General Discussion, Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Stella

Heber Valley Historic Railroad, Utah

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117 Responses to General Discussion, Wednesday, December 6, 2017

  1. Lucille's avatar Lucille says:
    December 6, 2017 at 12:40 am

    Snoopy sends his greetings to the Stellars….

    Liked by 3 people

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  2. ZurichMike's avatar ZurichMike says:
    December 6, 2017 at 12:46 am

    Happy St. Nicholas Day! The feast day of *the* St. Nicklaus ==> Saint (ni)Cklaus ==> Santa Claus. Lot of traditions about this beloved saint around many European countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas

    The Swiss tradition: Saint Nicholas in a bishop’s robes with staff and miter and accompanied by “Schmutzli” (the little dirty/dusty/coaldust covered guy) and “Esel” (someone with a costume of long donkey ears and a cap) walk the streets of the village dispensing treats to good children (Saint Nicholas’s job) and stern warnings (Schmutzli’s job) to children needing to be steered on the path of goodness. Heralding this trio are Trychler — strong men with wooden yokes and carrying gigantic cowbells and the path illuminated by others carrying enormous lanterns that look like stained glass (IIfelen) and still others cracking whips in the air (Geisselchlöpfer). It is quite the spectacle. My 62 year-old partner still melts back into a wide-eyed 5 year-old when he sees the procession coming down the darkened street (which happened last night on the eve of St. Nicholas) It does give you goosebumps!

    Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of children. Ask him to join his prayers to yours for the well-being of your children or for children you know — of whatever age!

    Liked by 12 people

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  3. Lucille's avatar Lucille says:
    December 6, 2017 at 12:51 am

    Ran across this rather odd video called “Does It Snow In Iran?” when I was looking up the weather in Tehran. Western music is played in the background and no scenes of turmoil are found. It’s almost as if it’s presented by someone who dreamily remembers what Iran was like before jihadi doctrine closed in around them.

    Liked by 5 people

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    • Lucille's avatar Lucille says:
      December 6, 2017 at 12:56 am

      Tehran street scene…

      Liked by 3 people

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      • Lucille's avatar Lucille says:
        December 6, 2017 at 1:09 am

        I sometimes think of the young Iranian men I went to college with in 1960. They were sent to the States by the Shah’s government, but they all hated him. Strange that.

        You’ll recall the revolution happened toward the end of the Carter Administration. So I wonder if these educated men became a part of the overthrow, or whether 19 years after they took advantage of the Shah’s largess whether they fled with their families to America to form the Persian Diaspora.

        Liked by 4 people

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        • czarowniczy's avatar czarowniczy says:
          December 6, 2017 at 9:01 am

          We’d regularly run into Iranians who hated the Shah but hated the replacement even more so. To put it into a more localized perspective think how we’d have felt had Hillary won…

          Liked by 5 people

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          • Menagerie's avatar Menagerie says:
            December 6, 2017 at 9:28 am

            I took a mechanical drawing class in college in prehistoric, pre CAD days. There were a number of young men from Iran and Iraq. We were taught basic lettering at the beginning of class. Remember those old drawings with classic, almost perfect lettering, yet it was done by hand?

            Anyhow, the old instructor was most unhappy with the sloppiness of the work done by these young men on their lettering. They replied that they only needed to learn to draw, they would be returning to their homes and not ever writing in English. He responded that they were attending school in America and would be graded entirely on their ability to meet his American standards for both drawing and writing in English.

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            • czarowniczy's avatar czarowniczy says:
              December 6, 2017 at 9:32 am

              Y’all jed done brought back memories. I still have one of the old Leroy lettering sets with multiple font sticks. Used to use it to prepare charts and even overheads for briefings.

              Reply
            • lovely's avatar lovely says:
              December 6, 2017 at 11:20 am

              My Law professor once had a chap give a speech and the chap kept saying “Ja bone” in his speech.

              The copy of the speech being held by the professor read “Job One”.

              The professor failed him on his speech because of his lazy enunciation.

