Home again, home again

Three days post-surgery, and everything is finally getting back to normal, or at least what passes for normal around here. 

vintage image
It's Owl Right & thankfully, so am I

We got home Friday a bit after lunchtime, and it wasn't long before I was drowsing off, physically needing to lay down and sleep. I was (and am) in more pain than I expected, but I'm trying not to dwell on it, because it can only get better from this point on, right? 

The surgery went well. One thing I learned is that I probably don't hide fear as well as I'd like to think. The surgical nurse, Olga, could apparently tell that I was terrified, because at one point, just as I was about to be put under (I was watching the anesthesiologist putting the first drug in my IV line), she came up to me, grasped my hand, and told me that everything would be ok.

And it was ok. I came out of anesthesia quickly, and wasn't sick at all afterwards. I was a little disoriented, but it passed quickly. The procedure was an obvious immediate success, but they don't consider it a true success until 3 months post-surgery, when they'll better be able to tell if the procedure "took" long term or not.

So, it's a date. February 3rd, 2011, I'm looking at you.

used with permission, by clarita, at Morguefile^

I would have been able to come home sooner than I did, but they had trouble getting an acceptable blood oxygen reading. It wasn't until they tested my ear that they got the (normal) 97% measurement that they wanted.

used with permission, from Morguefile^

My fingers never show the proper levels of blood oxygen due to the fact that I have mild primary Reynaud's phenomenon^ (pops to a National Institutes of Health page). In other words, I have poor circulation in my fingers and toes, and always have. Secondary Reynaud's (which I totally do not have) is caused by other factors, often serious diseases - it's not a diagnosis anyone wants.

To be honest, I always thought that everyone had the same experience (cold extremities indoors, actual pain in the cold) and that it was entirely normal. At least  until I was pregnant in 2005 with Clementine. My doctor, who was trying to get a blood oxygen reading at the time, grabbed my hands, held them palm up, gestured toward the splotchy, pale skin, then said, "Has anyone ever told you why your hands are cold and blue? Because you have Reynaud's".She seemed quite pleased to be the one to tell me.

So, I have Reynaud's. Really, though, the only time it comes up is when I'm out playing in the snow or when I need to give a blood oxygen level, which is almost never. By the way: you can try to tell the nurses that they won't be able to get a blood oxygen reading from your fingers, but about half the time, they'll take it as a personal challenge. At least it isn't painful, though. Nothing like the nurses who are entirely sure that they'll be the one to tame my rolling, collapsing veins with half-a-dozen jabs in the arm rather than taking it out of the back of my hand as I request. In the past I've come close to fainting before they were willing to give up. Now I just insist on the back of my hand.

As mentioned above, I'm still in quite a bit of pain, but determined to get some work done this week. I've had it up to here with my own kvetching, and feel the need to be productive. I'm tired of being sick. I'm sick of being tired. So, I'm planning on working on Christmas gifts, putting up the Christmas tree with Dan and Clementine, and doing all of the other things one is supposed to do in December.

vintage image

Speaking of Clementine: She handled Mommy being in surgery both better and worse than I would have expected. 

Better in the sense that she's been all over me, giving me hugs and kisses, which is very sweet. She wanted to be reassured that everything was ok, and she spent a lot of the weekend right next to me, checking on me. She asked a lot of questions, all of which we answered, all of which seemed to satisfy her sense of curiosity. She knows that I'm ok and at this point, she's back to her sweet self.

But worse in the sense that Clementine decided on Saturday to give herself a haircut. She seems to like to change things up whenever she feels stress, and told me quite plainly that she wanted shorter hair, which is why she cut it. We didn't scold her - there was no point. I simply told her that we'd have to go to the salon and get it evened up, which we did, and she's now the proud owner of a darling pixie cut.  

Until later...

vintage image

Namaste

Sunday morning (early)

I hope you are enjoying the blessings of Winter and Advent on this beautiful Sunday morning. Here are a few of my favorite quotes about my favorite season.

Our hearts grow tender
with childhood memories
and love of kindred,
and we are better
throughout the year
for having,
in spirit,
become a child again
at Christmas time.
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it. ~  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The moment we indulge our affections, the earth is metamorphosed, there is no winter and no night; all tragedies, all ennui, vanish, - all duties even.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson  

O Winter! bar thine adamantine doors: The north is thine; there hast thou build thy dark, Deep-founded habitation. Shake not thy roofs, Nor bend thy pillars with thine iron car.
~ William Blake 

 used with permission, by ren, at Morguefile^

The frost performs its secret ministry, 
Unhelped by any wind.
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge 

used with permission, by missyredboots, at Morguefile^

On a lone winter evening, when the frost Has wrought a silence.

~ John Keats

used with permission, by slone, at Morguefile^

Namaste

Thursday Thunks on Friday Night

Always At Least A Day Late is my new motto when it comes to completing writing prompts, but I really couldn't step away from my family on Christmas Day to write, so being late this week was inevitable.

As inevitable as taxes, the passage of time, and not being able to find your keys when you're in a hurry.

