As the Holidays Fade Out ...

Here we are, now two full days into the new year of 2009 and I'm reluctant to let our beautiful tree go just yet, though it's inevitable some time soon.... So here are a couple more shots of some favorites that hadn't made it up here yet this season. I call this one the "Double Dog and Dragon Dare," for rather obvious reasons, lol. The Jack Russell Terrier is of course one of my favorites (another find from the infamous Denver airport delay), as is the (now) antique flocked plastic dog (bearing a faded tree) at the upper right ... this one is especially nostalgic for me, as I used to love seeing it on my sister's tree back in the early 1970s when it was actually in fashion! Back in my single days, when all I had for a tree was a small artificial table top 2 ft tree, my sister went through a bunch of her old ornaments and gave this one to me ... much to my delight! He's been on every tree I've had since about 1992 and as long as he holds out (he has faded quite a bit over the years) he'll always have a place of honor on our trees. The dragon is of much more recent vintage, having come to our house for the first time in December of 2007, when I found it at World Market and just had to get it for Fernymoss, who of course was delighted to now have a dragon gracing the tree!
Here's another favorite making a tardive appearance this year, the seahorse I found a few years ago (along with the pink flamingo) and just couldn't pass up ... I think it's easy to see why, because he brings such a lovely sparkle of blue and gold to the tree, and when seen in just the right light, he really seems to glow! And if you look closely in this shot, you can see a bit of yet another dog ornament hiding in the branches ... a little plush black and white pup wearing a Santa hat, yet another World Market find from last year I couldn't resist tucking into the tree this year (Fernymoss had forgotten or neglected him, but not I).

Speaking of World Market, we both had the 31st off from work and since we needed to run an errand in that neighborhood, we decided to swing by and check out their "huge 75% off after holiday sale." Usually we avoid these kinds of sales, because at least for me, they're rather depressing as one peruses all the unsold items picked through and rejected for whatever reason, but then again, sometimes one finds unusual and delightful bargains. The store looked rather bleak (like many just after the holiday blitz) but they had an incredible selection of ornaments still left, all 75% off, so of course we couldn't resist at least looking! We ended up being pretty judicious and only purchased 3 items for the tree (one of which is a gift for my sister): A lovely red and gold pagoda with tons of sparkle magic, a Big Ben ornament (roughly the scale of my Eiffel Tower) and a small (really small!) cluster of sparkly mushrooms I picked up for Fernymoss. All in all, I thought we demonstrated incredible restraint, despite the major discounts. There were still some good holiday food items still left, so I got a couple of boxes of European style cookies and grabbed a couple of marzipan pigs for Fernymoss (he loves the stuff, I hate it) ... but the best discovery was a magnum of Cristalino Nature Brut Spanish champagne that was on sale for $15.99 ... based on the posted reviews I decided to give it a try and we were quite delighted with it as we sipped our way through it while watching Moulin Rouge! on New Year's Eve. In fact, we liked it so much I'd like to go back and buy a few more bottles while they have it in stock, just to keep around for special occasions or gifts.

Ok, with Moulin Rouge, I suppose Absinthe might have been more appropriate given the historical context, but we were really more into the bubbly mood than Absinthian contemplation, since it was New Year's Eve and all! If you're a fan of vin mousseux (bubbly wine, not technically champagne), the Cristalino Nature Brut is a good choice, especiallly for entertaining, because it won't break your budget! As much as I love the fine French champagnes (I usually spring for a Perrier Jouët or Veuve Cliquot, but not this year), I've become more and more of a fan of the more moderately priced Spanish alternatives (such as Segura Viudas) over the past several years. There are some really good ones out there, you just have to give them a try and see if they fit your own palate....

