Christmas songs.
A must --
Oiche Chiun by Enya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7ThedzFKdM
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
York1My most unfavorite Christmas song: Paul McCartney's "Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time".
That song is terrible.
I also strongly dislike John Lennon's Happy Christmas (So This Is Christmas).
However, I think that Ringo Starr's rendition of Winter Wonderland is very enjoyable.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Some time ago, someone here mentioned that my favorite author, Clive Cussler, had passed away. I hadn't heard about it, and wondered how that escaped my attention. I looked it up, and sure enough, he left us back in February of this year. But how had I missed it?
As he was a writer of many sea tales, perhaps I should have known sooner. The key was February. As it happened, I was at sea, pretty much happily out of touch with the world on a Caribbean vacation. When I got back, I walked into Covid nonsense, so I missed that news.
Mystery solved.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Having worked in retail for many years, I got to the point where I automatically tuned out the Christmas carols. Listening to them for 8+ hours per day from the middle of November to December 24th became very tedious.
We still play them sometimes, like when we are decorating the tree, or on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, but that's about it. A little goes a long way.
One thing I still try to do every Christmas Eve is watch the 1951 version of 'A Christmas Carol' with Alastair Sim who played the part of 'Ebenezer Scrooge'. The ghosts used to scare the whits out of me when I was a kid! The ending always brought tears to my eyes!
What are your Christmas family traditions?
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Toby our 11 year old coonhound beagle was the last out of bed yesterday. He sometimes limps with his left front leg and he did so yesterday as he came over to the rug next to our bed. I petted him, scratched his ears belly and butt and then went into my closet. He started screaming like he did the time he got his dew claw stuck on the leash loop of his collar.
I came around the corner and he was just standing there screaming. My wife came in and she started crying. We got him calmed down and he laid down, shivering. He eventurally came into the family room, lied down for a while and then wanted breakfast. After breakfast he usually wants to go out, but laid down again. His belly was soft. Dogs can get a twisting of their stomach, which is a medical emergency.
Eventurally he did go out, not very productive and spent the day lying around (more than usual for a coonhound) He had hurt his back 3 or 4 years ago and we had some pain meds left over. But he didn't walk like he did then with a hurt back. The beagle makes him a drama queen and he has higher highs than most dogs. When we took him out, he would get excited and jump, then land with a yelp.
Today was mostly a better day. We are thinking he might have had neck pain. Maybe that is what is causing his limp.
I like Alastair Sims, and also George C Scott. I also saw it as a play with John Astin. He put a little Gomez in the role. The wife put up a fake Christmas tree yesterday. We probably won't be seeing the grandchildren, I'm not all that excited about it.
My father owned a mens store and December was a busy month right up through Christmas eve. I was farmed out to my grandmother for the last couple days. I got to ride the bus and sometimes the trolley to the department stores in Baltimore, all clustered in one street corner. I loved those cast metal soldiers and horsemen. We would have lunch in the department store restaurant, where the waitresses would call my grandmother "Hon" There were a couple of my grandmothers friends and a couple distant cousins. I'll bet the whole bill wasn't $20 and they calculated their share out to the penny.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
hon30critterWhat are your Christmas family traditions?
Since 1987, our family has hosted doughnuts and hot cider after Christmas morning service. Leftovers for the past few years have gone to the local police department (rumor has it that officers really do like doughnuts).
Gary
I don't know if we're allowed this year
SeeYou190Shepard's pie, no matter how it is made, is always good. I have never had it with lamb. I will need to keep my eye out for something a bit more authentic.
We made our herder's pies using "localy grown" (as in the back yard) goat meat.
Quite tasty indeed
From Wikipedia:
The term cottage pie was in use by 1791.
The term shepherd's pie did not appear until 1854, and was initially used synonymously with cottage pie, regardless of whether the meat was beef or mutton. However, in the UK since the 21st century, the term shepherd's pie is used more commonly when the meat is lamb.
The French name hachis Parmentier is documented in French in 1900, and in English in 1898. A hachis is anything finely chopped; the English word 'hash' is borrowed from it. 'Parmentier' is Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, after whom many potato dishes were named, as he was instrumental in the promotion of the potato in France in the 18th century.
Here's a recipe for a more traditional goat pie:
https://www.trueaussiebeefandlamb.com/recipes-usa/consumer-recipes/goat/goat-pie/#
I hope everyone is doing well these days.
Regards, Ed
Each Christmas Eve, instead of a formal meal, we get a bunch of appetizers and graze for a few hours. Some we will make ourselves and others we will buy frozen. There is always some salami and cheeses as well.
Later in the evening we will play board games or euchre.
Every year, all of my wife's family gathers on Christmas Eve to give presents to all the children in the family. 50-60 people! No presents for adults, on your 18th birthday you go from a receiver to a giver. It is a great time, and always so much fun to watch the kids get excited over presents.
On Christmas day, we spend the day with our immediate family.
