Happy New Year!

True to form, I fell asleep reading while waiting for the new year, but woke up in time to see the ball touch down in New York City to celebrate the New Year in the Eastern Time Zone. 

Flipping around the TV channels for a central time zone celebration, I see "It's a Moon Pie New Year."  Really! I looked for other options and there appeared to be nothing other than rerun specials.  Come on, can't we do better than that?  That is disgusting.  But you know what, it is indicative of why the rest of the country has such a disgusting image of the South. This is embarrassing, a  hickville portrayal of the Mid American South.  Stand up and be counted, because this does not project a positive image.  Well, the truth be known, this does project a fairly accurate image of the Mid American South.  Sorry.

Peace is a Choice

We can choose peace you know.  It is up to each and everyone of us how we choose, and what we choose.  We can choose the angry retort or rebuke, the mild disagreement, or the gentle deflection.  We can choose to turn the other cheek, or to take up arms. We can choose the angry fist or the proffered handshake.  We can choose civil disobedience that is non-violent, or we can choose a riotous destructive display of civil disobedience.

We make these choices every day of our lives, in our daily interactions with family, friends, co-workers, business associates and strangers.  Most of us do not think about the fact we are making a choice, but we are.  Every single interaction is a choice. 

And the reality is, the choices that reflect peace make our day and our lives much easier. There is less fallout for choosing peace than there is for choosing anger and contention.  That is part of the problem with peace: the ripples that radiate from our peaceful choices are small and do not attract attention.  The ripples that radiate from our angry and violent reactions are so large that they do attract attention, and usually require a response.  A peaceful choice can easily go unnoticed.  An angry one usually cannot.

So as 2014 comes to a close, and 2015 begins, what is your choice?

Snow

Well, we had more of an ice storm than a winter snow storm yesterday.  The forecast included that it would not warm up for the next few days.

I woke up about 4:30 AM and thought it was after 7:30 AM. As it was white out, I thought it was the white and bright of dawning day.  But no, it was the white and dull of low clouds and snow on the ground reflecting what little ambient light there was in the area. It does not hurt that we have a waxing gibbous moon right now, that provided some light above the cloud cover. That was an interesting sensation.

It has stayed cold today, so the typical snow and melt cycle of West Texas did not occur.  While I had plans for the day, nothing was urgent or emergent, so I decided to go with safety first and stayed in, and stayed warm.

I often think it would be nice to have a day to myself, with no obligations pending. Well, that was not quite the day, as I did do some chores around the house, but they were all pleasant, easy, and things that I enjoy.

The rest of my New Year's Eve will be more of the same.  Thank you. 

As we enter into the New Year, my wish for everyone is peace.

Winter Storm

It was predicted that we would have very cold weather with the potential for snow or more likely, freezing rain.  It was grey when I drove to work this morning, and cold, with a very strong north wind blowing that front in.  It was starting to mist.  By the time the second shift nurses arrived before 2 PM, they were reporting very dangerous, icy road conditions.  Texas Tech sent non-essential people home at 3 PM.  I had a lot I wanted to do, still, so I spent about 45 minutes more wrapping things up.  Still left a lot undone.  We have several people out, and I discovered that my co-workers who were doing coverage were not checking phone calls.  I did those I could, and hopefully can finish up Friday.

It took me about twenty minutes to scrape off the car  well enough to drive safely.  It took me about 30 minutes to get home (when there is minimal traffic, it takes 12 minutes.) I debated  between taking a totally land street route home, vs the Loop.  The totally land street route has about a .5 mile section of infrequently travelled road, and I opted for better travelled.  The news keeps saying the TxDOT trucks are out on the streets treating them, but I saw none.  I saw two city trucks.  But, driving slow, the streets were passable.

But I did arrive home safely.   The cats were very excited and skittish when I got home.  I think it was the combination of my earlier than usual arrival, and the cold/weather change. They get excited any time we have a storm.  During a wind storm, they are especially skittish and bitchy.  I think it is the negative ions from the wind creating static electricity on their fur:  it is sometimes a shocking event to pick up a cat in a wind storm (it does not hurt me, and I do not think it hurts them, but it is a crackling sensation.)    I bumped up the day time temperature of the thermostat to the nighttime temperature of 68°.

