The Family

Does everyone get extra links in the site that connect to BuySpan.com or is it just me? I get them in other sites too and figured they were being paid by the linked site to let them put their links in, but I doubt seriously if Chris has anything like that set up here. Do you know if there is a way to block others from adding these links?

And while I am thinking about annoying things, in Firefox, I now have an add box that pops up on the right of my screen. I don’t like it. I can close it, but does anyone know how to make it so it doesn’t pop up in the first place? I have pop-ups blocked but this one is unaffected. I also have Adblock Plus, but apparently it doesn’t block that one… or if there is a way to make it block it, I don’t know what it is.

Since the earth does not show signs of ending, like the Mayan calendar fortold, and there are unlikely odds on there being a massive or not so massive Zombie attack, I have chosen a blast from the past as this years theme.  As such I am highly recommending that all gifts be purchased from “The Vermont Country Store“.

This store has a little of everything from the past.  Thirteen different categories from Food and Candy to Flannel Sleepwear.  I do not get a kick-back from the store nor do I own stock in the parent company, just think this is an interesting place to visit occasionally.  This seemed like a good occasion.

Try to find something that will be useful for the person you are buying the gift for, no need buying either a dust catcher or a potential garage sale item.

Comments, questions and kudo’s are welcome; criticism, complaints and bad manners can go sit in the corner.

You now have the criteria for this years Christmas Eve Gift, good luck.

Luke

Names were written on small pieces of paper and the slips put in a box.

Here are the results:

Luke drew Chris

Nelia drew Joseph

Ramona drew Luke

Joseph drew Christina

Chris drew Ramona

Christina drew Nelia

There have been some conversations, but I wanted to make it explicit – Dad has the Christmas Cat.

I don’t remember if I said anything last year about it .. if anyone else out there thought they had the Cat, let me know and I’ll take my flogging.

And on the same topic …

Joseph & I are going to do something a little different to control costs this year. For the adults (just the adults), we’re only going to get one thing from both of us. Chris gets something from Joseph & Ramona; Dad gets something from Joseph & Ramona .. etc. If anyone would like to do the same to/for us, that would be welcome.

With that kind of approach in mind, on my wishlist there’s a section of things that will work very nicely as gifts to both of us. So if Chris & Christina wanted to get one thing for Ramona & Joseph .. there’s a list for it. It would have worked to put it anywhere, I guess, but Joseph is still getting used to having a list 🙂

Trying out a new theme. I’m not much into getting into developing a theme myself right now, so I’m just picking on that looks nice out of the box. Ok, I made one adjustment – increased the default font size. 12px was way too small so I bumped it to 16px. Much easier to read on my screen. How about yours?

Had my eyes checked today. My doctor kept telling me how improved my eyes are. She said they had changed so much that she checked my records twice thinking she had been given the wrong ones, and then that she must have misread my name. I have been getting more far sighted for years, as one does when one ages, but this time the improvement in my near sightedness is a big enough jump that she kept commenting on it.

The most telling thing to me is that the elasticity of my eyes has improved. I still need bifocals, but last visit we talked about the eminent need for trifocals because of my shrinking range of focus. This time the improvement in the range of focus in my near vision is, she said, amazing.

She asked, “OK, what are you doing different?” I told her i went vegan about 6 months ago. She said I was obviously working toxins out of my body and it showed in my eyes.

Happy. 🙂

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.

I hit 45 pounds a while back, and stopped. I know why I am not losing… 3 reasons. One is that i seem to stop losing at 45. It happened when i was on weight watchers. My first goal was 50 pounds, but I sat at 45 pounds for a month, even though i did exactly what I was supposed to be doing. I didn’t lose again will I dropped down below what i was supposed to be eating, and then loss was painfully slow.

Second, I am staying vegan but i am, unfortunately, becoming good at vegan junk food. Junk food is junk food. Almond butter is a failing. Almond butter is good for me, but, even though almond oil is good, oil is oil. I eat too many almond butter sandwiches.

Third, I am getting good at cooking vegan. That means there are few meals when i cannot think of anything to eat which means I am not eating raw as much. When I first started this I could not think of anything but raw veggies most of the time. Now I usually have cooked leftover in the frig and always have a can of vegan chili in the cabinet. Several times I have decided to get back to having cut veggies always available and having them for lunch every day, but then there will be that one serving of leftovers in the frig and I will opt for that. Today I had my tortilla soup… vegan with lots of beans for protein and so much better with quite a few baked tortilla chips. The raw veggies are right there on the shelf, all cut up and ready to go. I ate the soup and what was left of the chips.

Another problem, i suppose, is focus. I am working on getting the sewing room back together, and that is my focus, usually to the exclusion of everything else. That means I do not plan meals as well which means we eat out more and I tend to grab “something quick” when I am hungry. (An almond butter sandwich is quick and satisfying.) It also means I have not been going to the Y. You would think the work I am doing would offset the “Y” calorie burn, but maybe not.

It’s frustrating… but I am still convinced that I am going to get back to losing. And the vegan part is still good for me and easy to do. And the 45 pound loss still feels good.

An interesting note on the effect of the vegan diet on my body: My fingernails show it. I wish I could say they are stronger, but they aren’t. Right now they are so beaten up that they are very very short. But, a while back I noticed that the base of my nails was very white compared to the rest of my nail. I assumed it was the age of the nail and that they had always been that way. But very very gradually the white base seemed larger. For a long time I thought it was my imagination, that I just misremembered where the line was.

It wasn’t till it dawned on me that diet might have something to do with it that i watched the yellow growing more to the tip as the white band expanded, thinking I knew why. My nails are pretty much white now. Last time I looked, the yellow started just where they separate from the finger (which made it look like I never cleaned my nails). By now the yellow may be gone… I can’t tell unless I have brighter light than I have here.

Obviously my nails have always been a kind-of dirty yellow but with nothing to compare them with, I never knew the difference. Whiter nails are prettier.