Monday, December 21, 2009

I Want Letters Like This One....



We all know how cool Kitty's Neverwear Shop is. We all know how cool Kitty is. But did we know how cool her Fan Mail/Review/Thank you notes were????

We did not.

At least I didn't, until today when she sent me one, which I thought was so perfect, so fun, so just gosh darn THIS is the Spirit of the Season that I am signing up for, that I am posting it here in its entirety.

Don't know who this is, but I sure as heck hope he has a really lovely Holiday Time.

Ladies, Gentle-persons, members of the press, Mr. Gaiman. I stand here today a changed man, enlightened and stripped of my deep-rooted skepticism by the grace and care of Neverwear Minion Cat M.


The true story begins perhaps a year ago when my lovely bride did meet Ms. D'Errico and fell in love with her art and spent many of my dollars on the same. Forward to her discovery of the "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" print, a marriage, if you will (and I do, please and thank you), of two artists of great talent (and not a little of our shelf space.) I did bookmark this item, mentally and literally.


Skip to Christmas-time, 2009 and I am Hunter of prezzies, Marquis de Noel. My mental bookmark long gone, I turn to my browser’s and oh joy of joys, a Door doth appear and it is marked: “Husband of the Year. This Way”. My credit card is in my hand and I’m ordering the print. I can already hear the praise, “how did you remember?! You’re the greatest man ever! Hugh Jackman has nothing on you!”


Then: the horror. While the delivery was prompt, and the care with which the print was packed within an impressively heavy-duty tube was commendable, it simply could not withstand the combined weight of yuletide compensations. My best guess is that it was leapt upon by a lord, or perhaps leaned against by a maid a’ milking. At any rate, the mighty shipping tube, even adorned with the cute little star sticker, was smooshed, and with it the beautiful print and my hopes of my HOTY award.


I emailed the good folks at Neverwear and explained the whole thing, noting that the damage was obviously not the fault of the shipper, but hoping that something could be done. I was pretty much resolved to be out of luck and perhaps buy another print later on. BUT…


And it was in that dark hour the elf did appear,
“I’ll fix it right up, just never you fear!”
“Where did you come from?”, I wondered aloud
“I come from Saint Neil”, she said very proud.

“I’ve gotten your message”, said the kind little elf,
“I’ll replace it right quick, and do it myself!”
“You’ll get that award, on this I do swear!”
said my new elf friend from Neverwear.

Out she went, in the snow and the cold
LA can get chilly, or so I am told.
Cat’s my new hero, she saved my behind
A better little minion, you’ll never find.


The staff at Neverwear, and Cat M. in particular, went above and beyond to make sure I was totally satisfied with my print. Awesome contact, prompt shipping all the way to the Boston area, mega friendly, and the print itself is fantastic. Please give the NW minions a raise if you pay them, pay them if you don’t, stop the beatings at least for Christmas. They’ve certainly earned it. I will buy more things from Nevewear, and will instruct my friends to do the same. I’m going to buy another copy of American Gods just for the hell of it. I might even buy another copy of Yes, Virginia just out of association.

THANK YOU!!





Love and Laughter,
Lorraine

178 Comments:

At 20:15 Blogger Phiala said...

*giggle*

Yup, everyone associated with Team Gaiman is awesome.

At 20:19 Blogger Kristen said...

This. Is. Exactly! What The Season is about.
Grace, good humour, appreciation, the valiant quest for that which will make our beloveds feel treasured and special.
It's lovely and charming. I daresay if the gentleman in question were not already married, he would receive proposals for this missive from some entranced lady, *cough* *me*
I've worked retail customer service during the holidays, people are NEVER this nice. Good on him, good on Cat, and hallelujah for good people. :D

At 20:34 Blogger vampi said...

oh Kitty is amazing. i once booched my address on a poster. it went AWOL. somehow it was "delivered" to a suite that doesn't exist in my office building and months later returned to sender smooshed. Kitty helped me fix the issue. and everything else i've ordered from neverwear has been awesomesauce!

i am totally infatuated by my recent aquisition and i don't even like gold, but i am LOVING these earrings.

i'm nowhere near as funny as this guy, but man do i love neverwear! and i love how new things appear right when i'm ready to do some retail therapy, lol:)

At 20:37 Blogger Dragonsally said...

What Phiala and Kristen said! That is awesome all round.
Kitty - well done you star. You have clearly made Christmas special for this fine fellow and his beloved.

At 20:46 Blogger Beez said...

Aw, bless!

Kitty for being her excellent self in all her glory, the Mr. who wrote this...wonderfully done and to you Quichie for sharing it.

Merry Happy Wassail and all.

At 20:48 Blogger DataGoddess said...

You know for every letter of praise there are tons of people who never give feedback. That should be another sign of how hard Kitty rocks!

(and Q, I bet if you dealt with more members of the retail public than you do, you'd get letters just as lovely) (Although, personally, after working retail for years, I would be happy to never have to do it again!!!)

At 20:54 Blogger EmilyLady said...

She is wonderful.

At 21:02 Blogger Laura B said...

At the end of a weary day, this brought a warm smile to my face.

At 21:11 Blogger Na said...

Go Kitty! And what a marvelous note.

Yes, 'tis the season for awesomesauce. hee hee.

At 21:14 Blogger Jane said...

Vampi - lovely earrings! Obviously Neverwhere is the place to shop, for many reasons :-)

At 21:43 Blogger AsISeeIt said...

...That is simply awesome :) My Christmas-y Spirit Doth Overflow!!!

At 21:50 Blogger bengalgirl said...

I ordered 2 of the leopard bracelets, one for my mom. Mom called and said it was beautiful and she was amazed at how well it was packaged and how nice the packaging was. Plus she loved the "story" behind the bracelet. Thanks Kitty and Lorraine.

At 22:14 Blogger Dragonsally said...

I meant to say, that is one gorgeous photo of you Quiche.

At 22:31 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Thanks, Kitty took that last year while I was out staying with her in LA...Miss that treehouse! Can't wait till March.

Kitty really does have a knack with packing, and beauty, and lovely things.

She makes me so happy.

At 22:35 Blogger Cecily said...

That is fantastic and reminds me to not only finish my random-just-because-people-need-to-hear-good-things note of "you guys are awesome" to Think Geek, but has inspired me to figure out how to make it really cool like that.

At 22:35 Blogger Cecily said...

damn ticky box

At 22:37 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

It was kind of the best thank you note ever....

At 23:11 Blogger vampi said...

yes, great sexeh picture:)

i am really totally digging on the deadly nightshade coloring. a

it really was the bestest thank you note.

At 00:11 Anonymous kali_licious said...

Go Kitty!:D


Just gotta say Q, your stepmother's "present" is really a paragon of fugly-tude. Wish I had a printer so I could give it's proper due.;)

At 00:14 Blogger ariandalen said...

