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Gandolorin
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on: September 24, 2017 12:33
Well, about an hour ago I voted in our national election for our “Bundestag”, Germany’s parliament. 4:32 PM here right now, polls are open until 6 PM.
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Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: September 24, 2017 04:15
I've been keeping up with the results on the internet. The projections seem to indicate that Chancellor Merkel will be re-elected which I postulate is a desire for stability on the part of the electorate.
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Gandolorin
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on: September 24, 2017 08:51
The German chancellor is not elected by the popular vote, the popular vote gives the parties X number of seats in parliament (the “Bundestag”). The voting for chancellor is by the members of parliament in the first parliamentary session, in which a 50% plus 1 vote majority is needed for a chancellor to be elected to office.

Merkel’s party (grouping) CDU/CSU currently is at about 32.9 % of the vote, a loss of about 8.5 percentage points. The Social Democrats are at about 20.8 %, a loss of almost 5 percentage points. So the two parties having formed the grand coalition of the 2013 to 2017 term lost about 13.5 percentage points combined. The Social Democrats have already stated that they will not form another coalition government with Merkel’s party, so Merkel will need two coalition partners to form a government.

That leaves as only feasible partners the Free Democrats (Liberals who in the nearer past have been closer to Libertarians), who had formed a coalition government with Merkel’s party from 2009 to 2013 after having reached a historic double-digit result in the 2009 elections (which followed on Merkel’s first grand coalition with the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2009), but were kicked out of parliament after failing to reach the minimum threshold of 5% of the popular vote to be eligible for parliament in the 2013 election, and the Greens.

The FDP now is at about 10.4 %, a gain of about 5.5 percentage points. The Greens now are at 9 %, a slight gain of about 0.5 percentage points.

The other two parties in parliament are the Left, also at 9 % and with about 0.5 % gains, and the AfD, considered right-wing (and there are some extremists among them, it’s vaguely Germany’s version of the Front National in France), which is at 13 %, a gain of more than 8 percentage points. The Left are considered not fit for government by the conservative parties (though they are in governments at state levels), while the AfD is officially considered not fit for government by every other party. I write officially because I would not want to vouch for the right wing of the CDU/CSU grouping, especially not that of the Bavarian CSU. A side note on that is that the more conservative CSU lost more, 10.5 percentage points than the CDU/CSU group as a whole nationally, while the AfD gained slightly less and reaches 12.4 % in Bavaria.

One further note: this time only about 5 % of the votes cast end up in the “dustbin”, as votes for smaller parties (over all of Germany, 42 parties were on the ballot, though almost none of them were on the ballot in every state) each for themselves failing to clear the minimum threshold of 5% fall under the table. In 2013, the sum of the “others” was over 6%, and both the FDP and the AfD also failed with percentages of 4.7 to 4.8. In that election, over 15 % of the votes were for the “dustbin”. So simply by the fact that these two parties will now get seats reduces the number of seats for all other parties. And with it being a jump from effective zero percent to a total of over 23 %, a lot of members lower down on the party lists of the four parties who were in parliament for the 2013 to 2017 legislative period are suddenly finding themselves booted out of the coming parliament.

@ E~S: I was so busy zapping through the channels to get the numbers for my "doctoral thesis" above right that I did't notice your chat window - but it's kinda your fault, as it's an answer to your above post, sort of, in a way ...
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Gandolorin
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on: September 29, 2017 01:33
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The apartment management has posted a notice that feeding, among other things (birds – they mention ducks, which I have never seen here – DUH???), squirrels is prohibited for alleged health and safety reasons – not just on balconies (which the squirrels can’t reach), which I might find reasonable, but on the entire property. Findings on such (alleged) health and safety issues is the duty (and solely the right) of the veterinary authorities. Recently the classical case has been outbreaks of avian flu, which in the extreme case can lead to the entire flock of a bird breeder (of whatever kind of bird) being culled as a precaution. And feeding wild birds (off-balcony) is acknowledged as a necessary measure to help them across extreme winter weather conditions of cold and / or snow, as mostly (but not solely) industrial agriculture has destroyed too much of their natural habitat.

With squirrels, this posted notice is totally brain-damaged. I will be checking with our local veterinary authorities about this. We have been living here for over nine years, and I have earlier spoken with neighbors in our apartment complex, generally on squirrels and feeding in the undefined past, and it’s likely that in the over fifty years that the apartments have existed, is has never been an issue. So my suspicion is that recently quarrelsome new neighbors have moved in and are trying to foist their antisocial views on the rest.

