The Family

December 21st, 2012. The Mayan Long Count finally ticks over.

The time of change involves great physical upheaval. Galactic alignment brings great forces to bear on our planet. The pole shifts. Massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the instantaneous melting of icecaps follows. By the end of the day, no less.

And that’s nothing compared to the subsequent societal chaos. Stock market collapse, wars, famine, end of all electronic communication (see: pole shift). Bioterrorism, of course, leads to zombies. That’ll probably take till the end of December.

So. Your gift this year (plus 11 months of diligent practice) will help get your person through this upcoming difficult transition.

Mom -> Chris
Dad -> Ramona
Chris -> Joseph
Christina -> Dad
Ramona -> Mom
Joseph -> Christina

All for around $10, of course. Well, no more than $15. You have to look after yourself, too, you know.

I am overwhelmed by clutter. The feeling has been building, but it is reaching crisis level and I am fixing to do something about it… namely freecycle, ebay, garage sale (Mary is having one), donate, etc. So, if there is anything I have that you want, please let me know, just in case. Or would it be easier if i post or email lists of anything I think anyone might want?

It’s so hard getting rid of excess. I am down to things I really like or still have good intentions for or things that I remember how much I paid for or how long I wanted. There are 2 sets of dishes, for example. I had long wanted multiple sets of dishes. I craved variety. Now that I have them, though, I also have my Fiesta which I love and always use, and I never wish for something different, perhaps because of the variety of colors. So I could easily get rid of the 2 extra sets… only I remember wanting them, remember buying them a piece at a time, on ebay, remember what I paid, which was always on the low end of what they were bringing, but, still, there is a certain amount of money involved. I checked ebay. One set I might be able to sell, particularly if I sold it in pieces, but that is the set that has a place in the china cabinet and I don’t really need to find a home for right now. The other set is taking up space I could use. I found lots of it for sale on ebay, but when I checked the completed auctions, Not one single piece had sold. What would be the point of photographing and writing descriptions and paying selling fees? It is a nice set… What do I do with the blasted thing?

Sigh…. The frustrating thing is that there are still things I want. I am not used to getting what I want, not wanting it any more, getting rid if it, and then getting what I want now. I know that is what some people do all the time, but not me. This is weird for me… wasteful.

But my house is too full. When everything is put away, it is ok… difficult to manage because everything that is put away is put together like a jigsaw puzzle, but at least I do not feel overwhelmed. But when things are out, it is difficult to think. Right now, the sewing room is still in the process of being put back together and becomes chaotic very quickly. We have all the Christmas stuff out. To top that off, we came home from Bill and Eliane’s with the food they gifted us with and I cannot find room for it in the cabinet. I am so overwhelmed that when I took a nap I dreamed a frantic restless dream about it (well not about it, but about something else overwhelming that clearly represented my clutter).

I wish it wasn’t so hard to part with things. I wish I could know for sure that when i Freecycled something, it would go to someone who would value and care for it. I don’t want my dishes to go to someone who says, “Oh, we could always use more dishes,” and then lets them be broken and feeds the dog in them.

I am so happy we have Christmas wish lists so we can be sure what we give is not going to instantly become excess clutter.

As everyone knows, the Mayan long count will end on December 21, 2012. This is either the end of the world, the end of the world as we know it, or an excuse for an ENORMOUS party, depending on how you interpret Mayan rituals.

This is going to form the basis of this year’s Christmas Eve exchange. Cause if we wait for next year – it’ll be too late.

And like the various end of the world prophets, I’m not entirely sure how we should properly commemorate this event. I have three options in mind. I’d like input, suggestions, refinements, and reactions.

Option 1: The Mother of all Mayan parties
Getting to see the short count calendar switch over was a big deal – kind of like our century parties. Getting to see the long count one switch is an ENORMOUS deal. So get your person ready to party, Mayan style.
Possible gifts:
lots and lots of fine dark chocolate
severed heads of your enemies
a temple
stuffed Ixmucane doll

2 – Surviving the end of the world as we know it.
Colossal global convergence of environmental destruction, societal collapse, wars, famines, dogs and cats living together … total chaos. So get your person equipped to survive.
Possible gifts:
zombie survival guide
water purification tablets
box of twinkies
knitting supplies (see http://wondermark.com/491/)

3 – It’s the end of the world. Life. The Universe. And Everything.
An asteroid or rogue planet will collide with earth. The earth will experience a polarity shift and our magnetic field will collapse, instantly frying all life. The stars are aligning and Cthulhu will escape and walk the sunlit world. Well, maybe the universe won’t end, but our place in it is well and truly over. Prepare your person for the afterlife.
Possible gifts:
Armies of shabtis
Egyptian Book of the Dead
Shiva’s blessing
“preserving” spirits (don’t embalm me in the cheap stuff…)

OK – comments?

We’ve been saving for a good long time and now we have a new machine to play with. Well, ok, Christina is going to be the one playing with it most of the time. I’m just going to sit back and enjoy a hot drink every now and then.

Introducing the Rancilio Silvia…

mmmm… shots…

And, ok, it’s not the usual glass but isn’t that dark color pretty?

Of course, we do have a few ‘normal’ glasses, though we did go a little fancy. They are double walled so they keep the drink hot (or cold) and it is neat looking at the suspended drink.

Christina also did a latte for me earlier, though I didn’t get a picture of it. The best part is that even though she’s just started out, I already think she’s as good as or better than starbucks. It only improves from there. There are some features of a ‘good’ shot that people look for – I’ll let Christina explain if anyone cares to hear – that the local coffee people told her she would see in her shots after she worked the machine for a while. But she’s already seeing it. Natural Born Espresso Maker. Right now it’s just a matter of consistency. (and I don’t even want to know what I’d produce – something only I could drink out of obligation, I’m sure)

Anyway. Next time anybody is around we can now do more than just regular coffee.