              Liked by 1 person

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              • Menagerie's avatar Menagerie says:
                December 6, 2017 at 11:42 am

                The little church where I sometimes go to daily mass has a new Vietnamese priest. He says Jejus, and can be a little hard to understand at times, but I’m getting better at it.

                He is extremely reverent, and seems more involved than the prior priest. I like him, and his enthusiasm and love.

                I am not sure how long he has been in America, but I don’t think it has been very long.

                Liked by 4 people

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                • lovely's avatar lovely says:
                  December 6, 2017 at 11:48 am

                  Our Spanish Priest has a slight accent. He is a wonderful priest, the most passionate in my opinion and the most in tune with his parishioners and in love with Christ.

                  Liked by 3 people

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                  • Wooly Covfefe's avatar Wooly Covfefe says:
                    December 6, 2017 at 11:05 pm

                    My favorite Christian apologist and debater is Ravi Zacharias.

                    His Indian Engish accent is impeccable, and quite distinct. If I heard him at a table having a conversation, in a restaurant, I would immediately know that it was Ravi talking.

                    If I had Siri or Cortana, I wish I could make it speak exactly like that.

                    Liked by 1 person

  4. ImpeachEmAll's avatar ImpeachEmAll says:
    December 6, 2017 at 2:47 am

    socialists being socialists… 😉

    Liked by 4 people

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    • ImpeachEmAll's avatar ImpeachEmAll says:
      December 6, 2017 at 2:51 am

      and that’s not all… 😉

      Liked by 5 people

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    • lovely's avatar lovely says:
      December 6, 2017 at 11:36 am

      Meryl Streep will be part of the impending “Great Liberal Cat Fight” that is to come. They are becoming each others enemies. Just wait for it.

      Liberals only know how to destroy their enemies. Watching the left eat its own is going to be delicious.

      Embattled Dem lawmaker claims Pelosi knew about sexual harassment accusations last year

      http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/12/05/embattled-dem-lawmaker-claims-pelosi-knew-about-sexual-harassment-accusations-last-year.html

      I suspect the liberal v liberal war will be much like the savage Islamist v savage Islamist war. Former President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh and his forces had been aligned with the Houthi rebels for years, up until a week ago they were bonded alliances. This week the Houthi put a 3 inch by 4 inch pie shaped hole in the head of Abdullah Saleh. (Well at least the Houthi are taking credit for it 😉).

      Hollywood liberals and savage Muslims have much in common.

      Liked by 4 people

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  5. Lucille's avatar Lucille says:
    December 6, 2017 at 4:01 am

    1930s hairstyles

    Liked by 4 people

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  6. Lucille's avatar Lucille says:
    December 6, 2017 at 4:06 am

    Trekkers and Train in the snow

    Liked by 4 people

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  7. nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
    December 6, 2017 at 6:20 am

