Today

He zigged when he should have zagged. A little super glue, a little antibiotic shot and a boo-boo shield and away we went.

Style Hound

Sophisticated and urbane

 Seasonal and Sassy

Rugged and Outdoorsy

Being me

I would be cleaning up the house but the dog is on my lap, we're stretched out on the chair and we're both under the blanket. I am watching a happy cooking show and admiring my Christmas lights.  Done.

Im going to leave my tree up until I take it down. I might just keep it up.

Merry Christmas

I took the dog for a walk and got to listen to two very angry things killing each other in the swamp.

Christmas Eve

Over the river and through the woods,
To grandmother's house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh,
Through (the) white and drifted snow!

Over the river and through the woods,
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes and bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the woods,
To have a first-rate play;
Oh, hear the bells ring, "Ting-a-ling-ling!"
Hurrah for Christmas Eve!

Over the river and through the woods,
Trot fast, my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground,
Like a hunting hound!
For this is Christmas Eve.

Over the river and through the woods,
And straight through the barnyard gate.
We seem to go extremely slow
It is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the woods,
Now Grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

Random

Two thoughts:

Loose black tea really looks like mouse scat.

Today I went out into the rain and cold to buy my cat  Christmas stocking.

This week

There will not be much updating this week.

We did see a lovely performance of The Nutcracker, and it was just beautiful. After the show we went out to dinner to celebrate Brosky's birthday.

This next week will be festive and very busy! Look for pictures and occasional written updates. Merry Christmas! Happy Chanukah!

Weekend Cat Blogging

Venting

I have an issue. If I leave for the day at 4pm, why would you think it was a good idea to wait ask me an involved question at 3:59? Are there people who are there until say, 5pm who could also answer your involved question? YES! Those people are on hand! I needed to go to the post office after work and I have learned that I have a window of opportunity to do that opens and closes in four minutes! That is the difference between being the the line and standing in a line.  I stood in a line.

Today I have no excuse. I  came home, walked the dog, had to go to Wally for dog food, but I did it quickly and once home, I managed to keep myself awake - a nice change of pace, I just didn't feel like thinking. I chose what to wear to work tomorrow, emptied the dishwasher and filled the dishwasher and ran the dishwasher, put the trash out and watched Project Runway All Stars and pretty much decided that I had done all I was going to do for the evening.

So. Todays lyric challenge

La ingenting deg misnøye

Husk Kristi, vår Frelser

Ble født på Juleaften.

For å redde oss fra Satans makt

Da vi hadde gått oss bort

Åh, budskap av beroligelse og glede

Beroligelse og glede

Åh, budskap av beroligelse og glede

ting du misnøyer.

fra Satans makt mens vi hadde gått oss bort.

Too easy!

Next!

Veniţi, credincioşi, bucuroşi şi triumfători,

Veniţi, veniţi in Betleem,

Să-L vedeţi pe regele îngerilor,

Veniţi să-L preamărim

Pe Domnul!

Dumnezeu adevărat din Dumnezeu adevărat, lumină din lumină,

Întrupat din Maria, Fecioara,

Dumnezeu adevărat, născut nu făcut,

Veniţi să-l preamărim

Pe Domnul!

Cântaţi, coruri îngereşti,

Cântaţi în slava Cerului,

Slavă! Slavă întru Cel de Sus!

Veniţi să-L preamărim

Pe Domnul!

Celui care s-a născut astăzi,

Slavă Lui Iisus,

Întrupat din cuvântul Tatălui celor veşnice,

Veniţi să-L preamărim

Pe Domnul!

