Robbie Burns Night

Sunday is January 25th, and every good Scot knows that this is a grand holiday!
On this day we remember Robert Burns, Scotland's great poet!
We remember him with song, story, food and drink.
OK, so my relatives who aren't Mormon remember him with drink, I have to stop at the food part.

Who was this Robbie Burns?
If you've ever sung "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve you already know his works, but he did so much more! Burns is well loved for his lyrical ability to bring the Scots dialect to life.

Here is just the first stanza of "To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With The Plough" written in November, 1785

Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!

It's even better when spoken aloud!

Well, perhaps you're not a mouse fancier.
How about this well loved song, A Red, Red Rose.

O'my Luve's like a red, red rose, That's newly sprung in June:
O'my Luve's like the melodie, That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear, Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear, While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve! And fare-thee-weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve, Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile!

Brings a tear to your eye doesn't it?
Well, it better! It's one of my favorites!
That part about "And the rocks melt wi' the sun", that chokes me up like nothing else. Come now, you must have known I'm Scottish. With a name like Heather?? Tut tut.



What do we eat?
You may have heard tales of the food we serve on Robbie Burns night. Indeed it is a strange and awesome creation - the Haggis!

(I'm using an awful lot of exclamation points in this post, but it's only to keep myself from breaking into an awful Scottish accent that would have grandparents on both sides of my family rolling in their graves. Hah! We're Scots! They wouldn't just roll, they'd get up out of their graves and come over to whack me upside the head! Thus, the over use of exclamation points.)

The Haggis is a lovely warm and satisfying dish made from...
oh...
hmm...
I see there are children present.
I'd best not say exactly what we make Haggis from.

Instead, let me introduce you to some Haggis lore, stolen - make that appropriated - from The Great Haggisclopedia which is kindly published on the web by the Scotsman Newspaper.

Here he is - the Golden Haggis himself!

Or, it maybe herself. They come in both varieties.

The Haggisclopedia is quick to dispell the myth that a haggis is just a sheep’s stomach stuffed with meat and oatmeal.
The most common mistaken belief about the haggis is that it is some kind of pudding made from sheep innards. This somewhat macabre idea dates back many centuries. Its origins lie in a Pictish fertility ceremony which featured a parade of creatures known to produce large numbers of offspring. The haggis was one such animal. However, as hunting techniques were not as sophisticated as they were then and - for reasons explained in The Haggis in Scotland’s History - haggis numbers were low, the Pictish priests often had to make do with a model for these ceremonies. Said model haggis was made from an inflated sheep bladder, hence the myth.

Also, they point out that there is no link between the Haggis and the Loch Ness Monster, no matter what the media would have you believe.

This is nonsense. Haggises are not aquatic. They are also extremely wary of any creature larger than them and would not consort with a large carnivore, even one supposed to be mythical. There is also nothing to suggest that there is any truth behind the rumour that swimming with haggises strapped to your feet will prevent monster attacks. There have been no recorded attacks on anyone by the Loch Ness monster, haggis attachments notwithstanding.

The great Haggis Hunt is on in Scotland, and the Scotsman newspaper kindly provides web cams showing various important areas in Scotland, on the chance that you might see a Haggis waddling by. Click here and you can look at Loch Ness, Gretna Green, Princes Street in Edinburgh, Buchanan Square in Glasgow and other interesting places. If you spot a haggis you can send them an email and be entered in the contest for a trip to Scotland!

Sadly, the Hunt ends on Robbie Burns Day, so you've probably missed your chance for this year.

I did catch a glimpse of one of the little rascals. Here he is, just as I saw him.


For those of you who aren't blessed to be of Scottish descent, don't worry, you're still welcome to come and enjoy Robbie Burns night. Head over to my place and we'll raise a glass in his honor. (Probably filled with cran-grape juice.)

Sláinte!

Inkheart - Brace Yourself

The German children's book "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke opens in theaters tomorrow in a version starring Brandon Frasier. I mention this as a warning. While I have not seen the movie, I have read the book - this is NOT a children's book. Do NOT take your children to this movie, or allow them to read this book without previewing it yourself, first.

**Big Spoiler Warning - but I think you need it.**

I was excited when I found this book - I'm always hunting for something new to read, and this was a double blessing because I found it just before my sister's birthday. Instant present!

