who's going to spend a lot of time in Purgatory cause she thinks stuff like that is really funny)
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Post by janetcatbird on Nov 28, 2006 20:40:02 GMT -5
Well, Thanksgiving and family was fun and filling. (That's why I was offline so long.) And lots of leftovers here at the dorm, yay food! I also got to cuddle with my cat and start a bit on my latch-hook rug. It's a big one, a scene of five nutcrackers in a starry sky.
Patcat, love the Lightball! My father threatens that but Mama won't let him. As to sacreligious cats, mine never went after the nativity sets but we do have to be careful with the low-hanging ornaments. Tamet in particular used to drink water out of the tree stand but they all liked to lay underneath. (They got so mad when we put presents under there and took up their space!) Emma used to chase the colored lights as we unstrung them, but Cleo's old and arthritic so I don't know how she'll react this year.
Mama and I both get excited early. This week we made a couple batches of our amoretto balls, so that's a good start to the season. I've got CDs here at school, just this morning I was listening to the Trinity Choir carols.
Techguy, way to go on the early and painless decorating! Several people in the dorm have decorated all out with stockings, lights, and garlands on the door with trees inside. I love it, but for me it's too much trouble for two weeks. I do have my little wimpy tree and a few old Peanuts calendars to put on the door.
Oh, Janethyland, that sounds terrific! I have a book called Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien; it's the letters that Father Christmas wrote to Tolkien's children after they wrote to him. It's very neat, he talks about his elves, Polar Bear (the unofficial assistant who gets to write letters of his own later on), and there are some absolutely gorgeous watercolors that came with the letters. I haven't read Tolkien, but the bookstore here at school happened to have it two years ago. I looked at it and went away and came back to it two more times before I decided I just had to have it. It's home with the Christmas book collection. (That's our thing--we try to get a new Christmas book every year. Got a big huge collection now.)
Sarahlee, that's so cute with the picture! So neat to sing in the old house. Oooh, I get to go caroling this Friday! The local shop owners and such downtown wanted atmosphere, so they called the music school to get some people to sing carols up and down the streets. It'll be my first time caroling, so I'm excited. And our choral concert is Sunday (all the choirs), I wish we had a week more rehearsal but it should be fun.
--Catbird
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Post by sarahlee on Nov 28, 2006 23:33:28 GMT -5
Catbird--I'm a Tolkein freak from kidlethood-- (one of the advantages of a busy mom using the library as a baby sitter)--and I haven't thought of the "Father Christmas" stories for years! Now, I'm on a hunt to find it for myself...Have fun caroling; tomorrow I do a city treelighting-by-the-ocean and have the whole weekend booked!
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Post by Techguy on Nov 29, 2006 0:11:57 GMT -5
A friend of mine couldn't find the baby Jesus for her Nativity set one Christmas until she discovered her two cats batting it around. Cats. Don't even respect the Lord and Savior. Patcat (who's going to spend a lot of time in Purgatory cause she thinks stuff like that is really funny) Maybe you should take a cue from Willow and go online to ask practicing Catholics to download novenas and indulgences for a fee and pay into your "Get out of jail/Purgatory" early account!
Techguy *who's probably going to join you there just for suggesting the above*
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