Christmas Tree Rock

Rocking around the Christmas Tree

at the Christmas party hop

Mistletoe hung where you can see

Ev'ry couple tries to stop

You will get a sentimental feeling When you hear voices singing

"Let's be jolly; Deck the halls with boughs of holly" Rocking around the Christmas Tree

Have a happy holiday

Everyone's dancing merrily

In a new old fashioned way

Rocking around the Christmas Tree

Let the Christmas Spirit ring

Later we'll have some pumpkin pie

and we'll do some caroling

You will get a sentimental feeling When you hear voices singing

"Let's be jolly; Deck the halls with boughs of holly" Rocking around the Christmas Tree

Have a happy holiday

Everyone's dancing merrily

In a new old fashioned way

SO much more festive than how I actually spent the evening.  In real life I had a huge lunch and did nothing around the Christmas tree but come home and fall asleep in front of it.

Explanation

I had to post those pictures of my tour of the historical district over the weekend one at a time because one part og my computer is not speaking to another part of my computer and it is not allowing me to deal with pictures. I do not under stand the problem, but I found a work-around.

Went big

Curb appeal

Fruit as ornaments

Natural decorations

The Halloween house changes its costume

Fa La La La

I would have an entry , but instead I wrapped gifts and grappled with the computer. The computer is being a giant bitch from hell and I am not happy with it.

I wrapped gifts and compared to dealing with the bitchy computer, it was a lot easier than I had anticipated! I wrapped birthday gifts, I gift bagged dog cookies, I wrapped a retirement gift and then I set my sights on Christmas gifts.

This was a lot easier this year as I decided to forgo ribbon and bows - we're all adults here and we don't need those to make the gift special. I know that somewhere Martha Stewart just got a camp but Martha doesn't have to wrap her own gifts, she pays people to make them beautiful and if I was getting paid, I certainly would have put more into it. Also, whomever was paying me would have supplied festive and meaningful do-dads and extras for me to make the gifts gorgeous. I hate wrapping and I would use gift bags more liberally, but I don't like them because they make me feel as though I am being disingenuous - unless its super appropriate and I bought it for the design.  Mostly I prefer to suffer for my art.

So I wrap gifts in paper and it makes me cranky because I am not better at it and they always end up looking like I allowed a very young child  or the cat to do the wrapping for me. I  end up apologizing a lot for my gifts before they are ever opened, I find that this this also lowers expectations of whatever is wrapped badly,  but sometimes I do go overboard with the anticipatory apologizing because everyone is surprised I gave them something store bought and not a lump of dough festooned with macaroni, that this year I am calling a coffee mug that I had led them to believe was what I had for them.

I might have also chosen a more flamboyant gift wrap. I like Peanuts a lot, but its not as go-go as other patterns . It looks like its going to read to us from Luke - which is appropriate and seasonal, but not very exciting, and then we're going to go collect canned goods .

Weekend Goodness

I had a great weekend! I started off by sleeping really, really late! But it didn't matter! I didn't have to do anything or be anywhere!

I got dressed, went downstairs and fed the dog and myself, and then I watched TV for a while, because I could.

Broskey came over and moved my unused TV from upstairs to replace the broken TV in the dogs room, this was very nice because older TVs weigh  way too much and he had to move it from upstairs to downstairs on my way out of code. very steep stairs. And then we went to Target and he played Santa.

I took off early and went home and Dog and I went to Dog Bar. It was fun and a rep from a beer company was there and the bipeds got a free beer and cake. We had a great time. Rocket wore his Santa suit and everyone thought he was just the most adorable dog there - I thought the tiny dog wearing a Christmas tree costume may have edged him out though. I now need to find a dog Christmas tree costume for next year.

We went straight to my favorite Chinese place and I had a nice dinner. Post dinner, I went to Wally and bought fixings for venison meatballs and peanut butter cookies.

I slept really late, and I had a lot of energy! Go Me! Both were very successful. I found a good recipe for the meat balls - I've never made them before. It was a good recipe, but I read several and there were some good ideas that weren't in it and should have been. I added  diced bacon, green onions I had and some decent grated parmesan cheese to the mix and they worked out well. The cookies are just fake sugar and peanut butter and eggs! Low in carbs and they taste terrific.