    Mornin’ stella! (Smiter of those that ought to be smote) 😎 🍸 (Long Island Iced Tea)
    Mornin’ WeeWeed! (Master Mixologist Extrodinare) 😎 🍸 (Old Fashioned)
    Mornin’ Menagerie! 😎 |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| (Jack Daniels – Single Barrel )
    Mornin’ Ad rem! (Queen Felis catus) 🐱 🍸 (Flaming Lamborghini)
    Mornin’ Sharon! 😎 🍸 🍸 (earthquake)
    Mornin’ ytz4mee! 😎 🍸 (cosmopolitan)
    Mornin’ waltzingmtilda! 🙂 🍸 (white wine and perrier)
    Mornin’ partyzantski! 🙂 |_| (Tom Collins)
    Mornin’ texan59! 🙂 |_| (Black & Tan)
    Mornin’ ZurichMike! 🙂 🍸 (fuzzy navel)
    Mornin’ Col.(R) Ken! (hand salute) 🙂 |_| (Boilermaker)
    Mornin’ czarina33! (aka czarina) 🙂 🍸 (Lynchburg Lemonade)
    Mornin’ czarowniczy! 🙂 |_| (Wild Turkey Rare Breed)
    Mornin’ letjusticeprevail2014! 🙂 |_| (Irish Car Bomb)
    Mornin’ Patriot1783-ctdar! (aka “ctdar”) 🙂 🍸 (grasshopper)
    Mornin’ tessa50! 🙂 🍸 (flaming volcano)
    Mornin’ waltzingmtilda! 🙂 🍸 (sidecar)
    Mornin’ varsityward! 🙂 |_| (Godfather)
    Mornin’ MaryfromMarin! 😀 |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| (Mortlach)
    Mornin’ Wooly Covfefe! (aka “Wooly Phlox” aka “taqiyyologist”) 🙂 |_| (Roy Rogers)
    Mornin’ Howie! (aka “doodahdaze”) 🙂 |_| (Classic Daiquiri)
    Mornin’ TwoLaine! 🙂 |_| (Gin & Tonic)
    Mornin’ Sha! 🙂 🍸 (Lemon Drop)
    Mornin’ BigMamaTEA! 🙂 🍸 (Harvey Wallbanger)
    Mornin’ cetera5! (aka “Cetera”) 🙂 |_| (Blackberry wine)
    Mornin’ The Tundra PA! 🙂 🍸 (Gentleman Jack Whiskey Sling)
    Mornin’ lovely! 🙂 |_| (Backdraft)
    Mornin’ michellc! 🙂 🍸 (Salty dog)
    Mornin’ auscitizenmom! 🙂 🍸 (Kiss on the Lips)
    Mornin’ Margaret-Ann! 🙂 🍸 (White Russian)
    Mornin’ Auntie Lib! 🙂 🍸 (Tom and Jerry)
    Mornin’ holly100! 🙂 🍸 (Jack & Coke)
    Mornin’ Pam! 🙂 (Not even water)
    Mornin’ Ms.Tee! 🙂 🍸 (Mojito)
    Mornin’ koolkosherkitchen! 🙂 🍸 🍸 (Cuba Libre)
    Mornin’ ImpeachEmAll 🙂 |_| (Flaming Dr. Pepper)
    Mornin’ Monroe! 🙂 |_| (Stinger)
    Mornin’ Les! 🙂 |_| (Rusty Nail)
    Mornin’ shiloh1973! 🙂 |_| (Jack Daniels)
    Mornin’ TexasRanger! 🙂 |_| (Whiskey Smash)
    Mornin’ Ziiggii! 🙂 |_| (B52)
    Mornin’ oldiadguy! 🙂 |_| (Rum & Coke)
    Mornin’ smiley! (“stuck in spambucket”) 🙂 🍸 (Spanish coffee)
    Mornin’ derk! (“Stellars”) 🙂 🍸 (Kamikaze)
    Mornin’ Jacqueline Taylor Robson 🙂 🍸 (Shirley Temple)
    Mornin’ facebkwallflower! 🙂 |_| (Night Train Express)
    Mornin’ Ms. Cindy! (aka “Ms Cynlynn” aka “ms cynlynn”) 🙂 🍸 (1970 ducru beaucaillou)
    Mornin’ sandandsea2015! 🙂 🍸 (1961 Château Montrose)
    Mornin’ amwick! 🙂 🍸 (Blue motorcycle)
    Mornin’ hocuspocus13! 🙂 🍸 (1970 Chateau Latour)
    Mornin’ Sloth1963! 🙂 🍸 (1971 Moulin Touchais)
    Mornin’ MTeresa! (Ex-lurker) 🙂 |_| (Albanian Raki Moskat)
    Mornin’ Rhea Salacia Volans! 🙂 |_| (Hot Buttered Rum)
    Mornin’ joshua! 🙂 |_| (Mudslide)
    Mornin’ John Denney! 🙂 |_| (RumChata)
    Mornin’ litenmaus! 🙂 |_| (Stolichnaya elit, no ice)
    Mornin’ kinthenorthwest! 🙂 🍸 (A Lonely Island Lost in the Middle of a Foggy Sea)
    Mornin’ TwoLaine! 🙂 |_| (Smoking Bishop)
    Mornin’ patternpuzzler! 🙂 🍸 (Old Lady)
    Mornin’ Senatssekretär FREISTAAT DANZIG! 🙂 |_| (Red Russian)
    Mornin’ G-d&Country! 🙂 🍸 (Blind Russian)
    Mornin’ Gary! 🙂 |_| (Yuengling)
    Mornin’ valeriecurren! 🙂 🍸 (Flaming Sambuca)
    Mornin’ Lucille! 🙂 🍸 (Peach Schnapps)
    Mornin’ Lburg! 🙂 🍸 (Lburg lemonade)
    Mornin’ davidhuntpe! 🙂 |_| (Baileys Irish Cream on the rocks)
    Mornin’ skipper1961! 🙂 |_| (Brompton’s Cocktail – No cherry, no umbrella, no plastic monkey)
    Mornin’ mightyconservative! 🙂 |_| (Benjamin Franklin’s clarified milk punch)
    Mornin’ whiners and complainers! 😛 (No drink for you!)
    Mornin’ to people posting that I missed. 😳
    Mornin’ to all you lurkers! 😕

