Two days After Christmas, and where did it all go? the fun, the gayiety?

hi Ravisivan and sabado Happy New Year. As an American all immersed in our own culture I at times forget not everyone here at mylot celebrated christmas which is one good thing about mylot. I have learned so much by having and being friends with mylotters from all corners of the world. Customs and c ultures bring new scope to my life as I realize the world is getting smaller all the time. we can now talk to people across thousands of m iles and learn from eachj other.Yes here in the US we go all out for christmas all of /December but seems now like a slump before New Y ears dayl of cou rse being here in theis retirement center is not really a good representaton of life in the US outside our walls. we are pretry sedate here, too much so for intelligent older people really. a lot of them here sit for hours like boobs watching television. that is not for me,it gets really boring after an hour or so. so am glad I ha ve my tru sty old compu ter. lolHappy New year to you Ravisivan and sab ado it is almost here lol lol

Happy New Year too Hatley may you have many more blessings to come. your topics really are cordial and forthcoming, i like it.

sabado -- you are comparatively nearer to us. Hatley aunty is in USA so far away. We enjoy others celebrating xmas. Christian living in different localities celebrate it in grand manner. The shop I visited is a shop catering to the requirements of upper strata of society and there only I noticed decorations. Side by side after that I went to Kapali Temple a Hindu temple--siva -- there I found many boys and girls --some of them from usa -- were singing, dancing inside the hall meant for this purpose. I was thrilled by the fineness with which they were singing it and the orderly manner in which it was being celebrated.-- right this time of the year -- we have relatively cold climate and culture is aimed at bringing people together for functions. This is the same ss in christianity or any othe religion also. you are in Phil. good.

Great! Lets start with some chocos for all of us around... ummm Hot Chocolate?

Try it on Sids now it won't melt as its lot of cold today. Oh Sids admin also went to celebrate Christmas.I am too still in festive mood and it will continue till the arrival of 2012.

you are obsolutely right, let's party. I was just saying that I need at least 1 day to recover, but seem like there is a party building up here...while waiting for the host! lol

hi StephanieAnnc yes me too and will still be there New Year's day. oddly the cheery greetings and little courtesies I see during Dec dwindle after Christmas and seldom last clear through New Year's day.I think some of my Christmas spirit was marred by having the flu right now during this fun time so perhaps New Years day will perk me up a bit.

Hi stephanieAnnC I am feeling so much better and looking foreard to New Year's Eve too. I am trying to be more cheerful and more courteous and hope it spreads. lol lol

I'm sorry to hear you have the flu! Feel better! I wish the cheerfulness and courteousness lasted all year round as well.

I need to recover at least the day after xmas..

hi sjvg yes its sort of a let do wn here bvut then theres still New Years ever.at midnight here it gets really nosisy as we count down til the New Year. seems this year has gone super fast. I think for me with all the carolers we had here and the Christmas party now the quiet is sort of a let do wn then too this is the first Christmas in years that I was really pretty ill 'with a strain of flu that myflu shot of course did not cover. now I an feeling well again for the first time in days it s eemed too quiet. lol bu t Its great to feel good againl lol lets see 'aqccor ding to my computer clock its Dec27 at 10.03 am. chilly in our room but the sun is really shinining and the skys are blue with big marshmallow clouds. looks pretty outside , so here I sit mylotting like a lazy woman and not a bit ashamed. lol lol

hahaha this box has me laughing again... cheers!

hi enelym and ravi and the sids Happy New Year I am looking forward to that, My son spent christmas day with me and that was the best present of all, his time and presence. we talked nonstop about everything, and anything. We had a lot of Carolers come here and it was great from the huge high school glee club that sang some off key to the Church group of youngsters that were totally awesome in their singing, and a vietnamese quartet that were superb musicians and played some old Christmas hymns for us, Oh Sid yes where are the chocos? I would love some too. I love the dark chocolate ones with nuts in them and oddly now the scientists tell us that dark chocolate is good for us. How about that? Actually something we love thats good for us? way to go,.

Hatley aunty is busy with some other work probably. You see within 12 minutes 8 people have responded and are awaiting your comments.

Hi ravi Now there not only Hatley's response is here Yours and sids as well... Hi Hatley Nice that you have the company of your son with you on Christmas day. From December 16 carolers are non-stop here every night. Yup I also heard about dark chocolate being much better to eat than the usual ones we eat.

hi sabado__dc yes you have a good point there, I hav e not been able to do any cooking since I came here to Gold Crest, but I do'remember those days of non stop cooking and baking and each Thanksgiving and C hristmas I was half ill for a day or so. not til in m y mid fifties when I was diagnosed with diabetes did I know why all nthat yummy food was actually making me ill.Since then I hav e had to change the way I eat on all holidays and the result is y ou can have delicious holiday meals with out a lot of sugar in th em and they are more healthy for all of us anyway. Happy new Year to you

oh sabado I am really careful as if my blood sugar goes high I can get really ill so I have to remember not to eat stuff thats going to just make me sick.its no fun to be sick on the holidays no food is woth almost dy ing for.