Sunday, I took some tomatoes and peppers out of the freezer and made them into  a sauce and added in some of the meatballs. I made some whole wheat pasta and had a great meal, the cookies were a great dessert.


All I did all weekend was do fun things - the dog bar, an open house, and dog and I wandered around the historic district admiring the lovely Christmas decorations. I also slept late, watched TV and cooked neat foods. Yay Me!

Christmas puppy

Friday Cat Blogging

Friday

I took the dog for a nice walk, went immediately to Sams and the donut store, came home made dinner for both of us,filled the dish washer,  wrapped my final secret Santa gift and watched TV. Perfect.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels

Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings

These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

Silver white winters that melt into springs

These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites

When the bee stings

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad

On Break

In honor of having no real assignments for this evening - the cookies have been mailed or handed over, the cards have been delivered and the decorations are being decorative... I'm taking the evening off. I'm went to Wallyworld and now I'm watching Property Brothers with the dawg in front of the TV. I'm also stoked because the calendar I made up with pictures of Daisy and Rocket for my friend at work who is retiring - finally arrived and it looks good and I know she'll like it.

Tomorrow I'm scheduled to hit Sams after work, then go to a donut place and buy donut holes for a work party and then home to wrap gifts and clean the kitchen.

Getting Carded

I set some time aside for making out my work Christmas cards.  I seem to remember that this was a big job that took a lot of time and so I prepared accordingly. I got hydrated, I put on my most comfortable sweats, I worked out my signing hand and I made sure I had a good pen. I was ready for work.

It was twenty minutes.  I've been at this place long enough that most of the people I know no longer work there. They got new jobs, they retired or they have since retired and then died. I used to know a lot more people. This should not be a surprise, every year it is a surprise.

Its kind of sad. I still have cards to hand out, but nothing like the good old days when I was obligated to give everybody cards. I could say that now I can be a lot more selective about who gets cards or I could say that I don't know any of these people and they don't know me. The job has changed, I changed jobs and  in the mean time the whole culture there has changed. There are a whole lot more home based staff now and the handfull of people who do still work in the building, we don't know each other from Adam and there is no reason to exchange cards. I like exchanging cards! I need the validation.

I tried to look up carols about Christmas cards but the only one that came up was White Christmas and thats just about depressing as hell, not as bad as I'll be home for Christmas - which is just terribly, terribly depressing and then you think about when it was popular and you just wonder why more people didn't just kill themselves if depressing Christmas Carols were that popular. But then I thought about it, after ten years of the  deprivations and humilations of the depression and then years of open warfare and endless causalites and news of horrors, I would guess the population would grow a bit morbid and really depressing themes would be natural. I bet White Christmas and I'll be home for ChristmasM/i> didn't even register as sad songs - they passed as Christmas Carols!

Its like the dead teenager songs that were so popular in the fifties. So wrong.

So. Instead of sad songs, I decided on a more seasonally appropriate, if manic choice of happy, happy Christmas Carol

Dashing through the snow,
In a one horse open sleigh
Over the fields we go
Laughing all the way.
bells on bob tail ring
making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight.

Chorus:
Oh jingle bells jingle bells
jingle all the way!
Oh what fun
it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh, Hey!
Jingle bells jingle bells
Jingle all the way!
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

A day or two ago
I thought I'd took a ride
And soon Miss Fannie Bright
Seated by my side
The horse was lean and lank
Misfortuned seemed his lot
He got into a drifted bank
And we got upsot

Oh jingle bells jingle bells
jingle all the way!
Oh what fun
it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh, Hey!
Jingle bells jingle bells
Jingle all the way!
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

A day of two ago
The story I must tell
I went out on the snow
And on my back I fell;
A gent was riding by
In a one-horse open sleigh
He laughed a there I sprawling lie
But quickly drove away

Oh jingle bells jingle bells
jingle all the way!
Oh what fun
it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh, Hey!
Jingle bells jingle bells
Jingle all the way!
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

