π―οΈπ―οΈπ―οΈπ―οΈIt's time for the Cosmopolitan Globalist's Jewish Christmas Lollapalooza, only more so!ππ―οΈπ―οΈπ―οΈπ―οΈππ·π
Thank you Claire. My mother used to make potato pancakes for us when we were K-12 age. I have a Christmas tree on top of a book cabinet in living room and a solar-charged Menorah on my balcony. It lights up when the sky is dark. I invited friends and neighbors to help decorate Christmas tree and my 2-year old neighbor saved everyone else some hard work by putting all the ornaments on the tree. And it looks great. Another neighbor brought a tree-topping ornament. I made Hot apple cider. And the fresh wreath on my front door gives me a whiff of pine every time I go in or out. And itβs cold outside, which I enjoy during the holidays.
I'm going to get a set of these for my brother. I'm sure Max would be good at this. How long did it take you to teach him to use them? (Your dog is a him, right?)
I've heard that it's not easy to get the buttons in Europe, though that may have changed since I heard it, especially since there are off-brands on Amazon now. If you need, I might be able to deliver some if you have them sent to me.
I recommend reading Christina Hunger's book How Stella Learned to Talk. Stella was the first "talking dog," and Christina has many helpful tips. It looks like she also teaches classes at http://hungerforwords.com; I bet those are great, and they're on sale right now.
It's been very easy for me to teach Bailey how to use the buttons because I put a lot of work into teaching my babies to talk, beginning when they were tiny. I narrated my actions endlessly and showed them what things are called before they could even sit up on their own. The habit stayed with me, and you teach a dog in much the same way you would teach a small child. I sound ridiculous when I take the dog out for walks.
Bailey is incredibly quick to learn new words. Her first intentional button push came less than 24 hours after we began teaching her, and it usually takes her just 2-3 days to learn a new word. It's not unusual for dogs to take months to figure out what the board is for, though. That's OK.
Fluentpet used to have a free program for teaching your child to teach the dog. Maybe they still do? I'll see if I still have those materials somewhere. Justin enjoyed them.
I didn't use the buttons Christina sells because my space is limited. The system at http://fluent.pet takes less floor space, and their online forums are great. If your brother has a larger dog, though, Fluentpet buttons are a little small for big paws.
I should really write a piece about this somewhere. I have a lot of thoughts, and the experiment has been incredibly successful in my house.
Spanish & Portuguese tradition: Waffles. Why? R Moshe de Yehudah Pisa (1737-1808) noted that the "miracle and wonder" of Hanuka--- Nes VA'FELE in Hebrew --- sounded a lot like what Amsterdam street vendors were calling out on winter evenings.
We sing: barzel im barzel akhum yahad; ofim bahem bime Matitya. Wafele baleilot en pakhad; Korim hamim, bakiyira. 'Iron with iron knitted together in the days of Matityahu. Between them we bake wafele; By nightfall have no fear; callers cry out 'they're hot!'" The barzel of the waffle iron symbolized the united "men of iron" Maccabean brothers, whose commitment produced va fele/wonders.
If goyische latkes, why not halal GlΓΌhwein, too? That is, a non-alcoholic hot punch that imitates GlΓΌhwein fairly well, a Kinderpunsch with pretensions. I got the idea from this fellow, Omar:
I made this kind of "GlΓΌhwein" in a 3-qt slow cooker for Christmas Eve, so my kids wouldn't be left out, had quite a bit myself knowing I wouldn't get plastered, and woke up with a hangover today, anyhow (since sugar hangovers are also A Thing). Relatives less interested in sobriety reported it *really* tasted like GlΓΌhwein once spiked with a little red wine.
Here's my sort-of recipe:
Pour 2 c boiling water over 1/2 c raisins to soak. Sort whole cranberries to get 2 c of good ones. Blend 2 c whole cranberries, raisins, and soaking water together, and pour into a slow cooker to make a sort of tannic (cranberries), aged-grapey (raisins) soup. Add mulling spices and simmer for several hours (if uncovered, which smells better, you'll have to replenish the water and stir). Then kill the heat and steep "overnight" (if not overnight, then several more hours) until cool. Strain the cooled soup, reserving and rinsing still-presentable-looking spices like cinnamon quills, discarding pulp and weird-looking bits.
