Open gathering and chat post!

[capri0mni]

(Consider this journal entry properly bedecked).

This "Christmas season" is hard on everyone -- even those who enjoy & celebrate it can find it exhausting. And for those of us who don't -- or can't -- celebrate it (for whatever reason) it can be especially isolating -- particularly for those of us whose primary social connections happen through these here Interwebs.

So:

I'm posting this entry as an open discussion/chat thread, so that we have a place to chat and commune through the comment threads.

Come sip a warm (or cool, depending on your season) spiced beverage of your choosing, and grab a plate full of virtual goodies.

I'll be checking back in frequently over the next 72 hours or so.

Welcome! Welcome!

Edited to add:

I also can't forget (or, rather, I can, but should not) that today is also the first day of Hanukkah. So have a video that ysabetwordsmith posted a couple of years ago:

Watch on YouTube

Because I also know many are over saturated with Christmas songs, by now...

Comments

[raze]

Howdy howdy! I hope you're having a very happy holiday season. I am spending my Christmas Eve writing.

[capri0mni]

\o/

Hooray for writing! I've been enjoying the fresh clips of "Raze" you've been posting... In the personal writing sphere, I've actually decided to revise and polish this year's NaNoWriMo project (which was also 2012's project -- the last NaNoWriMo I completed), probably during Camp Nano, this year, mostly.

I'm having "A season" -- my aide/housemate isn't much for observations, either public or private; I think she prefers to just ignore them. So I fly solo on all celebrations.

Re: Hooray!

[capri0mni]

Okay, to be honest, most of my favorite podcasts that I listen to regularly are simply streaming versions of NPR programs I like.

These are a couple of my favorites: The Splendid Table: a "Cooking" show that focuses on the cultural heritage and implications (ancient and modern) that surround various food customs.

Also: 99% Invisible a show about engineering and design.

Enjoy!

Re: Conversation starter #1

[jesse_the_k]

streetcar

[jesse_the_k]

Arms tired yet? :,)

[capri0mni]

*rolls eyes*

*groans*

Re: Hooray!

[randomling]

Ooh, thank you, I'll give those a try!

Re: Hooray!

[capri0mni]

I missed the Splendid Table this week, over the airwaves... might go listen to it myself, right now. :-)

[alatefeline]

Yeah, I've tried mixing cider with various things, and it just doesn't go with coffee or chocolate - anything bittersweet brings out the unpleasant woody bitterness of apple, while the fruity sweetness and acidity of the apple juice doesn't necessarily play well with the subtler flavors of other things.

We didn't end up making the eggnog, but we had scrambled eggs instead, and I made mulled cider a couple of times. ... Also ... I put Bailey's in my coffee when we ran out of milk the other day. *grins* That was tasty.

Re: large coffee and small problems

[alatefeline]

So true. (All of it.)

[capri0mni]

Well, that sounds very much like the original Irish Coffee, as my memory is confirmed by Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_coffee

Have you ever had black cherry juice (unsweetened)? In my opinion, that makes a nice carrier for cocoa powder, if you want a sans milk version, for whatever reason, once you add sugar to taste.

[alatefeline]

Oooooooh. That sounds delicious. I'll have to try that!

(Though unlike a lot of people, I can do dairy. I still need to find delicious non-dairy things to have and to share!)

[capri0mni]

I love dairy.

But sometimes, it can be cloying. And it can also blunt some of the flavor of chocolate/cocoa. So having a non-dairy alternative is also pleasing.

[alatefeline]

Precisely! The more Good Things I know how to make from real ingredients, the more good (as opposed to meh) meals and snacks I can have ... there is no drawback here. :)

[capri0mni]

Precisely!