Happy New Year!

The weather in Chris' folks' neck of the woods has been unseasonably warm the past week... And now, on the one night of our trip that we actually want to be standing outside at midnight, it's supposed to rain. Boo. So, it's likely we'll be "celebrating" the old-fashioned way this time - cracking open a bottle of Asti at midnight, taking two sips and then going to bed at 12:30. Oh, well.

Don't let the potentially inauspicious start to 2007 fool you, though - this will be a year of changes for us. A big year. I'll do my best to keep you posted.

I hope you're all having a great holiday! May 2007 be good to all of you.

Letters from the Past

A gift I got back in Oregon that I forgot to mention - and wanted to call out especially - is something my uncle brought from Connecticut. I opened a package from him to find a small pile of airmail and "V-Mail" letters. Turns out it's part of a collection of letters my grandparents wrote to one another when my grandfather was stationed in London during World War II. I'm about halfway through Grandma's letters to him, and haven't started on his letters to her yet. I'm absolutely over the moon about the pile, and my uncle says there's more where those came from. Obviously, most of their lives they were together and so weren't writing to each other - but there were a couple periods where they were apart, and I'm ever so glad Grandma was a meticulous record-keeper! I'm going to have to spend some time next year figuring out the best way to store and keep them. In the meantime, I'm just thrilled to have them.

The Holiday Midpoint

We're back from Holiday Phase I, and leave for Phase II tomorrow morning... We brought my uncle back with us, as we're all flying out tomorrow morning at about the same time, and he's now out for a walk. Chris is at the office, and I'm catching up on work in my "office" as well, at the same time as I'm doing a last minute load of laundry before repacking tonight.

It was a lovely holiday down at my mom's; it was low-key, like Thanksgiving was this year, and none of us ended up with tons of loot we don't need or have space for. Well, except for my nephew, of course, who raked in the gifts like they were goin' out of style. We've eaten like kings for the last few days, too, including a homemade French onion soup Chris made, and last night's prime rib dinner. Dee-lish!

So, once again, it'll be quiet around here until after the new year... I hope everyone rings in the new year in style - safely and in the company of loved ones. Chris and I could be in for quite a ride in 2007, and it starts next week. Could be interesting.

Happy Holidays

This is my last day online for a few days, so I'll take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy Christmas. May you be surrounded by people who love you, this day and the rest of the year.

Holiday Chaos

Chris & I leave on Saturday to visit my mother for Christmas, and then we fly back east next week to spend New Years with Chris' family... I'm finally done with shopping, but does the to-do list ever get smaller this time of year? I don't think so. One thing gets accomplished (after which, if you're anything like me, you do a little victory dance) and then four more things get added to the list. What is up with that? Anyway, the pre-Christmas craziness is winding down, as there are fewer and fewer days left in which to get anything done. And, as frenetic as that makes me feel, I'm glad it's almost over.

In other holiday news, the splitting-a-water-buffalo idea is spreading - I know of two more Heifer International gifts which have been given as a result of hearing about what Chris & I decided to give each other this year. That makes me feel great, and is the perfect antidote to the long lines and congested roads.

We're Bad Jews

Last Friday night I went to my dad's to kind of celebrate Hanukkah. I say "kind of" because there was ham on offer, and that's not really (ahem) kosher, and because - as I pointed out to the gentiles that evening - we're bad Jews. (And I mean that in the best possible way.)

At any rate, we did light the Hanukkah candles (all of them at once, like we did when I was a kid), which was nice. The rest of the pictures from the evening are here.

So, I'm a little late, but Happy Hanukkah, everyone.

Stormy Weather

After the nasty wind storm last week during which much of the area lost power (my mother, who lives out in the boondocks, is still without power nearly a week later), there came a torrential hailstorm. It lasted only a few minutes, but came down with such ferocity that it actually had time to accumulate and look like snow.

Vatican Soccer

Yet another example of how passion for sport can transcend, well, The Passion. Read more here.

Transition Problems

So, I switched from the old Blogger to the new "Blogger in Beta" recently, and only this weekend finally ran into problems with it. I can't seem to post pictures the same way I used to - through Hello - even though I uninstalled the program and reinstalled it. It still has my old login information, which is no longer valid. Yeesh.

It's a shame, as I've got pictures of the brief but exciting hailstorm we got on Friday last week, as well as pictures of the Hanukkah celebration at my father's house Friday night. I'm hoping I'll figure out the whole shebang eventually, and if anyone's got any insights I'd appreciate them.

When candles aren't just for romantic dinners

I left the BootsnAll office at 5:40 last night after talking to Chris and finding out we had no power. I heard I-5 South was a parking lot from 405 to 205 (in other words, the entire length of what I'd need it for, and then some), so I opted for what is normally a reliably quicker back road. Silly, silly me. I forgot that "back roads" have stoplights. And stoplights need electricity. So, almost the entire drive home was completely jammed.

Oh, and to top it all off, I started the journey with only a quarter tank of gas, and the "empty" light came on when I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with no gas station in sight. Lovely.

I made it to a gas station by detouring slightly from what I thought was going to be the least tree-ridden way, and it turned out to be the quicker way home, I think. As it was, I didn't pull into my garage until nearly 7:30 - and this is a drive that normally takes me 25 minutes. Egads.

I came home to a well-lit house, so the power had come back on. Hurray! I got to heat up some leftovers in the microwave for dinner. Hurray! We settled in to watch some television programs we'd recorded when - just like that - the power went back out again, and stayed out for the duration. We lit candles all over the living room, and read magazines by flashlight until bedtime. Thankfully the power came back on sometime in the night.

