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Showing results for tags 'christmas'.
Found 42 results
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Christian organization lets you borrow an orphan for the holidays
SecularMusic posted a topic in Quiver Full of Snark
A friend from my fundie days is holding a Facebook fundraiser to raise money so that she can host two orphans from the Ukraine for Christmas. An organization, http://www.openheartsandhomes.org/, arranges for orphans from eastern Europe to spend a month with Christian U.S. families. Afterward, they return to the orphanage. I'm not sure if this is a good idea. Sure, the orphans will celebrate Christmas with gifts, abundant food, and a temporary family. But, I would imagine that returning to the orphanage would be depressing, knowing what they lack. Am I a scrooge, or does this raise red flags for anyone else? -
Winter is coming - and so are a bunch of holidays. Some, like Halloween, are secular (or anti-religious, depending on who you ask) Others, like Christmas, have religious origins (Pagan or Christian, depending on who you ask) but have become secularized for many. What holidays do you celebrate? How do you do it? Or if not, why, and do you do anything else instead?
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I remember being about two years old (I have a long memory) and watching my dad plug in Christmas lights. That was probably the last year our family celebrated Christmas. Both my parents grew up celebrating holidays like most of middle-class America, but as they began their slide into fundie-dom they started reading tracts and booklets about the evils of holidays. They believed that Christmas, Easter, and Halloween were evil throwbacks to paganism that had been perpetuated by the Catholics (who, of course, weren't "real Christians"). I'm linking here to something similar to the many booklets we had around the house: http://blowthetrumpet.org/AChristmasDefenseHowGodsPeopleJustifySin.htm This refusal to celebrate holidays set my family apart, even from the fundamentalist Christians we associated with, and definitely caused a lot of confusion when people casually asked us kids what we were doing for Christmas, and we told them we didn't "do Christmas." We got asked a lot if we were Jehovah's Witnesses, since that's who usually comes to mind as not celebrating holidays. Sometimes people asked if my parents were Christian, because the idea of a Christian not celebrating Christmas was so astonishing. Birthdays were only grudgingly allowed: we normally had just a family gathering, similar to the Maxwells' descriptions of their birthday celebration. It was often pointed out that the only birthdays mentioned in the Bible were the birthdays of evil men (Pharaoh and Herod). Also it was seen as being likely to draw to much attention to one person and make them self-centered. This story has a bit of a happy ending, at least for me. After I left home, I embraced holidays with a vengeance. Christmas was amazing, my children got Easter baskets from my in-laws, Halloween was a pure delight of dressing my kids and taking them trick-or-treating. Now that I've left Christianity, I still look forward to the holidays. Christmas/Yule/Winter Solstice--whatever it's called, it's a time of joy and giving and yummy food. Halloween--it's a joy to watch my children enjoy what I didn't, with no fear of "Satan" to hinder their steps. The cycle of the seasons is cause for celebration, even if "Easter" isn't really a thing for me. And I want my children to feel special on their birthdays: to know that they're important and valued. This rejection of holidays stemmed from anti-Catholic and anti-Pagan attitudes. It was promoted as being "God's way," but all the tracts reviled Catholics and Pagans, making it obvious that the real problem was with other people's belief systems. Of course, we were the ones with the "right" understanding of the Bible. As with everything else. Nowadays, my parents still don't celebrate religious holidays, except for having or attending a Thanksgiving meal (apparently there's some justification in the Bible for "a day of thanks," don't ask me). They are free to do whatever they want on the holidays; meanwhile, at my house, there will likely be a delicious dinner cooking and a living room full of loved ones.
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Hi everyone, I have received a request for 'historical murder mystery books' as a Christmas gift from my brother. He has only read a few before and it isn't a genre i have read much of either so i wondered if people had any recommendations? There seems to be lots online so wasn't really sure where to start! Thanks in advance for any help
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Since the holidays are coming up once again I thought it would be a good time to review this...
