HAPPY EPIPHANY from VERMONT

Only TWO WEEKS left!
May Grace carry us all the way there. ♥

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♥ HAPPY EPIPHANY BIRTHDAY, CATREONA! ♥

A little King's Cake, anyone?
(Or, shall we say, Queen's Cake? ♥)


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* A BRIGHT TWELFTH NIGHT ~ ! *

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Happy Birthday, Renee!

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ALMOST...

The Wise Guys are almost there.

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Alas, poor Yuri...

Ran into the grocery store the other day to pick up the last couple ingredients I needed for dinner, and saw this...



In case you can't read the words on the box, this is apparently one of the "Planet Heroes" by Fisher Price.

Uranus "Yuri"

• Uranus tilts over so far on its axis, it rotates on its side.
• 7th planet from the sun

"Planet Heroes"? I didn't see any other Planet Heroes on the shelf. Just Yuri. Poor guy...for some reason, he's the last one picked!

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~ May Peace Be in Every Heart ~

This wooden ornament is of a Pine Grosbeak
which is a very gentle and peaceable bird.

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* LET IT SNOW! * LET IT SNOW!! *

More ornaments from listener's tree this year.
After all, Christmastide doesn't end until Epiphany.

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♥ H A P P Y * N E W * Y E A R !!! ♥

This ornament has been on our tree each year for the
past 26 years (so far) in honour of our son's birth.

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= OLD and NEW ~ Celebrate! =

Here are listener and a little friend
donning their Paris hats to celebrate!

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Open Thread

While in Chicago, I visited a 7-circuit (classical style) labyrinth (as opposed to the 12-circuit Chartres style labyrinth) for the first time. Hard to tell, though, because it had snowed. :)




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M E R R Y * C H R I S T M A S * E V E R Y O N E !

From a song by John Denver...

The season is upon us now
A time for gifts and giving
As the year draws to its close
I think about my living

Christmastime when I was young
The magic and the wonder
Colors dull and candles dim
And dark my standing under

Oh little angel, shining light
You've set my soul to dreaming
You've given back my joy in life
And filled me with new meaning

A savior king was born that day
A baby just like you
And as the Wise Men came with gifts
I come with my gift to you

That peace on earth fills up your time
And brotherhood surrounds you
That you may know the warmth of love
And wrap it all around you

It's just a wish, a dream I hold
From days when I was young
Merry Christmas little Zachary
Merry Christmas everyone


Love and Blessings

♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡
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♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡*♥*♡

Merry Christmas

Church this morning was a very weird experience. I was the only person there without a "speaking part". There was the priest, the deacon, the deacon's husband (doing the readings) and me. But there was still a sermon. The priest started out by saying, "I know I'm getting old when I almost like it better this way."

The big services were last night, but I used that time to reconnect with a friend I haven't seen in four years. Her husband had the kids and she was spending Christmas Eve alone. As I think about it, for this year, the small, quiet service was what I needed this year anyway.

After church, I went to see The Curious Tale of Benjamin Button. I figured that was enough of a "chick movie" that Demetrius wouldn't mind missing it. But he was with me in spirit, every time there was a point in the film I knew would have him groaning (or playing a tiny little imaginary violin). ;)




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Sleepy Kitty

Consult The Daily Kitten for more cuddly kitten cuteness.

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Swiss glaciers 'in full retreat'

By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News, San Francisco



Swiss glaciers are melting away at an accelerating rate and many will vanish this century if climate projections are correct, two new studies suggest.

One assessment found that some 10 cubic km of ice have been lost from 1,500 glaciers over the past nine years.

The other study, based on a sample of 30 representative glaciers, indicates the group's members are now losing a metre of thickness every year.

Both pieces of work come out of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

"The trend is negative, but what we see is that the trend is also steepening," said Matthias Huss from the Zurich university's Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology.

"Glaciers are starting to lose mass increasingly fast," he told BBC News.

Read the full article.

Meanwhile, our intrepid Renee is freezing her, er, buns off in Chicago. Funny thing about global warming. It's never around when and where you need it.

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Mar-goyle

Currently staying at my brother Paul's place in Chicago. Here's his cat, Marble, posing next to a little gargoyle statue.



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Border Walls Keep Out Mary and Baby

by Maryada Vallet12-18-2008

She walks the trails until her ankles swell and her back pulsates with pain. Her abdomen, swollen with eight months of pregnancy, slows her down, and with each step she cannot help but think, “Will I be left in the middle of nowhere to give birth among the dirt and desert pines? Does anyone out there care to take me in, give me shelter?

Similar questions were certainly asked by Mary, the brave young woman who carried Jesus across borders trying to please the mandates of the Roman Empire. Only this time, “Mary” does not have a partner or a donkey to help, and there definitely is no pleasing the empire.

