COLD DARK ROOM

EllieMay

EllieMay

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CarolM said:
My one makes yoghurt, is a slow cooker and a pressure cooker. So it has a lot of nice features.
Click to expand...

I’m interested in the yogurt making process.. we eat lots of that here but that is one kitchen utensil that I do not have.. I also like the stewed/tenderized meat idea..let me know how useful you find it so I know if I should go get one:))
 
EllieMay

EllieMay

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CarolM said:
My attempt at a gingerbread house. View attachment 260350View attachment 260351
Click to expand...

I LOVE gingerbread.. our “elf” makes the kids a gingerbread “something” every year. I can’t take a picture for you because I’ve already ate it... [emoji4]
It was a village this year. But we have had all kinds of neat creations.. the hardest was Santa’s sleigh I think.. with 8 tiny reindeer!!!
 
JoesMum

JoesMum

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CarolM said:
The CDR Christmas Story...

It was two weeks before Christmas and the kids are getting so excited about Christmas. I love Joe, Torento, Clunker, Jacques, Sully, Ma, Mo, Kristoff, Rue, Kang, Clark, Harry, Blue, Whity, Pickles, Tidgy, Oli Bold, Julio and Misty so so much and I cannot disappoint them this Christmas. I have no job anymore and have been pretending to go to work everyday so that the kids don't know. But with no job and no money Christmas is going to be so disappointing this year. I need a Christmas miracle…….

So I went downtown to view some store windows. Maybe one of these stores need a helping hand before Christmas and would pay me. I was really in despair. I would do mostly every job to earn a little bit money.

There were a lot of people in the streets. Busy people searching for the last Christmas gifts they want to buy. People with heavy bags in their hands. My own hands were empty. So empty like my purse. I was praying to see a sign in one of these store windows saying : "Help needed. Enter when you are interested", but none…

My mood is getting sadder and sadder. At the end of the street right on the edge I recognize a very small window store and something in the window fascinates me. I don't know what it is. I am getting nearer. It was a very small store. The sign on the window tells me that it was a shop for antiquities.

It was very dark in the store but I can see an old man standing behind an old wooden counter. I was scared because the old man looks directly in my eyes. I can’t avoid his look. It seems to me that for several minutes we were looking each other in the eyes but in real it was only a few seconds.

Suddenly I turn my face and want to go away as I hear a little bell jingle. It was the bell on the entry door of the store. A hoarse voice ask: "Are you searching for work ? I could need a helping hand in the store. Are you interested?”

I turn my face and can’t believe the words I have heard. I was astonished. How could the old man know that I was searching for employment? I was looking in two watery blue friendly eyes of the old man and feel that my Christmas miracle has just begun.

"Yes, I am interested." I hear my own voice without thinking about what I was saying.

"Okay, come in. I'll show you what to do. It is easy to do but I am old and some things are too heavy for me.”

The old man opens the entry door of his store and the bell jingles again. I was following him. It was a little bit dark inside the small room. I can see a lot of shelves. The whole store was full with shelves and every shelve held totally different things: Wooden boxes, old lamps, figures in all sizes, a lot of old dolls, porcelain, silver cutlery, tea pots, old tin toys..... and so much more I can’t describe. The lot of things were overwhelming me.

"Here, take that duster and clean my beauties, but be very careful. Every piece in here has his own personality and story. Please don't break a thing, they are very precious."

I began to carefully sweep away layers of dust... as I did, I got this feeling... almost like I was sweeping away all my troubles. My heart felt lighter than it had in some time. One particular object was so dirty that I couldn’t make out what it was right off the bat. As the grime started to fly away, I realized it was a snow globe. It was beautifully anchored on a bronze base with delicate floral tooling etched all the way around. Something pulled at my heart. I picked it up, mesmerized it seemed, and tilted it down and up again. As I watched the snow fall, it seemed a strange glow began. There was a tiny ramshackle looking shed in the globe. It looked as if it was growing larger... or maybe closer before my very eyes….

No, it wasn’t growing larger I was smaller!