Should this be the case, then it’s wolverine time. I confess without apology to be merciless in my reaction to bullies of any kind. On a more formal level, the notice I mentioned above falls in the category of house rules, which are part of the apartment lease, i.e. part of a contract. The lease contract we signed has no such prohibitions in it, so the above-mentioned notice represents a change of contract. Which can only become effective by both parties agreeing to the change, trying to enforce any change one-sidedly is simply a breach of contract.

As I mentioned at the end of the second paragraph above, I suspect the source of the posted notice to be some new tenants of the antisocial authoritarian scum sort. In this case also of the cowardly schemer sort. If possible, my response will be of the overkill sort. Bullies only understand one language: being ground into the dust.
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Neenime
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on: October 07, 2017 09:37
Gandolorin- sorry to see that you are having troubles with theses rules and possibly with rigid neighbours.

We have a City by-law disallowing feeding the deer, which we cheerfully ignore. We live on a 2.5 acre ( 1 hectare) property, on which the deer, foxes, bears , squirrels amd birds etc come to feed on our fruit trees, berry bushes and grass. So, we throw our kitchen scraps into a composter, but sometimes just out in the grass for our animal friends. I consider it part of living within the interdependent web of existence.

I hope there isn’t a clause in your contract about obeying house rules which may be added by the management. If so, it might be difficult to oppose, unless you use the argument that there is little evidence of harm from benign practices such as balcony feeders. Then it will be necessary to rally your fellow tenants. Somehow, i think you have the personto do that!

I hope you win!

Aside from that, my family snd I are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow. We are oreparing the requisite feast and looking firward ti time with loved ones. It is good to pause and truly count our blessings, which we do too seldom.

So, my best wishes to all of you fine folk and to the marvellous Professor who brought us all together. “I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

[Edited on 10/08/2017 by Neenime]
“Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. " Gandalf
Gandolorin
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on: October 08, 2017 03:01
House rules are part of the rent contract we signed nine years ago. There is no mention of any sort about feeding anything, never mind squirrels and especially birds in winter (when they occasionally have serious survival issues due to human destruction of their habitat). We live here since nine years, without there having been issues about feeding anything. And many people, residents of the apartment complex or no, have been delighted to see at least the squirrels. And occasionally the birds. So why after nine years of no problems does apartment management suddenly feel the need to post such garbage? I may be totally off base – but my hunch is that somewhere here, quarrelsome a-hole neighbors have moved in. As I do not suffer fools gladly, this may lead to something resembling virtual thermonuclear war. Brexit, Duhnald Trump, thunderously scum-bag morons in our recent national elections in the part of Germany which 28 years ago managed something that nobody (rightly so) would have considered possible, a bloodless revolution – why are so many people brain-dead? Merkel is pathetic in many ways, true – but the (currently only thus infected on the fringes?) Nazi scum party AfD, once “only” a liberal (as in basically libertarian fanatics – the original neofeudal party FDP having gotten shredded in the 2013 election, now returning), getting around 20%, often more of the vote. Yep, we had such crap voters back in 1933, leading to Hitler. Western Germany (aka “the Federal Republic” after WW II and still so named now after reunification) had serious problems with Nazis still being in power especially in the “judicial” system. But perhaps eastern Germany’s having been debilitated by not just 12 years of Nazi terror, but additionally 40 years of Stalinist terror (and the GDR’s government was a last bastion of Stalinism) has led to an election result that shows a thundering ignorance of democracy. Of course, and the US is unfortunately the prime example, what is called “Democracy” can become a swamp of corruption. That is Angela Merkel’s main problem. She does not explain anything to anyone. She may be (though the Bavarian politician Franz Josef Strauss’s massive corruption and criminal energy make this unlikely) the most corrupt Chancellor in our nation’s history. Growl.
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BelleBayard
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on: October 09, 2017 05:56
Sorry for being MIA. Snowed last week on Monday and again today. About 6-8 inches. I'm with Neenime... we are out in the boonies and cheerfully feed the critters around us. The birdies are happy with us as are the squirrels. We don't intentionally feed the squirrels, but they do love the sunflower seeds we put out for our feathered friends. We have pygmy nuthatches as well as white-breasted ones, Hairy and Downy woodpeckers, lots of black billed magpies, crows, and mountain and black-capped chickadees. The hummingbirds have moved to warmer climes since our temps have plummeted from the 60's-70's to the 30's-40's F. Winter has come sooner than expected with little fall. Most of the aspen leaves have fallen, between the colder temperatures and some violent wind gusts a few days ago. Finally stopped snowing, but hard to say if it will begin again. Democracy is way too close to anarchy, IMHO... What we are SUPPOSED to have is a Republic, but again... what should be and what is are two completely different beasts. Seems our world runs in cycles and I'm not caring for the way it's trending at the moment. *sigh* Wishing all my dear friends here the very best.
Gandolorin
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on: October 10, 2017 01:33
Nothing to do with my above rant as far as I can tell, but somebody has definitely at least moved out – and perhaps somebody else in. Whatever the case, one or two floors above us, someone is drilling – and the drill seems to be on the heavy-duty side. 5:30 PM right now, and it is allowed until 6 PM as far as I remember. But it does make one wish for those heavy-duty hearing protectors (look like headphones) usual at airports ... Image
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Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: October 12, 2017 09:05
@ Belle - I've been watching the wildfires in Southern California. I hope the friends you left behind have been able to avoid them. One of our Realm members is from the area, and I hope she's okay.