Really cool thank you note! Clever, too! :)

Welcome! to all the fantastic new Fiends! Don't forget to pick up your white, buckled jacket and any supplies you might want to personalize said jacket. :)

At 00:30 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

I have to say, if there were more pictures of sexy Quiche on this blog, I would write a thank you letter or two. ^.^

I guess my thank you for right now would be:

Good night, and thanks for all the cats!

At 00:46 Blogger Marjorie said...

Yay! What a lovely thankyou note:-) and he is quite right - Kitty (and Neverwear) rock !

At 07:11 Blogger Siri said...

Tick for later - freezing rain on the way.

At 07:37 Blogger Dan Guy said...

Hahahaha! That's awesome.

At 08:27 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Gorgeous photo!

That's the kind of note that makes up for a lot in the hectic world of retail. Yay for Kitty!

At 08:40 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Good morning!

It is so cold in Florida today that I am wearing a sweatshirt!

At 08:57 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I WISH I had more sexy pictures of me! Kitty (And Kyle) seems to be the ones who can take them tho.

Mostly what I feel right now is if I don't stop eating cookies I will not be able to make it thru DOORS! ACK! My poor horsie!

I love it here, that someone wrote in to say how great everything was, no one does that, one only writes the complaints.

This guy has his head on right.

Writes pretty good too.

At 09:46 Blogger Jess said...

Stop the beatings!!

Hee hee. Love that. Easy to forget how important Nice Notes are.

At 09:50 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Seems we are going to get about two feet of snow over Xmas.

I've invited Kitty to come out and be snowed in with me, but don't think you lot can all dissapear off with Santa Claus and leave me stranded here....

Alone.

Snowed in.

With a dog and five leopards.

At 09:56 Blogger Phiala said...

I'm afraid I am going to desert you - heading off to the land of no internet for a few days. Being snowed in with you might be more fun.

Make sure you take plenty of those cookies with you. And steak, lots and lots of steak.

At 10:00 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Yowza! We've got a pretty coating of a few inches in Chicago, but it's supposed to be all freezing rain by the end of the week. I'd prefer the two feet of snow.

If only we had the fiend teleporter up and running. I'd be there with bells on.

I'm not traveling, so am happy to be your for-lack-of-anything-better amusement ;-)

At 10:07 Blogger Marjorie said...

I shall be in deepest Devon (unless I get snowed in at home before I leave, of course)They do have the internet there, but no wireless, so I will probably not be tweeting much, and the internet connection moves with all the speed and urgency of an elderly glacier, so I doubt I shall be able to appreciate any vidoes or such which fiends might link to. But we won't abandon you completely.

(BTW, think supportive thoughts on Thursday afternoon, when I shall be driving down to deepest devon, in a car containing a (live) cat *and* a (dead) turkey....

At 10:12 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Thisis great indeed!

At 10:13 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Greetings from the other side of Italy. The infernal holiday season has started. Thank goodness, with a little hope, I should be able to sleep right through it.

At 10:14 Blogger Jess said...

We're doing low-key Christmas this year. Not a lot of travelling. So we'll be near some internets to say hello. :)

Decorated tree last night. Cats are busy this morning pulling all the ornaments off. I hope nobody swallows a hook.

At 10:49 Blogger Ticia said...

Just had time to read the blog. What a wondeful way to start my day.

Thank you.

I'll try to catch up later.

Though I'm not visibly around as much right now, I think of you fiends often. I love this little community.

At 11:10 Blogger Jess said...

Ticia, you rock. (Note to new peeps: Ticia rocks. She does.)

Ornaments back up...but for how long?

At 11:21 Blogger Phiala said...

Ticia does rock! There was a package from her in my PO Box this morning. Hm.... feels like a book! *grin*

At 11:47 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

I will be on and off as my schedule allows. Normally, I would be home as much as possible on the holidays. Alas, I have to venture out for two reasons.

1. I inconveniently scheduled my move during the busy holiday season.

2. My sister wants us to have Christmas dinner at her house. My family is Lutheran, and our Lutheran tradition has always been to eat as a family on Christmas Eve, open a ton of presents, and then open individual families' presents on Christmas Day at each unit's respective households (not together, i.e. Jennie and Ron and their dogs- one unit- open their presents and have whatever dinner they want). Because of this, I was supposed to go to my mom's Christmas Eve and my sister's on Christmas. My other sister found out and decided her and her husband also want to go to my mom's Christmas Eve and that we should open a ton of presents there. Now dinner party sister is upset that my mother is trying to usurp her new roll as Christmas hostess.

So, it looks like I will be having two Christmases. Plus, a Christmas stroll with random family members tomorrow night. Plus, one or more of my friends might be coming with me to Christmas Eve, because my mom tends to adopt my friends.

Also, my mom has decided that since I'm moving she's probably going to die at some point before I have a chance to come home and visit again. So, every time she mentions any kind of family event, she begins with "Since this will probably be our last Christmas together," or, "Since these next few weeks might be the last time I see you..." (My mom is 67, healthy, and spry enough to go on a pleasure cruise for her birthday in March.)

My life is funny.

At 13:09 Blogger Chantrelle said...

I'm alive...somewhat. No more fever today. Coughed most of the night so didn't get much sleep and my abs are sore...flat stomach from the swine flu maybe?? ;-)

Haven't read comments but the post is beautiful!!

At 13:11 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Chantrelle - Wishing you a better night's rest tonight, and a quick recovery.

At 13:54 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Chantrelle:

Feel better! If you're going to have abs of steel, you'll need to pick up a superhero cape for yourself!

At 14:18 Blogger Kitty Cat said...

popping in from the Land of Gaga, to laugh my ass off at your post, Quiche! (not to mention your Previous matching dustbin blog entry, oh man)
This was written by the honorable Rick Woolford,
who is one funny man. Not to mention Husband of the Year.
I agree with Kristen, there is something amazing about a man who has a way with words..
xoxox

At 15:40 Blogger EmilyLady said...

Oh Chantrelle, you caught the plague ... feel better.

At 15:44 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Hi Emily! You'll be happy to know I've made new Star Trek converts. They enjoyed both an original series episode (so much so that they're borrowing the series set) and the new film.

At 15:56 Blogger DataGoddess said...

Hey Fiends, a friend's beloved cat has gotten out at her new place, and hasn't come home yet. Since she moved from CA to AZ he hasn't been allowed outside, so he's probably lost, cold, and hungry. He is chipped, but the information hasn't been updated.

He is the world famous Broccoli Kitten - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIFNEddeZI4 (the person in the video is the person who fostered him, she takes feral kittens in and sweetens them up)

If you could send thoughts of comfort to his person, who is very worried, I would appreciate it.

