Cuddle Party

[ysabetwordsmith]

Everyone needs contact comfort sometimes. Not everyone has ample opportunities for this in facetime. So here is a chance for a cuddle party in cyberspace. Virtual cuddling can help people feel better.

We have a cuddle room that comes with fort cushions, fort frames, sheets for draping, and a weighted blanket. A nest full of colorful egg pillows sits in one corner. There is a basket of grooming brushes, hairbrushes, and styling combs. A bin holds textured pillows. There is a big basket of craft supplies along with art markers, coloring pages, and blank paper. The kitchen has a popcorn machine. Labels are available to mark dietary needs, recipe ingredients, and level of spiciness. Here is the bathroom, open to everyone. There is a lawn tent and an outdoor hot tub. Bathers should post a sign for nude or clothed activity. Come snuggle up!

Comments

Happy New Year!

[ng_moonmoth]

It's the Year of the Pig, let's have some pig!

*sets up platter and wok, fills bottom of wok with water, turns heat on lowish*

*pulls out a tower of bamboo steamer baskets*

*unwraps a foil package and places Chinese BBQ pork ribs on platter*

*sets up small flat dishes with black vinegar and ginger shreds,, and more dishes with hot mustard*

*pulls out a supply of Chinese soup spoons and chopsticks*

The steamer baskets hold Shanghai soup dumplings -- broth and pork meatballs inside a dumpling wrapper. To eat, maneuver one out of the steamer basket that's sitting next to the wok on a plate (or grab another steamer basket if that one's empty) into a spoon, drizzle with some of the vinegar, and, once it's cooled enough to eat, pop it in your mouth and enjoy.

I'll stop by to check the water level from time to time, although I'd certainly appreciate it if anyone who stops for a bite checks and keeps it from running dry. If anyone with Water Powers can set up an auto-feed process, that would be really cool.

*picks out a green and a yellow touch figure, cuts out and puts yellow across the upper chest and bottom of torso, and writes "xe/xyr/yrs/xyrself" on it before putting it on*

*grabs enough pillows for a nest, hauls it off to a well-lighted corner and plunks down*

*pulls out homework projects for classes at this weekend's knitting show*

*sets into work*

[technoshaman]

YEE HOOO CUDDLE PARTEEEEEE *ahem* oh g-ds and little turtles, I needed this.

The bear shambles in with two medium-largish pots, one of chunky matzoh ball soup and one of mild but very savoury vegan mushroom chili (hopefully everybody can do one or the other? I'll take requests for next time). A little carrier contains a bottle of Tobasco chipotle sauce, and a can of Mexican hot chocolate mix (it's got cinnamon in and is LOVELY warming without bringing Teh Heats) and shelf-stable cartons of milk, one of rice and one of cow's.

Setting his burdens in appropriate places on the table, he acquires stickers "he/him" and "CUDDLE ME" and flumps down to await the usual suspects and, if he's lucky, a few other favourites.

Re: Happy New Year!

[technoshaman]

Oooh, PIG MEAT. *acquires dumplings* Thankee!

Re: Happy New Year!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>It's the Year of the Pig, let's have some pig!<<

*drool, slobber* *grab chopsticks* *nom nom nom*

>>*pulls out homework projects for classes at this weekend's knitting show*<<

Oh, that's the one you mentioned earlier, right? :D

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>YEE HOOO CUDDLE PARTEEEEEE *ahem* oh g-ds and little turtles, I needed this. <<

*HUGGLES*

>>one of mild but very savoury vegan mushroom chili<<

>>I have not tried mushroom chili. What is it like? I am not a big fan of regular chili flavor, but I do love mushrooms.

Re: Happy New Year!

[technoshaman]

Note to self. Ysabet is a BIG fan of pig meat.

Not so much with the fishyfishy, do I remember correctly?

Re: Happy New Year!

[ng_moonmoth]

Yep, and the one where I'm going to be looking for supplies for the project I'm planning for you.

I think I've figured out the closures for that. I need to do a proof-of-concept piece to see whether I can construct the fabric with the closures. Will let you know how the experiments go.

