We're dog sitting for friends this week. Their lab, Otis, is about Soleil's age, but has pretty much submitted to her since they first met. When at our place, this translates into us regularly shooing Soleil off his enormous bed, as Otis won't get on it if she's on it (and it's so much more attractive to her than her relatively small bed). In many respects the two behave like a dysfunctional married couple, alternating who gets to play the role of curmudgeon.
She whispered, so I had to lean in and then ask her to repeat: "Are you ready for Christmas???"
For one thing, it is December 3rd. That's 22 days before Christmas, and I think putting the ham in the oven NOW might be a tad premature. Also, I only celebrate Christmas because of the cultural expectation to see my family and give them stuff now and then. It's a convenient enough occasion to do so, though I must say the travel would be much easier in the summer.
Surely some bank customers are not Christians... so isn't the assumption that "ready for Christmas" is a state I wish to achieve a bit presumptuous? But I went along with it, as she recounted her gift list status, acting as if I could actually afford to buy gifts this year. But then, before I could get the hell out of there she had to ask, "Do you bake, too?"
Yes, I am a woman. Yes, I have on occasion baked things. But this holiday baking subculture is not a part of my life. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but it is offensive when someone assumes that just because I'm a white woman in the US I have a baking agenda for December. Well, the bank teller certainly does. I was literally done and backing away as she recounted the six batches of cookies plus xmas morning bread repertoire.
I am really not ready for Christmas.
Besides the obvious financial burden for someone without a real income, I am now sucked in to a North Idaho family extravaganza. If I had work I could claim I could not afford to be in Idaho for a whole week, but as it stands my only possible excuses are sudden illness or a bad attitude.
My cousin (on my dad's side) is paying for a fancy condo on Lake Coeur d'Alene for her mom and sister and their men to stay while they are in St. Maries with her dad's family. There is a sofa bed and free transport for me, but aunt Rosie wants to leave on the 20th and spend one night at the trailer of one of her drinking buddies up in the woods (I'd be on the couch), and now it turns out my mom's family won't be celebrating Xmas until the 26th, when my cousin (on my mom's side) gets back from his wife's family in Montana. And the condo where we are staying is an hour or mor from anywhere on icy, windy roads... and I have to rely on relatives (drunk relatives) to drive me anywhere.
The irony is that neither I nor anyone on either side of my family really cares about celebrating Xmas. Except the cousin who is paying for the condo (she once dragged us to the world's largest Xmas market in Rothenberg, Germany... I had a hangover... we were there for hours).
On the bright side, the condo building has a heated indoor pool and a restaurant with a bar. And I have plenty of books to read.
Early winter at Lake Tahoe tends to result in recreational limbo. There’s not enough snow to ski beyond the few resort groomers, and there’s too much snow on the trails to mountain bike or hike.
So low-expectation explorations are required if one doesn't want to head to lower elevations for snow-free trails. On Sunday we headed out to Carson Pass, near Kirkwood, for some low-angle touring with the dog. We knew it would be rocky, but were a bit surprised by just how many were still visible. After negotiating the approach to Winnemucca Lake (usually much easier in deeper snow pack), we decided to attempt skinning up towards the saddle next to Round Top. Conditions were bare enough for us to quickly recognize the folly of that goal. So after a few hundred feet of up, we headed down. It was a nasty, brutish descent, with wind affected snow that didn’t do much to hide the rocks lurking underneath, and some ugly survival skill like turns on my part.
But it was a glorious day to be out, and it was nice to feel the rhythm of skinning again, even if it was mostly cross-country.
I received a beautifully done, wax sealed wedding invitation today from Harmony and Alex. Congratulations!
I met this young couple 2 years ago in London and remember we had a nice chat in an Italian restaurant one night, very inquisitive minds. I hope they still keep that in their spirits and don't let works bog them down. I'm not going to give you guys funny marriage quotes or advices, but let's see what I can find from an anagram of your names…… Harmony + alex…… "X-ray manhole"…. ok suppose marriage is like a manhole and... ok it means nothing….. here you go "Hoy! Relax man!" This I will sign in your guest book, and remember this gold sentence throughout your life!
The first one was masculine, matt black, its business-like keys covered with clear plastic, its back tightly held in leather-look black. The display was that Sinclair ZX81 black-on-snot colour and it had one ringtone. RING RING! I remember getting my first text, it filled the entire screen with the one line 'Hello dear'.It was from Matthew, who knew all about high-tech kit and how to use it. I, on the other hand, didn't have a clue what it was, who it was from and what to do about it.I said 'hello' back, which worked for me, though the words didn't appear and the phone stayed strangely silent.
The second was the exact opposite, smooth, stylish, electric blue cover and tiny buttons which could only be pressed with a hair or bristle. It was the size of a postage stamp and stuck to the end of my index finger. I once accidentally popped it in my mouth, mistaking it for a throat lozenge. Fortunately I didn't swallow, an incoming text warned me that it wasn't the Strepsil I was trying to dial Noel on.
