Caroling/Maxhell Christmas - MERGE

[singsingsing]

It's just a cultural thing. Not really a big deal either way.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Ga!! These people are so BORING that they make actual boring seem fun.

That one girl likely got a can of whoop-ass opened on her for frowning or making a face in that picture with the precious new nighties.

What can you say about folks so dull that watching DRY paint AGE is more exciting? Do they really think this will entice "worldly" folk to convert to their lifestyle??

[Daenerys]

John and Anna are posed like a couple, and got presents for J&E together as a couple would. It's pretty weird...

[Anny Nym]

Ga!! These people are so BORING that they make actual boring seem fun.

That one girl likely got a can of whoop-ass opened on her for frowning or making a face in that picture with the precious new nighties.

What can you say about folks so dull that watching DRY paint AGE is more exciting? Do they really think this will entice "worldly" folk to convert to their lifestyle??

I just thought that the phrase "a can of whoop-ass" is hilarious, but then I remembered where I am at and what kind of people we are talking about. And now I am sad. Are the Maxwells the spanking the happy into a little child-kind of people too?

[Paperplate]

Umm ... where is that shoeless Maxwell we're talking about?!? I don't see it.

{L_OFFTOPIC} :

Do you guys who wear shoes inside your houses also walk around barefoot? Do you wear shoes in the bathroom? Do you step on your bath mats with your street shoes? Do you sit on your floors? Do your kids play on the floors?

[yetanothermeg]

Umm ... where is that shoeless Maxwell we're talking about?!? I don't see it.

{L_OFFTOPIC} :

Do you guys who wear shoes inside your houses also walk around barefoot? Do you wear shoes in the bathroom? Do you step on your bath mats with your street shoes? Do you sit on your floors? Do your kids play on the floors?

We usually take off our shoes as a matter of comfort, but not always, and we don't ask guests to take them off. They would naturally take them off however if their shoes were muddy. And yes, my kids play on the floor, just as they sit on the floor at their respective preschool and kindergarten where everyone is wearing shoes indoors. If I happen to be wearing shoes in the house, then I would not remove them to enter the bathroom. I would never step on my bath mat with my shoes on however, as I remove them before showering. :D

[Jana814]

I'm a dog walker. Off all of my client's only 1 of them has asks me to take off my shoes. It it has nothing to do w/ the dog walking. They keep their shoes off in their house.

[latraviata]

We usually take off our shoes as a matter of comfort, but not always, and we don't ask guests to take them off. They would naturally take them off however if their shoes were muddy. And yes, my kids play on the floor, just as they sit on the floor at their respective preschool and kindergarten where everyone is wearing shoes indoors. If I happen to be wearing shoes in the house, then I would not remove them to enter the bathroom. I would never step on my bath mat with my shoes on however, as I remove them before showering. :D

I wear my shoes in the bathtub and I take a shower with my shoes on. Every inch a lady, that's me..... :snooty:

[Coco]

i think we kind of overestimate the life cycle of germs on non-organic surfaces like the bottom of shoes. :lol: But when i was babysitting a little boy whose mom worked at the hospital, i was so thankful she offered to change her shoes before she came to pick him up. She started leaving him til 11pm on her night shifts though, and wouldn't change shoes. So i usually lysoled the floor. I didn't have the heart to insist on the shoe thing since she was dead tired already. But yeah i didn't want the kids playing on that floor afterward without disinfectant.

The ideal imo for everyday would be taking outside shoes off at the door, and shoe-like slippers (rubber bottoms) for my kids to put on right after they take off their shoes. And maybe fresh socks then too. I hate dingy or damp socks. Think about carpet though, it's so gross. It's like a blanket stuck to the floor. We only have carpet in one area of our house, but the previous guy living here had an indoor/outdoor dog whose sleeping kennel was on the carpeted area (he had padding in there for the dog of course, but still). I wish i could rip it out and go to rugs that could be washed or sunned.

[latraviata]

i think we kind of overestimate the life cycle of germs on non-organic surfaces like the bottom of shoes. :lol: But when i was babysitting a little boy whose mom worked at the hospital, i was so thankful she offered to change her shoes before she came to pick him up. She started leaving him til 11pm on her night shifts though, and wouldn't change shoes. So i usually lysoled the floor. I didn't have the heart to insist on the shoe thing since she was dead tired already. But yeah i didn't want the kids playing on that floor afterward without disinfectant.

