TOP! What holidays do you guys celebrate, and are you doing anything exciting for them? Do either of you like hot chocolate? I love making hot chocolate.
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submitted by Blackfooted TOPcat (December 11, 2021 - 7:29 pm)
I celebrate Christmas! This year we're going to visit our cousins in Colorado, which we couldn't do last year. My favorite parts of the holiday are probably the music, the TREEEE, the food, and visiting family. Everyone likes hot chocolate ;) (unless you're allergic to it in which case you might still like it but not be able to drink it) but I think my favorite warm drink is chai. So far, we've made Chex Mix and sugar cookies for our wintery snacks.
How about you?? And how are you doing?
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submitted by Lupine, Ravenclaw common room (December 13, 2021 - 7:50 pm)
I'm technically allergic to hot chocolate XD Or, milk. But I'm much less allergic than I used to be, thankfully, and it doesn't effect me much. I used to make it just with water, but almond milk or coconut milk are good. Or normal milk, which is what I usually do to be honest... Is it a good idea? Probably not. It does make my throat and mouth tingly sometimes, for instance. Is it absoloutely delicious? Yes. And do I have any impulse control whatsoever? No, no I do not.
Anyway, I don't have sustainable chocolate yet, but I'm going to be getting sustainable chocolate powder. Unfortunately really good sustainable chocolate in a bar is really expensive and we can't get it, but I use cocoa powder more anyway. My favorite thing to put in it is cinammon and cloves, but I also like peppermint. I also love putting melted chocolate in when I can.
I celebrate Christmas and New Year. Not Lunar New Year. For New Year we usually have mochi with kinako powder on NY Eve and make butter mochi (a Hawaiian thing) on NY Day, and have an smallish array of food ranging from things like crackers and cheese to these rice cracker things and... I don't actually know the name of any of these things but Japanese snack-type things on NY Eve - stuff like that. Sometimes my parents get poi shipped (with taro mochi cake, which just as good as it sounds, and kulolo, which is delicious and which I actually tried to describe somewhere once and could not, so look it up if you want to know) since they learned to do that. (Poi is mashed taro root. It's a Hawaiian thing, it's very much an aquired taste, and it's at least in the top three of my favorite foods ever.) But this year I'm looking into more foods as well, like toshikoshi soba on New Years Eve (I love soba, so I'm excited) and salmon wrapped in kombu and MORE MOCHI >:D For Christmas, there are presents and a Christmas tree. I love making presents. We also make fudge and cookies, especially for decorating.
But honestly, I'm just as excited because the local music store usually gets violins in after the first Christmas concert when people decide they don't want to play violin anymore and send back their rented violins! The violins there are better than the one I have at the moment. I'm definitely getting the "used" kind (which means that it's in good playing condition but has cosmetic issues like scratches; my viola is used I believe and it has a lot of scratches) because there's like a 200 dollar difference between that and the new. Also I'm largely paying for this myself *shudders because I don't have enough money*
@Lupine, it's cool that you have cousins in Colorado! I've never been there, but it seems like a neat place.
As for how I'm doing, I heard "Oh Christmas Tree" and started crying because I would sing it to my cat with the words changed to "Oh (cat's name)/ how lovely are thy whiskers/your fur is gold/your eyes are green/prettiest thing/who can be seen." Technically her fur was black, orange, and white, but I could only choose one. I do have two other cats still (which I think I failed to mention) but the cat who died was probably the most special. Don't tell the others.
While I was at viola lessons today, there was a crash from the closet where my teacher's violas were held (she has one old one of her brother's that is a sixteen-inch and one fifteen-inch that she plays) and there was general terror until the violas were shown to be fine. My heart would not stop racing for quite a long time afterwards.
I am officially working on fifth position (and also second, and probably fourth because I haven't officially studied either of those although I can do fourth pretty much as well as first or third and second a little)! And it turns out that I've been learning two different versions of the Vivaldi RV 356 third movement, so I have to relearn large parts of it! And I have Telemann's viola concerto in g major to work on now! I am using too many exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also crocheted my dolls a candy cane-inspired dress. It has a white shirt part, and then alternates white and red with a candy cane trim in red and white on the skirt. The trim was hard but looks cool, in my opinion. I love candy canes a lot. Do either of you craft at all?
I think I'll sign off here. Thanks so much for reading this Admins; it's really long.
