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dernwyn
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 16 2020, 4:29pm
Post #1 of 82
(774 views)
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*looks around, opens doors* It's Friday - time for Fiesta!
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Welcome, all and sundry! It's a wet Friday here in New England, I fear this rain may take down many of our leaves - but they've certainly been colorful this year! Our esteemed barmistress, Altaira, had been waylaid, so I shall be your host.
The bar is open, along with your favorite drinks I've got hot chocolate warming on the hob and coffee brewing. Plus apples, and apple pie, and applesauce, and apple tarts - it's apple time here again!
So come on in, and let us know what you've been up to this week, and what your weekend plans are!
*puts quarters on juke box* What song is coming to mind today?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Starling
Asgardian
Oct 16 2020, 6:42pm
Post #2 of 82
(659 views)
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Am I first? Surely not!
Without mentioning the p word, it's a big day here. Hopefully there will be good telly tonight.
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cats16
Wakandian
Oct 16 2020, 6:58pm
Post #3 of 82
(656 views)
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Too bad about your leaves, dernwyn. I've seen lovely photos the past couple of weeks!
I got word a couple of days ago that I didn't get the job I interviewed for. Totally fine, though! Knowing is much better than never hearing back at all. I counteracted that news by (finally) submitting a couple of poems to a poetry contest at a fairly well known literary magazine. Phew! Took a lot of work to shape the poems into something presentable, but I was more pleased with them than I normally am with my poetry.  Hopefully submitting to magazines becomes more of a habit moving forward.
One highlight of the week was a nice, long chat I had over the phone with an older aunt whom I've probably had a total of 10 conversations with in my life. We only see each other at very large family gatherings, so it's never been much more than a "hi how are ya / good to hear!" kind of thing. Such a nice feeling to make that connection, though! We've promised to stay in better touch moving forward.
No real plans for me - hopefully I will get to the place this weekend where I say "heck with it!" and start to scribble the beginnings of a script. I'd rather just start typing the dang thing rather than spin in circles thinking about it and getting nowhere!
To mix things up a bit musically, I've been listening/watching the performances of an 18 year old Russian piano prodigy who is very impressive. Here's him a couple of years ago at 14 or 15 playing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 - https://www.youtube.com/...W6cxApOBg&t=420s. Quite amazing, really.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Join us every weekend in the Hobbit movie forum for this week's CHOW (Chapter of the Week) discussion!
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Kimi
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 16 2020, 7:25pm
Post #5 of 82
(647 views)
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That hot chocolate sounds good!
It's election day here, though the Mr and I voted early, along with half the country - super-easy, no queue whatsoever. That's our evening sorted, though: following the results via the 'net and the radio, with various commentary and interviews. We have a tradition of opening a bottle of fizz on election night, to celebrate or console :) I won't say what I expect we'll be doing tonight, both because of TORn rules and because NZ election law doesn't allow any attempt to influence voters on election day itself (no campaigning, all the hoardings are down, and no hanging about outside the polling places). I expect the results will come through quite early this year, so that bottle will be opened fairly promptly :)
The chilly morning looks to be opening to a lovely bright spring day, so it should be nice for being out in the garden much of the day, planting and weeding and taking one's ease over a coffee. After a busy week, that all appeals.
Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Kimi
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 16 2020, 7:26pm
Post #6 of 82
(644 views)
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A tradition of which I thoroughly approve :)
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Kimi
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 16 2020, 7:31pm
Post #7 of 82
(640 views)
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For submitting your poems, and for connecting with your aunt.
It's good that you received the courtesy of actually hearing about the job - I know that's not always the case.
Best wishes for your script "scribbling"!
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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cats16
Wakandian
Oct 16 2020, 7:38pm
Post #8 of 82
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It's the little things that maintain the sanity these days. :)
And I so, so wish we had NZ's "no campaigning, etc" rule for Election Day. I was gobsmacked by how tranquil Election Day in 2014 felt when I was in Wellington. If only!