It begins very well, with an interesting premise. The father in the story has the ability to read stories aloud, so beautifully, that they actually come to life. Sounds promising, no?

This is when things take a turn toward the dark.

The man's wife is caught up in one of these living stories and sucked away from the real world, leaving him and his young daughter bereft. The daughter has no idea what became of her mother.

Now, that's rather scary, but what unfolds is down right terrifying. Enter a villain who is truly a villain - something out of an adult murder mystery - and this is no longer a children's book, or a young adult book, or even a book I'm willing to read a second time.

Sadly, I'd already ordered the sequel to the book (part of that present). It sits here on the shelf, unread. I'm not going to risk another of those terrifying scenes. I have nightmares enough, thank you.

Now, perhaps I'm just squeamish, but I don't think so. I'm not your typical Deseret Book reader and this book shocked and horrified me several times.

Hollywood usually louses up books. They ruin them in ways that make my teeth hurt. It's possible that they'll ruin this one also, but in doing so will make it watchable by children (and adults with imaginations). I hope so, but I'm not paying nine dollars to find out.


Edit:

I'd really love to hear other points of view also.
Turns out that two people, whose opinions I hold in high esteem, seem to think I'm stuffed full of wild blueberry muffins on this one. ;)

Well, one of them loved all the books and another didn't get freaked out until the second. I'm trying to cajole them into posting their comments here. Maybe you'll get a more balanced opinion.

Hey you "Twilight" movie fans!

To promote the movie in Brazil they've made an online "Twilight" game.
Apparently you play as Bella and roam around Forks High School late at night, trying to discover more about Edward.

Click here to see the site - "Crepúsculo".

I read about this in a journal entry over at deviantART. Here's more of what sunni-sideup had to say:

"And you get to be creepy! And you get to actually find a Twilight book! Because these aren't even the real characters, they are people who are BIZARRELY similar to the characters in Twilight and Edward has actually read it, and he is amazed at how close Stephenie got to the truth! I KNOW!

Anyway, you have to check it out. Just register and play! Downside: it's all in Portuguese! I can't fully appreciate the story, which makes me sad. But it's still awesome! You get to dig through Edward's locker! And see a letter written by his mother!!!"

Full text here.

Let me know if any of you play the game and/or speak Portuguese.
hehe =)

Bang and Whack!

This week started with a BANG!
Literally.

Remember that weird popping and dimming of the lights that heralded our old water heater's demise? Well, about 1 am I was lying in bed, reading (Yeah, yeah, it was a work night. But I had to finish!) when the lights did their thing again. I lay there and said, in effect. "No way. Has to be dirty power." and soon turned out the light and went to sleep.

The next morning my poor little sister tried to take a shower and found she had no hot water! She investigated and discovered black soot all around the electronics bay on the top of the water heater. grrrrrrr.....

That's right - we blew up the water heater.
Again!
Aren't we clever?

Turns out we have aluminum wiring for that circuit, and aluminum wiring and copper wiring are not happy with each other.

Now, I like to think of myself as an intelligent human being, and I'm pretty handy with electronics, but I've never come across aluminum wiring! Heck in the house where I grew up we had bare copper wires in the attic (circa 1920s). Dad just finished swapping them all out last year.

We've replaced plugs and switches, installed ceiling fans and lights and always encountered copper wire. Who knew that we had aluminum lurking in the walls?

The sorry, melted remains of the wiring, connectors and drip pan.


See that nice little hole drilled through the metal? And the spot above it where it almost melted through?
Isn't electricity fun?


I now know lots about aluminum wiring... more than I wanted to.
If you live in this area and your home is between 20 and 30 years old, beware - you might be having this fun and not be aware of it. Seems using aluminum wiring for the major appliances was quite the thing, and the resist that they used to connect the two metals dries out after a number of years, and when it does - POW!

Fortunately we have copper wiring for the rest of the house, or else I'd be crying right now.

Many thanks to the good people at George Morlan. They sent out a tech right away who explained things and showed us a wonderful little connector that solves the problem. Oh, and the water heater got a full checkup and passed - it was only the external wiring that fried. Hot water once again sloshes happily in our pipes.

That was the bang - the WHACK was my sister and I pruning the rose bushes in the back yard within an inch of their lives. We needed to clear the way so that we can replace the poor back fence which was on its last legs last year and is reeling this year.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest you probably had the same day we did - bright beautiful sunshine but frosty temperatures. It was cold and blowing, but we enjoyed ourselves. Hacking, slicing and chopping can be very therapeutic!

