Adios, 2006

Time for the obligatory post looking back at the year. What did I do this year? What will I remember about 2006?

I spent a few days in Florida in March, visiting both coasts of a state I hadn't seen yet. First time at the Gulf of Mexico, too. Saw manatees and several dolphins. Enjoyed the warm break from another Pacific Northwest winter.



We got Chloe in December 2005 but I'll look back on 2006 as our first year with her. The first few months were hard--getting used to her, training her, trying to understand and be understood. It got easier, though, and it's hard to remember life without her now.



I went up to see the eagles in February and saw orcas for the first time in March.




The most vacation Mr. Thel and I got to have together was our Fourth-of-July long weekend in Darrington. A little fishing, a little wandering around in the mountains.



I took a girls-only camping trip in August for the first time. And lit a one-match fire without Mr. Thel's supervision for the first time, too.



The same month, I took a bit of the Empire Builder Amtrak route for the first time, just to Shelby, MT and back. I also resolved, on the return trip, never to spend that long on the train without either some kind of neck support, or a berth in a sleeping car. I reached that decision after spending most of the night in a train bathroom vomiting because of a migraine that seemed to start after I tried to sleep in my seat.




My dad had a stroke on Halloween night. He came out okay, but that's certainly something I'll remember.

And, of course, 2006 became the year my forlorn wishes to buy a house turned into action. But, you know, we aren't allowed to talk about that for two more days. Not until I have the key, friends. Then I'm sure I'll say more about it than you ever wanted to hear.

I came within 4 books of my goal of reading 50 books in 2006--and I read parts of at least 4 more books that I didn't finish. So that goes at the top of my list of resolutions for 2007:

List of resolutions for 2007
1. Read 50 books and keep track of them.

Hmmm, now what else should go on the list? I need to visit at least one new state this year, man, if not a new country. I bought new luggage today, at a 70% discount, for the first time in my life, and I'm committed to using it. I'm hoping to visit New Mexico this spring, but we'll see how the budget does under the house payment. But let's put that on the list anyway:

2. Visit one new state or country.

Exercise is a pretty typical resolution, so let's just make sure to get this one little exercise-istic goal on the list so it doesn't get lost in all the work on the house:

3. Take five day hikes.

That sounds miserably low, but I guess that's ten percent of Saturdays (or Sundays) in the year, so let's aim for something I can actually achieve and even surpass and leave it at that.

I want to make sure I don't let my mad knitting skillz lapse this year, so let's make that number 4. I don't feel a need to quantify the number of hours I spend knitting, nor the number of things I produce, so let's go with this:

4. Knit one new garment.

That leaves room for plenty of non-garment knitting, but I'd like to get another sweater out of the deal, anyway.

And the resolution I feel most tentative about is the one about writing, but it should be up there to keep me thinking about it. Most of my writing goals are too vague, and most of these resolutions are somewhat easily achieved, so let's make this one something to actually work at:

5. Write daily.

There, that's the list. That should keep me busy in the coming year.

Frozen Leaves

I took this a month ago during the week-long freeze we had at the end of November. I present it in lieu of words for today.

Oddballs

Today as we were leaving work three of us lingered to chat about our weekend plans, or lack thereof. One young woman, who moved to Seattle from Ukraine when she was sixteen, asked if I had plans with Mr. Thel.

"Oh, not really," I said.

"Don't you spend New Year's together usually?" she asked.

I had to think about it for a minute. "Well, we have a few times...but not last year...no, not always." I shrugged, thinking nothing of it, but she was amazed. Maybe "scandalized" more than amazed, actually.

"Oh, my gosh," she said. "I am always thinking being married means you are doing everything together, you know, like going places and holidays and everything. But maybe this is because I am not married yet!"

She was on her way out the door, so I didn't make her stay to listen to my speech about how Mr. Thel and I, committed as we are to each other, do not always agree on what "a good time" means. I love spending time with him, and we have a great time together (mostly...honestly, people, nobody has a great time together at all moments). Last Friday we ended up driving all the way to Oregon that night in large part because our conversation made the miles fly by. We spend three evenings out of four together, whether sitting at home or out somewhere. But sometimes my friends invite me out, or his friends invite him out, and that's okay too. Even if it ends up being on New Year's Eve.