At 16:51 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Firstly, all you Fiends in cold climes, stay safe and warm. The weather sounds just ghastly in the northern hemisphere at the moment.

Jess, your tree is very pretty.

Um, Marjorie, I hope that turkey will be secure, and that you don't arrive at your parents' to discover a very full Tybalt...

I'll be around over Christmas and in need of entertainment too.

At 16:52 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Oh drat...forgetting not to post before I've finished. Chantrelle, I hope the lurgy departs swiftly. Not good being sick at Christmas time.

And Toni - I'm sending come home thoughts over for the kitty.

Right. More caffeine.

At 19:59 Blogger AletaMay said...

I'm traveling tomorrow to a nephew's house somewhere in Wisconsin. I don't know where it is except it is about 3 hours away. I sorta thought I'd be coming back home Thursday or Friday, but with the storm warnings I am thinking I my be there until the weather clears. I certainly hope to have internet access there!

At 20:03 Blogger Ms T said...

Safe travels fiends, and happy holidays to you all. I'll still have email access tomorrow, but after that I think there'll be 2-week break before I'm reconnected.

(So, uh, if one had picked up a couple of Beehive-y souvenirs and wanted to send them to a certain fabulous assistant - just because she's so fabulous - how would one go about that?)

Oh, and my gmail address is Haana.May@gmail.com. :)

At 21:11 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Mrs T, drop me an e-mail and I will give you an address....

LIKE cool things in the mail.

SPeakign of which, nip over to Kitty's blog http://kittysneverwear.blogspot.com

SHE gets to open he really cool mail.

And I can say now too, she got me the COOLEST present ever (Dad's wife, don't know why you didn't think of this, dustpan indeed!)

Yup. Lady Gaga tickets! For Maddy and I in January!

The Bengals are strange tonight. More than usual. Must be the Storm coming in.

I like to call it "Keeping up with the East Coast"

At 21:35 Blogger Ms T said...

Ooh Lady Gaga tickets? I'm jealous!

She's performing here, but it's the same weekend as AFP and the Boss and in another city. But hey, NZ is small, I'm sure I could justify flying to Auckland for one day. Maybe?

(Lorraine, I've emailed you. I must have spaced completely when I checked your website yesterday, because I couldn't find your email address then. D'oh.)

At 21:41 Blogger Jess said...

Oh, you just try to beat our five-inches-on-Saturday!

/empty challenge

Yay for tickets! Nifty.

At 21:43 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

If I had to choose between Lady Gaga and AFP, I am not at all sure who would win. I think I would go for AFP, I love what Lady Gaga does, but AFP is in my soul deep down.

Saw her before I knew her too, not by much, but seeing her on stage was my first intro to her, didn't know a song, and she blew my heart out.

At 21:55 Blogger Jess said...

I love getting acquainted with a musician that way-- going to a live show before you really know the music. I end up appreciating it better than I might have done.

I don't care for her stuff all that much, but Gaga's got some voice on her. Gotta admit that.

At 21:56 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Empty challenge indeed, Jess. We are looking at over a foot, AFTER the day of ice and sleet.

Had to change airline tickets for people today, told the this morning the airlines were going to way waive fees, they want people OFF planes from and to here Thursday to Saturday. Very simple.

Did you all know I also have Dry Cleaning Magic????? It's a little known fact and I don't mean to brag, but yes, I do.

At 21:57 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I love Gaga because she is a real artist, not a cute girl who gets produced. It might not be my first fav KIND of music, but she does HER music, and stands up for what she wants it to be, hard road in the pop world of major label.

At 21:59 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

I've been a huge AFP fan since I first saw the Coin Operated Boy video years and years ago. I've had Girl Anachronism as my ringtone for years. Which is actually bad. I hate the phone. Now, when I hear the first strains of the song it stresses me out.

So, that link that was left of the Jewish vodou priestess's website on a previous post was awesome. What's funny is I saw some of the things in her shop and immediately thought "OMG, that would be perfect for the Spooky House!" You may receive interesting care packages from New Orleans. But, with pastries and candies instead of mangoes and steaks.

At 22:17 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I wondered about that link...Good to know. AT least you know when you get to New Orleans you won't have to buy a mini dustpan and scrub brush. Must be kind of a weight off you mind, Wendy..

Where IS everyone tonight? Is this the usual "Ah, Lorraine is FREE, she is HERE, Boss is on a plane! Let's all HIDE" sort of thing that goes on????

I have something very like a Day Off tomorrow. Kind of fear this. What does one DO?

At 22:25 Blogger AletaMay said...

I'm half here. Just finished making some holiday cds for the people I'll be having holiday with tomorrow. Lots of Chieftians and some TSO.

I hope I do not end up having to drive in the storm. If I do Q may find me somewhere on a roadside in her neck of the woods curled up in the fetal position crying in my car.

I really love this thank you letter. Does remind one how much that effort can mean to people.

At 22:28 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

I was very worried about having to buy a mini dust pan and brush. And, now I know they will arrive in STYLE!

I would suggest watching Ink. It's on Hulu now! And playing with the Bengals.

I was watching The Dark Crystal earlier, but the skeksis scared Kitty away.

Because it's almost midnight and I'm a tired old woman, I'm probably going to bed soon myself. Because I'm lame.

Fortunately, I think I've convinced the friend that's driving up with me that staying in the French Quarter until 7 a.m. January 1 is a bad, bad idea. Although, I do want to check out The Dungeon in The Quarter for New Year's Eve. It's got its own library!

At 22:34 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Aleta, leave tomorrow, early rather than later, and don't try and come back till Saturday and all will be well, other than that, 94 will be closed.

There will be no travel Thursday and Friday in our part of the world.

Wendy, they will NOT arrive in style, the will arrive in a plain thing, barely having made it, I am sure of this. Tho I will, for you, try and put on some style.

At 22:40 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

They make their own style. They are tres chic in the fashionable world of mini household cleaning items.

At 22:51 Blogger AletaMay said...

Wendy, I am so excited to hear about your adventures in NOLA. I think we left in the frozen northlands need to know there are such places. Perhaps the lovely dustpan can send us reports?

Yeah, I plan to be on the road late morning tomorrow and if the storm does what they are now saying it will do I'll likely wait until Sat. to come home.

At 22:55 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

AletaMay:

I will probably be updating my livejournal and blogs about it regularly. My LJ is howlokitty.livejournal.com, and my main blog is at www.wendylbolm.com (or wendylbolm.typepad.com when my site goes down).

Hopefully I'll be happier in NOLA and more able to keep up a writing schedule. I am decidedly very unhappy in Florida.

At 23:43 Blogger Cecily said...

I would see AFP hands down, over almost anyone. At this point there are probably only two other shows that I would see over her, U2 and David Bowie. All three whose art has played integral parts in my life.