Mix the strained soup with 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (to "oak" it) and as much tart cherry juice as you judge convincingly imitates GlΓΌhwein (somewhere between 1 and 2 quarts, I think). Sweeten to taste, if desired, (GlΓΌhwein can, but needn't, be sweet) with any heat-stable sweetener.
Return mixture to rinsed slow cooker with cinnamon quills to heat for serving. Float lemon and/or orange slices in the hot punch for decoration.
The mulling spices I used this time:
~1 inch fresh ginger root, slivered
3 cinnamon quills
5 whole cloves
~1/2 whole nutmeg, coarsely cracked
1/4 tsp whole cardamom seeds
1/4 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 small Indian bay leaf (Cinnamomum tamala β Omar's recipe called for real bay leaf,Β Laurus nobilis, but I bought the wrong kind)
I myself am about to start on a piece of pumpkin pie, garnished with a dollop of whipped cream, with a glass, or two, or three, of tawny. Expect no further updatesβ¦
I accidentally closed out of the spelling game. π Last I looked my score was 178 and I got a couple more words after that. My husband helped, though.
Hereβs a poppier performance of βΠΠΎΠ²Π° Π Π°Π΄ΡΡΡΡ Π‘ΡΠ°Π»Π°β with a βsexy harvest hospitalityβ vibe (complete with burst pomegranate and pert butternut squash):
A few years ago, I learned of the following Ukrainian Christmas chant, a sort of Orthodox βSilent Nightβ, recorded at the Sviatohirsk Lavra (a monastery complex near Sloviansk) during better times:
The lyrics are rather melancholy, so I wonβt translate them now. The people-watching is top notch, though. Thereβs the music director in the kliros, waving his tuning fork like a baton; a bishop (I think, by his onion-dome hat) waiting his turn, holding a microphone as if heβs expected to do liturgical karaoke; youth in traditional costume whispering; several participants, including clergy, trying not to fall asleep; Christmas trees (a Western import), tinsel, and blinking fairy lights clashing gloriously with older fineryβ¦
Thank you Claire. My mother used to make potato pancakes for us when we were K-12 age. I have a Christmas tree on top of a book cabinet in living room and a solar-charged Menorah on my balcony. It lights up when the sky is dark. I invited friends and neighbors to help decorate Christmas tree and my 2-year old neighbor saved everyone else some hard work by putting all the ornaments on the tree. And it looks great. Another neighbor brought a tree-topping ornament. I made Hot apple cider. And the fresh wreath on my front door gives me a whiff of pine every time I go in or out. And itβs cold outside, which I enjoy during the holidays.
Sorry the formatting did not survive the posting process!
Finished!
Chrismukkah Villanelle
Two holidays that coincide
Round the world we try to see
Can we autocracy elide?
The light that lasts brings forth our pride.
In candelabra and on tree.
Two holidays that coincide.
Hate can flicker and ignite,
Dark follies lost to history.
Can we autocracy elide?
Yet hark the voices still abide,
Singing strong and joyfully!
Two holidays that coincide.
Our celebrations travel wide,
We find our shared humanity.
Can we autocracy elide?
The fortitude we find inside
May lead back to democracy
Two holidays that coincide;
Can we autocracy elide?
Outstanding! β₯οΈ
OMG, you did it!πΆπΆπ
You win!
You get a year's subscription to the Cosmopolitan Globalist ... and I hereby appoint you the Cosmopolitan Globalist's Poet Laureate.
I'll announce this today.
Well done! I have the best readers in the world.
Also I always wanted to be a Poet Laureate! Let me know if you need any other poems!
Thank You! Good to end the year with a win!
If you are Jewish, I am sorry Hannukah is not enough for you. If you are Christian, I am sorry in the reverse.
Has anyone finished the villenelle? Because I did start it
And?
https://www.popsci.com/environment/can-dogs-talk-with-buttons/
I'm going to get a set of these for my brother. I'm sure Max would be good at this. How long did it take you to teach him to use them? (Your dog is a him, right?)
I'm so glad! I can't wait to hear how that goes!
I've heard that it's not easy to get the buttons in Europe, though that may have changed since I heard it, especially since there are off-brands on Amazon now. If you need, I might be able to deliver some if you have them sent to me.