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submitted by Blackfooted Bobcat (December 13, 2021 - 9:56 pm)
Yesterday I got this georgeous merino yarn to make a Christmas present. It is a rich auburn-brown, like the color of red cedar bark but deeper and richer. I am really excited to work with it. Just looking at it makes me happy.
I enjoy crafting a lot. Making something with your hands is really satisfying. Currently I knit mostly, but I also sew, draw, craft with paper, make cards, and embroider. I've knit socks and fingerless gloves. Now I am working mittens and a poncho. The candy cane dress you crocheted sounds really cute! Do you do any other crafts?
I enjoy cooking, and I pretty much cook whatever catches my fancy in a cookbook. I can do "practical" cooking (actual meals, not just desert). I prefer making unusual and new things, to which I add my own ideas. Desserts are fun to make. In the summer I make tarts, and fruit dessert, and in winter I make more pies and desserts using apples and pears. I've made tortillas with my mom which was really fun (and tasty)!
As far as I have heard all we have planned for the holidays is spending time with our imediate family. I look forward to spending time with family during the holidays, and I love the lights and decorating. Driving around after the sun has set and seeing the cheerful displays of light is something I enjoy, and accidentally stumbling across an amazing light set up is delightful. The tradition of hanging ornaments is very special to me because the ornaments each have their own history and we relate them as we hang them up.
Lupine, I hope you have a great time with your cousins in Colorado. From everything I have heard it sounds like a beautiful place.
I don't drink hot chocolate much due to the high super sugar content. But it is good! Especially after you have gone out in the snow. I agree with you, Lupine, chai is really good and warming.
Your New Year food sounds so good, Bobcat! Congrats on beginning to work on fith position and second and fourth. I hope you can find a really good instrument in the flood of ones returned to your music shop; and I am very glad to hear your teacher's violas were okay.
I'm sorry for the sadness hearing Oh Christmas Tree brought. Remember
that it is okay to be sad and it's okay to cry. I think sometimes this
idea of "being strong", and "crying is weak", and not showing your
feelings is pressed on us. I think this is wrong. Crying isn't weak at
all, it's a way of mourning and releasing your feelings. I'm sending
virtual hugs to you, Bobcat.
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submitted by Peregrine (December 15, 2021 - 12:14 pm)
As for crafts I do, I pretty much do anything. I can knit, crochet, embroider, cross stitch, bind books (I might ask for non-acidic bookbinding glue for Christmas, now that I think about it), do origami, and make paper dolls (my grandma sends me really intricate Japanese paper dolls and they're beautiful, so I want to figure out how to make those).
I finally figured out what to get my brother for Christmas. First I made a cloth for dusting his computer out of some really cute cat fabric, and I'm going to make candy! Because he cares about three things: computers, cats, and food. My mom is still a mystery. It's made harder by the fact that our sewing machine needle broke and I'm not allowed to put in the new one until I've finished all my current projects :( I'm not sure what that means XD
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submitted by Blackfooted Bobcat, age Violincats, Violist and Books (December 18, 2021 - 10:35 am)
@Bobcat, reading all those new year foods makes me hungry! I kind of forced my family to celebrate Japanese New Year last year, even though we normally don't, because it was a pandemic and I was bored and I'd celebrated it with my extended family a few times. We made spam musubi (which I ate way too much of because I have a concerning adoration for spam) and inirizushi and bought seaweed salad and mochi ice cream. Because holidays are like 90% food.
Making paper dolls is fun! I made a couple of book-character-fanart paper dolls and conicidentally my grandma also gave me some Japanese paper dolls (sadly they disappeared when my brother and I moved rooms).
@Peregrine, I'm not amazing at cooking or crafting (I prefer 2-D art) but they are fun when I have the patience. Pies are the best <3 <3 Mostly I like baking and making pancakes. I'm scrolling through the art thread and trying to remember, but were you the one who posted all those pictures of cakes a while ago?
IT SNOWED! Okay, so it's currently raining and the snow is melting, but STILL! *grins wildly* How were your Christmases? I just got my first COVID shot yesterday (!) so my arm is really achey and sore :( I might post more later.