Of course WKAP has been metaphorically life saving for me in the last year. All of the art and artists involved in WKAP have inspired me to start arting again. It's a good thing.

Sorry I wasn't around for chatting, I was wrapping presents again tonight. Still not done. 1 1/2 days left to finish. *sigh*

At 00:00 Blogger Na said...

Agree - Ticia rocks. :D

Aleta, how is your dear car what you once drove to my stranded rescue?

Yes, storm. I know summer storms track from this part of the world towards the upper midwest in summer. Also in winter? We've had snow for almost two days, small flakes but neverending; it piles UP.

Started reading "Angel: After the Fall" tonight. Good stuff.

At 00:06 Blogger Na said...

Jess - tree, gorgeous! house, gorgeous! long may they stand.

At 00:59 Blogger vampi said...

i'm around now, i was out driving around checking out the ridiculous lights in some neighborhoods. pics on my flickr

Wendy, I'm excited to read about your exploits in NOLA. I know exactly what you mean about not being happy in florida, i was effing miserable.

At 01:12 Blogger Dragonsally said...

just to warm you all up..its currently 29C/85.1 inside where I'm sitting(withe the cooler working flat out) and 37.5 C /99.5 F outside.

I think I'd rather be in one of your lounge rooms looking out at the snow.

At 01:15 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Vampi, great photos! We might go for a stroll and check out the lights if it cools down...

At 03:07 Anonymous kali_licious said...

Chantrelle I hope you're feeling better. This is a cruddy time of year to be sick.

Kitty definitely rocked the better present. I'd love to see La GaGa but sadly no budget for it:(. I can't BELIEVE she's gonna be in my hometown in January.

Speaking of Laffalot, I'd planned on leaving on Thursday...but the weather is not looking so nice. Hopefully I'll be able to scadge some free interwebs somewhere while I'm there.

Wendy add me in as another one excited to hear about your moving to N'awlins. Be sure to have some beignets when you get there, they're divine.

And now I really need to sleep but am not tired because my book was boring earlier and sent me to sleep. Time to switch books soon, methinks.

At 03:57 Blogger Marjorie said...

Sorry I wasn't around to chat, Q, it was all down to being the middle of the night for some of us, y'see. And now I am here and chatty, and you are (probably) in bed with a leopard or two, sleeping the sleep of the sicessful assistant...

I have caught a very sneezy cold. I just feel you all need to know that.

Wendy, I'm looking forward to reading all about your move. (I don't comment a lot, but I have been reading your blogs)

At 04:38 Blogger louisa said...

'scuse me but does anyone have any awake? I have been betrayed by coffee this morning which has refused to summon my awake and I'd quite like to be able to do things like read comments and make intelligible responses.

Is "intelligible" even a word?

Wibble.

At 04:55 Blogger Dragonsally said...

here you go Louisa...*catch* I'll take your sleepy. Its nearly 10pm here and STILL 32.2C/just below 100F...gasp. need cool fresh air.

At 05:04 Blogger louisa said...

Thank you Sal, I'll send you some of our cold by return ::throws:: Sleep well, sweet dreams

At 07:20 Anonymous Rick W said...

*sheepish wave* hi gang. I just wanted to say thanks for the kind words! It made me feel pretty awesome to make people laugh from a little letter I wrote. I'll be giddy for a month! Thanks again to Cat and Neverwear!
- signed the HOTY

At 07:27 Blogger louisa said...

Rick you're a legend! Had me grinning like a cheshire cat :D

At 07:33 Blogger EmilyLady said...

OSS, re the Trek converts: excellent!

Lorraine, congratulations on the Lady Gaga tickets.

At 08:43 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Rick W! HOTY! We love you! (In a pure way) That was the best letter ever. My Boss loved it too.

(in case you are REALLY new, that would be the guy who wrote the words on you print)

If you ever need a Favor, do drop me a line, you have a credit...Happy to help.

I have no awake either. Hoping tea will help.

At 08:48 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Sorry to be absent last night. But the Chicago Chapter (with an ambassador from the Urbana Chapter) of the Fiendocracy was with you in spirit, praising you name for bringing us all together.

Safe travels to all the traveling fiends.

Healthy vibes to all the sickly fiends.

Tomorrow begins a four-day weekend. Let's say that again. Four! Day! Weekend! Then I get another one for New Year. As someone who has burned through all my leave time being sick, this is Very Exciting.

I hope, Lorraine, that you have found something fun to do with your Something Very Like a Day Off.

At 09:09 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Cecily:

I think Queen is the number one band I would see over anyone else. I love me some Queen. I was kind of disappointed when Adam Lambert didn't join the new Queen.

I also enjoy seeing Rush in concert. They have awesome shows.

At 09:15 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Good morning Fiendom! I'm enjoying my few hours of freedom before I interview an emo about the new wave of Christian music coming out, get new oil in my car, clean my car, eat with my family unit, and probably freak out because I have to have my apartment cleaned out and ready to go in one week's time. And, with the air in Florida all dried out, my nose had decided to start bleeding. (Something that has happened to me every winter in Florida since I was in middle school, when my nose would really start bleeding and I'd be sent home.)

At 09:23 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Emo Christian music?! Wah?! I'll stick to Byzantine and Russian, thanks. Good luck with all the moving tasks. You're at the stage that always freaks me out too. But somehow it always comes together at the end. And then, hello NOLA!

At 09:32 Blogger Na said...

Hello, Rick W. HOTY! *waves*

We should make HOTY into an appropriate acronym. But I've ... got nothing. Need. Hot. Morning. Drink.

At 09:44 Blogger Jess said...

It's the Husband of the Year himself!! Hurrah, sir. \o/

Vampi, how is The Balian Ice Cream Family managing to get in and out of their house with all that?! Holy cow.

Na, thank you! The tree will stand till February, most likely, because I'll be too lazy to remove it before then. The ugly wallpaper won't stand (been putting that off for too long already). The rest I'm not worried about till 2012.

At 09:52 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Maybe we should set up some sort of fiend promoted "HOTY" seminar so other husbands, sig. others, etc. can learn some of the tricks of the trade. It can be our community service to the world.

I really don't want to clean out my car. :(

At 10:47 Blogger Phiala said...

Back from the grocery and liquor stores. Nobody will hunger or thirst, and I am never ever telling my mother-in-law what I spent on crabmeat. (But crabcakes for Christmas Eve dinner - yum!)

Shortly we'll be taking off for the internet-free backwoods of Pennsylvania, equipped only with a large dog and a car full of groceries and wine.

At 10:56 Blogger vampi said...

I just got this comment on one of my blogs "It is a good posting. I like it. It's pretty much impressive." made me giggle:)

welcome HOTY\o/ your letter has brought us much merriment, thank you.