New Year's Frivolity

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As we inch inevitably closer to New Year's Eve, perhaps the most alcohol connected of all holidays (save, perhaps St. Patrick's Day?), I thought I'd search out a video of a twisted little song we discovered on XM Radio's "Twisted Christmas" channel last year (alas the channel disappeared this year) ... The Twelve Drinks of Christmas. Now, the version we first heard (and like the best) was originally recorded by Frankie Ford (a somewhat famous 50's R&B and pop star, I guess?), who does such a hilarious rendition of boozing it up that you can hear him clinking ice cubes in the glass. Alas, I can't find a complete version (though I did download it from Amazon for .99), but you can hear a snippet of his classic version here. But, as I looked around, I found that others have recorded various versions of the song, some (much) better than others. This one I quite like, though it's a far cry from Frankie's original ... it's by Jean Shepherd (NO, not that Jean Shepherd of Christmas Story fame), a country singer with whom I'm totally unacquainted, but she does belt out a very fun version of the song! She gives a nice twist to Frankie's version, complete with wry commentary on her alcohol fueled trajectory to the cemetery....

A confession of sorts: ever since I was a kid I've disliked the 12 Days of Christmas, mostly because for me, the novelty wore off after the first time and now there are so many positively interminable versions out there that it's become downright tiresome and annoying (e.g. who could ever forget that never ending version Dinah Shore sang in the Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special? Even he fled the room!).

In any case, whatever your thoughts about this song, this should provide an amusing end of season diversion as we approach the arrival of the New Year 2009, which many of us hope will usher in better days and the beginning of a new era. We are hopeful for many things in the New Year, not the least of which is the eventual adoption of a new puppy into our family ... we'd like to think that Pepa and Rolly are working on that for us right now, nudging a worthy successor to their huge paw prints gently our way until we realize who she will be (thanks, Janet, for the beautiful thought expressed in your recent email!) ... We're in no hurry at this point, but anticipate she may arrive in or near spring....

So what are your New Year's Eve plans? We've never liked the ridiculous energy spent on "having a wild time" that many people expend (not to mention the hangovers and dangers of driving inebriated), so we always spend it quietly at home alone or with a few close friends. This year it will just be us two ... we'll have a special meal, special treats and beverages and a bottle of champagne to top it off. Nothing fancy, just a little out of the ordinary as we choose a few good movies to watch while we take it easy on the countdown to midnight. I should have more details on which ones are up for this year, but Woody Allen's Stardust Memories has always been one of my New Year's favorites for some odd reason ... and then there are the new DVDs I got for Christmas to watch (No Country For Old Men, Baz Luhrman's Red Curtain Trilogy, and Better Off Dead), so who knows what we'll pick! It has been a long while since I put on Moulin Rouge! though, so I may be lobbying hard for that one! That one always energizes me and leaves me breathless ...then there's Strictly Ballroom! Oh, so many choices! Feel free to weigh in with your suggestions and/or favorites....

So how do you ring in the New Year? There are a lot of traditions out there, and I'm always curious to learn how others celebrate (or don't) ... I know it's got to be different from my childhood when it was all Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians, some shrimp cocktail and cheese along with unlimited soda (champagne was unknown in our house in those days!) and whatever Christmas cookies were left over.... I always skipped the sardines in mustard sauce ... those were the exclusive domain of my Dad!!!

Dog Shoplifts Own Christmas Present

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I just thought I'd post this fun little video I ran across tonight ... it made me smile, even with the generalized miserableness I'm experiencing with this cold that hit me on Christmas Eve ... at this point I'm just taking cough medicine, cold remedies and trying to ride this thing out before I'm back to the regular work insanity on Monday. I've been getting lots of rest, fluids and just generally vegging in front of the TV to Food Network and a couple of movies (I have to admit that Bubble Boy was a pleasant surprise! And 30 Days of Night wasn't as awful as I thought it would be, but then I'm sick and not so picky...) But this short video really made me chuckle (in between coughs) and shows just how ingenious our doggie buddies can be when they really focus on something they want.

Watch this one, you'll be glad you did! Now I'm off to one last dose of cough syrup and then to bed, hoping to feel better in the morning!

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël! Feliz Navidad!

