Random 5 for December 29 – Food, holidays, crowds, decorations, smart phones

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Homemade kipfels/rugalach which I did not make this year.

Say what? – We are foodies in our families. Foodies with definite opinions. We don’t eat weird stuff but much of our traditional foods come from revered recipes that you don’t fool with. My brother gave me a portion of his fabulous cheesecake. The recipe comes from Lindy’s in New York City. It’s plain cheesecake with the flavor inside it (as I was informed). I served it to some friends with the option to use ice cream toppings if they wished. They put caramel on it. When I told my brother, he explained (in a loud and agitated voice) that it was best served naked. I have informed my friends that if we get it again, they must take their clothes off.

Smack dab in the middle – Having the holidays in the middle of the week throws me off. It’s the weekend, then a holiday, weekend and another holiday. I don’t know why it makes a difference but it does.

Seriously folks! – I am savvy as to how crowded Starbucks gets on specific days at the time I go. Fridays are the worst and for some reason Tuesdays are busy too. Weekends get busy later in the morning unless there is a charity walk scheduled. During the holidays, it’s hard to figure it all out. One day there are 60 cars there and the next day 3. Can’t wait until life goes back to normal.

Lights – We were cruising around local neighborhoods to check out the holiday lighting displays and concluded that most people aren’t doing as much. There are the over achievers but there are fewer of them. I wondered if that was generational. Inflatables have invaded our neighborhood. This is the first year we’ve seen them here but we’ve had an influx of families with kids. Much as we laugh at them, I like to see the kids happy.

Smart phones – I bought a fitness tracker. It connects to my cell phone. I bought something else over the holidays that I also needed a smart phone to activate. Seriously does everyone need one now? I like my phone because the younger generation texts. I can keep in touch better but except for a few other things, I would be fine with a flip phone. I remember the problem we had getting my mother to use a wireless phone. The old ones required a few button presses to answer a call. It was befuddling to her and she never used it preferring the old one tethered to the wall. We get forced into technology in many ways.

So how was your week?

 

 

 

76 thoughts on “Random 5 for December 29 – Food, holidays, crowds, decorations, smart phones”

  1. Naked cheesecake sounds like fun! And I also discovered inflatables for the first time on my trip to Milwaukee two weeks ago. (Two weeks? Seems like months!) Most of the ones I saw were in the state of deflation and were – to be honest – kind of creepy. Wrinkly decomposing Santas and Rudolfs after the steamroller. I think I will stick with lights.
    Happy New Year, Kate!

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  4. Your mention of the health tracker reminds me of when Apple started doing something called a “cycle tracker” in their health app. Cat Daddy thought, “That might be handy for monitoring my bike rides” and clicked in … only to discover that it was, erm, a different kind of cycle. A ladies’ kind. 😱😱😱

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  5. I always look at the backend of Christmas with a sigh of relief, and with New Year’s on the horizon, for me it just means the long endless winter is ahead.

    I can’t really say whether external decorations have decreased here this year or not. I’ve been a bit of a recluse lately, rarely venturing out. I can however predict that 2 houses around the corner from me will have their Christmas lights on until at least February 🙂

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  6. I have to say that I enjoy my smarter than me phone. I don’t drag it around with me everywhere but I enjoy some of the conveniences and I do enjoy Instagram. I like to listen to the Calm app at night to fall asleep. Not many lights in our neighborhood… not surprised, but lots of decorations. Had to google kipfels… I could be very happy eating them!

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  7. I’m all messed up on the day of the week too. It felt mighty nice on Friday to know there were two days off though. I hate when Christmas falls mid-week though – I feel kind of gypped as no “freebie” day. Your treats look good – we used to buy rugalach at a produce market which features baked goodies from all around the world. They were tasty. I have a flip phone and I never use it – it is just for safety to carry when I am out of the house. I call my landline number just to discharge the battery and recharge it every so often, otherwise I never use it. The world is revolving around smartphones though – I registered for a few 5Ks last year and in each case they gave you your receipt/admission to pick up your gear to appear on your phone. That is how they are doing concerts and professional sports games as well. I don’t have a printer as it is attached to a Vista desktop and Microsoft does not support it any longer so I don’t turn it on. I don’t need a printer for work as all my work comes to me via PDFs so I have to jot down my registration info. I guess one day I will have to break down and get a smartphone. I had a cute 2G phone and they made me upgrade to a 3G phone as ATT didn’t support it after 2017. I had it for years, never a problem with it and it was about the size of a mini computer mouse.

