Christmas in Florida

Okay - now that the jig is up, I can talk about our Christmas vacation.

Over the weekend before Christmas, I finally blocked the shawl for Joe's mom. It turned out rather groovy.


Early Christmas morning we took an early flight down to Florida to see Joe's family. We were there by mid-afternoon, just in time for present-opening and dinner-eating. We had a blast, but it was so dang hot!

Joe with his family.

We tacked on a little road trip to Gainesville in order to visit the best yarn store ever. Many thanks go to Sharon, who helped us surprise the heck out of Lorena when we walked in the door to the shop.

This really is the best store ever. I wish we were closer so we could just drop by and knit like so many lucky Gainesvillians do.

Lorena posted an excellent recap here, and we have more shop pictures and family photos here.

And what did I get from Hanks, you ask...?

Lots of yummy sock yarn! Some Rocket Yarn, some Mind's Eye, and I couldn't resist the Cherry Tree Hill and Lorna's Laces.

Because we had surprised Lorena (who had just been to the post office mere hours before), the day after we returned, we were treated to this lovely package in the mail!!!

Her world-renowned Chex mix, some margarita mix, three of her beautiful (and useful!) soaps, and a lovely skein of her Holiday 2007 sock yarn. Could this week get any better?

Here's what we did on Saturday - Joe had finished up the floors, so now it's time to get the bathroom finished! We hauled this beast up the stairs (wood is heavy) and started putting stuff in it.

Today we brought up the sink vanity. The counter top is way too heavy for just the two of us, so we'll wait until the plumbers get here for the hookups. I honestly don't know what we'll do with all this storage space - we haven't stored anything (except maybe tools) in our bathroom in almost a year.

What a week of perfection. Now just two more business days of being off before we head back to the holiday-and-vacation desert that is The Beginning Of The Year. May you all have a lovely New Year's Eve - stay away from crazy people, and be careful on the roads!

Underpants Gnomes

Today was many things...

Shopping (which we normally loathe on 12/26), and shopping at Walmart (which we normally loathe, period), but it wasn't half bad. The day was filled with what I like to call karmic okayness. We tackled a lot of tasks that weren't half as bad as they were years ago, and we actually felt good about it. Family sometimes brings out the worst, but this year it's brought about a kind of enlightenment that has been rather pleasant.

And so tonight, we relax...with underpants gnomes. And booze.

Random Quotes...

- Nothing says Christmas like a lunch at Hardee's. Teeth optional.

- How many u-turns can Joe make in one square mile?

- We have a view of a Trailer Park!!!

- Walgreen's, why hast thou forsaken me?!?!?!?!?

- I am locking my door very quickly. Don't make eye contact with the crazy truck guy.

- Oh, please dear god, don't let those kids sit behind us.

- Uh, Beth...? The elevator is right in front of you.

- Is everything going to be okay? Yes. Is everything going to be okay? Yes. Is everything going to be okay? Yes.

- They have happy hour. With alcohol. Quick, take a bottle! Run! Run!!!

At Long Last, the H-Ahhhhh-lidays...

Did you hear that?

That's the sound of my blood pressure dropping. The sound of knitting needles hard at work. The sound of cozy socks on a hardwood floor. The sound of a happy kitty sleeping on a lap. The sound of fresh-baked bread with just a smidge of butter for breakfast.

Ah, yes. The holidays are here, and I will savor every last morsel. Time to reboot the soul.

Tagged Again!

I got tagged by Miss Lynda (yes, I need to change your link on the sidebar), so here goes...

1. What was the best Christmas present you got as a kid? In high school I got some really kickass black cowboy boots.
   
2. What was the best Christmas present you got as an adult? I have to go with this year's present - a new furnace and heating system that rocks.
   
3. What’s your favorite Christmas carol? John Denver and Rowlf singing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is my all-time favorite. I heart the Muppets and John Denver.
   