That kind of inevitable.

I didn't want to miss a single moment of our lovely Christmas. So I simply didn't.

Christmas Day was a quiet, slow sort of day. We didn't start opening presents till almost noon; later we had a wonderful dinner (turkey, pumpkin and apples, delicious homemade stuffing, cranberries, with a crust-less pumpkin pie for dessert). The in-between time was spent playing with the SuperCat and enjoying each other's company. It took SuperCat hours to open her gifts; she needed to play with each thing extensively before she could consider moving on to the next thing. It was great watching her play, showing us how things worked.

The last several Christmases have been difficult. My Dad's health was going downhill around Christmas of 2003, he died a month and a half after that. Because of that, and for other reasons, Christmas has been difficult to celebrate for a long time; some years I've had to force myself to do anything at all.

This year, for the first time in a long time, mostly in response to the unbridled joy that the SuperCat has brought to us and continues to bring us every single day, I did quite a bit more, felt quite a lot better, and have been pretty happy the whole season.

Life goes on, as they say. So...

From the Thursday Thunks(^).

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Berleen, the color white and the number 78.

1. Have you ever started your Christmas tree on fire?

No. And how scary is it that that even happens? Can you imagine sitting there, watching the lights twinkle, and all of a sudden, whooosh?

2. How many rings do you wear?

Always the first two, and in various combinations the next three:
* my wedding bands, which started out as two rings, but were connected by the jeweler after our wedding. I'll count those as one.
* a tanzanite and diamond ring given to me by my husband the Christmas after we were married.
* a silver ring with feathers on it that I wear on my thumb.
* a silver poesy ring that my husband gave me.
* a silver ring with a Greek meander (aka key) pattern which looks like this:

3. I say "dog barking", you say _________ ?

He doesn't. My dog almost never barks. He just stands there and looks at you. He growls at people in this really low voice if he doesn't know them at the door, but almost never barks.

4. How many pictures are in the room that you are in.

Two on the wall; old Chinese paintings of birds. Too many to count elsewhere, on shelves, etc.

5. Do you decorate the outside of your house for Christmas?

Some years, yes. Three or four inflatables, lights around the front of the house and in the bushes, a retro plastic Santa...

plus mechanical deer illuminated with white lights, blue and white flowers in the flower boxes, and a winter-themed flag. It's a regular Winter Wonderland.

6. What's your favorite Christmas song?

Carol of the Bells, Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, 1916.



7. What do you fill your Christmas stockings with?

I don't. My husband fills mine, and I fill his. Dan grew up in Holland, so I fill his stocking with candy from there like salted licorice (yuck yuck yuck) and marzipan (yummy).

8. How many times a week do you charge your cell phone?

Every night and I usually top it off during the day. I have the G1 Android, and the battery life isn't great, but the phone is beyond spiffy, so it's worth it.

9. Do you own any exercise equipment? What are they?

A treadmill, an elliptical, and those plastic stair stepper thingies used in aerobics class. Plus two of those rubber balance balls, a yoga mat, and some small weights. A bicycle I almost never ride, too, but I'm not sure that counts since (as I said) I almost never ride it.

10. What's your cookie jar look like?

I have 30 or so. Which one would you like to know about?

This is what my favorite cookie jar looks like

Namaste.

currently listening to: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, the theme from Casino Royale:

current mood: contemplative

Snap! Crackle! Pop! It's Christmas!

According to the SuperCat, the favorite food of pink ponies everywhere is Rice Krispie Treats. And since she has a stable full of pink ponies, she asked me to make some.
You know. For the ponies.

How could anyone say no to that kind of request?

For me, hot dogs and watermelon slices are the Fourth of July. Jiffy Pop popcorn is what we had on the nights we had a babysitter. Caramel corn and orange cream filled chocolates will always be Halloween. And Rice Krispies Treats and Divinity Fudge are Christmas.

Rice Krispies Treats remind me of Christmas at my aunt and uncle's house, where we'd go after we'd visited my grandparents on the other side of the family on Christmas Eve. People don't seem to talk the way they did when I was a kid; I recall my mother, aunts and grandmother sitting in the kitchen during the holidays, smoking, picking at food, and sharing bits of information sotto voce, so the children wouldn't hear. I would often sit quietly and read; if I sat quietly enough, they'd eventually forget I was in the room and you'd hear the good stuff about anyone who happened to not be there at the moment, about people you may not have known, but who seemed to lead scandalous lives. Days of Our Lives had nothing on my family.

I no longer have a large family; I live far, far away from most everyone I knew back then. The family I do have doesn't sit around and chat that way, but I still make certain dishes to remind myself of earlier times and to help create memories for my own children.

Before I stopped eating wheat, if I wanted to make Rice Krispies Treats, I bought a box of Rice Krispies, and followed the directions on the back of the box. Ten minutes or so later, I'd have a pan of hot treats, and the hardest part would be waiting for them to cool.

Now it's not quite so easy. Rice Krispies contain gluten in the form of barley malt, which is a natural flavoring.