Jess, i have no effing idea, there must be a rear entrance...badum tish.
the rest of the neighborhood is not decorated at all. you drive trough a fairly dark and unassuming neighborhood and BAM! there the house is. i have not tried Balian icecream yet.

today we will go visit the house of davids and photograph the tacky. i love the tacky at christmas time.

At 11:01 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Not going to talk about this on Twitter (please) but buried here, I think I am fairly safe...The cougar siting Birdchick tweeted is REALLY close. In terms of cougar territory, back yard.

Great.

At least it is winter and I can watch for tracks. Once it stops snowing, And iceing.

Adventure Xmas!!!!!!!!!

At 11:03 Blogger vampi said...

"it's unclear whether the Wisconsin cougar is the same one seen in Stillwater, Minn. Dec. 11"

cougar has good taste in music and wants to hear more paul and lorraine :D

At 11:09 Blogger Jess said...

Holy cow! I missed that tweet before. (Also did not know that one had been seen in Stillwater. To think I escaped a cougar-mauling by mere months!)

You guys sure know how to do snOMG. Do NOT leave steak outside. :D

Vampi - rear entrance, fnar fnar. Will Christmas Tacky involve gnomes? I think we need to see some gnomes.

Drive safe, Phiala! Merry merrydays.

At 11:19 Blogger vampi said...

oh jess, i think the house of davids will be better than gnomes... here is a shot from last year. i understand he has a different theme this year.

At 11:22 Blogger DataGoddess said...

Vampi - *snort* Yeah, I think Q should play outside just in case that is what it's looking for. But then again why didn't it go looking for Paul's house?

Oh, I know, it didn't have the required offering of whiskey ;-)

Q, stay safe. Actually, everybody stay safe! Be careful driving, there are people out there who have no clue how to drive on dry roads, let alone icy ones!

And Broccoli Kitten came home this morning, starving to death (never been fed before, obviously ;-) and indignant that his Person felt the need to check him all over for injuries. I understand there were indignant noises and much thwapping ("Moooom, I'm FINE, stop it!"). His Person was concerned because when she was growing up in that area she lost several cats to wild beast, and that had been her biggest worry. But he's home, so I will get to meet him when I visit her next month :-)

Q, I assume you have to travel to Boss's place to take care of Dog, since I can't imagine your (hmm, collective noun for Bengals is?) gang would be pleased with him in residence. Be careful, for icy patches as well as cougars!

At 12:46 Blogger Beez said...

My dog has a Snidely Whiplash mustache and it's all Tisch and Olivia's fault.

I will have to try and get pictures.

Safe travels to all who are hitting the road, and GET WELL DAMMIT to all who got the lurgy of any degree.

I must go out and shop. Thought I'd be done by now :P

(need fun food and stuff for hunkering down during Big Ass storm....well, it's a great excuse for snuggling in at home.

At 13:08 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Yes!!!!! Everyone BE CAREFUL!!!!!

None of you are allowed to perish from storms, ice, bad drivers, cougars, bears, wolves, being eaten by last minute shoppers, or even sickness or natural causes! At least not until you open your holiday gifts! (That's how it works in my family. One year my mom almost died from complications from bronchitis, and in the hospital she told us all that it was too early for her to go, because she hadn't opened her Christmas presents.)

So yes! Everyone be safe and cozy!

And yay for Broccoli Kittens!

At 13:41 Blogger Arwenn said...

BEEZ!!! I sent two of the humunga staches down for my parents' two golden retrievers! I'll be sure to link if there are photos.

Fiendish puppies in disguise....

At 14:20 Anonymous Rick W said...

Lorraine - by the gods, don't tempt me, Frodo! While I would be quite over the moon by an autograph or email "hello" from Himself, a gentleperson could never as of such a thing. My reward is that I made a few of the legion giggle and grin from my little letter AND that you said my writing wasn't bad-if you think I'm not going to stop strangers on the street and tell them that, madam you are mistaken...a tattoo might be more efficient, though hmm.

I can't wait to finally share the story with my lovely bride! (doing so now kind of spoils the suprise)

besides, it is I who are in your debt. Thank you all so much- all hail Lady Cat, wherever you are!

At 14:39 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Rick, you did make us happy. (And an autograph is easy, send me an e-mail with your address)

Real line from our online weather forecast: "This is just the very first start of a very long term snow event.."

At 14:41 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Here's another, I can't stop laughing, wonder who writes these, would love to know them...

"Snow in the evening...then snow..."

At 14:44 Blogger One Sock Short said...

"Snow event"? Somehow the euphemism makes it sound even worse than a "snowpocalypse".

I am one and a half hours from the Four! Day! Weekend! But my brain is trying to shut down early.

At 14:46 Blogger Chantrelle said...

The weather here is gorgeous, too bad i 'm too sick to enjoy it. I literally cannot breathe through my nose--at all--if I close my mouth I will suffocate. Going to the dr in 20 minutes.

Haven't I been full of joyous holiday cheeriness around here!?

My phone is my only contact w/ the world. You all are keeping me sane (well, relatively speaking)

At 14:50 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

SNOWMAGEGGDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seems to be raining at the moment tho.

At 14:52 Blogger Arwenn said...

It's not really raining....no... that's what they WANT you to think.....it's really just warm snow.

At 14:59 Blogger Cecily said...

Rick, You most certainly deserve a HOTY award. And as always Kitty Cat and The Fabulous Lorraine are fucking wonderful. I feel lucky just cyber knowing them.

Q, Your weather forecast sounds funny and fantastic. Am I sick that I want to visit you even more in the middle of a blizzard?

Also I have hurt my middle finger on my right hand typing is a bitch.

At 15:02 Blogger One Sock Short said...

No! Not the wintry mix! Anything but that!

At 15:53 Blogger Marjorie said...

Hello Rick (Waves)

I share your happy just now - I got home to find my "100 Words" print has arrived.
And cards from fiends (thank you Ariandalen & OSS)
And my ticket to see Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley in April.

Drove over to pick up my hand-reared, freerange turkey from the firend who has been raising them - I was expecting to just pop in, pick up turkey and come home, but she & her husband invited me to stay for supper - smoked salmon with home-made goats-cheese, then a lovely bit of pork tenderloin (again, they raised the pig) Lovely food, and such a nice start to the festive season.

Hope all travelling fiends have safely arrived at their destination.

Q, I can't help feeling that 5 leopard cats ought to equal one cougar, but be careful there, hmmm?

At 16:51 Anonymous kali_licious said...

Cougar siting? Yikes! No walkies for the bengals then. Not that they want to go out in the SNOWPACOLYPSE if it's raining and snowing. Poor Cabal's gonna have to stay close as well, they like to pounce from trees.

Rick your story (and well written epistle) make me grin every time I hear it.:)

Yay for kittens coming home!