    Also just in case someday; mornin’ to Elvis Chupacabra, F.D.R. in Hell and sundance! :mrgreen:

    Breakfast!

    NEW and IMPROVED breakfast with extra bacon for ZurichMike!

    Christmas Donuts

    Liked by 11 people

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    • Rhea Salacia Volans's avatar Rhea Salacia Volans says:
      December 6, 2017 at 7:16 am

      Look at that spread! Thank you Nyet!

      Morning everyone! Have a Deplorable day!

      Liked by 3 people

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    • lburgblog's avatar Lburg says:
      December 6, 2017 at 7:41 am

      I actually said to myself, “Wonder what Nyet’s serving for breakfast today?” I was bowled over (ha!) by the selections today. Thanks and good morning, Nyet! Good Morning everyone!

      From What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, 1881

      “Breakfast Corn Bread
      One tea-cup of rice boiled nice and soft, to one and a half tea-cupful of corn meal mixed together, then stir the whole until light; one teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of lard or butter, three eggs, half tea-cup of sweet milk. The rice must be mixed into the meal while hot; can be baked either in muffin cups or a pan.”

      Liked by 4 people

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      • sandandsea2015's avatar sandandsea2015 says:
        December 6, 2017 at 7:49 am

        Happy Wednesday, Lburg!

        Liked by 1 person

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      • lburgblog's avatar Lburg says:
        December 6, 2017 at 8:03 am

        Factoid about “What Mrs. Fisher knows about Old Southern Cooking”, remembering that the book was published in 1881, less than 20 years after the end of the Civil War and 55 years before the 19th amendment (1920).

        Mrs. Fisher, born a slave, found her way to San Francisco soon after the Civil War and, by dint of talent and hard work, created a life and business there. She and her husband created a business manufacturing and selling “pickles, preserves, brandies, fruits, etc.” She was proud of a Diploma awarded at the Sacramento State Fair in 1879 and two medals awarded at the San Francisco Mechanics’ Institute Fair, 1880, for best Pickles and Sauces and best assortment of Jellies and Preserves. She was illiterate so this book was dictated and then published by San Francisco: Women’s Co-op Printing Office, 1881.

        Mrs. Fisher was illiterate, so the book was probably dictated and transcribed.

        http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_35.cfm

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        • Menagerie's avatar Menagerie says:
          December 6, 2017 at 8:21 am

          Thanks for sharing that. A wonderful story. I once did quite a bit of reading on Gullah cooking, I think I may have downloaded a cookbook, but I’ve never tried it. Probably because my love of all kinds of Southern cooking conflicts with my desire to lose weight.

          I’m not winning that battle right now.