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submitted by Blackfooted Bobcat, age Violincats, Violist and Books (December 28, 2021 - 1:41 pm)
It's getting close to New Year! Unfortunately when we were at the Asian store, some of the things we needed were way too expensive. And also unfortunately, there's a lot of kamaboko and daikon in a lot of the recipes, and I don't think anyone in my family likes kamaboko and I do not like daikon. Oddly, I saw this puzzle where it looked like there were a bunch of kamaboko hanging on a Christmas tree and I was so confused until I eventually figured out they were supposed to be peppermints. I don't care what they said, it was kamaboko XD
One of my favorite New Year traditions is mochi. We almost always have mochi (it can be hard to get, but I found a recipe for making it with a stand mixer and it's really good so definitely this year!!!!). I love mochi every way I have tried it - sweet with azuki beans, plain with soy sauce and nori, plain with kinako, plain or sweet on its own, and the kind you make with mochiko flour. I like most sweets though.
I'm making myself a goals and reflection sheet for the new year. I tend to be very logical and goal-oriented and like having plans. Guess what all my goals are for? (Go on, guess.) I'm guessing you guessed that mostly they're viola and violin. I'm thinking I'm going to put writing largely aside except for as a hobby or for creative burnouts/when I'm not doing great healthwise (which are pretty much always related). I'm definitey going to keep writing, but I really need to focus more on my instruments. Do either of you make New Year goals? I tend to. This year I'm trying to be extra strategic and am including monthly goal-setting as well.
Also, @Lupine are you from Hawaii? Because spammusibi is a common thing in Hawaii, which is where I'm from. I love SPAM and spammusibi as well :P
Oh, and I also love The Nutcracker. We have a few videos of it and I watch it over and over. Even when it's not Christmas. I can't believe that Tcahikovsky thought it was horrible, even though it wasn't well-recieved at first. At the moment I'm listening to BWV 1063, a concerto for three harpsichords in d minor by Bach. It's so good and I love it and it just keeps getting better. Especially the third movement; I love the cello part in it so much. I'm the kind of person who likes to do things over and over again.
@Lupine, are you going to do a Japanese-style New Year like you did last year? Regardless of whether you do or don't, I hope you have a wonderful time and a great new year. Same for Peregrine too of course XD
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submitted by Blackfooted Bobcat (December 30, 2021 - 2:15 pm)
@Admin, @Lupine, @Peregrine, thank you so much : )
Peregrine, do you like to cook? What sort of things do you make besides pie? Lupine, do you ever cook?
(December 6, 2021 - 1:18 pm)
(December 10, 2021 - 12:50 pm)
TOP! What holidays do you guys celebrate, and are you doing anything exciting for them? Do either of you like hot chocolate? I love making hot chocolate.
(December 11, 2021 - 7:29 pm)
I celebrate Christmas! This year we're going to visit our cousins in Colorado, which we couldn't do last year. My favorite parts of the holiday are probably the music, the TREEEE, the food, and visiting family. Everyone likes hot chocolate ;) (unless you're allergic to it in which case you might still like it but not be able to drink it) but I think my favorite warm drink is chai. So far, we've made Chex Mix and sugar cookies for our wintery snacks.
How about you?? And how are you doing?
(December 13, 2021 - 7:50 pm)
I'm technically allergic to hot chocolate XD Or, milk. But I'm much less allergic than I used to be, thankfully, and it doesn't effect me much. I used to make it just with water, but almond milk or coconut milk are good. Or normal milk, which is what I usually do to be honest... Is it a good idea? Probably not. It does make my throat and mouth tingly sometimes, for instance. Is it absoloutely delicious? Yes. And do I have any impulse control whatsoever? No, no I do not.
Anyway, I don't have sustainable chocolate yet, but I'm going to be getting sustainable chocolate powder. Unfortunately really good sustainable chocolate in a bar is really expensive and we can't get it, but I use cocoa powder more anyway. My favorite thing to put in it is cinammon and cloves, but I also like peppermint. I also love putting melted chocolate in when I can.
I celebrate Christmas and New Year. Not Lunar New Year. For New Year we usually have mochi with kinako powder on NY Eve and make butter mochi (a Hawaiian thing) on NY Day, and have an smallish array of food ranging from things like crackers and cheese to these rice cracker things and... I don't actually know the name of any of these things but Japanese snack-type things on NY Eve - stuff like that. Sometimes my parents get poi shipped (with taro mochi cake, which just as good as it sounds, and kulolo, which is delicious and which I actually tried to describe somewhere once and could not, so look it up if you want to know) since they learned to do that. (Poi is mashed taro root. It's a Hawaiian thing, it's very much an aquired taste, and it's at least in the top three of my favorite foods ever.) But this year I'm looking into more foods as well, like toshikoshi soba on New Years Eve (I love soba, so I'm excited) and salmon wrapped in kombu and MORE MOCHI >:D For Christmas, there are presents and a Christmas tree. I love making presents. We also make fudge and cookies, especially for decorating.
