Happy New Year

 May you all enjoy good health, happiness and love in the year ahead. Thank you for your years of support on this blog.

I usually don't do selfies but I like this one...

 

Speaking of Cheetos...

 

These were a favorite childhood snack, I cringe when I look at the list of ingredients today but the fake flavor and orange dust from the coating that left my lips and tongue a funny color were a treat as a kid though I did lose my taste for them as I got older. No longer can I think of them without also thinking of  a head of hair, just as one of my commenters has done. An airy, fake, colored substance that no-one really needs and which may ultimately harm health is an apt description.

Life at Mercy's party pad...

 The roses are fully opened and gorgeous though the leaves and greenery are a bit worn from Mercy's inspections and nibbling. She smells the flowers but won't chew their petals and she seems enchanted by their fragrance.

Her catnip toys, which she adores, are strewn throughout the flat. Mercy plays to the point of exhaustion and gives me a workout as well since it is my job to throw them, collect them and store them when she is done.

I've had little unbroken sleep the last few nights, so the dismal, rainy day we've had has been devoted to napping, laundry, reading and a no cook vegetable supper. A friend texted to say former President Carter passed today.  An honorable man and a life of service as well as a Nobel Prize awardee, veteran and a person of compassion so unlike the soon-to-be inaugurated.

I leave you this. Have a good evening.

 

Quiet Celebration...

 These were left yesterday as a seasonal gift from a dear friend who lives nearby. You may be able to discern my sweet resident feline sniffing her curious heart out behind the vase. They are gorgeous and smell divine. Our dinners prior to menorah lighting were simple: a bit of salmon with kibble for Mercy and a plate of salad vegetables, olives and feta dip for me. Hardly traditional but enjoyable nonetheless.

Cheers!

Light One Candle...

 

Happy Holidays!

 Your generosity, creativity, spirit and continued support through the years has been amazing. Thank you and salud!

A December day in 2018 Giant Gourd

Photo courtesy of I. Deing

 This was a chilly afternoon in December of 2018 at my local fruit and veg stand...

From this day in 2009...

 It's a rainy day in the neighborhood and I decide to duck into a nearby diner for the soup du jour. A regular for some years at this establishment, I know the owner, the handful of employees and a part-timer or two by name.

As I take a seat at the counter, extend greetings to the proprietor and glance at the door, a man carrying a small boy enters. After carefully arranging the child and his toys in a seat adjacent, he orders their lunches, then spends several minutes playing quietly with the boy.

My soup arrives, and after the first bite, I hear the man, a British expat, tell the waitress that he is going back to Europe for a visit. She, a high school graduate, responds, "Oh wow...Is Europe in England?"

I see the dimmest smile begin to creep across his face...as he says with a wink:

"Well, not all of it, only the best bit."

Methinks our high schools need to re-tool their geography curricula, assuming they still teach that...

What do you think?

A December Thursday...And some travels...

The temperature has fallen and it is almost cool enough for a coat which brings to mind the first all-weather coat I ever owned and wore during a rainy European summer in my early teens.

Coming from the tropics, a coat was unheard of and it wasn't until we reached Florida that one could be found and then packed for the second and longest leg of our trip. It was tan with a hip seventies geometric design. A mere one hundred and ten pounds back then, most available coats were miles too long on me. It was the only one that fit.  Among many adventures were the colder parts of Norway and Sweden and well worn by the time we made it to London,  I fell asleep in it sitting on some steps inside Harrods. After several misty days, it came with me to Stratford-upon-Avon and was almost lost on the bus. A February weekend visit to Bogota one year later led to a tear on the left sleeve which never mended, expanded with time.

Returning to Panama's equatorial heat forced a temporary retirement, but only until my first Florida winter as a college student. After that, it was used only sporadically until the sleeve began separating so badly that a friend inquired whether I was practicing to be a bag lady at Halloween.

It seems funny to me that I can recall photos, places, people and journeys by what was worn or even eventually worn out. Never by any standard a clothes horse, I nonetheless had favorite garments, this being one, and I would wear each until it was utterly bedraggled unless it no longer fit.

I've sometimes wondered what happened to it after the fateful day I left it behind at a Goodwill...

Cheers on this chilly evening...

Another December photo from 2016

 

A favorite holiday cartoon...

 

A favorite December photo...

 

Some of the trees where I live...

Happy weekend and stay warm!

Seasonal Greetings

Penned awhile ago, this year, I will be sending e-cards to those who don't disdain them as I do not want a repeat of last year's post office fiasco in which no cards reached their recipients.