This year, none of this will happen, and that makes me very sad.
Christmas Eve is the most active time for us. We go to church for the Christmas candlelight service. We used to go to the one at midnight, but now that we are older we go to an earlier service.
Christmas Day is very laid back. After presents are opened, we just sit around and talk while the grandkids play. We don't do a big meal, but usually just snack all day. If there is enough snow, we take the kids to the big sledding hill in the park.
York1 John
gmpullman We made our herder's pies using "localy grown" (as in the back yard) goat meat. Quite tasty indeed
Oh Hockey puck!, ... Or is that Poppycock!
I wouldn't believe that one for a second Ed. You loved that goat more than I did of course. And I've always loved that goat. You wouldn't eat your pet for all the money in the world. Ducks and chickens I suppose but not that Cute Face with the droopy ears
It was kind of funny though, for those of us in the world that have a kinda sick sense of humor like me, ...And you I guess
TF
You can wait all you want!
Ain't buying goat meat in the shepherd's pie at all today.
I remember the time I was lost in the Ozark Mountains and told about a goat that was dead on the side of the road with two buzzards eating it and you said and I quote, ...Poor Goat!
Well what else is new tonight guys?
Racktime in an hour and 45 minutes
PH
Evening all from a stormy West Coast.
The restoration guys finished laying the subfloor today and the anti-mould squad sprayed the crawlspace and tore out a bunch of the pink insulation. Puppies had a front-row seat today and were a hit with the crew.
We all conferred today that Christmas get together is not happening for the usual twenty or so that gather at our house. We all decided to bag the gift exchanging as well. Many medical people in the family and practising what they preach was an easy decision. We know four people that have died from the virus, three of whom have stayed at our home. Stupid is as stupid does.
My daughter is having her gallbladder out on Dec 16th and no one wants to be around someone that has just been in a germy hospital anyway.
Garry, good to see your post, hope you keep feeling better.
I was looking at some prototype turnouts today in some photos and they had incredibly long points on them for some reason. The captions stated that the points were really long but did not say why. I was going to post the pics but they seem to have vanished which seems to happen a lot on FB. I was wondering if anyone here had ever built such things and why would they exist.
Had an online Doctor appointment today and ended up yapping with the Doc for ages about everything under the Sun. He is a young guy that took over when my old Doc retired. I really like him and think he will be a good permanent Doc for me.
Had a funny Crock story from when I was on an all-day river rafting trip in Australia and ended up in the water. Someday I'll tell it.
I think there is one person on here that will know where this is, the rest of you will have to guess.
All the best to all.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Well it's past rack time and I guess Ed still wants me to believe he ate his goat
No way! I've seen Ed's face and I've seen the goats face. The goat did not get eaten by Ed!
Ed don't eat goat
There's a song I used to know when I was little.
Gold Miner Joe He loved his gold He loved that gold, oh yes he did He had a goat, oh yes he did He loved that goat, just like a Kid Gold Miner Joe, he struck it rich He took his gold and took his Kid
Nighty night Kids
Can't take the wife with you in this baby, but then pickin up the chicks could also be a problem.
I've got tops, nightcaps on me.
Plymouth Superbirds were banned from the racetrack because they took every race they were ever in
Nightcaps Brent, ...I'll take a Glenfiddich so I can sleep well not worrying about Ed's goat
Funny stuff Brent, I was waiting for the half-size car to go fast but when the guy got out of it and locked the door that was good enough for me
Just watched the first half of Season 11 of The Big Bang Theory. I have had this on disk for years and never got around to watching it.
Pretty funny.
Maybe I will watch the second half of Season 11 in a year or two.
Post Hog!
Of course menus of famous restaurants of fine cuisine recipes are listed.
They read something like this.
1) Simmer vegetables slowly to achieve soft delicacy.
2) Herbs and spices such as garlic, saffron, white pepper and turmeric proportionally blended to just the right consistency.
3) Slowly introduce the proportions together not to interrupt the balance.
4) Add goat meat and eat!
SeeYou190Just watched the first half of Season 11 of The Big Bang Theory.
Mrs. Pullman watched BBT as it was broadcast. I paid no attention knowing I was going to buy the DVD sets as they were released.
I have to watch them in chronological order and if I'm interrupted I like to be able to pause and or rewind a scene.
Presently, in my "train lab" or work room I'm on season nine of M.A.S.H. I watched All In The Family, Fraser and Seinfeld the same way.
I have three seasons of Young Sheldon waiting for those long winter days ahead
Track fiddler4) Add goat meat and eat!
Hi, TF. Farmers raise animals for slaughter. Sorry, just the way it is. Yes, I love my animals but when the time comes we have to face facts. It's never easy.
Pass the A-1
I'll take goat over vennison any day.
Cheers, Ed
Track fiddlerAdd goat meat and eat!
Hi TF,
I'm hoping that your recipe included browning the goat meat first, and letting it simmer for a couple of hours with the vegetables before serving. That is unless you like really rare (raw) goat meat!