I have a list of chores that I had planned to do on the 31^st. several of which involve driving to locations.  None are urgent.  I have a 7 day library book due tomorrow, and if I cannot renew it online, I will owe a fine. At $.05  a day, it is not worth the trip unless the roads drastically clear tomorrow.   Many of the chores are those I can do at home.  My biggest concern is if I lose power due to ice on the electric lines somewhere.   I do not NEED to go anywhere on the 31^st.

I had thought to go to the Lady Raider Basketball game tonight, but I am not that dedicated.  If I cannot watch it on TV, I will try to listen to it on the radio.  The admission is free, if anyone wants to go to the game.

Hope everyone is safe, and is prepared to enter into the New Year.

Texas: A Basketball Hub?

Well, of course it makes sense that Texas is a basketball hub.  Think about it, Texas is the largest state in the lower 48 states, and has very many large metropolitan areas:  Dallas-Forth Worth; Austin-San Antonio; and Houston. 

Each of those metropolitan areas has an NBA Basketball team: The Dallas Mavericks  http://www.mavs.com/?ls=iref:nba:gnav, the Houston Rockets http://www.nba.com/rockets/,  the San Antonio Spurs http://www.nba.com/spurs/.  Add to that, the Oklahoma Thunder  http://www.nba.com/thunder who are not so far away from the Texas teams.

When I went to college in 1970, I learned that Texas was a football fanatic state: High school teams were flown to games across the state, and high school stadiums seated 10s of thousands of fans.

Some seven years later, when I moved to Texas, I learned that these commentaries on high school football were not exaggerations.

Now, the Big Twelve Basketball Conference of the NCAA www.big12sports.com is a very strong basketball conference. This week, there are 6 of the 10 Big Twelve teams in the men's top 25 national rankings, and the women's top 25 include 4 Big Twelve teams.  

So, yes, Texas can be called a basketball hub.

Hideout

I felt really bad the morning after Christmas.  During the night, I thought I heard Sake crying, and got up to check on her. She seemed okay, so I went back to bed.  It happened again, and again I checked, and went back to bed.  Very, very early that morning, I got up and realized that Taki had not come to bed to bother me as is her early morning habit. Both she and Haiku jump on me, walk all over me, lay on me, and scratch at me almost every morning. Sake does that sometimes when she is feeling good, and there were no leftovers accessible overnight, or when she is feeling bad, and wants to eat, but does not feel well enough to eat.

Well, Haiku was in bed, and Sake was resting, what looked like comfortably, in the living room. So, I opened the garage door, and there was Taki.  She did not seem frightened or distressed.  The night had been mild so the garage was not really any colder than the house.  I just did not realize she had been in the garage.  I realize I had been in it late, and she probably snuck in, which she sometimes does, without my knowledge. 

What was really interesting to me was how very much her cry for help was like Sake's cry when she is not feeling well.  I do not think I had heard that particular vocalization from Taki before. I will remember that and not be satisfied with checking on Sake when I hear it.

As I said, I felt bad, but she seemed none the worse for wear.

This morning, I woke about 3:40 AM and could not go back to sleep.  I tried my various go back to sleep tricks, but none worked, so I got up and read. I was sitting on the reclining sofa, and there were times that Sake joined me, but she left when Taki joined me at the other end of the sofa.  Taki scratched at the end of the sofa, and Haiku was on my lap for a large part of the time.

Well, the clock ticked on, and I never became sleepy enough to go back to bed, so I finally got up and fixed cat breakfast. Twice. Early, about 5:30 AM and later, about 7:00 AM.  And, Taki missed both meals.  This concerned me.  Taki does not miss a meal, she does not miss breakfast, she does not miss dinner, she does not miss treats, she does not miss snacks, she does not miss food.