I feel lucky to be with someone who understands that spending a few hours apart does not spell doom for our love, even if it seems quirky or weird to the rest of the world. And I realized this afternoon that I really, truly do not care if it seems quirky or weird to anyone else.

I am living this aspect of my life in the way it works for me, and I am unconcerned with the reaction of outside parties. This exact mental freedom is a goal I have been working toward for my entire life and I didn't even notice I'd achieved it until this afternoon. True, I've only achieved it in this one small part of my life. But now that I've proved it can be done, maybe it won't be so hard in the future.

It's a good, hopeful thought to hold as another year winds down.

P.S. The loan paperwork is all done. I just have to sign papers next week. Tuesday, supposedly. Sssssshhhh, don't tell anyone, but...I think I'm going to be a homeowner by Wednesday. Eeeeee!

Awwww

My cousin tells me she had the following encounter with my four-and-a-half years old niece on Christmas Eve.

Niece: (Comes up behind Cousin, chattering happily) And then the mermaid was angry at her father!
C: Oh really? (turning to face niece)
N: (Stares, silent)
C: You thought I was someone else, didn't you.
N: Yes, I thought you were Thel.
C: No, she's over there.
N: (Turns without another word and runs across the room to me.)

While I have a sympathy cringe for my poor cousin, who after all only gets to see the nieces once a year, I have to admit it was fun to find that she was my buddy last weekend. She'll realize I'm an old fuddy-duddy soon enough. In the meantime, I will cheerfully join in her princess fantasies and her mermaid tales, and hold her hand when she crosses the street, and swing her up for piggy-back rides. And she can always feel free to save me a seat next to her at dinner.

Argh

"Feds apologize for woman's strip search":

The Homeland Security Department sent a letter apologizing to a Muslim woman who was detained at the Tampa airport and strip searched at a county jail.

Safana Jawad, 45, a Spanish citizen who was born in Iraq, was detained on April 11 because of a suspected tie to a suspicious person, authorities said. She was held for two days before being deported to England.

Wow, I had to fly out of the Tampa airport just a month before that. She was detained because of a suspected tie to a "suspicious" person? Like, they thought she might be connected to someone they thought might be suspicious? Jesus, dude, who doesn't fit that description?

I'm also curious about why they deported her to England if she was a Spanish citizen. Maybe that's just the origin of her flight into Tampa, I guess.

For awhile I kind of avoided flying because that one especially turbulent flight from Boston freaked me out. Now I'm more freaked out by the possibility that someone I might or might not have taken a college class with might be a "suspect" by Homeland Security, which might be reason enough to keep me from vacationing in Tampa or Albuquerque or wherethefuckever, by way of a strip search and a two-day stay in some county jail somewhere. Or it might be reason enough to do a whole lot worse to me--after all, I've publicly admitted Democratic tendencies and unashamedly protested the invasion of Iraq, for starters. That's like treason these days, right?

Book Resolution 2006: Comprehensive List

Well, with a scant four days left in the year, odds are I'm just barely going to fall short of my goal of reading 50 books this year. Actually, if I'd count the five children's books I read last week I would meet the goal, but that seems a little cheaterly to me.

Since I stopped writing summaries of the books after #12, I'm just going to list them all here for future reference. Maybe I'll go back later and make links for 13-44, but I doubt it.

