Questions Bipolar Version #9

I'd love to lose weight or get my anxiety under control.

Favorite dish to bring to potlucks or Holiday meals?

I tend to bring desserts. A common one is key lime pie, when I can get real key limes. I haven't seen those for sale in Czech Republic. Only regular limes. They were seasonally available for purchase in New Jersey. I think key lime pie is far more common in the US, anyway. As are pies, in general. My side of the family is the typical pie loving American family. Every holiday meal included a variety. Four or five.

Savory? Perhaps my potato and kohlrabi au gratin. That's always a hit. It goes with most holiday main courses.

What aren't you going to do this month that you usually do?

Who knows? Things are a bit messed up with arrangements this year.

Have you ever been ice skating?

Yes in the past as a younger adult - now I'd be afraid I'd fall and break something - including an ankle I had surgically repaired.

What's something you've done in the past that you'd like to do again?

Eat normally

How much of a wuss are you (putting it blutnly)on a scale of 1-10 1 being I'll jump out of a helicopter on a mountain with skis attached to me in Alaska 1 being I hold on to the railway for dear life going down the stairs?

I won't pick a number because I'm a little confused by your scale. I assume 10 is "super cautious" and 1 is hardly at all?

I'm not a wuss, by any stretch of the imagination. I will say that in my middle-age after a decade dealing with my disability, I don't put myself at any unreasonable risk. "Unreasonable". That said, I did move from the US to Europe last year. I've had some hiccups, but I still see that as a gutsy move. It was even me that really pushed for it.

What is something you must give yourself credit for?

I did exposure therapy for PTSD. It was one of the hardest things I've ever been asked to do but I did it and succeeded andmy PTSD is much improved.

Do you like fruitcake?

I really dislike fruitcake. It's often dry & the fruit tastes like something out of a chemistry lab.

Ho-ho-ho!!! What is one material thing you would really like for Christmas (if you celebrate, that is)?

As a gift, this year? Nothing much. I know my husband told his nephew that I would like some colorful candlesticks. It's true. I'd enjoy having more, as we light a candle at our dinner table almost every night. I also know my s-i-l plans to buy me a European size deep casserole dish. That will also be nice. I don't want many other material things. Hubby and I plan to give each other a ski trip to the Austrian Alps.

Do you know how to ski and/or ice skate?

I can do both but I'm an avid skier and can't do any tricks or anything on ice skates.

Have you had a first snow yet?

no but other parts of the country have

how long do your christmas decorations stay up?

Traditionally, in both my husband's family and mine, decorations are usually not put up until about now (about a week before Christmas) or even a little later. That is, other than maybe an advent calendar. However, the decorations stay up until a good week after New Years.

This year, I bought a poinsettia about a week ago. That was the first Christmasy thing. A few days later, we bought some mistletoe. The day before yesterday, we bought a small Christmas tree for our window. That's probably the most we'll decorate this year.

Do you usually exchange (or request) wish lists for holidays, like Christmas or birthdays? What do you do if you have no clue what to buy someone?

No wish lists it’s a guesstimate as what to buy. But I only buy for my daughter’s family and my mum. This year I bought mum tickets to a Christmas show musical she’d like to see. So I already gave her the gift so she could prepare herself for it. She called her stylist to get a haircut! I did buy an impulse gift for my sister. It was just a little bag of goodies for the long car trip they are taking right after Christmas. Small stuff like sanitizer with moisturizer, scented creams, and a atomizer spray that’s supposed to refresh you, and oh a small bag of snickers for energy.

When do you take down your Christmas stuff?

In theory the week after Christmas. In practice more like within 2 weeks of Christmas. Except the last time I had a tree when I caught influenza and the tree stayed up until mid-January.

Do you have a specific holiday meal or does it vary annually?

Traditionally, yes, in both my family and my husband's. In mine, usually a turkey dinner...again. Too soon after Thanksgiving! Mostly because the matriarch of the family (my maternal grandmother) pretty much demanded it. Boo! But in my husband's, the traditional Czech carp, carp soup, and potato salad on Christmas Eve (main dinner) and turkey or chicken on Christmas Day. But it changed a bit after we lost our mothers. I then made Shrimp with Feta on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, it varied. Sometimes standing beef rib roast. After my mom passed, we stopped inviting my grandmother and uncle's family. No tears were shed by my siblings and me when she passed.

Same question.

Growing up it was usually turkey again for mum’s family. On my dads side we had lutefisk and lefse. Then I went away, I was 1000s of miles away and couldn’t afford to come back. By the time I returned things had changed. My dad was gone and some of the main aunts and uncles so it was just my mum as head of the family and my sisters and our families. And could be either ham or turkey, but mostly ham. Then covid came and it was just mum and I. Last year we had ham for 2. And this year we are getting brunch for 2. It’s changed a lot since I was a child.

Same question again.

it's always roast turkey, pigs in blankets (so sausages wrapped in bacon), and yorkshire puddings.

favorite christmas carol or song

Not sure, maybe ''away in a manger''

Colour of first bike?

It was a hand me down bike that both sisters used. It was a baby blue rusted off in places. Later my dad fixed it up with a can of fluorescent orange paint and a cool black glittery banana seat. It was a Schwann bike so when I graduated and bought some generic speed bike that orange bike was sold to some other kid who would love it.

Favorite Christmas cookie 🍪?

Peanut butter kisses only now I'm allergic to peanut butter so will be experimenting with sun nut butter kisses which can apparently turn green. Even more of a hoiday cookie then I guess .

Do you like egg nog?

By itself, not that much, but if someone served it to me I'd be willing to drink a small amount of it. I do enjoy recipes made with eggnog. Just today, on a baking website, I saw a beautiful cheese cake made with eggnog. I would definitely enjoy that, assuming it also has some liquor flavor.

Are you cooking or baking anything for the holidays? If so, what?

just my roast turkey

but it's baught from a store, so..

do you ever think sometimes (when it comes to holidays) forget it, I'm not doing it this year?

Yup. We’re not going to the giant get together on Christmas Day this year. It’s a nope. There’s some years in the past where I did nothing for Christmas.

Do you have a favorite ornament?

not really, but angels, santa and the baby jesus are all things you can't go wrong with

what do you think of candycanes

They are pretty to look at, I would not eat them.

Favourite Christmas ornament?