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    • I upgraded to a smart phone for a few reasons and found that it’s handy. It’s like having a computer with you. Mine has GPS along with phone numbers and I can text or email by talking into it. If you don’t interact with people a lot, it’s not as necessary but I find it good even to have a friend text that she is on her way when we are meeting up.

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      • I mentioned to another walker at the Park that I never use it and didn’t know how to text (except from my computer to a cellphone which I do for my boss and a few friends) and she asked to see the phone and manipulated it to have me speak and the phone would text or call out the phone numbers. When I call my landline now, it merrily calls out my phone number. 🙂 I still don’t know how to text on it.

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          • I actually don’t have any contacts – the only one I call is myself to recharge the battery. I used to call my neighbor or my boss – they are my emergency contacts and I have to have a second emergency contact since Marge died in 2017. My boss is my primary emergency contact/medical designate.

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              • No, I don’t call anyone from my cellphone Kate; not even from my landline. All my friends, (except for Ann Marie, who follows my blog and with whom I used to walk with occasionally at Council Point Park, until she moved to an apartment as her husband had difficulty climbing stairs) live out of state or not near me in Michigan and have for decades now. In fact, I lost track of everyone and only connected with these people through Facebook when Facebook’s algorithms connect you with others from the same town and/or who attended the same high school. No one has remained in this town.

                I called my boss when I worked on site as I still checked my voicemail in off work hours and would call him for business stuff. I only call him during the work day now and if I’ve never mentioned it before, I have not seen my boss since October of 2012. He rarely drops work off and if he does, he drops it at the door while I’m off walking or during the day, then sends me an e-mail he was by. I have no relatives and the only persons I had called when I had my former phone was my mom or our neighbor Marge. Both are gone now – I really didn’t call my boss that much. People find it hard to believe really – I am a bit of an oddity. I don’t meet anyone for lunch either – no one is around here.

                I only text from the computer … mostly to my boss and I have no relatives at all. (I’m kind of an orphan I guess.)

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                  • I used to use my neighbor as a guinea pig for trying out tech things and she did the same for me. She is the one who encouraged me to start a blog – it was not my idea. I would tell her (in person, e-mail or via Facebook) about what I saw on my trips and share pictures, so she followed a few blogs and sent them to me (hint hint) and I really only started the blog to appease her. But now that she is gone, I put phone tech on the back burner for now … I think eventually no one will be without a smartphone.

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  8. You are not kidding about the midweek holidays messing schedules up! How busy stores are, garbage pickup – everything is thrown off! Also agree with you about everything needing your smartphone now. I do like having apps for a lot of things, but other stuff is best done on a regular computer.

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  9. I do at this point feel a little dependent on my Smartphone, and at the same time, I resent it. I can’t blame anyone, but I sure did buy in. And at this point I have it linked to so many apps that I’d be very seriously impaired if I tried to change. My recent goal has been to try to at least put it down and forget about it more, but because we don’t have a landline and it’s the only way my mom can reach me, I don’t let go much. She’s 87 and actually texts me several times a day. LOL!

    I have been bothered by the midweek holiday and being “off” on what day is it now? I was in a panic on Thursday because I couldn’t find Zena. Truly panicked. Then my husband suddenly remembered that it was Thursday and the dog walker comes on Thursday to take her on a pack walk. I’m ready to get back to normal, whatever that is. 🙂

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    • Maybe it’s being retired when I barely remember what day it is normally but it seems like a bunch of weekends smashed together. I’ll miss the gym again on Wednesday and that throws me off too. I can see the whole Zena thing happening. It’s cool that she gets a pack walk! As for the smart phone, with the kids and grandkids dragging us into the 21st century, I’m liking it more. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t order my Starbucks ahead. (Well, I do! I’d waste a lot of time waiting.) I have a few apps on it that are very helpful. Now I even remember to charge it!