Χτυπάτε κουδουνάκια

ΑΚΡΙΒΗΣ ΜΕΤΑΦΡΑΣΗ / ACCURATE TRANSLATION
από τον Αντώνη Δερνέλλη / by Anthony Dernellis

Ορμώντας μες το χιόνι
μ' ένα μόνιππο ανοιχτό έλκηθρο
πάμε πάνω απ' τους αγρούς
γελώντας σ' όλη τη διαδρομή.
Χτυπούν τα κουδουνάκια στην κοντή ουρά
φωτίζοντας τα πνεύματα.
Τι χαρά για κάποιον στη βόλτα του να τραγουδά
ένα τραγούδι έλκηθρου απόψε!

(η χορωδία)
Χτυπάτε κουδουνάκια, χτυπάτε κουδουνάκια,
χτυπάτε σ' όλη τη διαδρομή.
Ω! τι διασκεδαστικό που είναι να βολτάρεις
μ' ένα μόνιππο ανοιχτό έλκηθρο.
Χτυπάτε κουδουνάκια, χτυπάτε κουδουνάκια,
χτυπάτε σ' όλη τη διαδρομή.
Ω! τι χαρά που είναι να βολτάρεις
μ' ένα μόνιππο ανοιχτό έλκηθρο.

In Greek! Whee!

Like shipping in the night

Today I got the cookies boxed up and taped up because cheap shipping tape works best when layered . Also I found some cuuute doggy stickers to  decorate the outside of the boxes but it turns out they don't really stick so I had to add more layers of cheap packing tape. The boxes now weigh about eight pounds each. Yay. But they are really, really cute.

I did not realize that two of the boxes had the same sticker pattern until right now and now I am disturbed. I stuck a lot of stickers on those boxes and that should not have happened.. If they weren't plasted under layers of tape I would change the lay out on those two boxes immediately.

I will breath though this. There is a chance that those boxes aren't even going to the same state - this year two are going to Michigan and three to Texas, however, none of those are going to the same cities and even if they were, I doubt that the stickers would merit comment. Hopefully.

I'm going to mail the Michigan boxes tomorrow and the Texas boxes the day after that, I would do it all at once but it takes forever and I don't want to have to put the dog in daycare for a day just so I can mail stuff! Postage is expensive as it is without adding dog boarding to the total.

My next project is going to be distributing Christmas cards at work.

Bonus picture of me! Modeling my new warm and tre chic custom made Alphagal hat as well as my new sweater I found in the pet aisle at Ross! I told the girl at the check out that it was genius marketing, putting the pet themed sweater in the pet aisle, because if I am there for lets face it, clothes for my pet or as the case may be, for my Secret Santa persons pet -  I am not going to go look though the people clothes (especially at Ross, ewww) and I would have never have found it. I think its awesome. I am also too old to be taking selfies. I'm pretty sure the camera is not supposed to be in the frame.

Working like an Elf

Photo with Santa
Rockets' Christmas card
Deck the halls
bag up dog cookies, 9 bags
Get secret Santa gifts
Make chicken broth
wrapped secret Santa gifts


Did not get done
box and prepare for mailing dog cookies
separate out cookies for work friends
wrap gifts
buy new mouse
add a spot light behind the Santa airblown to better light reindeer.


I would love to have the dog cookies completely put to bed, but Wally had run out of the correct sized boxes and that through a wrench in my plans. I also need to get modified ingredient stickers made at work to stick on them and also address labels. I can use my own tape to get them closed up but then I have to find time to mail them, and I also HAVE to remember to include the dogs cards, where I might just include the ingredients list instead of trying to make the stickers. So I have some work to do.

Decking the Halls (Pixs or it didn't happen)

Dog Cookies

Soup

The first thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me

Is finding a Christmas tree

The second thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:

Rigging up the lights

And finding a Christmas tree

The third thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me

Hangovers

Rigging up the lights

And finding a Christmas tree

The fourth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me

Sending Christmas cards

Hangovers

Rigging up the lights

And finding a Christmas tree

The fifth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me

Five months of bills!