But honestly, I'm just as excited because the local music store usually gets violins in after the first Christmas concert when people decide they don't want to play violin anymore and send back their rented violins! The violins there are better than the one I have at the moment. I'm definitely getting the "used" kind (which means that it's in good playing condition but has cosmetic issues like scratches; my viola is used I believe and it has a lot of scratches) because there's like a 200 dollar difference between that and the new. Also I'm largely paying for this myself *shudders because I don't have enough money*
@Lupine, it's cool that you have cousins in Colorado! I've never been there, but it seems like a neat place.
As for how I'm doing, I heard "Oh Christmas Tree" and started crying because I would sing it to my cat with the words changed to "Oh (cat's name)/ how lovely are thy whiskers/your fur is gold/your eyes are green/prettiest thing/who can be seen." Technically her fur was black, orange, and white, but I could only choose one. I do have two other cats still (which I think I failed to mention) but the cat who died was probably the most special. Don't tell the others.
While I was at viola lessons today, there was a crash from the closet where my teacher's violas were held (she has one old one of her brother's that is a sixteen-inch and one fifteen-inch that she plays) and there was general terror until the violas were shown to be fine. My heart would not stop racing for quite a long time afterwards.
I am officially working on fifth position (and also second, and probably fourth because I haven't officially studied either of those although I can do fourth pretty much as well as first or third and second a little)! And it turns out that I've been learning two different versions of the Vivaldi RV 356 third movement, so I have to relearn large parts of it! And I have Telemann's viola concerto in g major to work on now! I am using too many exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also crocheted my dolls a candy cane-inspired dress. It has a white shirt part, and then alternates white and red with a candy cane trim in red and white on the skirt. The trim was hard but looks cool, in my opinion. I love candy canes a lot. Do either of you craft at all?
I think I'll sign off here. Thanks so much for reading this Admins; it's really long.
(December 13, 2021 - 9:56 pm)
Yesterday I got this georgeous merino yarn to make a Christmas present. It is a rich auburn-brown, like the color of red cedar bark but deeper and richer. I am really excited to work with it. Just looking at it makes me happy.
I enjoy crafting a lot. Making something with your hands is really satisfying. Currently I knit mostly, but I also sew, draw, craft with paper, make cards, and embroider. I've knit socks and fingerless gloves. Now I am working mittens and a poncho. The candy cane dress you crocheted sounds really cute! Do you do any other crafts?
I enjoy cooking, and I pretty much cook whatever catches my fancy in a cookbook. I can do "practical" cooking (actual meals, not just desert). I prefer making unusual and new things, to which I add my own ideas. Desserts are fun to make. In the summer I make tarts, and fruit dessert, and in winter I make more pies and desserts using apples and pears. I've made tortillas with my mom which was really fun (and tasty)!
As far as I have heard all we have planned for the holidays is spending time with our imediate family. I look forward to spending time with family during the holidays, and I love the lights and decorating. Driving around after the sun has set and seeing the cheerful displays of light is something I enjoy, and accidentally stumbling across an amazing light set up is delightful. The tradition of hanging ornaments is very special to me because the ornaments each have their own history and we relate them as we hang them up.
Lupine, I hope you have a great time with your cousins in Colorado. From everything I have heard it sounds like a beautiful place.
I don't drink hot chocolate much due to the high super sugar content. But it is good! Especially after you have gone out in the snow. I agree with you, Lupine, chai is really good and warming.
Your New Year food sounds so good, Bobcat! Congrats on beginning to work on fith position and second and fourth. I hope you can find a really good instrument in the flood of ones returned to your music shop; and I am very glad to hear your teacher's violas were okay.
I'm sorry for the sadness hearing Oh Christmas Tree brought. Remember
that it is okay to be sad and it's okay to cry. I think sometimes this
idea of "being strong", and "crying is weak", and not showing your
feelings is pressed on us. I think this is wrong. Crying isn't weak at
all, it's a way of mourning and releasing your feelings. I'm sending
virtual hugs to you, Bobcat.
