Favorite Gift

This year the wife and I skipped buying presents for each other and just bought one gift for Annie. Annabelle gets packages from friends and relatives far and wide so even though we only placed one gift beneath the tree, there seemed to be no shortage of packages on Christmas morn.

Our gift to Annabelle his year was a little table we found at Ikea. This is huge!


Up until now, Annabelle has had to wheel up to the coffee table sideways to get at the toys we put out for her. Now she can wheel right up to her own little table.

Now we just need to teach her to stop dumping all her toys on the floor . . . .

This Year's Ornaments

The tree is still up.

We usually haul out the decor and put up the lights and the tree either the 1st or second weekend after Thanksgiving. It all stays up and lit through New Years and then comes down shortly after.

This year, we continued the tradition of giving ornaments to each other. Here are the new additions to our ornament collection:

Holly was in a crafting mood this year and she hand-made ornaments for Annie and I. The ornament above is from mommy to Annabelle. It is a photo of them in the fall leaves from our trip to Eastern Washington this year.

The ornament below is from Holly to me.


I made my traditional trip to Old Town San Diego and picked up ornaments for the girls. The one above is a silver mermaid I picked up for the wife.

The reindeer below is from me to the wee-one.

Quote of the Day

"One advantage of marriage, it seems to me, is that when you fall out of love with him, or he falls out of love with you, it keeps you together until you maybe fall in again."

- Judith Viorst

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWq60oyrHVQ&feature=player_embedded

O, Christmas Tree

A PSA from London's Sewer Workers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1rItAH60MU&feature=player_embedded

Quote of the Day

You end every day as an Ebenezer. You begin every day as someone who could, conceivably, toss a coin to an urchin, beseech him to fetch the big goose, and remark on the same daily truth we manage to forget. Oh, it’s not too late. It’s not.

- LILEKS

Bears Repeating

Quote of the Day

Well, good thing we had a frugal Christmas. Not that we ever went totally overboard; as much as I would love to shower my child with HEAPS OF THINGS it’s not a good idea to give them HEAPS OF THINGS just for the fun of unwrapping enormous plastic objects containing smaller plastic objects. Oh, the smile on their faces is wonderful, but you can get a smile on a kid’s face if you give them ice cream for dessert, too. . .

I just made her some popcorn, and the smile she gave me – thanks Dad! – was equal to the shine she’d display on gift #7 as she plowed through a stack on Christmas morn.

-LILEKS

Sherry Apple Pork Chops

“Imagine pork chops resting on a bed of sliced apples dotted with butter and dusted with brown sugar and cinnamon. Then imagine sherry poured over the top. Bake until tender; eat until satisfied.”

RECIPE HERE

Happy Festivus

Now it's Personal

Dear Mother Nature,

As you know, we have had a mostly positive relationship throughout the years. The few times when we have disagreed we have done so in a professional manner without casting blame, dispersions or taking our grievances to a personal level (recall that little incident with the sting ray some years ago?). Regrettably, I fear that our heretofore mostly amicable relationship is now in jeopardy.

I begin by referring to the last week or so of rain storms that have battered the local area. As you know, I am not one who cares much for extended rain storms however I recognize your right to throw a "rager" every so often. The rain storm is not why I write. Rather I am writing to you regarding the recent flooding of my basement.

Once again, it pains me to have to write this letter however you have left me no choice. You have taken a topic on which we disagree professionally and have made it personal. My basement is a big swampy, muddy mess and it is going to take forever for me to sort it out. While I am not a vindictive person by nature, I now feel compelled to answer your personal attack in like kind. Two can play this game.

I regretfully hereby inform you that so long as there is standing water in my basement, I will refuse to recycle. And those reusable grocery bags? Forget it. This can all be over if you will simply allow the cesspool in my basement to be absorbed by the soil and send a few days of warm, sunny weather to dry everything out. We are due for some sunny weather any way so I do not feel that this is an unreasonable request.

I hope that together we can get past this unfortunate incident and return to the professional and dignified relationship we have enjoyed these many years.