          Liked by 4 people

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          • auscitizenmom's avatar auscitizenmom says:
            December 6, 2017 at 8:37 am

            I think I have already lost. 😦

            Liked by 3 people

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          • lburgblog's avatar Lburg says:
            December 6, 2017 at 8:50 am

            If you have time, Menagerie, there will be a new load of wood that needs planing, and all the activity seems to be helping my own particular battle of the Bulge. OTOH, the way we both like to cook we’d probably both gain five pounds.

            (Truthfully, it could be called the battle of the saddlebag muffins, but that doesn’t sound quite as dramatic!)

            Liked by 5 people

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            • Menagerie's avatar Menagerie says:
              December 6, 2017 at 8:59 am

              I’m getting buried in a less fun project. I was already behind on painting my granddaughter’s doll bed, which is pretty large and needs lots of sanding, some caulk and putty. Now her mama had her other grandfather build a doll house for Christmas, and we have to paint it. Inside and out. Also, paint windows in it, and maybe wallpaper some rooms, and do some stenciling on bed and house.

              People who don’t do this kind of stuff don’t realize how much work it is, especially if there is sanding and detail work involved. The end, as Wee would say.

              Liked by 6 people

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              • Stella's avatar stella says:
                December 6, 2017 at 9:17 am

                My DD and I built a dollhouse one Christmas – for my mother! We let her do the painting and decorating, though. I have it now, in my basement.

                Liked by 3 people

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              • lburgblog's avatar Lburg says:
                December 6, 2017 at 10:03 am

                Boy – I think I’ll stick with the planing and staining (without complaint)! That kind of detail really is work. You will have the satisfaction, though, of having rescued the doll bed and having helped create an heirloom masterpiece dollhouse. More than that, you will see the smiles and excitement that occur as a result of all your efforts. Can’t wait to hear about your grand daughter’s reaction!

                Liked by 2 people

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              • WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
                December 6, 2017 at 8:53 pm

                The Momma did that – built, painted, furnished a little dollhouse back in the ’80’s, and enjoyed every minute of it! It even had little electric lights, and I have no idea what she did with it. Prolly gave it to somebody at work with a little girl.

                Liked by 1 person

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            • Wooly Covfefe's avatar Wooly Covfefe says:
              December 6, 2017 at 11:56 pm

              I hope you take some of that reclaimed wood, clean it, dry, on sawhorses, with hand scrub brushes. Lay it out on a parking lot and spray it, deck-scrub it. Then coat it with about 7 layers of poly, with rollers (and a Purdy in the other hand to take out the bubbles).

              The restaurant we built two years ago, me and bossman got the wood from the barn itself, bought from the dudes ripping it down, carefully, to sell us the barnwood.

              Cleaning those boards, it was a whole lot of work. The whole restaurant is reclaimed barnwood. Two bars, a lotta trimwork, and many tables, all unique but similar.

              The bar tops and tabletops were epoxy. 3 layers. Looks like ancient barnwood with glass on it and in it.

              Nothing was planed. I cannot imagine planing wood that old, with that much character.

              But hey. Your work is beautiful, too, I’m sure. 💖

              Liked by 1 person

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              • Wooly Covfefe's avatar Wooly Covfefe says:
                December 7, 2017 at 12:04 am

                …and I would help if I were there, Lburg.

                Even planing beautiful wood that shouldn’t be.

                Like

                Reply
              • lburgblog's avatar Lburg says:
                December 7, 2017 at 6:38 am

                Wooly, where you bean??? The planing was just to knock off the 50+ years of gunk that had collected. I left all the knots, saw marks, nail and bug holes and character of the wood, so don’t worry – the wood is still ‘talking’!

                Liked by 1 person

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      • lovely's avatar lovely says:
        December 6, 2017 at 11:42 am

        Good morning Lburg 🙂 .

        Liked by 2 people

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    • sandandsea2015's avatar sandandsea2015 says:
      December 6, 2017 at 7:48 am

      Knocked it outta the park today, Nyet!!!! Yummy! Thank you and good morning.

      Liked by 3 people

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    • WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
      December 6, 2017 at 7:57 am

      Oooooooohh, breakfast pizza!! Thanks, B!

