The Somerset County AOH Dinner-Dance was Saturday night. I remembered to make sure my camera battery was charged. I remembered to make sure the memory card had lots of room. I remembered to put the image stabilizer lens on. I remembered, even, to bring the camera. And I took over 250 pictures there. Some would have been great, if I'd remembered that the camera was set on manual focus. Instead, I give you the handful that didn't suffer too badly from that mistake.
Posted at 07:36 PM in Holidays | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Apparently, they don't post all the photos and reasons they receive because I submitted mine and they're nowhere to be found, maybe because I wasn't holding a Guinness? But it's still a very worthy cause. Get out yer vote!
Posted at 07:12 PM in Holidays | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
For the first time ever, I am getting this up before the date of the first event of the season: Ladies and Gents, it makes me very proud to pass along the Brendan J. Dunphy Official 2008 St. Patrick's Day Itinerary in all it's green glory. Enjoy! Thanks, Brendan!
CUDTHROMACH AIRE!
(Irish for “Important Notice”)
St. Patrick’s Day is not just a day … it is a season!
Welcome to my 18TH Annual “Itinerary of Events” for this the 2008 St. Patrick’s Day season. Let the games begin …
American first. Irish always.
Slainte,
Brendan James Patrick Dunphy, of
County Kilkenny (Dunphy)
County Armagh (Donnelly)
County Cavan (McGovern)
County Down (Toner)
County Hudson (New Jersey)
EMAIL ME: BrendanJDunphy@aol.com … or … HobokenLBI@aol.com
This year’s itinerary is dedicated to the SUPER BOWL CHAMPION NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS!
THE OFFICIAL 2008 ST. PATRICK’S DAY ITINERARY!
“As mentioned in The Irish Voice”
Friday, Feb. 8 Black 47! The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
Friday, Feb. 8 The Prodigals! Paddy Reilly’s, 2ND Ave., NYC
Saturday, Feb. 9 Six Nations Rugby Tournament: Ireland v. France!
Saturday, Feb. 9 Black 47! Connolly’s Pub, W. 45TH Street, NYC
Saturday, Feb. 9 Dicey Riley! The Auld Shebeen, Hanover Marriott, NJ
Sunday, Feb. 10 Hoboken Parade Committee Fundraiser! Hoboken, NJ
www.hobokensaintpatricksparade
Sunday, Feb. 10 Belmar Parade Committee Fundraiser! Neptune City, NJ
Friday, Feb. 15 Ironbound Irish-American Association Dinner Dance!
The Newark Club, Newark, NJ 7:30 pm
Advance Ticket Sales Only!
Friday, Feb. 15 The Unforgettable Fire! The Saloon, NYC www.uf2.com
Friday, Feb. 15 Scottish & Irish Music Festival! Valley Forge, PA
Saturday, Feb. 16 Metro Cup Bagpipe Competition! Newark, NJ
Saturday, Feb. 16 Black 47! Connolly’s Pub, W. 45TH Street, NYC
Saturday, Feb. 16 Scottish & Irish Music Festival! Valley Forge, PA
Sunday, Feb. 17 South Park Pipe Band Fundraiser! 1PM – 5PM
St. James’s Gate Publick House, Maplewood, NJ
Sunday, Feb. 17 Paul Brady! BB Kings, 42ND Street, NYC
Sunday, Feb. 17 Scottish & Irish Music Festival! Valley Forge, PA
Sunday, Feb. 17/18 McSorley’s Old Ale House 154TH Birthday Celebration!
*** Date unconfirmed ***
Wednesday, Feb. 20 UEFA Football: Glasgow Celtic v. Barcelona!
The Irish-American Association, Kearny, NJ
Thursday, Feb. 21 Flogging Molly! Poughkeepsie, NY
Friday, Feb. 22 The Danny McLaughlin Band! An Bealbucht Café, Bronx
Friday, Feb. 22 St. Brendan’s Ceili! Bergen Irish Cultural Ctr, Dumont, NJ
Friday, Feb. 22 The Saw Doctors! Middle Abbey Street, Dublin, Ireland
Friday, Feb. 22 The Prodigals! Paddy Reilly’s, 2ND Ave., NYC
Saturday, Feb. 23 Parade Day!
Ringwood, NJ
Saturday, Feb. 23 Six Nations Rugby Tournament: Ireland v. Scotland!
