...hair today, gone tomorrow...

Kristen, Becky, and I explored two of our fine city's lesser known museums today: The hair museum, and the puppetry arts institute. They were both amazing! I want to learn more about the techniques of hair art...it's so beautiful.
This area has such great museums, and after today I am much more motivated to visit them.

...walkin' in a rainy wonderland...

This time of year is out-of-control! In a good way. I think I have been more socially active in the last week than in the past few months combined...well...that's a bit of an exaggeration I suppose. Lots of friends are in town, and it is also a time for seeing lots of friends who are always in town, just busy people.

This is definitely my favorite time of year mail-wise. Today was...well...like Christmas! We received a package from Josh, Julie, and Morgan, as well as about five more holiday cards. I actually did the thing where you hang the cards you receive around a door frame, or something similar. I think it is required that you do that if you have a house. Mainly I just enjoy looking at the interesting cards people make or pick out.

On non-holiday related tips, I have begun reading "Lonesome Dove," and am about a quarter of the way through it. You should read this book! Last year our friend Dylan read it while he stayed in our apartment, and he left his copy. Then, Jeremy's Dad gave us his hard-bound volume before he moved. It has just been sitting on one of our many bookshelves, silently waiting to be picked up. I found myself perusing the shelves for something new to read, and fixed my eyes on it. It has proven to be an excellent choice.

Otherwise...more people are marrying next year, and popping out children...not us...yet. I am hoping that 2004 will be a year filled with much happiness, and not as much sadness, though I enjoy all of my emotions.

As for weather, since I always seem to have something to say about it, today is grey and rainy. Maybe it is because when we were watching a rainy scene in "Igby Goes Down" last night I was thinking about how nice a good rainy day is sometimes. That, of course, would be assuming that my thoughts had great powers, and the world revolved around me...which as far as I know it does not, thankfully. I do not believe that it is supposed to be a snowy Christmas this year, though I guess one never can tell. I just hope for family, friends, peacefulness, yummy food, and a few presents.

...what has happened to this place...

I just got done reading an article on Salon about the protests that happened in Miami at the end of last week. Man...I really don't know what to say. Is there something fundamentally wrong with the human animal? How can you beat back senior citizens, children, all kinds of people, and actually defend that action, and feel good about it?!
The deal is everyone is different, and should have differing opinions. It can make things difficult, but that's the beauty of free thought. No one is better. When I get pissed is when people don't think for themselves. We align ourselves fully with the thoughts of our government, our party, our work co-horts, whoever! It's not bad to agree, but to blindly chant U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., or to hate someone because you are told to, or to watch T.V. all the time because that's what everyone else is doing...this sucks! Do what you really believe, yet be compassionate along the way.
Ugh.

...weather blog...

More snow! More snow! A couple of days ago the skies opened up and dropped upon us approximately five inches of snow as well as a bunch of sleet before hand. Then, last night, it started again. Pure snow. I ended up spending the night at my sister's house, and when we woke up...snow! The drive home was a teensy scary...slippy-slidey. Once I was back at our house I declared, "No more outings today!" Now it is the perfect Saturday. My belly is full of tomato soup, grilled cheese, and coffee. I can sit inside in warmth and peer out the windows at the still gathering flakes, while sipping on a variety of hot beverages. I love being housebound in the winter! There is so much here I want to do!

...bring it on...

Slowly this morning, I climbed the stairs, trying to balance my cup of juice, glass of water, and bowl of cereal. Placing it all on the table beside the computer, I then plugged in the internet, turned on the computer, and opened up the blinds a tad. I noticed the frost on the window first, then I saw it...snow! Our first snow of the year is only one-half to one inch of accumulation, but it is still snow!

We saw a little bit when we were in Michigan for Thanksgiving, but it came after being there for a couple of days. The trip was very nice. Jeremy and I rolled up Wednesday night, expecting everyone to already be there, having a jolly old time. As we discovered, only Alan arrived before us, and he was at the store when we got there! So, we had a nice chat with him for a couple of hours, and just as he was ready to fall into bed, Josh, Julie, and Morgan arrived. Meade, Lucas, and Liam followed not too long after. The visit was: hiking the dunes on Thanksgiving and being amazed at Morgan's ability, good food and lots of it, competitive scrabble, trivial pursuit, sleeping bag wrestling, talking, talking, talking, Morgan bouncing around and me bouncing around with her, drinking lots of wine, bowling, going to the movies with the boys, very late nights talking, having little Ben- who joined us with his family on Friday-climb into my lap, Jeremy making hot cocoa at one in the morning, just having a good time.

Now it's been back to reality for a couple of days. Ah well. Gotta go work...