      Liked by 4 people

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    • auscitizenmom's avatar auscitizenmom says:
      December 6, 2017 at 8:35 am

      So much to choose from. Mornin’ Nyet, everyone. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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    • derk's avatar derk says:
      December 6, 2017 at 9:03 am

      Morning Nyet,
      Beautiful, think I could belly up to that bar for a bit.
      Have a good day down there, hope it is a rewarding effort for you.

      Liked by 2 people

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    • lovely's avatar lovely says:
      December 6, 2017 at 11:40 am

      Good morning Nyet! I really want one of those fancy sugar cookies !

      Liked by 1 person

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    • Jacqueline Taylor Robson's avatar Jacqueline Taylor Robson says:
      December 6, 2017 at 1:02 pm

      Liked by 7 people

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    • Lucille's avatar Lucille says:
      December 6, 2017 at 3:45 pm

      Love all the selections, Nyet. It’s lunchtime here in the PT zone; so I’ll take a piece of pizza or quiche that’s depicted in the foreground, plus a gingerbread man donut.

      I’m sending the best Corgi “Thank You” posible….

      Liked by 1 person

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  8. Rhea Salacia Volans's avatar Rhea Salacia Volans says:
    December 6, 2017 at 7:16 am

    Wooly, I like what I am reading about the Brave browser. But I couldn’t find anything about RAM use on the site you linked to yesterday. Any suggestions on where I could find that? (It may be on the website and I just didn’t see it.)

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Wooly Covfefe's avatar Wooly Covfefe says:
      December 6, 2017 at 11:18 pm

      Hmm. Brave on my PC is currently using 1,174 MB of RAM, according to the Task Manager. I have four tabs open, and Shields turned off here, so this tab is using 14 processes. Probably ads and ad-trackers and such. I don’t turn them off here, because Stella.

      The thing works. Mostly. And I don’t know if add-ons or extensions are a thing for this. I used to use nice maple wood themes on Firefox, lots of plugins and NoScript, of course.

      Brave just works. So I’ve never looked.

      Criminy! Just try it!

      Like

      Reply
      • Wooly Covfefe's avatar Wooly Covfefe says:
        December 6, 2017 at 11:36 pm

        I’ve got 24 GB of DDR3, so I’m not too concerned about RAM usage, but Shields in Brave is important if you are. As I said, I’ve got 14 processes running on this site only, and Shields off on news sites like Guardian, Daily Mail, LA Times, etc. All those processes are the videos that autoplay and the pop-up ads and the trackers, the Javascript ads…

        …and they all take up RAM.

        Brave also remembers (if you wish) which sites you’ve put Shields up and down on, and you can customize Shields for each site.

        If you try it, and don’t like it, you can uninstall it. Also you can import all your bookmarks and favorites from your other browsers.

        When you block everything, the site owner gets no money for ad-views. So I block nothing on this site, or CTH, or AoSHQ, or Vox Day, but everything most other places. Any site with a slew of “One Weird Trick” ads, or “You’ll CRAP YOURSELF when you see THIS picture’s hidden secret!” with a picture and a red circle and a big red arrow on some innocuous part of the picture — BLOCK EVERYTHING. And it’s just one button on the top-right of the browser. For each tab.

        I’ve heard wonderful things about the new Firefox, like it’s 3x faster, but I just don’t like those people, and there are other options.

        Like

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  10. Stella's avatar stella says:
    December 6, 2017 at 9:33 am

    Really interesting. Rush’s forecasts what will happen. Rush Limbaugh Podcast 11/9/16 | Donald Trump Wins Election

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. derk's avatar derk says:
    December 6, 2017 at 9:41 am

    Morning Stella, crew,
    The dog pic is one of your best.

    Have a great day y’all, Stellar onward!

    Liked by 7 people

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  12. Sharon's avatar Sharon says:
    December 6, 2017 at 1:11 pm

    Stella, the photo above – silhouetted train w/morning (I prefer to believe!) clouds is stunning.

