Technology

Good Lord. Mom and Dad gave me one of those tiny tiny new ipod shuffles for Christmas! It's so small I'm freaked out that I'll lose it/put it in the laundry/stuff it in a chicken and cook it. . . Too completely cool for someone who only recently got rid of the vinyl and remembers when 8 tracks were the newest thing. I got home yesterday and today spent a good deal of time buying music on itunes. They say the music you have on your ipod says a lot about you. What I have so far:

plenty of The Clash
99 Luftbaloons (don't ask)
Kylie Minogue (also don't ask)
ELO Twilight (God forgive me)
The Fray
Five for Fighting
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (Somewhere Over the Rainbow - about the greatest recording ever)
MC Hammer Can't Touch This (God Forgive me)
Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes)

I'm looking forward to loading this thing. I don't listen to music a lot mostly because I like this and that but not many full CDs (I DID NOT say ALBUM). So it's great to buy one favorite song at a time. And I realize about 99.9% of you know this but I'm new to it so this is a toy I will have fun playing with for a long time.

If you have musical suggestions please post them! I can use all the help I can get.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

gagaijin the foreigner

C H R I S T M A S !!!

Despite a bad cold and weird back thing I am in the spirit this weekend! I got up and started doing a bit of cleaning and straightening and later I will go to the grocery store and fill a cart with baking supplies. I found a great and easy Rachel Ray recipe for a fudge wreath and I'm going to make one for my wonderful vet and one for the office plus some gingerbread cookies and potato candy. I've already done 2 1/2 pounds each of cinnamon, wintergreen, lemon and orange broken glass candy and I bought some festive and very inexpensive tins at Big Lots so this should be a very fun weekend.

Here are a few photos of my decorations. Above is the front of my house, and here is the back entrance:

No, I don't have a dog (the sign came with the house) but I leave it up. There is a lot of power in a sign like this.

Next my kitchen:

You know, I think this is the most wonderful kitchen ever, despite the trim color. I really am going to re-paint some day! For now this has become my favorite room in the house. I am now in the habit of coming home and sitting at the table to watch the evening news. I just enjoy being in there.

Of course let us not forget the tree. This photo was taken very quickly after I re-decorated for the umpteenth time. Phoebe loves to un-decorate and then chase the ornaments all over the house. Not quite as bad as Fern and Iris http://www.fluffytails.ca/christmas.asp but she's still just a baby and has years to hone her craft.

Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without stockings hung by the chimney with care . . . Or a kitten sleeping in a big pile of garland . . .

Good Lord! If anyone is still reading this garbage of a blog I promise I haven't abandoned it. I just got really busy with Christmas shopping and decorating and then I came down with this nasty cold - my first since 2003. I forgot what it was like to have a cold and it stopped me in my tracks. Today, although I blew my sore tired nose all day and sneezed quite a lot, was the first day I have felt normal since last Thursday.

Lots of stuff is going on at work with the "restucturing" and all. I can only say (and I say this knowing I could well be the next to go) that what goes around comes around. Eventually. There are a lot of people in my department dancing for joy this week. And in case anyone at corporate is reading I won't say more - but it looks like our department might be on a good track now. We'll see.

Outside lights are up, mantles are decorated, tree is up, lights are on tree. I keep trying to put the final few decorations on and I swear this time tomorrow it will be done and I'll have a photo before Phoebe takes them off. Honestly I think I stopped the other night because she was taking them off as fast as I could hang them! Ah well, Christmas is for kittens too and if she has fun it's worth it!

Will check in again before the end of the week with pics . . .