Pajama Days

"Ahhhhh." That's the sound of contentment. It's pouring rain and cold, though not windy at all. The passes are getting snow by the foot. We're home, all cozy and snug, enjoying our time off. I have a batch of cranberry bread fresh out of the oven, Snax & Snuggs have extra large chewstix and we're getting ready to watch the Seahawks game in about 30 minutes. Brian's got some pork chops with potatoes, turnips, carrots & onions in the slow cooker, for dinner later.


Thursday was our office Crissmiss lunch, at Stanley & Seaforts in Tacoma. It was dee-lish-uss! There were 6 of us: Me, Deb, Steve, his wife Mary, her daughter Lyndsay (age 28) and Steve's daughter, Stephina (age 23). We got the 3-tiered appetizer which was: prawns on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes, braised steak tips with sticky rice & ginger, and warm crab/artichoke dip with warm, buttered herb foccacia bread. Then I had the restaurant's famous signature "Broadway Pea Salad" which is sooooo gooooood. I've been able to make a fair version of it at home too. My lunch was dijon chicken with garlic mashed & veggies. I crave the chicken dijon so much that it's the only thing I've ever ordered at Stanley's in all the years we've gone there!! After lunch we rolled back to the office to open gifts, then Steve closed down at 2:15 and sent us home. I've been off since then.


Friday morning I got up at 7:30 and did all the errands - groceries, picked up prescriptions, drycleaner, bank, gas station. Stopped at the food bank and dropped off a couple bags of groceries. Everyone was in such a great mood on Friday!! I had great driving-karma. A man held the door for me at the bank, even though I was still several steps away - I hurried out and thanked him and he smiled and wished me a happy holiday. It was really nice!! After I got home, I spent a few hours wrapping presents and then I set up the small tree downstairs on the card table, which is covered w/ a Crissmiss table cloth. It looks cute. Brian was home by 2:30 and we enjoyed drinks upstairs till it was getting dark.

Yesterday, I slept till 9:00 a.m.!!! Brian got up at 10:40!! I decided that since I had nowhere to go, I would make it a pajama day. That's right, I was in my jammies all day, under my blanket on the couch, colouring in my colouring books & watching TV with Brian. It was AWESOME. It's what he and I live for! It was raining yesterday too. Sometimes on stormy Mondays, he'll email me from work about how much he wishes we were home to enjoy it. Well, we are taking full advantage of it this weekend!!


We rented "Fido" from pay per view yesterday. It's a sweet, heartwarming story about a boy and his zombie, Fido, in the 1950's. Yes, that's right, "sweet" and "heartwarming" are being used in a sentence about zombies. I highly recommend it. It was very funny & witty, but also sweet. I'm a chicken when it comes to real horror movies, but this isn't a horror movie at all.

I crashed at 8:30 last night and got up at 7:30 today so that I could get to Rite Aid to pick up some scotch tape. I'm spending the rest of today in my jammies as well!


MY SISTINE CHAPEL


They say that Michelangelo went blind after painting the Sistine Chapel, because he was up close to it for so long. In early 2002, I started this Santa cross stitch. Sometime in the spring, I got it in my head to enter it in the Puyallup Fair, in September. Which meant I only had until August to finish. I worked on it at lunch, after work, and all day on the weekend for months. I got it done & framed just in time to enter it in the Fair. I didn't win a ribbon though.

However, over the course of late 2002 & into 2003, I noticed that objects in the distance started to look a bit out of focus. My eyes felt weird. I felt a little dizzy if I looked into the distance too far. I finally went to the eye doctor and ever since then, I've had to wear glasses full time. My eyesight is just awful now without glasses. Everything is so blurry. And so that is why I call this particular cross stitch project, "My Sistine Chapel".




Have a Happy Saturnalia, Cool Yule & Merry Christmas!!!

Columbia, Missouri

I just took out the photo album of our trip across the country in 1989 when we moved to San Francisco, because I'm going to have the pictures reprinted and do a really nice album with more decorations and stuff. I'll blog some of the highlights from that trip at another time, but I just had to show you an amusing picture I shot in Columbia, Missouri.

