Blast this Christmas music!

It's joyful and triumphant. 
Who said that?

This song takes me right back to the 70's. It was written in 1956, the year I was born, oddly enough. It was first recorded by Harry Belafonte (and hit the top of the UK charts in 1957) and has been covered by such shining stars as Mahalia Jackson, Andy Williams, John Denver, The Lettermen, Nat King Cole, Rolf Harris (yes, that Rolf Harris!) and, sad to say, The Wiggles. 

In 1978, Boney M.'s version rocked it again to the top of the UK charts. 

I love Boney M.

I used to have a cassette tape that had survived from my youth. We used to rock out to it as we drove the interstates in our old non-air-conditioned Colt Vista. 

By the Rivers of Babylon.

Brown Girl in the Ring.

Sunny.

Ahhh, sweet memories.

I love road trips.

I dare you not to jig a little.

You might even sing along.

Best.

Christmas.

Song.

Ever.

Bi-lingual happiness

Jenny's Mom is visiting, all the way from Peru, so we had them over to dinner on Sunday. I was flummoxed by what to have for dinner, because I wanted Elsa to enjoy it and Peruvian tastes are a little different than most Americans. 

Then, Sunday morning (one of those Sundays, with too many things to accomplish by the end of the day) I had a brainwave. 

We would have soup (corn chowder, because Peruvians love corn) and fresh wheat bread. 

It was Elsa's birthday on Saturday and I wanted to make a cake, but knew I didn't have time. Again, inspiration in the way of flan. 

Peruvians love flan.

And, it is easy. Go here for my fave flan recipe.

The meal was simple but successful. Elsa had two helpings of soup.

Te gusta sopa, Elsa? says I, in my best Spanish accent.

Si, si, she replied, with a big grin on her face.

Jon got in the dog-box with Jenny because he ate a helping of flan.

He tells her he doesn't like flan, she said.

Bad Jon.

Jenny's mom doesn't speak one word of English.

We got along really well.

Maybe that is why.

Did you know flan is flan in English and Spanish?

Afterwards, we made the most of our bi-lingualness and sang a few rousing verses of Feliz Navidad.

I'll tell you what, we know how to have a good time at our house!

My low E string was broken, hence the strange strumming pattern.

Which reminds me, gotta add that to my list for today.

I've been blogging too much lately, considering all the other tasks sitting on my list.

But it makes me strangely happy.

Try the flan recipe, it will make you happy too.

So will this video.

Winter vagaries

We had a warm, dry spell yesterday and I went out to do some yard work.
There were bulbs, sprouting hopefully in a bucket, that Jeff had dug up while fixing the sprinkler system. I managed to get about a third of them planted before I got bored and pulled a few weeds.
As I was picking up the weeds I noticed the rhodies  spreading a little further into the common driveway than I would have liked, so I pruned them up a bit.
By the time I got those squished into the yard recycling bin and planted a few more bulbs, I barely had enough enthusiasm for the outdoors left in my bones to snap a few pictures of these lovely water droplets hanging on the variegated willow.

We had a tornado just a little south of us today. It wrecked a few buildings and caused a lot of damage. Tornadoes are rare but not unheard of in Oregon. A friend of mine, who lives just up the hill from us, lost her old farmhouse to a tornado a few years ago. It touched down and uprooted a Douglas fir, which fell on her house and knocked it off its foundation.

I think about monotony a lot. I used to crave it, when my life was a little more tumultuous. But now that it is mine, if I choose it, I find myself going in the other direction.

Even the best minds in the world disagree on the subject.

C.S. Lewis said, The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil. I'm not sure if it makes sense grammatically, but I can certainly relate to the sentiment.

I feel monotony and death to be almost the same. Charlotte Bronte. But dear Charlotte was of a rather depressive nature and should possibly be disregarded.

People, chained by monotony, afraid to think, clinging to certainties...they live like ants. Bela Lugosi. One of the greatest thinkers of all time, I am sure.

The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. Albert Einstein. We should pay heed to Albert, although I do not subscribe to the ideal.

And finally, one for the pirates among us. 

You know who you are. 

There is nothing so desperately monotonous as the sea, and I no longer wonder at the cruelty of pirates. James Russell Lowell.

Me, figuring out captions

I love carousels...

A zebra at the World's Largest Christmas Bazaar. 

...good friends who will go on adventures with you...

Brenda and Lori and Karen's hands at the biker bar. Karen would not have approved of this photo of herself so I cropped it.

