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Twas the Day and the Night Before Christmas

12/24/2017

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Nostalgia, Looking Back, Forward, and Well.....

​
Moonage Daydream
David Bowie
I'm an alligator, I'm a mama-papa coming for you
I'm the space invader, I'll be a rock 'n' rollin' bitch for you
Keep your mouth shut, you're squawking like a pink monkey bird
And I'm busting up my brains for the words
Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe
Put your ray gun to my head
Press your space face close to mine, love
Freak out in a moonage daydream oh yeah
Don't fake it baby, lay the real thing on me
The church of man, love, is such a holy place to be
Make me baby, make me know you really care
Make me jump into the air
Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe
Put your ray gun to my head
Press your space face close to mine, love
Freak out in a moonage daydream oh yeah
Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe
Put your ray gun to my head
Press your space face close to mine, love
Freak out in a moonage daydream oh yeah
Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe
Put your ray gun to my head
Press your space face close to mine, love
Freak out in a moonage daydream oh yeah
Freak out, far out, in out
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Twas the Day Before the Day of the Night Before Christmas

12/23/2017

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Manic Panic Shopping

I didn't make a list.
I didn't check it twice
(Because I didn't make a list)
And now I'll be joining the hordes
Who also put off shopping till the last minute
Successes, Failures and Near Misses

We ended up with a wonderful tree and of course we still have ornaments that would fill it up 2 or 3 times over. We had a 10 foot tall tree once. The thing was enormous and we barely put a dent in our ornament collection. It becomes something of a thing as to what goes up on the tree. And each of us has a different vision and set of priorities. So whoever has first go at it sets the tone and then the holiday jeers start. 

This year Skye had dibs on first attack. 
And she did an amazing job.

Except for the lights, which unfortunately is the first layer and the hardest to modify.
Don't get me wrong the tree looked beautiful, balanced and well layered.
Not too little
Not too much
But when it got dark, one string off lights looked a bit meager. So we gingerly and with great care added a second set.

And viola, it was perfect.   

Sometimes when there's a gift I really want but I'm not sure if "Santa" is aware of it or can manage to find it or get it because his busy schedule and unreliable help. 
I do my part and give him a hand, often giving one of our pets credit. They always know what I like.

This year was no different.

However, Prince apparently didn't read the fine print, in regards to one of the things on my list.
He missed the words "Pre-Order".
Therefore and probably rightly so, one of my most anticipated gifts will be arriving mid-February. It's probably just as well. It was a fancy kettle-bell that is of a weight much heavier than what I'm working with now. And knowing myself, I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation to play with it and I'd end up hurting myself.....again.

Near Misses


    
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December 19--6 Days to X-mas

12/19/2017

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A Post to Not Remember
I blog for a bunch of different reasons. One of the main ones is so that I can go back and see where I was on  a particular date more or less both physically and mentally. 
Facebook has taken the place of this mostly because of ease and access. 

I started writing this particular post a few days ago and didn't get that far because of other responsibilities. 

In no certain order and maybe not even on this day; buying Christmas Tree, trimming/decorating Christmas tree, dealing with a sick dog, cleaning/organizing house, getting ready for trip to Rome.
Things That Happened on This Day

1776--Thomas Paine published his first "American Crisis" essay, writing: "These are the times that try men's souls. Paine signed the pamphlets with the pseudonym, "Common Sense."

1974 Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as vice president, replacing Gerald R. Ford, who became president when Richard M. Nixon resigned.

President Bill Clinton was impeached on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice
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December 15

12/15/2017

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Lazy Post-For Yesterday 

The post may be lazy, but that doesn't mean I have been. I've been cleaning up the house and trying to gets things organized enough so we can get our Christmas tree in place without to much disruption in our "comfortable" (too-small for 3 adults and a dog) apartment. 

I have been less successful at this than I would have liked. But one of my problems is that when I start cleaning I really get into it and become somewhat obsessive to point where half the house looks like no one lives there, as if it's one of those "model" home at a new suburban subdivision and the other half still has piles of "stuff", books, juggling clubs, basketballs, unfolded clean laundry and whatever my latest "project" is .

Just as I was really getting into the swing of things, I realized that it being a Friday during the holiday season, traffic would be worse than usual. Thusly we dropped everything and headed off to our local tree lots. 

We started off at one in Little Five Points right down the street, in hopes that we would get lucky and not have to head too far from home. We'd gotten one from them before so lets go  for it.

No Dice.
​ A pretty shoddy assortment of trees and none that were much better than ones we saw the day before. 

So, we bit the bullet and headed up north to one that Skye had researched and found had strong customer reviews and a big selection. 