That day, we got to Columbia kind of late because we'd spent the morning and early afternoon in St. Louis, touring Anheuser Busch & having lunch on a riverboat. We saw this store:Man alive did we bust up laughing. And the jokes were endless! The name of the store fits well into Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns & Money" song, so ever since 1989, we now sing, "Send liquor, guns & ammo, the shit has hit the fan!"

Can you imagine a worse combo? Liquor, guns and ammo? Let's git 'em good-n-wasted an' start shootin' cans 'n shit. I'm sure this store will, no doubt, horrify my Euro readers.

We decided we were going to go back the next day and have Brian pose in front for a photograph, wearing a felt Amish-type hat of mine and holding in one hand, a fake rifle that my dad made for me out of plywood and copper pipe, and a beer in the other hand, and he would probably be pulling some kind of buck-toothed, exaggerated hillbilly face. Both the fake rifle and hat were easily accessible inside the U-Haul moving truck we were driving, so we figured this would be a cinch.

We got up super early to hit the road, and we went past the store. Keep in mind, it's like 6:45 a.m. We figured we could take the photo and be on our way in less than 5 minutes. Imagine our shock, as we rolled past, to see it open. It's 6:45 in the morning, and the place is freakin' open. People coming out with beer-n-bullets. Ain't no way we were going to pull into the lot and take that staged photo!! I really don't think Billy Bob and Cletus would have taken kindly to us city slickers makin' fun of them. Brian consented to roll past real slow while I hung out of the passenger window and shot the photo. If you look real close at the windows on the right side of the store, you can see the reflection of our U-Haul as we rolled past.

Ah yes. America's heartland. Ya gotta love it.

Remembering Jon

At the risk of bumming people out, I am going to do a post to observe the 20th anniversary of my dear friend Liz's brother's passing. Jon was only 22 years old, and the only son.

I can't believe it's been 20 years. Life goes on after someone passes away, but when you think of all the events that happen over the course of 20 years, what your loved one has missed, it's just staggering. Jon never got to meet Liz's children. He never got to see their younger sister graduate from high school or college, as she was only 10 at the time. Holidays. Family triumphs, family defeats. Graduations. Milestones. The list goes on.

I searched through my photo albums but unfortunately, I have no photos of Jon to share. I wasn't in the habit of taking pictures of my friends' siblings, although I could have sworn I had one of him from Liz's wedding in 1985, but I don't.


Jon and I had a great relationship, based upon mutual teasing. He was a year behind us in school and into heavy metal, but he always dressed really nicely; Liz & I were into punk. I would dedicate really awful songs to Jon during my & Liz's radio shift just to get a laugh. Then when I was at her house, he'd tease me and blast his heavy metal to drown out our punk!! Sandwich High could be a difficult place to go to school if you were considered "different", and Liz & I were defintely different. So therefore, she and I took a great deal of nasty teasing from many of the other "preppy" or "jock" kids. Jon always took up for us gals if he heard any taunting, esp. from his own group of friends. I always appreciated that.

I remember a couple of days before Liz & I departed for our respective colleges our freshman year, Jon graciously let us use his fantastic stereo (which he'd saved his own money to buy) so that we could tape each other's records all afternoon.


Jon went to West Point. Once Liz married and moved to Vermont, I didn't see him all that often although Liz always kept me up to date on what her siblings were doing.


Then came December, 1987. And this is the thing that really hit me hard. As you know, I used to work at a TV station in Boston, Channel 56. I worked swing shift, 3:15 - 11:15, and my apartment was in East Sandwich, so I'd get home close to 12:15 a.m. Traffic was always extremely light that time of night.


I left work as usual at 11:15 on December 23rd. As I crossed over the Sagamore Bridge and got on the Mid-Cape Highway at a little past midnight, what few cars were in front of me began to slow down, and then come to a dead stop. I could see up ahead far enough and there was an accident. The median strip on that part of the highway is narrow and flat, so, being my father's daughter, I did a median-strip U-turn, and got back on the northbound lanes, so that I could exit before re-crossing the Bridge. As I made my way down Rte. 6A into downtown, my thoughts were full of Crissmiss, and seeing friends and family. I noticed the fire trucks & ambulance leaving as I passed the fire station.


