The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[FutureCEO]

Disney's release schedule for next year. No Muppets but I never liked the movies anyway. Though Disney really doesn't have any new material, it's all Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel and live action from animated films. Granted all films together have a good chance of reaching $4 billion.

Jan. 23 — Lucasfilm’s Strange Magic
Feb. 20 — McFarland, USA
March 13 – Cinderella
April 17 -– Monkey Kingdom
May 1 -– Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron
May 22 -– Tomorrowland
June 19 – Pixar’s Inside Out
July 17 – Marvel’s Ant–Man
Oct 9 — The Jungle Book
Oct. 16 – Dreamwork’s Untitled Steven Spielberg Cold War Spy Thriller
Nov. 25 -– Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur
Dec. 18 -– Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

[MinnieM123]

I believe Christmas is the time to pull out all the stops and go big with the lights and the color. I could never live in one of those little New England towns that only allow white lights outside.
-T

I love variety in outdoor lighting displays. Different colors are fun, but I also like white lights. It just depends on the property and how they are strung up. I've also seen all blue, or red, or green lights. Again, color and lighting in the right hands is a beautiful thing. Most people do a fairly decent job; a smaller amount put up absolutely exquisite light displays.

As for the town(s) you mentioned that only allow the white lights, that is a big turnoff to me on a few different levels. As I vaguely recall, I "think" Cohasset was one of those towns with the white lights only rule. Wherever it was, I thought to myself that the town must not have very important matters to attend to, if they actually would take the time to pass some sort of rule, about a homeowner's Christmas lights??!!

 

[MinnieM123]

Happy to hear you had a great couple of Christmas Days. Sure envy people who sing well.

My Sis always caters dinners for guests in her home. She even orders containers of all sorts of glasses, silverware, plates etc and they go right in the bins dirty and are picked up the next morning. The first time I catered was for my DD Communion, wasn't sure how it would work but it was perfect. I ordered all sorts of Chinese food, tons of choices and it was a buffet, some of the elders were at the dining table, kids went off to family room etc. Before church I had put various boxes on table, used several matching table cloths to drape over the boxes and small serving dishes and spoons on all the tiers of the big round table in my kitchen that guests could walk around. It was so fun.

Different, for my DD graduation had delivered picnic foods, salads, jellos and mini subs sandwiches etc all cold as it was an open house with tons of family, friends and all her friends. I bought a small had plastic wading pool, put it on top of my kitchen table and it was filled with ice. I bought the $1 sand-pails with shovels attached and some other odd sand toys. Those were my servicing dishes. Next to the table I had 2 crock pots with baked beans and hotdogs. I put all the condiments bottles right in the ice along with the toppings in smaller sand toys. We have a massive multi tiered bar in the backyard and I put on each end two pools with ice, adult beverages I could keep my eye on and the other pop and water. Having had competitive swimmers I have a warehouse of beach towels. I strung clothes lines and made an L shaped facade of beach towels to frame in the outdoor area on the other side of the bar and gazebo. It was so simple and festive, much cheaper than I could have pulled off all on my own if not catered. And everything was recyclable in the end. Once everything was filled in the kitchen I never had to attend to it again and everything stayed at a safe temp.

Big fan of catering for events now.

Catering can definitely make life easier. Sometimes, you just don't have the time to make everything yourself, even if you really wanted to. One tip I've learned over the years is to maybe cater just a few of the items, and then do the rest yourself. This half and half approach has worked out very well in the instances I've tried it. (If it was a larger sized group, I'd probably cater the entire meal.)

 

[MinnieM123]

More on the pool music saga...


Now they are playing some weird version of "Let's Go Fly a Kite" with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Minnie singing it.

Ha ha ha . . . reminds me of the expression, "Be careful what you ask for." There seems to be a pattern with the music director for that resort: whatever song or artist is chosen for that day, it gets played to death!

But, let's look at the bright side here: you're having a wonderful vacation (except for the pool music) in a gorgeous spot. I'd say that the music is just a tiny inconvenience, and will not affect the good time you and your family are having.

Oh and by the way, Happy New Year to you and your family!

 

[JenniferS]

Sounds about right. My parents and friends laugh at me because when I see a dog higher than my knee, I back up about ten feet. But then the few times I've been out and seen a cat wandering, I'm all friendly with the cat.

My dog phobia is debilitating. I can hear the jingle of dog tags a block away.
It would almost be comedic if it weren't so real.

And yeah, I'll pet any kitty we encounter while out on our evening walks.

 

[JenniferS]

Disney's release schedule for next year. No Muppets but I never liked the movies anyway. Though Disney really doesn't have any new material, it's all Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel and live action from animated films. Granted all films together have a good chance of reaching $4 billion.

Jan. 23 — Lucasfilm’s Strange Magic
Feb. 20 — McFarland, USA
March 13 – Cinderella
April 17 -– Monkey Kingdom
May 1 -– Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron
May 22 -– Tomorrowland
June 19 – Pixar’s Inside Out
July 17 – Marvel’s Ant–Man
Oct 9 — The Jungle Book
Oct. 16 – Dreamwork’s Untitled Steven Spielberg Cold War Spy Thriller
Nov. 25 -– Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur
Dec. 18 -– Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Me, I'm waiting for The Minions Movie.

 

[JenniferS]

I love variety in outdoor lighting displays. Different colors are fun, but I also like white lights. It just depends on the property and how they are strung up. I've also seen all blue, or red, or green lights. Again, color and lighting in the right hands is a beautiful thing. Most people do a fairly decent job; a smaller amount put up absolutely exquisite light displays.

