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stitchwhich) wrote2013-12-24 01:52 am
stitchwhich) wrote2013-12-24 01:52 am
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Suddenly we're hosting a gathering on Christmas day. "Suddenly" as in being told by, not my husband, but a group message via phone from someone else who'd been in the room, "Oh, by the way, after you went to bed (tummy problems1), the rest of us decided that we're going to go see The Hobbit at noon on Christmas, then head back over here to hang out, play games, and such." Since I'd already invited one couple of military Holiday-Orphans to the house, we went from a quiet TV watching/gently chatting group of four to a house of seven people looking for entertainment... and dinner will be expected. Holiday dinner. I told them all to bring one item "that you would eat with Savoury Toasted Cheese" and one desserty-thing. I am hoping that the males will interpret "what you eat with STC" as meat, while the females will think of either veggies or breads/rolls, and we'll have a somewhat easy dinner which can be eaten catch-as-catch-can, as I know that once they're in the house gaming will commence and continue until the wee hours. They're all bringing their own preferred beverages. For that, I am looking forward to our Coast Guard couple since she's a tea drinker (first person I've known besides me who'd squeal about getting a small electric water pot) and she's bringing her own. I have various types here that she is interested in trying "even though they are in a bag rather than loose", so I suspect that I'll be drinking tea most of the day rather than diet sodas so she can have a sip of each type I brew for myself. Which is a good thing. I have been contemplating cutting sodas out of my life but as Diet Pepsi has been a staple for over 20 years, it is not going to be an easy thing to do should I truly decide to go for it.
Anyway. We have one picky male who never eats veggies of any kind, one overweight high-blood pressure male who says he is being careful about his diet but who shows up to our house with chips & packaged processed foods, and one girl who has made the ugly twisted-face-of-rejection after trying nearly everything I've offered or suggested with the exception of three dishes... Luckily, STC is one of those. Thus that choice2. I have no idea what our Coasty friends are going to think of this thrown-together plan. I am thanking my stars that there are only two people in my acquaintance who are lukewarm about Digby's cheese dish and neither of them will be here.3
So tomorrow will be dedicated to cleaning the house and decorating. Right now all we have up for the holidays are the cards on the wall and the wonderful wreath of Douglas Fir that Marion sent to me for my birthday. It smells glorious. Everything else is still in the boxes. Our children will be here in the middle of January and that is when we'd planned on celebrating Giftmas but our guests are all Christian and stuck here rather than able to go home, so the least we can do it make it festive to look at and 'homely'. To that end, I will be putting together my Lego Winter Village, which will be sitting on the mantle since it has grown too large for the top of a bookshelf.
And completely off of the subject... I hate cussing. I do it too much. But there isn't a person in my social sphere who'd stop me if I did it in public after making sure that everyone knew I was trying to stop. I've got too much of the 'mother/teacher face' or something. Got any suggestions about how I can self-edit? Certainly, when I am around people older than me, or extremely young, or even in settings such as schools, churches, hospitals, I manage to never curse. In fact, I don't when I am by myself and do something stupid or painful. But get me with people who are laughing and fooling around, or have high energy while working together, and my mouth fouls up. I hate it. I got trained into the behaviour by my shipmates in the Navy and with everyone around me also cussing (and it so common on some TV shows or in the movies), there's been no noticeable lack of it in my everyday world. But *I* don't like hearing myself do it. So how can I train myself to stop? The difficulty seems to be that it happens during social interplay, when people are talking a mile a minute, so it is out before I can even think. And the setting is such that the last thing I am being mindful of is my speech patterns. The only thing I can think of is to try the old rubber band on the wrist trick but surely there is something better than that which might work!
1 I have been exhausted for the last week, and stressed with mild tummy distress. Exhausted - I slept about 44 hours out of 48 on Thursday/Friday. Saturday was a carolling party and a trip to the Commissary, which wiped me out again, and yesterday was our normal card-playing day - with friends we hadn't played with in months! Yay! - and I ended up having to take anti-nausea medicine and then lay down on the bed within dashing distance of the bathroom (overshare. Sorry) before they left. I'm not happy about this... these last four month cannot pass fast enough, I tell you. The cumulative effects of this therapy suck!