4. How long can you stand to listen to Christmas music before you break? A remarkably long time. I have over 350 Christmas songs on my ipod and get new CDs each year. I'm a Christmas music whore. Everything from South Park's Merry F*&%in' Christmas to Bing Crosby's White Christmas, Lena Horne's What Are You Doing New Year's Eve to Pete Yorn's Do They Know It's Christmas - I love Christmas music, and I'm not too proud to admit it.
   
5. How many Christmas albums do you own? About 20
   
6. Did you ever go caroling as a kid? No - we lived in the boonies. We didn't even trick or treat.
   
7. Would you willingly eat fruitcake? It's actually not bad toasted with butter, but I haven't had it in years.
   
8. Do you own any Christmas sweaters? Nope.
9. Do you own any Christmas jewelry? What? I used to have a Santa pin, but I'm a slob and can't find it anymore.
   
10. Did your family have any Christmas traditions? Like what? Christmas Eve we'd have eggnog and read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and the Bible Christmas passage (Luke something-or-nother) with our parents in front of the fireplace. Very Norman Rockwellish, and I loved it (except the whole Bible part about being great with child - that always gave me the heeby-jeebies). On Christmas morning, we were allowed to open our stockings, but the tree and presents were shut off in another room. We had to wait for our tired parents to get up, finish our breakfast, and march into the living room youngest-to-oldest to see what Santa brought. And Santa never wrapped (with four kids, would you?), so we each had a section under the tree that was all ours. That was awesome.
    
11. Do you buy Christmas presents for your pets? I made stockings for the cats, but we never put anything in them.
    
12. What’s your favorite Christmas cookie? Yes.
    
13. What’s your favorite Christmas candy? I do enjoy those peppermints that dissolve really quickly...not like candy canes, but kind of powdery...?
    
14. What’s your stocking look like? My mom knitted this when I was a wee one. All the kids have them. It hold lots of stuff, and it has jingle bells near the top. Santa's beard used to have a kind of silky fluff to it, but that's faded over the years. I love this stocking.
    
    
    
    
15. How do you feel about the “Steal from Your Neighbor” Christmas present game (the one where people pick gifts from a pile, but others get to steal it)? I'm not fond of any reindeer games.
    
16. What is the oldest ornament on your tree? I have some from my grandmother - small porcelain elves and old-fashioned lights that are shaped as fruit. I don't really put them on the tree anymore, since I have cats.
    
17. Real or artificial? Artificial is not an option. Sometimes we don't have a tree, though, like this year - just depends on how much we put into decorating.
    
18. How do you feel about Christmas letters? They're a great way to keep in touch. I'm not fond of the "I lost my job, our dog died, and grandma has an incurable disease. Merry Christmas!" kind.
19. Do you have Christmas decorations or lights outside your house? What are they? Pretty much just white lights on the house, wreaths and bows. As seen here. And we won a prize!
    
20. How far would you drive to see Christmas lights? It's not a priority.
    
21. Are you a fan of tasteful or tacky? I think they both balance out the universe.
    

23. Annie added this one: Do you have any Christmas collections? Certain ornaments...our favorite potter comes out with a new one each year, and my mom has given us one as a present every year since we got married. Also, a local business commissions a new ornament around an historic Montgomery building each year - so now, no matter where we end up, we can take our beloved village with us.

24. Do you travel to celebrate Christmas? Sometimes, since our family is all far away. But I prefer staying home.

Keepin' in Touch

Well, I'm winding down after a rough Monday and thought I'd babble a bit.

Thursday night, after The Storm, Joe and I found a surprise on the porch from my brother and sister-in-law: a gift pack from Boudin Bakery in San Francisco. So after being exhausted from white-knuckled driving and shoveling, we settled down with some brews and some yummy sandwiches on hot bread. Awesome. Thanks, Becky & Brantley!

Friday was an uneventful drive into work - our DPWs are pretty good about clearing the snow after it stops. I had a half day in the office, since Joe's company Christmas party was in CT that night. Last year...well, let's just say there were stories about me at the after-party trying to pet Joe's boss's bird that kept biting me. I still have scars. This year I promised myself not to be "that person."

