such small hands

At the Moment

Outside My Window... the sun is beginning to set in a clear sky.

 

I am thinking.... about seeing my best friend from college again after 20 years.

 

I am thankful for... getting paid for some work today.

 

From the kitchen... probably will make Western omelets and toast for supper so there will be no leftovers.

 

I am wearing....jeans, T-shirt and a fleece top. 

I am creating... nothing.

I am going... downstairs.

I am reading... a few blogs and the grocery store ad.

 

I am hoping... our trip to Florida goes smoothly.

 

I am hearing... Amy yell at Ari for playing in the Christmas tree.

 

Around the house... Amy has abandoned her laundry.

 

One of my favorite things ... is the NYT crossword puzzle.

 

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: leaving tomorrow with Ken for a few days in Florida to play golf.

Happy Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas in the Millinger home; I hope you did too.

Ken, Amy and I opened 3 presents each before church on Christmas Eve. The Candlelight service was beautiful with lots of favorite carols, the Gospel was Luke 2 and finished with the singing of "Silent Night."

We all sort of slept in on Christmas morning. Had some special foods for breakfast, like cinnamon rolls and pigs-in-blankets (what would I do without Pillsbury refrigerated baked goodies?)

My presents included: a snuggly soft plush robe from Amy, a case of 2006 Argyle pinot noir (to share, of course), a Medicus driver trainer and putter trainer, a step stool, a Golf Quips desk calendar, a Bad Kitties wall calendar, Godiva chocolates, and a wonderful fish cookbook by Mark Bittman.

Ken smoked a turkey breast, which was dinner, along with deviled eggs, veggies with ranch dip and of course some of that Argyle pinot noir. We spent the afternoon watching "The Dark Knight," one of Amy's presents. Whoa. Now I see why everyone was raving about Heath Ledger's performance. He gave the Joker a depth I never imagined from a mere "comic book" villain. Just retire the character now, because no one can ever top Ledger's Joker.

I'm working Monday and Tuesday; then Ken and I are going to Crystal River, Florida, on New Year's Eve. We expect to play lots of golf and meet up with his sister Connie, brother Dan and their spouses for fun and games.

At the Moment

Outside My Window....looks all grey and white. Someone is using their snow blower.

 

I am thinking.... I should get out and shovel off the walks.

 

I am thankful for.... a warm house and work to do for the day.

 

From the kitchen... broiled tilapia tonight and tossed salads.

 

I am wearing....jeans, long-sleeve t-shirt and a Lost Lake hoodie

I am creating... test questions for a client.

 

I am going... to stay home for the rest of the day.

 

I am reading... the latest Chronicles magazine.

 

I am hoping... to finish wrapping presents for Ken tonight or tomorrow morning.

 

I am hearing....the quiet nothing of sleeping cats.

 

Around the house....nothing is stirring because Amy went shopping with her friend Bobby.

 

One of my favorite things... is a cup of hot tea.

 

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: celebrating Christmas with opening presents, 11 p.m. candlelight worship tomorrow night, and Christmas Day at home with the family.

This Year's Christmas LOLcat

more animals

Brilliant

Dan Neil of the L.A. Times gives a glowing review of the 2010 Fusion Hybrid. And again shows why he is the only automotive critic to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Enjoy.

An excerpt:
Had Ford made a few hundred thousand of these cars available in June -- along with the financing to sell them -- we'd be erecting 50-foot equestrian statues of William Clay Ford and Alan Mulally in city squares, and the streets of Dearborn, Mich., would be repaved with diamond cobblestones.

Payday!

Woo hoo! I got paid today! For work I did in October ... but still ... I got paid today!

Three Colors in My Crayon Box

I could draw a picture of the view outside my window with just black, grey and brown.

It was a busy weekend for the Millingers. Saturday, Ken and I went to the Detroit Institute of Arts for the "Monet to Dali" exhibit, on loan from the Cleveland art museum. The works spanned the late 19th to early 20th centuries and included examples from Monet, Picasso, Cezanne, Gauguin, Rodin, Dali and others.

Ken helped me put together the Christmas tree on Sunday afternoon. With the two of us working together, it's only about a two-hour job. I was glad I didn't have to go out in the cold to buy a real tree --- and I saved the $80 or so I usually spent on buying a tree. I'll leave it undecorated until Amy comes home Saturday, because she enjoys helping to decorate it.

We are passing on the outdoor lights this year. Not sure how many of the strings of icicle lights are working after last year. And we had to get rid of the deer, since about half of him wouldn't light. The first time that part of him died, I spent an hour trying to find the dead bulb that was causing the string to go dark. Gave up on that, bought a new string of lights and replaced the whole dead string. Don't want to do that again, so the whole thing got tossed out. Maybe I can just look at it as an energy-saving measure. My contribution to reducing global warming.