And sure enough, there were lots of different trees of all shapes and sizes; Skye had already found three  by the time I got there. And they had great wreaths as.

Mission Accomplished!!!!  


Random Historical Stuff That Happened on Dec. 15
  • 1933 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution officially becomes effective, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment that prohibited the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol.---I celebrated later when I got home with a nice vodka-red bull cocktail. 
  • 1939 – Gone with the Wind (highest inflation adjusted grossing film) receives its premiere at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.--Ironically, especially given how much is filmed here in Atlanta these days; Most of the filming of  Gone with the Wind was done at Selznick International now known as Culver Studios. I have worked there myself  on several occasions.
A couple of famous people were born 
          AD 37 – Nero, Roman emperor (d. 68)
        1892 – J. Paul Getty, American-English businessman and art collector, founded Getty Oil                       
 Also---
  • Bill of Rights Day (United States)
    • 2nd Amendment Day (South Carolina)
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December 14

12/14/2017

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What tree? 
The original plan was for Skye and I to go to really cool local tree farm  on Friday and either actually cut down our own tree or at least buy from a place where they grew the trees.

We decided we would surprise Cindy with procuring our Christmas tree a day earlier than we had all agreed upon. 

We started off by going to a local place where we've purchase a tree before. 

They weren't so pretty this year.

Their selection was limited to say the least; so we went over to Ponce City Market, just a stone throw away. They had more trees to choose from, but they all looked the same, sort of like a big bushy shrub. And they were quite pricey. The staff were very polite and friendly, so at least there's that.

Skye suggested we go to Home Depot. They have lots of trees and that's where we got a tree last year.... 

And they did have a lot of trees. 

The problem was that they were still all bounded up and in stacked in piles. It was kind of like a grab back. You don't know what the tree will look like until you get it home.

Yeah, no thanks. 

So we ended up going back to our original plan of heading out tomorrow to go to a proper Christmas tree farm. We'll see how that goes. 

My cousin used to own a Christmas tree farm when we lived in Oregon. We would take a chainsaw and jump on a couple of his ATV's and cruise around until one tickle our fancy. 

We also had really tall ceilings so we ended up with a 12 foot tree. Even then we had more ornaments than would fit on the tree.
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December 13...12 Days til Christmas

12/13/2017

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"The Twelve Days of Christmas"  is an English Christmas carol that enumerates in the manner of a cumulative song a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas (the twelve days that comprise the Christmas season starting with Christmas Day.

I used this theme yesterday and it was contrived to say the least. 

Today I could try to carry on with the theme---two turtle doves

Nope, not going to do it. 

I'm also a day behind so this December 13 post is a day late and a dollar short so to speak.

​And with that.


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On The Twelfth Day of December; My True Love Gave to Me....

12/12/2017

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Picture
A Partridge in a Pear Tree

I am playing very loosely on the English 
Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas, because it's December 12. I I I wouldn't give Cindy a bird or a tree for a gift, given my history with fowl and fruit tree. 

Our days of "farming" are long over. And as far as gifts go, we are keeping it to a bare minimum given how little room we have and how much stuff we have donated, gifted, thrown away, etc. etc. 


12 is a Magic Number


The word "twelve" is the largest number with a single-syllable name in English.

It is also the standard by which our day-to-day lives are governed. For instance, there are 12 numbers on a clock, with 24 hours (12 X 2) composing the day​.

12 inches in a foot

12 months in a year

12 astrological signs

The number 12 is very important in many religions, mainly Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and also found in some older religions and belief systems. 

There are twelve "Jyotirlingas" in Hindu Shaivism. The Shaivites (orthodox devotees of God Shiva) treat them with great respect and they are visited by almost every pious Hindu at least once in a lifetime.

The Western zodiac has twelve signs, as does the Chinese zodiac.

Ancient Greek religion, the Twelve Olympians were the principal gods of the pantheon and Hercules enacted out twelve labours.

The chief Norse god, Odin, had 12 sons.
​
The importance of 12 in Judaism and Christianity can be found in the Bible. The biblical Jacob had 12 sons, who were the progenitors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, while the New Testament describes twelve apostles of Jesus. 
​

And a clean house with dishes done

It doesn't roll off the tongue quite the same, but I have a feeling I'll be much better off.

​
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    Author

    Jon Danniells is an adventurer and traveler, a teacher and student, a husband and a father, a cook and a farmer, a "week-end warrior" (very amateur athlete) and has not earned any money on these labors of love.When I googled myself what showed up first was my IMDB listing, which is basically a resume for my 20 and then some year career in film, for which  I fortunately do get paid.

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