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This will be our group chat for any topic, so let's chat!

I hope that everyone has a Happy New Year. I also wanted to shout out to thank the moderators for everything they do. And of course, to our group members, this group would not be what it is without you.

Happy New Year, everyone! Same here, thanks to all the wonderful moderators here that do a great job in making this ŷ������ group an amazing place. You all rock <3

LTJ wrote: "Happy New Year, everyone! Same here, thanks to all the wonderful moderators here that do a great job in making this ŷ������ group an amazing place. You all rock <3"

Thank you, your kind words are appreciated.

@Gem: Anytime as it's just the truth :-)

Anybody do anything fun last night? I sat on the couch and watched Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and ate waay too much.

˜��*°��.˜��*°�� Sheri •��*”��.•��*”�� wrote: "Anybody do anything fun last night? I sat on the couch and watched Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and ate waay too much."

We started an Avengers marathon on December 28, Stan Lee's birthday. We used to stay up late, until the morning watching some kind of movie marathon, but today is FOOTBALL so we went to bed at a reasonable 2 am. I bought some different kinds of appetizers that we ate throughout the day so I didn't have to cook. We're both introverts that like to be alone together, so this is how most of our holidays are spent this way.

My grandson would love to watch an Avenger marathon.

Today I watched a sappy old movie Swing Shift with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. I'd seen it years ago but loved it again.

˜��*°��.˜��*°�� Sheri •��*”��.•��*”�� wrote: "My grandson would love to watch an Avenger marathon.

Today I watched a sappy old movie Swing Shift with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. I'd seen it years ago but loved it again."

I don't know that I've ever seen that movie.

Yesterday was my birthday (the big 41!) and I spent it with family, watching the Peach Bowl, the ball drop, and enjoying various kinds of cheese, meats, grapes, wine, and champagne. I had a blast :-D

LTJ wrote: "Yesterday was my birthday (the big 41!) and I spent it with family, watching the Peach Bowl, the ball drop, and enjoying various kinds of cheese, meats, grapes, wine, and champagne. I had a blast :-D"

Happy Birthday! 41 you're still a baby, lol. I'm glad your special day was enjoyable.

@Gem: Awe, thank you, my friend! LoL RIGHT?!?!!? I've been telling everyone I'm 41 years young :-P

LTJ wrote: "Yesterday was my birthday (the big 41!) and I spent it with family, watching the Peach Bowl, the ball drop, and enjoying various kinds of cheese, meats, grapes, wine, and champagne. I had a blast :-D"

Happy birthday. What about them Dawgs!!!

@Sheri: Thanks, my friend! LoL so I was rooting for THE Ohio State, but one of my employees covers our Georgia Bulldogs site at my job so I wanted them to win for her. LoL I was torn, to say the least, but my goodness, that was one hell of a college football game! Just pure craziness as the comeback was real!

How about you? :-)

My daughter lived in GA for a number of years and had lots and lots of friend who went to UGA. She, however, is a Carolina fan and never crossed over from blue to red :) She's in Mississippi now so we'll see if Ole' MS comes into the play somehow since they're red too.

LTJ wrote: "@Gem: Awe, thank you, my friend! LoL RIGHT?!?!!? I've been telling everyone I'm 41 years young :-P"

Considering I my oldest child is 31... lol. I think I'm dating myself.

@Sheri: Wow, that is so awesome! LoL another great college in Ole' Miss :-D

@Gem: LoL pffffffffft, we're all young at heart :-D

LTJ wrote: "@Gem: LoL pffffffffft, we're all young at heart :-D"

Not 31, he's 39... omg, I'm getting old. lololol

Happy belated birthday LTJ! Sounds like everyone had a wonderful time bringing in the new year :D my friends and I decided to incorporate a load of different traditions for new years so we were in a pub eating grapes under a table at midnight. I spent yesterday travelling back to my own place and managed to see one of the rugby games that was on for the current championship

@Aoife: Thank you so much as that means a lot to hear! LoL that's so funny, my wife's Mom also had everyone eat 12 grapes, one for each month, and make a wish as well for every grape. Did you do the same or something similar?

I also hope your rugby team won! LoL I've been on vacation since 12/26 - 1/2 as I go back to work tomorrow :-D

Happy 2023 everyone! Wishing you all lots of terrific reads this year.

LTJ wrote: "@Aoife: Thank you so much as that means a lot to hear! LoL that's so funny, my wife's Mom also had everyone eat 12 grapes, one for each month, and make a wish as well for every grape. Did you do th..."

Yep! That's exactly what we were doing lol it was great fun. I'd never heard it before I don't think we have really any new year traditions in Ireland but it was great craic

They did thank you!! Same here but at least I can wfh this week so it's not as bad I can roll out of bed 10 minutes beforehand :P

Happy new year!!!