Phiala, crabcakes for Xmas eve dinner, what a fantastic idea!

Chantrelle I hope the doc hooks you up, poor thing.

Vampi "pretty much impresssive" LOL What a weird comment!

Jess if you think the Balian House is bad, I'll have to take a picture of a nearby local legend. This house and yard are so full of lights I wonder how the folks that live there can sleep. Kind of Pee Wee Herman's front yard with lights.

May all who are travelling drive safely and arrive safe and sound.:)

At 17:52 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Hello Mr Rick - you are a star!

Cougar? Eep. Stay safe Quiche and everyone in the area.

Still boiling away here. Wish I had some of your snow. Very hard to get moving after an uncomfortable night (but not as bad as the one Aline had the night before..35C overnight. YUKKK. The streets are so empty, and not just because its Christmas Eve, I think all of Melbourne is trying to recover from last night.

At 18:18 Blogger Ms T said...

Given the funny looks I've been getting from Security when they do their rounds, I suspect it's time for me to leave the building. (And it's only lunchtime!)

But leaving the office means living the interwebs - so I'll take this opportunity to wish all fiends happy holidays; and to send healing thoughts to the ailing ones, warming thoughts to the cold ones, and cooling thoughts to the overheated ones (mental note: do not visit mates in Melbourne in December - much too toasty for a Northern European-Maori-Celtic hybrid like me).

Kind of makes me glad to be in the Endor/Middle Earth-like temperatures here! Hmmm...Ewoks vs Orcs - I wonder how that would play out?

Arohanui koutou katoa (Much love to you all)

At 18:30 Blogger vampi said...

SNOW in los angeles. the tacky house i mentioned earlier topped even my wildest dreams... Boy and me standing in SNOW in losanageles in front of the wonderousness. please let the laughing begin. um, there are at least 19 statues of david, which is the statue with all his junk hanging out, so you need to determine if this is work safe for you. i think it is, but only because it's "art"

At 18:38 Blogger Chantrelle said...

That LA snowy wonderland house is an awesome site.

So, I have bronchitis. Yippee for me. Hubby is out getting my meds.

I see Lorraine is laughing her way through the star wars prequels...I think Mr. Lucas needs to leave his sprawling estate a little more often and visit with the real world.

OK, i'm actually on my computer and not sending this from my phone so i think i'll go lie down now.

At 18:40 Blogger Unknown said...

Somehow ended up watching the second Star Wars Trilogy on TV.

Very. Bad. Idea.

Snow in LA!!!!

Started a new post but I want pics with it, so will post tomorrow, when there is good SNOWMAGEDDON pics to be had.

At 18:44 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Accuweather is saying this storm is bringing "a Nightmare Before Christmas" to the midwest. So be on the lookout for Clowns w/ tearaway faces, ones hiding under your bed--teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red, and floating transparent dogs.

At 18:45 Blogger vampi said...

haha those movies are awful.i'm hoping they eventually grow into the so awful they are kind of great for the wrong reasons.

i have to admit i was way too excited about the snow, and i grew up with snow.

At 19:07 Blogger Unknown said...

They are beyond awful, tho the first isn't so bad.

For those of you not on twitter, I am watching the 2nd Star wars trilogy, which apparently comes first, before the first ones.

I don't know why I am doing this, they were on, I got sucked in.

At 19:08 Blogger Unknown said...

Snow Event started. Predicted: 18-22 inches. That is like so a LOT of snow. And sleet. And ice. And, uh, WINTER.

At 19:10 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Vampi -I was expecting the David to be the biblical David...that is awesome.

Hmm, Lorraine, stay warm and safe inside and keep enjoying bad movies.

At 19:14 Blogger Unknown said...

I am going to lie on this couch for the next three days with Maddy's laptop and bore you all to DEATH with my reports on the weather.

At 19:20 Blogger Cecily said...

Lorraine, did you change the way your name appears on here or am I on crack?

At 19:21 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Excellent! That will make it seem like I'm sharing in a white Christmas.
I'll throw some back at you, although our weather has become boring now...unless we have floods which I doubt very much.

At 19:22 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Its not you Cecily...

At 19:27 Blogger Dragonsally said...

::happy dance::
they've changed our weather forecast for today...max of 26C only. Hoorah. I can breathe.

At 19:59 Blogger Unknown said...

Pretty darn strange. I signed in on Maddy's laptop and THAT id popped up, not me, who the heck????Signed in normaly.....

Blogger changed me.

At 20:01 Blogger Unknown said...

Going to re-sign in.

At 20:03 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Now who am I?

At 20:04 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Apparently, I am me again.

OK.

very strange.

At 20:12 Blogger Cecily said...

You are fabulous again! Oh wait you never stopped being you. ;-)

At 20:28 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Oh yeah, The Fabulous has hit the interwebs again!

At 20:50 Anonymous Rick W said...

I would be truly just...floored by an autograph. I..wow. Um. Stupid question, though: I don't know your email address. Is it on the site? It's possible I'm blind. Mine is (tempting the spam demons): rick@pseudodigm.com.

Anything I can do for you guys in the way of design monkey stuff or...licking envelopes, anything. Please don't hesitate.

At 20:50 Blogger ariandalen said...

Here's weather for you: we had a high of around 73 F today. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 56 F, and Christmas Day a high of 48 F. East of me was a Tornado Watch, which is now over, and we're supposed to get 40 mph winds at 3-4 AM, with rain. The rain is supposed to clear out by 9 AM, leaving Christmas Eve and Christmas Day clear.

I need to make fruitcake cookies tonight. It will take a couple of hours as one recipe makes 7-9 dozen cookies. Don't you love old recipes?

Hi, Rick W.! You can now add Fiend after HOTY! Here is your white jacket. Over there are supplies to personalize your jacket. :)

At 20:55 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

HOTY (love it that we now have a Fiend named HOTY) I am fabulouslorraine at gmail dot com write away.....Happy tp help, tho you'll have to wait till the Boss is back in town.

No more Star Wars!!!!! Suspect there is a lot of TV in my next few days tho, and reading, snowed IN, such bliss..

At 21:04 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Snowed in with fun shows and books. Bliss indeed. Toni and Dan got me hooked on Heroes recently. All currently available episodes are on Netflix as instant play. Which is great since every episode has a cliff hanger. What's on your watch list?

Tried to read tonight, but found myself too braindead for that. Now listening to knitting podcasts instead.

At 21:05 Blogger Dragonsally said...

You are at the Big House Quiche? In which case I can imagine you going to one of the libraries you put in order, pulling out a good book and reading as well as watching tv/dvds.
Robyn -I forgot to say, I hope the bronchitis clears up really quickly.
Ariandalen, enjoy your dropping temperatures!

