Post Christmas Post

Uneventful X-mas.  Family came over for dinner (ham and etc.), we sat around and talked for a bit and that was that.  T'was even more quiet than usual.  It was OK though, as it gave dw and I plenty of time to think about the giganto dental bills we're building up.  It's our contribution to the general economic recovery --- Sakes alive! Money sitting around in a savings account -- collecting 1/2% interest per year -- isn't doing anyone any good.   DA

Christmas Is Nigh

   We just finished dinner -- a vegan variation on a Moroccan carrot dish we had at Patrilary's.  Since my heart annoyance stuff has happened I try to cook vegetarian  several times a week.  This particular meal was entirely edible, but not a taste treat.  It really needed sausage.  We also just finished watching Green Bay lose to New England -- it was a close game but Cheeseheads everywhere are now broken-hearted. 
   dw is getting close to completing the Christmas decorations.  Again the main motif is kirigami but the installations are smaller this year than last, and are mainly confined to the living room.  As always I am firm with my moral support. 
   Yesterday dw had a small luncheon with three friends (Larissa, Mary, and Laura)  Everyone seemed to have a nice time -- dw also did the menu planning and prep -- I watched --  .  I visited with everyone long enough to be polite and then retired to the study to write all of my X-mas cards.  This year I'm a bit earlier than normal with the cards .  I write at least a brief note in most of the cards (and I didn't exactly practice due diligence)  so I didn't finish the cards until everyone was leaving -- (that wasn't intentional).
   And today I went to the rock gym with John and Bob.  dw met with Kate (John's wife) and they had coffee while we climbed.  I rode with dw in her car to the gym, and then rode my bike back to the house.  An easier workout for me, just riding one way.  I was unenthused exercisewise so I only did one hard climb along with 6 or 7 easier ones.  And was leisurely on the bike ride home.  Better than nothing.  DA

Action!

Yes, the holiday season has arrived and I am in action - ideas percolating, hauling Christmas boxes down from the attic, cutting and pasting kirigami (real cut and paste not that electric computer stuff), and artfully displaying the percolated results.  Putter, arrange, rearrange, take down and put back up.  I love it!  The living room could now be considered The Red Room as a grid of red/green/white kirigami squares adorn the west wall.  The grid has alternating diagonals of green, white and red backgrounds.  Dennis bailed me out of that when I messed up the order and the grid had a green where a white background should have been.  Horrors!  Red bulb ornaments, red poinsettias, red wreath, red and white table runner on the entertainment center and a live green Charlie Brown tree with red (and a few green, blue and yellow) bulbs.  Kirigami cutouts with red, green or white in them cover the woodwork arch and hang from the window curtain rods.  You get the idea.  That's it for holiday preparation.  I am working Christmas Eve day and on call Christmas Day.  It's my turn and that's okay.  Twelve days til Christmas and hopefully, no 'partridge in a pear tree' when we get there.  Happy Holidays, dw.

I haven't been nearly so active, Christmas-wise, although I am considering writing my X-mas cards.  Otherwise I'm still working on the metal sculpture, occasionally exercising and generally messing about.  Yesterday I made a device to hang another bird feeder.  After I install it, we'll have east (old one) and west (new one) feeders.  When we get really bored we can count bird-visits and compare and contrast, to find which feeder has the most curb appeal -- bird wise.  DA

Dec. 5, I think

Dennis has informed me it's way past my turn to blog so here I am with no significant news.  Sunny and cool today - no rain - a pleasant change from the usual weather.  Dennis used the nice day to mow the lawn and rake leaves - on December 5, that's almost criminal!!!!  I spent the day indulging myself in holiday decorating i.e. taping a variety of kirigami cutouts on the wall, woodwork and windows.  It's very festive as I selected out red, green and white cutouts and backgrounds thus creating a color theme.  The tree will be a "Charlie Brown" tree that is growing in a container outside.  Really, it is about as crooked as a tree can get and still be standing.  Needs conditioning in the garage for a couple of days before being brought into the warm (and I use the term very loosely) house.  And that's it - lawn care, decorating and waiting for a tree to heat up.  Happy Sunday evening.  dw