Why We Travel

One of my duties at BootsnAll is to populate our travel inspiration site, Why Go. I love Why Go - partly because it gives me a chance to feed my love of photography and quotations, and mostly because it's not a question (why go?) but a statement. That changes the entire meaning of the site for me.

At any rate, someone on the message boards posted a link to this slideshow treat on the New York Times Travel site, and it's of a similar ilk as Why Go. It's not about where we go or what we do once we get there - it's just about the going.

How Not to Spend an Unexpected Night Alone

Chris got called out of town on business today, and my friend Toni came over to utilize the laundry facilities. She's a big sci-fi fan, so the Sci-Fi Channel was on quite a bit. This is a channel I think is only on when Toni comes over. At any rate, for most of the day I was working in my office, so I wasn't watching TV. When we sat down to eat dinner, however, something was just starting that actually looked kind of interesting... And thus began the worst way for me to spend an unexpected evening alone - watching something mildly creepy.

It was the first three of a four-part series called "The Lost Room," and it's actually really good - very clever and interesting. Of course, it has its creep-o-riffic elements, so now that Toni's gone and I'm facing a night alone in the house, I'm wigging out. Lovely. The finale of the show is on tomorrow night, so Toni's coming back over to watch it with me. Because I have to know how it ends, and I can't watch it alone.

And yes, I'm a complete wimp.

Gift-Giving for People Who Don't Need More Stuff

Chris & I were chatting yesterday and found that we'd both come to the same conclusion... We didn't want to give each other more "stuff" for Christmas this year. Instead, we decided to share the cost of purchasing a water buffalo for a family in need. I'm extraordinarily happy with this outcome, as it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart and allows me to say that my husband gave me half a water buffalo for Christmas. And if that's not a conversation starter, I dunno what is.

What the coming year may bring...

As we're nearing the end of 2006, Chris & I know that at this point next year we'll be in a very different place - perhaps physically, and definitely metaphorically. Chris' job is ending in July of next year, so he's beginning a job hunt now (thank goodness he's got quite a bit of notice). We don't yet know where we'll end up, and it's exciting to know that there are so many doors open to us.

Sure, there was a moment - okay, a couple days - of mild panic on both our parts, and we've gotten past that. We're kind of enjoying contemplating all the possibilities...

Temporary Blindness? Or an Ocular Migraine?

A few years ago, I had a series of bizarre episodes where I'd have a blind spot that would get bigger and bigger until half of my field of vision would be eliminated... And then eventually things would return to normal. It was all very strange, it didn't hurt, and I wasn't sure what to do about it. I finally asked a doctor, who said I was having an "ocular migraine." And yes, I had the same quizzical look on my face that you do on yours right now.

From the Mayo Clinic website:

Ocular migraines are characterized by abnormal visual sensations. They occur most often in people with a history of classic migraines. Ocular migraines are sometimes followed by head pain.

When an ocular migraine starts, you may notice a small, shimmering spot near the center of your field of vision. Initially, you may only be aware that something isn't quite right with your vision.

However, within a few minutes, the shimmering spot expands. You may become aware of a distinct visual abnormality accompanied by patchy vision loss - usually affecting both eyes. The shimmering area may also be bordered by silvery or colored zigzag light patterns. This zigzag pattern eventually expands into the outer part of the visual field. Within 15 to 30 minutes, the visual abnormality travels far out into the side vision and then disappears.

The cause of ocular migraines isn't clearly understood. But they're thought to be due to abnormal stimulation of nerve cells (neurons) at the back of the brain. Like classic migraines, ocular migraines tend to occur irregularly but repeatedly. You may experience several ocular migraines within a week and then not have any for months or years. Some people have heightened sensitivity to light or sound before the start of an ocular migraine.

Ocular migraines typically need no treatment. However, if they're often followed by headaches, you doctor may recommend medication to relieve headache pain.

My ocular migraines were never associated with pain, and I could never figure out what triggered them. I got several in a relatively short period of time, and then after that I didn't have another one until last night. The one last night went away really quickly, though - much more so than the ones from a few years ago - though I have no idea why. I took two aspirin as soon as I realized what was going on, so perhaps that did it. In any case, it's all quite odd. Thank goodness it clears up pretty quickly - it's an uneasy feeling (to say the least) to watch your field of vision slowly shrink.

Make Your Own Passport Photos

It's not that running down to the corner store to get your photo taken for your passport and visas is a real hassle anymore, since everyone and their brother has a digital camera set up almost specifically for this purpose nowadays... And yet the idea that you could produce your own passport photo in the comfort of your own home has obvious advantages. Principle among them? When you hate the first shot, it doesn't cost you anything extra to try again.

Scotland's Schoolchildren Get "An Inconvenient Truth"

From today's Progress Report:

Every schoolchild in Scotland will be offered the chance to see An Inconvenient Truth under a plan presented by energy company ScottishPower. "ScottishPower, which has also given copies of Mr. Gore's book...to hundreds of its staff, plans to pay for cinema screenings for older children in primary schools and all secondary pupils."

I wonder if that means the next great climate scientists will come from Scotland?

Why I Don't Like Concrete Floors

The BootsnAll Holiday Party last night was great... And I'm absolutely exhausted today. My fabulously fierce shoes turned out to be even more pain-inducing than they normally are due to the concrete floors at the party venue. Waking up this morning, I realized my entire body was hurting... And I still couldn't be happier.

I was reminded plenty of times last night why I love the BootsnAll community so much, and it only made me love my job more. I've had enough jobs I didn't love in my lifetime to know that this is something to treasure. And though I'm still in "recovery" from last night, I'm already looking forward to next year's shindig. That's got to be a good sign, right?