Regretfully,

Matthew Linden

PS. I would also like to point out that I have sent this letter electronically thereby reducing my use of natural resources as opposed to printing off 500 hard copies and flinging them into the near-by nature reserve. However that option is still on the table . . .

Voyage

by Tony Hoagland

I feel as if we opened a book about great ocean voyages
and found ourselves on a great ocean voyage:
sailing through December, around the horn of Christmas
and into the January Sea, and sailing on and on

in a novel without a moral but one in which
all the characters who died in the middle chapters
make the sunsets near the book's end more beautiful.

—And someone is spreading a map upon a table,
and someone is hanging a lantern from the stern,
and someone else says, "I'm only sorry
that I forgot my blue parka; It's turning cold."

Sunset like a burning wagon train
Sunrise like a dish of cantaloupe
Clouds like two armies clashing in the sky;
Icebergs and tropical storms,
That's the kind of thing that happens on our ocean voyage—

And in one of the chapters I was blinded by love
And in another, anger made us sick like swallowed glass
& I lay in my bunk and slept for so long,

I forgot about the ocean,
Which all the time was going by, right there, outside my cabin window.

And the sides of the ship were green as money,
and the water made a sound like memory when we sailed.

Then it was summer. Under the constellation of the swan,
under the constellation of the horse.

At night we consoled ourselves
By discussing the meaning of homesickness.
But there was no home to go home to.
There was no getting around the ocean.
We had to go on finding out the story
by pushing into it—

The sea was no longer a metaphor.
The book was no longer a book.
That was the plot.
That was our marvelous punishment.

Mark Twain

I recently watched a Ken Burns documentary on Samuel Clemens aka "Mark Twain". FYI: "Mark Twain" is a nautical term meaning "two fathoms deep".

I found the story of his life fascinating. At one point, Mark Twain was reported to be the wealthiest author in all of America. He was known world-wide for his books such as Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Following the Equator and others.

Interestingly, despite all his success, he went bankrupt at the age of 59. Determined to pay back his creditors even though he was not required to under the rules of bankruptcy, he set out on a world speaking tour at the age of 60 with the hopes that he could pay everyone back and start over again at 65.

Mark Twain once said, "I am not an American, I am the American." Watching this documentary, I got the feeling that Mark Twain was America; American ethics and values distilled into one human being. Of course, the analogy should not be pressed too far.

If you enjoy witty, homespun, American common sense, you might want to check out this Ken Burns examination of the life of Mark Twain. I believe the entire thing can be watched on YouTube. Here is part 1:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr2rWya5Z5I

Uncle Tom's Cabin

So, yeah, I had never read Uncle Tom's Cabin until recently. Somewhere in my other reading, UTC was mentioned so I added it to my Kindle wish list. After finishing my last book, I found myself without anything else to read and no $ to buy a new one. Thanks to my Kindle, I was able to download UTC free since it is in the public domain (reason 248 to have a digital reader). Aaaanywaaay . . . .

I was amazed. This is a wonderful book. Writing prior to the Civil War, Harriet Beecher Stowe does a remarkable job of exploring the many different aspects of slavery - from the typical horror stories we are all familiar with to the slave masters who voluntarily freed their own slaves only to have those same slaves refuse to leave and beg to stay.

Through it all, Uncle Tom rises above all the rest, slave and free, in terms of character, truth and compassion. I have often heard people referred to derisively as "Uncle Toms" as if that were some sort of insult. In my view, Uncle Tom is an obvious Christ character in the book and as such, I am inclined to think that people who use the term "Uncle Tom" in a mocking fashion have probably not actually read the book for themselves.

UTC is a classic for very good reasons and I definitely feel that I came away with a better understanding of the slavery issue during the middle of the 19th century. Everyone should read this book.

Last Night's Lunar Eclipse

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

Quote of the Day

The last eclipse of the moon was an event where my young grandsons went to the top of the mountain and mooned the moon.