And for those 'sibs in the U.S. (or elsewhere) who are interested in tracking vote tallies (purely in terms of how many raw votes have been cast), I'd recommend bookmarking The Election Project, which is run by Professor Michael McDonald in Florida - link here. He tracks total votes by state as well as a percentage based off of that state's 2016 turnout. We're already over 16% of 2016's total turnout nationally!
Join us every weekend in the Hobbit movie forum for this week's CHOW (Chapter of the Week) discussion!
(This post was edited by cats16 on Oct 16 2020, 7:40pm)
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Kimi
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 16 2020, 8:12pm
Post #9 of 82
(636 views)
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our no campaigning, no exit polls, etc on election day. I don't think many other countries do this. But I like it, too. :) It does indeed keep things more tranquil and laid-back.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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dernwyn
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 16 2020, 8:48pm
Post #10 of 82
(633 views)
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How about some hard cider to ease the waiting? But none for Midgey - unless he'd like to take a sip from your glass? 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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dernwyn
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 16 2020, 9:04pm
Post #11 of 82
(632 views)
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And the rain not as hard as expected, on the drive home from work it looked like not much more had fallen. 
What a decent place that is, to give you a rejection - so many don't bother with that nowadays, I know it's frustrating for the job-seekers. Any idea when you'll hear about the poems? Are these your first submissions?
How did you come to reconnect with your aunt? That is so sweet, in a way it's like finding a long-lost family member.
Great elephants, that youngster pwn's the piano! Thank you for making us aware of him!
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"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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dernwyn
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 16 2020, 9:08pm
Post #12 of 82
(631 views)
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way to handle the day! Especially with a bottle to share.
What's going to be planted this weekend? Everything must be budding gloriously in your part of the world!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Greenwood Hobbit
Justice League
Oct 16 2020, 10:16pm
Post #13 of 82
(634 views)
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Here we are again *waves from tier 3*
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Yes, Merseyside has the dubious distinction of being put into the highest level of covid restrictions, although other areas will be joining us at the weekend. Wales won't let us in at all; can't say I blame them! There are many anomalies in infection numbers, but the tier system is calculated not only on numbers of infections but on availability of hospital beds in the areas. I'm retired and don't frequent pubs or restaurants regularly, so the only thing that affects me directly on a regular basis is the social mixing - or lack of it. If being harsh now means being able to relax a little over Christmas, it's worth doing, but I do feel for the people in financial difficulties because of it all, not to mention those who actually catch it!
Enough dark stuff, anyway - we're having some dry days and good autumn colours at the moment. Wet windy weather's coming back next week, so we're making the most of them. I'm still enjoying the last few raspberries and apples from the garden and have a bag of Bramleys (cooking apples) from my daughter's tree to do something yummy with.
As for elderly aunties and suchlike - everyone, do talk to them while you can and ask them to share their memories! I wish I'd talked to both my grandfathers (both grandmothers died when I was very young) more while I could. I only picked up snippets of their early lives and wish I'd found out more. Ask your elderly relatives questions about their past, their everyday memories, their stories, their ancestors; build up the unique jigsaw of where you came from, what made you.
Gosh, I got a bit serious there...and now it's bed-time! Have the best weekend you can, folks. For the juke box? Hmm, for some reason, 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' is on my mind. Cheers, All! 
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Kimi
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 16 2020, 10:44pm
Post #14 of 82
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The apple, pear and quince blossom has begun, all of it lovely. The grape vines are budding away, too.
I'll probably plant out some bush beans. It's still too early to plant out the tomatoes, but they're coming along nicely indoors, as are aubergines (eggplants) and capsicums. We had our first (home-grown) strawberries of the season last week - just a few, but very nice.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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dernwyn
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 16 2020, 10:58pm
Post #15 of 82
(628 views)
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that the restrictions get your numbers down sufficiently!
Cooking apples - let's see: tarts, pies, apple-cinnamon muffins...I've been making large pots of chunky, spicy applesauce. Have you decided what to make with yours?
An important thing to have when chatting with the older family members: paper and pen, or a tape recorder! I should have written down some of the stories my dad told, as he got older he was more amenable to telling about his experiences in WWII (some not very pleasant).