But, she did this morning.  So, I checked the garage, and she was not there. So, then I checked under the sofa, and sure enough, she was there. I do not get how she does that.  Is she crawling in when I have the leg rest up?  But she was under the other section this time, which she could do, from the section with the raised leg rest.  Or does she crawl in from the opening in the back, and not know how to get out? (Some days, she seems to know how to push open doors, or pull them open, but other times, it seems to be a totally foreign concept to her.) 

The thing is, between the first and second breakfast, I was sitting on the sofa with the leg rest up.  So if she climbed in under the raised leg rest, and then migrated to the other end of the sofa, why did she not migrate back when I raised the leg rest again?  I do not  understand.

Once again, she did not seem worse for the wear.  I am not trying to be nonchalant about her escapades, I am just relieved that she does not seem to be stressed by them.

It has been about a year since the last time Taki got herself stuck under the sofa.  I hope she does not do it again anytime soon.

Unbroken - The Movie

I went to see the movie Unbroken http://www.unbrokenfilm.com/ today.  I was somewhat familiar with the story, as there has been a great deal of publicity about the movie, the director, Angela Jolie, and the hero, Louis Zamperini.  I knew the outcome, that he would survive the Japanese concentration camp.  I did not know all the inhumanities he suffered. I just knew he survived.  That is not a spoiler, if you hear anything about the movie, you know he survived.

The movie was based on the book Unbroken by Linda Hillenbrand. I prefer to read the book before I see the movie, but I wanted to see this movie, and I can read the book later.

I recommend this movie for age appropriate audiences.  I believe it is rated R.  The nudity, violence and vulgar language is not gratuitous, but consistent with the story.  It is a story with a message, about the human spirit.

I think having Unbroken open on Christmas Day sent a message about the human spirit, and the reason for the season.  Good work!

The Interview - The Movie

Well, this is a much publicized news story, http://abcnews.go.com/International/interview-fbi-links-north-korea-sony-hacking/story?id=27694178  that Sony http://www.sony.com/ was hacked and movies and employee information was obtained and even put out for public consumption.  Purportedly, the hackers were doing bid of the government of North Korea, which objected to the movie The Interview http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2788710/ a comedy about a plot to kill the leader of North Korea.

There were threats about more damage to come, if the movie was released.  Sony initially deferred the release of the movie, saying there were no outlets for it.  President Obama made a statement  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2014/12/19/sony-the-interview-hackers-gop/20635449/ about not allowing terrorism to interfere with freedom of speech.  I applaud the sentiment.  But understand the concerns of Sony, or do I?

The Alamo Drafthouse Theater in Lubbock http://drafthouse.com/lubbock/lubbock was one of the sites that agreed to air the movie, after all. And there were similar sights throughout the country.  Many people went to see the movie, on Christmas day, considering it an act of patriotism that they would defy a terrorist attack threat against freedom of speech or just for the entertainment purposes of the movie. And the box office take was phenomenal!

All of this is well and good. The Interview is not the kind of movie I would pay to see at the movie theater. I cannot imagine anything comedic about a plot to kill anyone, world leader or the man next door.  It just does nothing for me.

And, I have another reaction to all of this.  I understand the critics say The Interview was not a very good movie.  I hate to be this skeptical, but what if Sony knew this, and planned the whole hacking event as a major publicity stunt.  I am not trying to blame the victim, I am just wondering, and from what I know about the world of business, something like that would not be impossible. 

Sleeping In, Holidays, and Time Off From Work

So, I have 5 days off in a row from work: starting Christmas Eve, December 24, and not returning to work until Monday, December 29.  That has been so nice so far.  I have done some leisurely things, including reading, going to the library and not rushing to find a book, eating out, cooking in, playing on the computer and watching TV.

The girls have let me sleep in, which has been nice. I set my schedule according to what activities I want to do and when.

I have accomplished several chores around the house, although I basically took off Christmas.  I can tell, though, because it has aggravated my back and sciatica.  Even though I have rested a lot and limited my activity in the process of doing chores.

We are coming up on the weekend. It will be a typical weekend for me, filled with chores, exercise sessions, housework and some errands.   All doable.  Intertwined with some reading, watching TV and puzzle solving.

