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Messages - Lilipons

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1
Family and Children / Re: Is This a Typical 7-1/2 Year Old?
« on: July 21, 2023, 09:34:05 am »
I know a kid like this.  I’ll call her X.  Since her birth, she had always beetold that she was an amazing intellect and that everything she wanted was right.  Her mantra was, “I am X and I can never be wrong”.

It was kind of amusing when she was three.  It became disturbing when she pushed her great-grandmother out of the way to secure the top place at a holiday dinner.  It really became bad when she insisted on taking the decorations and blowing out the candles on birthday cakes intended for her younger cousins. If she didn’t get her way, she’d throw a full heel drumming,screaming tantrum.  ‘
X was twelve at the time

.  At 15 X declared she didn't need to go to school.  She knew everything worth knowing and could teach her teachers.

Lately, X has deciDed that she is now Joseph and will her life as a man.

I have known mant tran people over the years and have no problems with the idea.  However,  X has been so dramatic during her whole life, I really have to wonder.
























































2
Holidays / Re: Holidays and Observances.
« on: July 03, 2023, 02:03:36 pm »
as an American, I have started reminding myself to say "have a good Independence Day" instead of "Fourth of July"

Tell me, please.  Why is Fourth of July no longer appropriate?

3
Holidays / Re: Holidays and Observances.
« on: July 02, 2023, 08:06:25 pm »
July is upon us.

First of all a belated Happy Canada Day to all our Canadian members

Today is July second and I’m hearing fireworks going off in the neighborhood.  ThE Glorious Forth has begun!

4
Holidays / Holidays and Observances.
« on: May 04, 2023, 03:15:16 pm »
Oh, what a weekend we have before us!

Today is Star Wars Day.  “May the fourth be with you”

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo. Margarita anyone? 

Saturday we have the double whammie of the coronation of King Charles III and the Kentucky Derby. 

Everybody here should have something to enjoy.
 

5
Holidays / A Question for Canadians
« on: April 18, 2023, 10:50:16 am »
I have a ‘this day in history’ daily calendar.  April  17 was said to be the day on which Canada became fully independent.

If that’s true why is Canada Day celebrated on July 1?

6
The Work Day / Re: Pictures on your office wall . . . or common areas
« on: March 29, 2023, 02:41:53 pm »
Because we were using museum property the Art Handlers would come to install the objects.  The Basquiat painting was 12 ft long.  You really need professionals to do that sort of thing.

Yes, Art Handler is a real job title in museums.  It requires considerable physical strength but how else would you get to work with people like Kehinde Wiley or Dale Chihule?

7
The Work Day / Re: Pictures on your office wall . . . or common areas
« on: March 28, 2023, 05:48:08 pm »
I probably shouldn’t reply to this because I’ve been retired for some years.  however, I will post because I want to see this thread get moving.

My place of work was an art museum.  As a result, it was possible to ask for paintings, drawings and other objects from storage.  The library meetiing/lunch room was graced by a huge Basquiat work.  I had a very pretty little Utrillo print beside my computer. 

8
Family and Children / Re: The Santa Problem
« on: December 08, 2022, 04:39:09 pm »
thank you, Toots.

I had a cousin who was a year older than me.  she knew what was going on with Santa at about the same ageI did.  But, at the age of 12, she still pretended that she believed in Santa and wrote him an annual letter. 

Her rationale was that she’d get more and better presents if her parents thought she believed. 

she really expected that, if she was a “good girl” Santawould bring her a car when she turned 16.

Her parents seriously considered therapy. 


9
Family and Children / The Santa Problem
« on: December 08, 2022, 03:10:04 pm »
On other boards I’ve known there are usually posts about what to say or do when children learn the truth about Santa Claus. 

I haven’t seen that here but my mother handled it beautifully and I thought others here might enjoy the story.

I had my suspicions about Santa from about the age of 4. I was a very early reader and I was told that the labels on the toys referred to the elf who made the product.  I could believe in an elf named Hasbro or Mattel.  I could certainly believe that a beautiful female elf named Venus Paradise made those wonderful colored pencils I so enjoyed.  However, Milton Bradley was a problem.  He sounded more like a guy who carried a briefcase to work and handled the accounts than an elf who made toys.

My suspicions were confirmed when I started 1st grade at the age of 6.  When the year drew to a close my school friends would talk about getting a visit from Santa and the cookies and milk they would leave for his snack. 

In our house we thought Santa required more substantial nourishment. Mom cooked the bird on Christmas Eve Afternoon.By the time I was to go to bed, Santa was provided with a warm sandwich of capon breast meat, a bit of hot sauce and a glass of beer. That was exactly what my father would have chosen for a Christmas Eve snack.