Before - ah what a tangled web. Mallory says Hi.


I remember my Mother making bread. Lots of bread. Really good bread.
With seven children to feed, making bread happens a lot, but when I was older she confided to me that the end result wasn't the only reason for making the bread. Kneading dough is a great way to get rid of your frustrations. Pound that dough for a bit and things start to look better (it also makes for a lovely crumb).
I suppose I have bread to thank for not getting my behind whooped more often! hehe!

After - lovely no? Sorry about the shadow, the afternoon was wearing down.


We ended up with frosty finger tips, lots of thorn punctures and a nicely pruned backyard. Ah, the joys of a job well done!

*cringe*

I can't believe that last post!
This is what happens when I am let loose near a computer after my brain has already gone to bed.
I need a minder.
Really I do.

While I'm here I'd like to mention how grateful I am for a warm home. My sister is currently in Minnesota, freezing her teeth off in the -36 degree weather!

Air stagnation in Oregon?
A small price to pay for having all ten toes.
(Just don't breathe too deeply.)

EEP! Just 4 more days until I start my New Year's Resolutions and I'm not quite ready yet! I'd better sign off and get shaking.

Bored...

Can you believe that I'm bored? Bored?!?
It's amazing.
It's unthinkable.
It's WRONG.

Of all the incredible things to do now days, and all the things to be had (electronics, of course hehe) and all the ways to keep in touch with people, being bored must be a crime.
Dagnabit, being bored should be a crime!
(Nothing else is a crime anymore, so why not... Oops. Don't get me started.)

I feel guilty about wandering around the house.
Even if I can't find a novel way to amuse myself, you'd think I could at least clean something!

With that threat hanging over me, I found something to do - retouch old photos.
No kidding. :)

Do you have some pictures that seemed like a good idea, but somehow never quite jelled? I've an entire harddrive full of them.

Here's one that I really liked. This was taken down at Beaver Creek Park, but the sun was too far gone and the photo was too grainy. Sooo.. presto, chango! I used a little Photoshop neon edges action and voila!


I think it turned out rather well, don't you?

How about this one?
It's the wetlands near my office. It was a rainy day and the water was all silver, but somehow I messed up the shot. It had no focal point, no drama.
So, this one got the watercolor treatment and now I think it's quite a nice little impressionist painting.


Finally, a foggy night in the back yard. I redid this photo six ways. It was too much fun to stop! However, here are two of them, for your amusement. (You MUST click on them to see them full size. Otherwise the effect is completely lost.)
Golden Fog - Watercolor

Golden Fog - Ink


I hope you're having an exciting evening, with no boredom in sight!
(If it looms just threaten yourself with cleaning duties and it will slink away.)


PS. Actually, I did these photos last year. But I wanted to post and I really was bored, so I embellished. A little. Kinda. =)

Bits and Bobs

Seems I have forty things going on, so here's a smattering to amuse you.

1) Just found out about "Project 365 - A Photo Everyday for 2009" and want to kick myself! I wish I'd heard of it sooner!
The challenge is to take a picture of something in your life every day, all year.

I really need this to get my creative juices running, so I guess I'll just start now and make it Project 355. (Can I post retroactively?? hmmm...)

2) The water heater is in and purring along nicely. We purchased it on Wednesday and the wonderful guys at George Morlan (insert ad here) delivered it for only $29 and carted away the old one for free. They even did it the same day! Sears, Home Depot and Lowes can't even touch that kind of service.

We did have some fun while switching the heater out. Take a look at what we found when we pulled the old tank out from the wall. Yipes.


I do a visual inspection of all our appliances at least quarterly, but I never had any idea that this damage was back there. The wall had a corresponding mark soaked into it, so my sister cut the dry wall out and replaced it with a waterproof foam panel. She also found and disposed of a mouse who had made himself a nice tomb between the walls. Blecho!
Fortunately it wasn't Calvin the Mouse. *wink*

Dad and Holly installed the new tank and I stood around and passed them tools and garbage bags. Yes, it was an arduous task.

I like to think of myself as a very handy person who can do whatever it takes, but I was pretty much useless on this occasion. No worries, I'm sure there will be others.

