Christmas, 2008



All sorts of good things washed down with a good Bordeaux. Celebrity cameos by Obama and Narcissus.

Un joyeaux noel à tous.

Birds fed. Thermostat turned down. Passport and ticket receipt in bag.

Onward to the post office to send off the last of the gifts, then to the airport which I can only imagine will be nuts, as we've got like a two day window between storms.

God(s) willing, I'll be off for a few weeks. Back again before mid January. Folks who need to get a hold of me know how to.

Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah, Happy New Year.

Ahh,

For better or for worse, for the moment, it's still my home.

Tony's Bird Log.



The reason why the bird feeders went up.

+30 common sparrows
+20 chickadees
12 starlings
1 blue jay
2 cardinals (one male, one female)

6 squirrels.

***

Normally, we have tufted titmice and another blue jay hanging around. Once we saw a goldfinch, but that was early in the Fall.

Pablo's first worry was making sure that the birds had something to eat. Last night was a rough night between the wind and the extra snow. In our comfort, we kept wondering what the birds and (yes) the squirrels were doing.

So, this morning, after I shoveled the back patio and steps, Pablo dove into the yew tree, which was seriously bowed down by the snow, to hunt out the suet feeders.



Poor guy - I made him pose for way too long to get this picture. Look at the snow in the beard. Look at the jaunty angle of the hat.

He found one of the feeders - happily, the double one - but the other just vanished. Will have to replace that one, as folks outside are kind of stressed out from the cold and lack of other food options.

Morning.

Normally my first move is to put on a pot of coffee to be gulped down during the race to get out the door. Today was nice. For the first time in ages, aside from the impending snow cleanup, there was nothing for me to rush off to. School's done; they're shut down at least till Sunday. Nothing I can do about that. All my work's submitted; it's out of my hands now.

I have a party tonight and a christening tomorrow; we'll see if I end up at either. Though it would be nice to see people, going out in the bad weather is nothing I really feel like doing. It feels like I'm burnt out. Just want to watch movies, knit, read either the Patrick O'Brien novel I picked up at a library sale or maybe the book the Frenchie gave me on Zola's collected materials for character sketches. I'm thinking about baking some pumpkin bread or a couple fruitcakes so I have *something* to give people, but, honestly, don't know that I have the energy to do even that.

Wonder if there's a movie on PBS tonight. If so, that settles it. (Hmm, West Side Story and In the Heat of the Night on 44. That's a toughie. Have seen both several times, but they're good. Will think about it.)

Kind of like that dream where I get sick and miss all my finals.

So, got to school (it's on the way to work) and found the place dark, the doors locked.

On the doors, someone had hastily taped up signs stating that the college was closed due to inclement weather.

Got to work (another local university that DIDN'T take the copout because it's the end of the semester, meaning exams need to be taken, grades need to be posted. Heck, this morning, someone even defended their doctoral thesis here.) and saw this posted on my school's website:

Friday December 19, 2008

Due to inclement weather conditions, Bunker Hill Community College's Charlestown, Chelsea and satellite campuses are closed today, Friday, December 19th.

Friday exams are canceled. Final grades will be computed by your instructor based on work completed thus far. Check this site again tomorrow for Saturday, December 20th news. Also, please tune to your local television or radio stations for further advisories.

So, I emailed my paper in. Also cc:d the professor, for what it's worth. Thought of using my open for business school email address, but decided against.

Boy, am I tired.

On the Wire.

So, will she get the writing done that she needs to, or not?

She has to reconcile FDR as a Politician with his ability as a Public Policy maker.



We'll see.

So, this afternoon, was making my way into Sullivan when was accosted by a TV reporter. Apparently, some female got mugged and stabbed nearby. Didn't think that I'd make any final cut, as I wasn't all like horrified about the incident - after all, Somerville ain't Utopia or anything, particularly the area that borders Charlestown. Turns out that they did use me at least for the web video.

Anyway, interviewer was so funny because he picked ME up and used all these leading questions (Are you CONCERNED about this incident?! Are you going to CHANGE your LIFESTYLE?!?!) I was all like, Yeah - marginally and No. It's the city, sh#t happens. Note that I'm not wearing an iPod here. He laughed at that all and just said that I was OK. Whatever. Seeing the video, I'm not too disappointed at the editing.

I honestly hope the woman he stabbed is okay. She was just defending herself, for crying out loud. Of course, I hope they get the guy. Eventually, I think they will. Still, this sort of stuff is annoying, and a large part of the reason why I don't go out much after dark (unlike when I lived in Eastie).

Put up a thistle sack this weekend. The finches seem to really like it.

Turnip.

I go through a lot of these in the Winter; just love them. However, couldn't bear to cut into this one when I saw that it started sprouting a few weeks ago:



A slightly unusual centerpiece



Outside catching the few rays there are to be had this time of year.



Back indoors, stealing the bouquet's fire.

Pavel wanted to eat the greens right away, but I am enjoying watching the thing grow. Maybe later on this week I'll cut the top off and plant it. Would be nice to keep something growing throughout the Winter. Would also be nice to have fresh greens in the Spring.

First Snow of the Season.

The guy at the corner store yesterday said that we were going to have snow today, though not much more than a light dusting:



Kind of pleasant, though it's really doing nothing for my seasonal spirit.



I might feel differently when it covers up the junk in the yard. Oh, and when the schoolwork is done. And when I'm safely landed and on my way to what's sort of becoming the default home for the holidays. (Don't like flying at this time of year. There's nearly always weather trouble at some point in the trip.)

The Curse of the Hope.

It took some time, but eventually even Harry Winston got his own.

Very little talk till the end of the month. I have too much outside work to do.

Tried to call the housemate, but the fingers punched the number of the Ex for some reason. How strange to hear his voice after maybe a year of not talking.

Mumbai? Whatever.

The French are still calling it Bombay, so why should I change to some new but still incorrect pronunciation.

Last night was my turn to pick a fight with the Frenchie. I do feel bad about that. I do feel threatened by him sometimes, though, and wonder if that ish't natural. Guess that's why we pay shrinks.