It was once again at The Mill on the River, and we had a lovely time. When asked to go back to Joe's boss's house, we opted not to. He has a newborn, and he's also very liberal with the drinks. I didn't fancy a night on his floor. A bunch of folks from other offices were staying in the same hotel, so we decided to have a house party ourselves. After about four hours of drinking games that ended with another spouse taking off his pants, we decided it was time to go to our room and sleep it off.

Travel back was uneventful, although Joe wasn't feeling too great. At least he kept his pants on, though. We stocked up on snow food (pizza rolls, taquitos, beer) and prepared to weather another storm. Sunday was crappy, crappy weather. Snow turned to sleet turned to rain turned to snow. The vehicles were completely under a couple of inches of snow, topped off with another inch of ice. Joe put his snowblower to good use, and I finished some WIPs.

Joe, playing with his new toy. It would be fun if he weren't being pelted by painful specks of frozen rain.

An FO, being put in the mail to a deserving family member who doesn't read this blog. Much.

Another FO, blocking. Remind me never to knit lace-ish stuff again unless I have wires or something. Those pins suck.

So tonight I finished with a 2-hour meeting of the Master Plan Committee - we're rounding third and heading for home with a nice Comprehensive Plan for our Village. This place means a lot to me, and I intend to do what I can to take care of it. I grew up in the country, and I loved it. I went to school in a major metropolitan area, and I loved it. We now live in a small, urban area a thousand miles away from anything I've ever known. And it's exactly where I belong.

Oh - and we won First Place in the house decorating contest (for "Traditional"). We've had the same decorations on our house (more or less) for the last six Christmases. We've gotta go to the Village Board tomorrow night to claim our prize. We might be in the paper and everything. ;)

Sleep well!

Twelve Miles: Home Safe

Yeah, yeah...I know...I'm a total wuss. But the first big snow of the season always has me a little white-knuckled - mainly because so many stupid people forget how to drive in the stuff. Me and my kickass truck - we do just fine. Took about an hour, including scraping and brushing six inches of snow off the vehicle in the work parking lot. Yes, I'm that wacko in the four-wheel-drive who does about 25mph. Pass me if that bugs you. I'll wave to you in the ditch.

On to more pleasant topics, look at the pretty snow...


Don't get me wrong. I love snow. LOVE IT. I don't even mind shoveling it. What I *DO* mind is having to go to work in it. In my opinion, everyone should have a snow day every once in a while.

What's even funnier is that I'm usually the ONLY one in my department who makes it to work on time when it's snowing...and I'm from Georgia! Others come in hours later, due to "harsh road conditions."

If ever I wanted to play my "but I'm just a sweet, helpless Southern gal" card, this would be it. But I don't. Because I kick ass. Me and my truck.

Twelve Miles

That's my one-way commute to work. Just twelve miles. Thanks to the new airport interchange, it's now no longer curvy and narrow.

But twelve miles is still a long way in this crap.

The schools are closed, and the snow just started. I'm in for a lovely day and a wonderful drive home.

Grumble.

Oh. Mah. Gahd.

Indoor heat is the best thing evah.

I'm sure Joe will take you through the technical aspects, but here are the general highlights...

Our house now looks like a cruise ship. I'm half-expecting it to start moving down the block, a la the Crimson Permanent Assurance skit.

This is the steam being released from the boiler thingy. Technical term.

And here is our new boiler setup in the basement. Boiler on the left, water tank on the right, and air handler suspended in the rafters. Way cool.

If you'd ever been down in our basement before (icky, spidery, dirty, dark - one must assume a dead body is buried down there), you'd know that this was a vast improvement.

Our attic now looks like it's been invaded by the Planet Aluminum Foil.

Those are our new ducts. They used to be on the floor (trip hazards, the whole lot of them) and uninsulated (brrrrrrr).

Of course, there were some tiny concessions to be made for staying warm. We have some slight cosmetic work to do in the almost-done-new-bathroom. I can totally work with that, though.

That duct snaking above the master toilet now supplies the guest bathroom with warm air. Before, it had come from the basement, close to an exterior wall, then barely leaked out a lukewarm breeze by the time it made it to that bathroom. Makes for a cold toilet seat.