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I follow Johanna Basford on Facebook, and she posted these free downloadables! You can find them here https://www.johannabasford.com/blog/; I would love to see what other FJ colorists come up with! As always, I used my Prismacolor scholar pencils. I also decided to cut out the ornaments and hang them on my wall as some decoration. Ho ho ho
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Parents say their Hatchimals are swearing like sailors in their sleep
clueliss posted a topic in Wide World of Snark
https://www.yahoo.com/news/parents-hatchimals-swearing-sailors-sleep-020734832.html Well - looks like the 'must have' present for kids of 2016 has gone way wrong. I've seen reports of these things not hatching and such. Now they're swearing. Since these are redone furby's and I have almost nieces who had a furby I don't see the allure. -
Oopsie... independent.co.uk/news/world/christmas-carol-service-mixup-accidentally-publishes-rap-song-hail-mary-tupac-columbo-sri-lanka-a7494956.html Wait a minute! This sounds like Hip and or Hop!
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Talk about a damn buzz kill. Things start to get a little intense at the end of the video when he's confronted by several beefy guys who are telling him to shut up and leave. I suspect things got even more intense after the video ends. -
So I'm the bad Jew that really likes Christmas music.... but I'm the REALLY bad person that watches these videos and fangirls about the performers - impure thoughts and all. These guys are amazing and the acoustics in the church (catholic, clearly) are impressive. I've got it pretty bad for the tenor with the long hair (Mr. Cowboy). Peter Hollens (blue shirt) is totally welcome to come and save me anytime he'd like. Anyone have any others to share?
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So this year I feel 'okay' with Christmas. Not great. But okay. I'll take okay. The previous 2-3 years were hard. And, yes, mom and dementia and being burned out from stress had a lot to do with the last 2 years but the year before those (circa 2013) I wasn't okay with Christmas and I had no clue what was coming at me related to my mom. Among the things I kept from my mom's was certain Christmas decorations. The tree, the ornaments I left all of those. The items I kept were made by my maternal grandmother between say the mid 1970's and maybe 1990. Every year she gave each of her kids the same ceramic piece at Christmas - so each family had one. Then each of the grandkids (specifically grand daughters because of the 14 of us, only 3 were boys) got same/similar ceramic pieces as well. Due to my crazy aunt dispersing things after my grandmother died in 1995 and her own moving much later I wound up with a couple of pieces that were duplicates/extras. As a result I have 2 sets of 2 different angels. I'm using the space on top of my kitchen cabinets to display some of these pieces year round now. The Spook does not go up there and I therefore consider it to be a fairly safe place for breakables. It also keeps me from being a bit too clumsy around things as well. In the above photo the angels at either end, I have learned as an adult, were referred to by my (Northern) Baptist Church attending Grandmother as 'dammed angels.' The bowls in the angels hands were hard to clean (in green ware state). So some have no bowl, some have one and some have 2. And yes, I know, I'm dealing with Grandma's trademark antique white with gold accents ceramic work against an ecru wall and almond appliances/cabinets with pickled wood. Welcome to the world of apartments where everything is some form of beige. This is the cabinet over my fridge. Grandma did the gold Mary/Joseph piece. Which has been broken and Mom (sigh) taped the ear back on the donkey. The angel to the right a neighbor gave my mom say 10 years ago (by the way, I like the coloring on it better - don't tell my grandmother) and the other angel is a tree topper of mine living up there for visual balance. Here we have a card one of my cousins gave me eons ago that I never put away (unless moving), a wooden candle holder that I redid (it had been my mom's from my childhood) with a red candle on it and a few more of Grandma's/Mom's ceramic piece. I pulled the worn ribbon and plastic holly off of the ornament this year, added garland (gold) of my choosing and tied a new ribbon to it. And, thank you Menards, I found LED tea lights so that is one of them inside the ornament lit (and I don't have to worry about forgetting it). My tree. I love this tree. A coworker gave it to me in 2010 or 2011. It is simply a wood square base, a square wood upriht and a wood star on top with lighted fake greenery around it. I added the ribbon (yes it matches the ribbon on the ceramic ornament). It takes me 5 minutes to pull out of a closet and put out. 5 minutes to put away. I also don't worry about the cat climbing it and I don't have to rearrange furniture. (yes, those are presents to myself that I will open later) Finally we have a bit that I've picked up from my mom. The annual festooning of ordinary house (or office) plants with fake poinsettias.