Well the big day officially arrived here quietly tonight, as we were watching A Christmas Story, one of our annual holiday rituals, after we exchanged (per family tradition) one gift early ... Fernymoss got a microplush fleece blanket for those chilly times watching movies, and I got a 2009 Welsh Corgi calendar (yay!). As my year of Jack Russell Terriers winds to an end, thanks to Fernymoss I'm back to a Corgi calendar again, and there are some really handsome dogs in this one. I think it's safe to say we both liked these gifts, small tokens of promises for tomorrow morning.

All in all, it was a very relaxing (if a bit cold outside!) and warm evening spent with my sister and her boyfriend for our annual Nosh Fest and small gift exchange, after which I introduced them to the marvelous short film by Australian filmmaker, Adam Elliot, Harvie Krumpet, the 2003 Academy Award winner for best animated short subject. It's a very funny and poignant claymation short about a rather odd Polish man who emigrates to Australia where his life story is told from start to finish, alternately humorous and sad.... If you happen to have the Sundance Channel on your cable/satellite, keep an eye on the "Short Films" feature to see if this shows up (and they've been showing it again a bit recently) and give it a chance. You'll be glad you did....

Here's the spread I had prepared for tonight, nothing complicated, though I did putz around in the kitchen most of the afternoon preparing everything, but I managed to get two loads of laundry done and take frequent breaks to watch segments of the Food Network in between tasks, so it wasn't really a lot of work per se (unlike previous years ... I just wasn't up for that). So here's what we had ... from the left you can see the relish tray of Picholine olives, black olives and French cornichons, marinated artichoke hearts, shrimp cocktail and sauce, my (in)famous ham, cream cheese and green onion rollups, two baguettes I baked fresh just a few hours earlier, smoked salmon from Washington, and several of our favorite soft cheeses, Saga Blue, Italian Cambozola and a slice of Brie. I also had a crock pot of meatballs in marinara in the kitchen that didn't quite make it to the serving table in our dining room. And last, but not least, two bottles of this year's vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau, another of our Thanksgiving/Christmas traditions. This year's cuvée turned out quite nicely after a rather disappointing vintage last year, so we were all pleased with it and it went rather quickly. I didn't even end up doing the fancy hors d'oeuvre I had bought (crab cakes, mushroom and cheese turnovers and mini cheese soufflés) because everyone was content with making multiple trips to the serving table. Even though this looks like an incredible amount of work, compared to what I've been doing in the "real world of work" lately, this was a pleasure to prepare, especially for some of the people who matter most in my life.... We really enjoy having my sister and her friend over each year, because it's a very low key affair with no high expectations set, so we can just enjoy each other's company ... just what we were hoping for in this rather sad transitional phase at our house.

In any case, such was our quiet evening at home with family and friends ... And for you visitors and regular visitors, I hope you passed an equally enjoyable evening however you chose to mark it.... In this ultra consumerist environment of over inflated expectations (rarely met), we hope you found time to focus on the fundamental reasons why we gather together at this time of year and rediscovered the bonds that bring us all together, even if only briefly, due to life circumstances. Whatever the case may be, both Fernymoss and I send out our warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday season over the next few days, from our house to yours! It may be very cold outside (not to mention the way too regular snows!), but ultimately, the warmth comes from within, and that's where I've always thought it should come from!

IVG and Fernymoss

A View From the Top

Tonight, let's take a look at what's going on at the top of the tree, and as you can see, there's quite a bit! In fact, the tops of our trees are always really densely packed with all sorts of stuff ... faux fruit and berries and dried plants and whatever else strikes Fernymoss' fancy. He's fully in charge of the top, since I can't reach up that far anyway, so I just let him go wild....
Now, I'm sure you're wondering what on earth a witch is doing at the top of our tree ... it's simple, she's flying by the Blue Moon seen just to her left in this shot. Of course the witch has her story ... several years ago we were shopping at World Market near Christmas and Fernymoss spotted this one and immediately fell in love with her. He was, however, daunted by the price (I think it was about $15 or so), feeling a bit tapped out, so I convinced him to pass it by. Then, while he wasn't looking, I snuck back and concealed it in my cart so he wouldn't see it. Later, during the same trip, he decided to go back and spring for it, but alas, she was gone! (They only had one on display.) So he was a bit disappointed, but resigned to missing his chance ... I gave him my best 'Maybe we'll find one next year' (or some such subterfuge) and that settled that. All the rest of time in the store I was sure he'd spot it in the cart, but fortunately he didn't see her, even when I checked out in a separate lane from him.