Read the full article.

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It's Kitten Time

Kittens are good for the soul. Check out more kittens at The Daily Kitten

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DID YOU FEEL A LITTLE LUNEY LAST NIGHT?

Last night the moon came closer to the Earth than it has all year.
It was 14% bigger and 30% brighter! Did you notice?

Here's a photo I managed to get...



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Black hole found in Milky Way

The BBC reports the results of a sixteen-year study, which show conclusively not only that super massive black holes exist, but that in fact one resides at the center of our very own galaxy.

Not to worry, though. Rather than a ravinous monster, our four million solar mass black hole may be benign, even helpful according to one researcher quoted in the article.

According to Dr Robert Massy, of the Royal Astronomical Society, the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.

Dr Massy said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.

It has long been suspected that black holes form the center of many if not most galaxies, and the idea that they aid in galaxy formation is not totally new either. This study solidifies these concepts, bringing home to us the reality that creation and destruction are inextricably intertwined.

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Weekend Open Thread

There's a new site in the "I can has cheezburger" family of blogs, called "Once Upon a Win". That's where I found this:


more epic win

The included this excerpt from the Wikipedia article about Ross.

Bob Norman Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter and television host.

With his calm, patient nature, Ross came to prominence as the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, a long-running television program on public broadcast stations in the United States. When asked about his laid-back approach to painting and eternally calm and contented demeanor, he once commented: “I got a letter from somebody here a while back, and they said, ‘Bob, everything in your world seems to be happy.’ That’s for sure. That’s why I paint. It’s because I can create the kind of world that I want, and I can make this world as happy as I want it. Shoot, if you want bad stuff, watch the news.”

I miss Bob Ross. He was awesome.

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Open Thread

more animals


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CELESTIAL THREAD: Moon, Venus, Jupiter

World A.I.D.S. Day

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"Submarine Service"

This was one of the posters on the wall where we ate our Thanksgiving buffet--a restaurant near the airport with a World War II theme. The caption on this particular poster reads, "He volunteered for submarine service".

As I was standing in line for the buffet, I heard the man standing behind me comment that "submarine service" sounded like a euphemism for something dirty. I giggled, and made a mental note to share that funny line with Demetrius. But then the man continued to speak, and I turned around, realizing that it *was* Demetrius saying something funny. But I hadn't been aware of him getting up to go to the buffet immediately after I got up, so I really did think I was hearing a quip from someone else at the restaurant.

I guess it's reassuring to know that there are at least a few entertaining compensations when one's mind begins to go... ;)

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Friday Open Thread

more animals

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JOY! JOY! JOY!





The test Ally took today came back:

There is NO living Neuroblastoma in Ally!

She kicked that tumor's butt!

Time to celebrate and give Thanks!!

Gee, and Ally's Grammie Sue hasn't even blown out her candles yet!
Tomorrow will be a very special Thanksgiving Birthday!!

If you like, come by and light some candles in celebration! :-)
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=ALLYS

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Tuesday Open Thread

more animals

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Monday Open Thread

see more pwn and owned pictures

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Weekend open thread

Hat tip to Alan for sending me the picture.


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Friday Open Thread

more animals


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Wednesday Open Thread

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Tuesday Open Thread

more lol celebs!

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Happy Birthday, Howard Dean!

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Weekend open thread

see more puppies

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Open thread

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Tuesday Open Thread

more animals

Thankfully, I have the day off anyway.

A few new shared items here.

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Monday Open Thread

see more puppies

By the way, it just occurred to me that Howard Dean's birthday is a week from today.

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Obama, Me and 249,998 other People in Chicago

Everyone had assumed that I would attend Obama’s election celebration in Chicago - everyone except me. I was just tired and thought I would stay home and post a blog for my family to share comments. My friend from New Hampshire called and said, “You're going to Obama’s event on election night, aren’t you?” And my niece emailed me from Oregon with the same question. I began to feel obligated to represent all my Obama friends from around the country. So, when my husband, Bob, said, “Let's go to Chicago Tuesday.” I rose to the challenge.

I sent out emails to friends inviting them to come along but had only one taker, my good friend in activism, Karen. It was up to me to make the arrangements. I printed out “tickets” from the Obama website, googled mapped Chicago’s transit route and cancelled Wed. off from work.

Decked in our Obama shirts and pins, we jumped in the car after work, drove to O’Hare Airport and rode the blue subway line to downtown Chicago. With a little difficulty, we figured out how to put the subway ticket into the entrance gate. We were rescued by an AFSCME union woman in a green Obama shirt when we looked confused as to which way to head to Grant Park.



