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Post by shades on Feb 1, 2017 7:51:58 GMT
Special dates this month: Feb 5 Superbowl Sunday Feb 14 Valentine's Day Feb 27 Polar Bear Day
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Post by Bean on Feb 1, 2017 9:57:59 GMT
I beg your pardon, Polar Bear Day?! Well, you've done your bit as although I know about the problems they face, I wasn't aware they had a special day. So the theme is you're supposed to try to lower your carbon output? I'll have to see what we can do!
Lovely picture by the way!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 1, 2017 14:40:54 GMT
The only one I recognised was the 14th too Bean hunni. Thank you for sharing a wonderful piggy picture with us Shades love. What beautiful markings.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 1, 2017 20:14:58 GMT
Superbowl is a US day, this coming Sunday, when the top team from the each of the two football leagues/conferences play each other for the championship. Our team, the New England Patriots is playing the Atlanta Falcons, in Houston, Texas, I think. A 30 second ad during the superbowl costs millions. All of the ad spots are sold out long in advance of the game, and most companies introduce their new and best ads for the superbowl. Polar Bear day isn't really a day. It's a day when local civic groups hold what is called a polar bear or penguin plunge. People dressed in everything for full out costumes to skimpy bikinis and speedos run into the water at a local beach, splash around and run back out again. It's a way to raise money for charity. Everyone has a great time. Organizations provide hot coffee, tea and hot chocolate, participants gets hats or tshirts saying they participated, and the news stations cover the plunges and often participate in the plunges, as they are fun. I think they are only held in parts of the country where it actually gets cold. Holding a polar bear or penguin plunge in Florida just wouldn't cut it I used to do it when I was a whole lot younger, and groups of us idiots thought it was cool. The water is warmer than the air, so it's not as bad as it sounds.
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Post by Bean on Feb 1, 2017 22:00:08 GMT
That all sounds great fun, but I did find enough references to indicate Polar Bear Day is a real thing too! A conservation awareness event, especially in relation to carbon emissions. I wonder if your thing is a separate thing or just one way of interpreting it?! We have some similar 'jump in to freezing water in your speedos' things, but can;t recall offhand what they're about, just that I don't fancy it, thanks!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 2, 2017 9:48:13 GMT
That sounds great fun Piggles love, the sort of thing I would have enjoyed when I could run LOL! I know what you mean Bean hunni but I love that initial feeling when you first get yourself all wet in the sea. I love sea swimming. Polar bears look so cuddly, it is a pity they aren't though.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 2, 2017 21:15:49 GMT
You're right! I googled polar bear day, and it's a day to raise awareness about the plight of the polar bear, and climate change. We've had polar bear and penguin plunges for so long, I never thought it was anything else. The plunge days are also this time of year, as it's supposed to be cold, so even the timing the fit. I already contribute to efforts to help the polar bears and penguins, and to slow climate change, so I'll probably totally forget about that when it arrives. I won't be participating in any of the plunges, either, although I see people a lot older than I am participating. I'm a bit against Valentine's Day, simply because it's become a huge deal as a couples day, for everything from gifts to meals in restaurants, etc. The TV ads are like the ones at Christmas, geared to make people feel as if they don't love their mate enough, if they don't do all of these things, and spend way more money than they can afford. None of those things say I Love You the way a heartfelt card or gesture does, and I resent people being made to feel inadequate because they can't afford all these things. Back in grammar school, our parents would buy these big bags of cheap, silly cards, and we would move our desks into a square, and tape an envelop to the front, then everyone would go around putting their cards in the envelopes. There were always those who got a lot more cards than everyone else, and always the Charlie Browns, who hardly got any cards. Then we'd have a party with all the cookies and things our poor parents had had to supply Art class was always about making different types of hearts, which were taped to the windows in the classroom to make the room feel festive. Same with the other holidays. Now it's not politically correct to celebrate holy days in the public schools, so all of that ended.I think the teachers are very creative to use similar but not religious themes, and still have a party
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Post by Bean on Feb 3, 2017 9:06:08 GMT
Valentine's Day has become way too commercial, but most things have, and it's sad that people are more likely to end up disappointed if they buy into it. It can be a bit of fun but people should just make it their own, rather than spending loads of naff cards and buying flowers and chocolates on autopilot!
The school parties sound fun. I think with kids it is the most fun - when you're at that age of starting to like people and the excitement of sending or receiving a card, or even just chatting with friends about it!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 3, 2017 9:48:36 GMT
Valentine's day was commercial when I was a child and it has become steadily worse. Paul always says it is not for married couples but for those who want to send anon. I disagree, I love getting cards. It sounds as if your valentines days were fun Piggles love, I don't know if they do anything similar here now.
Very true Bean love, people shouldn't buy valentines cards and give gifts because they feel they have to. I always make it clear to Paul that if he doesn't want to he needn't bother but he usually does LOL!!