So, I wrapped her up and saved her for Christmas Eve, when we allow each other to open one gift early ... when he got through the wrapping and found her, he was overjoyed to have her on board, but wondered how I'd managed to pull this off without him noticing (same reaction I had!) ... so now, she always has her place of honor flying by our Blue Moon for a few weeks every year. What was odd, was that year, World Market had all sorts of Halloween themed ornaments, such as Jack O'Lanterns, Pumpkin Scarecrows and Ghosts ... I didn't quite get it, but thought they were fun. This is, however, the only one who got to come home with us and we hope she'll stay for many years!
This shot is a view slightly down from where the witch is, and of course the mushroom commands all the attention here, but you can also get a good idea of what other organic sorts of ornaments we have packed in there.... That bit of feather you can see is the butt end of one of our many birds, in case you were wondering! We should get some better shots of the birds because I could do a whole post alone on the several types of birds that land in our tree ... that might still happen, but time is getting short and I can't be ornament blogging all the way into January, lol. Later tonight I'll have some more shots of the tree and the loot underneath it, as well as what we're having for our Christmas Eve Nosh-Fest ... maybe even a recipe if I still have any energy left after a day of cooking and baking!

In years past, I spent days baking cookies and making candy to give to friends and neighbors as gifts, but this year, I just don't have the energy or motivation, and since we've dialed down and have been strictly controlling our spending, we just decided to skip it this year. I feel a bit guilty about that, but I'll still struggle with the cookie press to make a batch of buttery Spritz cookies (the best!) and a batch of "Snowballs" (aka: Mexican Wedding Cakes), because I do like making them, but just not in the usual mega quantities I have in the past, so I'm hoping it will be fun this year. We're hopinig that 2009 will be a better year for us, less dark and unsettling than 2008, and when Christmas rolls around next year, with any luck I'll be in a better state of mind and energy to go back to my older, more generous ways.... And, with any luck, we'll also have a new, lovable pup in our lives come next December to bring joy and spirit to the season ... I'd be lying if I didn't say that is something that is sorely missing this year, the first time in 11 years together we haven't had dogs celebrating with us at Christmas. So, we'll mark this transitional period as best we can this year and look forward to the coming year, where at some point, the scurrying pitter pat of little paws will be heard in the house again....

More snow on the way tonight, after last night's new snow, so if predictions are correct, we should have over 6" on the ground by Christmas ... not a huge amount by Iowa standards, but these little storms have just been too regular of late that they've been wearing us down with all the shoveling taking time away from the more enjoyable holiday preparations. But, as I constantly remind myself, that's winter in Iowa!

A Little of This and That Ornament Blogging

I really intended to organize my ornament blogging thematically this year!
But after all that's been going on at work and on the home front, it just hasn't worked out like I planned. Something about the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley comes to mind...! Anyway here are today's offerings, a bit of this and that, each with its own story to tell....

This shot showcases another of Fernymoss' new finds ... the gold fish with blue stripes, who's swimming through a veritable sea of assorted companion ornaments, including my precious Eiffel Tower (I got that one about three years ago), various bauble type ornaments and one of the strawberries from our collection of fruit ornaments. In fact, this strawberry (and the others in the set) was among the ornaments we bought the year we got our first tree, way back in 1998 (the year we moved here to Casa IVG). Over the ensuing years, we've built up quite a collection of fruit/veggie ornaments, and are always on the lookout for new additions. So far we have strawberries, oranges, apples, grapes, and pears, but the artichoke and carrot ornaments still elude my efforts. You can also spot a few of our glass icicle ornaments, a gift from Fernymoss' mom from a couple of years back. She spotted them on a day trip one summer (of all times!) and they just begged her to get them for us, so here they are now; we think they're quite lovely and are great at catching the color from the surrounding lights....

