Thursday, December 28, 2006

cat nap

I was pleased with the Christmas presents I received, but Penny seemed a bit perplexed by her part. At first she tried it out as a chew toy, follwed by pawing at the insides. Still unable to determine its true purpose, she tipped it on its side and used it as a head and shoulder shade for a few days. Eventually her determination to make it habitable prevailed, and lo, a new napping place was decreed.

Personally, I like a little leg room when I take a nap, but I also don't spend 75% of my day sleeping. (50%? ok, I'll accept that as my allotment)

Monday, December 25, 2006

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Scratch white. I'll settle for cold.

My AC went out Saturday. Again. So one of the maintenance people stopped by to clear it out. It was the same lady who came last Saturday to fix it. Last time it worked for a week. This time it worked for 2-3 hours. But by the time I knew it wasn't working again, it was past the maintenance staff's usual hours, and I felt bad about calling them back over Christmas weekend, so I decided to wait until the 26th to call. That's in 20 minutes, and yes, I'm counting. The weather hasn't been so bad, so I thought I could tough it out with just my ceiling fan. And to be fair, it hasn't been unbearable, but there is absolutely no way to get a cross breeze in my apartment, so even though the outdoor temperature has been in the mid- to upper-70's, my apartment has been right around 80. Again, not unbearable, but not particularly pleasant.

Turns out my dryer isn't working either now, so I have a veritable laundry list of fix-it items for them (c'mon, it was a good pun!).

This morning I knew my family in MN was having omelets and abelskivers (they're Danish--kind of a pancake batter ball with jam inside), so I thought I'd make myself something special for breakfast, too. And by special, I mean not an apple or cereal. I didn't have buttermilk to make my own abelskivers, but I did have some pancake mix so I whipped some of that up. One slight hiccup in the recipe was the vegetable oil. What little I had in the cupboard was old, but I was determined to have pancakes, so I substitued olive oil. The first pancake turned out too think so I added more milk, and the next two were too thin. But I ended up with 3 on my plate, and as long as the maple syrup flowed generously, I was kindly oblivious to the switcheroo of core ingredients.

After calling my family for a nice, long, morning Merry Christmas chat, I curled up and watched Holiday Inn. I love old movies as it is, but Holiday Inn and White Christmas are two of my favorites. Especially the part where Bing Crosby's character is upset that Linda and Ted have gotten together, so in the bit where L&T are dancing and he's directing the band but also trying to sabotage them, he's dressed up as someone like Mozart and his wig is all mussed and crazy looking, to go with his mood. Makes me laugh every time.

Anyway, even though I couldn't be back in MN with my family for Christmas, I got to spend dinner and the evening with some close friends of mine down here, which was really nice. We did some kitchen experimentation with a pannini press (yes, it was a new gift in their house!), and quite a good bit of time playing Wii games. Tennis was the ultimate favorite, and we even got everyone to play at different points. Very fun.

It's now officially 1 minute into the 26th, but I'm still going to end by saying a big Merry Christmas to all!

Sunday, December 24, 2006

a Christmas poem

I haven't posted in quite a while. Sometimes you just don't quite know what to say. And although I have lots of thoughts and updates swirling in my head, none have come out very coherently so far. But I have some time off this week, so maybe I can get some of it out of my head and into some words.

In the meantime, a dear friend sent me a Christmas poem. I didn't think I was going to post it because it makes me cry, but it's so tender and fitting that I'm just going to get over it and share. So here goes...

Christmas in Heaven
by Wanda Bencke

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below
with tiny lights like heaven's stars reflecting on the snow.

The sight is so spectacular please wipe away that tear
for I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear
but the sound of music can't compare with the Christmas choir up here.

I have no words to tell you of the joy their voices bring
for it is beyond description to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me, I see the pain inside your heart
for I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I can't tell you of the splendor or the peace here in this place
Can you just imagine Christmas with our Savior face to face

I'll ask him to lift your spirit as I tell him of your love
so then pray for one another as you lift your eyes above.

Please let your hearts be joyful and let your spirit sing
for I am spending Christmas in heaven and I'm walking with the King.