Sending Christmas cards

Hangovers

Rigging up the lights

And finding a Christmas tree

The sixth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:

Facing my in-laws

Five months of bills!

I hate those Christmas cards!

Hangovers

Rigging up these lights!

And finding a Christmas tree

The seventh thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:

The Salvation Army

Facing my in-laws

Five months of bills!

Sending Christmas cards

Oh, geez!

I'm tryin' to rig up these lights!

And finding a Christmas tree

The eighth thing at Christmas that such a pain to me:

I wanna transformer for christmas!

Charities,

And what'cha mean "YOUR in-laws"! ?

Five months of bills!

Oh, making out these cards

Honey, get me a beer, huh?

What, we have no extension cords! ?

And finding a Christmas tree

The ninth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me

Finding parking spaces

Daddy, I want some candy!

Donations,

Facing my in-laws,

Five months of bills

Writing out those Christmas cards

Hangovers

Now why the hell are they blinking! ?

And finding a Christmas tree

The tenth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me

Batteries not included

No parking spaces

Buy me somethin'!

Get a job you bum!

Facing my in-laws

Five months of bills

Yo Ho, sending Christmas cards

Oh geez look at this!

One light goes out, they all go out!

And finding a Christmas tree

The eleventh thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me

Stale tv specials

Batteries not included

No parking spaces

Mom I gotta go to the bathroom!

Charities

She's a witch, I hate her!

Five months of bills

Oh, I don't even know half these people!

Who's got the toilet paper?

Get a flashlight I blew a fuse!

And finding a Christmas tree

The twelfth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me

Singing Christmas carols

Stale tv specials,

Batteries not included

No parking

Waaaaaaaaaaah!

Charities

Gotta make 'em dinner

Five months of bills

I'm not sending them this year, that's it!

Shut up, you!

Fine! You're so smart, you rig up the lights!

And finding a Christmas tree

Friday Cat Blogging

Ding, Ding, Ding, DING!

This is a very important weekend! I have to get the dogs picture with Santa done, get his cards taken care of, bag  all the cookies, decide how many each person gets,  and get them boxed-addressed-prepared for mailing. I also want to get the rest of the Christmas decos taken care of.  Oh, and I might want to vacuum the front yard again.

I did get the secondary tree for the office window accomplished - I looked at Wallyworld but they were all too thin and I wanted a tree that had the same silhouette as the main tree. I all ready have a second tree for the office window but its way too thin and last year I didn't like it and it never looked right. The new tree is shorter but fuller and it pleases my sense of  symmetry much better - it does need more lights though, but I can handle that.

So this weekend I just have to get the dog photographed with Santa successfully, make a quicky card, do the whole dog cookie process, decorate the house to my satisfaction, wrap gifts damn it, do laundry and possibly vacuum the yard. In two days.

No pressure.

In honor of pressure, I present, in English for a change, the highest pressure Christmas carol ever written. 

Hark! how the bells

Sweet silver bells

All seem to say,

"Throw cares away."

Christmas is here

Bringing good cheer

To young and old

Meek and the bold

Ding, dong, ding, dong

That is their song

With joyful ring

All caroling

One seems to hear

Words of good cheer

From ev'rywhere

Filling the air

Oh how they pound,

Raising the sound,

O'er hill and dale,

Telling their tale,

Gaily they ring

While people sing

Songs of good cheer

Christmas is here

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas

On, on they send

On without end

Their joyful tone

To ev'ry home

And here it is in German, a super high pressure language or that might just be my high school German class PTSD coming out - In German I imagine that this carol regularly makes peoples heads explode. 

Kling, Glockchen, klinglingeling, 
Kling, Glockchen, kling! 
LaBt mich ein, ihr Kinder, 
Ist so kalt der Winter, 
Offnet mir die Turen, 
LaBt mich nicht erfrieren. 
Kling, Glockchen, klinglingeling, 
Kling, Glockchen, kling! 