Here's our frosty pickle, another of the ornaments I got in the Denver airport several years back during that long delay I mentioned in a previous post. Someone had told me it was traditional to have a pickle ornament on the tree ... there was some folklore associated with this, but it has long since escaped my memory. Something about an old poor woman or some such lore, I think? If anyone knows the precise tale, let me know! To the left you can get a backside glimpse of my Pink Flamingo, an absolute necessity for any diehard John Waters fan such as myself! It took me a few years to find it, but now it's got a front and center spot on the tree every year ... You can also spy one of our (many) decorated glass egg ornaments we went gaga over a few years back. They reminded us of the famous Fabergé eggs so popular during the reign of the Czars in imperial Russia ... these hardly rival their famous heritage, but they are quite pretty and add a lot of sparkle to the tree. We gave a lot of these as gifts the year we found them, and it's always fun to see somone else's tree sporting something that came from us originally....

Finally, these "teardrop" reflective center ornaments are very old fashioned, I think, and I can remember when I was a kid my parents had a bunch of these type of ornaments that they considered out of fashion, so they rarely got put on the tree unless I insisted I be allowed to hang one or two. We've found that they're definitely back in style, and we have several types and colors of them all around the tree, because we love the way they flash from the reflection of nearby lights, and in fact, they positively glow! Both Fernymoss and I have a fondness for retro looking ornaments in general, I guess because they remind us of our childhood memories of how beautiful and magical the family Christmas Tree seemed in our young eyes. So that's what we try to recreate in our trees every year ... a bit of magic, a lot of flash and sparkle to cheer us up in the dark of winter. Some of our ornamental traditions date back to the Pagan Yule (such as placing edible items or simulacra thereof on the tree), while others are purely reminders of childhood. It's all one big eclectic mix of course, but that's a perfect reflection of who we both are ... amalgams of all sorts of traditions and tastes and interests that all compete for attention at this time of year while they go on display on the tree for a few short weeks. It's always a bittersweet process to have to pack them all up and put them away till the following year ... but we enjoy it while we can and usually stretch out the season a while beyond New Year's just so we can continue to bask in the colorful glow just a little while longer....

Tomorrow we'll focus on the top of the tree, and you may be surprised to see some of what's lurking up there! So stop back and see what you think....

Monday Dog Ornament Blogging

It's hard to believe, but here we are, just a few days before Christmas, and fortunately, in the gifting department ... both of us are almost finished shopping (at least I am) and for me, only the wrapping remains and preparing and shopping for the Christmas Eve nosh fest we have planned. I tell you, if cold weather puts people in the spirit of the holiday, they should have been delighted, but for the rest of us who are less fond of dangerous wind chills, high winds and blowing snow, it was a miserable weekend weather wise. My sister took me on our annual final shopping blitz and when we set out, it wasn't too bad out --a bit chilly but not brutal-- but by the time we emerged from Target not long later, the wind had kicked up and was blowing snow all over and just plain chilling us to the bone! But since this has become an annual outing for us (which allows me to finish up without Fernymoss around), we decided to brave it and also stop by Big Lots and see what was left there, just for fun. I ended up finding quite a few fun little stocking stuffer items (mostly food items and fun doodads for Fernymoss) ... I also splurged and bought myself an electric warming throw blanket to have when we're watching TV after the heat has cycled down for the night. I tried it out last while we were watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and it's a welcome addition for lounging around! I'm glad I broke our rule (e.g. no personal purchases of potential gifts after Thanksgiving) and got the usual scolding from Fernymoss, but I just couldn't pass it by!