After the Blackberry, which was like talking to a calculator or using a bristle-less hairbrush, came the silver slide phone, which could double up as a mirror compact and had the added bonus of big numbers, set to multi-colour, for my ageing eyes to see clearly. It had pictures and everything.
Still, it comes with its own plectrum. so I can go back to playing the guitar while I figure out how to use the phone.
Here's some more photos of the real Moleskine Surprise boxes I've received on Monday. Last year when the Volant series was launched, collaborating with Moleskine Asia, we created beautifully designed envelopes for people to put colorful Volants in and send as Xmas gift. From our experience with huge Moleskine display during City Notebook's TOKYO/KYOTO release, we know people would love a gift box in the form of a Moleskine notebook for this Xmas. In addition, the retail price is almost like 30% off buying the contents individually. Its never done before.
What's unique about these boxes is that when sending them as gifts, you can almost certain they are on the top of your can't-go-wrong gift list, no matter what the content is. That's one big achievement as a brand. But don't get it wrong, these boxes aren't one of those quick and dirty ways some retailers would do to clean up old stocks, they are thoughtfully designed into themes for customers to choose easily when they think of their gift recipients.
For a more elaborated present, you may find it hard to stuff these big boxes into a Xmas hamper, but that's the point isn't it, a hamper full of discovery… and surprises. I can tell you the Luxury, For Him and For Her sleeves are the most handsome, they can be easily adapted to your hamper's color theme.
To give you an idea how large these boxes are, I've put some pocket and large sized Moleskines beside the box. There's plenty of space still to add more stuffs to your present, and again the box is not only a nice packaging but can be doubled as a storage box approximately the size of an A4 paper (unfortunately because of the round corners, an A4 paper cannot be laid flat inside).
It will be great fun to assemble your own perfect stationery Xmas gift box based on these. Put in a few more interesting products like MT masking tapes, Amadana calculator, rubber stamps, etc and a personal note written with ink and paper, voilà! A thoughtful and useful gift. The Moleskine Surprise Boxes are going to arrive city'super and LOG-ON before this weekend. For a list of available countries in Asia, please contact Moleskine Asia.
Sorry people, I thought I could post some more photos of the Moleskine Surprise Boxes tonight but I screwed up with the photos I took today. The colors were just plain wrong under office lighting. I'll just post here a sepia preview first, hopefully I will be able to find a good spot to take photos again during the day. Stay tuned.
All I could think of as I picked through the earth-covered veg in the local organic shop, where parsnips have been allowed to grow to the size of wigwams before being pulled up by a giant digger, reinforced to take the strain and carrots have been left to do their own crazy thang, was the broad Yorkshire voice of John, an old member of staff who had worked more than 40 years in the NHS. He was about to leave with a full pension, lump sum and none of the grief that would come from yet another unnecessary and expensive re-organisation. He looked at the mayhem and misery around him, patted the breast pocket that held his wallet and grinned in that sardonic way peculiar to Yorkshiremen.
'I'm as happy as a dog with two dicks...'
I'd never heard that before, but thought it pretty well summed up a state of euphoria, though the physical alignment and functioning of such a configuration puzzled me, but only for a moment. It's the sort of thing men think of, probably every six seconds, but women just dismiss as , well, men being men.
So when I picked up this carrot at the local organic greengrocer's, John's Tyke lilt and his euphoric smile came to mind and. so help me, I tittered. Actually, it was not so much as a titter, more like a snigger, then an out-and-out guffaw. The elderly couple next to me joined in and rooted around for more novelty shapes, there were quite a few due to the clay soil which had forced the roots to find new placed to go. That same soil must have imposed giantism on the parsnips which even now, hollowed out, are providing home and shelter for families up and down the land.
As I handed my novelty basket to the smiling sales assistant, she said the staff from the local old folks' home bought their veg there, taking great pains to single out the weird and wonderful to amuse the residents who, unfortunately, don't get out much. But at least their five a day give them a good laugh.
Here you go a collage book cover for 1Q84 made from scrap materials, MT masking tapes, printed photos and glassine envelope. Today I could only find time to read 2 pages because of errands to run. Call it tantric reading pleasure :)
Saddleback Leather briefcase. Overpriced? I think so but I own one, 100 year warranty, no breakable parts, smell great and handsome. Heavy? At least 6.5 lbs. by itself yes, but I carry it every day. Most of the time I use it as a knapsack, it can be converted back to a messenger bag or briefcase in seconds. Get ready to spend hours on their web site exploring all the stories and customer photos.
Dig deeper into Saddleback's Facebook fan page, you will find some lively discussions over there. Dave Munson, founder of Saddleback, is now hosting a Christmas Suitcase Giveaway here! Anybody can join, just take a picture of what you would carry to fill up a large satchel if someone were to give you one for Christmas, you can even draw or paint that picture and it is legit. The judges of this >US$865 prized suitcase are the Saddleback Leather fans, the person with the most commented picture in the fan page wins. Deadline is midnight Texas time 15th Dec, 2009. Go for it no matter what!
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