@Aoife: LoL wow, look at that, what a small little world! I'm so glad they won, yay! LoL yes, I also love working from home since I'm the same way... 15 minutes before I start with enough time to get that coffee brewing :-)

Thanks and happy new year to you as well, my new friend!

Seems to be a tiny world really! It's really handy right, make myself some tea and still on time for early meetings

@Aoife: Oh yes! LoL plus its nice that most of the time, you can drink while being in these meetings, at least in my case :-)

Do you prefer tea over coffee?

oh yeah I don't think anyone really minds as much anymore which is so lovely.

yes ahaha would be much more a tea drinker than coffee! I've never gotten the taste for coffee and don't really do caffeine much at all, I just like the comfort of a cup of tea lol

@Aoife: Oh yes, for sure! LoL I haven't seen people actually eating anything since I think that would be too much but yeah, nobody cares for coffee, tea, water, or even alcohol during happy hour virtual meetings. LoL they have those sometimes at my job every few months or so :-)

LoL that's cool and I love coffee but do enjoy tea at night while reading. Tea is definitely comforting :-)

we've had internal meeting where people have had lunch if they've been busy all day but there's only about 15 people in total in my current place so we're all aware of each other schedules. Virtual happy hours sounds fun! The building I'm in has a monthly pizza and pints thing that we go to pretty regularly but it's not company specific

There's just something calming about having a nice cup of tea! Oh I know I'm the odd one out lol everyone else thinks I'm crazy :P

@Aoife: Ah, I see, that's pretty cool! I love the idea of a team "virtual lunch" where it's everyone has their lunch at the same time, chatting and having fun, just like if we were all at a cafeteria!

Oh yes, the virtual happy hours are pretty fun, I'll be mentioning doing them a bit more frequently in the future. LoL pizza and pints sound amazing, by the way.

LoL tea is calming but eh, coffee is indeed an acquired taste. I know people who have said the taste or smell of coffee makes them sick as they think it's disgusting. To each their own!

They can be fun, especially getting to see what everyone was having but we could all just be nosey lol.

They do sound fun! Good way to get to know everyone. The pizza is honestly the best part it's from a small place down the road but it's soooo good.

Okay I'm not THAT bad lol I just never found it did any of the "wakes you up" everyone talks about and didn't see the point forcing myself to keep drinking something until I got used to the taste for nothing.

@Aoife: LoL this is very true! I think happy hour is easier since everyone tends to have very unique, funny, and awesome wine glasses or beer mugs.

Ohhhhhhhh, THAT is the kind of pizza I love... authentic places and not a chain pizzeria or whatever. I don't them but prefer the real deal :-)

LoL ah, I see what you mean. Yeah, that makes sense to me and honestly, I'd say the majority of readers prefer tea over coffee. I bet it's like 60-40 or somewhere along those lines!

LTJ wrote: "@Aoife: LoL this is very true! I think happy hour is easier since everyone tends to have very unique, funny, and awesome wine glasses or beer mugs.

Ohhhhhhhh, THAT is the kind of pizza I love... a..."

That would be cool to see different people's funky glasses i'm trying to figure out what I could offer lol

Oh yeah it's so much better when it's a small little place. A chain is grand for a certain mood but for something like this you need a fancier pizza

Really?? Everyone I know loves coffee and I'm always the odd one out drinking something else lol

Wishing you a belated Happy Birthday LTJ, my birthday was the day after Christmas and my husband's birthday was on the 3rd. I'm starting this year off with a 913 page book.

Has anyone watched The Pale Blue Eye on Netflix? The Pale Blue Eye? Louis Bayard

I've read it's fictitious except the part about Poe attending West Point!!

@Aoife: LoL right? I do have an official Jack Daniel's whiskey glass so I'd use that or just my usual Heineken, Sam Adams, or Stella Artois glass bottle :-D

Oh I agree, I prefer pizza/Italian dishes from authentic Italian restaurants but yeah, I also wouldn't mind the occasional Dominoes or Pizza Hut. It's just like McDonald's, I love a cheeseburger from a diner or restaurant but wouldn't mind McDonald's here and there as a guilty pleasure.

LoL oh yes, a lot of people just don't like coffee at all which is fine. Same I've seen with people that LOVE wine and can't stand beer. To each their own :-P

@Tammy: Thank you so much, my friend! That means a lot and happy belated birthday to you and your husband. That's so cool you're married to a fellow Capricorn :-D

Wow, a 913-page burger? Enjoy!!!

Sheri no I haven't seen it yet, is it good?? I'm really bad for never watching tv lol

LTJ, sounds a lot fancier than what I have which is mostly Guinness or Absolut glasses but everyone here would nearly have a pint glass at home

yeah exactly! It's not the best tasting food ever but sometimes the reliability of chains is just easy. I love trying new places but sometimes when I'm wrecked and not bothered to be cooking a chain can be all that's needed. 100% why McDonalds is such a popular drunk food here lol

I have to say I don't really like beer either ahaha but I actually just don't really like any fizzy drink? I would never drink them so beer wouldn't be a high priority. But wouldn't really be mad into wine too!