As for the town(s) you mentioned that only allow the white lights, that is a big turnoff to me on a few different levels. As I vaguely recall, I "think" Cohasset was one of those towns with the white lights only rule. Wherever it was, I thought to myself that the town must not have very important matters to attend to, if they actually would take the time to pass some sort of rule, about a homeowner's Christmas lights??!!

Just wondering, how do they enforce a town wide ban on coloured lights?
Condo regs and HOA rules ... maybe. But an entire town?

 

[MinnieM123]

My dog phobia is debilitating. I can hear the jingle of dog tags a block away.
It would almost be comedic if it weren't so real.

And yeah, I'll pet any kitty we encounter while out on our evening walks.

My dog would be nice to you and you'd have nothing to fear. He's wacko and all, but he likes people. I think it's because he thinks he can get over on them! He figures humans are good for giving him treats.

 

[MinnieM123]

Just wondering, how do they enforce a town wide ban on coloured lights?
Condo regs and HOA rules ... maybe. But an entire town?

It was some years ago, and I don't recall how it was enforced. It was one of the most idiotic things I ever heard. I suppose they could levy some sort of (small) fine if a homeowner was out of compliance, but that's just a guess.

 

[JenniferS]

It was some years ago, and I don't recall how it was enforced. It was one of the most idiotic things I ever heard. I suppose they could levy some sort of (small) fine if a homeowner was out of compliance, but that's just a guess.

I guess I'd be paying fines then.
Happily.

 

[MinnieM123]

So, the past few days, I've asked a bunch of people (both male and female, in the age range of 23 - 70), if they were going to attend any big parties of celebrations for New Year's Eve. Out of maybe 25 people that I asked, only one was going to a party. Everyone else was staying home, including us. We get Chinese food take-out and bring it home, and watch tv.

Does anyone attend big festivities for New Year's Eve anymore? Just curious . . .

 

[MinnieM123]

I guess I'd be paying fines then.
Happily.

Atta girl!

 

[MinnieM123]

View attachment 77988 First sign of Spring.

How can you be thinking of spring now? We've just started winter. Let's rejoice!

 

[JenniferS]

So, the past few days, I've asked a bunch of people (both male and female, in the age range of 23 - 70), if they were going to attend any big parties of celebrations for New Year's Eve. Out of maybe 25 people that I asked, only one was going to a party. Everyone else was staying home, including us. We get Chinese food take-out and bring it home, and watch tv.

Does anyone attend big festivities for New Year's Eve anymore? Just curious . . .

Nope. My brothers, spouses and kids are coming over.
We'll eat, play poker, watch the ball drop, and eat some more.

And then around 2:00 a.m., my phone will start ringing - friends asking if I can drive them home because they can't get a cab. Two years ago, I was up until 4:30 playing cabbie. The local food bank was $55 richer for my efforts.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

So, the past few days, I've asked a bunch of people (both male and female, in the age range of 23 - 70), if they were going to attend any big parties of celebrations for New Year's Eve. Out of maybe 25 people that I asked, only one was going to a party. Everyone else was staying home, including us. We get Chinese food take-out and bring it home, and watch tv.

Does anyone attend big festivities for New Year's Eve anymore? Just curious . . .

Nope, hubby and I are going to be staying home. We will watch a movie, a hockey game on tv, play board games, and eat snackies until one of us (me) falls asleep on the couch with the dogs.

 

[MinnieM123]

And then around 2:00 a.m., my phone will start ringing - friends asking if I can drive them home because they can't get a cab. Two years ago, I was up until 4:30 playing cabbie. The local food bank was $55 richer for my efforts.

You never cease to amaze me! Anyway, I'm trying to also figure out here what the connection to the food bank is. Can you explain that section to me?

 

[MinnieM123]

Nope, hubby and I are going to be staying home. We will watch a movie, a hockey game on tv, play board games, and eat snackies until one of us (me) falls asleep on the couch with the dogs.

Do you manage to stay awake at least until midnight? (Don't tell anyone: I've often fallen asleep before midnight on New Year's Eve!!)

 

[JenniferS]

You never cease to amaze me! Anyway, I'm trying to also figure out here what the connection to the food bank is. Can you explain that section to me?

Because they insist on paying me despite my protests.
So, anything I collect, I donate.
I would never accept $$ from someone prudent enough not to drive impaired.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Do you manage to stay awake at least until midnight? (Don't tell anyone: I've often fallen asleep before midnight on New Year's Eve!!)

I often fall asleep before midnight, then hubby wakes me up at the 10 second countdown, I see the ball drop and then I officially go to bed. I won't tell your secret!

 

[Goofyernmost]

It was in 2000 and for New Years we had a Y2K party to celebrate our surviving the new millennium. We had a cake made to look like a big old bug. Six months later my wife left home and come the following new years eve I had just moved into the mobile home that I bought, surrounded by boxes filled with years of memories I sat there and watched the ball drop. I tell you it could have been a Hallmark Movie of the week. Anyway, from that point on, I have never really felt the mood to celebrate the new year coming in. I might celebrate the year past when things have already gone OK, but, I don't trust the future.

I have no plans for tomorrow night at all. It's just another night to me. I probably won't wait up to see the New Year in. With any luck I will be in dream land by then. Yes, I know what you are thinking... Mr. Excitement is in our presence. What can I say, I rely on my charisma completely.