Um. . . Hi.

Guess what? It's Friday!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting lately. In my spare moments, I've been too busy tracking the presidential primaries, looking for good real estate deals, and attending a book launch party (in which I read a couple scenes for the author). And watching television. Mustn't forget our good ol' friend, television.

Whistler

We had a two-night trip to Whistler last weekend. Photos will be coming, one of these days.

A short full day of skiing on Saturday. Quite enjoyable, but over far too soon. None of us had to ride the gondola hanging on the outside, but Chunlin did miss the first chairlift we took. . .

Plenty of snow from Squamish northward. I didn't need chains, though. Only turning into the parking garage did my tires slip at all, and that was just mild spinning.

Pedicularis playing in the snow

Watch out, Mamurd! Pedicularis is driving!

Look at him go.


But here's what happens when Mamurd gets behind the wheel:

I had to dig it out.

This Month's Photo of Chunlin

Here is January's photo of my beautiful wife from the calendar I made:

"Fallacy is the new truth."

According to a Lake Superior State University panel, "perfect storm" was the most overused cliché of 2007. Also:

"Webinar" made the list as a tiresome non-word combining web and seminar that a contributor said "belongs in the same school of non-thought that brought us e-anything and i-anything."

Similarly, the list-makers complained about the absurd comparisons commonly phrased "x is the new y," as in "(age) 70 is the new 50" or "chocolate is the new sex."

"Fallacy is the new truth," commented one contributor.

Ain't that the truth?

Homegrown Pumpkin

Two months after I cut it from the vine, our biggest garden squash is finally ready for eating! Orange all around. When I brought it in, it was all green, but it wasn't ripening outside due to the cold temperatures.

So finally, the fruit of our "labor" is at hand.

Baked, boiled, and fried, it tastes like pumpkin.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and a grand Holy Day of Kérasa to you!

All hail the Eldest, She Who Walks upon the Sea, the High Goddess of Water! All hail the greatest god of Them all, the One Who is so great that She begins the year all over again!

Kérasa is so cool. I would never say anything bad about Her. Never.

New Camera!

From my office window:

Can you see who's smoking? No? Well, let me crop the photo for you:


And here's one of our cat:

And a crop of the cat's gray hair:

Third Night

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Three French hens
Two turtledoves
And a partridge in a pear tree

-----

Is the third day of Christmas today or tomorrow? The first *night* of Christmas is December 25 and the twelfth *morning* of Christmas is January 6 (while the twelfth *night* is January 5), but what about the time between morning and night? Which way does it go? Since right now is still morning, does that mean that I should be celebrating only the *second* day of Christmas?

Oh, but I'm looking forward to my three chickens this evening, is all. Here comes third night!

White Christmas!

It snowed on Christmas! Such a rare occurance for the Seattle area. 'Tis!

It even stuck on the ground in north Seattle and points northward. For a while, at least.

But here's the snow at my parents' house, where it didn't really stick, except in slush form:


You see, a photo just wouldn't show the snow...

Huh. YouTube has a real reduction in video quality. For shame.

What I Did Christmas Day

Happy Christmas Eve!

Are you working today? I am. Well, not right this minute. But I should be. So, bye.

UPDATE:
Okay, I'm home now. The task currently before me is to pack the car with all our presents and still leave room for two passengers and our personal effects.


(And once again, the tree is too small. Even worse this year, actually!)

UPDATE 2:
It only took an hour and a half to load the car! Yay! . . . And there's still room for Christina in the back seat. I only hope she doesn't want to bring much of anything else. . .

Singalong Time!

I love you, Chunlin
You are my queen
Do you know what I mean?
I love you, Chunlin