Saturday, Feb. 23 Boxing: John Duddy (Ireland) v. Walid Smichet (Tunisia)! Madison Square Garden, NYC
Saturday, Feb. 23 Dicey Riley! The Auld Shebeen, Hanover Marriott, NJ
Saturday, Feb. 23 Washington’s Irish Ball! Morristown, NJ
Saturday, Feb. 23 Black 47! Connolly’s Pub, W. 45TH Street, NYC
Wednesday, Feb. 27 Flogging Molly! Irving Plaza, NYC
Wednesday, Feb. 27 The Screaming Orphans! West Long Branch, NJ
Thursday, Feb. 28 Flogging Molly! Irving Plaza, NYC
Thursday, Feb. 28 Reading: “Easter Rising”, by Michael Patrick MacDonald
Friday, Feb. 29 The Prodigals! Paddy Reilly’s, 2ND Ave., NYC
Friday, Feb. 29 NYPD Emerald Society 55TH Annual Dinner Dance
Friday, Feb. 29 The Skels! The Harp ‘n Bard Pub, Clifton, NJ
Friday, Feb. 29 Flogging Molly! House of Blues, Atlantic City, NJ
Saturday, March 1 Parade Day!
Hoboken, NJ www.hobokensaintpatricksparade
Nutley, NJ (post-parade: Elk’s Club)
Mount Holly, NJ www.mounthollyparade.com
Rockaway, Queens, NY
Alexandria, VA www.ballyshaners.org
Saturday, March 1 New York GAA 74th Annual Banquet, Queens, NY
Saturday, March 1 The Wolfe Tones! Newport Fire, Keansburg, NJ
www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com
Saturday, March 1 Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul! Staten Island, NY
Saturday, March 1 The Saw Doctors! The Fillmore at TLA, Philadelphia, PA
Sunday, March 2 The Wolfe Tones! Cryan’s Pub, North Branch, NJ
www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com
Sunday, March 2 Parade Day!
Belmar/Lake Como, NJ www.belmarparade.com
Bethpage, NY
Sunnyside, Queens, NY www.stpatsforall.com
East Islip, NY www.aohdiv7.org
Mineola, NY
Yonkers, NY www.yonkersdwbid.com
Monday, March 3 Derek Warfield! The Shannon Pub, Hoboken, NJ
Monday, March 3 The Wolfe Tones! Harrigan’s Pub, Sea Girt, NJ
www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com
Tuesday, March 4 UEFA Football: Glasgow Celtic v. Bareclona!
The Irish-American Association, Kearny, NJ
Tuesday, March 4 Flogging Molly (acoustic), Virgin Records Union Sq. NYC
Thursday, March 6 Tommy Fleming! Town Hall, NYC
Thursday, March 6 The Wolfe Tones! Halligan’s Pub, West Orange, NJ
www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com
Friday, March 7 The Chieftains! McCarter Theater, Princeton, NJ
Saturday, March 8 Parade Day!
South Amboy, NJ www.saparade.com
Trenton, NJ www.trentonparade.com
North Wildwood, NJ
Bay Shore, NY
White Plains, NY
Cape Cod, MA http://www.aohcapecodstpatspara
St. Charles, IL www.visitstcharles.com
Yokohama, Japan www.inj.or.jp
Ise, Japan www.inj.or.jp
Saturday, March 8 Six Nations Rugby Tournament: Ireland v. Wales!
Saturday, March 8 The Chieftains! Bergen PAC, Englewood, NJ
Sunday, March 9 Parade Day!
Staten Island, NY
Jersey City, NJ www.jerseycityonline.com
West Orange, NJ www.westorangeparade.com
Bergen County, NJ (Teaneck, Bergenfield)
Woodbridge, NJ
Eastchester, NY www.eastchesterirish.org
Philadelphia, PA www.philadelphiastpatricksparad
Southside Chicago, IL www.southsideirishparade.org
Lawrence, MA www.irishmassachusetts.com
Worcester, MA www.irishmassachusetts.com
Kyoto, Japan www.inj.or.jp
Huddersfield, England www.theparadeonline.org
Greenwich, CT
Pearl River, NY
Sunday, March 9 The Chieftains! The State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ
Sunday, March 9 Monroe Co. PA Parade Fundraiser. Tannersville Inn. $15 Pipers, Dancers, Hot Food
Monday, March 10 Derek Warfield! Nevada Smyth’s, NYC
Tuesday, March 11 Derek Warfield! Molly Pitcher’s, NYC
Wednesday, March 12 The Wolfe Tones! Finnegan’s Wake, Philadelphia, PA
www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com
Thursday, March 13 A Great Night For The Irish starring Ronan Tynan! Carnegie Hall, NYC
Thursday, March 13 The Wolfe Tones! The Polish Center, Yonkers, NY
www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com
Friday, March 14 Parade Day!