The ground beneath me was soft but not cold. I could still see the glow inside the shed so I walked closer and slowly entered and I could not believe my eyes!

I saw hundreds of little people busy working and singing! It was a very warm magical place! As I walked in slowly a cute little lady handed me a tool belt and a hot drink which turned out to be a delightful hot toddy...

The warm toddy worked its way through my body. The aromatic spices and herbs filled my senses, and the Ballmoral Malt Whiskey eased my apprehensions. Suddenly the blocks of wood became live, the “little people” gazed out the frosty windows, and the birds, sheep, camels, oxen, and horses in the bright green pastures were dancing. A bonfire was glowing, the stars, moon and sun could all be seen. Day was night, and night became day. Was it a dream or a new reality...

Suddenly, I spotted something protruding through the snow. I reached out to brush the snow away. The felt slightly odd, reminding me that somehow I was in the snow globe world. As I pulled the snow away, an armadillo was revealed. There were rings on his back as if coffee cups had been left there. The tag on his collar read "Montgomery". Montgomery nudged me and started to plod through the snow. What could I do but follow him? Time passed, but the light stayed the same and it was impossible to say how far we walked. We arrived at the mouth of a cave and the armadillo wagged his tail and headed right in. Should I go with him? Was it safe?

Taking a deep breath, I stepped into to the cave. It was dark, and I had already lost sight of Montgomery the armadillo, although I heard his footsteps somewhere in front of me. I reached out my hands and slowly shuffled my feet forward, hoping not to trip or fall over any obstacles in the dark. Then my fingers brushed against something. I knew instantly it wasn't an armadillo. Whatever I had just touched, it was squishy! Then it started to glow, faintly at first. Carefully poking the glowing blob again, I took a closer look. It resembled a glowing jellyfish.

Was it more than a simple hot toddy that the cute little lady had given me or did I, like Alice in Wonderland, come to a strange place with a logic of its own?

“Montgomery!” I called into the dark.

My voice echoed back a dozen times. I pitied the poor, strange armadillo who might get lost in the dark. The cave must have been very deep, with more corners than one could count. It couldn’t have been safe. I had liked the look of the warm and brightly lit shed with hundreds of tiny workers much better.

I turned to go back—and froze. Not literally, although it was nearly that cold; the chill that ran down my spine was of a different kind. The exit was blocked by a thin sheet of ice with such intricate detail that I could swear it was a spider web, only made of tiny frozen crystals. I had just walked in. When did this appear?

I took a step toward the web of ice and stretched out my hand to touch it, but a voice rang in the silence of the dark cave:

“Careful. If you touch it, you will never be able to leave this place.”

I quickly snatched my hand back! Could this be the dreaded wool spider (if she exists) that we've been hearing so much about? I moved the glowing jellyfish closer and saw many pairs of wool socks, scarves and mittens littered around on the floor beneath the frozen web. "YIPES!!!!" I yelled, and scurried backwards away from the web as fast as I was able.

Squeezing my eyes shut as tight as I could, I softly murmured, "There's no place like home. . . there's no place like home." I felt a cool mist with snowflakes swirling around my body, and when I opened my eyes, there I was, back in the old man's shop, with a feather duster in my hand. I hollered in the direction of the back room, where I assumed the old man was, "I'm outta' here! It's too weird for me." and I ran out the door, while the bell tinkled.

As I ran out the door, the wooly spider ( if it exist ) grabbed ahold of me and tried to wrap me up in it web. All I could think about was my poor little tortoise kids. If I struggled, she would wrap me tighter, so I just relaxed and “Poof”, I fell out of her nest. I then slithered out the door quietly and realized I just left the only job I could find. Now, what a delema I have. Do I go back, or, do I run. I really need to make some money for my kids, they do have to eat.