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  11. Lights. We have a house one mile away that has music set to their lavish lighting display. You pull in front of their house and they have a sign for which radio station to put on to listen to the music, this way it’s not disturbing neighbors. Although, they get a lot of car traffic. Since we moved here three years ago, we try to go there once during the season.

    Sometimes it bothers me that we (meaning “I”) get so attached to needing technology. Seems like we can be fooled into doing anything if we think it improves our lives. BTW, I haven’t spoken through a cell phone yet that has as good of sound quality as the old landlines.

    Thank you for giving me a really hearty laugh today about eating cheesecake naked. 😆

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  13. We have fewer and fewer Christmas lights in our area every year. There are pockets of neighborhoods that go all out, but even those aren’t what they used to be. I seem to remember (for what that is worth) that it all started during the energy “crisis” in the 1970s. Most houses didn’t put up their lights then and many never did again. Of course that was also when Boomers were growing up and leaving home so perhaps their parents didn’t feel as motivated to go all out. Whatever the reason is, I miss them. I’m not crazy about the blow-ups, but at least it’s something.

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    • When I was a kid, the lights were on until around the 14th of January or the Orthodox new year (although we weren’t orthodox). It’s just what the neighborhood did. Now the lights will be done on Jan. 2.

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  14. Making guests strip down to eat “naked” cheesecake nearly sent coffee out my nose. People get really invested in certain foods being served certain ways. But tease in everything from books to food is subjective–how can someone insist that something tastes better without wearing someone else’s taste buds?

    We have a massive neighborhood holiday light display a half mile from our house. Beautiful, but makes traffic hellish.

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  16. I am also a Bronto……no need for technology – only use the danged thing in an emergency too (as in car dies in the middle of the interstate kind of emergency). Yeah I know – hubby and I are old fashioned but we kinda like it in the slow(er) lane. I made a cheesecake this morning but have no intention of being “nekkid” when I eat it – unless I decide to eat it in the shower of course! HA! Happy New Year Kate………….

    Hugs, Pam

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  17. I didn’t see as many lights in my neighbourhood either, maybe those inflatables are becoming more popular as you don’t have to climb a ladder to install them? I enjoyed your post, as always!

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    • Thanks. We have one professionally done property locally and it’s a yeowza display. I could sit in the car and look at it all night. No ambition to do much. We do a wreath with a spotlight and lights and garland around the door. Our trees are too big to light and then there isn’t much energy!

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  20. Naked (and Afraid) Cheesecake – Bwahahahaha! As someone else wrote, remind me never to accept an invitation to eat cheesecake at your house, Kate!
    I have embraced (literally, on many an occasion) my cellphone. It is my auxiliary (and better functioning, most days) memory and brain.
    Thanks for the laughs!

    Deb

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    • I am being forced to embrace it too. Wish I would have had it when I was young. All that time I spent hanging around the house just to get a phone call. Now calls are what I do least on my cell. My mother would not understand this world! The cheesecake is really good. You should reconsider.

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  22. Remind me NOT to order the cheesecake at your house ~> ” I have informed my friends that if we get it again, they must take their clothes off.”

    My theory: Fridays are busy because people are giving themselves a pat on the back for a job well done. Tuesdays are busy because many people, who opted out of Monday and stayed home, head under the covers, are gearing up for the week.

    I like Christmas better on any day but Wednesday.

    I still don’t have a smart phone. And rarely use my flip phone. Signed, Bronto Saurus

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    • Dear Bronto, you hang in tough there! I am weak and get attracted to gadgets and stuff. I needed a smartphone to get a $50 discount on a product. Seriously? What happened to old fashioned coupons. Signed kicking and screaming with a smart phone.

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  23. Our neighborhood seems to have more lights than usual this year. I love to see that. Santa brought me the worst and first flu I’ve had in almost 30 years…bah hum bug! So uncool with a book deadline looming. No Starbucks for me, just Nyquil. 😦

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