Newark, NJ
Savannah, GA http://savannahsaintpatricksday
Friday, March 14 New Jersey’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade! 4PM
PJ Ryan’s Pub, Jersey City, NJ
*** Date unconfirmed ***
Friday, March 14 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Annual Dinner!
Mayfair Farms, West Orange, NJ (black-tie mandatory)
Friday, March 14 The Dyeing of the River Green Ceremony!
San Antonio, TX
Friday, March 14 The Saw Doctors! Nokia Theater, NYC
Friday, March 14 The Wolfe Tones! Community Theater, Morristown, NJ
www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com
Saturday, March 15 Dyeing of the River Green Ceremony!
Chicago, IL
Saturday, March 15 Monroe Co. PA Grand Marshall Dinner, in honor of Robert and Daisy Gallagher for their tireless efforts on behalf of Monroe County residents. $35, Cash Bar.
Saturday, March 15 Parade Day!
Morristown, NJ www.paradeday.com
Atlantic City, NJ
Ocean County, NJ (Seaside Heights)
Newtown/Sussex County, NJ
Keyport, NJ
Northern Westchester County, NY www.AOHDiv16.org
Conshohocken, PA http://aohnd1.com/stpatparade
Harrisburg, PA www.harrisburgirishparade.com
Scranton, PA www.stpatparade.com
Buffalo, NY www.buffaloirish.com
Rochester, NY www.rochesterparade.com
Hartford, CT www.centralctceltic.com
Albany, NY http://www.albanystpatricksdayp
York, PA www.yorksaintpatricksdayparade
Pittsburgh, PA www.pittsburghirish.org
Gaithersburg, MD http://www.hssg.org/
Dublin, OH http://www.dublin.oh.us/events
Tallahassee, FL http://irishtallahassee.org/
Tampa http://www.kreweofhillsborough
Charlotte, NC http://www.charlottestpatsday
San Diego, CA http://www.stpatsparade.org/
Hermosa Beach, CA http://www.stpatricksday.org/
Denver, CO www.denverstpatricksdayparade
Raleigh, NC http://www.raleighstpats.org/
North Myrtle Beach, SC http://www.stpatnmb.com/
Atlanta, GA http://www.stpatsparadeatlanta
Elmhurst, IL http://www.elmhurststpatsparade
Naperville, IL www.wsirish.org
Baton Rouge, LA www.paradegroup.com
Newport, RI www.newportirish.com
Seattle, WA http://www.irishclub.org
Grand Ledge, MI http://glstpats.org/
St. Louis, MO www.irishparade.org
Cross Lake, MN
Phoenix, AZ http://www.phxirish.org/
Oklahoma City, OK
Chicago (downtown), IL www.chicagostpatsparade.com
St. Croix, US Virgin Islands www.gotostcroix.com
Oslo, Norway http://www.oslostpatricksday
Saturday, March 15 Shamrock Fest 2008!
RFK Stadium Fairgrounds, Washington, DC
Saturday, March 15 Celtic Woman! Radio City Music Hall, NYC
Saturday, March 15 The Chieftains! Kimmel Theater, Philadelphia, PA
Saturday, March 15 The Saw Doctors! Nokia Theater, NYC
Saturday, March 15 Six Nations Rugby Tournament: Ireland v. England!
Saturday, March 15 The Wolfe Tones! Connolly’s Bar (on 45th), NYC
www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com
Saturday, March 15 The Pogues! The Roseland Ballroom, NYC
Sunday, March 16 Parade Day!