The ideal imo for everyday would be taking outside shoes off at the door, and shoe-like slippers (rubber bottoms) for my kids to put on right after they take off their shoes. And maybe fresh socks then too. I hate dingy or damp socks. Think about carpet though, it's so gross. It's like a blanket stuck to the floor. We only have carpet in one area of our house, but the previous guy living here had an indoor/outdoor dog whose sleeping kennel was on the carpeted area (he had padding in there for the dog of course, but still). I wish i could rip it out and go to rugs that could be washed or sunned.

My children played on the floor, cats and dogs and shoes around them.I never cared a bit about germs and the like, it never crossed my mind. I think we are less germ focussed here.

[gustava]

I wear my shoes in the bathtub and I take a shower with my shoes on. Every inch a lady, that's me..... :snooty:

And when engaged in sweet, sweet fellowship?

[Handmaiden of Dog]

It seems to me that Elissa wears the same couple of skirts all the time. In all the pre-wedding photos, she seemed to have a pretty extensive and fun wardrobe. I think she has very few items that are approved by Steve and is having to make do with the one or two items that pass inspection. We'll soon see her in much different clothes than she wore as a single girl, I think. I wonder how often she will get to see her family. Steve doesn't seem like he will allow her much contact. It's very sad.

Do you honestly think that Steve gets to veto her clothing choices? I wonder. How would that work? If she wears something he doesn't like does he pull a face and make her go home to change? Does he tell Joseph to tell his wife that she can no longer wear that outfit in front of the family? And the idea that she can't see her own family is a bit much. We know that Melanie sees her family, it just isn't publicized on the Maxwell Blog.

I know that Steve wields the iron fist over his family but I really question how much he rules over the married sons.

[Trynn]

My housemates are Chinese. (I wasthe only white person who loves there for a while, haha) They remove their shoes, but sometimes wear slippers in the house. It's a comfort thing for me to take mine off, but I also don't want to track snow into areas where people could be stepping on it In their stocking feet, because when I lived with dad he did it all the time and I hate it.

So at our house it is likely culture as well, but Chinese rather than American. That said, most people don't really care, unless it happens to be snow or wet outside, in which case, you are cordially invited to leave your snowy wet shoes at the door.

[Handmaiden of Dog]

My children played on the floor, cats and dogs and shoes around them.I never cared a bit about germs and the like, it never crossed my mind. I think we are less germ focussed here.

It's better for the immune system to be exposed to germs. Raising kids in a sterile environment (unless there is something wrong with them physically) is a strange American idea that got out of hand. All this anti-bacteria soap being sold to consumers is a terrible marketing ploy that is bad for the environment and bad for your health. I never, never buy anything with anti-bacteria and rely on bleach, alcohol, and vinegar to clean with. Needless to say I leave my shoes on but I do sometimes change out of muddy garden clogs to either slippers or regular shoes.

[Anny Nym]

I wear my shoes in the bathtub and I take a shower with my shoes on. Every inch a lady, that's me..... :snooty:

ROOOFL. I am laughting tears over here, I think belly gnome already assumes mommy has gone crazy and I had to read it out aloud to Mr. Nym.

BEST. THREAD DERAIL. EVER! Keep it going :mrgreen: :lol: :mrgreen: :lol:

So @latraviata, tell me... you laid-back, cosmopolitan and pragmatic dutch never had to experience the Horror of the Hauspatschen then? :D

[singsingsing]

Trust me, most Canadians are not fussy fastidious germphobic people. It's just habit. Also laziness, you don't have to clean your floors nearly as much when you don't wear your shoes in the house. :P

[Paperplate]

Inside my house, I'm not a lady, but a tiger. My slippers:

Roar!

I asked about the bathroom because I walk around there barefoot and don't want my freshly washed feet to get dirty again straight away.

I'm not a germaphobe, but I doesn't make sense to me to drag* street dirt onto surfaces that I want to touch with clean stuff. Like, I put down stuff on my floors all the time. I don't want that stuff to get dirty. I wouldn't just put that stuff down outside in the street.

Also: Carpet!