Hi ReallySunny, I should be resting right now as our School Library resumed this morning and I'm some kind of tired lol...although we do not have classes yet, I still need to come cuz i am a working student. Hatley, I hope you are doing well. It is best to always have the appopriate diet and not to eat all we can during this season..

I'm sorry you had the flu! Not a good way to spend Christmas, I agree. I used to take Comtrex but I can't take it any more because of some health problems. I really does work. My typical New Year's Day includes a pot of beans and taking down the tree and decorations, then getting everything all cleaned up and rearranged.

Hi peavey I think the fact that I had the flu on C hristmas day gad sort of dampened things but I enjoyed the day as my son spent it with me and we talked and talked about anything and every thing./ also he brought me some Comtrex and that stuff has really worked, my sore throats gone, and my congestion, even my sore eyes are back to normal. still have a bad cough but I feel so much better.We always kept our tree up til New Years day then symbolically we took it down and put all the decorations away for the new year.We will undoubtedly have some sort of celebration for New Yearss but of course not on the day itself.

hi peavey thats the way we used to do too as a built in sort of tradition. One year my husband got into a contest with the man across the street to see who would take their Christmqas'tree down first,. but we two wives saw the things were crisp and afire hazards so the end of January out they both went to our husbands chagrin lol lol I am looking foward to my son spending New Y ears's Eve with me. love that.

I've been praying for healing for quite a while now. That was 8 years ago. I'm still sick, but at least God gave them the clues to find out what is wrong. So that's something. Thanks for the prayers.

hi ambiepam and stehanie I think the best present my s on gave me was a box of cometrex for flu, I have taken four doses now and my congestion is gone, my cough is better and my sore eyes have cleared up too. This is the first time in years that I had the flu and bronchitis on Christmas day. but b ecause my son came and spent the day with me I felt just wonderful til after he left. b ut now the medications really working in and I do feel greqt again. Yesits the holiday itself that seemed to work magic on my body then the last few days I went back to feeling like i had the flu. but today with the medication my son brought me I feel great again. I have read that our bodies do produce a natural pain killer when we really need it. I feel so much better today. now for New YearsHappy New year AmbiePam and stephanieAnn

That's sad to hear. But at least you had a good time at Christmas. It could have been the power of Christ during that time. Try praying for healing. I will pray for you as well.

That is one reason I stopped observing Christmas, though we give gifts at Hanukkah, I am slowly weeding that out. In fact I talked to my son the other day and he agreed...

Gift giving is fine up to a point but when p eople think they have to outdo one another thats just not good at all.

hi carm here it seems like so m any young people get gifts I would love to have and seem bored and disappointed that some new electronic gadget was not included. The thing that disappoints me is that for all the fuss and everything the real meaning of Christmas to me is bypassed,. the birth of Christ. well anyway I had the flu bu t am now feeling good again and looking forward to New Years Ev e. my son spent christmas with me and that was so great. I am happy anyway as I'feel human again lol. bless my son he got me some Comtrex and its has helped me to get over the virus, Even my eyes are better today. before they were red and tearing and itch oh my G but now they feel normal again. so I h ave much to be grateful for after all. lol

Happy New Year to you too. Have a wonder week.

hi again its almost New Years Eve. am really looking forward to that as myson will spend it with me too and we always have fun just talking about anything and everything.

hi Mayka yes here its calmed way down but now New Years is almost o n us and that should perk us all up too. Happy New Year Mayka hope it will be a w o nderful one for you and yours.

hik celticeagle now I am getting over the flu I am much happier but i had a great Christmas as my son spent it with me and he brought me some comtrex that has really helped me get over the sore throat, sore eyes, and congestion , I anm still coughing'but feel so muc h better and my eyes no longer hurt. S o I am in good form for New Year's Eve. I am feeling more joy and happiness now that I feel physically better. lol

hi celticEagle only the cough and that like to killed me at dinner as I was strangling and could not get my breath, coughing and I guess I had some phlegm over part of my throat. I finally kept drinking my table mates ice water and it seemed to settle down, I guess I was panicking and not a soul even knew I was in trouble lol so now I have the cough back but still I feel so good again that comtrex my son brought me really did work.