This should be a good few days off, as it has been already.  We return to work for 2 days, then have two days off and return to work again for one day, and then have a weekend off. This is a nice time of year, and I appreciate the extra time off.

Taki and the Keyboard

A little while ago, Taki started getting on the computer desk next to the keyboard, and hunkering down.  Every once in a while, she will put one or two paws on the keyboard, and just sit there. Of course the pressure from her paw is just enough to interfere with the functioning of the computer. It is easy to move her paw, but she puts it right back.  I am not sure what that is about.  It is not like she is trying to follow or touch something moving on the screen, and she does not try to grab my fingers as I am typing.  So, who knows.  It is kind of cute, if only it did not interfere with the functioning of the computer.

A Leisurely Day

It was a leisurely day, as befitting a day off, and Christmas Eve.  The cats let me sleep in, then after I fed them, I went to the pool for PT, the library, ran an errand and took myself out to lunch.

This afternoon, I alternated between doing chores and reading when I needed to rest. My inclination is power my way through the chores, but that will aggravate my back. So the rests are necessary.  I did not get everything done that I had planned to do, but I did get some extra things done along the way.

I hope Friday will be more of the same. Christmas Day will be all leisure, and maybe, some phone calls.

Treat Time

I did not have to go to work Wednesday morning (I cannot say tomorrow, because it is already tomorrow) although I have a list of chores I plan to do.  So, I have stayed up late into the wee early hours of the morning.

Throughout the evening, the cats thought it was treat time.  Even as I was getting ready to go to bed well after midnight, the girls wanted treats.  So they got treats.  It is easier on me to do that, than deal with their cries, slaps, scratches and pounces.  I am a pushover. No boundaries here.

The Shortest Day of the Year

Yesterday, December 21, was the shortest day of the year.  Well, that is not true.  All of  our days are about 24 hours, including the nighttime hours.  So, December 21 is the day with the fewest daylight hours during the year.

One of the things I have noticed in West Texas that the daylight hours drastically change even within a few days of the winter solstice. The same is true of the summer solstice, but the summer days are really, really long compared to those of Western Massachusetts. I am not sure that the winter days drastically lengthen after the solstice where I grew up in the northeast, but then, I am not sure I ever really paid attention to that sort of thing.  Now, I do.

But what this brings to mind is when people say "There are not enough hours in the day."  or "I don't have the time someone else does."   Those statements do not make sense.  There are always 24 hours in the day.  The problem people experience is that they do not plan well or anticipate time required, for the most part, when they set their expectations for the day.  And, when things come up unexpectedly, or things take longer than anticipated, they do not adjust their expectations accordingly. 

I think, personally, that it is some of the "I want it all" mentality that so prevails in our culture. People do "want it all."  So, when something interferes with that plan of having it all, they do not adjust their expectations or desires accordingly, and find themselves falling "short of time" when really what they did was over-anticipate what was realistic in the time frame allowed, given the interferences of the day.

I find that I am frequently re-evaluating my situation at work and in my personal life so I can make an adjustment for what I want and what I have time for.  I do not fret or stew over this re-evaluation, and frequently "do it on the fly,"  or do it without really stopping to dwell on it. I also find that I am not as frustrated about these changes in plans as I once was.

I never have a day that is too short, I just have a day in which I get less done than what I had planned.

Reading

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal for myself to read a book a week, on average, this year.  Earlier this weekend Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/736111 sent me a message that I have read 57 books this year.  Since then, I have completed another.  I suspect, because we have a lot of holidays over the next two weeks, I will at least complete one more.

That was a good goal, and I am glad I accomplished it.  However, sometimes, I used that goal to interfere with other things I should be doing: housework, knitting projects, and yard work to name a few.  I think next year, my goal will be to balance all of these tasks, which might mean fewer books, but better caretaking of my house and other chores.