Some of the stories are very compelling, as neighbours fight to save neighbours from the flames, heedless of the danger to themselves. Stories like these renew my faith in mankind, which admittedly flags now and then.

The videos of the scope of the destruction has been breath-taking (not in a good way), and the loss of life is unfortunately sure to increase. Currently there are 27 dead, and 285 missing.

@ Gando - One of the disadvantages to apartment living I'm afraid, not that you don't have noise and neighbour issues when you live in a house. It just seems like it's less annoying when you live in a separate dwelling. If I'm being honest, I've had a few less than stellar neighbours here, but they've all departed the area, and the current bunch are very nice.

Enjoy the rest of the week, and have an awesome weekend.

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Gandolorin
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on: October 13, 2017 12:37
ARGH! Seems the blasted Windows installer is mucking about in the background again (without any prior announcement) and seriously impairing performance!

I am quite aware that drilling noises are inevitable when somebody new moves into another apartment. We had to do a bit, occasionally more than a bit, of it in each of the three apartments my wife and I have lived in. Reducing the amount of drilling necessary is exactly the reason behind my going on a “buying spree” for Ikea “Billy” cupboards when we moved in here!

What would be seriously worse is renovation of the two tiled rooms, kitchen and bathroom, and in our case separate toilet, as knocking off the old tiles is orders of magnitude worse than mere drilling, There must have been some serious renovation activities maybe 20 years ago, perhaps less, as several things about the balconies were definitely not standard when the apartment complex was originally built probably 50 years ago. This entire fair-sized neighborhood was once company buildings (and several other neighborhoods in our city too, still a bit of a “company town”), until the (generically speaking) “Wall Street” psychopaths had managed to brainwash relevant people with the power to decide within the company that such things are not “core business”, this being whatever the deciders have been - mostly brainwashed, certainly trying to follow fashions, “flavor of the month” garbage – led to believe it is. But (investment) bankers too often driven by criminal energy in their actions, are basically only interested in more “reasons” for their wild speculations – and people stuff is to them about the most icky thing preventing them from reaping obscene, and all too often criminal profits (they too often remind me of drug cartels).
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awelyn418
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on: October 26, 2017 01:53
Hello and Gandolorien I hope your neighbors are settling in and that your problems with them will end or the problems they are causing.
Belle snow and I know you love it. All that wonderful wildlife. Are temps are dropping and Iam so ready for cooler Fall weather. Tomorrow is Friday and I am looking forward to it. M husband and visited a winery last week. I bought a yummy dessert wine called Apple pie and it does taste like apple pie. I also bought cranberry and a mixed berry wine. They make a delicious white and red too. Their logo is a school house because when they brought workers and vineyard masters but they could not speak English so they decided to build a school for the workers children and as the children learned they taught their parents. I think it is an inspiring story and they have great wine.
My husband and I are adjusting to his diabetic lifestyle. We are traveling a little bit and that makes me happy. So goodnight and have a great weekend. Hello Belle,and ES.

Gandolorin
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on: October 28, 2017 01:44
Well, it's that second time of year of each year when the clocks and watches get meddled with. The previous one this year of course was in my “earlier life” pre-retirement, and the more annoying one from my perspective – a mini-jet-lag. Now of course I can allow my daily rhythms to flow with what is natural for me – a night owl (see my new siggy! ). The slightly annoying part is adjusting all watches and clocks which are not radio-controlled (practically all of them) to the official time, which for some analog thingies means moving “forward” 11 hours. But unless I have agreed-upon appointments, like last Wednesday when I had the tires changed from the summer set to the winter set – and new tires for the winter set having been mounted on the winter wheels in the time between making the appointment and the actual tire set switch – I can basically shrug at what the analog or digital “tyrants” say. Have only rarely worn my wrist-watch since retirement; oddly (or not?), a new battery seems to be in order for it. I must confess the chronoclastic thought “is this really a necessary investment?” has popped into my mind. But I will probably opt for the battery change.

