Anyone finished Christmas Shopping.

I think you know full well the "real" reason for the season Richard as I do.

sometimes the best bet is too ignore the ruffles

 

Indeed.

 

Christmas is being completly inflated by the commercial world. They begin playing Christmas music on the first of December around here. I

think it is a subliminal method of getting people to begin their excessive shopping early! I agree that Online shopping is the way to go, avoid

the insanity of Christmas shoppers.

 

gosh you hit an old nerve man we used to do that back in the 50's at the place in central Cali.

we still celebrate not quite a true German Christmas of my relatives from long ago as we purchase the Christbaum quite early as well as put up too many lights for the outside of the house making our electrical company quite happy of course. hey it's out of love for our good neighbors as I have several really getting up their in years. My wife still makes the most outrageous Zuppa (Swiss-German) brot, the daughter bakes Bishof's brot as well, plenty of applesauce to go around till we are sick of it and cinnamon plus the Glühwein as the relatives come over during the month at unforseen times day /night.

Linzer cookies, apfelkuchen in the morns with hot fried eggs and wurst, and of course Deutsch Kaffee at too early of the hours of the morn

dang I'm getting hungry

 

Bought the vast majority of mine throught the year-finishing just yesterday. Guess im in a minority here?

 

The local Hardware store has some good specials on some,uhmmm,tools, this time of year.

 

thats crap man, no price tag ! I hate red toys anyway

 

Well, how about these for the little Missus'.................

 

I'm still baffled by the $10,000 bike. Does it ride any different that a $49.95 Chinese bike you get at Wal-Mart ? You can get a used Harley for that and don't even have to peddle.

 

Sure it does. It is not made out of lead and it doesn't poison you @$$ when you ride it.

 

Can I come over for Christmas Erich? Sounds fantastic!

I agree on the whole commercialisation thing, they have Christmas music playing already over here (playing that bloody live aid 'feed the world' song in a grocery shop, the co-op of all places, seems rather tacky to me) and it drives me nuts. That said, I'm thinking about what to get for my parents and brothers. I tend to stick to presents for close friends and family as that's all I can afford, but the best part of the holiday is always going home and being with my family, laughing, chatting, eating a fantastic meal and going for a walk, cold turkey for supper before relaxing in the sitting room with a glass of something warming, a cigar and the best company I know.

I hope we can all put the rubbish aside and enjoy that which I think Christmas is all about, family and friends.

 

That sounds cool Erich. We have a quite similar Christmas with Kugloffs and Stollens. They are round and called turbans. Actually the kids put their shoes for Saint Nicolas rather than for Christmas, but I must be an exceptions here now. Christmas is more traditional and religious with some nice food. one of my favourites is Christmas breakfast when everybody gathers around a great breakfast with a decorated table. Our Christmas tree is also a piece of art. Only glass, no kitch, no plastic and no disco light decorations, only pure tradition and a real tree that has been carefully chosen and smells like fresh pine. Some of the decorations we bought at Heidelberg, there is a special shop there which is open all year round. We also have some great decorations from Austria and Budapest. The Hungarians make tiny hand-painted Christmas decorations which hang in the tree and and need several minutes to appreciate all the details. My mum still has a ancient musical ball which sings "Stille Nacht" when you pull a small cord. In southern France people sell small figurines called "Santons" which you can collect and build up a nativity set.

 

if I had a big enough house I would invite you all guys and we could have a great festive party and we could seriously chat about WW 2, I'm going to pick up a real small little evergreen after Thanskgiving and place in our green room as we call it which faces due east so the wee little grand-daughters can decorate it, the eldest keeps asking Oma where the tree is and where are the glass decorations.
when we first got married back in the early 70's we would get a fresh cut out of the Mt. Hood wilderness and decorate with glass balls from Germany and even were bold enough to place real German candles lit upon it like my own Oma/Opa would do. times and things have changed, sadly ........

ah but this is a great time of year

E `

 

Erich when the times comes don't hesitate to post a picture of your Christmas tree. We used to get a wreath nailed on the door, but we that tradition seems to fade away here. However the kids still go in the forest to get some holly and miscletoe for decoration and luck.

 

Oooo TA, you spilled the beans outta the bag. Erich had not known that HIS $10,000 Dollar bicycle WAS made in China. :lol: Erich got Ripped!

 

note : I frankly did not hesitate to ignore the jealous posting of one TA 152

and in partial response does a Mercedes benz 07 coupe' ride like a 1950's VW ? I think not the VW rides better ........

10,000 is a total joke for any bike even when the pro's think they look good riding them

I have a friend that prodcues his own bike frames............what a kook at over 3,500.00 big ones and no one has any clue who he is, and his stuff is butt-ugly

Skipper yes I will post a pic or two of the tannenbaum and the happy at least I hope so crew around it. we also post a wreath over our front door about the time I am insanely trying to bend under too high eaves on the roof for the lights in red and white. I've always wanted to take a night pic of the house on a frigid December's eve, maybe this will be the year to do so as a Christmas card to all of you ..... ♫

 

Erich, I guess you can call me a cheapskate because I only paid about $400.00 for mine about 15 years ago. If it ever survives in the condition it's now in to antique age, I have one hell of a collectors item on my hands. :-D

PS. $3,500 rocks, is still a darn nice used car.

 

you of course are very correct, prices have sky-rocketed and there has not been that many new and noticeable changes on road bikes the last 5 years to cause the price hike...........it's plain stupid. stick with the 400.00 bike and ride it till it implodes, I have done so and will continue to do so while the young punks laugh at ME, I say "come catch me if you can, you pussies"

 

Heh heh, at least for now, that $400.00 investment is going to be my pride and joy for quite sometime. I thought about buying another bike one with wider tires earlier this year but, that was pushed aside when I decided to splash my money about and decided I am going ahead and buying that Swiss made "Sphinx" pistol I want instead. )