Kearny, NJ www.unitedirish.org
Bayonne, NJ http://www.bayonnestpatrickspar
Somerville, NJ www.aohsomerset.com
Huntington, NY
Glen Cove, NY
Sleepy Hollow/Tarrytown NY www.shstpatrickparade.com
Baltimore, MD http://www.irishparade.net/
Washington, DC http://www.dcstpatsparade.com/
Detroit, MI www.detroitirish.org
Abington, MA www.irishmassachusetts.com
Scituate, MA www.irishmassachusetts.com
Boston, MA www.irishmassachusetts.com
Nagoya, Japan www.inj.or.jp
Tokyo, Japan (Omote-sando, Harajyuku) www.inj.or.jp
Sydney, Australia www.stpatricksday.org.au
Munich, Germany http://www.stpatricksday.de/
San Antonio, TX www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com
Vancouver, Canada www.celticfestvancouver.com
Toronto, Canada www.topatrick.com
Montreal, Canada http://www.montrealirishparade
London, England www.londonstpatricksday.org.uk
Bay City, MI
Stroudsburg, PA
Sunday, March 16 Celtic Woman! Radio City Music Hall, NYC
Sunday, March 16 The Wolfe Tones! Connolly’s Bar (on 47th), NYC
www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com
Sunday, March 16 The Pogues! The Roseland Ballroom, NYC
Monday, March 17 HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY!!!!
Monday, March 17 NEW YORK CITY 247TH ANNUAL PARADE!
Marching with the County Armagh Association
Monday, March 17 Parade Day!
Dublin, Ireland www.stpatricksday.ie
Cleveland, OH www.clevelandsirishparade.org
Copenhagen, Denmark http://www.stpatricksdayparade
Monday, March 17 World’s Smallest St. Patrick’s Day Parade!
Enterprise, AL (one person)
Monday, March 17 The Chieftains! Carnegie Hall, NYC
Monday, March 17 Black 47! BB Kings Blues Club, NYC
Monday, March 17 The Pogues! The Roseland Ballroom, NYC
Tuesday, March 18 Derek Warfield! Fagan’s Ale House, Yonkers, NY
Saturday, March 22 Parade Day!
Highlands, NJ
Sunday, March 23 The United Irish Association’s Easter March and Mass
Veteran’s Park to St. Patrick’s Church, Newark, NJ
In memory of The Easter Uprising of 1916
March is lead by St. Columcille Pipe Band of Kearny, NJ
Mass includes Irish songs and a reading of the Irish Declaration of Independence
(McGovern’s Pub immediately following the mass)
Saturday, March 29 Parade Day!
Keansburg, NJ
Rockville Center, NY www.rvcstpatrick.com
Girardville, GA
Sunday, March 30 Parade Day!
Bay Ridge Brooklyn http://www.stpatricksparade
Holyoke, MA www.irishmassachusetts.com
Manchester, NH www.irishmassachusetts.com
Mystic, CT http://www.mysticirishparade
Montauk, NY www.montaukfriendsoferin.com
Stroudsburg, Monroe Co. PA. 1:30 Stepoff, Stroud High, Route 209,
Monroe Co. Grand Marshalls Robert & Daisy Gallagher
Monday, March 31 Betty Ford …
What shall I say about the Irish …?
The utterly impractical, never predictable,
Sometimes irascible, quite inexplicable Irish?
Strange blend of shyness, pride and conceit,
And stubborn refusal to bow in defeat
We’re spoiling and ready to argue and fight,
Yet the smile of a child fills our souls with delight.
Our eyes are the quickest to well up with tears,
Yet our strength is the strongest to banish your fears.
Our hate is as fierce as our devotion is grand,
And there’s no middle ground on which we will stand
We’re wild and we’re gentle, we’re good and we’re bad,
We’re proud and we’re humble, we’re happy and sad.
We’re in love with the ocean, the earth and the skies,
We’re victor and victim, a star and a clod,
But mostly we’re Irish … in love with our God.
(Author unknown)
Happy St. Patrick’s Day …
Brendan
Posted at 04:46 PM in Holidays | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Well. Where were we? Let's see if I can recap the last week of 2007 before 2008 comes rushing in.
Christmas Eve was warm and cozy. Emma wasn't afraid of my "weirdest Christmas Dinner so far" and she and the pups joined us downstairs for the evening. We had farfalle con spinaci, aka bowtie pasta done up in garlic, butter, lemon and olive oil, with white beans, mushrooms and shrimp, topped with Gorgonzola cheese and spinach that had been sauteed in the same garlic/butter/lemon/olive oil combo. Rosemary bread and butter on the side. Chocolate shot glasses with Bailey's, Frangelico, Grand Marnier, and a few combinations thereof for dessert.
Gifts followed dessert. Emma has that wonderful talent of hearing you say you like something in, oh, July? and remembering that very thing come Christmastime. As a result, she got me a gift I've been pining after for years - here's a picture:
I promise to share the entire photographic life history of my new pet (already named Charo) once it gets out of the box.