- Auntie Joye

Last Minute Gift Idea - The Manslater

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezVib_giTFo

Lester Tells of Wanda and the Big Snow

by Paul Zimmer

Some years back I worked a strip mine
Out near Tylersburg. One day it starts
To snow and by two we got three feet.
I says to the foreman, "I'm going home."
He says, ''Ain't you stayin' till five?"
I says, "I got to see to my cows,"
Not telling how Wanda was there at the house.
By the time I make it home at four
Another foot is down and it don't quit
Until it lays another. Wanda and me
For three whole days seen no one else.
We tunneled the drifts and slid
Right over the barbed wire, laughing
At how our heartbeats melted the snow.
After a time the food was gone and I thought
I'd butcher a cow, but then it cleared
And the moon come up as sweet as an apple.
Next morning the ploughs got through. It made us sad.
It don't snow like that no more. Too bad.

'Tis the Season

The wife has a cold. I have caught the wife's cold. I am pretty sure the baby has caught our cold.

At least we are not alone:

It’s the Christmas Cold, brought to you by Children, America’s favorite vector for infection. I don’t have it; zincing it up and beating it back as I did the last one. Wife is starting to get it. Kid is bouncing along nicely, but she’s clogged. I taught her how to wrap a present today, and made sure not to rub my eyes after I handled the scissors she’d used. It’s touching your face that gives you the cold – nose or eyes. The eyes have no idea how to repel a cold infection. They believe that should be handled by the day laborers. The eyes think they’re special. Don’t bother us! We’re trying to keep him from walking into walls.

- Lileks

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

The wife hung the stockings from the mantel along with a string of lights and then took some close-ups. I think they turned out pretty interesting - plus it gives me an excuse to use this great song! Merry Christmas.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2kelWPQ4lw

Christmas @ the Zoo

Community

I heard this fascinating story about a couple of reporters who tracked down the very first person ever diagnosed as autistic. His name is Donald Triplett, he is 77 years old and lives in Mississippi. The radio story led me to the article in the Atlantic Monthly.

What struck me about the story (perhaps fleshed out in the radio interview more than the article) is how the small community in which he has spent his life not only accepted him but protected him and allowed him to thrive.

Teaser:

Still, it’s clear that Donald reached his potential thanks, in large part, to the world he occupied—the world of Forest, Mississippi—and how it decided to respond to the odd child in its midst. Peter Gerhardt speaks of the importance of any community’s “acceptance” of those who have autism. In Forest, it appears, Donald was showered with acceptance, starting with the mother who defied experts to bring him back home, and continuing on to classmates from his childhood and golfing partners today. Donald’s neighbors not only shrug off his oddities, but openly admire his strengths—while taking a protective stance with any outsider whose intentions toward Donald may not have been sufficiently spelled out. On three occasions, while talking with townspeople who know Donald, we were advised, in strikingly similar language each time: “If what you’re doing hurts Don, I know where to find you.” We took the point: in Forest, Donald is “one of us.”

Imagine what the world would be like if society felt a responsibility to take all differently abled people into their person protection.

“If what you’re doing hurts Don, I know where to find you.”

The Wife has Ordered Me to Post this Pic

Maverick, Goose and Ice Go Sledding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85FxLsHU8us&feature=player_embedded

Quote of the Day

Then there it was again, first time since two weeks ago, that Adult Book Store sign being held by a man double fisted with flyers in the other hand this time, located in an even more highly trafficked area.

Makes me sick.

I stood off in the distance for a good 20 minutes praying and waiting.

Rehearsing in my head, asking what God would have me to say in my approach but...
There was this man in his face about something and it was not a good time for me to approach.

So I waited longer and just did not feel right about it with this other guy already being aggressive in conversation about something.

So I headed home with a bent up Scripture that never made it out of my hand into his.

- Tobi

Christmas Girls

Angels We Have Heard on High

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uSvFVqlLKM

Christmas Dress

If You Don't Have 20 Minutes for this, there is Something Wrong with Your Schedule

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0

Inspiration

I think this is cool . . .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7nXsOfLB0c

However I am waiting for the male version: "MEN. YOU HAVE RULED THE WORLD FOR ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY . . . ALMOST ALL WORK OUTSIDE THE HOME HAS BEEN DONE BY YOU (NOT TO MENTION THE WARFARE). . . ALL YOU ASK IS THAT DINNER IS ON THE TABLE AND THE BEER IS COLD WHEN YOU GET HOME . . .