Okay I CAN do this, it is for my babies after all. I slowly walked back to the door and peered through a crack to see if it was safe. I couldn't see anything lurking about. Pushing the door slowly open the light from outside shone inside the shop through the open door and it looked like everything was safe. The old man looked up from behind the counter, saw me and asked if everything was okay? I stammered everything was fine and that I had just gone outside for a little air ( from all the dust in the back room). I walked back to the room that I was previously dusting, but as I passed the old man...I stopped and asked him if he had had anything strange happen to him when he went into that room. He looked at me and asked 'Strange How?' 'Ummm, oh nothing' I quickly replied and went into the back. Completely missing the smile which came up on his face and the twinkle in his eye.
I carefully looked around the room and as I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary . So I picked up the duster to start working again. However I went to a different shelf this time and started dusting the globes on that shelf. There was a globe with reindeer in it. A Globe with a beach inside. A Globe with a lake and trees. But the funny thing was that each globe when picked up you could see the scenery inside moving, it was almost as if they were magic globes. In the globe with the reindeer I could see the reindeer standing in lines in a harness waiting in front of a sleigh. There was one right in the front with a shiny red nose. The globe with the beach I am sure I could see the sea washing up on the shore, I even thought I heard the sound of the sea. It soon became a game for me to pick up each globe and look inside to see the magic. Until I picked a globe which for me was the most beautiful one of all. As I looked inside I could see a beautiful house with lights shining out the windows. The house had christmas lights all around it and I could even hear christmas music. I was pressing my nose right against the glass of the globe to try and see if I could see inside the house. And then it started happening again, the house was coming closer and getting bigger and bigger until my nose was against the actual windows of the house. And what I saw inside took my breath away and my heart lit up with joy and happiness....

There I stood in utter astonishment. A feeling of peace came about me; the kind of feeling one experiences perhaps once in a lifetime, if at all. All the sights, sounds, and feelings of a Christmas morning spent as a child came about me. I ventured about in awe of it all. A light snow was falling amidst the brightly lit Holiday lights. The smell of wood burning in the hearth coupled with the scent of freshly baked apple pies.

I was suddenly paralyzed by the bliss that had befallen me; unaware of the strife and ineptitude of my daily life. When suddenly I began to feel a chill. The once lightly falling snow was getting heavier to the point of total whiteout. The smells of burning wood and fresh baked pies that had once kept me captive had quickly dissipated. The house seemed much less festive, and an eeriness of my surroundings set in. It was then that I remembered what Christmas truly meant to me: My dear children.

My bliss was now replaced by shame; that I would indulge in my own selfish euphoria while forgetting what truly made me happy. As reality set back in, I once again was standing in that quaint shop. The old man’s eyes stared into mine, grinning all the while. He winked at me as he slowly closed the cash register drawer. Could he have known? Was he somehow responsible for this?

"You seem to be tired." I hear the hoarse voice of the old man and feel his hand gently touching my shoulder and I awake !
Shame ! I felt asleep sitting in an old rocking chair behind one of those shelfs.
"Oh, I am so sorry ! I don`t wanted to sleep. I will go on with my work right now." I hear my own voice saying rubbing my tired eyes with my hands.
"No, it is enough for today. This work can be very hard sometimes." says the old man calm and friendly. "Please let me give you this little box as a payment for your work. Be very careful with it and don`t open it until you are at home. Good luck."
The old man put a small wooden box in my hand. "But ....." I say not really knowing what to say.
"It is okay, believe me. Now you must go home. I want to close the store."
"But, should I come back tomorrow ? " I was whispering.
"No, it is not necessary." says the old man and smiled at me with his watery blue eyes. "Trust me, all will be okay." he says.
"Thank you." I heard me saying not knowing for what I should be thankful and I leave the store with the small wooden box in my hand. The door bell jingles again and then I was on the street. I hear that the door of the store was locked behind me. How much time had passed ? It was beginnig to get dark on the street. I feel a deep confusion and other feelings too: Anger because I got no money, or was the money in the box ? And curiosity about what was the content of the box. Would it held just another nightmare dream for me ?
I feel that I`d better get back home. I was in a hurry now. One hand holding the box tightly I am running home.

