End Note

Let's just say it has been an eventful year. For me personally as well as this country and, well, the world at large. Toddler me is ready to leave 2016 behind and greet 2017 with open arms. After a nap. And more coffee. Maybe some chocolate. I need my blankie.

Newlyweds

Thanks, Carrie

Not in Hot Water

Late this afternoon, Reid let me know that when he took a shower late last night, that it wasn't all that warm. Indicating that something might be on the fritz with the water heater. Yes, the joys of home ownership. So. The plumber will be here at 8:30 tomorrow morning. Leaving me in a seriously unwashed state for the night. I may have to finish this bottle of Shiraz in order to tolerate sleeping with myself. Yes, I am that easy.

Gray Area

My Socks are Older Than You

A clothing ghost from Christmas past. Holiday socks, a gift from sis Martine, vintage circa 1979.

Merry ChristMimosa

Christmas Eve Quiche

Reid has declared it most delicious. With a side of fresh raspberries and juice! Your standard pastry crust filled with eggs, cream, Black Forest ham, sauteed mushrooms, carmelized onion, spinach, and Montasio cheese. Mmmmm, brunch is served!

Christmas Kitty

Solstice Supper at Santeramo's

They say you can balance an egg on its end at the equinox. For our own little twist regarding the changing of the seasons this Solstice, observe the magical tabletop balancing act achieved earlier this evening. Welcome winter! With each coming day there is just a little more light. Stillness lies beneath the blanket of snow, still deeper in the earth lie the roots where life is sleeping. Spring is the promise that this day gives.

Celebrate the Solstice!

Newton's New Cozy Spot

He has delicately stepped around the piles of sorted dirty laundry in the hall, preferring to shed on the clean towels on the shelf. Because shedding on my sweaters wasn't enough.

Technical Assistance, Please

For some time, I have noticed that when I copy/paste content into this space, that there is a weird, inconsistent background issue. Like here, and here. There is a lighter color background on all but the last paragraph that was copy/pasted. Could some one please explain to me why this happens? And how I can fix it? Other than telling me to not be so damn lazy and retype all that stuff if I want it to post nicely. Thank you, ever so much.

As Good as it Gets

I just posted this missive on Facebook. I'm not easy to like. Or love, for that matter. I maintain that I'm worth the effort, though, and I'm grateful every day for those who make that effort.

Surprise, surprise, Janice just unfriended me. I expect she grew weary of me posting links that debunked her bogus science articles and conspiratorial "news". I like her. She's a woman I have a great deal in common with. She's had many struggles and is a true survivor. I've always been aware that we don't agree on everything, but that has never been an issue to me.

I don't wish to live in an echo chamber. I am interested in trying to understand another's point of view. I love knowledge and am interested in learning new things and becoming a more enlightened individual. I am interested in facts as well as opinions, but I know the difference between the two. My background includes working in the fields of journalism and ag science. These experiences give me a unique view of the world where I am skeptical of bs masquerading as science and writing that doesn't include proper supportive sourcing.

So. A warning to the thinskinned. I can be difficult as hell to have as a friend. I'm opinionated and stubborn and more than a little quirky. But I also tend toward kindness and giving people the benefit of the doubt. If you don't want me dogging your ass, check the validity of an article or news story before you share it so I don't have to. Because I will. It's probably a character flaw but it's one that I embrace.

The Dining Room Window

Snow in the junipers outside the window. Two tiny, golden trees on the inside. Next to them a cutting from my ancient hoya plant in the green McCoy pot that Grandma Esther gave me. The decorative metal tile in a dark shade of red that keeps getting moved around because I don't know where it belongs. A dark green votive holder with pine tree and star cut-outs. In the foreground, the lovely wind chimes Sue gave me as a housewarming gift. And just behind them, the agate chimes Mom gave me years ago. Having windowsills deep enough to set things on has given me a whole new decorating opportunity. This house is beginning to truly feel like home.

Mighty Mrs Claus

Here Comes Santa Claus

He's flying up to the moon and a star. Okay, it's just the bulletin board in my office.

Sit on my lap!

I have windowsills!

Next year, after I remove the old curtain rod hardware and patch up the walls and paint, I'll have to rethink the hanging Santas. Maybe get lazy and leave them up year 'round. Who knows.

Spot The Snowman!

Subliminal Message to All US Electors

Make It So!

From Robert Reich's Facebook page...

The Trump people are upset that the only musicians willing to perform at the Trump inauguration are Kid Rock and Ted Nugent.

Someone just suggested to me a televised "freedom concert" to air at the same time as the inauguration -- with huge celebrities like Beyoncé and Jay Z, Madonna, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, and so on. Alec Baldwin MC’s the event, playing Trump as he does on SNL.

Presto. The Trump inauguration loses all the TV ratings. Basically, no one watches it.

Even better, the proceeds of the freedom concert go to the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Lambda Legal, NAACP, Common Cause, CAIR, IRAP, SPLC, Environmental Defense Fund, Human Rights Campaign Fund, Economic Policy Institute, Inequality Media, and GLAD.

