#Holiday2016

New Years Eve 2016

Sad Dog

He just learned that his antlers and bones are verboten. Wait until he learns that for ten full days after surgery he doesn't get to chew on anything  more advanced than his soft food. Maybe he can  spends his days playing Minecraft?

Doggie Denistry

I noticed little dog was slobbering a bit and was a little less then totally into his food. I also thought he might have a head cold. He probably did have a head cold or allergies, he gets allergic in the spring and its been spring for weeks. He's fine now. The stuffy head cleared up but the drool and the food left in his bowl stayed put. I looked a little closer and found a bad tooth. How bad? Bad enough to call the vet to give him a heads up and the office said he needs to see him nowish.

So, we went in, the vet took a look at his teeth and gums and started drawing me pictures. This is never a good sign and the pictures were not of happy dogs. He needs actual surgery! Periodontal surgery! Apparently they can't just pull it out! its a whole thing! They don't make doggy dental chairs? I mean, I've had teeth pulled and it wasn't a big deal, in, out, done. I had a root canal and went back to work. With people it isn't a big deal, with dogs their teeth and dealing with their teeth is big deal. Graphic images ahead: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Pulling Pets teeth 

Its like an all day thing. He has to go in get anesthetized, and then the surgery to get the top part of the tooth separated from the bottom part of the tooth and then they do some complicated gum peeling procedure to get to the root of the tooth out of the jaw that sounds ghastly and then stitches, its a whole day horror show. My little dog!

It also makes me very u happy that when the vet pulled Texs' tooth years ago, she just yanked it out of his jaw! Like it was nothing! It wasn't nothing! No wonder he hated all vets after that! It was freaking painful and awful for him. It was cheaper than doing it properly. but dayum. Not cool.

I gathered up all Rockets beloved hard toys and made them disappear. He loves those toys! He is going to be so sad to not find them anymore. I mean  not right now, he won't really notice because h's has been avoiding them because he's a smart guy and sees cause and effect clearly, those things, one of those things hurt him and he doesn't like how it feels right now, but once his mouth doesn't hurt, he's going to forgive the hard toys and want to give them another chance. Too damn bad, from now on if it doesn't squeak or hit the ground bouncing, he can't have it. He's on a Program now. 12 Stepping away from the antlers and bones and anything else he can't bite through. Poor dog! Much, much poorer me.

Mostly because I had to go buy soft food for him to eat because his mouth hurts. I bought some refrigerated stuff that looks a lot like the canned pate' style stuff that doesn't need to be refrigerated. It looks like a roll of baloney in the deli. I got him two of those, some eggs and some cheese. He's going to eat better now than he ever did before, going back to kibble is going to be a let down.

I can't put enough on this : If You Have a pet, Get Pet Insurance! It costs, but it pays for itself when you need it,  Get Pet Insurance!!!!!

Deep Thoughts

I have bought my cat three cat beds of increasing levels of comfort and quality. he still prefers to sleep on my lap top.  The next cat bed is going to be a trapper keeper with Kilo Rens' picture on it.

Somewhere there is a list of Ways To Be Efficient, it probably has a entry called "Do Not Put Solitaire On Your Phone". Pretty sure it is not a good idea. Too late.

I saw The Force Awakens again and want to see it a third time. I'm pretty sure this time things will be different.

I bought a Rey action figure. Die Cast. It was not the spoiler version, that one was sold out. The store apologized to me because of this, I felt mildly insulted that they thought I was that much of a geek. Did geek out that whoever handles the Twitter presence of the actor that plays "Finn" followed me on twitter after I posted a picture of my toy.

Merry Christmas!

Hallelujah Chorus -Quinhagak, Alaska

I will see you intermittently, Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Go See Star Wars!

Christmas in Hawaii

https://m.youtube.com/?reload=2&rdm=1tv1nt6es#/watch?v=XxCFql42OUg

Merry Christmss

Merry Christmas

Friday Cat Blogging

I am not like other cats.

Christmas Carols, or may the Farce be With You.

In Honor of Star Wars

7 Star Warsesque Christmas Carols


And:

Angels We Have Heard On High - In Tongan.