So, I go to the health food store and get Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal(^). It's sort of expensive, but tastes good. It's nutty versus the blander taste of Rice Krispies, but I like it, which is surprising. I'm not really a brown rice sort of person - I can remember eating whole wheat bread for the first time when I was maybe 10 or so and thinking that it was terribly exotic, by which I mean it was terrible, period. I'm still pretty much convinced that a mayonaiise and tomato sandwich on whole wheat may be illegal. It's certainly immoral. I really disliked whole wheat then and even now, whole grains bring to mind the lady that lived next door when I was little. She watched Jack Lalanne(^) every morning, did calisthenics in a black leotard, and earnestly gave the neighborhood kids ice cream served with toasted soy nuts on top in an attempt to make it healthy.

Of course, regardless of my feelings, my own children don't know any better; refined white bread has never been an option in their lives. It's been whole multi-grain bread or bust.

Bu back to the sugary sweets at hand: here is the original recipe for Rice Krispies from Kellogg's website, RiceKrispies.com(^)

Kellogg's Rice Krispies

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
• - OR -
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• 6 cups Rice Krispies®

Click on the website link above for directions.

If you simply substitute the Erewhon for the Kellogg's, it doesn't turn out quite right; it'll be dry and crunchy, not moist and chewy, so I change the recipe a bit. Here's mine:
Brown Rice Marshmallow Treats

• 5 ½ cups of gluten free brown rice cereal (Erewhon is my favorite, but there are others)
• 40 regular-sized marshmallows I have never seen marshmallows that have gluten in them, but anything is possible, so it's always a good idea to check.
  
• 2 tsp vanilla Vanilla is normally gluten-free since the alcohol base is distilled, not brewed.
• 4 tbsp (½ stick) butter I don't use margarine, but if you do, it works just fine. The only thing that doesn't seem to work is the diet margarines and spreads.
  

1. Melt butter over medium-low heat in large skillet.
2. Once melted, add marshmallows and stir occasionally until melted.
3. When the marshmallows have melted, add vanilla.
4. Stir briefly, then add rice cereal.
5. Stir until coated with spatula.
6. Turn out into a buttered pan, or onto a Silpat. If a Silpat is used, use the spatula to mold into desired shape.
   
   
   On the Silpat, a silicon embedded baking mat that pretty much nothing sticks to.
   
   
   
7. Once cool, cut into whatever shape you like, or if you'd prefer, once it is cooled a bit, press into molds using cookie cutters or sushi molds.
   
   
   This is a flower-shaped sushi mold.
   Cookie cutters work fine if you don't have one of these.
   
   After they've been molded.
   
   The completed treats, minus the ones that were eaten when they were still warm and gooey.
8. Enjoy!
   
   He's happy to be a guinea pig for once.
   
   Yummy
   
   The smile makes it all worthwhile (not that marshmallow treats are super difficult or anything).
   

And that's it. Allez Cuisine!

I found this today, from the fine folks at Quick Stop Entertainment(^), and the staggering talents who create The Venture Bros(^)., Henchmen 21 & 24 singing Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime(^). Links to songs from previous years can be found here.

I can hear sleigh bells in the distance, so I'd better close for now and rush my gluten-free cookies and a glass of milk to the hearth for Santa.

Until later, have the Merriest of Christmases!

Namaste.

Current Mood: festive

NORAD Tracks Santa

To the immediate south of Pikes Peak is Cheyenne Mountain.

Photo of Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado
by Fish Cop, released to public domain(^)

There is a wonderful zoo on the side of the mountain, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo(^), which has a prolific giraffe breeding program (just as cool: you can feed and touch the giraffes). At the foot of Cheyenne Mountain is the 5-star Broadmoor Hotel(^), and at the top you can find the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun(^).

Photo of the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun
by Matt Wright(^), permission: Attribution ShareAlike 2.5(^)

Deep inside Cheyenne Mountain you would, if you could, find the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station buried 2000 feet below the surface of the Earth. Since the cold war, the CMAFS, NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command), and other agencies have monitored (in real time) a worldwide system of satellites and other sensors that protect the United States and her allies.

Inside Cheyenne Mountain, public domain photo(^)

In 1955, the local Sears department store ran an ad for children to call Santa and give him their Christmas wishlist(^). That year, Sears inadvertently gave the phone number for CONAD (Continental Air Defense), the precursor of NORAD in the advertisement and children began calling. Colonel Harry Shoup was on duty that night, and was the first to receive a call from a local child wanting to speak to Santa. Once the colonel figured out what had happened, he instructed his staff to locate Santa for the children who called.

Every year since, on Christmas Eve, the brave men and women who work to protect us every day gear up to track Santa Claus using satellites, radar, and Santa Cam(^) on his journey around the world. Last year NORAD highlighted about two dozen of Santa's stops, including Auckland, Moscow, Egypt, Machu Picchu, and even the Space Shuttle.

When Santa enters North American airspace, Canadian NORAD fighter pilots, meet and welcome Santa to North America, flying CF-18 which are equipped with Santa Cams.