Downtown Chicago at night is fun but remove all the cars, add a glittering skyline, and mix in thousands and thousands of very happy people you get real excitement. The flow of people carried us down Michigan Avenue. Still not sure of where we were to go, we jammed up the stream to ask the very friendly cops the directions to the entrance for the ticket section.

Ticket holders go to the right; non-ticket holders to the left- to the back of the park. The rest of the 250,000 people were left on the surrounding streets. We were lucky, we had “tickets” or so we thought. We moved in a long line 50 wide through the gates as they checked our credentials in a very loose fashion. No bags- keep on moving. Telephone calls to our daughter updated us on the progress of the election. Pennsylvania is Obama’s YES! Slowly we move in mass and 45 minutes later we file through final yellow-ribboned checkpoint.

“What is this? These aren’t tickets, you can’t come in!”

I argue back, “Look, it has my name on it. I printed it off my computer from the Obama Website.”

No, no this is just a piece of paper, not an official ticket!” she answers. The three of us are walked over to another official and she confirms the previous worker’s statements. We knew it would be physically impossible to walk like a salmon against the river of people. We refused to move.-- “OK just go in!!!” She waves us on.

75,000 people were admitted to the slanted grassy grounds with a podium and large screen TV. The lower part of the bowl-shaped area was filling up. The slopping sides with the better view, were full. We didn’t care; we squeezed in between SEIU Union members, 20-somthings and young African American couples- these people and 74, 988 others!



I started to hyperventilate and panicked, could I stand like this for the 2 hours waiting for Obama to come on stage? I wondered if the people concerned about the chickens in small cages in California would care about us. Good news, Ohio goes for Obama--- yes, yes, yes! We did the math, add CA, WA and OR. This is going to be a quicker night than we thought.

Not drinking since 4 PM helped me control my bodily functions while I was trapped. Being thirsty was a small price to pay. Several of us figured if we all moved together we could sit down on the grass and still be able to breath. 8 union members and I sat down in one unit. We could see the clear sky and stars above the pillars of legs but still hear the sound of CNN announcing that Florida was added to the Obama column.

We all smiled and shared stories of campaigning in surrounding states. We talked about the first time we met Obama live. After two years of working, we felt every minute was worth it to be here on this day. During a standing break I took pictures of the crowd, watched the TV screen and checked through the binoculars to find the stage.

At 2 minutes after 10 PM CNN declared Obama the winner! The crowd shouted in unison. It was New Years’ with hugging kissing and crying. Pictures flashed, people jumped and arms waved above the crowd.

The sound system played inspirational music and we waited in anticipation as the entourage of cars with flashing lights approached the back of the flagged stage.

The beautiful America’s first family dressed in matching black and red, walked on the stage holding hands high to the crowd. Obama addressed the nation with his eloquent words. How wonderful to know this man will be our president and speaking to us and for us as a nation. A wave of true joy washed over me lifting me up as I heard myself spontaneous shouting “Yes, Yes, Yes.”

The aching pain I had trapped in my chest for the last 8 years melted into comforting warmth.

My sister and co-workers worried about us being in danger. The opposite was true; right here in downtown Chicago people of all ages, races and backgrounds came together to celebrate with Obama. Obama “got it”. We are not just a conglomeration of individuals, we are a one America.

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Weekend Open Thread

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Thursday Open Thread

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Wednesday Open Thread

New post-election shared items here.

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THANK YOU, MLK, Jr! THANK YOU, HOWARD DEAN! THANK YOU, PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA!

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KEEPING VIGIL for ELECTION RESULTS

Hubby put up our Christmas tree lights tonight
because they're blue.



That little dark spot near the bottom
of the tree is a campaign sign...



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Election message from Howard Dean

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Election Day Suggestions from Columbus for Obama

From my inbox...

It's here! Tomorrow we have the chance to make history! The campaign is expecting record-breaking turnout! This is great news and now all we need to do is vote and help get out the vote.

There are a number of the things that you can do to make your (and others) line wait not only tolerable but enjoyable and and even fun. True!

First, the campaign is doing it's part. They will be supplying hamburgers, snacks, water and in some cases a local band playing a set!

Here are some things you can do:

* Bring a lawn chair for yourself and even more for others. People will love you for it.
* Strike up a conversation with others in line if they seem interested in talking.
* Bring newspapers, magazines and comic books. You can share them with your line neighbors once you are done reading them.
* Bring a crossword puzzle or use the one in the newspaper. You may even find someone who'd like to help you.

If you help one person stay in line, you will be making a difference.

Thanks so much every one. Tomorrow we will make history!

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Monday Open Thread

moar funny pictures

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Sunday Open Thread

see famous look-a-like faces

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