*Some people upthread wrote "track" instead. Is that correct or a mistake? Never heard that before. Non-native speaker asking, not snarking.

[yetanothermeg]

And when engaged in sweet, sweet fellowship?

Socks, of course.

[yetanothermeg]

Inside my house, I'm not a lady, but a tiger. My slippers:

Roar!

I asked about the bathroom because I walk around there barefoot and don't want my freshly washed feet to get dirty again straight away.

I'm not a germaphobe, but I doesn't make sense to me to drag* street dirt onto surfaces that I want to touch with clean stuff. Like, I put down stuff on my floors all the time. I don't want that stuff to get dirty. I wouldn't just put that stuff down outside in the street.

Also: Carpet!

*Some people upthread wrote "track" instead. Is that correct or a mistake? Never heard that before. Non-native speaker asking, not snarking.

You track something in with your feet, like track mud into the house.

[Anny Nym]

Trust me, most Canadians are not fussy fastidious germphobic people. It's just habit. Also laziness, you don't have to clean your floors nearly as much when you don't wear your shoes in the house. :P

We are "shoes-off!" people over here too. :D

The floor cleaning IS a issue, we have already-hard-to-clean terracotta tiles in the hallway, and I am actually glad the house came with the architectonic quirk of a small "pre-hallway" around the doorway + steps up to the actual hallway. This way everyone is forced to remove their shoes there instead of at the actuall hall.

And that really makes a difference, especially in winter time. All the dirt and mud stays down there this way and is not dragged over all the other tiles too, fortunately :)

[usmcmom]

Do you honestly think that Steve gets to veto her clothing choices? I wonder. How would that work? If she wears something he doesn't like does he pull a face and make her go home to change? Does he tell Joseph to tell his wife that she can no longer wear that outfit in front of the family? And the idea that she can't see her own family is a bit much. We know that Melanie sees her family, it just isn't publicized on the Maxwell Blog.

I know that Steve wields the iron fist over his family but I really question how much he rules over the married sons.

You're right and I see your point. I'm totally speculating. I've always wondered how patriarchy works-does Steve get final say even over his sons' wives?? I just have the feeling his control is very far reaching and Elissa's clothes made me speculate, probably beyond what is reasonable. I do tend to think the worst of all things Steve Maxwell so put my own negative spin on it.

[twin2]

You're right and I see your point. I'm totally speculating. I've always wondered how patriarchy works-does Steve get final say even over his sons' wives?? I just have the feeling his control is very far reaching and Elissa's clothes made me speculate, probably beyond what is reasonable. I do tend to think the worst of all things Steve Maxwell so put my own negative spin on it.

I doubt he has a ton of control over Nathan, he got out fairly young and before Steve was fully down the rabbit hole of a cult.

For Joseph, who was born after Steve reached the bottom of the rabbit hole, I'm guess he does, though inderectly and slyly. My speculation is that if Steve sees something he doesn't like with Joseph's family, he brings it to his attention, but leaves the decision with him. However, seeing as Joseph, up until a few sort months ago was still under his Dad "rules" and brought up with "the father ALWAYS knows best", whatever Steve wants, Joseph makes his decision to agree with that.

[DefraudedByPlaid]

John and Anna are posed like a couple, and got presents for J&E together as a couple would. It's pretty weird...

I was thinking about this...if the women don't make money in the same way as the men do, perhaps sons/daughters sort of "pair up" on bigger gifts, whether it's planned or just sort of happens that way.

[Myfanwy]

The heathen bitch in me thinks it is funny that Sarah was 'gifted' a remote whatsy for her camera and then took a lovely photo of the dining room table and chairs.* HA. Excellent. :lol:

*Accessorised by a pile of people in the back corner. Skillz. Maxwell's have 'em!!

[Maggie Mae]

For those of you 'shoes off' people who don't have arctic entryways or mud rooms, what do you do with your shoes? And your guest's shoes? This is my first house that doesn't have that feature, and the battle to keep the shoes organized is slowly being lost. One by one, shoes move closer and closer to taking over the entire living room. Meter by meter, foot by foot, they are kicked and scattered and lost under furniture. When I was a kid, we'd take our shoes off and I'd carry them to my room. But I didn't live in a climate where if it's not snowing, it's raining, and I don't want my filthy shoes to drip throughout the house.