What do you think?

Be a Truth Seeker

What I Miss

1. Karen

2. Kristi

3. Jill

4. The huge bathtub in the old house.

5. Properly spaced hammock trees.

6. Jazz night at The Pheasant.

7. I'm missing Holiday Jam with the Hegg Brothers for only the second time in eight years.

8. In reference to item #7, I do have CDs from HJ 3 and 4, so that helps.

9. Also in reference to item #7, I have a ticket for a local holiday music event put on by The Greeley Chorale. This also helps.

10. And finally, not that I would have ever missed King's Wok, although Reid does, just a couple of blocks over we have discovered Panda Buffet. Nicely within walking distance, it is another heavily Americanized Chinese-ish restaurant. I think there is some sort of rule that such an eating establishment must exist in every college town. And yes, we have walked. 

The Day After Footnote: How could I have possibly forgotten Science at the Pub? A monthly science talk on an interesting, timely subject at a local bar. A nerdy learning opportunity accompanied by adult beverages. It just doesn't get much better than this.

Know Your News

Click on graphic for a larger view. 

Check this infographic before sharing "news" items on social media. Know your sources. Maybe check Snopes. Understand the difference between fact and opinion. Because they are different things. Practically opposites, actually. Think critically. Don't be a parrot, or worse, a puppet. Seek truth, not affirmation. 

Fashion Forward

Just waiting for the right holiday get-together. Yes, I really do wear this out in public. Where people can see me. I've even been photographed in it! 

You thought I was kidding.

Three Knives

At Outback Steakhouse, they bring you lots of knives. Perhaps defending yourself becomes necessary when you sit alone at the bar during happy hour. I didn't have a steak, I had the wedge salad and the small order of coconut shrimp. As you can see, the bread has been stabbed into submission before they serve it. After food and a pint of Sam Adams Winter Ale, I was fortified to continue shopping. I also had a mango Cosmopolitan for dessert. Don't worry, I didn't drive. It was a short walk across the parking lot to Kohl's. I recommend drinking and shopping.

East vs West

So Tigh sends me this gorgeous photo from Palm Springs today.

Naturally, I countered with this pic of the front of my house. I apologize for the iffy quality of it. I'll take a better one later with my camera, this was snapped with my phone. All I have to say is, way more Christmasy here, Tigh! Even though Jesus was born in a desert environment. My brain hurts.

Blue Christmas

It's a blue, blue Christmas in the corner of my living room. Startling because I forget he's there and, let's be honest, that's a perfectly reasonable height for a person and, well, you know, it's a little odd to have a blue person in the corner of your living room.

Would it be overkill if I stuffed his head with blue lights? Because I'm considering it. Around here, anything that sits still for five minutes is in danger of getting decorated this time of year. I'm also considering having her wear a seasonally appropriate hat all the time. I also feel I should name him/her. But it should be a gender neutral name. Because I'm just not sure, (s)he looks pretty androgynous. I'm leaning toward Elvis. 

First Snow

With Edgar, birdbath, and cobalt blue gazing ball.

Like Buttah

In addition to being able to sing this song and accompany himself on the guitar, the younger son has now done what it suggests. Yes. Butter on a PopTart. He was not of the opinion that it was all that frikken' good. But he was happy to have tried it and come to his own conclusion. The shiny wrapper containing the last two cherry PopTarts was lingering in the cupboard. I discovered that if you toast one and pair it with an excellent cup of Island Blend coffee, you could almost pretend it's a scone. Almost. Pretend. No butter for me, thanks.

Down at B&BW

Really, I wasn't looking for trouble. I was wandering around my local store looking for potential gifty items to fulfill the coupons I had. Spend $30, get $10 off and a free fun size item. It seems that fun size isn't just for candy anymore. So. I found a number of tiny candles in various holiday scents and a slightly larger candle in a classic scent. Over in the corner in the back I found the fun sizes and selected one to carry around in my purse*. I felt my timing was excellent as the one person in front of me in line was finishing up. My turn! This is a display item, it's not for sale, scolded the woman at the register. Okay, I thought. It was out on a shelf and had a price on it. But she wasn't going to let me buy it. My bad, apparently. Only the lotion and bath gel qualify for the free coupon, she informed me next. That's not lotion? I asked. It's body cream, she replied, as she put it back on the shelf. There were a couple of people in line behind me at this point. Now that I had failed on the part of both coupons, I retreated to find a $6 item in order to hit the magical thirty buck total and to take a look at the fun sizes once more. I was advised by a salesperson on the floor that mini hand sanitizers were four for five dollars, so if I got five of them that would qualify me for using the coupon. I swear I did not curl up my lip or do an eyeroll. I don't like the feel or the smell of hand sanitizers and avoid them whenever possible. I asked about the candle that had turned out to be for display only but it was only available in the large three wick candle size which were not currently on sale. Meh. So I grabbed a fun size lotion in the scent I had liked and defiantly grabbed the matching body cream, conveniently priced at six bucks, that I had been relieved of earlier. Arriving at the front of the line again, the same woman frowned at me over the body cream as though I was trying to claim it as a freebie once again. I smiled at her as she rang me up and credited me for the coupons. I politely declined giving my phone number or my email at the conclusion of the transaction. She seemed to take it personally. For some people it seems to already be an overly long holiday shopping season. I swear they hide the best stuff in the back when people have coupons. 