Kau 'Angelo Naa Mau Fanongo 'I 'Olunga 

Kau 'angelo naa mau fanongo 'i 'olunga
Hiva fakamelie 'i he to'afa,
Pea tali 'e he mo'unga
'Aulolongo'i honau le'o fiefia.
Kololia, 'i 'olunga 'aupito!
Kololia, 'i 'olunga 'aupito!

Kau tauhi, koe siupeli ha ni?
'Oku ha 'oku 'ikai ke fai be ho mou le'o fiafia?
Koe fetapa mounia ha ia
'A ia na'e fakamanava 'aki ki ho mou fasi fakalangi?

Kololia, 'i 'olunga 'aupito!
Kololia, 'i 'olunga 'aupito!

Ha'u ki Peteleheme 'o sio
'A ia koe fa'ele na'e hiva 'e he kau 'angelo;
Ha'u, tu'ulutui 'o lotua ki ai,
Kalaisi, ko e 'Eiki, ko e Tu'i valevale.
Kololia, 'i 'olunga 'aupito!
Kololia, 'i 'olunga 'aupito!

Sio ki Ai, tokoto Ia 'i he 'aingakai
'A ia na'e fakamalo 'aki 'e he kau hiva 'angelo;
Mele, Siosefa, mou tokoni mai,
Lolotonga 'e hiki hake hotau loto ki he 'ofa
Kololia, 'i 'olunga 'aupito!
Kololia, 'i 'olunga 'aupito!

Rousing German Carols

 Vom Himmel Hoch

Martin Luther, 1534

Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her
Ich bring euch gute, neue Mär,
Der guten Mär bring ich so viel,
Davon ich singen und sagen will

Euch ist ein Kindlein heut’ gebor’n,
Von einer Jungfrau auserkor’n.
Ein Kindelein so zart und fein,
Das soll euer Freud’ und Wonne sein.

Es ist der Herr Christ, unser Gott;
Er will euch führ’n aus aller Not,
Er will euer Heiland selber sein,

Von allen Sünden machen rein.

 Komm, du wertes Lösegeld - translates to "Come Thou, precious Ransom, come"

Johann Gottfried Olearius, 1664

1. Komm, du wertes Lösegeld,
Deßen alle Heiden hoffen;
Komm, o Heiland aller Welt,
Tor' und Türen stehen offen;
Komm in ungewohnter Zier,
Komm, wir warten mit Begier!
2. Zeuch auch in mein Herz hinein,
O du großer Ehrenkönig,
Laß mich deine Wohnung sein!
Bin ich armer Mensch zu wenig,
Ei, so soll mein Reichtum sein,
Daß du bei mir ziehest ein.
3. Nimm mein Hosianna an
Mit den Siegespalmenzweigen!
Soviel ich nur immer kann,
Will ich Ehre dir erzeigen
Und im Glauben dein Verdienst
Mir zueignen zum Gewinst.
4. Hosianna, Davids Sohn!
Ach Herr, hilf, laß wohl gelingen!
Laß dein Zepter, Reich und Kron'
Uns viel Heil und Segen bringen,
Daß in Ewigkeit besteh':

Hosianna in der Höh'!

Christmas Carols 2015

According to Google

The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336AD, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th December

Veni, redemptor genrium - O Come, Redemer of the Earth, a very early hymm, credited to St. Ambrose of Milan (340-397)  It is one of the first Christmas carols .

Thanks to the wonder of 24 hour Christmas Music and a desire to listen to three or four hours of pop versions of classics a day,  but being assaulted by drek for eight hours, I have hear the following piece between 34-45 times during the work day. I HATE this song. I hate it when Reba sings it, I hate it when Kenny Rogers sings it and I especially hate it when it is sung by Khristian pop groups.

Mary, did you know That your baby boy will one day walk on water? Mary, Did you know

That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?

Did you know

That your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you've delivered

Will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know

That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know

That your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?

Did you know

That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

And when you kiss your little baby

You've kissed the face of God

Mary, did you know?

The blind will see

The deaf will hear

And the dead will live again

The lame will leap

The dumb will speak

The praises of the Lamb

Mary, did you know

That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, Did you know

That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you know

That your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?

