Product Placement Before 9 am!

Sunday morning found me musing on whether we could establish some kind of product placement in this blog, ala Morgan Spurlock. I was confronted first with Ajax dish detergent and then...

And finally:

Why, this Sunday serendipity could result in all kinds of lucrative advertising. Or at least a year's supply of dog biscuits. Anyone have a connnection to Proctor and Gamble?
On other notes, today Bob felled a few of the scrappy little trees left over by our vegetable garden. The weather continued nice (especially for early January) but a couple of these trees proved pretty darned tough to topple. Bob resorted to several come-alongs and I retreated indoors. One tree produced a tremendously evil noise as it scraped past the carport (otherwise known as my future studio...) but managed to miss it's mark and fall rather precisely between the remaining trees, the carport and the propane tanks. Alls well that ends well. It also porvides fuel for next year's burning. I guess you can't start preparing too soon.

Let's Build a Stairway to the Stars!

A fine example of things that go flap in the night! Bob and I are laying in bed and it's 9 or 10 degrees outside with the wind picking up and howling. And there's that crash-crash-crash noise again as a swell of wind lofts the louvered door on our whole house fan. Neither Bob nor I had remembered that this had been an issue the last time a stern wind blew... and there goes the heat in the house.
The whole house fan trap door is, of course, inconvieniently located above the stairway where the ceiling is at its highest. The ever intrepid Bob had to wedge the ladder across the hall and out over the stairs... it looks just awful but I'll take his word that it's safe. But I'm an expert at bizzare household accidents so maybe I'll just go hide when he ascends to the heavens.
And speaking of freak accidents I had a lulu the other day. After visiting Mommy (who is in a convalescent facility) I stopped to get a cup of coffee. I walked all of ten feet from my car to the door and maybe another twelve feet to the counter, where I tried to order a cup of French Roast, but settled for regular. I walked back to my car and attempted to locate my keys. After and exciting hour of turning the car and every article of my clothing inside out, I felt as if I had entered the Twilight Zone. I even borrowed a pair of plastic gloves from the counter teenagers and went through three giant garbage cans, thinking maybe in a pre-occupied moment I had emptied my pockets and teh keys into the trash. They weren't there and it was a hideous enterprise and very much a piece of bad performance art.
Finally, I admitted defeat and called everyone I know who lives (somewhat) locally. No one was imediately home, but my sister Beatrice and her sidekick/life partner John valiantly agreed to drive down and rescue me, if not my car. I finally connected with Bob who was instructed to meet us at Baetrice and John's house. In the meantime, a phone call comes in to Dunkin Donuts and I hear the counter teenager saying that I was still there. Apparently a man who was in line behind me picked up my keys and drove home (an hour away!) with them. At least he realized his error and was gallant enough to drive them all the way back to East haddam and the Dunkin Donuts. Along with two bottles of wine and some really good homemade biscotti. He felt that bad!
Alls well that ends well but never stop in East Haddam for anything as there has to be some bad energy there. This is not the first time odd things have happened to Bob and I at that intersection...

Staying In and Chowing Down

Look at this! Bob really outdid himself. I think it was one of the best dinners Bob has ever put together, and that's saying something as he's a superb cook. The salmon was wonderful, broiled and delicately marinated in a tablespoon or so of soy sauce... skin side up. Then garnished with lime slices and capersand parsley. Boy was that good!
It was accompanied by homemade macaroni and cheese and escarole cooked with garlic and a bit of asparagus and these tiny shivers of shredded carrots for color and contrast then sauteed. It was such an amazing combination with a terrific balance of sweet to savory to bitter. Perfection!

We had leftovers for dinner tonight and it was every bit as good.
As a matter of fact, how could you improve on the day? It was sunny and over fifty degrees. I beg to compare it to last year, when the second of January already featured several feet of snow and biting cold... stay tuned for how we celebrate the first anniversary of our January 3rd real estate closing.