Re: Thoughts

[technoshaman]

Well, much like your Skillet Algorithm, chili is open to infinite variation. For a chili-for-those-who-don't-like-chili, I'd go with kidney beans and tomatoes (canned for time, pre-soaked beans and chopped tomatoes if you've got the time for full scratch), probably not too much onion, a fair hit of garlic, and then chunk up portobellos like one would for stew or "regular" chili... Sautee the alium first, then the shrooms just for a minute until they start releasing a bit of juice, then add the rest of the goodies and simmer over medium-low heat for an hour or so... Other things to add might be corn, peas, or butternut squash. Basically you're building an umami-bomb. Tarragon, thyme, rosemary, and ginger for spicing - if you've got fresh ginger sautee that _first_ b/c it takes longer to pull the flavour out... black pepper or maybe chipotle in addition to the ginger for warmth. Between the beans and the shrooms and some good cornbread to go with? You could probably get most carnivores to feel fed...

Re: Thoughts

[technoshaman]

p.s. ***SQUISH***

Re: Happy New Year!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Yep, and the one where I'm going to be looking for supplies for the project I'm planning for you. <<

Yay! :D I look forward to hearing about that.

>> I think I've figured out the closures for that. I need to do a proof-of-concept piece to see whether I can construct the fabric with the closures. Will let you know how the experiments go.<<

*glee* Fibercrafts are fascinating.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Hmm. It's a thought. I'm not crazy about most beans, tomato flavor, or the spices typically used in chili. But I like sloppy joe filling and spaghetti sauce, which use a lot of the same ingredients, and I put mushrooms in both.

Re: Thoughts

[technoshaman]

*nods* well, the spicing is radically different, 'cept the ginger and black pepper... and one could get all Texas on it and dump the beans entirely; I'd probably sub in barley or the wheat berries from your Tidy Joes.. and in season, the chocolate beefsteak tomatoes would be a lot less sharp than something like romas...

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> *nods* well, the spicing is radically different, 'cept the ginger and black pepper... and one could get all Texas on it and dump the beans entirely; I'd probably sub in barley or the wheat berries from your Tidy Joes.. <<

Some beans are okay, like black-eyed peas, and pintos aren't bad. Kidney beans are not a favorite.

>> and in season, the chocolate beefsteak tomatoes would be a lot less sharp than something like romas... <<

I like chocolate tomatoes better, and use them in the wild tidy joes.

Re: Happy New Year!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I like fish better than my partner does. Catfish and trout are favorites. Wild-caught salmon can be nice; it's one of the few fishes he'll eat, so we have it fairly often. We use tuna from a can for things like noodle dishes.

Cuddles!

[fuzzyred]

J comes in with a bag of knitting, peanut butter brownies, walnut brownies and plain brownies amd her stuffed red panda. She is wearing her fuzzy red robe and purple unicorn tights. She sets her goodies down before collecting some of all the delicious food to try and flopping down next to the Bear. "Cuddle me?"

Re: Cuddles!

[ysabetwordsmith]

Ooo. Brownies. :D

*cuddles*

Re: Cuddles!

[(Anonymous)]

J FRIEND *glomps* *Puuurrr puuurrr*

Re: Cuddles!

[fuzzyred]

Happy friend! *cuddle pet pet pet*

Re: Cuddles!

[fuzzyred]

Yay cuddles! :)

Re: Cuddles!

[technoshaman]

*cuddles J gently but enthusiastically*

Re: Cuddles!

[fuzzyred]

Perfect cuddles :D Gentle is good because I hurt from the gym yesterday but I really like cuddles. Especially since cuddles are better than work and I just want to curl up somewhere warm and take a nap.

Re: Happy New Year!

[mirrorofsmoke]

Long Bao! Maze *Not Maze of Damask though lol) nabs some as Demyx settles nearby and plays his sitar which means the wok won’t run dry. As a bonus, you get a soothing concert.

Re: Happy New Year!

[ng_moonmoth]

*happily relaxes vigilance over water level in wok*

*snags a dumpling and some ribs for self*

*enjoys the concert*

Thanks much.

Oh yeah, almost forgot!

[ng_moonmoth]

*wanders over to firepit with a bag*

*pulls a couple of bundles out of the bag*

*starts fiddling with the bundles*

Each bundle consists of pieces of red-painted bamboo that assemble with pegs into legs several feet long supporting a set of crossbars. Strings wrapping hundreds of small cylindrical objects, also red, dangle from the crossbars almost to the ground, with an additional few feet of string past the last object.

*leaves a box of matches and a set of tongs behind*

*goes back inside*

If this isn't a good place or time to set this up, please let me know, and I'll gladly move it or pack it back up.

Re: Thoughts

[mdlbear]

The chili recipe I use has meat, chilies, garlic, and (optional) onions and mushrooms, but no beans or tomatoes; it's served over rice mixed with garbanzo beans (soak the beans or get them out of a can and cook with the rice). I think my mom got that one out of the New York Times about six decades ago.