This sleeping child you're holding

Is the Great I am

Songwriters: LOWRY, MARK/GREENE, BUDDY

Mary, Did You Know? lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, 

Which the answer would be YES!, yes she knew!, this trash is being "sung" by Khristians to other Khristians, many of which take great pride in trivializing the bible and memorizing great swaths of it for fun and profit - So we don't really need to ask this question because even those of us that do not turn The Bible into a trivia game, we know she did, the Angel Gabriel came to her,as a Catholic I know it because The Church celebrates it as the   The Annunciation.

 If they had more taste they could just instead listen to any of the AOR versions of Gabriel's Message,  a Basque folk Christmas carol, and get the answer without a Cliffs Notes of the entire New Testament.

The angel Gabriel from heaven came
His wings as drifted snow
His eyes as flame
"All hail" said he "thou lowly maiden Mary
Most highly favored lady, " Gloria, Gloria

"For known a blessed mother thou shalt be
All generations laud and honor thee
Thy Son shall be Emanuel
By seers foretold
Most highly favored maid, " Gloria, Gloria

Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head
"To me be as it pleaseth God, " she said,
"My soul shall laud and magnify His holy name."
Most highly favored lady, Gloria, Gloria

Joseph was visited and her Mother, Anne was visited by angels to let her know about her child being born without original sin, everyone knew.

Monday

I decided that I would so nothing tonight. And I did, I did nothing. I'll be back with a real entry or Christmas carol lyrics or something. I also just got the tax appraisal for my house. Wow.

Patting myself on the back.

Accomplishments

1. Addressed and mailed cards for family and friends.
2. Distributed cards for friends at work
3. Rescued Santas from attic
4. Made last cookie batch
5. Boxed and mailed/distributed dog cookies
6. Arranged outdoor lights

This was not on the list but I have entirely too much yarn in the house. I would like to put this on a better base, but I didn't have a better base and I did have some nice cardboard. I think I would like to move it to a better, more permanent base and really attach them more securely.


Did Not Accomplish

1. Wrap gifts

Friday Cat Blogging

TGIF, Thank Gawd I'm Finished!

So Much Work!

They all got their cards from Rocket and me as well. This year I ended up with ten dogs on the cookie list, I have a couple of others I think I would like to send cookies too as well but they might end up being Happy New Year cookies, so its not a pressing issue right now. Now I just have to get the rest of my cards out to my family and friends and bring them into work and I also have to get my gifts wrapped and my Santas out and I'll be feeling good.

The Big Blue Puff Ball.

I have all this yarn left and I thought I should do something with it, I don't knit or any of the other useful yarn pursuits available to the crafty.

So, I'm working on more puff balls. Better puff balls, patterned puff balls . I did some for the garland and then I worked on the ones I made for the people at work. I like the patterned ones very much. I made a lot of multicolored versions and they are very pretty and I like them much better than the solid color ones.

I made  one that looked a little earth like and I liked it. I tried to make more. The poles are very hard to get right, I made three more and I'm less pleased then the I was with the first one. I think I got lucky the first time because the tie off made it hang more vertically than horizontally.

Vertical and horizontal are hard for a puff ball to pull off , They are good at spherical  and being egg shaped. Its hard to make patterns vertical. Land masses are very hard too. Bodies of water? Very easy! Everything else is hard. The poles, kind of a horizontal object for a puff, they are hard to get right, I make them too big or too small and I can see how they could be perfect but I can't figure out how to do it in practice. They need to be hats, but flat hats. Kind of yamaka like, not a kippa. Land masses are just hard.

You can't make the geography work,  in any way that is realistic but, I mean you could, I assume, but I'm not going to get into carving or shaping or whatever, but I would think you could spend hours making an accurate puff ball globe.

I need to keep working on it. I think I can make one that looks at least like it is supposed to look like a globe. Its good to have hobbies.

Tuesday

The last batch of Christmas Dog Cookies.

Every little bit helps!