Checking In On Sake

Sake does not feel well.  She spends a lot of time on the dining room chairs and in the living room on the rug.  We have developed a routine in the evening.  I check on her, and if she is lying still, I ask her if she is all right. She flicks her tail. I do not think she is really well, but I think she is maintaining.  

Sing-A-Long

One of my favorite musicals is The Sound of Music.   ABC is airing it tonight in a sing-a-long version http://abc.go.com/shows/movies-and-specials/listings/the-sound-of-music-singalong. When there is a song, the words come on the screen, and change color as they are song by the characters of the movie.

This is reminiscent of "Sing Along with Mitch" http://www.tv.com/shows/sing-along-with-mitch/. Many people thought this was a corny show then, and think it is still corny.  I have to wonder if they would think a movie sing-a-long is corny. 

I don't.

Not only that, but for many of my favorite musicals, I can pretty much sing the songs anyway.  I am especially bad about Fiddler on the Roof.  I went to see a community theater production of that, and I knew a lot of the dialogue as well as the lyrics, I have seen it so much.

Anyway, I love the idea of being encouraged to sing along.

A Pleasant Surprise

I had it planned.  The Lady Raiders http://www.texastech.com/sports/w-baskbl/text-w-baskbl-body.html played Nicholls State http://nicholls.universitytickets.com/user_pages/event_listings.asp Friday starting at 5:30 PM at the United Supermarkets Arena.  My 40 hours ended at 4 PM, so I was in hopes of leaving work, going home to feed the cats, and getting to the United Supermarkets Arena for the game.

Well, several things happened at work that delayed my departure from work until almost 6 PM.  I suppose I could have deferred some of these things, but my work ethic dictated I take care of these things in a timely manner, rather than defer them.

So, by the time I got home and fed the cats, the Lady Raiders game was well into the second half. I listened to it on the radio on my way home from work, and at home. The men's basketball game was on TV, so I decided I did not need to go to the game.

While I was doing some work on the computer, I answered a phone call from my best friend who lives in Rochester, NY.  She wondered if I was at the basketball game. It turned out that the men's basketball game was on a national feed, and they were watching the game.  That was really cool, especially because the men's team won!

And, we had a nice visit.  That was special of my friend to call.  Thank you.

 

The Nobel Prize for Literature

Some time back, on NPR, I heard that the Nobel Prize for Literature went to Patrick Modiano  http://www.npr.org/2014/10/09/354792697/french-novelist-patrick-modiano-wins-literature-nobel.  The story highlighted one of his books: Missing Person http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_Person_(novel).  We talked about it at our Mystery Book Club, and I suggested it for a future read.  However, when I went looking for a copy of the book, the prices were outrageous.  A member of the book club suggested Amazon, and sure enough, they were offering a copy at a reasonable price.  But they kept sending me emails regarding the fact that they could not procure a copy at the price stated.  Until recently.

Today, I have received the book.  It is a slim novel. I hope it will be an interesting read.

My Very Warm Sweater

Many, many years ago, I knitted a multi-color pattered sweater.  It did not come out quite like I would have liked and I have not tried a multicolor pattern again.  I need to try.  After all, that is how I will learn.

But the point is, I made the sweater.  I made it large, on purpose, so I could load up underneath with layers of clothes if I wanted to.  Because it had multi-colors, it is like having two layers of yarn on most of it.  Which makes it very, very warm.  It is like wearing a sleeping bag, it is so warm.  It is dangerously warm:  when I put it on at night, I get so warm and relaxed, I often fall asleep sitting in the chair.  Mind you, that is not a bad thing, exactly, but I have been spending a lot of nights in the chair. If I am in the recliner, that is comfortable.  If I am at another chair, sometimes I wake up with sore muscles.   Hmmm. But the sweater is deliciously warm.

Fruitcake!

As we often do at the mystery book club I attend, we did a "Chinese gift exchange."  If you do not know what this is, it is very interesting.  The participants draw numbers equal to the number of gifts being exchanged.  From there you set your own rules, pretty much.