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Finished my first coloring book. I have a new one coming on Wednesday along with 50 new colored pencils, which is a big upgrade for me Looking forward to staring my new book and sharing it with you all. I included an In Progress shot of the baubles for funsies.
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Still working on my Christmas coloring book. Only have a few left, but my anniversary is coming up and I'm thinking about getting a real coloring book and a larger selection of colored pencils as my gift I've been really enjoying coloring and I feel like it helps when I get anxious, so thanks for giving me a place to share! P.S. My toddler added his own touches on some
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I didn't see a thread for Christmas baking but if there is one let me know so we can merge. Getting a late start today, but on the agenda to back today: kolachki spritz cookies (cookie press) coconut snowballs crinkle cookies cranberry muffins and some peanut butter bacon homemade dog biscuits for the pups. I have a little bine shaped cookie cutter - too cute. Next weekend I'll get to work on the candy and more cookies. Few days before Christmas I'll get the pecan rolls ready to go. So nice to just be able to toss them in the oven Christmas morning - no muss, no fuss. Tbh I'm not a fan, but the family loves them. I will be purchasing my pecans rather than stealing them. Sadly, what I'm really craving is pfeffernusse but I've never been able to even come close to store bought. Archway kicks my ass every year, but if anyone has a recipe for some I'm always up for giving it another shot. Those of you also covered in flour this time of year, what are you all baking?
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Does anyone else get their pets Christmas presents? Last year, my kitty got a pre packaged kitty stocking with cat treats, a ball and catnip. She found it a few weeks before Christmas and had a catnip party late at night. She also got a can of posh cat food, to match the meat we are having for Christmas dinner. This year, I got a small cardboard box and filled it with cat stuff-four tins of fancy cat food (one each), a few packs of cat treats, catnip and various cat toys
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Silence the women - "peace on earth" christmas card
love2scrap posted a topic in Quiver Full of Misogyny
http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/family-holiday-portrait-duct-tape/?fb=dd Here's the photographer's page https://m.facebook.com/hannahhawkesphotography/ where she defends herself. Cant believe how many people on facebook are saying "Get over yourselves, this is a joke!" Not funny at all. -
Let's Give Christmas Presents to Our Fundie Favs!
Gimme a Free RV posted a topic in General Questions & Discussion
In the spirit of love, sarcasm, and peace on earth, let's not forget to give presents to our favorite fundies. Here's my list: Michelle Duggar--The Stepford Wives DVD Jill-Rod--a tubal ligation and an endless supply of eye makeup remover. John Shrader-a vasectomy and, for a stocking stuffer, a copy of the airplane key. Duggar, Maxwell, Rodrigues, and Shupe older children--Greyhound bus tickets to the destinations of their choice. One way. Goatherd--a blow up doll with long loose curly hair and no defects. Jinger and Josiah--tickets to NYC's finest Broadway musicals, gift cards to coffee shops, and money for clothes shopping. Rodriguii offspring--braces, new wardrobe, and multiple gift cards to a Whole Foods buffet. Ma Keller--contemporary glasses, wardrobe, makeup, hair style, and cosmetic dentistry. Pa Keller--a personal trainer Steve Maxwell--a case of Pepsi and a barrel of FUN! Joshly--visits from the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. -
My current plans are bowl cozies and casserole carries for my inlaws and the gift exchange at work. I'm also going to make two small quilts, maybe quillows, for the "new" grandkids. Oh and I'll make at least a lap size quilt for my girlfriend whose name I drew.