Here's a shot of Bina before she got her toy unwrapped:
Christmas Day was spent with the kids, folks, sisters, brothers-in-law, niece and nephews. I got another awesome camera lens (with image stabilization!) from Sparky. Daughter gave me a very touching photo collection she'd put together and framed. Son knew I wanted candles; he obliged, and he also picked out a beautiful ruby-red mosaic glass votive holder. My Aunt gave me an incredible collection of photos, essays and music autographed to me by the author. It was immediately categorized in my "most cherished possessions."
A day or so after Christmas, a wee dose of mortality up and smacked me in the head, and as a result, I got an all-expenses-paid two-day, one-night stay at the local hospital. Let me tell you this: when they find out that you are one of the 10% they see daily that has good medical insurance? You get treated fairly well. You also get probably 50% more "treatment" than you need. At one point in the ER, a nurse walked in with a needle and a little paper cup of pills.
Nurse /holding up the needle/: This is your morphine.
Me: My morphine?
Nurse: For the pain. It's standard.
Me: But I'm not in pain.
Nurse: It's only 3 mg.
Me: I don't really need it /but thinking maybe I should take it just to help the time in the ER pass more interestingly?/
Nurse: If you say so, you don't have to have it. /Holding up the cup/ This is medicine for the nausea - the morphine might cause that.
Me: I'm not taking the morphine, though.
Nurse: Then you don't need to take these.
Me: Oooo-kay.
So they gave me a bunch of tests that day (ka-ching!) and next morning (more ka-ching!) but I passed 'em all and escaped and was back home by Friday evening.
Saturday, Sparky and I went to see Sweeney Todd. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter were brilliant in their roles. It was far bloodier than necessary, though, and I ended up with the feeling that they should have left it alone as a Broadway Play. It was entertaining enough, but it just didn't make the transition to a movie very well.
So here it is, New Year's Eve. We were invited to a low-key party, but will probably spend the evening at home watching a rented DVD or two. If I'm up at midnight, there will be the banging o'the pots and pans in the backyard.
Huh? I hear you saying that right now. Huh? Banging pots and pans? That's pretty much the same reaction I get from that statement every year. It's a very fond memory I have from childhood, although I couldn't tell you if it happened every year or only one time. Being woken by my parents in time to throw a coat over my nightgown, standing outside on the front steps, looking up at the stars in the very cold night air, and banging away on the pans at the stroke of midnight. It was a rare opportunity to break so many rules all at once - up late, outside after dark, making tons of noise. And hearing other people doing the same thing throughout the neighborhood.
Seems no one I meet has a similar memory, and when I mention this tradition, people look at me as if I'm acting a bit odd(er than usual). But every year when I go outside with my cookware and start clanging away, I hear one or more pots being banged elsewhere. Usually not too near - maybe blocks a way. Once, they were just a few houses away. When I hear that sound in respond to my own clatter, it's like finding a fellow countryman in a foreign land. And I can then drag the non-believers outside with me, point through the dark in the direction of the noise from my pot-banging kinsmen, and exclaim: See? I told you there were others! Victory to the Pot-Bangers!
So on that glorious note, I wish you a Very Happy New Year. May 2008 be your best year ever.
Posted at 07:00 PM in Holidays | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
For days now, I've been mulling over ideas for a Christmas Post. There's been no shortage of ideas, oh no. The problem was that they were so numerous and huge and meaningful and powerful - this season does that, right? I really needed a chunk of time to work with the ideas and concentrate on them and work on them some more if they had any hope of becoming full meaningful sentences and paragraphs. But there were cookies to be baked with my daughter, presents to be wrapped, and foods to be bought for Christmas Eve dinner . . . And here it is that very day already, and I'm all out of time for writing anything important or meaningful. Not that I could have anyway, but given a block of six or eight or twenty-four hours, I stood a better chance. Whatever.
A week or more ago I still had expectations that I'd be working on "My Christmas Theme" though, and jotted down some things in the notebook I carry. It's kind of the wall where I throw my spaghetti of ideas and words and see what sticks. Here's what was there, so far:
"simpler"
"uncomfortable gift recipient"
"if people behaved like this all year"
"pay it forward/ability to give/give back"
"appreciation"
"the gift of compassion"
Hmmmm. The last one. Don't quite know where that phrase came from, or even if I have it correct, but it's been bugging me these last few days. I looked up the word "Compassion" for some inspiration and found:
Compassion [kuhm-pash-uhn]
noun 1. a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering 2. the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it.