3) Cleaning up after the little flood I found a paper bag that seemed to be full of old unused stationery (1950s era) and very much used Christmas and birthday cards. A perfect item for the recycling bin. However I gave it to Mom to go through since it appeared to be Grandma's stuff. (Grandma lived with us here in Portland for a few years before she passed away.)

Mom started looking, and lo and behold it was full of old family photos and letters! Whew - I'm glad I didn't toss it!


There are even pictures of me as a baby.
Here's a Christmas card with me holding my little sister Bonnie and sitting next to my little brother Scott.

What can I say? The rumors are true. I was adorable.

We spent a fun afternoon trying to identify everyone in the pictures (and wishing Grandma had labeled more of them).

Mom also found a letter from one of my great great grandmothers who was living in St. George in the 1850/60/70 time frame. We haven't been able to date the letter (someone cut the stamps off) but here is an excerpt (spelling retained):
"When we heard the word of the conferance that the word of wisdom was given as a commandment we both comenced to observe it and I feel it to be a benefit. I am determined to continue to keep it believing the Lord will not ask of us more than we can do."

That touched my heart.


4) I've been trying my hand at Facebook, and yesterday my Mom created an account for herself. We're tracking down friends and family left and right. Beware - we'll be adding you when we find you!


5) Finally, and this one really makes me laugh, the Christmas lights finally came down from outside. Sadness! But it had to happen.

Holly took them down while I was at work and she found the oddest (most odd?) thing.

About two weeks ago one of the strands of lights on the pine tree on the corner suddenly stopped working about half way up. When Holly was unwinding the string from the limbs she noticed that one of the lights was sitting in a fork of the tree. Just sitting there. Not connected.

When she picked it up she saw teeth marks.

Some little squirrel had gnawed off one of the lights and tried to hide it in his stash! She found others, of the same color, that had also been gnawed on.

Well, they do kind of look like little bitty pine cones... so....

Holly says that the first squirrel was busy collecting these shiny tidbits when another squirrel came up, noticed what was happening and flicked the first one on the ear. "You nut! You can't eat those!"

Made me laugh - except that he ruined a perfectly good set of lights.
grrr...

Oh well, I have electrical tape and I know how to use it!

When it rains, it pours

Sunday night the lights on the north side of the house gave three big jolts and my parents ran upstairs to see if I'd electrocuted myself. (I hadn't. Hadn't even been using anything powered at the time.)

We checked out the fuse box and the garage, and though we could smell something pungent it wasn't a normal "hot" electrical smell, and it went away fairly quickly. However, we couldn't' get the starter on the furnace to work.

"Great," I thought, "Just what I need - to replace the furnace."

After resetting the circuit breakers and the thermostat the starter kicked in and the furnace ran and so we figured we'd dodged the bullet.

Monday morning my mom tried to take a shower and the hot water cut off half way through. Yup - it wasn't the furnace freaking out, it was the water heater.

So, tomorrow is our Christmas (January 7th, Russian Orthodox Christmas) and we'll be running down to buy and install a new water heater.

Thank heavens my Dad is here. He's the VERY best.
It's not that my sister and I couldn't do the installation (it's dead easy) but having a wonderful strong man around is so comforting. Not to mention the fact that he's done this a dozen times.

I need to brag about my Dad. He's notorious in my family for dropping everything and anything that he's doing and coming to the rescue. In fact, once my sister was in Canada and the transmission fell out of her car (seriously, it FELL out). He jumped in the car and drove to Canada to help her. How's that for a fabulous guy?
(No wonder I can't find Mr. Right. Who could possibly hold a candle to my Dad? hehe)

So - bring on the rain! We can handle it!

Frosty morning

This morning's weather forecast:
High 37
Low 36
Current temperature 27

I wish my job would allow for that margin of error!

I know, I know, my friends in Canada are laughing up their mufflers right now. 27 sounds like beach weather to them. My friend in Slave Lake has had temperatures at -30 for the past several weeks.

However, this was a nice chilly morning for Oregon. And one benefit was that we had a wonderful bit of frost on everything. I had no camera with me when we drove to church and I resigned myself to only enjoying the frost from memory. But when we got out of church, three hours later, the frost was still there (mostly)!

Ran home, bundled into something warm and rushed back to the church parking lot to capture the moment before it got any warmer. (Click on the pictures for a larger size. The blog resizing makes them a bit blurry.