And “our” third fall (autumn) storm is due for the weekend, though we luckily seem to be towards the fringe of it (while our coastal areas, as well as those of our neighbors, are getting hit more severly).
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BelleBayard
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on: October 28, 2017 03:44
Snowed on Thursday, started to melt yesterday, but it's overcast and chilly enough that the ice formed from the snowmelt has NOT gone away. Put out suet for the birdies, who are thrilled. Had a moose visit in the middle of the night (game cameras caught her running by) last week. All the trees are bare up here excepting the pine and spruce. Outdoor kitty likes to go out an hunt - voles, mice, little birds. I think she'd like to try a Steller's Jay, but they're too big for her. She DID catch a squirrel earlier, but now they are readying for hibernation. No more bears at this point - think they're holed up as well. Should be interesting - our first winter up here. So far, still loving it in the mountains. We had our car and truck "winterized" with oil, washer fluid, and checked the tires. Hubby needed a new set in the back (they were pretty bald) so we should be good. Carry chains (cables in my case as the Subaru is AWD and chains no work well - can actually damage the undercarriage) and "sleep systems," which are heavy duty, multi layered sleeping bags the military uses. You have an inner bag (for warmer weather), a heavy cover that fits over that, then a bivey sack that covers and water-proofs the whole thing. Food and water in the vehicles as well, just in case (you know Justin) we get stuck somewhere on the side of the road till the plows can clear it. Gando, Daylight Saving Time ends here on November 5. If not for clocks and calendars, I'd be lost on what day and what time it is! LOL
Gandolorin
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on: October 29, 2017 07:30
Well, as I mentioned above the whole meddling with clocks stuff mostly makes me yawn by now. And our TV and the notebook (and even my non-online PC tower) can do the switch by themselves. So even without my wristwatch (getting it a new battery tomorrow) I am not entirely ignorant of the time. The only useful information is “how long until that rare interesting TV show?” Image
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Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: November 05, 2017 09:01
Well, autumn went by in the blink of an eye here. We had our first dusting of snow on the 2nd of November, and the temperatures dropped like a stone. My African daisies that were flowering in the garden last week have shrunk and died this week. I suspect we're going to get a cold winter.

I've been watching the new of the most recent shooting in the US. This time it's in a Baptist Church in Texas, and there are 20+ dead, as a result of the perpetrator using an assault rifle. Enough said. Now everyone is speculating as to why he would do it. Las Vegas??? Unfortunately, they'll never really know since he is deceased. There's much I love about the US but I wouldn't feel comfortable being in a crowd in a well-known tourist area.

Anyway, I hope everyone in the FoF club has a wonderful week.
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BelleBayard
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on: November 07, 2017 02:11
Fall... we had maybe two weeks of it before the snow started. Almost a foot now... down to 15F tonight and more snow... Definitely think it's going to be a cold winter, ES.
Gandolorin
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on: November 08, 2017 04:59
Our November is basically doing what Novembers historically did: rain. There has been some snow here and there, but at 800 m upwards (over 2600 feet) that’s absolutely normal.

Italy, after a hot, dry (and fire-plagued, with much arson) summer, just got doused with flooding from a low-pressure area parked smack over it.
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Neenime
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on: November 25, 2017 09:17
Greetings all. I hope that our American friends have enjoyed wonderful Thanksgiving with their family and friends. Here in Thunderbay we don’t have much snow and in fact had unusually warm temperatures recently which resulted in a thaw and freeze. Many sidewalks and parking lots were quite treacherous for a while.

Our family celebrated my mother-in-law’s 90th birthday recently. There were several gatherings, a special blessing at churxh and a big dinner afterwards. She was full of energy and so happy. Sadly, on the last day, she took a tumble down a short flight of in three places, but miraculously, had no neurological damage. She will be in a neck brace for at least three months. The worst part was being confined to the house for a while, as she is usually quite independently. Hubby is going down tomorrow to spend three weeks with her and hive his brother and sister-in-law a break.

As we approach Christmas season, I think fondly of the LOTR trilogy and will probably read it again soon.