Carrots and Sticks in the New Year

That's Crispin talking (straight) out of both sides of his mouth: "I will be a good horse", "I will be a bad horse". A fine way to begin the New Year!
As is typical of many a person, I begin the New Year utterly thankful that 2011 is done, over finito. And making lists... that's a traditional way to start off the new year. Here goes:
*I will eat more salad in the New Year.
*I will get more exercise. (How mundane can I be?!!???)
*I will be nicer to Republicans and Tea Baggers and Conservatives in the New Year. (Well, you have to  
  include a few things that you won't actually do, but they sound open-minded and possible!)
*I will spend more time making art this year. What with our moving (which seemed like it would never be
  completed) and my eye injury, I didn't get the studio time I needed and wanted. And I typically have such
  a good track record of studio application!
*I will try to worry less about money. I guess I could tie that to generating more money, but even worrying
  less would be a big step! And making more money is very problematic in this economy.
*I will prioritize even more effectively than I already do. (I think that sentence was guilty of some pretty 
  awful grammar but you get my drift.) I already spend plenty of time with my dog in the great out of doors, 
  but I'll spend more time... that good, well used time. I refuse to spend one second more than is absolutely
  essential on the phone arguing over bureaucratic details...
*I will cure cancer, eliminate prejudice and inequality, give everyone a raise, stop wars, pick up litter, feed
  the hungery and reverse global warming. And that's just the first week of January. (And so, we return to
  Janus, and that pesky habit of speaking out of both sides of the mouth).
That's it for now.

Seasonal Disconnects But Happy Endings

It has been a terribly mixed up holiday season thus far. Unfortunately, the matriarch of our clan (aka "Mommy") was in the hospital for Christmas. She was not up for visitors and was having a tough time of it. It was decided that as we had been elected to prepare the meat course of the main dinner, the feast would be moved to our humble domicile. As it was our first Xmas at home and our tree was especially dramatic we agreed that ours doors were open and the festivities would happen here.
The blurry photo above attests to the remarkably cheerful scene, despite Mommy's absence. (I think it's blurry as I was trying to hurry up and take a photo before everyone ducked or turned their heads away from the camera). Anyway, we all ate waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much and had a really nice time.
We spent the last several days visiting Mommy in the hospital and she seems in much better spirits today, as she is discharged to a convalescent facility for a few weeks. Let's hope she's on the mend!
To much food was the theme this year, as Bob and I staggered from groaning board to groaning board. Two good friends were gracious enough to invite us to Christmas Eve at their house where the fed us at least 23 courses of amazing diverse and delicious food stuffs (thanks to Byron and Dan!). Boxing Day saw us gathered at the home of another good friend (thanks John! Ever the host sublime... makes it look so easy, too!) So now I feel as if I need a month of fasting and pilates or Zumba (what is that anyway?)
And here's someone else who was charmed by Christmas. We gave Jules (our beloved doggy who is trying to climb on my lap even as I write this) a huge chew bone. I think he was scared of it initially. Now he's carrying it around and banging into tables and doorways.

And even better is that some Secret Santa left Jules (who is very good) a doggy bag with a chew toy and a stuffed animal on our doorstep- anonymously! Jules is VERY HAPPY!!!

Feels Like Spring! End of Year Bloggery

It's the Winter Solstice and it's 53 degrees... thank goodness for Climate Change and Global Warming! The funguses are all aglow and the grass hummocks in our swamp are gree. The horse is still grazing (in preference to hay) and friends report forsythia is in bloom. Egads! But I'll still take it over snow any day...

So I stumbled around our big and over to our "island" and snapped pictures in defiance of December. I know, I know; it could change tomorrow.

So could so many other things. Like Mommy is not in such great shape and she is 91 years old. I have been having sleeplessness and anxiety about her death. We all know it will happen sooner than later but you can still never be too prepared even if you are a follower of Nature and accept that everyone/ everything will die. Contemplating lovely saprovores (is that spelled correctly?) that help break down the dead things are a good place to consider life's cycles. Winter should be a tiime of sleeping beauty and there is a splndid confusion in these bright colors and almost "vernal awakening" images. But they're helping me get through these shortest days of the year...

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Last year, as Bob and Jules and I resided in a "borrowed" home for the holidays, it just never seemed like the Christmas season. Two things make Christmas seem like Christmas were missing- the tree and the Christmas cookies. The tree was missing as we were living in a temporary house that was full of the previous inhabitant's possessions and there really wasn't space for a tree and tragically, the oven on the stove didn't work. We were so deep in the delirious doldrums wondering if we'd ever get our house that Christmas seemed extraneous.
This year, however, we were blessed with the gift of a spruce tree top that was busted in that fluke October snow storm. Bob thought to put the tree- fully ten feet tall- in our stream and it survived just fine. Erected in my studio, which has the very tall ceiling, it looks really spectacular, entirely making up for the lack of tree last year.
I have yet to bake any cookies, but we had a small dinner party last night and we all gathered in my studio around the woodstove and the tree. It was quite magical!