It's Begun!

Holiday decorating has been in full swing for the last few days. The whole house looks like the Christmas fairy barfed all over after a wild ride on a reindeer. The main tree is up in the living room and all lit up with red lights awaiting further festoonment. Yesterday the outdoor decorations were placed and a timer turns on the lights at sundown. As usual, Newton is no help at all. But he does look awfully darn cute whatever he's up to. Think I'll pop Love Actually into the dvd player for inspiration and get busy with the tinsel. 

WW IV

I'm watching The West Wing. Again. And it's a good thing, too. As of Christmas Eve it's dropping off of Netflix and going somewhere called HBO Max. Whatever that is, I don't have it. I'm well into the third season so I'll be able to complete this binge before it departs. I caught about half of the series when it originally aired and watched it in its entirety when I found it on Netflix back around 2013. If memory serves correctly, I believe this is my fourth binge of The West Wing. Maybe it's the recent turn of the political tide, but I'm feeling hopeful again even though many of the issues popping up on a drama filmed in the early aughts have yet to be solved. I still tear up when Mrs. Landingham dies. I still think VP John Hoynes is a rat. And I wish all Republicans were as decent as Ainsley Hayes.  

Happy Holidays!

 Don't forget the Solstice. We Pagans celebrate, too.

Love, Actually

 

Happy Day of Thanks

 

Thanks, Dave

In these uncertain times, I feel so terribly reassured by this note. Certified, weevil free sweet potatoes. Count this among the things I am grateful for.

More Than This

I love this song. I've been sitting here with it running around in my head so I took that as a sign that I should blog about it. I especially like the title. In reference to almost anything I adore. Like dessert or sleeping extra hours or extra whipped cream on desserts. I actually prefer the original video to this dance mix version but this was all I could find. And there are two things I love about this video aside from loving the song. Firstly, my friend Emma bears an extraordinary resemblance to vocalist Mary Ramsey, which I find endearing. Then there's the setting, the famed House On The Rock located near Spring Green, Wisconsin. I have visited twice and could go a third time just for fun. Emma also has great affection for THotR and has visited numerous times, even for a Halloween party. So it almost appears to me at times that Emma is singing a 10,000 Maniacs song in one of her favorite places. I find this delightful. I must credit Bryan Ferry for writing the song but I vastly prefer this cover to the Roxy Music original. Which I know is blasphemy to some people. I will not mention these people. I am acquainted with a few. If any of you read this, please feel free to chastise me in the comments. 

Snowvember

 

Two and Counting

I just now read this quote and can't find its author. I'm sharing it now with the hope that someone smarter than me, or at least with better googling skills, can enlighten me as to its origin. The writing is a bit stilted which suggests to me it comes from an earlier form of the English language, or perhaps it was translated from another language entirely. It grabbed my attention because of its startling similarity to my own earlier life and what I hope the future holds. 

"To love and being loved by the same person is one of the best feelings in the world. But, not everyone has the luck to find true love from the first relationship. For centuries, mystics and philosophers believed that one falls in love only with three different people in the life; ‘the one shows our stupidity’,’ the one breaks and makes us’ and ‘the one without a reason’."

Looking back I can see why the quote spoke to me personally. Thinking I was smart. Feeling broken beyond repair and managing to put myself back together and move on. And still to come, the heart wanting what it wants for no reason. That's reasonable enough for me. 

It's The Little Things

Today was a new panties day. I love new underwear. And the first time I wear a new pair of panties I feel just a little bit fancier than usual. Today's new unmentionables are lavender in color and very comfortable. So I'm adding Vanity Fair's style #13164 to my mental list of Panties To Buy Again. Even if they think the color is Dusty Mauve, which it isn't, it's definitely lavender. If the rest of the day is crap, at least you can celebrate the fact that it was a new panties day. 
 

For Impertinent Onion-Eyed Miscreants Only

Personally, I prefer to say prefaced, prefced is a form I'm not familiar with. So I shall avoid it like the saucy common-kissing harpy that I am. 

Backsplash Tile Status: Complete

Notice how I left the smaller area needing tile for today. In order to get the biggest part of the project done first. Sometimes I'm terribly smart.

And several hours later, ta-da! Let the excesses of Christmas begin! 

And because I'm such a stickler for symmetry, I injured my left index finger today. Those tile shards are like razors! I am delighted that the backsplash tile phase of kitchen updating is now complete. All that is left now is grouting and some paint touch-ups, both of which will wait until next year. Is anyone else exhausted?