Hmmm . . . won't hold my breath on that one . . .

(that's a joke BTW - don't email me)

Santa and the Mrs.

Merry Christmas Cat Lovers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2h3_aH3vo&feature=player_embedded

Mom's Rhapsody

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZIQlG79CoE&feature=player_embedded

Channeling Pinky Tuscadero

On our road trip last month, we stopped in to visit with some good friends who have been very supportive and helpful to us ever since we got Annabelle's diagnosis. You can read about their family on their blog: The Tender Scribe

Michelle also has another website dedicated to her embroidery business: Embroidery The Beautiful. If you have any need of embroidery work, Michelle is the person to go to!

When we arrived, Michelle surprised us with this custom embroidery for Annie's wheelchair. Because she didn't have any measurements (it was a surprise), she gave us the flat embroidered fabric and when we got home we had a neighbor fit it to the back of Annie's chair.



I love how it has that 50's / West Coast Chopper feel. Go Pinky!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94nX2eUkHmM

One Two Three

I have mentioned it before . . . The first year we were married, our Christmas budget was $75. We went to the mall and the wife took $32.50 and I took the same. Our Christmas consisted of whatever we could fit in our stockings (funny how little has changed). The wife bought me an ornament for the tree and a tradition was born. 18 years later and we have 37 ornaments representing the passage of our years together. When you add Annie's ornaments (two a year for a total of 4 so far) we have 41.

It is so rewarding every year to pull out the boxes and deck out the tree in beautiful, meaningful ornaments - and not spend a cent (except for the tree itself and this year's ornaments).

I Second That Emotion

Haiku Momma had a Christmas guilt post at the link.

I gotta say, I feel the same way. The most important aspect of Christmas to me is relaxation. The second most important is fun. Number of events we planned to go to and have cancelled on so far this year?: Three (which is actually all of them so far . . .)

Of course, funds are short this year as they are for many people. We bought Annie her one (1) gift which is now wrapped and under the tree. It's a kiddie table that she can wheel up to in her chair and play with toys / color etc. Imagine if every time your child dropped a toy, they could not pick it up. Yeah. We are all looking forward to Christmas table morning.

The remainder of gifts will be stocking stuffers and if there is any $ left over after that and planning the ham dinner the wife and I will each get a gift for each other. This is not a complaint - it just is what it is. Times are hard enough without adding frantic activity into the mix.

Oh, and no Christmas cards - can't afford them - so it's Christmas e-mails instead.

As cheesy as it may sound, my gold standard for Christmas remains the sentiment in this song:



That, and maybe this:

Tree Hunting

Christmas Nightmare

Whoopsie! The horror begins around the 2:20 mark:

Ballad of the USS Arizona

Thanks Rachel!

LINK

Decision Points

There is a theory that 10% of the population honestly believe that Republicans want to install a fascist state and 10% of of the population honestly believe that Democrats want to usher in a communist state. An additional 20% of the pop. only has and ever will vote Republican and 20% will always vote Democrat. That's 60% of the population accounted for - the remaining 40% are what makes up the infamous "swing vote". I think anyone in that 40% will enjoy this book and there is a good chance all but that 10% on the die-hard Democratic side will enjoy it as well.

Like him or not, George Bush had an astonishingly momentous presidency. Here is just a sampling:

- One of the most contested elections in American history

- One of only two sons to hold the Presidency after their father
- Biggest tax cut in history since Reagan
- Biggest Education overhaul in history
- Most devastating attack on American soil in history
- War with Afghanistan
- A recession
- War with Iraq
- Biggest natural disaster in American history

When I started this book, I quickly realized to my dismay that GW did not hire a ghost writer. I found the opening chapters where he talks about his background to be particularly painful - but once you get to the Presidency bit, it is astonishing. In fact, the book literally had me in tears more than once (9/11 being the big one of course).

