Sagittarian FTW (Happy HanuBirtMas)

Thanksgiving, a horse swap, seasonal festivities and the Snowpocolypse... it's been quite a busy month since my last update. I sit here shortly after my ophthalmologist visit on our new Couch of Amazingness with my ginormous pupils and belly full of left over spinach dip contemplating where to start.

I suppose tossing a term like "snowpocolypse" in my intro may elicit some questions so I will start there. The snowstorm we had around Thanksgiving was a doozy. It's wasn't so much the fluffy stuff that caused the issues, it was the frozen wet stuff underneath. When one lives in Rain City, temperatures below freezing leads directly to total chaos. Especially in my neighborhood, where the hills are steep, and the salt trucks non-existent. In sum, the white stuff was lovely coating for the carcasses of abandoned vehicles and closed up shops while the city had their dry run for The End of the World and shut down the week of Thanksgiving. Commuters spent up to 8 hours in gridlock on the icy freeways and after running out of gas left their poor cars where they died. Click here for a recap of the madness (follow links therein for more video and photo fun) and note below an entertaining video of a street not far from my house. Oh Seattle, you amuse indeed. (Also amusing, Seattle men and their all-season shorts apparel as my photo above).



By the time Thanksgiving rolled around Karin and I had managed to create a cozy little space of our home and as the snow continued to fall, our guests arrived to partake in a true feast! We had incredible homemade pies (pumpkin and apple - crusts from scratch of course - see left), turkey for the carnivores with gravy, gluten free stuffing of awesomeness, cranberry sauce of glory, scrumptious mashed potatoes, the required yams with marshmallowy sweetness, crunchiferous green bean casserole, olfactory bliss home baked bread, and more! Five of us sat around the table and gave thanks for the food, each other, and leftovers. The the next few days involved finishing the foodstuffs (that Karin pretty much made on her very own with minimal help from yours truly - I was the clean-up crew) and preparing ourselves for the next Big Three: Hanukkah, Birthday and Christmas... which in this blog entry I am now naming as HanuBirtMas (strategic capitalization optional).

This year, for HanuBirtMas I want a horse. No... not a pony, a horse (although I do love ponies and if one should happen upon my doorstep with a note saying "free pony" I would surely take it in and love it and cherish it forever. Especially THIS pony!) Everyone should know by now horses have been a critical need of mine since my brain was developed enough to understand wants and desires. My first word may have been interpreted as "cookie" but what I meant to say was "double clear" - an obviously big mouthful for a baby but certainly reflective of my equestrian intentions. So to follow up from last months' horse report: King, the great big push-button gray gelding with "Grand Prix" written all over his massive head, was sold. I'm sure I'll see him on CBC someday, rocking the international jumper scene and will be able to say with pride, "I almost got to ride that horse." However, my consolation prize promises to be quite fantastic. ...And you fine readers will have to wait to hear all about it! I fear talking about it here may again tempt the fates, and out of pure superstition I will withhold full details in cyberprint until everything is settled. (Plus, I don't have any cool pictures to share yet!) Hopefully by my next blog post or two I can shed the superstitious malarkey and fill everyone in on the horse saga. In the meantime, appreciate my relaxed riding style, circa 1988, above.

Albeit still (momentarily) horseless, I have been busying myself these past few weeks with more job searching, present-buying, Christmas caroling with my band, preparing for our upcoming concert and enjoying in the birthday cheer of my many fellow Sagittarians in my social circle. I've been lighting Hanukkah candles and bought a little Christmas tree from the nearby Seattle AIDS Support Group annual fundraiser tree sale. Later this month, after a concert and some birthday sushi, Karin, LucyDog (who just turned 8 yesterday) and I will be getting the TSA-pat-down and boarding a plane to Minnesota (via Grand Forks, ND) to understand the true meaning of winter wonderland and to have a Midwest feast courtesy of the in-laws-to-be that will surely rival our turkey-optional, pie-fest, snowpocolypse Seattle Thanksgiving!

Happy HanuBirtMas everyone (photo: me + cake + fellow Sag = yum!)