It's a Bloomin' Miracle

 Most every fall I can't resist picking up a mum plant, either from a garden center or grabbed from a colorful display on a grocery run. I find them to be a lovely pop of color indoors while everything outside is turning brown and looking generally sad. It's a lot of happy for around five bucks. Usually they end up in the compost after a couple of months once the blooms fade. This year I must have chosen a particularly hardy one, it was still full and leafy after it was finished flowering. So I kept on watering it and around the beginning of October I noticed a number of tight little buds amongst the spent blooms. Thinking that deadheading often encourages more flowering, I lopped off the old flowers. Just today I discovered five fresh new blooms had opened up! I've never had this happen before! Perhaps my thumb is just a bit less brown than usual. I appreciate a miracle of any size, especially in this freakish landscape that has been 2020.

November

 In Three Days of the Condor, CIA operative on-the-lam Joe Turner (Robert Redford) tells photographer Kathy Hale (Faye Dunaway) that the pictures hanging on her apartment wall are neither fall nor winter, but something in between. November. That's the first thing I thought when I looked outside today. November. Looks like November. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you find it somewhere and watch it, sooner rather than later. Sydney Pollack's 1975 thriller is one of my favorite movies. It should be one of yours.

Whining and Tiling

Never make a deal with yourself. Because if you're anything like me, you might want to renegotiate and my experience is that this bitch ain't budging one bit from the original bargain. Which is why I got busy with finishing up the tile on the kitchen backsplash today. I told myself that before any Christmas decorations go up, you must finish the tile job in the kitchen! And since so many are getting a head start on holiday fun this year, I thought I might get by with snudging on that deal. Just a little. But no! Slavedriver that I am, the goal for today was to get the tile on this section of wall. I sighed deeply and brought the tile and the cutter in from the garage.

As you can see, I mean business when I tell myself something. Approximately five hours later the tile has been installed. With just one short lunch break.

And only one boo-boo! Under that bandage is a tiny shard of glaze that worked its way into my finger. I'll figure out how to remove it later. It's beer time!

I'm a Pro-Vaxxer

As if any of us needs another reason to love Miss Dolly Parton, here she goes again being generous and philanthropic. It seems she donated a large amount of money to Moderna to support the development of a vaccine to combat coronavirus. While you're at it, be a Dolly and donate to the Guardian so all of us can continue to enjoy some solid, trustworthy journalism. 

Yum

So many things to love at Trader Joe's. The produce, the olive oil, the mac & cheese, I could go on and on. So I will. About these cookies! They're pink, they're white, they're dipped in a yogurt-like frosting and covered in sprinkles! The box is pretty cute, too. You can't go wrong with a shortbread cookie, and these are all jazzed up.

And here we them at very close to their actual size. I know because I held one up to the screen and have a few sprinkles decorating my keyboard as evidence. Next time you pop into Trader Joe's, grab a box of Pinks & Whites and see if you agree with me. If you don't like them, message me and I'll meet you in a well-lit public place and take them off your hands.

Down at Hobby Lobby

Considering that Biden also has five letters, I found myself looking around for the letters to replace this horrible word. Then I thought maybe any five letter word would be better than this one. But there was an employee stocking a rack just outside the frame. And I get into enough trouble just minding my own business. January 20, 2021 can't happen any too soon. 

My Christmas Cactus is Ready

 

We Stand on Their Shoulders

And reach higher than we ever have before. The glass ceiling has shattered. Let's move forward. And onward. And upward. Rosa sat so Ruby could walk so Kamala could run. With a big fat assist from the Notorious RBG. We've only just begun.

Hari Kunzru I Love You

 

The Introvert Explained

 

It Feels Like Monday

The only substantial thing I have done today is run the dishwasher. And now I'm going to pad this pitifully short post by saying very little else. Newton is staring at me so I should probably check his food and water. Then perhaps consider if I should warm up some leftovers even though I usually don't eat dinner this late. It's a wear your flannel jammies all day sort of day here. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to the dishes that require washing by hand. Oh, yeah, I also watered the plants. Suddenly I'm feeling far more accomplished. How are things in your neck of the woods?

 

Covers It All

 What a difference four years makes.

Presidential Venn

 So much winning!

Daydrinking

It's been a long week. The fact that it's been only five days totally validates the previous sentence. 

Today is Delusional

 

A Visitor at the Patio Door

Squirrel!

Newton notices squirrel.

Squirrel moves in closer.

Squirrel challenges Newton. He is not impressed. 

On The Way Home

The car in front of me had this bumper sticker on it. I'd vote for Walt. It was nice to see a political-ish sign that I didn't feel the need to shout derisive epithets at. 

November Rabbits