I recommend reading Christina Hunger's book How Stella Learned to Talk. Stella was the first "talking dog," and Christina has many helpful tips. It looks like she also teaches classes at http://hungerforwords.com; I bet those are great, and they're on sale right now.
It's been very easy for me to teach Bailey how to use the buttons because I put a lot of work into teaching my babies to talk, beginning when they were tiny. I narrated my actions endlessly and showed them what things are called before they could even sit up on their own. The habit stayed with me, and you teach a dog in much the same way you would teach a small child. I sound ridiculous when I take the dog out for walks.
Bailey is incredibly quick to learn new words. Her first intentional button push came less than 24 hours after we began teaching her, and it usually takes her just 2-3 days to learn a new word. It's not unusual for dogs to take months to figure out what the board is for, though. That's OK.
Fluentpet used to have a free program for teaching your child to teach the dog. Maybe they still do? I'll see if I still have those materials somewhere. Justin enjoyed them.
I didn't use the buttons Christina sells because my space is limited. The system at http://fluent.pet takes less floor space, and their online forums are great. If your brother has a larger dog, though, Fluentpet buttons are a little small for big paws.
I should really write a piece about this somewhere. I have a lot of thoughts, and the experiment has been incredibly successful in my house.
Write it! It's a great story, one I'd publish in a heartbeat. I'm sure everyone here would be fascinated.
Hurrah!
Spanish & Portuguese tradition: Waffles. Why? R Moshe de Yehudah Pisa (1737-1808) noted that the "miracle and wonder" of Hanuka--- Nes VA'FELE in Hebrew --- sounded a lot like what Amsterdam street vendors were calling out on winter evenings.
We sing: barzel im barzel akhum yahad; ofim bahem bime Matitya. Wafele baleilot en pakhad; Korim hamim, bakiyira. 'Iron with iron knitted together in the days of Matityahu. Between them we bake wafele; By nightfall have no fear; callers cry out 'they're hot!'" The barzel of the waffle iron symbolized the united "men of iron" Maccabean brothers, whose commitment produced va fele/wonders.
If goyische latkes, why not halal GlΓΌhwein, too? That is, a non-alcoholic hot punch that imitates GlΓΌhwein fairly well, a Kinderpunsch with pretensions. I got the idea from this fellow, Omar:
https://www.landsandflavors.com/non-alcoholic-gluhwein/
I made this kind of "GlΓΌhwein" in a 3-qt slow cooker for Christmas Eve, so my kids wouldn't be left out, had quite a bit myself knowing I wouldn't get plastered, and woke up with a hangover today, anyhow (since sugar hangovers are also A Thing). Relatives less interested in sobriety reported it *really* tasted like GlΓΌhwein once spiked with a little red wine.
Here's my sort-of recipe:
Pour 2 c boiling water over 1/2 c raisins to soak. Sort whole cranberries to get 2 c of good ones. Blend 2 c whole cranberries, raisins, and soaking water together, and pour into a slow cooker to make a sort of tannic (cranberries), aged-grapey (raisins) soup. Add mulling spices and simmer for several hours (if uncovered, which smells better, you'll have to replenish the water and stir). Then kill the heat and steep "overnight" (if not overnight, then several more hours) until cool. Strain the cooled soup, reserving and rinsing still-presentable-looking spices like cinnamon quills, discarding pulp and weird-looking bits.
Mix the strained soup with 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (to "oak" it) and as much tart cherry juice as you judge convincingly imitates GlΓΌhwein (somewhere between 1 and 2 quarts, I think). Sweeten to taste, if desired, (GlΓΌhwein can, but needn't, be sweet) with any heat-stable sweetener.
Return mixture to rinsed slow cooker with cinnamon quills to heat for serving. Float lemon and/or orange slices in the hot punch for decoration.