    Apparently it’s not a steam engine, but the overall presentation brings to mind a singular photo my Dad took about 4 o’clock one morning on the North Dakota prairie.

    We were en route home – b ringing me home from Dakota Lutheran Academy in Minot, about 180 miles from our farm. (A Lutheran [Lutherans back then were Biblical] boarding school). I suppose I was about 16. As we headed west from Minot on at-that-time-two-lane highway 2, about 70-80 miles out, Dad got sleepy.

    He pulled into a short road spur that abutted the railroad to sleep before we headed on to eastern Montana, to get home in time to milk the cows. So around 4, suddenly: the approaching, swinging headlight over the prairie, the chooof-choooof of big entines, and steam rising in the early morning light.

    Dad jumped out of the car with his ever-present 35mm slide camera and got the most wonderful photograph of that steam engine.

    Oh, my. The sounds and the sights made my day then, and still do.

    I believe I actually have that slide someone, as I was handed, along with so many other precious treasures, a large container of his essential slides from the 1950s, some years ago.

    Right now one of the Christmas gifts I’m working on for my grandson (to be replicated for all the grandchildren) is copies of many, many, many family treasures of writing and essays, from my work and others in the families, and things just now being organized that are new family research since MBOB was published.

    Included in this initial collection (which is now over 300 pages) are the essays also from the Treehouse which didn’t make it into the book.

    I’m excited about this new collection of heritage records. There’s a whole ‘nother book in it which would include stuff from the Torgersons going back to the early mid-1800s. That will have to be someone else’s book – but there is a whole ‘nother book there.

    My grandson who is receiving this is HIGH on family stories and traditions of all kinds, so it’s a delight to do that work for him.

    His sister is receiving the little sterling silver bridal charm that her Grandpa Grant gave me as a bridal gift the day of our August 1965 wedding in Minneapolis. All I did was have the date of that wedding engraved in tiny font on the back. Other than that engraving, all my Christmas gifts this year are $-free. Yea! Labor intensive but cost free.

    Younger son (their dad) has already given me the gift of firewood this year, as he and his brother did last year.

    Grant was right: it’s all good.

    And my woods friends here bless me – – –

    Woolly – you got me wheels turning toward Psalm 104 in one of your comments the other day (Re Psalm 46:1) – – so I re-read Psalm 104 this morning. THAT is good, good stuff. Thank you.

    Liked by 7 people

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    • Stella's avatar stella says:
      December 6, 2017 at 2:04 pm

      Thanks for sharing that, Sharon! I’m dedicating the dailies this week to trains. I love them too. The one at the top is a coal train against the (rising) sun (or setting, as you prefer).

      Liked by 1 person

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    • Stella's avatar stella says:
      December 6, 2017 at 2:11 pm

      I did a little digging and found the source for the header photo.

      COAL TRAIN SUNSET

      In this amazing capture by Tom Danneman (MRL 390 on Flickr), we see a northbound BNSF coal train heading across a fill just south of Bill, Wyoming. Danneman says the Powder River Basin where this was taken is a beautiful location for sunsets.

      The Powder River Basin is a geologic region in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, about 120 miles (190 km) east to west and 200 miles (320 km) north to south, known for its coal deposits. The region supplies about 40 percent of coal in the United States.

      It is the single largest source of coal mined in the United States, and contains one of the largest deposits of coal in the world. Most of the active coal mining in the Powder River Basin actually takes place in drainages of the Cheyenne River. Because of the Powder River Basin, Wyoming has been the top coal-producing state in the United States since 1988. In 2007, the Powder River Basin alone produced 436 million short tons (396 million tonnes) of coal, more than twice the production of second-place West Virginia, and more than the entire Appalachian region.

      http://twistedsifter.com/2013/03/coal-train-at-sunset-powder-river-basin/

      Sliver of orange

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      • czarina33's avatar czarina33 says:
        December 6, 2017 at 8:44 pm

        When I lived in Ogden, UT, my friends drove to Heber, UT to show me one of the interesting, small, old towns. The ONLY thing I recall about it was that the road was a ledge hanging off over a steep drop straight down, & there was gravel on the road like marbles to roll the car off the edge. There was no guardrail.