These are gift puff balls for the people at work. The top puff balls are for friends at work. I was a little worried about the puffs because I thought they looked a little tacky, but I gave them all a trim and they perked right up. I am much relieved.

The ones on top are supposed to be L-R, "earth", "the Obama symbol, kinda" for my good liberal friend and "what matches your tree and I owe you one that looks like ECSU, I'm working on it!" for my good friend. I don't like the ones on the right and I think I'm going to tell her that, they might be place holders because it has taken me this long as how many balls to get design geometry  figured out.

I didn't get much doen today on my list. I concentrated on house work and laundry and playing catch up around the house. Tuesday night is the last of the cookies damn it! Then I can get boxes and cards together and get those jobs off my list.

Then we have my cards to do, but that's another job. And my Santas! I need to get that done. Cards and cookies before Santas. They can be my reward.

I covered 500 miles with my #Fitbit and earned the Serengeti badge.

Accomplishments

What I got accomplished this weekend:

1. Finished my garland!
2, Got the decorations out of the attic
3. Went to Petco and got Rockets picture with Santa
4. Had Rockets Christmas cards made
5. Picked up my friends Christmas gift
6.Vacuumed the front yard
7. Got my outdoor decos up
8. Decorated the living room
9. Decorated the car
10.Hosted Alphagal, Broskey and tiny children to decorate the tree,
11. Made many of the puff balls I plan to give to co-workers for gifts.
12, Went to art fair and bought art (prints) to jump start putting art back on my walls

Did Not accomplish

1. Last batch of dog cookies
2. sending out Christmas cards
3. Wrapping gifts
4. Getting outdoor lights up.

Friday Cat Blogging

I have a yarn problem.

Its a sickness now> I'm making shorter garlands to fill up the space, they are lighter and will be easier to store (in theory). Also, making patterns is fun.

I think I'm going to end up making Gods Eyes out of twigs from my trees and putting them on the tree as well. Plus of course, more traditional ornaments too but I;m going to have to look at what I have to make sure it fits my "vision" for the over all tree design. I'm  keeping the mantelpiece decos because its so pretty and I'm not tired of it like I am the other tree. I'm also going to be able to bring my Santas down and display them but that's a job for another day.

This weekends is going to be busy, Alphagal and Tiny E are going to help me decorate the tree and Santa is coming to Petco, which means Dog Card and that spurs me to get the cookies out and then my cards. I also want to get the outside stuff up, but first I have to thoroughly vacuum the yard. Lots of work! Fun work though. Yay for decorating!

How I spent Wednesday Night

How I spent my Wednesday night:

(I understand that the pictures I tried to post did not show up, Blogger was having issues that have since be corrected. Here are the images I tried to post)

How I spent my Tuesday Night

Stringing 13 feet and counting . This is the second try, I learned very fast that thread was not a good medium to string things as heavy as yarn balls, bad idea . Using yarn to string yarn balls, good idea.  I have also learned that puff balls eat straws and if your straw is too long you can't really string it, it has to be fairly short - which ends up getting eaten by the puff balls. I also learned that you really need to thread the puffs firmly or they escape. This is not fun.  It is however more fun to create the garland than it is to make the puff balls. I'm pretty sure to create the best garland though, I am going to have to make more puff balls.

Progress is being made. Tomorrow night I might put up the tree just to have it up.

More Work

Finished Part 1 of Project Puff Ball! 120 puffs! 60 larger puffs and 60 smaller.  I was going to start getting them strung when I discovered that I left the straws and the sewing notions at Broskey and Alphagals over the weekend. Actual, real life instance of cursing about being foiled again.

However. Puff making is finished but I still have yarn left if I need to make more and I am thinking of making more as Christmas gifts for the people at work. I think the puffs, when properly trimmed, look like ornaments. Ta da! Maybe I;ll look for metallic-y yarn .

 I will do this after I have made my last dog cookies,got the cookies boxed up, addressed, and taken to the post office,  constructed the garland, got the tree up, decorated the tree,   got the cookies boxed up, addressed, and take to the post office, got the cards addressed, taken care of and sent out and put up the outdoor decos. So maybe in the interest of my mental health, I'll make everyone at work yarn balls next year.