The mulling spices I used this time:
~1 inch fresh ginger root, slivered
3 cinnamon quills
5 whole cloves
~1/2 whole nutmeg, coarsely cracked
1/4 tsp whole cardamom seeds
1/4 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 small Indian bay leaf (Cinnamomum tamala β Omar's recipe called for real bay leaf,Β Laurus nobilis, but I bought the wrong kind)
1 whole star anise
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 clementine
Chrismukka: Well, OK! Here at Chez Gregg, the holiday dinner menu was as follows:
Stuffed Mushrooms Julia
Spiced Olives
Cheese Assorted
Cocktails
Beef Braised in Stock & White Wine
Braised Onions
Braised Carrots
SautΓ©ed Mushrooms
Selection of Red Wines
Pumpkin Pie
Cheesecake with Chocolate Drizzle
Lemon & Lime Mousse
Sauternes
Ten-Year-Old Tawny Port
Calvados
I myself am about to start on a piece of pumpkin pie, garnished with a dollop of whipped cream, with a glass, or two, or three, of tawny. Expect no further updatesβ¦
A great blog by Walter Russell Mead about Christmas. Thereβs a new post each of the next twelve days. See,
https://providencemag.com/2024/12/day-1-christmas-gift-3/
A great blog by Adam Garfinkle about the true story of Hanukah. Adam calls it βHanukah for
Realistsβ See,
https://open.substack.com/pub/adamgarfinkle/p/hanukah-for-realists?r=dq3ii&utm_medium=ios
Umm, is this what you were looking for?
Love the cosmo, Love it. Thank you for all you do
>>
I scored 81 points in this Spelling Bee game π https://spellbee.org/.
Can you beat my score?
I scored 184 points in this Spelling Bee game π https://spellbee.org/.
Can you beat my score?
(I think we're the only ones who played. Want to keep playing?)
I accidentally closed out of the spelling game. π Last I looked my score was 178 and I got a couple more words after that. My husband helped, though.
219!
Wow.
I think if you go back, it saves your score from the last time the window was open.
I did play too- got 93.
Yes, yes, and yes! Bring in the Chinese food!
... Or as I prefer to call it. Channumass. (or should that have only 1 s ?
Merry Chrismukka!!
And to you! How are you and your family doing?
Doing well for the most part! I hope you and yours too?
Happy Chrismukkah, Claire! Allow me to share a recent setting of the traditional Ukrainian Christmas carol ΠΠΎΠ²Π° Π Π°Π΄ΡΡΡΡ Π‘ΡΠ°Π»Π° (A new joy is born) with a decidedly klezmer spirit: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=atS3DSKodaI&list=OLAK5uy_nqrnyyYv_v83NbX_XoLCVcFszcavgn-Kw
Hereβs a poppier performance of βΠΠΎΠ²Π° Π Π°Π΄ΡΡΡΡ Π‘ΡΠ°Π»Π°β with a βsexy harvest hospitalityβ vibe (complete with burst pomegranate and pert butternut squash):
https://youtu.be/-i08oWvxcLQ?si=DNOMWBQJq77R3R9U
β reminding me of how Orff expected βCarmina Buranaβ to be staged (whichβ¦. https://youtu.be/IKc47r6_lFo?si=yM7Xt2QxDtriTmQ2 ).
A few years ago, I learned of the following Ukrainian Christmas chant, a sort of Orthodox βSilent Nightβ, recorded at the Sviatohirsk Lavra (a monastery complex near Sloviansk) during better times:
https://youtu.be/2h5YBrcbEHY?si=Bo-1qlEP1e2aIIYM
The lyrics are rather melancholy, so I wonβt translate them now. The people-watching is top notch, though. Thereβs the music director in the kliros, waving his tuning fork like a baton; a bishop (I think, by his onion-dome hat) waiting his turn, holding a microphone as if heβs expected to do liturgical karaoke; youth in traditional costume whispering; several participants, including clergy, trying not to fall asleep; Christmas trees (a Western import), tinsel, and blinking fairy lights clashing gloriously with older fineryβ¦
Midge, you wouldn't happen to be the Midge I know by the name Midge F. Rattlesnake, would you?
Yes. I misssed you.
I *knew* it was you. Your prose style is so distinct. I'm so glad to see you. I missed you, too.
Confession: For years, I thought the refrain in the Carmina Burana was, "I WANT MY TUNA."
Thank you for sharing that!
Completely necessary Chrismukka viewing - White Christmas portrayed by Italian greyhounds!!!!!!!!
https://youtu.be/FmtM4pXQVi0?feature=shared