Winter-time, And The Blogging Is Hard, Turkey, and other Random Meaningless Thoughts…
Monday, December 12, 2005Posted in: Uncategorized
I was going to apologise for the lack of posts, but I thought better of it. Instead I will share the news that I’m to become an auntie for the first time! Woo hoo!!
My blogging will be erratic at best, seeing as Christmas is nearly upon us. Christmas is at our house again this year, I will be cooking for eight of us, and as per our annual tradition, there will be no hint of turkey in my kitchen. Turkey is just so bloody drab, dry, and boring. It’ll be chicken all the way again.
I just need to decide what I’ll be making for starters and dessert. Any suggested recipes will be more than welcome.
In a totally unrelated stream of consciousness, I’d be gutted if we had to swap the word Christmas for something as inane as ‘the holidays’ (no offense to you Americans)! Thank God the bleeding heart liberals haven’t got to us yet, mind you, one of England’s local councils, tried renaming Christmas, by calling it Winter Festival. What a load of bollocks.
I think the people of Birmingham boycotted the council, and the name was changed back. I should think so. Winter Festival indeed. Close, but no cigar.
Being a borderline atheist (sp?) my feelings have less to do with God, and more to do with the way myself and my family have always celebrated Christmas. Christmas is Christmas and that’s that. You celebrate it how you want, and I’ll celebrate it how I want.
Anyway, I gotta go, cuz I’ve got a million Xmas cards to write!!
Desiree Erotique
December 13
5:06 am
Hey Karen!
I couldn’t care less if people just called the season festivity Happy Papa Smurf Day.. it’d just be a damned nice present if for once everyone forgot how to be mean to one another and acted nice.
Anyway, I want goose this year. Doesn’t look like I’ll get it, so will settle for the ham tucked back in the freezer. And since I’m a pagan, will wish you a very, very Bright Yule and season festival, whatever you are happy calling it 🙂
Dawn
December 13
9:59 am
Hi Karen. Will it be chicken and rice and peas, then? I want to have my Mum and Dad and baby bro over for Christmas this year. I’m thinking no turkey, but Michael likes turkey.
Starters? Well, it is terribly 70s, but I LOVE prawn cocktail, or you could mash some rocquefort cheese and avocado pear together, roll out some filo or flaky pastry, but into about 4″ squares, put the cheese/avo mixture in the middle, fold to make a triangle, crimp the edges and bake until golden brown. The cheese melts with the avocado and combination of the salty cheese against the fresh avocado tastes devine.
Dessert? Trifle, but made with Jamaican ginger cake instead of boring sponge. Yum
There, my creativity is now exhausted.
Dawn
December 13
10:00 am
Damn, didn’t spell divine correctly!
Milady Insanity
December 13
11:33 am
Brie fritters, perhaps?
Sam
December 13
3:28 pm
Merry Christmas!!
I’m all for the Christmas season –
and turkey is highly overrated.
Have a wonderful chicken Christmas dinner!
(my friend Andrea made the best salad for starters with endive lettuce, dried figs, blue cheese, walnuts, and balsamic and honey dressing.)
Sharon
December 13
4:04 pm
As if half the people who celebrate Christmas are religious or are celebrating it for religious reasons anyway!
Only a few words for whiny ass people who have nothing better than to do than bitch over something as ridiculous as what to call Christmas. STFU.
azteclady
December 13
4:38 pm
Just because I enjoy being contrary *evil grin*
So it shouldn’t be a big deal to call it Christmas for those who are not Christian, correct? Then why is it a big deal not to call is Christmas for those who are Christian? Doesn’t it go both ways?
Megan Frampton
December 13
4:48 pm
Congratulations on the aunt-ness!
And yeah, we are way too pc over here, even though our country is headed by a guy who kinda gulps every time he says ‘Muslim.’ Gah. As a definite atheist, I don’t have a problem with Merry Christmas, but I do appreciate it’s very religious of us, esp. for a country that was supposedly founded to escape religious persecution. Ah, the irony.
Scott
December 13
4:55 pm
I don’t have a problem with saying “Happy Holidays” so not to offend people. I try to make sure I keep that in mind, because it isn’t that big of a deal to me. But the problem lies with everyone DEMANDING people to change things that have been one way or the other for years and doesn’t in essence hurt anyone. Why DEMAND someone that celebrates Christmas not to say “Merry Christmas”? It is ridiculous. That would be like me telling someone that celebrates Kwanza or some other holiday around this time not to say anything around me, because I am Christian and would be offended to hear or see someone offer up happy greetings to one another while in my presense.
The whole world needs to lighten up and worry more about making peace then telling each other what can and cannot be said.