The next day, December 24th, I went to work and talked to a couple of news videographers, Paul and Randy, who also lived on the Cape. I asked if they got caught in the traffic and they told me that they were one of the first cars to stop, and they had gotten out to try and help, and of course, shot video. This is the part I'm really hazy on....I have a memory of seeing raw footage from a nighttime car accident, but I just don't remember if it was that night. But because I have this memory of seeing raw footage of a car accident, I believe that I must have seen what Randy & Paul shot. Fortunately, neither of the guys shot the injured people.


I was staying at my parents' for Crissmiss Eve, and I arrived there a little after midnight; I'd even forgotten about my conversation with Randy and Paul. My parents greeted me at the door but they were very quiet & subdued, and acting strange. They asked me to please sit down. I sat on the parson's bench in their kitchen and waited expectantly. Then they broke the news that the accident from the night before involved 3 guys from Sandwich High, and that Jon had been killed. The other 2 boys were injured, but alive. I sat there stunned & numb. I knew the other 2 boys of course....Sandwich was a small town back then and I went to school with these kids; one of them rode the school bus with me and the other boy's mom was a substitute teacher. They were often hanging out with Jon at the same time I was hanging out with Liz at their house.

I just busted out crying. Not only for Liz's family's profound loss, especially on Crissmiss Eve, but for the other 2 kids and their families. I mean, they will have to live with this accident for the rest of their lives, knowing that the driver's poor judgment killed their best friend. Speed. Possible alcohol. BMW. A 22 year old boy at the wheel. Not paying attention b/c it's the holidays & they were coming home from a hayride. It was a recipe for disaster. The saddest & most ironic part of the story is that the 2 kids that lived weren't wearing seatbelts and were ejected from the car; Jon however was belted in the back seat and never had a chance.


Can you imagine having the cops show up at your door in the middle of the night, on December 24th, and find out they are there to tell you one of your children is gone? It's horrible to find that out at any time of the year, but during the holidays is especially bad.


The other super sick thing was that for many months afterward, you could still see the skid marks and the damaged tree in the median, right before Exit 2. I would think of Jon every single time I was on that part of the highway...you couldn't help it with that horrid reminder on the pavement and tree, and what a terrible thing it was for Jon's family, if they took the highway to get anywhere.


I went to Jon's funeral with Holly, and he is buried at the National Cemetery in Bourne because he was a West Point cadet. I remember us being at Liz's house after the graveside service, but I must have blocked the specific details of that day out of grief, except that it was a very cold, clear day, and hearing "Taps" played and then echoed in the cemetery was devastating and heartbreaking.


I think of Jon, quite often, especially this time of year. I am still very close to Liz and my thoughts always go out to her and her family each December, as they sadly mark each anniversary and try to salvage the holiday season.

It's Crissmiss Time in The City

Standing in sharp contrast to the quaint New England holidays I enjoyed growing up, is the holiday season in San Francisco. I was extremely lucky to have found a fantastic job at a law firm in downtown SF, in the historic Monadnock Building at 685 Market Street. Next door was the Sheraton Palace Hotel, also rich in City history. I worked downtown from September, 1990 through February, 1996, when we relocated over to Berkeley.



I shot these pictures in December, 1991. This is the tree in the Palace Hotel. The Santa was peddaling but of course you can't tell that in a still photo. This is a small flower stand in Union Square.

Macy's Tree in Union Square.

This jaunty fellow was standing guard outside of FAO Schwarz toy store. I love the little teddy bear dressed up like his soldier buddy.

Chevron Plaza at 555 Market Street. This is the headquarters of Chevron Oil and their refinery is in Richmond, in the East Bay. The red trees are all made from poinsettia plants.

Chevron Plaza.

In December, 1996, I was now working in Berkeley. But one night, Brian and I decided to take a drive into The City and go to Skydeck at Embarcadero Center. I think it's on the 45th or 47th floor of Embarcadero 1. In the photo, you can see the smaller 2 & 3 buildings, then the taller one is Embarcadero 4. Below 4, is the Ferry Building and that's the Bay Bridge in the background. Ground level are Embarcadero and Justin Hermann Plazas.