I arrive home and open the door and what do I see? My beautiful children have cleaned up the house. The dishes have been done and the kitchen is spotless. Their rooms have been tidied and the lounge is all nice and tidy. I am completely overwhelmed with love for my children and don't know what to say to them for doing all of this without me having to ask. I decide then and there that I need to tell them the truth.
We all sit in the lounge and I quietly tell them the whole sorry story, about me having no job. That I have been pretending to go to work so that they don't have to worry. I even tell them about the shop and the old man and about the globes inside and what I saw. They were amazed at the adventure and I remember that I still have the box in my hand.

So we opened it..... inside was a letter and a pen and a little book. The letter said the following:
With this book and pen I gift to you a wish per page. Use the pen to write one wish on one page.
I was so disappointed as I was hoping for something more, something tangible which would help me to put food on the table or even help me to be able to give my little ones a Christmas gift. I put the book and pen to one side and started to get up to go and see if I had anything left in the kitchen for supper. But Rue stopped me, asking if I wasn't going to write a wish down. "Oh Rue, it is not real. What would be the point, it won't provide supper for us! " But Rue insisted that it would be magic like in the shop and that I should write something. So I opened the book on the first page and wrote on the first page ' a plate of each kids favorite food for supper tonight' I waited to see if anything would happen but nothing did. I got up and as I walked to the kitchen I told Rue that wishes did not come true no matter how much we wanted them to. But then I noticed that the table in the kitchen was set and by each chair was a plate of each one of our favorite foods. I was so happy and astounded to realise that maybe some wishes did come true. Running back to the lounge I picked up the book to have a look at the page where I wrote my wish. It wasn't there anymore. Scrolling through the pages to see if it was anywhere else I saw that there was something on the very last page. And this is what it said:
You have been gifted with this book of wishes, use the pages wisely. Each page will disappear once a wish has been written. When you come to the end please gift this book to someone else good of heart and in need.
Click to expand...
What a wonderful ending! Merry Christmas Carol! :)
 
JoesMum

JoesMum

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Good mornooning roomies and Happy Christmas Eve!

I was up at 6.30am to collect my order from the butcher and, once I have had breakfast, will spend the morning cooking and doing prep for tomorrow. I love my Christmas Eve in the kitchen :)

Have a wonderful festive period whatever you are doing. This evening we will be going to Hadlow, the village we lived in when we first moved to Kent, to sing Christmas carols in the village square.

Day 24 is one of my favourite Once in Royal David's City. This version is started traditionally by a solo boy soprano
 
Momof4

Momof4

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We are headed out on our new boat to test it!
We are meeting friends who have a boat and also invited a soccer family.
We will eat lunch and just cruise around the “lake” it’s actually a dam that’s about 10 minutes from the house.

I’ll report back later.
I hope everyone has a lovely day!!
 
Yvonne G

Yvonne G

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Momof4 said:
We are headed out on our new boat to test it!
We are meeting friends who have a boat and also invited a soccer family.
We will eat lunch and just cruise around the “lake” it’s actually a dam that’s about 10 minutes from the house.

I’ll report back later.
I hope everyone has a lovely day!!
Click to expand...
A BOAT?????? You guys got a BOAT? Freakin' awesome!!!! Please show us a picture of it.
 
Momof4

Momof4

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JoesMum said:
Good mornooning roomies and Happy Christmas Eve!

I was up at 6.30am to collect my order from the butcher and, once I have had breakfast, will spend the morning cooking and doing prep for tomorrow. I love my Christmas Eve in the kitchen :)

Have a wonderful festive period whatever you are doing. This evening we will be going to Hadlow, the village we lived in when we first moved to Kent, to sing Christmas carols in the village square.

Day 24 is one of my favourite Once in Royal David's City. This version is started traditionally by a solo boy soprano
Click to expand...

What kind of meat did you order??
 
Bee62

Bee62

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Cheryl Hills said:
Good afternoon everyone. I am back from my weekend adventure. Longest night was greT but Saturday was a bit sad. We put our good friend to rest. All my torts are doing great and growing. Might be getting or adopting two new pets, two Adult Raccones to add to the zoo. We have to go and check them out first. This will be interesting!
Click to expand...
Oh, racoons ? They are a big problem in Germany. I don`t want them around my house. They are cute but can be pretty nasty. When they are tamed it can be interesting having them.:)
 
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