Kling, Glockchen, klingelingeling, 
Kling, Glockchen, kling! 
Madchen hort und Bubchen, 
Macht mir auf das Stubchen, 
Bring euch dran erlaben. 
Kling, Glockchen, klingelingeling, 
Kling, Glockchen, kling! 

Kling, Glockchen, klingelingeling, 
Kling, Glockchen, kling! 
Hell ergluhn die Kerzen! 
Will drin wohnen frohlich, 
Frommes Kind, wie selig! 
Kling, Glockchen, klingelingeling, 
Kling, Glockchen, kling!

We didn't learn this in class because that song has a lot of rapid German and we couldn't speak that fast, instead we learned Silent Night, much easier lyrics that could be sung in the speed we could understand what we were saying, and its mostly all German as a second language friendly present tense. Our very disturbed teacher was so happy with our progress in class that she had the German club go door to door one night growling it at people. It was not very festive and the  Nach was quite Stille. No silver bells at play at all.

Wednesday

Mail Cards
Decorate Tree

In honor of yesterday's carol, it was O Christmas Tree, in Spanish and, a nordic language.  Dutch, a much smarter and alert than I reader pointed out.Today I bring you a link to a site that wants us to know that Christmas trees and the "worship" there of  is evil and Santa is really Satan. Merry Christmas!

It needs a topper, I have one but I can't remember where I put it. The cat loves the tree skirt, and it must be magic because since I put it down, the at has on purpose been in the same room with me and dog every night!

Busy, busy day of napping, resting, sleeping and and then a walk and dinner. Also, no more lower GI issues (knock wood, please gawd)

Bag Up Treats
Box Treats
Mail Treats
Set up Creche
Decorate Mantel
Distribute decorations throughout house

Making a list... and then misplacing it, twice.

I am absolutely going to pull the ornaments out of the attic. Soon. I will also stop buying new ones. I will also decorate the one at work, before we leave for the holiday. In honor of the  Christmas Tree:

Qué verdes son, qué verdes son

Las hojas del abeto.

Qué verdes son, qué verdes son

Las hojas del abetos

En Navidad qué hermoso está

Con su brillar de luces mil

Qué verdes son, qué verdes son

Las hojas del abeto.

*********************************************************************************

O dennenboom, o dennenboom,

Wat zijn uw takken wonderschoon

Ik heb u laatst in 't bos zien staan,

Toen zaten er geen kaarsjes aan.

O dennenboom, o dennenboom,

Wat zijn uw takken wonderschoon.

Today, no points because this is too easy and I'm pretty sure I am the only one playing. However, the question is, what language are the carols in? Again, way too easy. I need to up my game.

Getting Carded.

Because I am struggling with getting my Christmas cards addressed and battling with very naughty address labels and wondering why I am doing this - and then running out of stamps and putting everything away ThankyouJesus! and then later thinking Why did I do that? I can get this job done and add the stamps when I get them" , so I dragged everything out and finished the job, at the least the part of the job that does not also get dog cookies or work in my office. Today's song is about sadness. Guess the carol and the language.


Süß singt der Engel Chor
  Weihnacht
Und draussen rieselt leis' der Schnee
Festlich strahlen Kerzen in allen
  Herzen
Vergeh'n Kummer heut' und Weh

Süß singt der Glocken Ton
  Weihnacht
Das Fest der Liebe ist nun da
Und ein einz'ger Wunsch stellt sich ein
Möcht's auf Erden Frieden immer sein

Festlich strahlen Kerzen in allen
  Herzen
Vergeh'n Kummer heut' und Weh
Süß singt der Glocken Ton
  Weihnacht
Das Fest der Liebe ist nun da

Und ein einz'ger Wunsch stellt sich ein
Möcht's auf Erden Frieden immer sein