December 2007 Archive
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December 30, 2007
Mundane Happenings
Random notes -We traveled over Christmas this year. Drove 2 days, visited for 2, and drove 2 days back. It was a lot of time on the road. And may I just say that the New Jersey turnpike is a hellish pit with horrible rest stops. Once we got into Connecticut and Massachusetts, the difference in quality/cleanliness of rest stops was quite noticeable. I don't know if I just never noticed before, if we never really stopped in New Jersey before, or what, but it was quite striking this time around. Anyway, apart from some rain here and there, we didn't really hit any bad weather, so we lucked out. The visits were nice, but we're glad to be home. Oh, PSA: The Doubletree Hotel in Norwalk, Connecticut hands out warm chocolate chip cookies when you check in -- we stayed there both on the way up and on the way back.
Replacing our low-rent washer and dryer has been on our house list since we bought this place. As often happens, though, events found a way of forcing us to action - the washer started leaking just before we left for our Christmas travels. When we got home, we scampered over to Sears and a new w/d were delivered this morning. We chose a mismatched set - one Whirlpool washer, one Kenmore dryer - cuz y'know, we're all iconoclastic like that. I must say, Sears is vastly superior to Lowe's when it comes to appliances like this. We had an excellent experience both in the store and with respect to delivery at Sears for the w/d and for the fridge we bought awhile back. By contrast, Lowe's was just annoying about the dishwasher we bought from them and they contract with a crummy third-party installation service who damaged our counters and then refused to do anything to make it right. So, I'm back on the Sears train when it comes to major appliances. I am so enjoying (there's already a load in the wash) having more options than on/off for the dryer and hot/warm/cold for the washer. Another bonus: this washer is completely closed off in the back, so there's one less greasy hiding places for the kitties. Sometime in the next month or two, we'll probably be replacing our range as well, and we'll scamper back to Sears (guided by Consumer Reports, of course), to do so. (The only drawback is the gang activity at the mall where Sears is located -- that's a bit, umm, offputting. When we walked out of the store at around 8:45pm there were 3 cop cars, several cops, and 2 kids in handcuffs right there on the sidewalk. I felt like I was in an episode of The Wire -- which we just finished the second season of, by the way -- and starting humming like Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Nemo: "just keep walking, just keep walking.")
I'm thinking about doing a 365 project at Flickr starting on Tuesday the 1st. Either the 365days project - which is to do a self-portrait every day, or Project365, which is to just take a picture every day. Not sure yet, but maybe if I write it down, that will make it more concrete and I'll actually do it.
In the realm of annoying gadgets, my Powerbook battery has decided to give up the ghost. This is the second battery I've had for this thing and it seems to have just died very rapidly. I don't really like the MacBooks and I've heard not great things about the Macbook Pros, so I want this laptop to last at least one more year, which means I'm going to have to order another battery for it soon. On the plus side, I have 3 power supplies that work on this machine, so I've stashed one on each floor of the house where I tend to sit with it as a stopgap solution until I grit my teeth and spend the $130 to get a new battery for it.
I've got lots of things queued up in my head to blog, but as usual: who knows when or if I'll ever get to them. If I do one of the 365 projects, maybe that will help inspire me to post more here, too, in 2008. We'll see.
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December 19, 2007
Christmas Meme-age
It's lazy blogger time!1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Paper, but with the occasional gift bag (usually re-used) thrown in.
2. Real or Artificial tree?
So far real, when we put up a tree. We don't have a tree this year due to our schedules.
3. When do you put up the tree?
Sometime in the first half of December. Like to have time to enjoy it before it comes down again.
4. When do you take the tree down?
Around New Year's.
5. Do you like eggnog?
Yes, if it's well-made.
6. Favorite Gift you received as a child?
Dunno - I'm old, it's been a long time.
7. Do you have a nativity scene?
I own a small white ceramic one (it was a gift) and sometimes I put it out.
8. Hardest person to buy for?
Many people are hard to buy for.
9. Easiest person to buy for?
Well, if I'm being lazy, then that would be TheGuy, because his AMZN wishlist is very handy.
10. Worst Christmas gift ever received
Don't really have any bad Christmas gift recollections.