The first person chooses a gift.  The second person can choose a gift, including the first person's gift.  So then the first person would get to choose another gift.  The third person can take a gift already chosen, or choose a new gift, and so on.  Sometimes when people do this, they put a limit on how many times a gift can be chosen after the original chooser.  Sometimes, there is no limit.

The bottom line is everyone gets to choose a gift, and everyone leaves with a gift.

This can get interesting and even a little vindictive when you have a group of personalities that do not always get along. Then, you have people taking gifts for spite not because they like the gift. I think that the people in the book club are very polite and considerate, mostly because we only see each other as a whole once a month, although some of the members do have other relationships with each other. So, there was not much taking of others' gifts. 

My turn was midway through the selections, and I took a tall package bag with a reindeer face on it.  Because I liked the bag. It contained a fruitcake!  Well, I am one of those weird people who likes fruit cake.  And the people sitting next to me asked me if I did. (There were 9 of us present, and including myself, 3 liked fruitcake.)  After the gift exchange was done, the person to my left said she almost took the fruitcake when it was her turn, but decided not to, since she was the person who brought it (there was no rule against that, I have seen it done before.) She told me it came from United Supermarkets, a local supermarket chain http://www.unitedtexas.com/ (recently purchased by Albertsons.)

The book club was Thursday night.  The next morning I decided (was salivating at the thought) to have a piece of fruitcake for a snack at work.  I opened the package to cut a slice, and the aroma of rum struck me first thing.  I understand that the alcohol "cooks off" but decided it was probably not appropriate to bring something to work that smelled so strongly of rum.

This cake is wonderful: moist, lots of candied fruit, lots of nuts.  Hmmm. And, here it is Sunday night, and every time I open the package, the aroma of rum still wafts out!  This is a great fruitcake!

The CIA and Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

So, what I get out of the statements from the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)   John Brennan http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/politics/john-brennan-defends-cia-after-torture-report/index.html is that he is acknowledging that there were inappropriate interrogation techniques, but they resulted in information that was useful in protecting our country.  So, he is saying that the ends justified the means. 

You and I know that that is not right. The ends do not justify the means. I understand that the nation was freaked out by the 9/11/2001 attacks, but since when did we become amoral?  Even in the face of these attacks.  When other countries around us remained level headed and moral? 

It is my hope that my nation never stoops to this sort of amoral behavior again.  However, we have a lot of cleaning up to do in regards to race relations, and some of that borders on, or maybe is amoral.  Hmmm.

Catholic Charities Resale Center Grand Opening

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Lubbock is proud to announce the Grand Opening of the Resale Center at 1505 34^th St.  While we have had a Resale Center for many years we outgrew our old location, and have moved to a new site!

 

The Resale Center accepts donations of goods that can be sold with the benefits going to the programs at Catholic Charities Diocese of Lubbock.   

Additionally, persons in need can receive vouchers from Catholic Charities to help them obtain goods from the Resale Center. 

Catholic Charities also works in coordination with other agencies in the community who can refer persons in need.  

We are excited about our expanded store space.  We hope you can drop by, if not for the Grand Opening, then sometime soon to see what we have to offer to the Lubbock community!

Grand Opening: 

1505 34^th Street 2 PM   

Light refreshments will be served!

Enhanced Interrogation vs. Torture?

Okay, so I do not usually address really serious issues in this blog, but this is something I have to say.  When the United States agents were doing "enhanced interrogation" I felt like this activity did not represent the moral character of the United States I want to love.  Today, a report about these activities has been widely discussed http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/enhanced-interrogation-techniques-ineffective/. 

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA in case you did not know) https://www.cia.gov supports the value of enhanced interrogation because it provided intelligence that helped to keep the United States safe.  Do I believe this?  No.  These are the same people who provided intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that allowed us to justify war with Iraq. The American public bought it, and it was a lie!  President Bush's government needed to find a reason to retaliate against Irag for 9/11.  As if the attack on this country was not reason enough.

Instead of saying "We are attacking you because you sanctioned, supported, aided and abetted the factions that attacked the United States" we hid behind the "weapons of mass destruction" façade which was a total lie.

