Harmony at the townhouse, holiday plans, anniversaries

Dinner at the townhouse went pretty well, I think. We drank some wine and raspberry dessert ice wine, had some beer, and joked that Mom's tolerance was getting better because Jon makes her drink all these beers that Jeremy makes / he brings home, haha. I wore that purple "WHATEVER" shirt - it wasn't that hard to find since it was on a chair in my living area. We talked about Steph's Stateside trip, Harmony's time in Toronto, her writing, the mutual friends she and Jon know now, it being worth staying up late to talk to Jon at night on the phone (of course it is), and our holiday plans. Eric is inviting everyone to watch the Canucks-Flames pay per view game at his place on the 26th... I'll certainly come! His mom Veronica is Super Hostess with lots of food, so we feel welcome. (even after an SLB night, she had snacks laid out for us!) Jon wants to eat at The Foundation restaurant on Friday since Eric can eat the veggie fare that they serve: always a good thing! He gave me and Steph our cards from Dylan: vintage VCEFC cards, haha. (he told me that he was following my example, hehe) Harmony's parents have their wedding anniversary on Christmas Eve (got married in San Francisco), and Pastor Fulton and Auntie Teresa have theirs on Boxing Day. They wanted us younger folk to come for dessert, so we'll see how things go after the hockey game that night!

Harmony's family knows Uncle Andre too (her mom is his sister!), so we discussed that for a while. We also talked about Erin's parents and certain traits they have when giving gifts. Tip: check to see how expired their stuff may be FIRST before consuming it! (vitamin pills and cookie tins, anyone?) Mom brought out the photo albums so Harmony could see our kiddy / baby pictures: Jon looked way different as a baby than now, but his friend Edwin still looks the same! Speaking of hockey, we watched a bunch of the Flames-Sharks game while making more holiday plans: Rachel and Steph are definitely cooking dinner for our families on New Year's Day, while Mom is inviting Dave's family (plus Tiffany) back to our place the night before. Somewhere in between, we might schedule an SLB outing too... looks to be BUSY! Harmony has stuff to do with her relatives, and actually is out right now with Jon at her place meeting some of them. Catching up is what you do, after all. ;)

Jon mixed some durian ice cream along with eggnog ice cream: that didn't smell great! Mom figured it was Dallas' fault that a durian was in the freezer since he brought it for Tomlin (Jon's Toronto nickname, after the Christian singer-songwriter Chris Tomlin) on Thanksgiving, and wanted Jon to store it at Jeremy's. Not a good idea in an apartment complex! Pretty good times, indeed. :D (Steph's just finished Powerpoint for tomorrow's packed service with baptism / baby dedication / usual stuff / LOTS of Scripture readings and songs, so I'm going now!) Harmony even gave our family some gifts, which was nice of her... I have mine, Steph has hers, and our parents and grandma have one too! Steph's reserving one of HER church cards for us both to sign to give to her when we see her next. (my idea) Grandma was impatient and wanted me to get my mittens and beret thing from my mom NOW when they were for Christmas, so I have them now. I probably won't have time to open them till Christmas Day, anyhow... Steph gave me a 100g Lindt snowman, too! Cute! I also got my sibs to sign the December birthday cards, and emailed that hilarious Richmond list out to most people. :D

Tomorrow: Greek lunch with Uncle Sam's mom, and dinner at Dave's.
Christmas: probably nothing.
Boxing Day: PPV hockey game at Eric's.
Friday: Bible Study outing night at The Foundation (?)
NYE: Dave's family and Tiffany over for dinner at the townhouse.
New Year's: Rachel and Steph cooking dinner for our families.


Today's Ex-Communicated Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

Because the papacy often was treated as a political pawn, popes sometimes found themselves at the mercy of ruthless rulers. Consider poor John XVI, who thought he was the rightful pope, according to Roman nobles who pushed him onto the papal throne in 997. Unfortunately, another politically powerful pope, Gregory V, was alive elsewhere in Europe.

Gregory returned to Rome with an army and wasn't amused at finding a rival. He ordered John's eyes put out as well as his nose and ears sliced off. Then, to underline the point, John was excommunicated. Should he wish to object, his lips, teeth and tongue were removed next. And his mutilated body, still alive, was shipped to a monastery.

Culled from: Yahoo News
Generously submitted by: The Mourner

**********************************************************************

Youch!!! And I thought Pope Stephen (yesterday's MFDJ) was bad! There's a Catholic church down the street called St. Gregory. I'll have to think of this story every time I pass by the church. It's actually a pretty cool building - it has a crucified Jesus standing on a skull above the main entrance. Nice, eh?

St. Gregory archives

*******

Morbid Link Du Jour!

TABOO - HUMAN FLESH FOOD AND CULTURE

WHAT IS THE FLAVOR OF HUMAN FLESH?

Gary Allen

Presented at the Symposium Cultural and Historical Aspects of Foods
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.

Given the complexity of the tasting experience, how do we deal with describing the flavor of things we have not tasted, or indeed, things we have been forbidden to taste? Do you remember what you, as a child, imagined the flavor of coffee to be? What gustatory bliss was suggested by its delicious aroma? Or the smell of vanilla extract, that begged to be tasted, despite (or because of) the warnings from your mother? Can you recall thinking about the flavor of a food that you have only heard about, one that you have never seen or smelled? The brain immediately tries to provide the missing sensory details, drawing on all kinds of associations. The accuracy of the projected description of the flavor varies widely, depending on the breadth and sophistication of the taster's experience.

For more, go here.

Thanks to Bruce T. for the link.

*******

Morbid Quote Du Jour!

"The quickest way to a man's heart really is through his stomach, because then you don't have to chop through that pesky rib cage." - J. Jacques

Thanks to Paradox for the quote.