So, yes. We're loving life. All weekend long we've been startled by warm air coming out of vents all over the house. The cats are happy that we finally stopped torturing them with the cold air, and we're happy to be able to sit at the computer for more than ten minutes without our fingers turning blue.

And yes, Joe and I are nothing if not classy with a capital K. We toasted our first warm night with champagne. In beer glasses.



We had a lovely weekend of attending the grand opening of our new senior center, doing a bunch of local shopping, and watching Superbad. That movie seriously had me snarfing my beer out of my nose. I heart Seth Rogen.

I'm getting tired, my buzz is wearing off, and I have to get up early in the morning. And so now I leave you with happy snow pictures. Cuz now we're warm! :)

This is the Last...Freezing Evening...That We'll Have to Spend...

...and yes, I'm sure I just jinxed the whole thing.

We're on Day Four of Extreme Makeover: Furnace Edition, and all is looking well. Air handler and ducts in basement? Check. Air handler and ducts in attic? Check. New vents in all 2nd floor rooms and back hallway? Check. New boiler, hot water heater, and humidifier being installed today? Check. And you think we spent a lot on the bathroom makeover...yeesh...

I came home to check on the guys as they're finishing up for the day, and all I know is there's a lot of sawing and hammering going on between the outside and the inside (basement area).

Wish us luck tomorrow as we "flip the switch!"

Milo, 1993-2007

This morning, after a long weekend spent staying warm in front of the stove with his buddy Coz, Sweet Milo succumbed to whatever disease he had been secretly battling and passed away in the vet’s office.

During his last few months, while not in perfect health, he enjoyed many affectionate visitors who loved having him warm their laps.

In a household of three other cats, Milo certainly didn’t get a lot of attention, but he was never one to complain. He was forever looking forward to his best buddy Bill returning to scratch his neck once again.

Milo (along with Otis) was adopted by Joe and Eric while in college. Please give them both an extra hug today.

You were a good boy, Milo.

28 Degrees Outside...

45 degrees inside.

Furnace replacement starts Monday.

Can't freakin' wait.

Christmas and the Door To Hell

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving, courtesy of our friends Russ and Roe. I made mac&cheese, chess pie cake, pecan pie...and Roe made everything else (including a 30 lb turkey - well, she didn't make it...she prepared it, I guess...). A lovely time was had with our NY friends, and (Roe's) Cousin Richard from Jersey (boo-yah, my Scene-It partner!)

Friday, we did what any sane person should do after Thanksgiving...we slept late. Saturday and Sunday...well, we got busy.

We needed to clean up the attic for the heating folks to come out and redo the ducts. Joe had already spent a good deal of time reorganizing, trashing, and shifting various boxes. Saturday we thought we'd do some final touches.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure - this is our attic. Or, about 1/3 of it. It's basically a 3rd floor of our house with walk-up access. It's also where we thought we'd work out with the weight machine. Didn't happen.

Our attic has been the source of many cool discoveries. Doors were removed from the first floor, stacked against the attic wall - we're grateful the bunghole didn't destroy them. One "treasure" we recently unearthed was the slew of bed frames that were stored in another part of the attic - we were going to pay the heating guys just to take them away, but there was a headboard/footboard combo that looked promising, so Joe & I went to town.

Here are the items, removed from the corner they were in for about 7 years. That little orange-ish square in the middle of the picture is actually a DO NOT REMOVE UNDER PENALTY OF LAW tag attached to a metal box spring - with a 1913 date. It's safe to say the previous owners didn't remove the tag.

We had also noticed that there was a mattress behind all the box springs. Yes, a mattress. Ew. I suggested we should at least take a look behind it, because I didn't want the heater guys to be exposed to something horrid...

The mattress wasn't bad, actually. Thin and a bit damp, but no critters. What intrigued us was the door.

Here's the part where we had to take a break, and I wasn't about to take pictures of inside that door without someone else with me. As a beloved friend once said, "I’ve seen this movie and it does NOT turn out well." All I need is for this to be a portal to hell, the awakening of some evil spirit, or at the very least a very pissed off school-teacher ghost. Am NOT going back up there alone.

