Merry Christmas!

I know I'm a day or two late, but the sentiment should be the same year-round, correct? Moo made it down for Christmas, which was wonderful, since he's moving to Spokane in two weeks, and I'm not sure how long it'll be before I get to see him again. MY Christmas gift came in the form of not getting anything terrifically wrong during the Christmas program, thank the good Lord. I also got the gift of illness, for the first time in three years, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't from God. Dorothy made me lovely little lime-green lace wristlets and I've been wearing them as I sit in front of the computer with my Thera-Flu and knitting, watching Eureka, a very entertaining show that Moo, Inc. is loaning me. Anyway, I hope that everyone else is doing well, and again, I wish you ALL a Merry Christmas!

Thankful

I'm thankful:

- that I have a job. Even if it drives me nuts, at least I'm employed.

- for the Community Health Center! Maybe getting my hours cut was a blessing in disguise.

- that I can knit. I don't know what I would be doing for Christmas presents this year otherwise! As it is, I'm not sure everything is going to get done in time and I can only stay up so late and still function in the morning!

- for friends and family. In my case, they start to blend a lot!

- that I have a place to live and very warm flannel sheets.

- that I have enough food to eat, and it's food I like. A lot.

- for enough self-control to usually get most of my bills paid before I go crazy with my money. Because when I don't have it, I get into plenty of trouble.

- that I have luxuries in my life like tea, books, expensive yarn and a computer that works.

- that I'm alive and able to walk, see, hear and speak without any help. It seems like a no-brainer until you think of how many people don't have that ability.

I thought perhaps it was time to just remind myself of how good I really do have it!

Medford Mail Tribune..... questionable intelligence

So, I just heard that our own, beloved Medford Mail Tribune wants to print a list of all of the people in the county who have a concealed carrier's permit. First thought in my head?

"Now there's a good reason to not get my concealed permit and just carry illegally."

I mean, honestly, what on earth are they thinking?? There is no reason at all that a list like that should be made public knowledge in such a blaring way. I'm sure they're going off the whole "public safety" angle based on the high school teacher case, but believe me, the people they need to be worried about carrying concealed aren't going to be on that list. I would go so far as to call this behavior harassment of people who have enough belief in our government and its policies to admit to carrying a handgun.

What are they hoping to accomplish? Do they want to shame (ha!) gun owners into changing their ways? Do they know where they are? This is Southern Oregon, and no amount of froufy vineyards or wonderful arts programs (I love Britt and OSF) is going to change the fact that the Rogue Valley is still populated by loggers, construction workers, hunters, rednecks and their children.

The Medford Mail Tribune, if they continue to pursue this, are stepping waaaaay out of line in their pursuit of "journalism." This isn't journalism; this is persecution.

Fog

I have ambivalent feelings about fog. It's cold and wet and repressive and very, very depressing sometimes, as those of you who live around here certainly know. But other times it's alive, mysterious and lovely. I especially like it when it's blowing in shreds around the trees or when I'm in the mountains and the fog is sitting in the valleys. This morning, though, I had one of the really good fog moments. I was driving in to work and the fog was burning off in one area and the sunrise was apparently coming over the mountain, because the fog I was driving through was rose-colored. Instead of being cold and oppressive, it was (from the interior of my car) warm and inviting. I think that even if I'd been outside, walking through the pear orchards, it would have seemed warmer. And it was lovely.

I got a new plant!

This one is special because it's staying with me at work, attempting to bring a breath of life into the windowless box that is my office. We also have an orchid that we have managed to not kill, although its sibling died tragically, and the survivor has yet to bloom again. In happier news, the Christmas cacti are beginning to bloom and a couple of plants got re-planted yesterday. Yay! And yeah, other than my hours at work getting cut, these are some of the more fascinating things going on in my life right now. Well, unless you count Chicago... and the mad rush to get presents made and cards figured out. This year's design is particularly challenging. Not sure what exactly I was thinking, but if I pull it off they're going to be fab! Katie suggested I emboss part of the image, but that would add, like, money and more time to the process, neither of which I currently possess! So, anyone else get a new houseplant lately? (Shout out to my girl, Mandy, for that idea we talked about and I'm attempting.)

Bored

Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored. I am bored. Work has slowed waaaaaaay down, a sure sign that I need to find a second position, so there isn't all that much for me to do. And I'm feeling antsy and bored anyway, so this is not a good combination. In weatherly news, it is drizzling and foggy.... which would be fabulous, except I'm not at home sitting on my couch wrapped up in a comforter with tea and a novel with music playing in the background. I don't even have windows in my office. So I'm watching Brotherhood 2.0 videos and blogging, with some paperwork thrown in here and there to spice things up. But I'm still bored.

What do you guys do when you get bored at work?

Ha!

I can't recommend the rest of the strips, but this one is great for the knitters in my audience! Particularly the knitters who also like physics. It's like scarves meet particle physics. And it looks like we haven't been sucked into a black hole yet, either! Also, I think some applause for Mandy is appropriate, as she has decided to attempt the NaBloPoMo 08. I will be looking forward to seeing where her novel takes her!

PS Except, it's not a novel. She's blogging every day for 30 days. And I'm a noodle brain.