h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

LED #3 -- sniff....

Oh, cheer up, SpaceCadette. Have a . Or a

*hangs a 'straw sky' (Olkihimmeli in Finnish) on the tree*
http://cartinafinland.fi/kuvapankki/fi/picture/69825/Oljista+tehty+himmeli.html

*hangs a traditional, if elaborate, braided (?) Danish christmas heart on the tree*
http://spare-grisen.com/sparegrisens-jul/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/hjerte-i-hjerte.jpg

Ooo, nice one Santra - is the smaller heart glued to the bigger one or braided into it?

Braided into it. My Dad was rather good at making them - I think I've ever only managed to do one of these intricate ones myself without getting my fingers braided in there as well

*Hangs what appears to be a bit of string from the tree.*



*Prods the air immediately below the string, and a glittery bauble in the shape of a vacuum tube flickers into existence.*

Hmm... I seem to be having dimensional stability issues today. My work door pass was definitely not in my pocket when I left this morning but by the time I'd gone back to the house to get it, it definitely was.

Eats: it's obvious what a fine feline like yourself should do: pest extermination, followed by curling up in a nice warm spot.

*Hangs a glass bauble that is a family heirloom on the tree.* We're planning to have a proper sized tree this year as we have space.

for Mini.

Yay David! It is so unusual to hear somebody say that they enjoyed an interview, I hope that is the best of all indication that you'll get the job.

Did anyone see the geminid metoer shower last night? Was meant to be spectacular but, as is customary with this kind of thing, it clouded over at around 10pm and stayed that way until dawn here. *sulk* I blame 2legs generally, and radio 4 for telling me about it. If I had never known that the universe was putting on a light show I wouldn't be so grumpy about missing it now.

I have an etiquette question for you: I have been invited to a mince pie and mulled wine evening tomorrow, which is lovely and full of good friends. However, on my eating plan a single mince pie represents approximately a quarter of my daily food (seven out of my twenty nine points). I have a recipe for mini filo pastry mince pies that only costs 1 point per pie and I could easily make those and take them with me so that I wouldn't be tempted into one (or more disasterously two) of the host's ones. I am rubbish at resisting temptation at social occasions like this so I know I'll end up eating *something*. Would you be really offended if I turned up at your mince pie evening bringing my own?

I wish I didn't have to worry like this but my achilles injury means I am still not allowed to do much in the way of exercise so I can't mitigate any festive splurges with a 45 minute run (which is what I'd have to do to make up for a single pie...)
.

Time to hang my ornament, it is the same one as last year so at least we know what the orange button does. It is a grapefruit-sized snowglobe which appears to be the scene inside this very room. If you peer in you can see Salonistas in various poses, but all looking like they are making the most of the festive season. A shake and the scene is momentarily obscured by a swirl of golden glitter.

We did our tree at home at the weekend, I may never tire of seeing the boys' faces all shiny and amazed as they come down stairs each morning and discover it still there, twinkling away.

Tricky one kelli - depends on how much understanding the hostess has for people trying to stick to a diet. Give her a call and ask straight out if it's OK with her?

I will ask her - she would probably be ok about it but if it was a really horrible social faux pas then I wouldn't want to put her in the position of feeling like she 'has' to say ok.

Kelli

Whilst I was on Lighter Life I turned up at loads of social events with my own foods. No one was really that bothered, and they all thought that it was amusing.

Someone did comment that they wish I could drink because I was more fun whilst drunk. I think there's a difference between just not eating, which no one really notices, and making a huge deal out of it. As long as it doesn't affect other people then don't worry about it.

You could even offer to make low calorie mince pies for anyone who might be on a diet.

Lands on top of tree. HAAYY look at me I'm a fairy.
Whooo clings on tight as the tree violently shakes its top branch.

Crazy man a bucking Christmas tree,

Careful WA, or you might end up like the Christmas tree fairy:
http://www.thestorytelling-resource-centre.com/christmas_tales_christmas_tree_fairy.html

sorry chaps, late night.

Kelli, I'd be rather surprised if anyone brought their own food for themselves to a party. Wouldn't it be easier just to ot eat the mince pies on offer? I doubt whether anyone would notice that you hadn't eaten any, whereas everyone will notice if you turn up with your own plate...

I know what will happen if I go along intending not to eat any of the lovely-looking stuff. I will have my planned-for couple of glasses of wine and will then eat them anyway, I have absolutely NO will-power in that sort of situation so I need to have *something* I can munch on. I'm just carp

I don't want her to feel I am criticising her food, but I know I will regret it if I eat much of it. This is so hard, I want to be able to go and socialise with my friends, don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but really need not to undo all the hard work I have done over the past year. She is understanding about this sort of thing but is basically a goddess and dosn't appear to have the same struggle that some of us mere mortals have with our waistlines.

If I take a plate of them to share then I could just put it on the buffet table for everyone and that way I won't feel excluded but not making a big thing of it that has to be explained?

"If I take a plate of them to share then I could just put it on the buffet table for everyone and that way I won't feel excluded but not making a big thing of it that has to be explained?"

Aye, that's probably the way I'd go, in your shoes.

Hmm... I seriously doubt that breaking the diet for one party would ruin the diet. It's okay to indulge once in a while...

Sorry, that's probably nor the most helpful thing to say but it's got a morning's worth of Common Sense Thinking behind it (I'm quite new at Common Sense so it takes a while to build up to it!)