...big bowls of clam chowder...

This one was so big I couldn't finish it. Disappointing it was, as my memory had made it more delicious than the reality. Maybe the chef was off duty. 

...and radiant sunsets.

This lit the sky as we were almost home. I kept trying to catch it through the car window, egged on by my buddies.  Quick! There, no there, no here, they said.
This will have to do.

Retro Christmas pics

Our first Christmas, with our darling newborn.
It was a meagre but deliriously happy time.

I think this was our first Christmas in Oregon, at Jeff's National Guard party.

Which would explain the present.

No idea.

Bad Mommy.

My kids will hate me, in varying degrees, for the next ones.

I'm also not sure of chronological order.

Bad Mommy.

This one's for Sam.

And now, courtesy of Bare Naked Ladies, some slightly quirky Christmas lyrics.

Let me tell you, Googling "Bare Naked Ladies" should be done    v-e-r-y carefully.

Turkey is done, reviews are mixed,
When's Mom gonna get that hearing aid fixed?
Hold still, wait for the click,
You're in this year's Christmas Pics


Tears rollin' down my nephew's face,
Santa's house can be a scary place,
Hold still... wait for it,
Hold still, wait for the click,
We're in this year's Christmas,
This year's Christmas,
This year's Christmas Pics.

Co-dependent me

I was feeling sad and gloomy.

Kind of grey and Eeyore-ish.

You see, I had poured my heart and soul into the last blog post and hardly anyone had left a comment. 

Not that Kathy and Sam are "hardly anyone", but I was expecting more feedback. Nay, even crying out for it.

Well, I thought, I guess I was too grumpy. 

Or something.

Which is pretty humourous when you consider that I used to go weeks between comments. I was just looking at my Australia trip posts and noticed that there was only a comment or two on the whole trip. 

I have become dependent on approval from others.

How sad is that, when I used to blog just for the love of putting my thoughts down into writing?

And by the way, did you notice, I have a fan in Moscow?

Oops, did I just say that out loud?

Did you see Neo-neocon's comment on my Leonard post? 

I am so awesome!

Crikey, somebody shut the woman up!

Anyway, as I logged on to start this post, I noticed four unmoderated comments.

Blogger has been playing jokes on me again.
Stupid Blogger.

All that it takes to make me happy is, apparently, four comments.

Things that keep me awake at night

It seems that hatred is rising in the world.
Did you hear about the famous Glastonbury Thorn Tree, a famous Christian landmark in the UK that was cut down by vandals last night? Whether or not the legends are true, it was dearly loved by many people, which was motive enough for someone else to chop it down.
The tree may recover.
Let's hope so.

Sugar is now being sold in 4lb bags. It's not enough, apparently, that price-fixing and government subsidies of ethanol have driven up the price, but now we are to pay exorbitant prices for less of it?
Oh well, maybe it will be the saving of us in the end.
Though I hate to admit it, I could eat less of the stuff!

On the other hand, you know how ice cream cartons have been steadily shrinking? First they were 2 quarts. Then they were 1.75 quarts. Then, suddenly, 1.5 quarts. I guess 1.75 was not a round enough number. But the price stayed the same!
Well, Safeway has started making their cartons 2 quarts again.
I commented on it to the customer service person.
They didn't think people would notice, she said.
Oh yes, they will, I replied, I will make sure of it.
So, go buy Safeway brand ice cream.
It may not be the most delicious, but it is honest!

I wonder why, when I think certain people might actually come through for me (when they have always let me down in the past) I am saddened and surprised when they act predictably. There is a certain older gentleman of my acquaintance (I will not say friend) who was asked to play Santa at a Christmas breakfast that I am in charge of tomorrow morning. He is renowned for his grumpiness, but I agreed to the idea, thinking that he might enjoy it. Surely, I thought, he will not be grumpy with the children. But I forgot, he could still be grumpy with me. He let me know, in no uncertain terms, that he was unhappy about a few things. Fine, says I, I will find someone else if you are not happy.
That was on Tuesday evening.
I muttered to Jeff, Why do I hate that man so much? 
So I did a panic on facebook and a kind friend and her husband came through for me.
He will make a much nicer Santa.
And I was grateful for nice, kind people.

Who do not make me hate them.

Who is that sweet little boy, sitting on Santa's lap?

I'm not decorating much for Christmas this year. 

But I do love this Schleich camel that sits atop my TV cabinet.

He could totally be in a nativity, don't you think?