This is my favourite building in the whole world, the TransAmerica Pyramid. The brightly lit major street diagonally on the right is Columbus Avenue, which runs from Fisherman's Wharf through North Beach (the Italian neighborhood) and ends at the Pyramid.

First Interstate Building. Note the tree-shaped lights in the center!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSAN!!!

Have a fantastic birthday Susan!!!

With thanks to Eliza & Val for the pictures!!
Good luck in the Bowl Game too!

I couldn't resist....

OK I know I could've done a better job with this picture in terms of the background crap, but I'll crop it for the scrapbook. You have NO idea what it took to get them to pose like this. I had a handful of treats and they were quivering with anticipation and they kept looking at my hand. I shot about 4, and this was the best one. Pepper looks murderous in this one, doesn't she? "I'm gonna get you for this mommy..."

I have reindeer antlers, but neither doggie likes them and I figured there was no way they'd sit still with them on so I just used their fancy Crissmiss collars.

One Year Ago

A year ago today, day-wise which was Thursday, December 14, 2006, the entire region was loading up on supplies and battening down the hatches in preparation for a terrible wind storm that was bearing down on us. I remember it was so dark and the rain just poured buckets all day long. I was really freaked out and I left work at about 2:30 to buy wood and take all the stuff out of the yard that could blow away.

The wind started that evening, and by 10:00 pm, our power was out. I took a Xanax because I wanted to be completely knocked out....that way if a tree did come through the roof, I'd never feel it. Both Pepper and Sagan were frightened beyond belief. Sagan vomited in his crate; Pepper couldn't stop shaking.

In the morning, the sun came out, and we ventured outside to assess the damage. Our power was still out and it stayed out for 5 long, cold, depressing days. We were very fortunate that we sustained no damage, but we did have our work cut out for us in clean up.


This was the reason our power was out for so long. The worst part about the storm's aftermath was knowing that our block and this block (which is the street behind ours) were the only ones without power. It was very demoralizing to see all the other homes in the neighborhood cheerily lit for the holidays, knowing that those people had put the storm behind them, then turn onto our pitch dark street. I have to give major credit to both Brian and I because during that entire time period, it would have been so easy to turn on each other, snap, fight, etc., because of the extreme stress. But we never let it get to that point. We got home, he built the fire, I lit the candles. We ate out or picked up food to go. We were both upset, depressed, and angry at Puget Sound Energy, but we did what we had to do and we never once snapped at each other, and it could so easily have happened. We sat in the dark and read by flashlight till it was time to go to bed.

It's one thing to hear about other people in other regions losing power for days on end, and think, "gee that's too bad," but it's another thing to BE one of those people. I have much greater understanding and empathy for the people in Oklahoma right now who are still w/o power because of the ice storm. And our own Washingtonians on the coast are still coping with the aftermath of last week's storm, floods and mudslides.

After the storm, the state looked to the residents to come up with a good name for the storm. I suggested "The Big Blow". I think they settled on "The Chanukah Eve Wind Storm of December 14, 2006" which is awfully wordy and hasn't caught on. Most of us just call it "the December, '06 wind storm".

As scary and stressful as it was last year, I'm glad we went through it. Just like with the earthquake we lived through in San Francisco. Now we know what it's like, and so far, we've survived it.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

Growing up in a Winter Postcard

Although I would never move back to live in Sandwich, it was a wonderful place to grow up. Sandwich is the oldest town on Cape Cod, being founded in 1637. It's not old by European standards, but when you picture the quintessential colonial New England coastal town, you can't beat downtown Sandwich. When I was little, the population was around 7,500, but the town is huge, comprised of several smaller villages, so the 7,500 were spread out. Sandwich Village contains the oldest of the houses. I have warm memories of the holidays in Sandwich and I am so fortunate to have been able to grow up there. Fortunately, even now, Sandwich Village has retained its charm while the rest of the town has gotten over developed. The population is nearly 20,000 now.