 One my favorite parts of this season is the sending of cards, a practice begun largely by the Victorians after the queen herself sent the first. This was followed by commercial production of cards which people could purchase to send Christmas greetings to family and friends. Perusal within Google assures me that now widespread, the sending of seasonal good wishes is far from dying out as I had unfortunately assumed. 

When I was a kid, the sending of cards was always accompanied by a letter highlighting the events of the passing year and hopes for the one ahead. These were considered an important part of staying connected to relatives and friends far a field from where we lived and in some cases the letters of several pages were the longest sent during the year and so were prized by the recipients. With long distance calls being expensive, mobile phone non-existent and computers and the Internet a matter of science fiction, putting pen to paper or typing out and copying a letter to send with cards was labor intensive and often begun at our Thanksgiving holiday.

My own approach is a small, hand written note simply letting the individual or family know they are thought about. I am still written to by a longstanding friend from childhood, a former blogger and neighbors long gone from this locality. among others. Remaining family, not so much.

What about you? Any interesting card traditions?

Christmas card circa 1870 courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Images

A December post from long ago...

 

Growing up

the tropics were languid
heat and humidity
induce brevity of motion...

Snow was a foreign concept,
its flakes and sheets, falling, a quiet patchwork of white
leaving midwestern streets dirty with slush,
A memory I would have thirty years in the future,
now five years in the past.

Seasons are all about waiting,
For first snows, rains, buds, heatwaves, chills and cool nights
burrowing beneath comforters, languid once more.

E, 2009

A righteous stink...and other things

 Darling Mercy celebrated her second "Gotcha" day on December 1 with a special dinner and a new toy. The toy is re-chargeable, with multi-modes and chirps like crickets as it moves around on its own. Initially anxious about this noisy newcomer, Mercy is now a proud stalking huntress. She also had a pedicure and her flea, tick and heartworm preventative. Unfortunately, the little girl's anxiety caused a righteous odor that both her favorite pet sitter and I identified as coming from her rear glands. This often happens when cats are nervous during veterinary visits, so I was familiar. I opened a window and had some extra washing. I just hope this does not become routine for Mercy. Life is always interesting with cats.

If any of you are familiar with the science writer, Mary Roach, and her quirky range and approach to her subjects, you might appreciate the book I'm reading about the afterlife of cadavers. Fascinating and far more interesting than I anticipated.

I'm still working on plans from the previous post. Happy weekend.

Quiet and peaceful

 Our Thanksgiving was a peaceful one as none of the neighbors were home. I made some seafood accompanied by remoulade sauce, mixed green salad and a melange of steamed vegetables with roasted sweet potatoes. Mercy had a Catit treat and her normal kibble. Catit treats are liquid and come from a tube in varying flavors and are meant to aid in feline hydration. She is partial to the chicken and shrimp flavor.

We had a classical radio station which played without commercial interruption during the afternoon. I took a small roll around the place while Mercy napped and then came back to make a pot of vegetarian chili which I will finish in the next couple of days. Any and all vegetable leftovers went into the pot along with herbs and spices and several long standing cans of vegetables and tomatoes I wanted to use up. I cleared out an older stash of hurricane food from my bedroom closet and can now begin re-arranging the remaining supplies and the closet. I will be working on exercise and weight since making the discovery that jeans I've worn for years can no longer be zipped. I do get work outs playing with Mercy for sustained periods and doing needed housework, but need to focus on making sure my food is clean, particularly with more festivities approaching.

My holiday shopping is done but for cards and most of those will be sent electronically as that saves on trips to the post office and postage as well as tracking costs. I recently sent in the required paperwork for a small pension and put tracking on that since the post office has proven unreliable. I also found my property tax bill in a plastic bag outside my door apparently incorrectly delivered to a neighbor who opened it before leaving it for me to find on the ground. I was happy to find it. In a place where people are often rude to one another online, at least someone did the right thing in returning it to me. I  will be calling or emailing with tracking information to be sure pension the paperwork was received and my property tax bill has been paid online.

Apart from this, I've taken advantage of sales to purchase a few books, a chase toy for Mercy and I will be buying some new front casters, sling with rails and apple board for my chair. I'm also considering a foldable scooter if I can find one with good reviews that can be easily repaired should something go wrong with it. I  will also be looking for tile, paint, caulk and gently used white shaker upper cabinets, a stove and matching hood and counter top material.

Ambitious, right? The biggest problem is finding someone to do proper work putting that all in. The guy I called to either re-screen or remove the screening from my porch and repair the floor in October never called back and I am tired of waiting.

On that note, I bid you all good night and I hope your week is lovely.