Hmm, it's very quiet

[tayana]

My, the board is unusually quiet today.  No on has anything to talk about?

How's the weather?  It's cold and sunny here.  We've got about 8 inches of snow.  If it sticks around a week, we'll have a white Christmas.  That'll make my son's day.

I'm spending Christmas with my nutter family.  I giving my mom a gift card, and a basket with fruit, candy, nuts, and cookies in it.  Nothing too personal, because she wouldn't like it anyway.  I'm not sure what I'm giving my dad yet.  I still have to buy something for my impossible to buy for sister-in-law.  (evil laughter) She is at my mercy now.

My brother and sister-in-law are picking M from school tonight and taking him shopping, so I think I'm going to do a bit of shopping on my way home before we meet up for dinner at the Japanese steakhouse.

I was falling asleep at work a little while ago, but lunch seems to have fixed that.  I'm awake again, and there's only 3 hours left in the day.

[Hopalong]

Hi, Tay...

I slept a lot this weekend. Just kept sleeping. It was good.

My poor old pooch is having more and more trouble getting up off the floor. I want to hide from the truth of her condition. But I'm going to take her to the vet tomorrow.

Chocolate. Cookies. Fruit bars I don't even LIKE. More cookies. All down the hatch. Slurp, snort. All everywhere I look. Brought to us by neighbors as part of a centerpiece...surrounded with TRUFFLES, fer gawdssake.

My compulsive behavior around sugar is very hard to control this time of year.

Yesterday's memorial service reception being no exception. Said goodbye to our sweet friend, a joyful celebration of his life. He was a jazz musician, educator, and leader in the early hospice movement, and so full of humor and delight. Last time I saw him I said, How ARE you? and he lights up like a Christmas tree and says, I'm great, now that you're here! The thing is, he said that kind of thing to everyone, and meant it every time. About six people got up to say he was their best friend. His first two wives each died of cancer, and so he raised 4 stepsons on his own. Then found his lovely jazz singer wife, and they had 20+ happy years (and two more children). Truly an amazing man. An extraordinary bass player did an incredible piece; choir sang; many people had stories to tell.

I am staying calm about Xmas and just thought of the right solution for my brother's family -- I'm sending them each a small amount to spend at www.kiva.org. That feels like a good gift. They don't need "stuff".

Back to work, busy here...have a good rest of day, Tay.

love
Hops

[tayana]

Hey Hops, I'm sorry to hear about your pooch pal.  I know how hard it is when the fur baby's aren't doing well. 

I don't do well around sugar period, so I tend to avoid having it around.  Although we had a reception at work today, cake, doughnuts, cookies.  I'm sugared out.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend.  He sounds like a wonderful man.

I guess I'll do some work now.

Love,
T

[Hopalong]

How wonderful to give him your art...a drawing of Bambi.

Step
away
from
the
rifle,
boy...

(Oh Mud's gonna pop in talking about steak tartare, I just know it...) 

My brother loves to shoot living things. Goes off to Montana or Canada twice a year to bag a moose.
Eeeerrrrrggggh.

Maybe you could make the drawing of a deer in its dying spasms? Sigh.

I just ate a chicken salad sandwich I thought was tuna...no virtue here. Chicken = moose in my view.

Anyway, I was going to say, I wonder if with your art, you ever do "interior" paintings? You? Twiggy? The Role?

love
Hops

[tayana]

Hey Amber, work is boring for me today too.  I actually don't mind.  I did some writing and I'm trying to decide what to buy for the rest of my Christmas gifts.  I'm still sore from my tumble out of the chair, so just sitting still in the quiet is nice.

Your picture sounds awesome.  you should post pictures of it.  I wish I could draw.  *sigh*  Sadly, my son has that gene not me.  He can draw really well.

I grew up around hunters too, so I don't really have a problem with it.  If I'd been allowed, I would have been shooting the squirrels this summer when they invaded my patio garden.

[Hopalong]

I am a granola chewing old hippie liberal treehugging pagan weenie

[Lupita]

I have the suspicion that on weekends some women here have lovers and they disappear. As opposed of us whose lives suck, and on weekends we are here in the internet.
yes, very lonely on weekends.

[Hopalong]

Politics? Who, me? 
I brought up Bambi!

And Lupita brought up lovers. Yay!   

I just got a Xmas photo from a friend around 70 who's in Argentina having flings with cowboys....or looking for one, anyway.
She is a tempest, always will be.

So if life sucks in the short-term, I try to remember:

This is a chapter, not the book.

love
Hops