Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Aside from trying to depress us all with my previous post (looking back at our political journey may be edifying but it is also quite disheartening), I am trying to put this week to positive use.

Phone calls are slow at work so we are each taking one week off, in turn, to reduce staffing and still stay employed. This is my week to be furloughed. Not good for income but a gift from God in which I can catch up on some important things.

Today I took the car in for servicing. I knew I needed alignment of the wheels. Turns out I also needed two new front tires. But they were able to repair a puncture in the right rear tire that was giving me a slow leak that had to be dealt with. New wiper blades (I can see in the rain again!). All good stuff and right on schedule.

My '99 Accord came with a stereo that plays cassettes, nothing so modern as compact discs. Yesterday I bought a new stereo (and no, I did not get one for the really new stuff, deal with it) and it will be installed tomorrow morning. I will be able to listen to CDs while I drive AND can hook it up to my iPod. Bonus! Nearly all my collection of CDs is on my iPod.

I have run a few other errands. I replaced a broken kitchen strainer (the large one I use a lot), got a larger pastry bag, and have a new cake plate. Yes, I am dying to work on various cakes. Torn between a ricotta cheesecake and devils food for Saturday's dinner. Or something else. Cakes at 5200 feet elevation carry their own challenges.

Tomorrow I go shopping for a new water heater. Mine is, er, leaking. Not good. Let's get that fixed before it blows up on me.

Amid all this I continue my Big Bang Theory festival. I am in the third season now. So now I am addicted to that as well as Glee. I never got Friends, hated Seinfeld, but I love Big Bang Theory. Maybe it's the nerd humor that gets to me.

Yesterday I put up the tree. Today I decorated it.

Here is the Bear Angel that has topped my tree for decades. There are only two of them. Bill's sister has the other. Both hand-sewn by me.


And this is the tree. After this photo I hung the candy canes. Tomorrow I will gather all the kids beneath it and we can do a family portrait.



The kids will now also give me some peace and quiet.

Dang, I remembered another errand I could have run while I was in a specific neighborhood today. Oh well.

There is also the garage project. Last year Bill helped me organize the south wall. I just bought shelving to begin organizing the north wall. Bit by bit.

Happy St Lucy's Day, y'all.

--the BB

3 comments:

David@Montreal said...

Woderful to have news of you- and pictures too!

As broken and discouraging as the world writ in headlines might be,
if Paul's got the tree up and the Angelbear out there's cause for hope- and to anticipate more posts from you over this Season.

As to the retrospective (previous post), I admit it overwhelmed me, less than half-way in.
To quote a fellow Canadian who spent the first thirty years of her life as an American, when speaking to a relative of hers. 'You have no idea how frightening it can be- watching what America gets up to from here. It's like having some crazy, self-destructive family member, who can't even hear everyone calling after him.'
And my friend was weeping when she said this to her sister in the US.

But if brother Paul's escaped facebook and is back to sharing the grace and beauty of his world, there's hope yet!

Raven~ said...

Paul,

The wings are fabulous
Simply and gloriously fabulous

You must have been consorting with angels

love abides
Raven~

Paul said...

I have felt the presence of angels throughout my life, Raven~ . This felt applique Bear Angel was made early on in my years with Bill. It could easily be thirty years old at this point. It's a long time since I did gold couching (as on the halo).