Once Santa reaches the United States, NORAD fighter pilots in either F-15 or F-16s fly alongside Santa and his reindeer, using the Santa Cam to broadcast video of Santa as he crosses the continent bringing gifts to children everywhere.

If you'd like to track Santa along with NORAD this year, you can find their website, NORAD Santa right here(^) starting at:

• 3 a.m. Pacific Standard Time
• 4 a.m. Mountain Standard Time
• 5 a.m. Central Standard Time
• 6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time
• 11 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time

There's even a Google widget to help with tracking (found here^)

Here's hoping that Santa brings you what your heart desires this (and every) year.

Namaste.

Current Mood: hopeful

Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy

::sigh::

When I posted several days ago, I had plans to write again either later that day or early the next morning. I did try to write then, but life intruded and we got terribly busy and all of my plans sort of went downhill from there and I really should schedule my time better, except that seems impossible sometimes with kids/pets/friends/crafting/cooking/the holidays/my wonderful husband, etc., and I want to be clear that I am not complaining, and am deeply grateful for that sort of "problem".

And aren't I the Queen of the run-on sentence?

So, without further ado, here is last week's post, today. Fresher than fresh!

When I was about six or so, my dad gave me a book of poems for children. I can only remember a few of the poems in the book; The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe and The Duel, by Eugene Field. I liked The Raven, even though it was terribly scary, but I loved The Duel, because it was funny and silly.

I would imagine that most children have heard it, even if they may not know it by name. It starts like this:

The gingham dog and the calico cat
Side by side on the table sat;
'T was half-past twelve, and (what do you think!)
Nor one nor t' other had slept a wink!
The old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate
Appeared to know as sure as fate
There was going to be a terrible spat.
(I was n't there; I simply state
What was told to me by the Chinese plate!)

You can find the entire poem here(^) or download the book Love-Songs of Childhood, by Eugene Field(^) here at Project Gutenberg ( free - the book is many decades out of copyright).

Eugene Field wrote also wrote the poem Wynken, Blynken, and Nod(^), which starts off:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe,—
Sailed on a river of crystal light
Into a sea of dew.
“Where are you going, and what do you wish?”
The old moon asked the three.
“We have come to fish for the herring-fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we,”
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

I was reminded of Eugene Field and his poems when I thought of Clement Moore's A Visit from St. Nicholas(^), which begins:

’T WAS the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that ST. NICHOLAS soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

When I think of sugar plums, I think of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet, of course, but also think of this poem by Eugene Field, The Sugar-Plum Tree (see where we're going with this?)

Have you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree?
'T is a marvel of great renown!
It blooms on the shore of the Lollipop sea
In the garden of Shut-Eye Town;
The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet
(As those who have tasted it say)
That good little children have only to eat
Of that fruit to be happy next day.

When you've got to the tree, you would have a hard time
To capture the fruit which I sing;
The tree is so tall that no person could climb
To the boughs where the sugar-plums swing!
But up in that tree sits a chocolate cat,
And a gingerbread dog prowls below--
And this is the way you contrive to get at
Those sugar-plums tempting you so:

You say but the word to that gingerbread dog
And he barks with such terrible zest
That the chocolate cat is at once all agog,
As her swelling proportions attest.
And the chocolate cat goes cavorting around
From this leafy limb unto that,
And the sugar-plums tumble, of course, to the ground--
Hurrah for that chocolate cat!

There are marshmallows, gumdrops, and peppermint canes,
With stripings of scarlet or gold,
And you carry away of the treasure that rains
As much as your apron can hold!
So come, little child, cuddle closer to me
In your dainty white nightcap and gown,
And I 'll rock you away to that Sugar-Plum Tree
In the garden of Shut-Eye Town.

Sweet poem, right? But what are sugarplums? I had no idea until I looked them up. I vaguely thought that they might be something along the lines of an English boiled pudding or maybe candied plums, I wasn't really sure. So I went to the encyclopedia and... got two different answers.

Hundreds of years ago, sugarplums were small fruits, seeds or nuts, heavily candied with sugar (think: candied cherries in fruitcake). So candied plums were sort of right.

Now, though, and for some time, Sugarplums have come to mean dried fruit and nuts, chopped coarsely and mixed with spices and vanilla, then dredged in sugar. That's it.

Essentially, sugarplums are fruitcake without the cake; ideal for people who can't or don't eat wheat. I reviewed a couple dozen recipes before making my own, and ended up making mine with the fruit I would use to make fruitcake if I still baked with wheat. The only fruit I left out were the candied cherries, because they don't seem at home with the rest of the fruit I used.

Add them if you'd like, as well as any other fruit or nuts you prefer.

Sugarplums

1 cup almonds
1 cup pecans
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup raisins
½ cup prunes
1 cup dates
1 cup apricots (which the SuperCat calls Leprechauns)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
2 tablespoons candied ginger
(or) 1 teaspoon dried ginger
2 small seedless clementines (tangerines)
(or)
2 tablespoons orange liqueur
½ cup shredded coconut
sugar to coat (it took about ½ cup)
Optional: either add or substitute 1 scant tsp orange oil or orange extract for orange peel.