1. The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman
2. The Dog Listener, by Jan Fennell
3. Shards of Honor, by Lois McMaster Bujold
4. Four Ways to Forgiveness, by Ursula Le Guin
5. Ten Little Indians, by Sherman Alexie
6. Indian Killer, by Sherman Alexie
7. The World According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore
8. Life As We Know It: A Father, a Family, and an Exceptional Child, by Michael Berube
9. The Boy Who Loved Windows, by Patricia Stacey
10. Barrayar, by Lois McMaster Bujold
11. Teckla, by Steven Brust
12. Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson
13. The Harvest, by Robert Charles Wilson
14. The Time Traveller's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (This one joined Spin at the top of the list of "favorites" from this year.)
15. Darwinia, by Robert Charles Wilson
16. Marley & Me, by John Grogan
17. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
18. The King's Peace, by Jo Walton
19. Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, by Ann Lamott
20. Communicating with Orcas, by Mary Getten (I bought this one after taking an orca-watching boat trip in April after the captain mentioned the book.)
21. The Weather Makers, by Tim Flannery (Another favorite)
22. The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk Kidd
23. Broken for You, by Stephanie Kallos
24. The Hallowed Hunt, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Gods, I wish she could write a book a week for me to devour. Yes, another favorite.)
25. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
26. The Dark Room, by Minette Walters (A mystery novel makes an appearance! A nice change of pace.)
27. The Crimson Petal and the White, by Michael Faber
28. The Will of the Empress, by Tamora Pierce
29. A Princess of Romania, by Paul Park
30. The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi
31. The Dispossessed, by Ursula Le Guin (When I bought The Ghost Brigades the bookstore clerk who rang up my sale struck up a conversation about Scalzi, having read Old Man's War but not yet its sequel, which led into a conversation about science fiction in general. When I mentioned being a total newcomer to the genre, and asked if he had any recommendations, he listed The Dispossessed as his favorite book, period. So I bought it the next week. Wow, indeed. Definitely one of the best books I read this year, or any year.)
32. Confessions of a Teenage Sleuth, by Chelsea Cain (Having read ever so many Nancy Drew books as a child, this was enormous fun.)
33. Tales from Earthsea, by Ursula Le Guin
34. Under the Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer (Creepy and educational.)
35. The Sharing Knife, by Lois McMaster Bujold (I didn't even know this was coming out until I saw it on display at the bookstore. I'd waited to buy The Hallowed Hunt, number 24 above, until it was out in paperback, but this...no, I bought it instantly and read it immediately. A whole new universe from Bujold--I was delighted.)
36. The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien (I generally re-read the whole of Lord of the Rings every year or two, but I hadn't re-read this one for many years. It was high time.)
37. War for the Oaks, by Emma Bull
38. Wings to the Kingdom, by Cherie Priest (The first chapter of this was offered online free, and I liked it so much I had to see what happened.)
39. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susannah Clarke (Best book I read this year, without a doubt. I loaned it to a friend or else I'd probably be re-reading it again already. I didn't read it when it came out, when everyone was raving about it, because I have this problem where I assume I'm not smart enough to "get" the books that all the smart people love. And yet I adored this book. Lesson: get over yourself and read the books being raved about by people whose opinions you respect. You'll likely enjoy them, too.)
40. The Anvil of the World, by Kage Baker
41. Year's Best Fantasy 5, edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (Obviously I adore Bujold and Le Guin; who else will I adore? I bought an anthology to help me out.)
42. 40 Signs of Rain, by Kim Stanley Robinson
43. Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey (Because I'd never read anything by her.)
44. Embraced by the Light, by Betty Eadie
45. Ethan of Athos, by Lois McMaster Bujold
46. Arrow in Flight, by Mercedes Lackey

Any additional books that I finish before the end of the year, I'll add them to this list.

201!

Because I didn't notice that Christmas Eve's post was number 200 on this blog, we will celebrate the 201st!

***

Alas, the unavailability of internet connectivity in Roseburg foiled my attempt to post daily for a month, and December 25 and 26 remain sadly blank. I thought about cheating with Blogger's handy little "backdating" feature, but no, I won't cheat. I'll try to post twice on a couple of days before the end of the year, just so I have 31 posts this month, but it just won't be the same.

Still, this Holidailies experience has been good for me. I haven't improved much at planning my posts ahead of time, but I have instead improved my ability to quell the frenzied protestations of my inner critic, to let myself just write something and post it without agonizing about what my friend's friends might think if they ever saw my blog. That doesn't come naturally to me, so any bit of practice is good.

***

We're back home in Seattle now. I was so relieved that our drive down was on a dry evening last week, and then it rained almost nonstop while we were there. There was a low spot in the road to my grandparents' house that was underwater most of the time...we began wondering whether we'd get stranded in Roseburg, if the rain kept up. But then our luck held! --today's drive home was almost totally dry, too. Score!

***

My mother cooked a 15-pound prime rib roast for Christmas dinner this year. Fifteen pounds is, what, the size of two babies? Or more? I mean, sorry to make such a macabre comparison, but in grasping for a comparison that was the first one that came to mind--"My niece hardly weighs more than that!"