Elizabeth Kerri Mahon
December 13
5:35 pm
Happy auntdom! Since I don’t eat meat, and I’m an orphan, my friend and I have fish for Xmas dinner. This year it’s lobster pot pies. Last year we had a Christmas pudding I brought back from the UK with a hard sauce that I made. We’ve also had trifle one year, and sticky toffee pudding (there’s an English guy here in the states who sells them). I’m not sure what we’re having for starter or dessert this year.
Eve Vaughn
December 13
7:06 pm
Congratulations on becoming an Aunt!!
As for the PC crap, I totally agree. My husband is a music teacher and puts on a Christmas show every year. The show started out as the Christmas show, then it was changed to the Holiday show, and now it’s just the winter show because a lot of his students are Jahovah Witnesses. *sheesh* It’s bound to happen one day that there is no more damn show because no one can decide what to call it, so I has Happy ChritmaHanuKwanzica!!!
Jaid Black
December 14
1:11 am
Out of all you said, the borderline atheist part caught my attention the most. I know how you feel! Part of me thinks “no way” and another part thinks “well… maybe” 🙂 I wish I could be one way and stay that way. As to the other, I usually just say Happy Holidays unless I specifically know the person’s religion or lack thereof. On top of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, there is also Winter Solstice for pagans! 😉
Dawn
December 14
10:17 am
I did mean to say, Karen, congrats on being an aunt-to-be. My little sis loves being an auntie. It means she’s the fave, one to have around. She is always greeted with the scream of “It’s Auntie Debbie!” She comes, whips Jade up into a frenzy and then leaves.
As for the whole Christmas thing, the PC brigade gets right up my nose. Live and let live I say, celebrate whatever you want to call it, but don’t try to dictate to me what I should call my celebration.
This perfectly sums up my feelings:
http://www.illwillpress.com/xmas.html
Merry Christmas!!!
Lori
December 14
4:46 pm
Congratulations on being an auntie! It is the best – you get to give them loud obnoxious toy and they take them home to their mom and dad *g*. And you are forever more, the “cool one”.
As for the whole “holiday” vs “Christmas” thing, here’s the Jew’s perspective. I could give a flying crap what they call it! It’s the sentiment that counts.If someone says Merry Christmas to me, they are wishing me a wonderful holiday. I don’t need to correct them and say I don’t celebrate it, wish me a happy Hanukkah. It’s the sentiment. I just smile and wish it to them right back. Geez, we are all so frickin PC that you can’t be an individual anymore!
And, here’s an interesting tidbit — I find it interesting that in a country where church and state are legally separate, Christmas is a legal national holiday. Hmmmm….
(I want all my Jewish holidays off too *bg* – let’s see, there’s the one celebrating trees, and the one celebrating, the harvest, and the one celebrating the death of the mean guy who wanted to kill all the Jews (nope, not Hitler *g*), oh, and the one commemorating the end of the guy who wanted to kill all the Jews – yes, Hitler – and the one celebrating getting to the end of the Torah and starting again, and the one celebrating the end of this month and that month, and next month…..) Wouldn’t it be nice? Let’s get rid of all the separation of church and state crap and take every day off – with pay of course *g*! Every day is a holiday for someone! Any takers? *not intending to offend anyone here, just being goofy in my own sarcastic devilish way*
just a thought…
That said, I wish you all the most wonderful Christmas – celebrate and enjoy being with your loved ones!
azteclady
December 14
10:43 pm
Lori, that’s priceless!!!
Anonymous
December 15
12:10 am
Bill O’Reilly and company made up the War on Christmas to feed the “I’m so persecuted, people like me only control the entire government” crowd (and to sell a colleague’s new book). Liberals tend to look at the polemics and go “Huh?”
Aside from that, O’Reilly says that Christians are offended by being wished Happy Holidays (NULMAN: “Season’s Greetings” and “Happy Holidays,” Bill, does not offend Christians. O’REILLY: Yes, it does. It absolutely does. And I know that for a fact.), while non-Christians are completely fine with being wished Merry Christmas (O’REILLY: I think you’re crazy if you’re offended by the words “Merry Christmas”). Therefore, to avoid offending Christians, while making non-Christians feel completely welcome, everyone should talk about Christmas all the time.
The entire made-up thing is idiotic. [All quotes are from http://mediamatters.org/items/200511100014 . Media Matters quotes accurately; the organization leans liberal.]
LAFlines
December 15
3:26 am
I agree with Anonymous. As a card carrying Liberal and a Christian (yes, and proud of both). A lot of crap have been attributed to Liberals(usually by those of the conservative persuasion, my own opinion). I don’t give a flying flip whether you call it Christmas, the Holidays, Kwanzaa, Hannukah, or whatever. If you can’t give or receive sincere greetings of the season without complaining about it you might as well call yourself Scrooge and lock yourself up in your abode so as not to burden anyone with your presence.
Lori
December 16
12:10 am
Well said!