1). Chop nuts and dried fruit to a uniform small coarse size using a food processor or by hand, add to large bowl.
2). Peel tangerines, add pulp to bowl, reserve half of the peel.
3). Scrape the inside of the remaining peel to remove pith, then finely chop peel, and add to bowl.
4). Add spices and vanilla.
5). Add orange oil or orange extract if desired. We really like the flavor of orange and add both the peel and the orange oil, which can be found in the spice aisle.

Everything in the mixing bowl, ready to mix

6). Mix all with a spoon or your hands until thoroughly incorporated.
7). Roll into ¾ inch balls, dredge in sugar.

Sugarplums with vintage deer & cookie jars

Yield: Makes about 3 dozen sugarplums.

Close-up of finished sugarplums.
It took me only about 20 minutes to make a double batch (about 6 dozen).
They were quick and so delicious!

My test subject beloved husband, who likes fruitcake but loved the sugarplums.

He's almost always a good sport when it comes to trying out my recipes
(unless they have mayonnaise, which he will not eat).

Yay, he liked it!
Time for another one!

Namaste.
Current Mood: Busy in the kitchen

excuses, excuses, excuses

I had meant to blog Friday night, but while I was out running errands Friday afternoon, Dan was calling his parents and arranging a date with me for Saturday afternoon. When I got home, I discovered that they'd agreed to keep SuperCat for the afternoon and that we'd be able to spend several hours together.

How can a girl turn down a date with the best guy in the world?

I couldn't.

And so Friday night, instead of writing, I did a lot of the things I had planned to do Saturday morning like: clean the kitchen, and work on Christmas crafts. I was still behind when I finished, but I was behind when I started, so I think it all evened out somehow.

Saturday morning we took Supercat to her grandparents, where she stayed to help them decorate their massive fresh-from-the-snowy-forest Christmas tree and we left for lunch. There are a large handful of restaurants in their little town, but since I don't eat wheat, most were out of the question. We settled on Chili's.

Normally, I prefer non-chain restaurants, and I honestly didn't think Chili's had anything I'd be able to eat, and had already mentally decided on a plain salad (sigh), but once inside, was really surprised. First, they have a menu specifically for Celiacs, which changes frequently and how awesome was that? Second, they describe on the menu what needs to be done to tweak regular menu items so that they can be made safe. They did all of the hard work ahead of time.

For example: I know that croutons have wheat in them, so it's easy to ask for them to be left off, but if the waitstaff isn't well informed, it's difficult to figure out if say, the veggies are dusted with seasoning that has flour, or exactly what the salmon is crusted with. Instead, the waiter was super helpful, answered every question knowledgeably, and as a result we had a stress-free, leisurely meal. Here's Chili's allergen menu(^) (alert: it's a .pdf file), in case you ever wondered what people with food allergies do when they go out to eat.

The service and the food were both great. I had a salad, a steak and veggies, which were all prepared the way I had asked. Dan had the habanero ribs.

We split a frosty chocolate milkshake for dessert and laughed and talked about html standards and and funky conspiracy theories.

We talked about a port knocking application that showed up on my phone's marketplace. I always laugh when I hear the words, cause they sound vaguely obscene. What it really is: remotely opening external ports on a firewall by making connection attempts on certain closed ports. It's the computer geek version of knocking shave and a haircut to gain entry into the all-boys club. Enabling port knocking prevents hackers from getting in easily, because they can't knock on just one port (door) to get in. They have to knock on several to enter just one, and it has to be in the right sequence.

I also always giggle when he mentions "IPTables", the firewall in the Linux operating system, but which to me sounds like the sorts of names Bart makes up when he prank calls Moe's Tavern on The Simpsons. From the episode Some Enchanted Evening:

Moe: Moe's Tavern.
Bart: Hello, is Al there?
Moe: Al?
Bart: Yeah, Al. Last name: Coholic.
Moe: Lemme check... [calls] Phone call for Al. Al Coholic. Is there an "Alcoholic" here? [bar denizens laugh] Wait a minute...[to phone] Listen, you little yellow-bellied rat jackass, if I ever find out who you are, I'll kill ya!

IPTables reminds me of that. I need to grow up.

I took pictures of him while we chatted and ate. He doesn't always want his picture taken, but he's usually a pretty good sport about it:

Don't go toward the light! You'll miss lunch!

He finally gives in to the picture taking

After lunch... well, the small town where his parents live is just that: small. Not much to do, but we were committed to staying out for the several hours we'd booked, so we ended up at Wal*Mart, picking up a few small things, looking at all the electronic gadgetry, and marveling at the zillion-and-one flashy Christmas decorations. We made fun of the truly horrible Bratz Dolls (it looks like they are going away in January, don't cha know?(^), and saw what was new in sporting goods. We tried to find wooden skewers (they were out) and did find a new coffee maker to replace the old, busted coffee maker, and so on until it was time to check out and go get the SuperCat.