And, when we went to war, we abandoned the moral character of this country and supported "enhanced interrogation" and generally inappropriate behavior by the United States Military ala Abu Ghraib http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse.

I do not like war.  But the character of the war in Iraq was very different from the character of the war in Desert Storm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War.  I believe that had to do with several things, but most importantly, our leaders at the time.

In my mind, although he is a Republican, President George Herbert Walker Bush was a man of honor.  He surrounded himself with military men of honor: General Colin Powell http://www.biography.com/people/colin-powell-9445708  and Commander-in-Chief General Normal Schwarzkopt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Schwarzkopf,_Jr.  to name a few.  Desert Storm was conducted in such a way as I was proud of this country although I do not support war. 

Not so the U.S.- Iraq War. Not so the "intelligence gathering" techniques of the CIA that included methods of torture.  I am sorry that my country engaged in these acts.  They are not reflective of the values of the United States. They are not reflective of the moral character of the United States.  I am grateful the President Obama has made that clear.

I am concerned that we may have a future president who does not have such a strong moral compass.  I want to love my country. I cannot love abuse of human rights.

Christmas Music

I am listening to Christmas music tonight.  I have listened to a lot of Christmas music since Thanksgiving.  My mother liked Christmas music, and I have the records she had, but I am playing CDs right now.  I worry about playing records:  the cats like to watch the revolutions, and I have to supervise to make sure nothing gets attacked.  I can do that. But not tonight.

So, right now I am listening to James Taylor's A Christmas Album.  Several years ago, a dear friend sent this to me as a gift.  It is one of those gifts that keep on giving. My friend and I both love James Taylor music. And I am so grateful to my friend for this great gift.


And, of course, there is Mannheim Steamroller http://www.mannheimsteamroller.com/:  I have three of their CDs: In the Aire ;

Christmasville  ;


and Celebration

I also have something called Holiday Classics volume four, which is great mixture of artists,good music, and traditional songs.


This year, I bought something called 25 Christmas Favorite which is performed by the 101 Strings Orchestra . I like just having instrumentals sometimes, especially if I am reading, or writing.

One of the best is Celebremos Navidad Al Estilo by Mariachi Mi Tierra https://myspace.com/mariachimitierra/music/album/celebremos-navidad-al-estilo-mariachi-mi-10181945.

This is a Lubbock based mariachi band.  One of the members used to work at the TDCJ Montford Unit where I work, and he gave me a CD.  I love the strident sounds and the great rhythms.  It is good music. If you have the opportunity to hear this mariachi band, I highly recommend it.  And, we do not think of mariachi style music for Christmas carols, but it really works!

I Was Writing Christmas Cards Tonight

I was writing Christmas cards tonight.  For the most part, it was an easy project. But sometimes, Haiku interfered for reasons I could not fathom. She just wanted attention during the process. So, she got attention.  And, after a while Taki wanted attention, too. Her request involved a food treat, which was easy to provide.  Haiku's request was more difficult to decipher.  She seemed to just want attention.  I stopped the card writing process several times to just attend to her.  Even now that I am done for the night, Haiku wants attention, but I cannot figure out what to do to give her the attention she wants. I mean, I hold her, I pet her, and talk to her.  I play grab the pen games with her.  Really, the truth be known, she wants to sit on my chair at the computer.

A Busy Weekend

Hmmm, I do not know why, but this has felt like a busy weekend. I went to the pool on Friday. I did the usual housework and chores on Saturday, but if felt like I did not get much rest.  I also went to the pool.  There was no Tech football or basketball game, but that just made my day seem busier, not more restful (watching or listening to sports is restful to me.)

Today, more of the same.  But some of that was because I did some extra shopping, and went to the Texas Tech Museum to see the Andrews Shaker Collection http://www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu/exhsch11.html.  I believe I have mentioned this exhibit before.  It was good. 

I was reminded about oval Shaker boxes.  I love boxes, and used to be enamored of oval Shaker boxes. 

I did go to the pool today, too.

But, I did relax, watching some NCAA women's basketball, and the New England Patriots football game. That helped me to relax.