At 21:08 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Kitty gave me the first season of CSI so that, and more Dr Who of course, Hans and I are Planning a LOTR marathon for Saturday, if I can get out to get him.

And whatever happens to be ON of course....

At 21:09 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I am at the Big House Sally, Dog you know, and indoor heated garage beats digging out car every day..

At 21:15 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Yes, that garage would make it all worthwhile. Nothing like getting into a car that isn't frozen, or boiling, depending on the time of the year.

I am disappointed. I got an email from one of the cinema chains here saying I could buy tickets to go and see The Lovely Bones on Christmas Day. We thought that would be a great way to spend the day. So I followed all the links, and the movie isn't showing tomorrow at all. *pouts*

At 21:16 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Sounds like fun. I love having movie marathons. Years ago I used to host an Olivier-Fest every May, near his birthday. Never could get friends to watch more than a couple at a time though. I was always ready to watch all of them I had videos for.

At 21:26 Blogger Cecily said...

I am currently wrapping yet more presents and watching the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Not sure what I think of it yet.

HOTY, as you have already been exposed to, Quiche, Kitty, and Boss, not to mention the AFP arm of this group, are some of the kindest most endearing people in the world.

Also, I have a sleeping kitten on my lap. Pinned down. Can't move. Send cocoa.

At 21:29 Blogger Cecily said...

Ari, this is by far the best fruitcake recipe I have ever found.

Ingredients:

4 Liters of Whiskey

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups dried fruit

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar

Lemon juice

Nuts

Method:

* Firstly sample the whiskey to check for quality.
* Take a large bowl. Check the whiskey again to be sure it is of the highest quality. Pour one level cup and drink.
* Repeat.
* Turn on the electric mixer and beat 1 cup butter in large fluffy bowl.
* Add 1 teaspoon sugar and beat again. Make sure the whiskey is still O.K.
* Cry another tup. Turn off mixer.
* Break 2 legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
* Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaters, pry it loose with a drewscriver.
* Sample the Whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
* Next, sift 2 cups of salt or something. Who cares. Check the whiskey.
* Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
* Add one tablespoon of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
* Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees.

Dont forget to beat of the turner. throw the bowl out the window. Check the Whiskey again. Go to bed.

Who the heck likes fruitcake anyway.

At 22:32 Blogger ariandalen said...

Cecily, I've seen that as Tequila Cookies. :) Besides, whiskey goes into the fruitcake cookies, then on the cookies as they are packed, warm, in a tin. The original recipe was printed in the Women's Sunday School Class of the First Presbyterian Church of Kerens, TX Cookbook sometime in the early '50s. I grew up eating them, and helping put the whiskey on them as they came out of the oven. Never made them until after my mother died, then found the original recipe as she had never written it down. Mom didn't like fruitcake, so she baked fruitcake cookies.

::AHEM:: I like fruitcake, though I am picky about it. Really, the Deluxe Fruitcake from Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, TX is the best. My husband likes fruitcake, too, but it isn't cheap.

At 22:39 Blogger Cecily said...

I have had the rare fruitcake that I have enjoyed. :-)

At 22:44 Blogger Dragonsally said...

I adore fruitcake, but now, with fructose malabsorption I can't eat it. Or mince pies. This will probably be the first Christmas ever when I don't stack on weight, because I can't eat many of the goodies.

At 22:49 Blogger Dragonsally said...

I know how Cabal was created

At 00:59 Anonymous kali_licious said...

Cecily - Love the recipe. Especially "Sample the whiskey for tonsisiticity." LOL! Hopefully the kitten no longer has you trapped.

Not much of a fruitcake person myself. Much more of a pecan pie person.

Ariandalen I am muy jealous of your weather. We have alternating just-covers-the-ground snow with rain. Tornado watch, wind, and rain is fine with me, just not snow.

Q, LOTR marathon sounds like just the thing to erase the half-baked second trilogy. I never even saw the last one because I couldn't put up with Anakin's whining in the second one. Well, and plus the threat of more JarJar was just too much;).
Hmm, maybe I'll take my LOTR with me. Good way to escape my Dad's endless barrage of sports and Faux News on the downstairs telly. Thanks for the good idea!

Sally, aw, Cabal the snow dog!

At 01:08 Blogger vampi said...

but the third one was the most watchable! and anakin get's his smack down at the end

At 03:23 Anonymous Lysandwr said...

Wow! We have SNOW again in Socorro!! Not a Snowmageddon or Snowpocalypse, by any means...but definitely a "snow event"!!

Huge fluffy snowflake cooperatives, piling down in the sky this afternoon. Angus cried to go out...and then just stared--obviously his memory doesn't extend all the way back to those midwestern winters!! He did a lovely job of flushing the quail, however...

This being the land of too much sun, of course, the roads ...the sidewalks...even the courtyard brick out back are clear. The snow doesn't stick there, it politely melts and runs away.

This will all be gone tomorrow, no doubt, but we are going collectively just a little snow crazy while it lasts :)

The only photo I could find is actually of the *last* snow, but looks more like this one! SNOW HERE!

Okay, it isn't like snow in LA...but still unusual enough for this place. And to be honest, it is LOVELY to have a little White Christmas cheer w/out actually FREEZING my BUTT off--which is my most common memory of the Twin Cities in December:)

Belated Solstice Blessings to all...Christmas Eve cheer to others...and Happy Christmas Day to those of you who just HAVE to be ahead o' the rest of us :) (Sally, et al, you know who you are.)

Wishes for much fun to those who are snowed in and/or "spending time w/the family."

And wishes especially for better breathing to Robin--sucks any time, but especially now! Get better, lady, or you won't be able to taste your food!

(ps...mind bleach MIGHT help w/the SW prequels, Lorraine. Elsewise, you have my deepest sympathy.)

At 04:24 Blogger Dragonsally said...

I'm impressed Lys, you have snow! We have rain, lots and lots of rain.
When I was a kid it always used to be scorching hot on Christmas Day. Now it always seems to rain. Better than last night's stinking heat though.

At 04:45 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Wow. That was a lot to catch up...
No snow here. I packed all those warm clothes because this side of Italy is usually colder than our side and it's 18C. Ridiculous. I have been walking around in a t-shirt and a fleece, got too warm (the streets of Macerata are steep) and had to strip down to my Neverwear! A small cat immediately intercepted me , demanding a cuddle (wearing the cat neverwear, can you tell?). He was really cute.
Bon.
Time to go and start cooking lunch, I think.

At 04:46 Blogger spacedlaw said...

And just in case I can't get to the computer again today: Merry Giftmas to all! Cuddles to Cabal and all the kitties (3+5).

At 10:30 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Looks like Blogger ate my comment. Take two...