To see the inner workings of the Executive Branch in conjunction with Congress and the Supreme Court during this historic 8 years is amazing. Bush freely admits his regrets and the decisions where he believes he got it wrong. I did not feel that the book was a defence of his presidency or an attempt to influence the history books, so-to-speak. Rather, I got the impression of a principled executive doing his best under very difficult circumstances. That is not to say that his principles are the same as yours. But he certainly has some immovable beliefs through which he governed and to see them in play is a wondrous peek into how the character of the one individual we elect to the White House can influence history.

I read the book on my Kindle and plan on buying a hard-copy to sit on the shelf for future reference. If you can get through the opening chapters, I think you too will be fascinated.

Recommended (except to that lefty 10% - you know who you are)
;-)

Happy Hanukkah

Sins of the Father

by W.D. Ehrhart

Today my child came home from school in tears.
A classmate taunted her about her clothes,
and the other kids joined in, enough of them
to make her feel as if the fault was hers,
as if she can't fit in no matter what.
A decent child, lovely, bright, considerate.
It breaks my heart. It makes me want someone
to pay. It makes me think—O Christ, it makes
me think of things I haven't thought about
in years. How we nicknamed Barbara Hoffman
"Barn," walked behind her through the halls and mooed
like cows. We kept this up for years, and not
for any reason I could tell you now
or even then except that it was fun.
Or seemed like fun. The nights that Barbara
must have cried herself to sleep, the days
she must have dreaded getting up for school.
Or Suzanne Heider. We called her "Spider."
And we were certain Gareth Schultz was queer
and let him know it. Now there's nothing I
can do but stand outside my daughter's door
listening to her cry herself to sleep.

Awesome

http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/02/real-life-wiley-e-coyote-and-road-runner-cartoon/

Quote of the Day

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

- Winston Churchill

Christmas Song

Words by J. Popper Music by T. Anastasio and J. Popper

Comes the time for Christmas
And I really have to ask
If this is feeling merry
How much longer must it last
I wish a one horse open sleigh
Would come carry me away
But I've been waiting here all day
And one just hasn't come my way
Now excuse me if I'm not being reverent
But I was hoping for a miracle to hold me, wash me
Save me from my righteous doubt as I watch helpless
And everybody sings
If it's Chanukah or Kwanza
Solstice, harvest or December twenty-fifth
Peace on earth to everyone
And abundance to everyone you're with
Laha da da da da da
Da da da da da da da da da da da
La da da da da da da da
La da da da da da da da da
Laha da da da da
Laha da da da da
Comes the time for Christmas
And as you raise your Yuletide flask
There's like this feeling that you carry
As if from every Christmas past
It's as if each year it grows
It's like you feel it in your toes
And on and on your carol goes
Harvesting love among your woes
I want to buy into the benevolent
And I was hoping for a miracle to hold me, wash me
Make me know what it's about
As the longing in me makes me want to sing
Noel or Navidad
Season celebration or just the end of the year
Christmas can mean anything
And I mean to keep its hope forever near
Laha da da da da da
Da da da da da da da da da da da
La da da da da da da da da
La da da da da da da da da da
Laha da da da da
Laha da da da da
As if a cold and frozen soul is warm to love
By loves own hand
So goes the prayer if for a day peace on earth
And good will to man
At twenty below the winter storm it billows
But the fire is so warm inside
And the children while nestled in their pillows
Dream of St. Nicholas's ride
And how the next day they'll get up and they will play
In the still falling Christmas snow
And together we'll celebrate forever
In defiance of the winds that blow
My god in heaven now I feel like I'm seven
And spirit calls to me as well
As if Christmas had made the winter warmer
Made a paradise from what was hell
As if a cold and frozen soul is warm to love
By loves own hand
So goes the prayer if for a day peace on earth
And good will to man.......
I wish a one horse open sleigh would come carry me away
And I'll keep waiting through next May
Until Christmas comes my way

Quote of the Day

"First we'll make snow angels for two hours, then we'll go ice skating, then we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookie-dough as fast as we can, and then we'll snuggle."

- Elf (the movie)