Happy New Year!

Tending skittish dogs tonight - they're afraid of fireworks and firearms. Not very New Years Eve-ish. But no matter. There's a "blue moon" tonight: the second full moon of the month. We can listen to Ella Fitzgerald.

We've had an interesting week: the furnace went out on Christmas Eve day and David did a not-to-subtle reindeer imitation on Christmas morning - stomping on the roof when he got stuck after the ice re-froze while he was up there. I squirted it down again and he made it off the roof safely - only slipping once. He needed a part, so our heat was mostly from baking in the oven and from a little parabolic space heater in the bathroom. It was almost enough. Makes you think about how much you heat the house up in the summer when you turn on the oven. David got the part Monday - 5 days (well, counting part-days) of a cool-ish house. I was glad we weren't in North Dakota.

My Christmas morning heating project was baking cornbread. David and Ken had some with pinto beans for breakfast. I made cornbread dressing and marinated broccoli salad to take to David's Mom and Dad's for Christmas Dinner. Prime rib, 4 kinds of pie, etc. Lots of people there. Lots of conversation. Since I can't eat corn, I made some bread dressing for myself with a little leftover bread from Christmas, fresh sage, onions, celery and chicken broth, but I didn't take it to dinner. There was plenty of food there.

Since I got some people cardamom pods for Christmas, I made some orange-cardamom pumpkin bread on Saturday to warm up the house, and some butter-pecan applesauce bread (recipe needs a little work). I decided that a tiny mortar and pestle was not sufficient for crushing cardamom seeds, and I discovered that tapping it with a hammer in a heavy plastic bag (from a cracker box) works much better. Feels sort of primitive to go out to the garage to beat spices to powder. But it's much less primitive than the actual primitive task of grinding grains with a smooth rock. We take so many things for granted.

We've got ham for tomorrow. I got blackeyed peas and a Pasilla pepper for this New Year's Salad.

The doggie logistics have dumbed me down for now. Don't feel like doing much. At the moment, I have Lucky and Troy. David has Maggie. Our geriatric dogs, Sparky and Dottie, are getting deaf and so far they're O.K. in their usual hangouts. Sparky may need to come in later. Little Buddy is not afraid of the noise, and stays in the big doghouse with his little heater. Things are fine, but not exactly festive.

I'm not feeling too philosophical right at the moment, either. But I found some interesting images and music before Christmas which you might like. And then some information about Hanukkah, if you're up for a little deeper thought. Or, for a more personal topic, an Alternative to New Years Resolutions, The Uberlist.

Hope everyone has a great year.

The Sometimes Bumpy Road to Progress

Before we left on our last whirlwind trip to Utah, we heard a story in church about a one-eyed, non-flying pet crow. After attaching a dog kennel to the crow's cage to allow her more freedom during the day, the crow's "daddy" would hear her screeching at sundown, clinging to the side of the wire kennel, unable to find her way back home to her comfy cage. He would have to unhook her claws from the wire and put her back in her home. In her anxiety, she resisted leaving the side of the kennel. Sometimes we are the same way. God wants us to move on to a better place, but we "cling to the wire". Sometimes when we "let go of the wire", progress comes in fits and starts.

While David was talking to people at a foothill facility in Utah, I got out of the car and was met by the most fearless Magpie I have ever seen. Glossier and fatter than the one here. It took food from my hand, even though I was a complete stranger. It flew around, showing off and flirting. And following its interests. Magpies are related to crows, and this one sort of looked like a medium-sized crow with prettier plumage. Quite a contrast to the story about the pet crow stuck to the wire in fear. Kind of uplifting.

David had a wonderful interview, but he did not meet all of the qualifications for the job. I was great to see Mom again. We went home in light spirits. Since that time, David has had another nice interview. When it's time, he'll find the right job.

He's back to work in the house. The sheetrock part is done and the kitchen arch rounded out. Now he's re-doing the surfacing and texturing in the living room and hall. What a mess. Things are piled up everywhere, covered in drywall dust, and the contents of some book cases and a hutch are in boxes. But the job that was done when the house was built has always bothered him, so I'm glad he's fixing it. I haven't been able to get into the office, the back bedrooms or the back bath for a few days. I'm taped into the media room right now. Things should look a lot better soon.

We've also been juggling dogs and cats in the recent wet weather (for which we are grateful). Princess Cat Darla accidentally came into the house while Troy the Giant Dog was inside, causing a big commotion and leading him to think for several days that she was still in the house. I winterized the Kitty Condo and made sure their heater was working. I put a kitty heater in the big dog house in back (Maggie, Troy and Little Buddy came in with me part of the time - it was a little crowded with the 4 of us). I set up a cold retreat in the garage for Sparky, who normally wants to be outside. Maybe it's his Husky/Labrador background. Huskies sleep in the snow, and Labradors were bred to retrieve fishing nets from the ocean. Brrr. He's getting unsteady on his feet and can't get his footing when he's lying on slick surfaces, so now he has a bumpy rubber mat and ridged fabric carpet. He's only wanted to come in on two nights, and I've still had to guide him into the garage against mild protest.

Troy and Maggie have stayed in the house with Lucky a couple of nights during the rain, leaving Little Buddy in the big dog house by himself. He gets separate snuggle time, as he still chews furniture and sometimes gets too playful when the other dogs want to rest. Old Dottie gets a kitty heater in her doghouse next.

We finally have new neighbors across the street, but the house next door is still vacant. Our princess kitty Darla is starting to think the house and yard next door belong to her.

Things are rather unsettled in the world at the moment, but President Obama gave a graceful speech in Oslo. He's on a learning curve, too, I think. On the lighter side of American media and politics, William Shatner and Sarah Palin read from each other's works on the Tonight Show. Maybe you remember Shatner's dramatic reading from Palin's Twitter posts, or his self-parody with "Rocketman".

But back to everyday life: At our fun Branch Christmas Party, the Cox family brought an entire "Polar Express" train painted by an artist friend on refrigerator boxes. The kids got to hear the story read to them in front of the train, while getting little treats. They also heard the Christmas Story via whispers from "Maurice", the shy camel hand puppet who belonged to one of the Wise Men. We sang carols and ate.

I made Spanish Green Beans and a big bowl of coleslaw very similar to this Christmas Coleslaw. I will post more lated on how I used the excess cabbage (bought too much for the party).