Christmas 2022

[Rds1983]

2 hours ago, tomav84 said:

off topic but does that help the taste of the whiskey? i know it helps for wine but always just understood that it didn't really do much to whiskey

Storing whiskey in a decanter will let it open up more and allow the aroma to be more noticeable in a similar way to how it affects wine.

However, unlike wine you can store whisky in a decanter long term due to the higher alcohol content.

[Xela]

21 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

Go either very early or very late.

Avoid between 12 -7 id say. Shcokingly bad of its like my tesco near me and my ones one of the biggest in the country.

Not round me people have all their lights up and on from as soon as it gets dark.

Went about midday. Wasn't too bad, just a lot of gormless people shuffling around in crocs, looking confused. Thats Walsall for you though. 

 

[Xela]

Not feeling Christmas this year. Working until 5pm tomorrow and not sure what the plan is for Christmas day. Usually I'd be at my folks, but my Mom isn't there... she's at my Nan's looking after her, as she's not in a good way. Looks like she'll be moving into a palliative care home imminently, once the relevant authorities sort something out. 

So Christmas may be cancelled. 

[Demitri_C]

2 minutes ago, Xela said:

Not feeling Christmas this year. Working until 5pm tomorrow and not sure what the plan is for Christmas day. Usually I'd be at my folks, but my Mom isn't there... she's at my Nan's looking after her, as she's not in a good way. Looks like she'll be moving into a palliative care home imminently, once the relevant authorities sort something out. 

So Christmas may be cancelled. 

Sorry to hear about your nan mate that sucks.

With work they usually let us go early but not this year.  As its not "xmas eve" its a full day.  Bastards

[il_serpente]

52 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

Fingers crossed!

Whatsapp? That's how I keep in touch with the English back home. 

Perhaps he should have come to DU

I just cleared the drive off - not too bad but when the snow blew back in my face 'oly hell - that was cold.

Whatsapp would still require mobile data or WiFi, which was part of the issue.  Plus, convincing a teen to use an app for old people?

I'm sure Denver is much better equipped to clear snow from runways and streets than Vancouver, but I noticed flights from Vancouver to Denver were being cancelled when others were getting out, so I assume there were problems there as well.   So if he went to DU he'd probably still be stuck, but at -24F instead of 20F

Do you have to go in to work?  Are roads ok?

 

[mjmooney]

4 hours ago, BOF said:

I love my whiskeys which is why I just leave them in the bottles they came in. 

Same here. And if you have several different ones (which I do), I need those labels to identify them. 

I do have this habit of never finishing a bottle, unless I've already bought another identical one. Otherwise, I leave a centimetre or two in the bottom, and buy something different. Hence a drinks cabinet full of lots of nearly-but-not-quite empty bottles. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by mjmooney

[Mark Albrighton]

Been to a panto today (Oh yes I have). First Christmas one I’ve been to in about 30 years. It was good, daughter loved it which is the main thing.

Went on for well over two hours, don’t remember them being that long before, although it was obviously a different experience when I was a kid. 

Also learned today that late 90’s/early 00’s singer Lolly is considerably better at ageing than I am.

[mjmooney]

29 minutes ago, Mark Albrighton said:

Also learned today that late 90’s/early 00’s singer Lolly is considerably better at ageing than I am.

Never heard of him/her, but one word- makeup. 

[Mark Albrighton]

1 minute ago, mjmooney said:

Never heard of him/her, but one word- makeup. 

Her. Did a cover of “Mickey”. 

Thanks for the tip, with any luck I’ll receive some for Christmas 

[dubbs]

3 hours ago, Xela said:

Went about midday. Wasn't too bad, just a lot of gormless people shuffling around in crocs, looking confused. Thats Walsall for you though. 

 

Not just Walsall bud. Most of the Black Country tick that category!

[Genie]

Father in law just mentioned he was back from 3 hours of food shopping… what on earth are they doing? There’s only the 2 of them for Christmas dinner. 

Why are they messing about for 3 hours on the 22nd?