I am glad you are feeling better and hope that the new year keeps you feeling the joy and happiness.

hi MaryLynn yes thats so true. here in the US the economy has 'sort of shut some of the gayety down as so m ny came into Christmas with out a job. thats no fun at anytime but at Christmas its really a downer. I must say a lot of firemen and police officers sponsored a toy drive and families where there was not going to be any gifts, the children all got armfuls of toys donated by the firefighters and the police and also I noticed Von's grocery store was in on the toy drive too. This made me feel really good knowing the children were going to get gifts under the Christmas tree after all. also the families of those who were jobless all got big Christmas baskets of food to keep them going until the man and sometimes the woman of the home got a job and a paycheck.this to me is the essence of Christmas that and going to Church on Christmas day.

I total agree with you Hatley. It is wonderful to see others helping others during the holidays and through out the year. That is wonderful about the big baskets of food. I know we went to the food pantry and received a ham and all the fixings to be able to have a Christmas dinner for Jim and I. Have a wonderful evening.

hi marylynn we have food pantrys here too as so many people, we are second in the nation in jobless rate, are out of work.so many people are just not making ends meet and I am hoping our President will focus on that for awhile instead of other countries. we need help here at home now.

yes indeed very much so but am looking forward t my son spending time with me New Years eve and that will perk up my spirits considerably too.yes its good to get back to every day life but wish the kindness and good will would linger for awhile as that I think is what I really missed.[e

hi francesca yes it is in a way as it would be nice to keep a bit of that Christmas spirit all year long. not the frantic shopping frenzy , thats not what I mean, the friendliness of neighbors who the rest of the y ear seldom speak the courtesies extended during the season seem to vanish right after Christmas those are the things we should try to keep but we seldom do alas.

hi kimb ers and stehpnaie an lumenmom compared to what we got as children back in my childhood what today's kids get would have seemed like a fortune to us. Now days the competition at times to out do one other seems just too much,While its lovely to get and give gifts there should not be this thing to have to outdo the others.,what if you cannot afford to to do that, then what? Yes if I had said I was bored with my new toys my mom would have found something to keep me busy lol. I had to laugh when one of the residents said in utter disbelief" you don't have a cell\ p hone?" Well I also do not have a big monthly cellphone bill I cannot pay either I replied. Its nice your children all got what they wanted. but to me the great thing is Lumenmom that your daughter saw to it that her friends did get some gifts,thats right from the heart. lolso at least I can say I am not bored as I am mylotting. lol lol

Same with my 9 year old. Today the bar is so high for us as parents to give our kids things to keep them stimulated. My daughter actually got something she has been really wanting for about a year, something I could not afford to buy but was fortunate enough to have a parent get that same gift for her older daughter but thought it would not be good around the little ones (small magnetic beads) so she gave it to me not even knowing my daughter had wanted it. My daughter would normally have been thrilled to get that but compared to what her cousins all got and bragged about, her gift did not seem as much and she felt sad. Once we got away from the cousins, she we met with some friends who have 2 teenagers and they did not get anything for Christmas. My daughter wrapped them up some treats we got from church and she shared her beads with them. They all spent the whole evening playing with them and having fun. If we could just get away from the highly commercialized aspect of Christmas, I think everyone would appreciate it a whole lot better.

It is indeed over so fast. It's pretty sad to say the least. If I told my mother I was bored, she'd make me clean!

yes alottodo thats one thing nobody can take from us. I am looking forward to New Years Eve with my son, I doubt if we have any sort[of p arty here at Gold Crest. they are partied out with Halloween and C Christmas. Happy New Years to you and yours alottodo.

Thank you enjoy your day with your son.

hi aerous well we all here have our own religions so its okay that some do not celebrate the same holidays so for you it would be just a regular day. I haven't seen you around lately Aerous as I think we both came here about the same time. I think for me it was that people seem a little more kind and giving during the Christmas season then poof its all gone. well anyway Happy New Year aerous.

here it seems to start by thanksgiving and keeps going til New years eve. but aro nd here lately I have seen the same rudeness and impoliteness again that was here before Christmas when all I guess were on their best behavior. lol lol

Thanksgiving is on the fourth Thursday of November there.If I take what you said correctly the vacation is more than one month long.

hi pointlessquestions I think some of it is the start in October is just too early so by the time Christmas gets here we are almost 'tired of the whole thing .then too I was ill on C hristmas day but myson bro ught me some Comtr4ex and I h ave been taking it. it reallyt works. my congestion is gone, sore throat is gone, and thank Goodness my sore ears are gone. that really got to me'[as they watered all the time like I was crying, and talk about itching and burning I had i t. now they are finallty cleared up.so today I am enjoying my new mouse and head phones and mylotting like mad.

darn typo for sure I me ant sore eyes, not ears. darn. stupid dyslexic fingers. sorry about that. for awhile I was really'frightened as my good eye was almost as bad as my left one with the cataract.

hi jaihobalodiji1 yes its bound to go back to normal but I wish we could keep the good will and good cheer at least til New Year's eve and try to be kind and polite to others again. lol

yes hatley we will surely cometogether and makes celebration ...cheers