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 3, 2017 18:11:50 GMT
I love cream-filled chocolates, and Valentine's Day is one time of year when the chocolate companies put out hearts with lots of different ones. I really love the strawberry cream-filled, and hubby likes the ones with nuts, so while HE buys ME a heart of chocolates, we both eat it Yes, those parties in the early days were fun. When daughter was in school, they didn't have those parties, so I have no idea what, if anything, most public schools do now. I also think, since we all provided baked goods for the party, that the whole movement to stop childhood obsesity has put a damper on the parties. That doesn't mean the parents can't send veggie and dip platters, but I don't know if they do that. I've been thinking about making some chocolates, and have to get to the store to see what's available for moulds and flavors. I won't paint the designs, as that is finite work my eyes and hands won't do anymore, but I can make a batch of different flavored chocolates, and give them as gifts. I doubt I'll get to it in time for Valentine's, and I'd rather get time to practice before needing to have some made. My favorite flavors were orange and watermelon, so I'll definitely start with those
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 5, 2017 14:57:43 GMT
I do too Piggles love, I think they are my favourites but they have become very hard to get here. When you do get them as I did for a christmas treat, they are stupidly expensive. I looked on a 1940's onwards sweet range and I could see all my favourites which are no longer made. There was much more imagination then and individuality whereas in this wonderful age we live in, everything is just streamlined and there is no room for anything different. I noticed many choc bars filled with cordial which are impossible to get here anywhere and it is such a shame. You can probably get them in the US as you have always had much more imagination than we Brits and cater more for individual tastes.
Oh Piggles hunni, if you do make some chocolate creams, I will be your first customer LOL!
Hugs JO xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 5, 2017 20:05:33 GMT
It's a deal, Jo I'm actually having trouble finding the moulds I used to use. There's one place in New Jersey, way too far for me to visit, that has a catalog of moulds for $71. That's before I buy any of the moulds from the catalog. I'm trying to get a larger picture of the moulds, on my computer, but haven't had much luck being able to see the detail very well. I just need to get recipes for the cream fillings off the Internet, and try making some basic ones. I used to make very detailed boxes out of chocolate, and fill them with smaller, painted chocolates. Those were beautiful. I think I have those moulds someplace, but I found the container I thought had them, and they weren't there?
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 6, 2017 9:19:21 GMT
There is no limit to your talents love, you are such a clever lady. That is just typical of things being no longer available when we look for them after a period of time, but I hope you find what you are looking for as I would love you to make some more choccies. I love the idea of choccies inside an actual chocolate box, what a lovely gift that would make.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by Bean on Feb 6, 2017 20:54:48 GMT
It does sound great - and I agree it'd make a really special gift, especially if it were all homemade. Hope the moulds show up somewhere, 3piggles. I expect there's still a bit of stuff you haven't looked over since the move, so fingers crossed they're not lost.
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 6, 2017 21:02:35 GMT
Jo, I would love to claim credit, but the chocolate boxes were moulds, so I had to melt and pour the chocolate into the mould, let it set up in the fridge, then pop the box and the lid out of the mould. I had some very ornate ones. This is a great example, just very plain. www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Heart-Pour-Box-Mold/dp/B00S8Q12E6All of the moulds were the same, and still are. The design was built into the mould, so the choccies came out of the mould with the design moulded into the choccies. I use melted white candy melts with food coloring added to make exactly the shades of colors I wanted, painted that onto the moulded design,let that set, then added the melted chocolate to make a finished candy. These are the candy melts: www.walmart.com/ip/Wilton-White-Candy-Melts/24107681 They do come in colors, and I often used the green ones for leaves, but made my own colors for the flowers and other details. I had the same moulds Godiva used, only I painted the designs on mine, and they didn't. Bean, this is one place I found, and as the picture shows, they have every imaginable mould. I really want to go down there, but don't know if I can make the trip: www.candylandcrafts.com/Catalog/ If you select some of the options, you can see the mould detail better. If nothing else, I will order a mould, and see how detailed it is, as I doubt I can paint the moulds any longer.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 7, 2017 9:14:22 GMT
Oh bless you Piggles love, it still takes skill and talent. Thanks for the links. I think we have similar things here but as I have never attempted to make chocolate (I can just imagine LOL) I haven't noticed. Please keep us updated.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by Bean on Feb 7, 2017 9:55:55 GMT
What an amazing range of moulds - I bet you'd be there for the whole day looking through them all 3piggles!
I've used the 'make your own Easter egg' moulds, and it was fun, but let's just say I agree with Jo about there being skill and talent needed (which I don't possess!) for that, let along the painting side of things which I'd be hopeless at!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 7, 2017 13:19:27 GMT
Ha ha me too Bean hunni, I am like a cow with a crochet hook when it comes to painting LOL!!
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 7, 2017 21:42:13 GMT
The greatest thing about working with chocolate is that, if you mess it up, just melt it down and use it again. I did have a lot of practice when I had my chocolates business, and I miss the fun parts and the tasty results. I just don't miss every holiday being a mad time of so many orders, and so little time. I really could have used some help, but I didn't charge enough for the results to be able to afford a helper.
I used to have the tools to do dipped candies, but haven't seen them since we moved. It's easy to do dipped caramels and other things. Just takes the right tools. They're not expensive, so I might invest in another set.
Getting snow. It's been snowing all day. I think the first and second waves of the storm met up and made a stronger storm, because the first wave was supposed to start around 10 last night, and hadn't started by 2 a.m. I think we'll get about 4 inches, but since we have sleet and freezing rain coming it, it will probably get packed down. Good day to be off the roads, but the New England Patriots Superbowl Championship parade was in Boston, today, so I hope they got more rain than snow. I guess the parade was delayed by a few hours because of the snow.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 8, 2017 9:36:06 GMT
Your choccies sound wonderful Piggles hunni, is there any chance you will start to make them again even if it is on a much smaller scale? We have had no snow here despite several forecasts. It is sunny but very cold.
Hugs Jo xx
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