Even stranger, she used three pounds of salt in the cooking of the enormous slab of meat. Fortunately for all of us, the salt is used as a paste that covers the meat entirely, making the final product incredibly soft and juicy and not salty at all, as the salt forms a crust around the roast. Impressive when it's cracked off and discarded in two enormous pieces, too.

Happy post-holidays! I hope you have something new that's as nifty as my new socks made of alpaca wool. Mmmmm, alpaca wool. Glaghlaghlaghlaghlaghl.

Eve of the Mass of the Christ

I have eaten all day and I may explode.

Before I collapse into a food coma, allow me to present some highlights of the day:

* One niece received as a gift the Alphabet Pal caterpillar toy. It has a setting that allows you to "sound out" words--press the c, a, and t and you will have a jerky approximation of the word "cat," for example. Several mischievous adults, playing with the toy, discovered much to our delight that the toy will not allow you to sound out certain words. Pressing "f" and "k" in succession will only make the caterpillar giggle merrily. Same with "a" and "s." Our experimentation stopped there, with much laughter.

* Grandma has a fancy-schmancy walker which has a seat so she always has a place to sit and rest. The walker was in the living room being used as an extra seat, and the smaller niece clambered up and sat in it. Grandma came by and started pushing her around the living room. Smaller niece sat quietly and grinned with joy as Grandma wheeled her slowly in laps around the room.

* Traditionally on Christmas Eve one side of my family exchanges silly gag gifts--dollar store stuff, things from Archie McPhee, and other random oddments. This year we scaled it back a bit and did a white elephant exchange; each person brought one gift, which could be a real gift or a silly gift but had a ten dollar limit, and then we drew numbers. Person #1 opened any gift. Each successive person then opened a gift, and then decided whether they wanted to keep their gift or trade for a previous gift.

The gifts included the following assortment: a stuffed frog that sings "Jeremiah was a Bullfrog;" a monkey slingshot kind of toy, which is meant to be launched across the room and shrieks a high-pitched yell of terror as it flies through the air; a set of John Wayne DVD's; a Whitman's chocolate sampler; a personal DVD player; a game called "Junkyard Jalopy," which is played exactly like "Operation;" and an enema kit.

I'm telling you, it's not every Christmas that I've been able to say, "Yes, I got an enema for Christmas. From my brother." Although to clarify, the thing itself was not actually "given", you understand. I want to be very clear about that.

Homelands

Last night Mr. Thel, Codependent Dog Chloe, and I drove the 400 miles to Roseburg for the holidays. The weather was dry, and traffic was surprisingly light, so it was a fairly easy seven-hour trip.

We stayed the night at a motel in town and spent the day travelling around to visit various outposts of the family. My grandparents are kindly letting us stay in their guest cottage next to their riverfront house, so we spent an hour or two with them, and a few hours at my parents' house (where I finally wrapped all our presents, procrastinator that I am), and a couple of hours at my other Grandma's, and finally Abby's Legendary Pizza for dinner with my siblings. The others had arrived at Abby's before Mr. Thel and me, and when we walked in I was greeted by the high-pitched sound of my older niece, age 4 and half, calling my name over and over so she could tell me that she saved me a seat next to her. Aww.

This weekend is going to be sparse posts most likely, as my only internet connection is a very slow wi-fi or a cellular card access. I don't have any stories yet anyway. I promise if anything exciting happens, this blog will be sure to milk it.

Flying South

A quick post to make sure I get my 50 words in for the day. We had planned to drive to Oregon tomorrow but the weather forecast is for rain, rain, rain all the way down I-5 tomorrow. It's been dry today, naturally. So we're going to drive down as far as we can get tonight, while the weather is not atrocious, because I'd rather drive in the dark and dry than in the wet daylight.

Time with the two nieces and the cousin, grandparents and assorted other relatives, will be fun. We do a "gag gifts" exchange for Christmas Eve with one side of my family, which has become my favorite part of the celebrations. Chloe is coming with us for the second year. I think at this point, her third visit, seeing my family again will be a familiar experience for her and not so anxiety-inducing.

OK! Off we go! Happy weekend, happy holidays, happy times to all.