When we got there, SuperCat was so excited! She'd had a great time helping with the tree, and she had done a very good job. On the way home, she fell asleep, tuckered out.

We were happy, too. It's important to spend alone time together once in a while, even if it's just to walk around Wal*Mart and look at stationary and talk and pick out new coffee makers.

So that was Saturday.

Sunday I sewed. I sewed and sewed and sewed, mostly by hand, mostly small dolls for small doll houses for Christmas. I'd take pictures, but it's late and I'm tired and the light is bad.

I absolutely positively will tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's a picture of the parking lot at Target I took tonight while Dan ran in. It was 3 degrees below zero, and just starting to snow (again).

It felt bleak and dismal.

It looks like the set from Alien.
You know, when they're on the planet and find the alien for the first time?

Namaste.
Current Mood: (freezing)

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

♪ It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ♫

After a day and a half of waiting and listening to the seemingly interminable up-to-the-minute Channel30/5/11/13/21NewsCenterAccu-WeatherQuickAlerts, we finally saw snow.

Yesterday afternoon, around 4:00 PM, my husband called and said that his boss had advised everyone to go home and finish the day working from home because the weather was getting bad. Just as he arrived home, it was as if the sky above turned on the snow-making machines and we went from an vast expanse of bare grass to several inches of the white stuff within 20 minutes or so. We get a lot of snow here, of course, but it doesn't usually start so abruptly. It continued all evening. Here are a few pictures from right after dusk:

Santa and Rudolph weren't fully inflated yet when this was taken, making them look as though they really, really liked each other.

inflatable heaven

all lit up

Our Christmas tree is about 7½ feet tall, but it doesn't look that big here, probably because we have gift bags circling the tree like covered wagons to keep the galloping herd of buffalo our giant dog from chasing the kitties under the tree and knocking it over.

It's hard to capture details, so you'll have to imagine the cool bubble lights. I always thought those were the coolest and thought that I'd have them when I grew up. I do have them now, and they are (in fact) the coolest.

The fireplace is to the left, and you can't really see it, but there is a very large clay chiminea shaped like an owl on the hearth full of pebbles and candles.

PS: I noticed that I forgot to include Question 4 from the yesterday's quiz. It should have been:

4. When do you take the tree down?

I used to leave the tree up till at least the Feast of the Epiphany(^) (January 6th), but the last several years I've taken the tree down the day after Christmas, because that was all I could stand (after my Dad died). Somehow, this year is finally different, and I feel like celebrating again, even if only tentatively. I don't know if we will make it to Epiphany, but I'm certainly willing to try.

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo's(^)
Adoration of the Magi (17th Century)

Finally, a quick Q & A, because a friend was wondering about a few things after I posted a picture of our tree last night:

Q: What's that lurking behind your Christmas tree?
A: A copy of the poster for Le Chat Noir(^), the famous 19th century Parisian cabaret. Well, famous in the 19th century, anyway. The poster (not my copy, of course) dates to 1896. Here it is without a tree in front of it:

I always think the cat looks really cheesed.

Q. The picture makes it look like your walls are painted purple. What color are they really?

A. Purple. A purple-y sort of dark dusty violet. I ♥ the color.

Namasté

Current mood: (cold)

Holiday Quiz

I was super busy today, deep cleaning the kitchen in advance of the Holidays. I got the oven and microwave clean, as well as about half of the cabinets. I watered and trimmed the plants, yanked down a brown vine that had tried to strangulate the window blinds before it up and died, and filled the aquarium-that-doesn't-have-a-fish-yet with more water. I need to get a fish or a frog to replace our dearly-departed Siamese Fighting Fish, Cookie Monster ('cause he was blue), but we haven't decided on fish or frog yet, so the aquarium remains empty but for water.

Earlier, the SuperCat had taken another in her series of epic baths, launching her fleet of ducks, and swimming around for close to 90 minutes while I picked up in our adjacent bedroom. The bedroom is a bit cleaner, and I'm pretty happy with what I managed to do today. I'm finally getting into the holiday mood (after like, 8 years without it), so I'm trying to take advantage of it by getting things accomplished.


more animals
A friend sent me this quiz in email, and instead of just answering it and sending it back (which I did do) , I'm posting it here. Let me know if you answer the questions; feel free to post a link to your answers or post the answers in the comments field if you'd like.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Due to playfully pouncing kitties, lumbering dog-oxen, and rampaging SuperCats, we try to avoid sitting down with large rolls of wrapping paper and sticky tape at all costs, and use (then subsequently re-use) gift bags as often as possible.

2. Real tree or artificial?

Artificial. Real trees are pretty and smell nice, but real trees are an allergy issue around here. Plus, real trees last a few weeks at best, while an artificial tree lasts for years and years. Thus, it seems greener somehow to have a fake plastic tree.