Yes, I recognize that feeling. I have it, in spades. Although I wonder a lot whether it's caused me more problems than good, and I'm not so sure it's a gift, you know? I'm pretty sure I wasn't born with it, that instead, it was "given" to me in bits and pieces over time and I kept wadding them together year after year until now they've accumulated into quite a massive hairball of a thing inside me that definitely affects my life . . . and makes me sad a lot. I cry all the time over news photos or stories of war and amputated limbs and homeless people and birds with tarred-up feathers after an oil spill. I'm serious when I tell you that once, after seeing a picture of a malnourished child in Africa, I was unable to eat for almost three days. During this last week alone I've probably shed tears a half-dozen times - once for each time I heard "Do They Know It's Christmas " by Band Aid, or John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)." /Drip, drip, drip . . . that's the sound of my bleeding heart, OK?/
No, it ain't easy being a sponge for suffering, having this "deep awareness of the suffering of others." It would be a whole lot easier not to care. And as I mentioned above, it seems to be getting bigger - worse? - all the time. The only antidote I've found to keep it from completely taking me over is Giving. Giving Back. Giving away what I have that I don't need that someone else does. And to keep doing it.
I'm not completely foolish about it, and I don't intend to become an ascetic, although some have questioned a few of my acts of giving. There's a definite kind of a triage to it that keeps it manageable and reasonable - take care of the kids and family first. After that, friends in need. After that, the occasional totally random strangers that few others pay attention to. Finally, large groups or causes that have attracted the compassion of celebrities and therefore don't need much of my help: I give to them, but my preference is to impact a smaller number of people (or animals) in a bigger way if that makes sense.
This all sounds a bit lot like "hey, look at me, how good and kind and generous I am, you should adore me," doesn't it? Yuck. I have to refute that. I may be a little of those things, but those labels are not the goal for me, not the motivation for my giving. I prefer to do things anonymously, actually, and I don't expect anything - even good karma - in return. It's just that between the compassion I can't get rid of and my total, utter appreciation for every single thing I have been given in my life, I can't help but give. It's the other part of the definition above, the part that doesn't hurt or make me sad: "wanting to do something about it."
So I have my gift, the "gift" of compassion. Enough to last a lifetime, thankyouverymuch. I also have "My Christmas Theme," I guess. Good as it's going to be this year, and I managed to use up some of the words on the spaghetti list - bonus points! It matters so little, though. On a busy weekday, my posts reach maybe 50 people, and most are drive-by Google shots anyway, which makes this post about as meaningful as dirt to the majority.
My actions hold more promise, I hope.
Merry Christmas.
Posted at 04:18 PM in Holidays | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
This is exactly what you need for Christmas.
Or if not for your wall, then surely you need a (nearly) last-minute gift for someone else?
Due to my overwhelming excitement at seeing my Max on the cover (and, he's Mr. June!), I may have purchased a few more than I needed. So for a limited time, I have a few freebies available. Drop me a line if you'd like a pawtographed copy.
Posted at 04:30 PM in Holidays | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
OK, so the tree got up this weekend. I charged Sparky with buying new lights, because I just didn't want to bother with the old ones and for $3 a box, it was worth it. Not to mention that they now package the things intelligently, humanely, without that curseword-inducing green rack-like thing that you had to pop each bulb out of separately. Now they come packaged in a nice bundle that fits in a box about 5x5 inches.
Anyhoo . . . I had a yen for the usual white lights but thought I'd mix in some red this year. So Sparky picked up two boxes of each, 400 lights total, a nice number for our four-foot tree.
Here's a picture, and you tell me if the damn thing, in all it's red-and-whiteness, isn't just screaming:
SHOP AT TARGET!!! SHOP AT TARGET!!! SHOP AT TARGET!!!!
Posted at 07:50 PM in Holidays | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
It's become sort of an annual tradition here for me to post pictures of the downtown windows decorated for the Holidays. (And I say "Holidays" not in a misguided politically-correct attempt to avoid psychologically injuring or insulting anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas, but because there was one menorah in there amongst all the Christmas stuff.)
Posted at 03:55 PM in Holidays | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 12:01 AM in Holidays | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)