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The War on Christmas is heating up this year. First dirty looks at Toys'R'Us lead to shooting in parking lot, then 96-foot Christmas tree at Westin South Coast Plaza was destroyed in Monday morning fire. FOOM:
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Had to fix the fuse box and address 40 Christmas cards tonight instead of having sex. Being mature is boring. I did get a new candle from Yankee Candle though- it smells like peppermint cookies. Also. I was so scared of the fuse box shocking or burning me that I used rubber-coated tongs to reset it and stood as far away as I could. Still! First emergency home repair. Do I get an Adulting merit badge?
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Compiling the ol' Christmas wish list. I put everything I want on that list, whether or not I have a snowball's chance in hell of getting it or not regardless of the cost. I figure what the hell, just put it on there in case someone is feeling really generous. My immediate family does the same so we all know what to get each other too. Of course it takes a little bit of coordination so one person doesn't get three Pirates snuggies like he did one year. Since I might be having surgery within the next year this was the first year I asked people to not get me certain things, such as beer or food items. I said even clothes wouldn't be a good idea since if I have the surgery they'll soon be too big for me.
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I finally get my turn to host Thanksgiving at our house this year after about 8 years. My sil and mil have been taking turns and beating me to the punch for invites. I've had a warp dyed and waiting to become a table runner and placemats for for almost that whole time. After I invited everyone late last month I realized that I had better get on that warp. As so often happens while I weave, I decided to make some celtic knot binding to go around everything. So I now have the whole warp woven, and part of it over dyed because there was just too much yellow and not enough red, and the warp for the tablet weaving dyed. I have no idea if it will be done before thanksgiving ( I need like 20+ yards of binding), but I'm going to try. I always do this to myself at the holidays. I get all ambitious and over extend myself. Anyway, what are you all working on for the holidays?
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Unlike the amazing @laPapessaGiovanna I don't bake stuff that looks like it should be in an artisan bakery. My stuff is more homey which is code for messy but yummy. With the upsetting news events and some problems at work which have me completely clenched I kicked off the holiday baking season for some much needed stress relief. As always started with the far and away favorite our family's kolachkis. Those of you familiar with pastries of Polish descent might be familiar. There are two main types of kolachkis...the round ones and those folded over to look like little bow ties. Both delicious - only the former is considered a kolachki in my family off origin.* *Like many Americans I am a mutt, but this recipe came from my grandfather's family. His parents were among the thousands of Polish immigrants to the Westfallen region of Germany (Bochum) where my grandpa was born. They were originally from the Podhale region of Poland - and we have a deli run by people from Zakopane in that region who also do the round version so I assume that's how the Goral (people of that region) do kolachkis. I should note I'm in something of a mixed marriage since when I first made these for my headship he said they were great, but not kolachkis since they weren't folded over like his family makes them. He thought he had the winning argument because he is 100% of Polish descent and I have significantly weaker ties to that part of my family but he was wrong. Turns out the person with the recipe and willingness to bake them wins all such disputes. My first attempt of the season always sucks...they taste good but I don't get the size and texture right until the second try so this was to get the ugly cookies out of the way. The dough is simple - nothing but cream cheese, butter, and flour chilled at least 4 hours (overnight is better) and rolled out while cold to the thickness of pie crust, cut in rounds, dollop of Solo Pie Filling in the center and bake. Key things to remember is not to over handle the dough, they over bake easily to watch the time, and anything besides Solo brand for the filling is sacrilege and should be subject to capital punishment. Cherry and apricot are the acceptable favors. I do make plum/prune also but not to eat...the purpose of those is to allow me to finish the last of the cherry / apricot without guilt knowing I am leaving something for others...even if it's everyone's third choice. first season in the new house and couldn't find my cookie board so I improvised and used the sterilized (steam) granite counter. Is that gross? It was super clean but felt gross to work directly on counter. Stop judging, you don't have to eat them! Also couldn't find my cookie cutter (packed with Christmas stuff) so had to use a wine glass and went too small so they came out kind of mini. Of the 60 I made exactly 4 came out properly. Better odds than usual for the first attempt of the season, but the family doesn't care about how sad and ugly the remainder are...they are already starting to vanish. And there is a reason professional food photographers are a thing - this is hard. And I'm messy. I always try to work tidy like they do on food network and I do clean as I go...but the in process stuff is never as organized and lovely as it is on tv. You know what my problem is? I don't have a staff.