2... and we bought a good ham but I'm not telling anyone that we did until I see their offerings. It's already baked so all I'll have to do is re-heat it once we get back to the house while the STC is being prepared. :)
3 I'm going to try it with a blend of brie and cambert cheeses, just to see how different it will come out. Digby doesn't specify so even though it's been drummed into Atlantian's heads that it must be Brie, any mild and soft "farmer's cheese" will do so I thought it'd be fun to experiment. Besides, I'd only bought 8oz of Brie and now need more - which isn't available at our local stores, it being (basically) Christmas Eve..
Anyway. We have one picky male who never eats veggies of any kind, one overweight high-blood pressure male who says he is being careful about his diet but who shows up to our house with chips & packaged processed foods, and one girl who has made the ugly twisted-face-of-rejection after trying nearly everything I've offered or suggested with the exception of three dishes... Luckily, STC is one of those. Thus that choice2. I have no idea what our Coasty friends are going to think of this thrown-together plan. I am thanking my stars that there are only two people in my acquaintance who are lukewarm about Digby's cheese dish and neither of them will be here.3
So tomorrow will be dedicated to cleaning the house and decorating. Right now all we have up for the holidays are the cards on the wall and the wonderful wreath of Douglas Fir that Marion sent to me for my birthday. It smells glorious. Everything else is still in the boxes. Our children will be here in the middle of January and that is when we'd planned on celebrating Giftmas but our guests are all Christian and stuck here rather than able to go home, so the least we can do it make it festive to look at and 'homely'. To that end, I will be putting together my Lego Winter Village, which will be sitting on the mantle since it has grown too large for the top of a bookshelf.
And completely off of the subject... I hate cussing. I do it too much. But there isn't a person in my social sphere who'd stop me if I did it in public after making sure that everyone knew I was trying to stop. I've got too much of the 'mother/teacher face' or something. Got any suggestions about how I can self-edit? Certainly, when I am around people older than me, or extremely young, or even in settings such as schools, churches, hospitals, I manage to never curse. In fact, I don't when I am by myself and do something stupid or painful. But get me with people who are laughing and fooling around, or have high energy while working together, and my mouth fouls up. I hate it. I got trained into the behaviour by my shipmates in the Navy and with everyone around me also cussing (and it so common on some TV shows or in the movies), there's been no noticeable lack of it in my everyday world. But *I* don't like hearing myself do it. So how can I train myself to stop? The difficulty seems to be that it happens during social interplay, when people are talking a mile a minute, so it is out before I can even think. And the setting is such that the last thing I am being mindful of is my speech patterns. The only thing I can think of is to try the old rubber band on the wrist trick but surely there is something better than that which might work!
1 I have been exhausted for the last week, and stressed with mild tummy distress. Exhausted - I slept about 44 hours out of 48 on Thursday/Friday. Saturday was a carolling party and a trip to the Commissary, which wiped me out again, and yesterday was our normal card-playing day - with friends we hadn't played with in months! Yay! - and I ended up having to take anti-nausea medicine and then lay down on the bed within dashing distance of the bathroom (overshare. Sorry) before they left. I'm not happy about this... these last four month cannot pass fast enough, I tell you. The cumulative effects of this therapy suck!
2... and we bought a good ham but I'm not telling anyone that we did until I see their offerings. It's already baked so all I'll have to do is re-heat it once we get back to the house while the STC is being prepared. :)
3 I'm going to try it with a blend of brie and cambert cheeses, just to see how different it will come out. Digby doesn't specify so even though it's been drummed into Atlantian's heads that it must be Brie, any mild and soft "farmer's cheese" will do so I thought it'd be fun to experiment. Besides, I'd only bought 8oz of Brie and now need more - which isn't available at our local stores, it being (basically) Christmas Eve..