Things on My Facebook I Want to Share in My Blog

 

Just lightly browsing in Facebook, and came across some things to share:  The USAF Band of the West is performing tonight and Monday night in San Antonio, Texas http://www.bandofthewest.af.mil/index.asp.  There was a video clip on Facebook about this band, but I cannot get the link to copy, just the picture.

 

 I also want to share something from my niece, which is very sad and very telling: 





Her comment is regarding making this her crèche this year.  Another Facebook friend has added it as her updated photo.  I am not sure how I feel about this. 

And now for cute  http://buddingbaketress.blogspot.com/2010/12/peanut-butter-reindeer-cookies.html 
Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies!  Wow!

 

 

 

Merry Christmas! For my non-Christian friends and acquaintances, Happy Holidays! Remember whatever your faith, there is a Reason for the Season.

 

 

 

 



 



 

A Dollar Well Spent

A couple of years ago, I decided to augment my CD collection, and started watching for specials at Barnes and Noble.  Sometimes, when they have a coupon, even if there is not something I really think I want to buy, I browse.  I rarely buy a CD full price.  Usually between the coupon and the membership discount, I save enough that it is equivalent to taxes, sometimes, the savings is even more.

Well, one day at the counter I noticed a display of clear little plastic boxes, labeled
"CD opener"  So, for a dollar, I bought one.  It is a little round plastic device with a slit, about the width of a CD, that has a blade in the bottom.  It slices through the shrink wrap.  And, a second slice takes it through the sticky label beneath the shrink wrap.

I am old school.  Give me paper, scotch tape, and string.  I do not know the secrets of getting through shrink wrap and plastic bubbles and clam shells.  That is very wearisome for me. 

But this CD opener is great.  It was a dollar well spent!

Another Cat Mystery

Tonight, I noticed, for the first time, that as Haiku was sitting on the new toilet seat on the new toilet, she was biting on the flush handle.  I don't get it.  I am not sure why that was, but she has made multiple tooth marks on the handle. 

Another cat mystery!

My Fingers Split

My fingers split  The worst is around my nails. It seems to happen for no reason, and it is very  painful.

My mother used to say that her fingers split.  Mostly when she was knitting and it was cold and the humidity was low. Well, these are the same conditions under which my fingers split. I try to keep my fingers lubricated so the splitting will be minimal, and the healing rapid.  But having these finger splits is very painful.

What The Heck

I have been thinking about getting a heated massage pad for some time.  Tonight, as I was doing some shopping, I saw one for $20.  I decided, what the heck.  I am not sure how much it will help me, but it certainly feels good and will not hurt. I am not thrilled that the heat is not as intense as I would like.  But the massage is really good.

Thank You to My Brother

I should have written this yesterday, but got distracted.  My oldest brother sent me a giant crossword puzzle.  That was so sweet of him.  It is something I am enjoying working on. I called my brother to thank him. My brother said he could send me the solution. I told him to wait until I had had a chance to work on the puzzle. Yeah, puzzle.

Being Cold and Hurting

Over the weekend, I was experiencing a lot of pain in my joints and muscles, as the weather changed. I was miserable. My back hurt, my shoulders hurt, my hips hurt, and even the bottoms of my feet hurt. Interestingly, to me, by late afternoon, Sunday, when the front had moved in, the pain dissipated. 

Today, again I was experiencing a lot of pain, until mid-afternoon.  By then the weather change had occurred: it was warming up in Lubbock. Not a lot, but some. 

I have to think that the pain I feel is not due so much to the temperature as it has to do with the barometric pressure changes.  Who knows.

The Candy Bomber

I watched the PBS show The Candy Bomber  Fhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/airlift/sfeature/candy_06.html. I had heard part of this story before.  I was really thrilled to hear that Elms College http://www.elms.edu/ contributed to the effort.  It makes sense.  Elms College is in Chicopee, Massachusetts.  It is not that far from Westover Air Force Base http://www.westover.afrc.af.mil/ which supported the Air Force efforts during this time.

Go, Elms College!