Some people just can’t help themselves.

[sidcow]

5 minutes ago, Genie said:

Father in law just mentioned he was back from 3 hours of food shopping… what on earth are they doing? There’s only the 2 of them for Christmas dinner. 

Why are they messing about for 3 hours on the 22nd?

Some people just can’t help themselves.

Easy.  1hr 20m queuing to get there, 1hr 20m queuing to get home and 20 minutes to buy the Sprouts. 

Writing this has made me realise what a peculiar looking word queuing is...... And peculiar 

[sidcow]

On 16/12/2022 at 16:33, sidcow said:

A house round the corner from me has a series of large, gaudy outdoor decorations.  They're all pretty unusual, not the usual kind of things you see about.  I've no idea where they got them from.

But the main piece is on tip of their flat roof garage.  It's a massive, and I mean MASSIVE Christmas Bauble.  It doesn't look inflatable, I'm pretty sure it's solid - maybe it splits in half for storage or something.

They've also got a very large Christmas tree which looks like it's make of Perspex sheets or something. 

Not been past at night yet to know if they all light up but you would think so.

Anyway, it's all very unique.

Update. The weird perspex looking Christmas tree and assorted giant perspex Polar Bears and Snowmen light up but the super massive bauble has spotlights focusing on it. 

[TheAuthority]

3 hours ago, il_serpente said:

Whatsapp would still require mobile data or WiFi, which was part of the issue.  Plus, convincing a teen to use an app for old people?

I'm sure Denver is much better equipped to clear snow from runways and streets than Vancouver, but I noticed flights from Vancouver to Denver were being cancelled when others were getting out, so I assume there were problems there as well.   So if he went to DU he'd probably still be stuck, but at -24F instead of 20F

Do you have to go in to work?  Are roads ok?

 

My sons school was closed today so that put the kibosh on us doing anything constructive.

University is closed and I haven't been anywhere to be honest. Clearing the drive and the sidewalk was enough outside time for me today.

Sun is shining as usual though so at least it's not grey like the UK is a lot of the time.

[sidcow]

2 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

My sons school was closed today so that put the kibosh on us doing anything constructive.

University is closed and I haven't been anywhere to be honest. Clearing the drive and the sidewalk was enough outside time for me today.

Sun is shining as usual though so at least it's not grey like the UK is a lot of the time.

Pavement. 

[TheAuthority]

Just now, sidcow said:

Pavement. 

[sidcow]

8 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

 

[Xela]

40 minutes ago, Genie said:

Father in law just mentioned he was back from 3 hours of food shopping… what on earth are they doing? There’s only the 2 of them for Christmas dinner. 

Why are they messing about for 3 hours on the 22nd?

Some people just can’t help themselves.

[il_serpente]

9 hours ago, il_serpente said:

-24!   Yikes!

He’s is getting closer to home, but not without nearly giving his mother a heart attack.  He went off script without letting us know and didn’t stop in Bellingham as planned but continued to near Seattle to spend the night with a friend who was going to drive him to the airport in the morning.  We had agreed on a time to talk but his Canadian phone plan doesn’t cover the US, so we couldn’t reach him, and he hadn’t checked into the hotel we booked him when we called there over 3 hours after he should have been there.  She was actually contemplating calling Police to report him missing.  He finally got WiFi at his friend’s house and saw our e-mails 2 hours after our scheduled call and reached us via Messenger.

We’ve now booked him on a flight out of Seattle this afternoon instead, but that airport’s been a mess also, so fingers crossed this one actually makes it out.

Update:

He's home!  No problems at all today.  Got to the airport on time and flight left on time.  He  was very happy to be home after 2 days of uncertainty and chaos.   Train, automobile and plane in that order, arriving 2 full days later than scheduled.

[TheAuthority]

26 minutes ago, il_serpente said:

Update:

He's home!  No problems at all today.  Got to the airport on time and flight left on time.  He  was very happy to be home after 2 days of uncertainty and chaos.   Train, automobile and plane in that order, arriving 2 full days later than scheduled.