Had a bit of a sleep-in. Went out in the treacherous ice to do last minute shopping. Got some great pics along the way though. Will post later. Mom's b'day gift obtained. Now breakfast at favorite diner. Then off to grocery store for final ingredients for Xmas/b'day dinner.

Warm (or cooling, as needed) thoughts for fiends everywhere!

At 10:33 Blogger EmilyLady said...

Wassap, Fiends (that's something my brother Jack says; I think he got it from "Scary Movie" or something: "WAH-SAAAAAAHHHHHP!!!"). Happy Christmas Eve. All-Chinese-speaking Yuletide party this evening. And then a celebration at a multiracial household. Boy have our lives gotten to be diverse since racist ex-father left.

At 12:03 Blogger Laura B said...

OSS, I would totally be up for an Olivier-Fest. Who wouldn't want to sit and watch his movies? Unfortunately, I think I only currently own one of his movies. Must go raid my grandmother's movie closet next time I get a chance.

Hugs to all,
Laura

At 12:08 Blogger Jess said...

Just a quicky hello and Merry-Eve to everyone! Hope you're all having a lovely time, whatever you're doing; or a safe journey if you're journeying; or that you're wearing layers if you're having snOMG. We're having a LOTR fest (well, it's on in the background, anyway, and it's not like we haven't got it memorized*) and making mince pies. Yay.

Shire! Baggins! Oh noes!

Happy day and Merry Doings! :)
_________

*This is both sad and true.

At 12:31 Blogger vampi said...

merry happy catmas to one and all!

At 12:42 Blogger EmilyLady said...

Jess, for a few years I could recite certain chapters of the Harry Potter books by heart ...

At 13:18 Blogger louisa said...

It's taken me a while to figure out the right background movie for my Christmas wrapping, lots of good ones mentioned here (and a few bad ones too with those Star Wars monstrosities!) but I've decided I want me some seasonal Henry Selick in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Glass of wine? Check
Crackling fire? Check
Happy kitties? Stoned off their lil faces on Christmas catnip treats

Merry merry Christmas Eve Fiends

At 13:21 Blogger Fluffy said...

Where to start? I got halfway caught up yesterday but then fell behind. I love the HOTY letter! I think he deserves another "t" and an upgrade to HOTtY.

Like Katie, we had mid-70s temps yesterday and today it is snowing like crazy. Here's what Revy's guitar teacher had to say about it: Dillon P. "OH SWEET BABY JESUS, IT'S SNOWING!!!" It's a BIG DEAL here.

Love all the links - laser cats, Norrywood, Snowdog... I'm definitely in the spirit now. Tonight we meet with other Jews and celebrate the holiday in the traditional manner: Dinner At A Chinese Restaurant Then A Movie.

Cool to have cougar sightings! A few years ago we had a BLACK PANTHER and her cub sighted traveling from Fort Worth to the northeast. She was going along the streams and at one point was in OUR neighborhood, and last I heard she was in Oklahoma.

I hope you feel better soon, Robyn, and that it cools a little for you, Sally.

Wendy, I think you should send Flower Dustpan around the world from one Fiend to another. We could take pictures of it doing fun things with us.

And I'm so glad Broccoli Kitten is back home. GRRRRRNAAAAAMNAMNAMRRRRR...

Thinking about getting dressed. Hmm. It's an idea, sure, but is it PRUDENT? Don't know. Maybe a pot of tea will help clarify.

At 13:26 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Noticed that tube of hairball gel says "Family Size". So cough if I gack feel one hurck coming on, there's plenty to go around.

Meanwhile, the lemon loaves are in the oven. One to be Mom's b'day cake and one for my very sweet octogenarian landlords.

Nasty weather continues, with heavy sleet. Glad to be inside, snug in my heavy wool sweater. It's my first, and so far only, sweater. Not counting ones for babies. It's way too big and all nubby now and I love it forever.

At 13:34 Blogger EmilyLady said...

Oh my Fods Christmas Chocolate.

At 13:37 Blogger Cecily said...

I LOVE the engineer cat guys. They are so Awesome.

At 14:18 Blogger Siri said...

Happy Christmas Eve to all - Sally, Louisa, Marjorie and Nathalie I know to be in closer to Christmas timezones than me, so Merry Merry to you (since I probably will miss the exact change of days.)

I'm watching the weather carefully - 36 now, so it's all wet - ice is so very very close. If it ices, no Christmas Eve service for me (the first time in many a year, if ever) and perhaps no Christmas day dinner with Pa. We are old enough to know that ice isn't worth the hassle of insurance agents and car repair. I'll see him soon enough, and we all have food in the house.

Why weren't we smart enough to have Christmas in the summer, like Sally, et. al.? Much better travel weather, then....

At 17:52 Blogger ariandalen said...

Gee. I went into Waco last night at 11:00 PM and drove through patchy fog. The wind/cold front hit after I was back home, around 2:00 AM. Around 1:00 PM I looked out the window and noticed it was snowing. Not sticking, as it was too warm, but definitely big,fat snowflakes. It started snowing in earnest around 4:30 PM, and sticking. I think it's stopped now, but the weatherman said that there as never been measurable snow on Christmas Eve in Central Texas, until today. And there's not even any ice.
Wow.

At 18:04 Blogger Dragonsally said...

"Snow In Texas" good song title!
Merry Merry everyone. My mum woke the household up ringing at 10am. Sheesh.

Our hot is over and washed away by soaking rain. Dratted grass has done that grow a foot thing overnight again.

At 18:24 Blogger ariandalen said...

Well, Sally, it could have been worse. Your mum could have called at 8 AM. Besides, if your family is anything like mine, you'll all take a nap after the big meal anyway. ;)

At 18:26 Blogger Fluffy said...

We had some sleet early am, then rain for an hour or so, then snow, falling steadily all day long. The streets stayed clear until about 4pm, when they just gave in. Revelle went out to play in it, but came back in complaining that it felt like a sandstorm with the wind.

Didn't get to go have Chinese and a movie with the tribe. Had tomato soup and chicken quesadillas. Now dessert. Martini woo!

At 18:27 Blogger Fluffy said...

And my cousin Jil from Oregon suggested this as the Texas state motto: "Texas: WTF?"

At 18:29 Blogger Dragonsally said...

hehe, I like that one Fluffy.

At 20:12 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

New snow post is up!!!

At 21:59 Blogger dabbler said...

Merry Christmas Eve to all in the current time frame, and Merry Christmas to those a day ahead...nearly over, probably!

Took forever to catch up, and now I must go tie presents up in scarves.... love to you all!

At 22:28 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Just tried to have a nananap. Tysie decided that she would come in and clean my face, arms and hands with her rough kitty tongue. Nothing wakes you up as much as a full face wash from a cat.

At 22:39 Blogger vampi said...

i've never head of a heated garage. that sounds awesome.

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I visited your page at ...

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