Gandolorin- sorry to read of your apartment troubles. I do hope that things have settled by now! My husband and I do not look forward to apartment living some day but it is almost inevitable. We love the space and privacy of our semi-rural home.

Belle how goes the winter adjustment? I hope the driving conditions aren’t too challenging yet. Yes, chains or studded tires can be helpful. The former are banned here, but the latter have been permitted again recently. We considered them but ended up just getting regular winter tires fir our car. We definitely feel safer. One thing we do is turn off the traction control feature in slippery conditions. Ironically, it improves the traction. I also appreciate cars with the manual transmission option. It’s ideal for ice and heavy snow. Be safe !

CHRISTMAS CARDS ? Shall we exchange this year? Anyone on the list ( Canada, USA,UK) have an address change since last year? Gandolorin- I dont think your name is on the list, but let us know if you would like a paper card.

Wishing you all a winderful day, a safe, productive and satisfying week.
“Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. " Gandalf
Gandolorin
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on: November 26, 2017 02:38
Neenime said:... Gandolorin- sorry to read of your apartment troubles. I do hope that things have settled by now! ...
Well, actually there was never anything really unsettled, in the sense of personal (verbal) disagreements with anybody, as far as feeding critters goes. I did manage to contact one lady from apartment management (in Munich) and made it crystal clear that I considered the notice about feeding animals to be arbitrary and a total overreaction. And neighbors to the right and to the left have also shown their disdain for the notice by continuing to feed the squirrels. The drilling is simply something one has to put up with in an apartment building with four entrances and 16 apartments per entrance. It IS temporarily annoying, but also passes. Someone moving in to the 8th (upper) floor would probably go almost unnoticed by us (in the 2nd UF) even with extended drilling activities.

Currently, the squirrels are to be seen more rarely. Possibly because of the rainy weather, probably because I’m not on the balcony that often while they are most active (I sleep when I feel the need for it, with little regard for “traditional” sleeping times governed by what time some stupid clock shows). And I also recently saw a rather large bird of prey (one of the buzzard family, most likely, definitely larger than any hawk or falcon, and smaller than any European eagle), which may be keeping the squirrels in more visually protected territory, which our lawn / meadow definitely ain’t!

And as for my “productivity”, as a retiree what I mostly “produce” are posts here and in another JRRT site.
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BelleBayard
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on: November 26, 2017 11:00
Back again... Yep, adjusting to the weather. Neenime, that's a great idea about Christmas cards! We've slowed to a crawl here, but I understand. Still love my friends from CoE.


[Edited on 11/27/2017 by BelleBayard]
Gandolorin
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on: December 07, 2017 02:17
We actually had over two inches of snow here recently. The sticky kind that can be used to make snow-thingies. But since it thawed and rained after the snowfall, there is hardly anything left - except for a "snowball" of about three feet in diameter! What were the people planning to do with that big lump?!?
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Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: December 07, 2017 05:16
I'm slowly recovering from my fall. The bruising on my face is rapidly disappearing, although the back muscles are taking a bit longer to heal.

I spent a lovely day yesterday having lunch with a friend, and then catching up on some much needed grocery shopping.

We are supposed to have mild, sunny weather for the next two weeks. This morning it is very foggy, but mild, and the sun is gradually burning off the mist.
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Gandolorin
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on: December 11, 2017 02:17
Again had about two inches of snow yesterday, with temperatures below freezing for most of the day. Then, counterintuitively, temperatures began rising a while after sundown (warm from moving in), causing thawing generally and accelerating it through drizzle. So while yesterday all sorts of travel (road, rail, air) was impaired, that is returning to “normal. But now, some areas are heading for flooding alerts … *sigh*
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awelyn418
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on: December 12, 2017 09:48
I could not find the Christmas card list and I fear it is to late now. When we use to have e-cards on here I would send them out to FOF members but now that does not work. So those on Face book I will send you a card there and those that I have your e-mail I will send you one such as MIA Dimple. I have been shopping and cleaning and decorating. No snow here just chilly temperatures. I have started reading a series about two woman cousins who are widows who but a bed and breakfast in Maine and have many mysterious adventures. I really am enjoying it and some science fiction and fantasy books too. Also Amish mysteries too. I find their life style very interesting not that I agree with everything in their Plain Life. Such as a woman is in obedience to her father then her husband and depending on spouse or father her life could be horrible. No opinions of your own and I just could not live like that but it really depends on which Amish community you are a member of too. I am going to fix my supper but have a great evening.
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on: December 14, 2017 09:18
The fog persists here which makes everything so grey and uniform. It's really a bit of a downer mood wise, but it's only about a week until the shortest day of the year herein the Northern Hemisphere, and then the days begin to lengthen again.