On Sunday, our high temperature was -2F with a windchill of -17-20F due to the high winds, which also undid all the sidewalk shoveling Fernymoss had slaved to accomplish on Friday after our most recent sleet-ice-snow event ... So Sunday he set out to clear them again, only to discover that due to the cold, it was impossible to get all the way down to the walk due to refreezing. So at least they're not slippery and are passable again, and we just hope we get a bit warmer so that we can put the ice melt down and let it do its work.... But that looks to be (from the forecast) no earlier than Thursday (+27 predicted or Friday, +31), so here we are still in the deep deep freeze. Needless to say, we only ventured out Sunday to go to our nearby supermarket to stock up on what we need for the Christmas Eve get together with my sister and her boyfriend, a very small family gathering at which we exchange a few gifts, have some good food and wine and mark a very low key celebration. I'll have more details on that Wednesday night, so check back later in the week
Now, on to the dog ornament blogging! The two ornaments featured in this post are new this year, and Fernymoss picked them up a while back where he works now ... we had vowed no new ornaments this year (we have way more than will fit on the tree!), but he couldn't resist these and a couple more you'll see soon. I call this first shot "Terrier Ensemble," because though it features a clearly terrier breed (we think it's supposed to be a wirehair Jack Russell), you can also get a nice view of some of her neighboring ornaments ... namely, one of our (many) blown glass old fashioned baubles, one of our set of golden pine cones and one of my favorites, our cuckoo clock ornament. There are always stories about how we acquired certain ornaments, and this one is no exception.

Back in 2005, on December 22 or 23 (I don't remember which) during one of my many trips for work, I got delayed for several hours in the Denver airport ... due to a snow delay (no surprise!). So I was reduced to wandering through some shops to try to while away the time before my flight ... Now if you've ever been in the Denver airport, there are a fair amount of shops, though most are ones I'd rarely (if ever) enter, but happily I spotted a Discovery Channel Store, which kept me entertained for the better part of an hour or so. Also fortuitously, they had marked down their glass ornaments by 50% (sounded great until I saw the original price points!), so I picked up a few that I found particularly pretty and worthy to go on the tree. That little shopping spree ended up with a rather pricey total (I think it was like $30-40 for about 5 ornaments), but now we're glad these are in our collection, because I've never seen comparable ones since. That's where the cuckoo clock, our smooth hair Jack Russell Terrier (not pictured here, but to come), our frosted pickle, our peacock and a moon/star combo which has since gotten broken. So, in the pure sense of a souvenir ("memory" in French), I'll always remember when and where I got these and they always get a prominent spot on the tree!
It's easy to see why this particular little girl came home to our house, isn't it? It clearly reminds me of times when Pepa would be working a favorite bone, put her paws over it to guard it, and took a little snooze in that position. So, short of finding another ornament that is closer to a more realistic depiction of our dear departed Pepa, this will have to do for now. Close enough for me, though and we'll always remember Pepa in future years when we hang this ornament in its prominent place....

I'm sure that all of you reading have ornaments of which you are --for one reason or another-- particularly fond, and if you'd like to share a story or two in the comments, we'd be delighted to read them! As I said in a recent previous post, we are firm believers in the idea that the decorations on the Christmas Tree are a form of very personal expression, and probably tell a lot about the person who chooses them. As much as I admire Martha Stewart (and other designer types), I can recall looking at her Macy's trees in the past, and frankly, they left me feeling a bit cold ... very artistic --indeed gorgeous-- constructions, but oh, so clearly designerly. I guess that's fine for folks with a lot of money and no time to indulge their own creativity in decorating, but for something that comes around but once a year, we are traditionalists and prefer the more clearly personal --even eclectic-- touch. Call me old fashioned or even a curmudgeon, but the finished tree should reflect the people who decorated it in the house, because after all, that's the fun part of having a Christmas Tree in the first place ... at least as far as we are concerned! So, from here on this week, look forward to more of our collection yet to appear here.... On Christmas Eve, I'll post our menu for our little get together and more of the decorations we have up (which are far less numerous than in previous years, due to our "dial down" approach to the holiday this year).