11. Christmas Cards?
Yes, but this year they'll be late. May be Valentine's Day cards at the rate things are going.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Don't really have one.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
January -- at least, I start making the list, then.
14. Have you ever "recycled" a Christmas present?
Not that I recall (although it could have happened.)
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
No one thing in particular.
16. Clear lights or colored or both on the tree?
So far I've just used colored, but could see trying clear at some point. Or blue. Or something.
17. Favorite Christmas Song?
This year it's a toss-up between "River" (which is not really a Christmas song) and "In the bleak midwinter" (which may not be either). We have several versions of each in our iTunes library and I'm really enjoying them.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
We roughly alternate, but sometimes we even change up that pattern.
19. Can you name Santa's Reindeer?
Yes.
20. Do you have an Angel or a Star on top of your tree?
Neither.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Grinches.
23. Favorite Christmas tradition?
Probably just being able to listen to Christmas music.
24. Family member you always try to stay away from during the holidays?
Oh, there's more than one.
25. Do you attend any actual religious services in celebration?
Only occasionally.
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December 17, 2007
Passings
I was very sad to read that Dan Fogelberg has died. And so young, too! That's just not right. When I'm in the right mood, his stuff makes me cry and cry. Was just listening to this song and started the waterworks:Saffire at the Birchmere
Friday night I saw the group Saffire -- The Uppity Blues Women perform at the Birchmere. They were missing their pianist due to illness, so Deanna Bogart substituted with them. I really enjoyed them a lot and will be snatching up a bunch of their cds over the next little while. And listening to Deanna was amazing -- I'm going to get some of her cds as well. All I could say after listening to her riff around on the keyboard was "OMG, I NEED TO PRACTICE!" And then, of course, I start making the case to TheGuy again that we need to get a real piano. Of course, a pre-req to that is a bigger house, so it's going to be rather a little while before that happens (dive, housing market, dive, dive, dive!). Nevertheless, I claim there is a real difference in banging on real strings versus using an electronic piano (which we have now) even with weighted, pressure-sensitive keys. Anyway, that turned into some self-absorption (hey, it's a blog, waddya want?). The point is: Medley recommends both Saffire and Deanna Bogart if you want some fun bluesy stuff to listen to.December 16, 2007
Shorter Candidates
I know that there's a certain subset of poli-bloggers who like to rag on Atrios for a variety of sins, but I still find him trenchant and often nicely pithy (especially if you've been reading along long enough to get what he's trying to convey). Today, for example, I thought this was an excellent summary of these 3 Democratic Presidential candidates:Obama: The system sucks, but I'm so awesome that it'll melt away before me.
Edwards: The system sucks, and we're gonna have to fight like hell to destroy it.
Clinton: The system sucks, and I know how to work within it more than anyone.
December 1, 2007
Journally
Well, I made a half-hearted attempted at blogging every day last month (I think the cool kids call it NaBloPoMo or something like that), but as you can see I failed miserably. Ah well.Today, I feel compelled to tell everyone, is December. December 2007! Pardon me while I go over and just gibber in the corner for a little bit while contemplating that fact.
Ok, I'm back.
What else is new? TheGuy and I both have dreadful colds and have each lost our voice. Thank god for instant messaging! But, this is seriously the worst cold I've had in a long, long time.
Wednesday night we went and saw Schooner Fare at Wolf Trap. Very enjoyable, as always. I first saw these guys perform about 20 years ago, so I'm a long-time fan.
Our kitties are both having some health issues. Nothing too serious, but we will be medicating them for a bit. Fortunately, there are these genius little things called "Pill Pockets" which make that pretty easy. Not like back in the day, that's for sure!
We're having the chimney cleaned today -- we haven't actually used the fireplace that much in the last couple of years so I doubt there's much build-up. But I always worry about birds nests and wasps nests and that sort of thing. And it might be nice to throw a log on now and then while I'm working on quilts.
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Having spent last night rehearsing "In the Bleak Midwinter" about 58,000 times with bell and vocal choirs, I'm pretty convinced it's a Christmas song. It's all about the baby Jesus being born in cold and snow. Also, just so you know, if I hear that song one more time, I might stab myself in the eye.
Posted by: Katxena on December 20, 2007