So I waited until Joe got back from the hardware store (again), and we opened the door...

...to a bunch of wood scraps. Less exciting - yet much better - than unleashing hell on earth, don't you agree?

We spent the rest of the weekend decorating the house for the holidays. I took charge of the interior lights while Joe took the exterior. It must be noted that while Joe had to be outdoors for his, mine took much longer, what with the hammering and extension-cord-logistics and all. Ptoooey.

Here are some non-flash shots that - while showing the lights - kinda look creepy...

Here's the front, from the street

And the side, further down the street. Moon an added bonus.

From the side yard - note the mini-trees...and the moon again :)

Same shot, with flash. Less scary.

That's about it for tonight - hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

The Day Before

I've always loved the day before Thanksgiving.

Whether I'm hosting or just bringing a few dishes to someone's house, I love taking a day to cook and bake.

Tonight I'm making a special dinner for Joe, as well as Mac & Cheese, Chess Pie Cake and Pecan Pie for tomorrow's festivities. The kitchen smells savory, sweet, and scrumptious.

Here's my mom's famous pecan pie. !!!!!

And of course my really cluttered kitchen as I use every appliance I have at my disposal.

It's a cold, dreary day, so the kitties are cuddled near the stove...

And me? I'm enjoying my day off, knee-deep in chopping, blending, and baking. With wine, of course.

Also watching such masterpieces of HBO as Thelma and Louise, which to this day makes me weepy.

Here's to you and yours this Thanksgiving. Hug the ones you're with, and don't let go.

:)

Awww...C'mon...!!!

It's really, really sad to see how every single moment of our existence is now scrutinized by the evil a-cigar-is-never-just-a-cigar media catering to the extremist soccer moms (and dads) who reside in the land of NIMBY.

According to this article, the newly-released, early-episode Sesame Street digital DVDs (gotta add those to my wish list) now contain the warning "These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child." Because Ernie & Bert lived together, Cookie Monster didn't eat salads, and Big Bird had LSD flashbacks of Snuffy.
It's actually a very interesting article - the GenX toddler experience vs how we (the same GenXers) are raising kids today. Now, you can't be too careful. Adults aren't particularly trustworthy. The world is too scary.

I don't know about you, but there were some pretty scary things in our world of the 70s and 80s...I grew up in the time of Wayne Williams, cyanide-laced Tylenol, and that evil USSR. It was nice to chill out with Gordon and Susan, and Mister Looper (Hoopah! Hoopah!). I kinda liked songs about how "Everyone makes mistakes" and "I love trash."

So forgive me if I don't want to think about how Ernie was naked with his rubber ducky. I'll take him and the whole SS gang, Mr. Rogers, Sigmund the Seamonster & all his hallucinogenic friends, Schoolhouse Rock teaching me about conjunctions, and even that wacky talking lemon from Saturday morning cartoon breaks ANY day, ANY time.

Harumph.

Okely-Dokely...

Got tagged by Sara, so here goes...

1-Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2-Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
3-Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4-Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

I've done a few of these in the past, so forgive me if some of these are repeats, but here are some quick random things about me that I can think of during my lunch break. Not that I'm on the internet at work or anything. Ahem.

1) I bite my fingernails. I hate it, and every so often I can "break" the habit for a while, but then I fall off the wagon again.
2) When I was younger, I used to play my records (esp The Carpenters) and sing with my posters of Shawn Cassidy and other Tiger Beat hunks as the audience.
3) I planned on being an English teacher when I went to college. After taking an accounting course (because I also toyed with the idea of going into publishing) and doing rather well, I decided to get both English and Accounting degrees. It took some night and summer coursework, and virtually no fun time, but I completed both four years. I was insane.
4) I don't iron. I think I've used my ironing board 3 times in 6 years.
5) I don't eat anything that swam, crawled, and/or floated in a body of water...unless it was a swimming chicken. Seafood is just icky to me. If Joe wants it, he has to cook it and clean up afterwards. The smell makes me heave.
6) A perfect afternoon (if Joe is out of town) usually consists of some kind of cold, wet weather, a bottle of wine, pizza snacks, cuddling with the cats under a flannel blanket, and Lifetime TV. And knitting.
7) I can pretty much quote the lines, sound effects, and music of Romancing the Stone from beginning to end. When I was younger, my aunt had HBO and taped all kinds of movies for us. I fell in love with everything about this film, and I watched it repeatedly over one summer. Like several times a day. I still have to sit and watch it whenever it's on TV.