I'll confess for both of us, that due to the events of the past couple of weeks, we're much less excited and enthusiastic this year than in the past, but we're also vowing to make the best of it and try to enjoy at least a special couple of days together ... I hope we'll manage to pull that off despite it all.

The Tree is Up Now ...

After spending all week in a bucket of water, we finally brought the tree inside last night (complete with the icy disk that had frozen at its base!) and got it set up in the stand. Soon after, Fernymoss started working his magic by stringing the 350 new LED lights we have switched over to this year for the tree. We're really liking them: they're bright, take very little electricity and don't heat up at all. And by all accounts, they last much longer than traditional bulbs and rarely burn out ... they're winners on all those accounts. Though they're currently more expensive than traditional ones, we got these back in October when they had a pre-Christmas sale at Big Lots for not a bad price at all compared to other retailers (sorry, Target).

Tonight we finally located the glass bead garland and set out to get it strung in preparation for the great ornament hanging over the next few days, but here's how it looked about an hour or so ago. This was a flash shot (obviously) so it doesn't quite capture the lights, but it does give a clearer, detailed view of the overall tree so far....
This one was taken in ambient light, so for capturing the overall glow effect, this shot works really well, but the focus leaves much to be desired ... still, for pure appreciation of the warm glow the lights give the tree, it's one we ended up liking.

Amazing Color Morphing Tree

Here's a fun little video I took of one of our color morphing trees ... we tried still shots of it last year, but were disappointed in the results, so I got the idea of trying a quick video using the S700. I think it turned out pretty well for a single take ... definitely better than our previous stills. We got two of these fun little knick knacks from Fernymoss' Great Aunt a couple of years ago (she always gives us two of something each Christmas, lol), and we've really enjoyed having them out to brighten up the table in the dining room. By the way, that's Ella Fitzgerald in the background on the XM holiday channel we have playing while we decorate. A happy coincidence I happened to take this while she was on!

We're still unpacking a lot of the ornaments, but we've located almost all of the really nice ones so far, so we're on the way to getting them placed just so.... Ornament blogging will happen as I'm able to post for the next couple of weeks ... I'm completely swamped at work, and with the sad event of this week, so my time and motivation have taken a big hit. I'll do my best though to share our Holiday décor through the rest of season, so keeping stopping by, friends and occasional readers.

On another note, we're going to pick up Pepa's ashes sometime on Sunday, so she'll be coming home to stay one last time....

It's Coming on Christmas ...

Click Image Above For Audio

They're cutting down trees, they're putting up reindeer, and singing songs of joy and peace ... oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on. But it don't snow here, stays pretty green, I'm gonna make a lot of money and then I'm gonna quit this crazy scene, oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on....

I've admired Joni Mitchell's music for many years (even before college where I really became a hardcore fan) and I've always considered Blue one of her finest albums. For me, this often sad and heartbreaking collection of songs is pure emotion in poetry and music and if I could only own one of her many fine discs, this would definitely be my choice.... And River is perhaps my favorite of the many favorites I have on this disc (Little Green, Carey, California, A Case of You, I could go on and on). I realized today (while trying to leave a coherent message about Pepa on my sister's answering machine) just how very close to the surface my emotions currently are ... and lo and behold, River popped into my mind. So I decided I'd post the YouTube audio tonight.

Yes, the connection to Christmas is obvious, and it's not really "Christmas Music" per se, but it's always one I think of at this time of year, especially when we trek out into the frequently cold and stormy weather to pick out our own tree, which we did tonight, amidst the misty damp cold of an approaching ice-snow storm making its way to our area. We figured that with an additional 5-8 inches of snow on the way tonight and tomorrow and very cold temperatures forecast for the rest of the week, that it was now or never tonight ... so off we went.