3. When do you put up the tree?

The weekend after Thanksgiving. That feels like the right not-too-soon-not-too-late time break out the presents!
The ribbons!
The wrappings!
The tags!
And the tinsel!
The trimmings!
The trappings!

5. Do you like eggnog?

Love it. So far this year we've had "regular" nog; "light" nog (relatively speaking, of course. Egg nog is not "light"); and soy nog. Soy nog is better than I would have guessed, and I plan to get it from now on. When the SuperCat was very small - and she was born very small - she showed an early preference for egg nog. She was so small and tiny, and she needed the calories, so we gave her egg nog (pasteurized, of course) whenever we possibly could. She's still a huge nog fan, just like Mommy.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

Lincoln Logs from my Dad when I was about 5 or so.

7. Hardest person to buy for?

My husband. Generally speaking, he doesn't want a lot of stuff, and if he wants it, he probably has it already. It's very difficult to come up with new things he'll like.

8. Easiest person to buy for?

Any of the kids. They want (variously) toys, clothes and/or money. Very straightforward. And they are always appreciative, which is nice.

9. Do you have a Nativity scene?

A crèche? Yes. For some reason, most Catholics seem to call it a crèche, which means "manger" or "crib" rather than calling it a Nativity scene. I have three. A smallish mostly-plastic one, a handmade wooden one, and one made from polymer clay that I made several years ago. The tradition I am familiar with is to keep the baby Jesus out of the crib/manger/crèche until Christmas day, to signify His birth.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Sometimes, we get around to mailing them, but not usually, so often it's email or phone calls.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

A hideous short-sleeved bright green sweater with a white striped neck band from an aunt who did the shopping for my grandmother that year. Yuck. Seriously yuck.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

A Christmas Story (You'll shoot your eye out, kid!)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

Year round if I see something I like, but after Labor Day in earnest. I dislike crowds, so I try to get it out of the way before they kick in in earnest.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Yes, a few times. Not the hideous green sweater, though. I donated that. I don't like to return stuff, ever. I would rather do anything than stand in line to return things, so unless it was broken, I try to make-do, donate it, or give it away.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

I haven't had it in years, but my grandmother's Peanut Butter Divinity Fudge. I need to dig up the recipe and make some. The other favorite would be turkey and gravy. Oh, and Chex Mix. Gluten-free, Rice-Chex-only Chex Mix.

16. What decorations are on your tree?

Mostly blown glass. White lights. Things the kids made over the years.

17. Favorite Christmas song?

Don't really have a single one. I like Fairytale of New York, obviously (see previous post). I love Carol of the Bells, which everyone knows, but many people don't seem to know the name of.



And a song called Walking In The Air, by the English composer Howard Blake, for the film version of Raymond Briggs' The Snowman. It is simply beautiful.



18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home?

Both. I really would prefer to stay home, but we usually end up away from home, which I find sort of stressful, sort of not. Aside from my kids, I don't really have a lot of family, and I prefer to stay home; my husband has a lot of family, though, and he understandably wants us all to be together. So it's sort of stressful, but tempered by the fact that he's happy, so I'm ok with it.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

Yes. Yes, I can.
Dasher
Dancer
Prancer
Vixen
Comet
Cupid
Donder & Blitzen (originally Dunder & Blixem - the Dutch words for Thunder & Lightning).
And sometimes, the non-canonical Rudolph.

20. Angel on top of tree or star?

A tin star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Christmas morning. It doesn't feel right to open gifts Christmas Eve.

Because we often travel, we often end up either opening gifts at home Christmas Eve and then go "out and about" Christmas morning; or go "out and about" Christmas day and open gifts whenever we get home Christmas night.

When I was little, my Dad often worked Christmas Eve night, so we didn't see him until Christmas morning, and it would have been impossible to think of opening more than one gift on Christmas Eve without my Dad being there.

If we opened one gift, if was the one from our grandparents back East. That was only because we'd called long-distance to talk to our grandparents to wish them Merry Christmas and to thank them for their gifts, so we'd open them to know what they were.

Long distance was always such a huge big deal back then, reserved for holidays or special announcements. It wasn't something you did just because.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?

All of those sappy made-for-TV-mushy-romantic-Christmas-movies. For example: pretty much whatever is on the Lifetime Movie Channel this month(^).

Oh! And the fact that The Night The Reindeer Died isn't a real movie. Because if it was real, it would be awesome. Lee Majors-awesome. Just think about that for a minute, will ya'?



I'd like to say that consumerism, greed, and all that bothers me, since it does seem to be magnified around this time of year. And it does, but probably not as much as maudlin sentiment.

23 What theme or color are you using when you decorate?

I hadn't put up my largish collection of ornaments in many years, due to a number of factors; until this year. During the years we didn't put up the big tree, I fell into putting up a tiny tree with turquoise, pink and silver ornaments. It was really pretty. This year, I'm back to the "everything goes" color scheme, with turquoise, blue and silver decorations outside.

As for a theme, it's eclectic, just like all of my other decorating endeavors. I like vintage and unusual ornaments.

♫ Oh, Christmas Tree ♫

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?