*After paying for it. Most definitely after paying for it.

Do The Math

Thank You, My Darling DiLly!

Use the good dishes. And the pretty wine glasses. Eat the chocolate. No, savor the chocolate. Laugh heartily and often. Tell that someone how you feel about them. Hug. Share. Be kind. Wear the boots. Most especially, wear the boots. Seize the day! It's the only one you've got.

Mythbusting

I've been thinking about Thanksgiving as I pack away the decorations of Fall and feasting. And how I don't wish to perpetuate the myth of the Pilgrims and Native Americans that was popularized during the Great Depression. I questioned whether to put out on display the carved figurines to the left. Your typical, I suppose, Pilgrim couple holding symbols of the harvest. That we still see and accept this glossing over of what it was really like has come to feel like a distortion of history to me. Part of White European forgetfulness of the fact that Natives were pushed aside in favor of the doctrine called Manifest Destiny. Meaning that the plunder stopped primarily because the pioneering Caucasians ran into the Pacific Ocean. My point is, and I did have one, at least I think I did, is that I did take the Pilgrim figures out of their box. They sat amidst a number of turkeys and candles on the sideboard in the dining room. I'm attached to them. They belonged to a dear friend's mother and ended up in my possession after she died. So mostly, it's sentimental value. Next year they may very well stay in the box. I'm moving away from the Pilgrim myth in favor of celebrating Thanksgiving for its original meaning. One of gratitude for the many good things in my life. And like this year, most years actually, in the company of family and friends. Surrounded by love and warmth. A harvest celebration of the bounty and good fortune we enjoy. Sounds good to me.

Trump is a Humbug!

My dear friend AndiBean has started a petition at Change.org concerning Macy's Department Stores continuing its relationship with Trump Brand merchandise. She has put together a thoughtful and convincing message that addresses Macy's conflict of interest and how it could be remedied. Bah, humbug, indeed!

Thanksgiving Aftermath In Photos

Dishes are so patient, aren't they? First they sit in the cupboard or in the china cabinet waiting to be put to use. Then they hang around waiting to be washed. Once they're clean, they sit on the table waiting to be put back in the cabinet. They never complain or fuss. I'm just cluing in to why I love dishes so much!

Five days post-Thanksgiving, this is still the only Christmas decoration on display. Like the dishes, they sit quietly waiting to be unwrapped and see the light of day. Also, isn't this beautiful? If you want to buy something similar, go here!

As you can see, my CD shelf is nearly to the point of running over. Not anticipating that I might store videos on this stretch of wall, how totally amazing is it that the shelf tucks in neatly fractions of an inch under the pictures of adorable sons already hanging there! I love it when things work out. They often do. I just need to relax, sit back, and let things unfold as they will. I still believe in the Dish Fairy.

My Native Tongue

Let's see, I was born in Colorado but relocated to North Dakota while I was still pre-verbal. Then had a very short stint in Mississippi only to return to North Dakota until I was seven. Then back to Colorado for a couple years, Las Vegas, Nevada for thirteen months, then North Dakota once more til I was eighteen. With me so far? Good. I dabbled with higher education in Minnesota for close to two years followed by a brief regrouping effort in North Dakota and then off to South Dakota for the next four decades. Consider also that along the way I have been heavily influenced by Norwegian-Americans, American Southerners, Midwestern flat-speakers, and the Fargo-esque dialect leaking across the border from Minnesota. And I was married to a Dutch/Swedish husband to boot! All of these earlier speech-isms have, according to my Facebook vocab, been over-ridden by a mere six months in Colorado. Maybe I was born with it. Maybe I'm a natural mimic. Uff da, pass the lefse. Or cornbread. I'm not confused.

Thanksgiving Aftermath

1. Today is a pajamas day.

2. Yes, it is possible to eat too much many? mashed potatoes.

3. Only one more day of pie for breakfast.

4. I love, love, loved having Michael and Liz visit over the holiday weekend.

5. I am already behind doing the Christmas decorating since I haven't even managed to slap the wreath-with-magnets on the front door.

6. I do, however, have my newest decoration up in the sunroom. Three tiny felt trees in pink and aqua on a base that is an actual slice of a tree.

7. I have assembled the shelf, placed it in the hall, and organized the dvd's on it in alphabetical order.

8. In reference to item #7, I only get to buy maybe ten more movies before I will require more storage space.

9. In reference to item #8, there isn't room in the hall for another shelf to store movies.

10. After going mostly Facebook-free over the last few days, I have found I'm much less interested in it today.

Don't Encourage Them

Also, please don't feed them. Thanks.

My Favorite Local Shoe Store