In the 10 years we've lived here, we've always gotten our Christmas trees from a family run tree farm business in northern Wisconsin, and have become quite fond of the people who sell them. They're real Wisconsinites from up north (complete with accent and all), salt of the earth, hard working people who provide great trees at a more than reasonable price. So we set off to where they always set up this time of year, in a vacant lot across from an old (now closed) Target store on the north side of the city. As soon as we got close, I began to worry ... there was no giant illuminated snowman or Santa as in past years, and it looked ominously dark as we got closer to the lot. Then our worst fears were confirmed ... they're not there this year. I started wondering about why, after over 10 years, they had suddenly disappeared ... had the business failed? Did they not make enough money here last year and decided it wasn't worth it this time, with the economy faltering? Did they lose their lease on the lot for the season? All sorts of theories swirled around in my mind, and I suppose I'll probably never know for sure....

But we were on a mission (interrupted yesterday for obvious reasons explained in the previous post), so I got to thinking where I had seen other small lots popping up around the city yesterday ... then it came to me, we had passed one in the old Beaverdale neighborhood (where I lived when I first came to Des Moines in 1994). So we drove back, found the lot and pulled in as the weather really started to get a bit nasty (windy, cold, freezing mist) ... as we were the only customers there at the time, we got lots of attention from the very eager guy selling the trees. I asked him where the Scotch Pines were (that's what we've always gotten in the past) and he said they only had Fraser Firs and Balsams (which I'm not very fond of), so we started having him show us the Firs. He had a lot of really nice trees, but most were bigger than we had in mind until he showed us one that was about 6.5 ft tall, and we decided that one would do quite nicely because it was very full and well shaped. So I asked the price. $60. I gulped, because we had never paid more than $30 in the past, so it was one of those situations where we had to decide quickly, not only because we were on a mission, but also because the weather was chilling us both to the bone! So I said, we'll take it, pulled out my $60 and a couple of minutes later, he had it bagged and loaded into the back of the Vibe (we didn't have to strap it to the roof this year, lol). And to sweeten the deal, he even threw in one of those clean up/disposal bags that you just put under the stand and pull over the tree when it's time to take it down. That should help eliminate the never ending vacuuming up of fallen needles this year, so that's a good thing. In all likelihood, if the bag isn't damaged too much taking it out in January, we'll just empty it in the compost and save it for next year, because the city collects the trees for composting, and of course, we're the composting kind of guys after all!

We came home and got it into a bucket of fresh water on the porch for the night, and we'll probably bring it in tomorrow night and get it set up in its stand, and if we both still have enough energy left at that point, we may start getting the lights on it. Once that's done, the real fun will begin ... hauling out our enormous glass ornament collection and decorating it! Though we vowed not to buy any new ornaments this year, Fernymoss has fallen off the wagon a few times and brought home some very nice new additions (such are the perils of working in a crafts store!). So Ornament Blogging should start very soon here at Casa IVG ... I hope you will enjoy it as much as we like showing off our rather eclectic-traditional collection! So stay tuned ...

Brief Pepa update: Today she showed some improvement over the past few days, so we're cautiously hopeful that she'll make it through these next critical couple of weeks. The Lasix appears to be working and helping to eliminate some of the accumulated fluid and her belly is visibly less distended than it has been over the past several days. She rested comfortably and slept a lot on the futon couch in my office most of the afternoon until it was time for her dinner and evening meds. Her eyes are brighter, her ears are perkier and the tail wagging is starting to come back more frequently than before. I hope we can notice improvement a bit every day until she goes back to the vet next Monday ... I know it's going to take time to get her stabilized, but we remain hopeful she'll pull through!

LATE UPDATE: 11:30 a.m. 12/09/08
Pepa came to my side of the bed about 5:30 this morning, saying goodbye, I believe. Sometime between then and 8:15 she passed over and I found her at rest in the kitchen. I am giving her and myself today as a wake, and we will take her into the vet's tomorrow, where they have arranged for a cremation. We are already missing her grievously, and it's going to take a while to pass. I'll post an obituary sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks again for all the kind words of support and love offered in this very sad time.