(December 15, 2021 - 12:14 pm)
As for crafts I do, I pretty much do anything. I can knit, crochet, embroider, cross stitch, bind books (I might ask for non-acidic bookbinding glue for Christmas, now that I think about it), do origami, and make paper dolls (my grandma sends me really intricate Japanese paper dolls and they're beautiful, so I want to figure out how to make those).
I finally figured out what to get my brother for Christmas. First I made a cloth for dusting his computer out of some really cute cat fabric, and I'm going to make candy! Because he cares about three things: computers, cats, and food. My mom is still a mystery. It's made harder by the fact that our sewing machine needle broke and I'm not allowed to put in the new one until I've finished all my current projects :( I'm not sure what that means XD
(December 18, 2021 - 10:35 am)
@Bobcat, reading all those new year foods makes me hungry! I kind of forced my family to celebrate Japanese New Year last year, even though we normally don't, because it was a pandemic and I was bored and I'd celebrated it with my extended family a few times. We made spam musubi (which I ate way too much of because I have a concerning adoration for spam) and inirizushi and bought seaweed salad and mochi ice cream. Because holidays are like 90% food.
Making paper dolls is fun! I made a couple of book-character-fanart paper dolls and conicidentally my grandma also gave me some Japanese paper dolls (sadly they disappeared when my brother and I moved rooms).
@Peregrine, I'm not amazing at cooking or crafting (I prefer 2-D art) but they are fun when I have the patience. Pies are the best <3 <3 Mostly I like baking and making pancakes. I'm scrolling through the art thread and trying to remember, but were you the one who posted all those pictures of cakes a while ago?
(December 18, 2021 - 5:07 pm)
(December 21, 2021 - 12:32 pm)
I'm going to post eventually : )
(December 21, 2021 - 9:22 pm)
Merry Christmas and a happy new year! I will try to post soon.
~ Peregrine
(December 27, 2021 - 1:09 pm)
(December 27, 2021 - 1:15 pm)
IT SNOWED! Okay, so it's currently raining and the snow is melting, but STILL! *grins wildly* How were your Christmases? I just got my first COVID shot yesterday (!) so my arm is really achey and sore :( I might post more later.
(December 28, 2021 - 1:41 pm)
Sorry, I can't think of anything to write XD
(December 29, 2021 - 3:59 pm)
I should have posted sooner, sorry :/
It's getting close to New Year! Unfortunately when we were at the Asian store, some of the things we needed were way too expensive. And also unfortunately, there's a lot of kamaboko and daikon in a lot of the recipes, and I don't think anyone in my family likes kamaboko and I do not like daikon. Oddly, I saw this puzzle where it looked like there were a bunch of kamaboko hanging on a Christmas tree and I was so confused until I eventually figured out they were supposed to be peppermints. I don't care what they said, it was kamaboko XD
One of my favorite New Year traditions is mochi. We almost always have mochi (it can be hard to get, but I found a recipe for making it with a stand mixer and it's really good so definitely this year!!!!). I love mochi every way I have tried it - sweet with azuki beans, plain with soy sauce and nori, plain with kinako, plain or sweet on its own, and the kind you make with mochiko flour. I like most sweets though.
I'm making myself a goals and reflection sheet for the new year. I tend to be very logical and goal-oriented and like having plans. Guess what all my goals are for? (Go on, guess.) I'm guessing you guessed that mostly they're viola and violin. I'm thinking I'm going to put writing largely aside except for as a hobby or for creative burnouts/when I'm not doing great healthwise (which are pretty much always related). I'm definitey going to keep writing, but I really need to focus more on my instruments. Do either of you make New Year goals? I tend to. This year I'm trying to be extra strategic and am including monthly goal-setting as well.
Also, @Lupine are you from Hawaii? Because spammusibi is a common thing in Hawaii, which is where I'm from. I love SPAM and spammusibi as well :P
Oh, and I also love The Nutcracker. We have a few videos of it and I watch it over and over. Even when it's not Christmas. I can't believe that Tcahikovsky thought it was horrible, even though it wasn't well-recieved at first. At the moment I'm listening to BWV 1063, a concerto for three harpsichords in d minor by Bach. It's so good and I love it and it just keeps getting better. Especially the third movement; I love the cello part in it so much. I'm the kind of person who likes to do things over and over again.
@Lupine, are you going to do a Japanese-style New Year like you did last year? Regardless of whether you do or don't, I hope you have a wonderful time and a great new year. Same for Peregrine too of course XD
(December 30, 2021 - 2:15 pm)