"Now That's a Gift!" - December 24, 2021

[Jacksull]

Made it to the 🏝.. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

[meowmiao71]

On shore after a couple of visits to rabbit holes (and obsessing over a bit of weirdness I noticed). Very cute!

Happy holidays to all!

[mntlblok]

Finally onshore. Tried too hard to apply a different mechanism to the pieces, but only got gibberish. Then I realized there was another step. From there it was a quick trip to shore.
I’ll be cooking tomorrow, so I don’t know how much time I’ll have for Matt’s week 4 meta. The menu is nowhere near elaborate as Cindy’s, but I’m only cooking for my wife and one of my sisters. I’ll be cooking for eight on New Year’s eve, though.

Tomorrow’s menu:
Cajun smoked salmon dip (from scratch)
Garlic roast beef with gravy
Smashed gorgonzola baby red potatoes
Mashed cauliflower
Seasoned green beans
Whatever dessert my sister brings

"Another step". Do I now have to consider myself to have been nudged? Ashore.

[Dplass]

Ashore. Classic.

[ky-mike]

On shore.

Travel day today. Our hotel receptionist was kind enough to print a copy for us to complete.

Merry Christmas everyone.

I hope Matt is as good to us this week as Mike was.

[BeTheLight]

Solved! One of the fastest meta solves I've had and even the grid was on the easy side. I guess that's so we can enjoy the holiday!

[cbarbee002]

I have what I believe is the answer, but there is just one thing that bothers me.

Update: Ashore with confidence

Oh yes. Typically traditional meal:
Turkey
Sausage stuffing
Honey roasted ham
Red wine
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Cranberry sauce
Red wine
Carrot soufflé
Creamed corn
Red wine
Green beans
Pumpkin pie

Oh yeah, everyone brings a bottle of red!

[MikeM000]

Safely on shore after extricating myself from a Christmas themed rabbit hole. Always nice to come back a few hours later and have a tiny a-ha that quickly leads to a much bigger A-HA.

Merry Christmas to all those who partake!

Now that's the gift!
Now that's the gift!

[SewYoung]

Well, I see something that I think is Step 1, but haven't figured out what to do with it. Hopefully sleeping on it will bring it to light.

Funny text auto correct story:
I am the Communion Steward at my church and texted the pastor what he needed me to do to prepare for tomorrow's service. He replied, "I plan to be there around 11am to change parakeets out to white. "
I had to laugh out loud at that.
Some of you will know what he was trying to say. For those who don't know; the fabric hangings on the altar, communion table and pulpit are called paraments. There are different colors for different seasons on the liturgical calendar and white for certain special occasions.
Had to share that with my word nerd friends. I told my husband and he just gave me a blank look.

[patpatchica]

Ashore! Fun one and my first Thursday solve! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

[Toby]

Solved. Time to do grid: 10 minutes. Time to solve meta: 5 minutes. Time to fix printer beforehand 4 hours, but bless the folks who post videos on how to do things like this. I was very proud because I even had to make a new part out of a guitar pick, but it worked! And when I put it all back together there were only 2 screws left.

[Jeremy Smith]

I have what I believe is the answer, but there is just one thing that bothers me.

Update: Ashore with confidence

Oh yes. Typically traditional meal:
Turkey
Sausage stuffing
Red wine
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Cranberry sauce
Red wine
Carrot soufflé
Creamed corn
Red wine
Green beans
Pumpkin pie

Oh yeah, everyone brings a bottle of red!

But…the question is—
Are you cooking it, Chris???

[woozy]

Ashore. But who has time to do these over christmas. I guess I do. Fun won.

[EmilyW]

On shore. It's a Festivus miracle!

[billkatz]

I'm ashore - tonight it was an excellent vintage port to celebrate!

[DaveKennison]

Ashore! I was a bit late downloading the puzzle, but solved it pretty quickly. Then, I spent the better part of two hours staring at it, memorizing what seemed to be the key entries, but having no idea how to proceed on the meta, until bedtime. Turned out the light, rolled over, closed my eyes, and … bingo! … realized what the gimmick had to be.

There’s a saying attributed to some author (can’t remember who), and it goes something like this: “Writing is easy. I just sit down, stare at the typewriter until little drops of blood appear on my forehead, and then begin to type!” I can relate … … .

[hoover]

I've been hanging out here on the boat with Isaac since about 15 minutes after my refresh-refresh-refresh yielded a link to the .puz file.

[Joe Ross]

Does anyone (besides @hoover and me) still need this?

[mntlblok]

Well, I see something that I think is Step 1, but haven't figured out what to do with it. Hopefully sleeping on it will bring it to light.

Funny text auto correct story:
I am the Communion Steward at my church and texted the pastor what he needed me to do to prepare for tomorrow's service. He replied, "I plan to be there around 11am to change parakeets out to white. "
I had to laugh out loud at that.
Some of you will know what he was trying to say. For those who don't know; the fabric hangings on the altar, communion table and pulpit are called paraments. There are different colors for different seasons on the liturgical calendar and white for certain special occasions.
Had to share that with my word nerd friends. I told my husband and he just gave me a blank look.

Having read Ferrol Sams, I *know* that I was "raised right", but we were sure never exposed to such colorful decorations during those Sunday morning lectures. Closest thing to a decoration in our religion woulda been those brown bags you got at the liquor store.

On the subject of unfamiliar words, just got a kick out of one of the results of my research of this one:

>>>>
PARAMENTS is an unusual word in English. It is defined in the Standard Dictionary, "rich and ornamental clothes and furniture." Webster cites this line from Chaucer which indicates its ancient meaning: "Lords in paraments on their coursers."
>>>>

Made for *two days in a row* of coming across "coursers"! Had also run across it whilst down a meta rabbit hole, yesterday! Shall leave it at that for now. . .

[CPJohnson]

Still on the boat, likely to be here a while.