Mom figured out what was happening. After school we sat down to have cookies and tea.  Cookies and milk was a usual thing.  Cookies and tea meant something very Grown-up was on the agenda.

“Lili, I know that you know the truth Santa is really grown-ups who like to see little children happy at Christmas.  Now that you know, you’re oLd enough to become a Santa yourself. At your age, all that means is not telling younger children that Santa doesn’t exist.  That won’t be a lie because Santa DOES exist.  It’s just that Santa isn’t one fat man in a red suit.  there are Santa’s  all around us.

 


 
 




10
Holidays / Re: I'm making a stand for Thanksgiving!
« on: November 10, 2022, 05:43:18 pm »
Going from Halloween to Thanksgiving is easy for us.  We just bring the sorting hat out of the hall and remove the tissue ghosts from the wreath.  The wreath is made of grape vines and we decorated it with autumn leaves. 

Voila!  Thanksgiving decoration. 

11
Holidays / Re: Halloween planning
« on: November 04, 2022, 10:15:10 am »
I like the way trick or treating is done here.

We live in a building with a large, landscaped courtyard in the center.  On the weekend before Halloween we have a sort of party. Children who live in the building invite school friends for our parade and the children parade around the courtyard.  After that, adult residents ( often costumed) are out  with bowls of candy.  The whole thing is over in about an hour.  Children and their guests usually retire to small Halloween parties hosted by the parents of resident children.  Everybody has a nice time.

On Halloween afternoon, merchants in the neighborhood stand in the doorways of their shops and give out treats.  The treats will be small.  When you’re hit with 300 kids you can’t be handing out whole chocolate bars but the shop owner dressed as a lady being devoured by a shark makes up for the treat of a fortune cookie.

About 5pm the streets clear as people go home to eat dinner before the parade at 7pm.  The parade is good.  We usually have a Camparsa band, a pipe band and a steel pan ensemble playing Zombie Jamboree.
.
I love Halloween in our neighborhood.

12
Holidays / Re: Halloween planning
« on: September 28, 2022, 11:27:41 am »
We live in an apartment so we can’t put up outside decorations. 

We do have a small bench in the hallway that I’ll use to display a full-sized sorting hat. (Yeah, I know the sorting hat is not used on Halloween but can you think of a better time to display the thing?)

there will also be a grapevine wreath my MIL made a good 30 years ago on our door.  It will be decorated with artificial autumn leaves and small ghosts made from cotton balls and facial tissues. 

On the weekend before Halloween our building has a party in our courtyard for resident children and their friends.  I’ll be out there in my wonderful purple cloak and as much jewelry as I can carry distributing treats from a cauldron. 

I do need to do a bit of shopping for a good witch hat and wig but there’s time for that. 

Ain’t Halloween grand?


13
Life in General / Re: Damaging library books
« on: July 07, 2022, 06:37:23 pm »
Retired museum librarian here.

Apart from books getting signed out to curatorial offices, the only circulation we had was through inter library loans.  Before any book was sent it was carefully examined, determined to be fit for shipment and securely packed.  Nonetheless, we would receive back material that looked as though a tractor had been driven over it. The explanation was always, ‘we received it that way’.

IN MY EYE YOU DID!!!

As a result more than one prestigious university was removed from our ILL list.

As for children’s books, I agree that board books are best for the very young.  In the early 1950s, when I was a little kid, there were also cloth books that could be washed. they were kind of gross but they worked. Perhaps the best solution for a very young reader is a book on line with an adult. 

14
Holidays / Happy Canada Day …
« on: July 01, 2022, 04:55:41 pm »
… to all our Canadian members!

Hey, I’m in Brooklyn and wouldn’t mind celebrating with a Colson’s and a good poutine. 

15
Life in General / Re: "Your success makes me feel bad. Stop it."
« on: April 07, 2022, 10:07:32 am »
I completely agree, Jem.

I never bothered me that neighbor Nancy was the next Shirley Temple or that cousin Dougie was sure to be drafted by the NFL.  I’m happy for their talents but those successes aren’t mine. (Neither of them had that happy fate)

I don’t believe that the blade of grass that stands out should be mown down.  I also don’t believe that that blade of grass should become a golden spike that all must worship.

Some parents do flaunt the achievements of their children.  Doing it too much or too often can be annoying but a bit of legitimate pride is just fine and other parents shouldn’t use that pride to belittle the achievements of their own children.




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