But what can match finding an old letter, that was a wonderful discovery! 
Ah-wee-mo-wah, ah-wee-mo-wah - oh, no, earworm! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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dernwyn
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 16 2020, 10:59pm
Post #16 of 82
(627 views)
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Sorry about that, I almost forgot your hot chocolate!
Strawberries already? That must be a hardy variety!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Starling
Asgardian
Oct 16 2020, 11:06pm
Post #17 of 82
(628 views)
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Still in shock to arrive so early.
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Starling
Asgardian
Oct 16 2020, 11:07pm
Post #18 of 82
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So peaceful.
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Starling
Asgardian
Oct 16 2020, 11:10pm
Post #19 of 82
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there was no sticker this year.I couldn't do this:
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dernwyn
Guardian of the Galaxy
/ Moderator
Oct 17 2020, 1:20am
Post #20 of 82
(615 views)
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He does seem like he's confused about what's on his head...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Aunt Dora Baggins
Avenger
Oct 17 2020, 6:01am
Post #22 of 82
(609 views)
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Sorry it's been so long since I popped in at Fiesta. Let's see, I could use a blizzard, I think.
Tonight as I was coming home from the grocery store, I looked across the lake and saw flames on the mountains. The largest fire in Colorado history has been burning for two months and this week in high winds it blew up. It's now at 173,536 acres. I've been breathing smoke for two months but this is the first time I've seen flames with my own eyes. A week ago it was 30 miles away. Now it's 15 miles away and advancing. I'm safe but it's still scary to see.
There's no precipitation in the forecast but we sure could use some.
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GNU Terry Pratchett
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"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories
leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(This post was edited by Aunt Dora Baggins on Oct 17 2020, 6:06am)
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Starling
Asgardian
Oct 17 2020, 6:56am
Post #23 of 82
(595 views)
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But not so lovely to hear that fire news.
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cats16
Wakandian
Oct 17 2020, 7:38am
Post #24 of 82
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Ah, maybe they'll hold out a bit longer, then!
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Yes, it was nice indeed. The person hiring even offered to jump on a call if I had any questions (though of course my only real question at that point would be, 'why didn't you pick me?' ).
I don't think I'll hear anything about the poems until the top of next year. I recall half-jokingly submitting to The New Yorker a couple of years ago, so this is my first real submission. From what I've read, it's a bit tricky when it comes to submitting: plenty of places accept poems you've already submitted elsewhere, but then you run the risk of having to tell a magazine "oh sorry, X magazine already said they'd publish it!" I won't complain if that happens - being published anywhere is good enough for me now.  It's just nice to have someone other than friends read it, to be honest - I love my friends, but sometimes the honest opinions of strangers is just as valuable.
She's actually my grand aunt, I should clarify. I mentioned calling her to my grandmother, who said it sounded like a nice idea. I think I had decided life's too short, especially with Covid. I don't really know when I'll get to see a lot of those older relatives (we're already canceling the big gatherings for the holidays), so I thought I'd see if she'd answer!
Yes, it's as if he's been playing that piece his entire life! And with no sheet music!
Join us every weekend in the Hobbit movie forum for this week's CHOW (Chapter of the Week) discussion!
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cats16
Wakandian
Oct 17 2020, 7:46am
Post #25 of 82
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I'm sure it's tough with restrictions being turned on and off like a light switch every couple of months. Unfortunately we are...well, I suppose don't need to explain why the US is in the situation it's in. :) But I expect it is going to be a very difficult winter, in more ways than one.
Enjoy your garden this weekend! And thanks for the advice on asking questions - my grandfather has what is still considered early onset Parkinson's. While he forgets a word here and there, the long-term memory remains perfectly preserved (and as long-winded as ever!). Being a filmmaker, I've had the itch to do a kind of documentary about him, perhaps even to document him going through the process, as only a grandson could. Regardless, your advice is apt.
Take care!
Join us every weekend in the Hobbit movie forum for this week's CHOW (Chapter of the Week) discussion!
(This post was edited by cats16 on Oct 17 2020, 7:47am)
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Yep! Big day today.
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Well, I'm back.
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