'tis the Season

Half Fast

Half Fast

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Half Fast
It's December 1, Thanksgiving is behind us, the lights are on the house, the stockings are hung, cold(ish) weather has come to Florida, and I'm sitting in front of the fire sipping a nice old pinot noir while our puppy snoozes.

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As is the norm for 2020, nothing is particularly normal this year. My family usually kicks off the season by spending a week in Atlanta volunteering at a Samaritan's Purse distribution center where we inspect and pack cartons of Christmas gifts as part of Operation Christmas Child. We listen to carols during the long drive, work all day at the center, have dinners with friends, and spend the evenings watching Christmas movies at the hotel. It's an outstanding way to get in the holiday mood.

This year, though, our group decided not to go, as we have several elderly folks who are in fragile health. One of our ladies had a stroke a few days before Thanksgiving, so it's probably best we decided to sit this year out, but we all miss going and we're looking forward to next year.

So we're making the best of it, and that's not bad. My son and daughter were here over the weekend and helped with the house decorating. We're still working on Thanksgiving leftovers and will be for a while. Last night Barb and I popped in the DVD of "It Happened On Fifth Avenue," one of our favorite Christmas movies. We'll be ODing on holiday movies, carols, shopping, and church activities for the next month and more, and loving every minute of it.

So what's everyone else up to? Getting into the Christmas spirit, or going all Grinch this year?
 
This a much cheerier thread than the others right now. :) So much of the "norm" is out of the window, it's strange to think that Christmas is only 3ish weeks away! Ironically enough, my family decided to travel this year instead of staying put as is normal, but the beach break at Thanksgiving was much appreciated, and I'm looking forward to a trip down South to warmer temps and sunshine during my week off between Christmas and New Years.

The lights and decor go up early at my family's house. I put the outdoor lights up in October while it was still somewhat warm, but I had fun putting the finishing touches on the indoor decorations when I was home alone earlier last week. Watching old-timey Christmas movies by light of the tree, while warm and cozy with a cup of tea, was pretty sweet.

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My family is going as full steam ahead as possible with Christmas. Lots of Christmas music, cookies, church services, and Christmas movies. I'm a bit bummed because pretty much all but the worship services have been cancelled at church, including the OCC shoebox packing party we usually had, but at least the services are still going! We've done most of our Christmas shopping already, but I still need to make gifts for the kiddos in my classroom and figure out what to give my new brother-in-law.

I love Christmas so I'm pretty much a little kid all December. :)
 
No tree here, yet. Most likely won’t this year, as we’re planning to head south for the holiday. I’m looking forward to getting away and hopefully to some warmer weather. We’ve gotten our first taste of old man winter here in SE Tennessee this week and we’re expecting a frost tonight.

Like @SkyChaser said, it’s hard to believe we’re less than a month away from Christmas! As chaotic as this year has been, it’s really flown by fast!
 
We’re in Playa del Carmen enjoying a few days to ourselves without the kids. Crazy to say, but we flew the airlines down and it was actually kinda nice to not have to worry about all the details of international flying yourself. Oh, and customs coming in here was way faster with airlines than flying myself (somewhat to my surprise).
 
Girls were begging to put lights on the tree last night, but i didn't get back from my flight until 8:30, so maybe tonight. They were instantly in the Christmas spirit the day after Thanksgiving, but it usual takes me until about Dec 23.
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Ted said:
We’re in Playa del Carmen enjoying a few days to ourselves without the kids. Crazy to say, but we flew the airlines down and it was actually kinda nice to not have to worry about all the details of international flying yourself. Oh, and customs coming in here was way faster with airlines than flying myself (somewhat to my surprise).
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Only thing I remember about Playa del Carmen was lots of topless Europeans girls.
 
Jim K said:
Is Josh Flowers creeped out by your obsession with him? Because he probably should be lol. Getting a real "Stan" vibe....
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Ha! No the whole thing is sort of a setup for a larger joke. Josh actually has an amazing sense of humor, insanely quick on his feet but he doesn't include it as a part of his content.

Whose Stan?
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Ha! No the whole thing is sort of a setup for a larger joke. Josh actually has an amazing sense of humor, insanely quick on his feet but he doesn't include it as a part of his content.

Whose Stan?
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I figured as much. It's kind of fun seeing where you sneak his picture in.... been noticing it for a while now. Looking toward to the payoff. Glad to hear Josh is not as deadly serious as he appears in videos.

'Stan' is one of Eminem's biggest hits, and about the only one I care for. It's about an obsessed fan who kills himself because his letters go unanswered, but they had just gotten lost in the mail or something. I assumed that's where you were going with it:

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Video: (this one edits out the f bombs, which is about half the song. I recommend the unedited version for the full effect)
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aSLZFdqwh7E&ved=2ahUKEwj7k4e2xK_tAhV8EFkFHdD0CpEQjjgwEnoECA8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1b-VUK7i_hDtBB3TCVioQk

And now I've ruined the nice Christmas thread. Sorry @Half Fast

ETA: I forgot we were already talking about nude beaches and armpit hair, so I don't feel so bad.
 
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steingar said:
Only thing I remember about Playa del Carmen was lots of topless Europeans girls.
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Haven’t seen that particular sight, but it may be because we’re staying at a Hilton resort down here. The guests definitely are mostly American. Also not sure how much Europeans are traveling to this part of the world at the moment. I only saw USA carriers and Aero Mexico when we landed at MMUN.

I can say that now is a good time to come down here. This resort doesn’t appear to be more than a quarter full. So we get the place largely to ourselves with very good service.
 
Ted said:
Haven’t seen that particular sight, but it may be because we’re staying at a Hilton resort down here. The guests definitely are mostly American. Also not sure how much Europeans are traveling to this part of the world at the moment. I only saw USA carriers and Aero Mexico when we landed at MMUN.
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A lot of Europeans get August off for Holiday, and Mexico is cheap. I was there in August, and the place was packed. Like I said, topless European girls. Didn't mind the crowd at all.

Ted said:
I can say that now is a good time to come down here. This resort doesn’t appear to be more than a quarter full. So we get the place largely to ourselves with very good service.
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It is a beautiful part of the world to which I would gladly return.
 
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