Because it could be you... or me....

The next time you see a woman in a store somewhere looking a bit disheveled - perhaps she is in sweats... maybe they look stained, or even wet. Her hair might lack brushing, her coat is buttoned wrong, her eyes glassy with bags.
Don't judge.

;)

Happy!

The "Holidays" are upon us.

I understand that this can be a difficult time of year.
Try not to stress. Don't let others expectations make you tense.

Drink wine, be merry.
Eat too much, loosen your belt.
Give freely of your heart.
Presents are optional.

We've had a decoration malfunction

Or more accuratly we have had a complete and utter Christmas tree failure.

I have never seen anything quite like this. But every single needle...every one... fell off this tree.

When we first discoved the problem, we started to take the lights off.


Before we even got them all off - there were no needles left.


We literally had to shovel out bags full of needles.



____
I suppose I should add. I went back to the Christmas tree place yesterday. It's a local farm where you can cut your own or they have some pre-cuts. We have been going there for years. The fated tree was a cut your own. Ferris cut it down for us, and when we got it home it seemed perfectly fine.
Guess it wanted to stay in the forest. Who knew.
The guy there said he never heard of such a thing, where every needle came off- but quickly helped me pick out a new tree and got it into my trunk.
All is well and Christmas is saved.

Can I get workman's comp?

During the course of the day I spend a great deal of time on conference calls.
I had been using speaker phone, but recently I got a new headset.
I just love it.

I have also developed a re-newed love for Orbit bubble mint gum.
It's tasty and refreshing, plus I can blow bubbles with it.

This, however, is not a suggested activity when wearing a headset on a conference call.

Really... in Connecticut... I mean really?

I have seen this article referred to on several blogs now.
I wanted to post this picture - because it's incredible, and it's close to home.

These guys showed up at a menorah lighting ceremony of a local town green.



I mean seriously... how stupid are these guys. First of all they have masks on. Clearly they are not very proud of what they are doing.
At least those wacky 'family first' people at the gay rights demonstrations show their faces.
So then, when people start yelling at them and joining the group lighting the menorah to show support - these three knuckles heads get in their car and take off.

Um... if you're gonna protest something shouldn't you at least stick around.

My gentile wife and I are hoping to attend the lighting on Wednesday evening. We would like to show our support of this wonderful tradition which celebrates light and hope - and that hate of any kind will not be tolerated.

Those boys better watch out if she has her wooden spoon with her.

Friday

tip-o-day

Don't let these early snow storms fool you.
Many people here decided this snow was too early to worry about. They assumed the following warm days following would melt it all away.

They are mistaken. In fact, it's quite the opposite.
Allow me to explain.

This storm was an excellent example.

We woke to about 6 inches of snow on Wednesday morning.
By the time I finished my first cup of coffee the precipitation had turned to rain.
This is where most folks sat down with newspaper and got a second cup.

I sprang to action.
You see. The rain got those 6 inches of snow very wet. It was too much snow to be washed away. So the snow simply absorbed as much rain as it could and the rest sat underneath puddling.
Overnight the temps drop. With so much snow mixed with the rain, the temps don't even need to be that low.
Now ..if this were powdery snow - no worries. But this was basically water disguised as snow. So what we got was a solid freeze.
Ice.
And if you didn't shovel.
Several inches of it.

This ice is gonna be around for awhile.

It's also a great time to remind you to make sure and clear the snow several inches off the paved surfaces, well into your lawn. That way any melting that happens during the day gets absorbed. If allowed to melt out onto your driveway - those rivers and puddles freeze up overnight for slick conditions for many, many mornings.

2010 nears

We have no calendar for next year ... so of course this means we can't make any plans past December.

I really need to get out to a store today.

open studio sunday

There was wine - there was paint - there was knitting.













A good time was had by all. If you consider black dogs with purple paint a good time.
(think Cat in the Hat)

how to make weese happy

The technician who came to diagnose our heating problems this week has been to our house several times over the years for parts replacements and general service. He is familiar with our system and our old house. He often notices changes we've made and will compliments us on our choices. He seems wise and considerate in his care.

After he had a good look at the problem and fiddled with some parts and made some adjustments, he stood and looked thoughtfully at our 30 year old system.

He placed his hand tenderly on the boiler and told me it might just be time to replace the whole thing now.
I gulped.
He gently showed me all the different issues we were dealing with and how if we were to fix many of these we would most likely have to do all that work again when the unit finally stopped working. And that day was inevitable.

He turned and panned the room and said - "You know, really - its not that hard of a job, maybe 4 or 5 hours. The biggest concern of mine would be ...your basement floor is so clean."

It's only money

My frugal wife and I were discussing an important matter over email yesterday.
After much back and forth, a little research, and some calculating, we had come to a decision... she replies:

"We've been fortunate.

Although, a cruise would have been fun..."


So, rather than a cruise with foofy cocktails and warm beaches, we'll instead warm our souls... or the living room as it were -

We expect her on Thursday. We are busily preparing for her arrival.