Oscar had his pre-Christmas bath and nail trimming so he's all set for the holidays. I'm getting my hair done next week ..... to cut, or not to cut, is the question. Not sure what I'm going to do yet.

Otherwise things are going well on the Island. Hopefully I'll manage to dodge the various viruses floating around until after the holidays are over.

Enjoy the upcoming weekend.
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BelleBayard
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on: December 16, 2017 03:21
Hasn't been much snow here, but that shall change next week. We have predictions of single digit and minus temperatures with snow, snow, and more snow coming for Solstice and Christmas. Brr... Glad I don't have to go to work in it. I have sent out a few Christmas cards this year, but since I don't have an address book I had to beg for addresses on Facebook. *sigh* I still have some of my Tolkien friends, but don't know when or if this site will be updated in the future. Please hang around, even if we are a bit on the slow side. Love you all!
Neenime
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on: December 25, 2017 09:36
Yuletide greetings to one and all! I hope this finds you all well, enjoying the blessings of the season.

We had a full house last night for dinner and dear friend dropped by earlier. Such a contrast from last years when our children all had to work and my brother and sister had been invited elsewhere. An extra special treat this year is the visit of my cousin Lesia from Ukraine. We joked with her that -16C on Xmas Eve was nothing. Sure enough, today, with the windchill it is -42!,,

Here she is with a new friend. Image
“Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. " Gandalf
Gandolorin
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on: December 26, 2017 01:44
Merry Christmas to all! Image (In Germany, the 26th is “Second Christmas Day” and a national Holiday.)

Neenime, you don’t have that suit of armor standing around at home, do you??? Image
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Neenime
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on: December 27, 2017 09:45
Yes, indeed, Gandolorin. That's my friend. I won him in a raffle at work. Our university had a gift shop on campus and I had considered buying this little treasure a few times. Like a good Ukrainian, I was waiting for a sale . Then, one day, it turned up as a prize in a scholarships fundraiser. I had been so busy helping stressed out students that I didn't notice the draw until just 2 hours beforehand. Apparently, stuffing all of my tickets in the container for that prize worked, because I ended up winning it!

Sadly, it is not real armour, just a cheap tin replica. Still,it makes a good conversation piece.

I hope that you all have been visiting, feasting and resting, like good Hobbits and Dwarves !

Awelyn So sorry that I didn't see your message until after Xmas. I found an old file with our addresses. I have sent it to you in a private message. If anyone would like it,please let me know.

[Edited on 12/28/2017 by Neenime]
“Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. " Gandalf
Gandolorin
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on: December 28, 2017 04:25
Neenime said:... Sadly, it is not real armour, just a cheap tin replica. Still,it makes a good conversation piece ...

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Hokay!
Well, as tin it at least still made of metal, not plastic.
And as for conversation piece – erm, yes, I can imagine some interesting conversations between my wife and myself if I ever lugged something like that into our apartment – like “where the *bleeeeep* do you think you’re going to put that thing?!?” Image

On another topic, our news today mentioned that northern parts of the 48 contiguous states are having some serious winter weather – like Pennsylvania being buried under snow, and Minnesota having a record cold snap. I definitely prefer the non-freezing non-blizzard weather conditions here.
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Neenime
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on: December 30, 2017 09:19
I am fortunate that my family appreciates armour. It matches my collection of swords.

Yes it’s been a challenging December, weather-wise in North America. Eastern Canada was whalloped with a wind storm. Much of Canada has been in a deep freeze this past week, and the USA has had some of this as well. My family in Norway has had rain, rain and more rain. A little snow fell and promptly melted.

Hoping the rest of you are doing well and enjoying the holiday season.

Isend you all best wishes for a new year filled with promise, good adventures, strong health and much joy. Image
“Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. " Gandalf
Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: December 31, 2017 08:36
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I just popped in to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and memorable 2018.
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Gandolorin
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on: December 31, 2017 11:36
A happy New Year 2018 to all! Image Image Image Image
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Neenime
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on: January 03, 2018 11:01
To The Professor. And to all of you fine folk. Here we are at Tolkien Toast 2018. May you enjoy more of his works in the year to come!
“Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. " Gandalf
Gandolorin
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on: January 04, 2018 01:22
Image The 126th birthday! I guess it's just too close to New Year's Day for me to remember without some serious alarm clock function of some gadget.
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