        Liked by 1 person

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    • Wooly Covfefe's avatar Wooly Covfefe says:
      December 7, 2017 at 12:13 am

      Oh, if you could get us that train picture!

      You can go to kiosks at Wal-Mart and have it made digital and put on a thumb drive, export to your PC, send to us via some internet photo storage site. Easy-peasy! 😀 (Grr. should be easier in Current Year.)

      Yes. Psalms is one of the best things ever written. ✝

      Liked by 1 person

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  13. Lucille's avatar Lucille says:
    December 6, 2017 at 3:48 pm

    Love this sweet PHOTO OF THE DAY

    President Donald J. Trump meets with American business owners and their families | December 5, 2017 (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

    Liked by 3 people

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  14. John Denney's avatar John Denney says:
    December 6, 2017 at 4:58 pm

    Regarding the Christian baker’s case before the Supreme Court, a friend made an interesting point at lunch today.
    If a straight person were to go into a Christian bakery and ask for a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage, and was refused, could the straight person say he was discriminated against?
    The point being that the baker was not discriminating against a person, but against an event.
    An event is not a protected class of persons.

    Liked by 6 people

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    • Lucille's avatar Lucille says:
      December 6, 2017 at 6:46 pm

      How horrible! So very close to where hundreds of thousands live in apartments and condos and houses. Lots of wild animals in those hills, too.

      LAFD is supremely competent but this one is just going to burn for days even with aircraft dropping retardant and water. Just awful!

      Liked by 2 people

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    • czarina33's avatar czarina33 says:
      December 6, 2017 at 8:50 pm

      Look at Wildfire Today magazine dated 5/2/2012 for related story.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  16. czarowniczy's avatar czarowniczy says:
    December 6, 2017 at 5:38 pm

    Weatherguessers are saying we may see snow flurries on Friday if a predicted low gets far enough into the Gulf.

    Liked by 1 person

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  17. sandandsea2015's avatar sandandsea2015 says:
    December 6, 2017 at 6:15 pm

    Love this photo of FLOTUS and Karen Pence! Whataburger is as Texan as it gets!!!! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. auscitizenmom's avatar auscitizenmom says:
    December 6, 2017 at 6:33 pm

    My friend and I went to see Wonder today. Absolutely loved it! I enjoyed every minute. It was very sweet, not maudlin. It is about a young boy who was born with severe facial deformities, who has had many surgeries, and has been homeschooled by his mother until he is ready for middle school. One interesting thing is that they show why some of the characters did the things they did through their own eyes. And, there were some really interesting characters in it.

    I am not a huge fan of Julia Roberts, who plays the mother, but she was great in this. I am a fan of Owen Wilson and I thought he was perfect as the father. Young Jacob Trembley was very good as Auggie, an amazing child like so many who have problems are.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543472/

    Liked by 4 people

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  19. auscitizenmom's avatar auscitizenmom says:
    December 6, 2017 at 9:02 pm

    lilbirdee12’s prayer:

    Our Heavenly Father, Your children come to you tonight to ask for healing and peace throughout our country so that we may return to being One Nation Under God. Guide us to be leaders in Your Kingdom, spreading Your Love and Salvation to all. Forgive us our sins and deliver us from evil.

    Lord, we ask for a blanket of protection over all our troops and law enforcement who serve to defend and protect us. Bless our representatives with the strength and wisdom they need to achieve the path You have chosen for us.

    Please place Your Guardian Angels of Protection around Donald Trump and Mike Pence and their families as they seek to lead America back to You.

    Grant us patience, Lord, as the evil ones try to anger us and cause us to fall.
    Spread blessings over Israel and Netanyahu.

    We humbly ask that You please comfort those who are grieving and in pain.
    Thank you Father, for Your Love and the gift of Life.

    And, Lord, if it is your will, we pray that Judge Roy Moore will win his bid for the Senate.

    In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.

    Liked by 4 people

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