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So why am I talking about Christmas before Halloween when I hate that? Because we moved over the summer and I'm seeing a different side to this new neighborhood. It seemed like a nice, normal, stereotypically suburban neighborhood when we got here which goes to show you should never move to a neighborhood without first checking it out in Holiday season. Within two square blocks we have a dozen or so excessively decorated houses for Halloween. I don't mean a couple of window decals...I mean full on lights, yard scenes, and enough inflatables to rivals Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I can only image we'll be visible from the naked eye from the space station in December. So I kicked off my annual 'let's skip the whole Christmas thing this year' a little early. My proposition is always: no decorating, no trees, no holiday movies...I will do one weekend of baking (no sense punishing anyone by denying them homemade kolachkis, cranberry bread, etc. I'm not completely without a soul.) The thing is ...I'm torn. I blame my parents. They were, in most ways, polar opposites. My mom was perpetually cheerful, optimistic, sunny, extroverted, and genuinely, inherently kind to everyone family or stranger alike because she truly saw the best in everyone (even when it didn't exist). My dad was....none of those things. He had many fine qualities - just not those. Their differences were particularly striking when it came to the holidays. My mom was all about the personal attention and extrodinary effort to pick out just the right gift which shows how well you know someone. My dad's philosophy was that thoughtfulness was for people who didn't have money. Why knock yourself out trying to figure out what people want when they already know what they want so you can just give them cash? And if they want gifts to open fine...they can make a list complete with stores, item #s, etc. Less Santa and more like ordering from a catalog. With dad's way you were never surprised or emotionally moved, but you also didn't get the sometimes epic fails when Mom got it wrong. Was nice to have a mix. They divorced when I was very young so the dichotomy of their decorating styles affected me as well. Dad's idea of decorating for Christmas: Where Mom would have thought these people were off to a good start... And if she had thought of it, I absolutely would have been picked up from school in a station wagon version of this... In most ways I am my father's daughter. I am not a fan of people, fuss, exuberance makes me emotionally itchy. And I want to opt out of the Christmas stuff because I do the lions share of the work and I'm never rewarded with those Normal Rockwell moments. My kids bicker when helping set up the trees, complain about my baking their siblings favorite cookies before theirs, mercilessly mock my holiday penguin collection, and even though all young adults still can't manage to buy for each other or their father without involving me (unfortunately we don't have enough money to make my dad's solution workable so we have to do the effort thing.) And asking for the three of them to get together for one nice photo...you'd think I was suggesting taking out their organs with Bactine and a butter knife to sell on the black market. But the second I suggest not decorating? But I'm going to try to stick to it this year. Not caving to those faces - they know where the Christmas things are and can have at it if they like... but except for two days of baking I'm opting out. No cheer, no desktop wallpaper of pets in holiday outfits,no buying every penguin item I see, no shopping and all the extra free time I save will be my gift to me. this will not be my wallpaper... nor this... This... this.. this... or this... none of that cuteness. I mean it this year, I'm sitting this out.
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The F word and the S word make this NSFW - and the cats/dog aren't wearing clothes. Consider yourself forewarned. Steve Cash is always full of awesome....his Talking Kitty series is an endless source of happiness for me.
