Best Western Branford

Frances and I went swimming at the Branford Best Western Stony Creek Inn this morning. For five bucks each, anyone can go in and use the small heated pool with whirlpool jets, in a nice glass enclosed setting. And there's a sauna in the women's restroom. It was the perfect gentle excercise for me, and Frances had a ball practicing her swimming strokes and walking on her hands and playing Princess Aqua. And it's only ten minutes from my house! Then we went to the diner and had lunch, then we went to the Guilford Arts Center and saw their holiday crafts show and sale. So many beautiful things. I just bought a manatee ornament for the tree. Then we went to Tommy K's and got two videos, Garfield A Tale of Two Kitties, and Cars. I didn't like Cars very much, but the Garfield one was pretty funny. Then I made dinner, then Frances and I made dog cookies from a book I was given by Erin and Jason, well, actually Trinka and Ashley, and Bindi loved the cookies! Can't wait to try the other recipes. I leave for Michigan on Friday. Am I ready? Of course not! I never am!

Christmas day was nice, as I slept late, then went over to Rachel's and Frances's, and we had a great feast with Rachel's friend Justine who was visiting. It was very low key and the food was great. I was home and in my jammies by 9pm. No snow yet.

Party

Annette's party. She had on sparkly shoes. Met more of the neighbors, who are seemed quite pleasant. Met the kids, Charlie and Jacob and Elise. All three and under. Wonderful baked goods that Annette made. The house looked spectacular. Bindi was well behaved and this was remarked upon, as usual. She got a really big Kong toy from Annette.

Winter Solstice

Interesting encounters with people today.

Walked into 309 WLH and saw a tall man there, I asked "what's going on," cheerfully. Turned out he was a psychologist from Florida writing a novel and this room was in his story. We had a very cordial conversation about Yale and dogs, as his wife took pictures with her new digital camera. We exchanged contact info. He may pick my brain for background.

Took Bindi to the St. Ronan Street dog park, and met an adjunct professor at the div school who teaches on non-violence. Says she is a cousin of M's childhood friend. Six, or five, or even four degrees of separation. Her dog is an English shepherd, very handsome. Named Dani. Bindi ran out the gate to the dog park, my fault, and I slammed the heavy metal door on my fingernail now there's a big bruise. Bindi was running down the street and I asked another woman with a dog on the sidewalk to help me catch my dog. The woman hesitated a bit but said okay, and Bindi just stopped near them and I was able to catch her. Good thing it is a low traffic street. More training needed in, "Stop!", and "Bindi, COME!"

Watched an interview with Malcolm Gladwell on C-Span. Did not know he was half West Indian. He calls himself a dweeb. Want to get his books "Blink" and "The Tipping Point" out of the library.

Saw the most gorgeous sunset on Shell Beach. Huge orange ball on the horizon, another warm day. No snow in sight. Bindi got a new stuffed squirrel in the mail from Carolyn, and B loves it a lot. Loves to make it squeak.

Had enjoyable birthday dinner at Kudeta with Laura, Tirza, David, Rob, Rachel, Frances, Jim, and Mary. Lisa couldn't make it so we will go to Chester to have dinner with her on the 26th, me and Mary that is. It'll be just in time for the after holiday sales and Chester has cool shops. Rob gave me a copy of Carry-Ons: Travelling Chihuahuas (cover seen in previous post), very amusing book about the dogs and where they've been and their favorite places to travel. Silly photos. There is a book for everything it seems. Bindi had a new carrier for planes and airports and am eager to try it out. Mab and Syl gave me pottery they had painted themselves at the paint your own pottery in Boston. Syl's was a Bindi plate which touched me very deeply. Mab with her usual beautiful artistic way made me a tree ornament, a globe with pine boughs and dog prints. Charming. Jim gave me a rose and ivory poinsettia, Tirza gave me a Tin Lizzie dog ornament, and David gave me money for a microloan to funnel through Kiva.

Kudeta had a very elegant and trendy interior, but the food was only so so. Good but not up to the decor and the prices. Small gathering at Annette's tomorrow evening.

Travelling Chihuahuas

Gosh, I've been so busy and tired. But stay tuned! Vacation coming up so much to blog!

Fisher Cats

Look at the claws on this cutie! Read in the local paper that fisher cats or fishers are making a comeback in eastern CT, although I have yet to see one. They are similar to weasels, and eat fish, hence the name. Don't know why they are called cats.

Sleepy day today, didn't do much of anything, just a couple of loads of laundry, and ran the dishwasher, took a nap with Camilla after getting up late. Called Jim and we chatted for a while, but he didn't feel like going out of the house so we didn't do anything. We're thinking of doing some volunteer work at the downtown soup kitchen on Christmas day.

Rob and Robert came over for dinner last night. I made vegetable soup, they brought artichokes and good bread, and we had mint chip ice cream for dessert. I built a huge fire and we read the New York Times. One of Robert's kids has a birthday the same as mine, so they won't be able to join me for my birthday dinner, but I have other friends to be with. Jim was so funny, he said, "I hate parking in downtown New Haven, so please choose a restaurant with a parking lot!"

Picked up some photos from the photo shop yesterday, from Thanksgiving. Some good ones of everyone dancing to 80s tunes. But I do need to get a digital camera. And then a good printer. Rob says that sending digital photos out to be printed is sometimes cheaper than doing it at home, since you have to spend so much money on good photo paper and ink, as well as a good printer. I'm overwhelmed with the choices of cameras. Any suggestions?

Went to Moderately Cheerful Hour on Friday for a bit. Bindi gets to munch on sliced ham and turkey and rye bread, all so yum. We had a training breakthrough yesterday: I took her out for a walk in the yard at home, and the leash wasn't hooked on properly. It came off, and I was afraid she would run off. I said, "Bindi, Stay!" And she did! Long enough for me to get the leash back on. Good dog!

Steaming Poo

I know, I'm a little warped. Oh well, it makes me interesting. When I googled "steaming dog poo" and clicked on images, this came up. How could you not love it? The dog even looks a little like Bindi. Oh, backstory: it's so cold here right now that when I took Bindi out for her bathroom break and she did her business, steam rose from the, uh, pile. We even had a dusting of snow.

For lunch some of the Women's Studies majors presented their senior essay projects in progress. Judy, who is 69, is getting her B.A. in Women's Studies, and her project is on Alzheimer's. She has a lot of it in her family. I asked her if one of the reasons she decided to go back to school was to help prevent getting the disease herself, she said absolutely. She talked about how close the medical community is to finding a vaccine to prevent Alzheimer's, but it's still about 10 years out. She also talked about the gendered aspects of the disease. I look forward to reading her final essay.

Beautiful Em

Isn't she gorgeous! She's my niece in Michigan, with the five brothers and sisters. They apparently had snow and were all out playing in it, and their mom put the photos on her blog. Rosey apple cheeks, sweet smiling eyes and mouth, long curly hair, what a pretty girl.

Had dinner last night with colleagues at Geeta's house. Catered. And Geeta talked about her new book on Indian women and home, and her recent trip to Hong Kong where she did a power point presentation on what constitutes a family. She had people around here define their families and submit photos. I included Bindi in my family cause, well, she is part of it. After all, she was at the dinner!! And she was pretty good, until she got restless and started scratching at Geeta's rug.

Work at the university is slowing WAY down with the winter recess upon us. Classes end tomorrow, then reading week, then exams, then away we go. Classes don't start again till January 16, so students with no exams have five weeks off. Boola boola.

Full Moon Again

The Full Cold Moon; or the Full Long Nights Moon - December During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.

Colors

from Bad Texas