Food? Turkey and gravy (see question # 15). We don't seem to have any one thing that has to be served to call it Christmas dinner. I knew someone years ago who always had fish soup. I know people who always make Dresdner Stollen(^), a German bread-like cake (link pops to recipe). I've known other people to always have lasagna, spaghetti or beef roast. I have a friend whose family always eats shrimp.

Maybe we should start a tradition. Any suggestions?

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?

Hmmm. Not too much, really, apart from the usual... Peace On Earth... Goodwill Towards All Men... and a new flannel night gown.

If Santa is listening, a DVD of The Snowman would be nice, since I haven't seen it in many years and would like to share it with the SuperCat.
Since I've been extra-good, maybe a self-healing cutting mat for sewing, and/or a charm or two for my bracelet.

Namasté
Current mood: (accomplished)

Holiday Havoc

A couple of weeks ago, at the bookstore, while looking for a birthday present for Dan, I realized that the store was playing Christmas music. Thanksgiving, which seems to be the unofficial earliest date possible that has been deemed safe to play Christmas music without customer rioting, was still six days in the future, but that wasn't what really surprised me.

What surprised me was the song.

They were playing one of my favorites, Fairytale of New York, originally by The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl. It was surprising because it's a bawdy song about spending Christmas in the drunk tank in NYC. Part of the song is sung between two characters who, while fighting each other, use some pretty nasty language. I waited, listening while I shopped, and when they got to the verse with the naughty words, I waited for them to be sung out over the bookstore...

I waited for it... and... they'd been replaced with non-naughty words that sort of rhymed with the originals.

Dammit.

They'd trashed the song.

When I caught up with Dan and the Supercat, I mentioned it to him, and he's heard it, too, noticing the clean version they'd played. I think we were both a bit miffed: someone had taken a perfectly indecent Pogues song and completely ruined it by tidying it up, ridding it of part of what made it good to start with. They aren't words I use in everyday conversation; they aren't nice or polite words at all - rather nasty, in fact. But they convey the mood of the besotted characters, so they belong in the song.

Worst of all, it was a bookstore. Grrrrrr. They deal in ideas, but for whatever reason, someone decided that we couldn't handle ideas, and scrubbed the song clean for us.

Phooey.

A teeny tiny itsy bitsy part of me thinks I should be happy that they played the song at all, but the bigger part of me thinks it should be played as written, as the composer intended, or not at all.

If it doesn't belong in a retail atmosphere (and it may not - I'm not sure it's something I want my small child to hear), don't play it at all. I can see plenty of good reasons not to play it - it's a song about drinking and has foul language; and that might have a deleterious effect on holiday shoppers. That makes perfect sense.

What doesn't make sense is playing a song known to have naughty words and an adult theme, then editing it to remove the parts that make the song unique.

Oddly, this has come up before, almost a year ago, when BBC Radio 1 played a censored version last Christmas(^), after years of playing the "regular" version. They said they were censoring it to "avoid offence". The scrubbed version lasted less than a day, Kirsty MacColl's mother (KM died as the result of a terrible accident a few years ago), and zillions of fans complained.

Anyway, here it is in all its uncensored glory:

The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl

At around the same time the BBC was censoring the Pogues last year, the fine folks who bring us The Venture Brothers(^) (probably my favorite TV show) released their annual holiday song to the world.

The Venture Brothers, is a definitely-not-for-children (mostly due to cartoon violence and adult situations) animated series on Adult Swim(^), what the Cartoon Network turns into late at night. It follows the adventures of a scientist (Dr. Thaddeus S. "Rusty" Venture), his bodyguard (Brock Sampson) and the doctor's two sons (Hank and Dean Venture) as they fight villainy, mostly found in the form of the Guild of Calamitous Intent, sort of a union for bad guys (with health/dental insurance and everything).

If it looks and sounds a lot like Jonny Quest, it's almost certainly no coincidence, The Venture Brothers seems to try to balance on the thin line between parody and an earnest homage to Jonny Quest.

Here's a clip from The Venture Brothers, with their arch enemies, The Monarch, and his wife, Dr. Girlfriend. Dr. Girlfriend is the one with the really _low voice.

So, as I said, every year around the holidays (since 2004, anyway), The Venture Brothers creators have released a Christmas song on their website. They haven't released one for this year yet, but I went looking yesterday, and found the songs from the previous four years(^).

The songs thus far have been:

The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend singing the Bing Crosby-David Bowie classic Peace On Earth/The Little Drummer Boy (2004)

The Monarch and Henchmen 21 & 24 singing Dolly Parton’s Hard Candy Christmas (2005)

Venture Aid (2006)

And, from 2007:

The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend singing (you guessed it) Fairytale of New York. Since it was released around the time of the BBC controversy, I wonder if it was released in response to the censorship?

Regardless of why, it makes me happy to know that someone else gets it - in fact, that a lot of people get it. Not everything is for everyone at all times - some people may be offended, or the material may be inappropriate. But destroying original work is not the answer.

Namaste.