Tammy, fair play!! A nearly 1000 page book to start seems really daunting to me. I think I started with something around 200 after Christmas

@Aoife: Ohhhhhhhh, I love Guinness as well, now I need to get one of those famous large glasses!

LOL that's EXACTLY how I feel, sometimes it's quick, easy, and inexpensive to just get food from chain restaurants. Oh yes, whenever you're drunk, McDonald's or diner food here in NY always hits the spot! For me, anytime I'm LIT, I love chicken wings and then a bacon cheeseburger, curly fries, and at least 2 cups of soda :-D

I prefer beer, so mostly Heineken, Sam Adams, or Blue Moon. I also love whiskey and shots of Jager. Jack and coke is my usual go-to drink.

Aoife wrote: "Sheri no I haven't seen it yet, is it good?? I'm really bad for never watching tv lol

LTJ, sounds a lot fancier than what I have which is mostly Guinness or Absolut glasses but everyone here woul..."

Haven't seen it but might today. I'll keep you posted.

Tammy wrote: "Wishing you a belated Happy Birthday LTJ, my birthday was the day after Christmas and my husband's birthday was on the 3rd. I'm starting this year off with a 913 page book."

What is ambitious. What are you reading?

˜��*°��.˜��*°�� Sheri •��*”��.•��*”�� wrote: "Has anyone watched The Pale Blue Eye on Netflix? The Pale Blue Eye? Louis Bayard

I've read it's fictitious except the part about Poe attending West Point!!"

We don't have Netflix at the moment. We had it and it seemed nothing was added that interested us for a while. I'm reluctant to subscribe again, I'm kind of boycotting them right now. I'm sure if there is enough I want to see we'll sign up again.

LTJ wrote: "@Aoife: LoL right? I do have an official Jack Daniel's whiskey glass so I'd use that."

I love me some Jack, although bourbon is slowly replacing Jack as my go to. I love having bourbon in the house as I bake with it, a lot.

@Sheri: Sweet, thanks! :-)

@Gem: I've also been debating every now and then if it's worth keeping Netflix. I do love the horror and comedy specials but the great ones are few and far between. Thinking of maybe giving Shudder a whirl.

Bourbon is also fantastic! Another great choice :-D

LTJ wrote: "@Gem: I've also been debating every now and then if it's worth keeping Netflix. I do love the horror and comedy specials but the great ones are few and far between. Thinking of maybe giving Shudder..."

I haven't heard of Shudder. We have Hulu, Disney +, HBOmax, and sling during football season.

I would highly recommend the glasses even just for water or something it's just a handy shape to use. We got a gift of one with our names engraved in one with work last year and it's the best for sitting at a desk if I leave my usual bottle somewhere

I actually love a milkshake when I'm drunk which I'd say the majority of people think is mad and would make them sick. There's something very nice about it tho! Sometimes all you need/want is quick cheap and something to tide you over. Fancy has it's place but so does everything else!
They stopped selling curly fries from McDonalds here during COVID and they never came back :(

Heineken (and some other blonde beers) aren't too bad but I'm so slow at drinking them they're half flat by the time I'm half way through. You can get a half pint of Guinness (sometimes called a girlfriend pint if you're my mam) which is beautiful it's the right amount of Guinness if you're eating but pub staff hate doing them

I'll lean into the Irish thing I mostly go to vodka or whisky, but mostly Irish whisky

Gem wrote: "˜��*°��.˜��*°�� Sheri •��*”��.•��*”�� wrote: "Has anyone watched The Pale Blue Eye on Netflix? The Pale Blue Eye? Louis Bayard

I've read it's fictitious except the part about ..."

I only just got mine back there for Christmas but there's too many places that everything is spread across now and half the time nothing new is one the one you have

@Gem: Very cool and yeah, LoL all the same apps here as well. I use YouTube TV for all my regular TV/sports needs. Shudder is a strictly 100% horror streaming service with tons of movies and a year series in Creepshow (I loved the original movies while growing up!) :-)

LTJ wrote: "@Gem: Very cool and yeah, LoL all the same apps here as well. I use YouTube TV for all my regular TV/sports needs. Shudder is a strictly 100% horror streaming service with tons of movies and a year..."

Ah... I don't mind classic horror, it doesn't seem to be horror in the true sense of the word but I don't like the more modern stuff. Modern movies and tv shows are so graphic, I just can't. Can we say "nightmares?" lol

That said the more I read Stephen King the more I wonder why some of his stuff is labeled "horror." I think that's the genre that propelled him to fame so it's a label that has stuck.