I'm not going to follow Rule #4, but here's a shout-out to the folks I'm tagging - Joe, Eric, Pam, Lorena, Jacquie, Sophia, Sharon. Play if you wish, but if you don't - Bill Gates won't be sending you to Disneyworld.*


*Of course, he won't be sending you if you DO play along, but that's neither here nor there.

When Critters Attack

Back when my mom and her friends came up for this fun weekend, Miss Nancy brought us the most delightful pumpkin that they found at a market on their drive. It held a place of honor on our front porch for some time.

As I was coming down the front stairs to make some coffee yesterday morning, I saw movement on the porch. I peered out the front door windows, and the carnage that was before me chilled my blood and brought fear to my heart. The images that follow might be disturbing to some.

And this gentleman was so kind as to attend the buffet with his "plus-one".

Unfortunately, not all critters were satisfied.

This is one of those days I wish I had an outdoor cat.

On the plus side, at least they're not eating the house, which is what the Marietta Squirrel Contingent did with our cedar home.

Keep eating, you rat bastards. Happy Thanksgiving.

Unhappy Cat...is VERY unhappy...

or...

I am in ur kichin...plottin ur death.

About a week ago, I noticed Dobby shaking one of his rear legs - cat owners know The Shake - like when a piece of litter is stuck between toes or a foot is wet. I checked (which is difficult with a squirmy kitty like Dobbs) and didn't see anything.

A few days later, still with the shake - just occasionally. And he liked to clean it (you know, when cats do the nawmnawmnawm on their feet). This time I looked and saw a wee bit of redness between his paw pad and his toe pads. With our rough hardwood floors, the cats sometimes land wrong when jumping off of the bed (or couch, or table, or chair, or lap), and they get a little boo-boo. Just a little redness, definitely tender, but no shards of glass or splinters, thank goodness. I'll just keep an eye on it.

Here it is, a week later, and he's still shaking and cleaning the foot once in a while. I check again - this time more red. I got a last-minute appointment with the vet (Joe thinks I'm such a worrier), and she confirmed that Dobby probably just had a little irritation that he has since made worse by over-cleaning. So he gets antibiotics. And ointment.

And a satellite dish.

This is the reason why, when Joe's out of town one of these days, I will slip while descending the steps, knock myself unconscious, and my cats will eat my face.

He's still not quite sure of what's going on - with limited peripheral vision, he doesn't move a whole lot. And he freaks when the other cats "sneak" into his line of sight. And it was really pathetic this morning when he sneezed, landed a huge boogey in the collar, and looked at me as if to say, "This is it. Life does not get any lower than this moment right now. Bitch."

I'm so sorry, sweet Dobby - maybe if we can keep your foot out of your mouth you'll be back to yourself in no time. In the meantime, guilt-ridden mommy will keep feeding you ham...

Not Very Impressive...

...but it's still the first snow...

We have plenty of pellets for the stove, the kitties are warm, there's laundry to do, and socks to knit.

All that, plus a dinner party to attend within stumbling distance of the house. Another weekend full of win!

Mah Coffee...

...it went up mah noze...

Bwaahahahahahahaha!

It's Frakkin' COLD!!!!!

Okay. By NY standards, it's not that cold outside. Maybe below freezing.

But inside? When we lost our furnace in April and have been too distracted to do anything yet?

In front of the stove, where the kitties are gathering? It's 53. Everywhere else it's about 50. So I run the dryer and oven whenever I can.

Looking forward to cat snugglies tonight...