I'm not sure I could eat goat meat. They're just too cute!
OK
I'm trying to man up now.
I know it's no different than when I go to the grocery store and buy some meat to eat and put in a dish at home.
I just had no idea people eat goat until tonight. I just looked it up minutes ago. I never bought goat from the grocery store.
I understand but this is a tough one on me Ed cuz I really liked that goat.
I never seen the pictures of the animals of the meat I bought at the grocery store.
Wow, ...I definitely ain't a farmer. The only thing I ever killed myself to eat was grouse and fish. But I never stopped to admire thier faces first.
I get it Still kind of sad though, I really liked that goat.
I was hoping all night you'd say Ahhh! Just Kidding!
Well Jim, according to Eds sleuthing, neither of us is wrong, it’s just a question of nomenclature! Doesn’t change the taste though, YUM!.
BATMANI love shepherds pie made with the leftover lamb from when we buy roast lamb, better than beef any day.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Healthier for you. Less carbon footprint. Much easier to raise on a small farm or even a little five-acre place like we have.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/goat-meat_n_5bb64c71e4b028e1fe3bcfa2
Some of the cuts of goat we used, mostly leg and shoulder we ate like a beef roast. Some we ground for chili or pasta sauce or tacos. Sometimes I would mix it with pork and make sausage. Home made sausage is easier than you think. The goat is so lean adding the pork was necessary for the fat content. We have an accessory for the KitchenAid mixer that is a sausage stuffer. Pork casing is cheap!
The climate would benefit, too, since the carbon footprint of raising goat is much less than beef cattle.
Plus the big beef lobbies would go nuts if people actually started raising their own red meat. They're already fighting the vegetarian meat substitutes.
Bon Apetit, Ed
Well, ...With all this said!
I should have scun and ate that rabbit I killed suffering on the road a couple of weeks ago instead of letting the hawk eat him that night or the next day
What a waste of good meat! It's darn time I start thinking with my stomach instead of my heart
I should start becoming the Neanderthal I was born to be. We didn't all climb to the top of the food chain in 2 million years to eat lettuce
And that goes for the Yeti miles back in the interior from Kettle Falls off Namakan Lake. I can hardly wait if he comes to visit our campsite in the Spring when we go back there. I will have something in my pocket for him
Track fiddlerWhat a waste of good meat! It's darn time I start thinking with my stomach instead of my heart
One of the guys at w**k used to bring his vennison stew in for us to sample. I, personally never tried it but some of the guys who did said they had to spit out the gravel pieces.
Road kill cafe?
3,000 people didn't like this video?
They were obviously steam fans and not electric loco folks.
Brent — http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/cnr_facilities/NTR_Transcona.htm Just a guess???
Well, ...I liked it and actually I am a big steam fan.
I don't know what was wrong with the other three thousand people but I thought the cat was cute. But that doesn't mean I want to eat him I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist.
I do like the G scale garden layout Ed. I can see you put a lot of work into it and it's really cool.
Venison has never agreed with me. No other way to say it but it makes my lower stomach foul the next day. So I don't hunt it and I refuse it offered to me
Track fiddlerI do like the G scale garden layout Ed. I can see you put a lot of work into it and it's really cool.
Wish I could take credit for that one, TF. It's not mine.
I had a goat infestation problem on my garden RR!!
Curious Goats by Edmund, on Flickr
Forgot to sprinkle the goat repellant on the layout. Also, I learned not to use chicken grit for ballast!
Spring 2010 225CROP_edited-2 by Edmund, on Flickr
gmpullman Forgot to sprinkle the goat repellant on the layout.
Forgot to sprinkle the goat repellant on the layout.
That's a shame Ed. Maybe you just didn't have any more at the time.
I'm confident Brent could help you with that problem in the future. He has many repellents up in the Batcopter to usually accommodate you so you don't have a problem like that again
Good morning all. A cold, wet day ahead with the temperature struggling to get above freezing.
No lamb meat here. Dawn dislikes it intensely. Never tried goat and do not wish to. Anything else is more or less yes.
Christmas traditions are out this year. We normally have friends and family visit. We have a 'help yourself meal'. Our son reads 'The Night Before Christmas'. Grandchildren stay overnite; not before they leave a plate out with a mince pie and a glass of sherry (or whisky), some carrots left outside for the reindeer.
On coming downstairs we find Santa's footprints from the fireplace to where some toys are. We see that there are only crumbs on the plate and the sherry has been drunk. Bits of carrot still on the floor outside and sparkly reindeer dust
We must tell Santa that this year the Grandchildren are not staying here.
It is coffee time.
Thoughts and Peace to All who Require.
Meanwhile — over on the "West Island"
A little something to go with your coffee:
"Why do we have to change trains?" Because!
"But I want to stay on this one" You can't! We have to change gauge.
Go to 8:05 and see the train-on-flat car!
David, I hope Dawn is doing better today