Thanksgiving

    A quiet day.  Had some family over -- good meal (If I do say so myself) -- talked -- looked at our trip pictures (dw has done a very good job of sorting, arranging and labeling the pics -- she didn't do a chronological  arrangement but more of sorting by subject -- A LOT of work)  and that's about it. 
   Otherwise not much has been happening.  I've raked the leaves a couple of times (including the street) -- and taken pictures -- to avoid Portland's absurd new leaf tax which seems to have been suspended anyway.  Another attempt by the city council to earn a 100% disapproval rating. 
   I didn't blog last Sunday because I had even less to say than I have today.  The upcoming Sunday is looking bleak blog-wise.  Perhaps I should make stuff up -- that seems to be the contemporary non-fiction way anyway.  DA
     Now I had a FABULOUS day after breakfast in bed, a pedicure, spa  bath, hair and makeup revamp, nip and tuck here and there -oh, no, wait, that was my dream last night.  Instead I'm making up for the quiet day by giving my body some metabolizing work as I consume piece after piece of apple pie and platefuls of SPAM MACARONI salad.  You didn't think we would visit the Spam Museum and then forget the spam?  Made it myself based on an old family recipe - boiled macaroni, can of spam, and peas married with an olive oil based mayonnaise (an Italian mayo, as it were).  Tossed in leftover chopped onions and celery and added pepper only (because there is enough salt in the Spam to salinize the ocean) and called it good.  Delish, of course.  I agree that perhaps it's time to be more CREATIVE here in the blog.  Will get back to you on that.  dw

Waiting Didn't Help Much

Another week with a dirth of excitement.  I finally got my bike back together so I'll start riding again.  I took it in for a new tire a week or so ago, and was told it really needed a tune-up.  At a cost of $100 I decided to do it myself.   So, it's done. 
   I'm still working on the steel sculpture, I'm still optimistic re: the eventual result.
   I've gone walking a few times.  Although it seems very "not green" to drive to an exercise place, I've been driving up Germantown road to the Wildwood trailhead.  Lotsa foliage, steep canyons (the trail maintains elevation when crossing them) small streams.  Nothing spectacular but a very nice deep-woods feel to the trails.  The trail is a welcome change from walking around the neighborhood.
   Dw may have an entry later in the week.  She took a couple of days of r&r -- went to Hood River and is lolling about with a view of the river and a bunch of knitting and other projects to do. 
   And finally, I bought a new computer (an HP) -- I finally got fed up with the old one freezing and otherwise showing its age.  -- There's not room at this desk for two old things.  -- It's up and running but I still need to transfer the files from the old one to the new.  It'll be easy enough, but I need to borrow a monitor to hook up with the old computer.  (I didn't get a new monitor) -- And I just noticed an instruction to read the "Safety & Comfort Guide" in order to reduce the risk of serious injury while using the new keyboard.  Another unrecognized peril in modern life.  DA

Wait, wait - I'm thinking

What's new since Halloween?  Dennis and I enjoyed a fine dining experience last night at friend David M's house-sitting gig.  After driving up and up the winding road behind Scappoose we found the address and arrived in enough daylight to admire the fabulous house.  It's one of those sprawling hillside homes 3-4 years new with a circular gravel/paved entryway, carport, driveway winding around and under the house to the garage, windows, more windows, giant wood entry door, rain chains from the overhangs, etc.  Lovely, lovely.  So was the evening as we chatted and ate and caught up on the news - sitting around the dining room table next to the kitchen.  The kitchen is the hearth of the home and I like that even in a giant home we hang around the kitchen.  Some things do not change.
     November has arrived with its variable weather -70 and sunny two days and then heavy rain, sun and rainbows the next.  The vacation photos are hunkered down in a big dishpan waiting for me to put them in order.  As winter previews with the rainy weather reading becomes a bigger draw and the photos are still waiting.  Soon, real soon.  dw
   I concur with all of the above re: the house and evening.
   I've been working on a sculpture (painted steel) which is coming along nicely.  And I've been tuning up my bike.  I'm not very interested in the bike job, but it needs to be done, and I need to finish it so I can get back to exercising.  Cycling has replaced running as my preferred exercise although I consider it a mediocre substitute.   DA