Thread 16 - TalkLair: "Well, I'm not exactly quaking in my stylish-yet-affordable boots, but there's definitely something unnatural going on here."

[Kucinghitam]

(Previous thread 15).

Another year over, a new one just begun...

In the TalkLair, the hearth is glowing, the walls festooned with tinsel, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors, the tree is twinkling with fairy lights (and possibly being clambered on by cats). The denizens of the lair are a welcoming bunch though, always eager for general chit-chat on all manner of topics.

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey Christmas roast beast over there in the corner of the cave…

Happy Year of the Snake 恭喜发财 threadsters!

Happy Snake year. I've always slightly dreaded Dragon years so am breathing a little sigh of relief, even while knowing that what the Dragon started has often played out during the Snake year. Time being what it is.

This is all the baking we have done ChezKuc, the meringue snakes were a last-minute addition to use up some leftover egg whites.

A dish of loveliness, Kuc! Happy Snake year to all.

The meringue snakes are very cute.

Our current Korean drama.series is Tale.of the Nine Tailed - can't say it's encouraging me to see the transition from dragon to snake in a good light, but the meringue version has reconciled me.

Happy Snake year to all.

I love the meringues!

Very cute meringue snakes. Happy Snake year everyone! I am somewhat herpetophibic, but taking courage from the view that snakes are meant to be fortunate. I think I was born in a Tiger year (1950) and I do love my cats.

Excellent baking, kuc!

In crap media, I was reading that as a Rabbit I love change and will therefore flourish and adapt in the year of the snake. I think I fear change as much as the next person, so am not optimistic! I am prepared to face the upheaval and anomie associated with being a multi-millionaire, were this change to happen, mind.

That’s a beautiful yeah if deliciousness, Kuc! (Also, and it’s possible I’ve said this before, I love the colour of your walls.)

I am a rat, I think. No clear idea whether this is good or bad but it doesn’t sound great.

I'm an ox and am supposed to be having a 'harmonious connection' with the snake this year, whatever that means.

I am a supporter of Vietnamese new year (same date) rather than Chinese, because that way I get to be a cat rather than a rabbit.

Just seen a very fine hair on top of the washing machine which has curled into an almost perfect circle.

That is all.

I'm a snake and yet try as I might to not fear them. I fear them. That said I have had either a python or a boa rest on my shoulders and let his tongue tickle the palm of my hand. Prior to that interaction I had been sat paralysed with fear because there were snakes. They have very smooth skin as well. So, I've managed that but if a snake was sliding toward me I'd probably pee or poo with fear.

I'm a Fire Horse, which is like a normal horse but scarier, apparently.

I have no problem fearing snakes, though I fear the non-venomous type less and have actually handles a boa constrictor. I think I'd still run if I saw one in the wild though. We don't have venomous snakes in Maine, but I kept a very sharp eye open when I was in Florida and Arizona though.

Lovely baking Kuc. Those little dottty biscuits are super. And the meringue snakes look very professional

BTW Kuc, as IIRC you live in the great metropolis of Leeds, Is there still that bakers there that does coffee meringues? it used to have a branch in Headingly on the left going up Otley Road but I can't remember its name.

I'm not particularly keen on snakes. Despite growing up in the big city, we were always warned about the dangers of long grass and dangling branches. And the occasional news articles of livestock being eaten by pythons.

@PoppySeedBagelRedux I can't think of a bakery doing meringues anywhere along that stretch of Otley Road (and I know it quite well). There have been quite a few closures in the past decade or so, it might have been one of the sad casualties.

Years ago Snoop and I were walking her dog, Eddi (RIP, she was a darling girl) and walking through a field of long grass when suddenly we thought about snakes. Obviously the snakes we saw would have been grass snakes and would not harm us at all but there were were paralyzed with fear in the middle of the field trying to figure out whether we were better off running back to where we'd started or to the other side of the field to get away from "all of the snakes." I can't remember which way we ran in the end but I do know that we screamed all the way.

There was a bakery near my convent school called Grodzisnki that did the most wonderful meringues. I looked it up just now to get the right spelling and they're still going strong, have another store and are apparently Europe's leading kosher bakery. Given where my school is that makes sense to me.

I think we used to get Grodzinski challah bread when I was little. Can’t remember where we bought it though.

Oh! I think there was a Grodzinski in Hendon or Golders Green or Temple Fortune, when we lived in the area. A similar name, anyway, it sold utterly fabulous baked goods. We used to come out with bulging shopping bags!

I think they're still around- the challah is good as are the hamentaschen ( little chocolate croissants).

I'm going to Leeds with a friend soon, so I'll hunt for the bakers. They had a branch in the centre too.

We also used to buy some wonderful granary rolls from Safeway in Headingley, by a Kosher bakery called Zermansky in Leeds. They were ace but bizarrely you bought 5 in a bag.

Has anyone seen the Dylan film? I quite fancy it, but the long running time is putting me off a bit.

I've seen it and it was great. I honestly didn't notice the long running time. Really strong performances from the lead actors.