The following photos were shot in the winters of 1986, 1987 & 1988, before I moved away.

This is Shawme Pond, where I learned how to ice skate. It would freeze over pretty far out, and back then, we didn't have a rink that was close by, so kids skated on cranberry bogs or ponds. Before I could take lessons at the rink in Plymouth then Sagamore, I had to learn how to balance on the blades and at least get around without falling too much, and this is where I took my first tenuous steps onto ice. It was like watching Bambi learn to walk. There were no "starter skates" with the double blade for me, I learned on the single edge. So many of the older boys were skating and playing hockey that I was terrified I was gonna get creamed. I often wonder if my terrible knee pain is a result from the many, many spills I took onto the ice as a child.Sunset in Sandwich. The thin spire is at the First Church of Christ, and the second is the old Doll Museum, which was in an old church. I shot this from the salt marshes off Rte. 6 and the out of focus marsh grass in the foreground was done on purpose.

Sandwich Boardwalk. The boardwalk crosses the salt marshes so you can get to the beach. In the summer we would jump off the center part into the water channel below, at high tide.

Frozen salt marshes near my parents' house in East Sandwich. That puff of "smoke" on the horizon is steam from the power plant at the Canal.

Main Street, Sandwich.

Looking across the mill pond at a stately old home on Grove Street. Sometimes I'd drive downtown at night and then drag my tripod around shooting people's homes.

The Hoxie House, built in the 1600's. It's a museum, and since my Elementary School was literally just down the street, it was a popular place for class field trips. Note the saltbox shape. The rooms are teeny tiny. People must've been so much smaller in the 16th century!

Thornton Burgess Museum on Water Street.

1986 was the first year that the Sandwich Lions Club, to whom my dad was a Charter member, strung lights across Jarves Street. Being a typical club, the same 5 or 6 guys were the ones that did all the work all the time, and my dad of course was one of those guys.
The Corpus Christi Catholic Church on Jarves Street. I was baptized here, made communion and confirmation here as well. After that, I became a "Christmas Catholic" and only went to 4:00 mass on Crissmiss Eve. I liked that a lot; the church was always packed so that was the one time that we'd get to sit up in the choir and look down. Many of my schoolmates were also Catholic, so it was an exciting time to see them and wish them a great night and wonder what Santa might bring us. I shot this the night of the last Crissmiss Eve Mass I ever attended, 12/24/86. The church has been "decomissioned" and is a bed and breakfast. I don't mean to offend anyone by this, but I have wicked fantasies of Brian and I staying there and having massive sex so that I can say I had sex in my old church.

Another shot of Jarves Street.
Sandwich, 1986.

Sunset at Shawme Pond, December 1987.

I know I did one of these already, but it really is so picturesque. December, 1987.

This is the Sandwich Town Hall. I like it but Brian can't stand it. He always says, "What's that ugly Greco-Roman piece of shit doing in a colonial village?"

December, 1988.

December, 1988. After I went around shooting all of the beautiful old homes, I'd get extra copies, then I'd go around and leave the owners copies of the photos I'd shot of their home, anonymously, in an envelope. I have no idea if the people got them or not.

In the fall of 1988, I moved out of my studio apartment in East Sandwich, and moved into this place on Main Street, right smack in downtown Sandwich. The Doll Museum was right next door. My apartment windows are the 2 left on the second floor. The center window is the hall. There were 5 apartments in this building.

This is the First Church of Christ, Presbyterian Church, in Sandwich. It is also called "The Christopher Wren" because of the Wren-style architecture. This was also a stone's throw from my apartment. I was working swing shift at Channel 56 and I'd get home about midnight. One night it was snowing - not enough to be hazardous but enough to make things pretty - and I got home right at midnight. I got out of the car and the snow was falling softly, and the bells in this church began to chime. I stood there outside my car in the snow and listened to all 12. The sound resonated through the town and was so clear and pretty. I'll never forget that. It brought tears to my eyes. That was my last Crissmiss in Sandwich. Jarves Street, December 1988.

Grove Street, December 1988.