Today's Gratitude Moment: I'm thankful for thick, warm flannel sheets!

The Rains Came Down and the Floods Came Up

What were you doing in the wee hours of the morning of January 1st? (Umm... actually it was the 2nd at that point?) Were you sleeping soundly? Watching the heavy snow flakes/clumps drop? Playing one more tune on Rock Band?

My sister and I were out in the side yard, up to our ankles in freezing water, bailing out the area around the garage side door and digging a new trench through the sodden, muddy grass to funnel flood water to the street.

Yup, fun and games!
Did I mention the heavy snow clumps?

It was cold and wet, but oddly satisfying when the water finally went down. Not a bad night, although we wanted to smack ourselves in the head for not buying sandbags earlier.

Everything that was on the floor along the north wall of the garage is now sodden. That means I've lost almost all of my notes from Law School (and some of the texts). There are several boxes of fabric and crafts gone, and probably two cabinets that we had in storage, waiting for our dream house to be built. Also a couple boxes that survived the flood waters but seem to have housed Nancy Bui's mouse for a month or so. ICK!!

The worst part - I think my entire collection of original X-Men comics is a loss. *cries* Still have to find out about that, but I've given up hope (even though I did have them stored in plastic sleeves... so maybe...)

The good news - the water was all clear, not muddy, so clean up just means throwing things away. The suitcases that are storing my Russian souvenirs had wheels and kept the bottom of the case far enough from the ground that everything should be saved (I still haven't been able to get to the second case, it's kind of wedged in the back.) And the rest of the things were in Rubbermaid tubs, so no leakage.

What's more, I feel an odd sense of freedom. I can finally clean out the garage without obsessing about every little piece of paper! We're just going to rent a tip, toss everything that can't be recycled, dust our hands off and walk away.

Wow! What a great feeling to start the new year!
I think I'll need to have a flood more often...

Bah Humbug New Years style

Truth be told, I detest New Years Eve. It's one of the most depressing times of the year (second only to that wicked pseudo-holiday, Valentine's Day.)

Every year I say to myself, "This time next year, I'm going to be dancing with a kind, fascinating man and I'm going to kiss him madly at midnight!"
And every year I find myself sitting at home, alone, comforting my dogs while the fireworks try to scare them to death.

Well, this year I kissed my dog, dang it!!

Don't worry, it was on the top of his silly little head. But he's the only male around and I'm no longer proud! I used to kid about not finding my Prince Charming. I'd say, "I told him to meet me in 1982 and he got confused and went to 1892!"

Somehow that's no longer as funny as it used to be.
So, here I am, stuck, living alone for another year. Blah.



or


This is the best!


OK, enough of that.

Here's what I'm going to do for my resolutions this year. (Nope, not going to tell you what they are, just how I'm going to do them.)

Do NOT Start On January 1st

Everyone starts at the same time, and that causes many problems.
a) Food related - heck, January 1st has left overs from two holiday, not to mention all those goodies associated with the Bowl games. There's no way to get a good clean start with that hanging over your head. Set January 1st aside for more partying, don't stress over it and start your diet on a day that you can be reasonably sure no one will be forcing three cheese nachos and German Chocolate Brownies onto your plate. And remember - the Bowl games run all the way through the 8th this year.
b) Exercise related - the sudden influx of people at the gym makes it crowded, and what's more, they're usually grumpy! I hate crowds and I don't need grumpy. Better to wait until everyone else has broken their resolutions or at least scaled back. Then I can waltz in and have a personal trainer all for myself (and no one staring when I hit the rowing machine).
c) Everything else. See a combination of a and b. Trust me on this.

Plan on starting somewhere around January 18th. Use the time between then and now to prepare yourself, your house and everything else so that you can effortlessly slide into your resolutions. That means you have to stop buying chocolate now, but you have two weeks to eat your backlog!

Make At Least Four Resolutions

The multi resolution tactic is not there to give you more to feel guilty about. It's there to give you an outlet.

If you flub up on one resolution, give it a break for a few days and concentrate on the success you are having with another resolution. And here's the kicker - make some of them FUN, not just work. You should have one "fun" resolution for every three "work" resolutions. These might be "Spend more time crafting" or "get a pedicure at least once a month". Come on - I know you can think of some fun ones!

Finally, Don't Do It Alone.

When gaming there is a spell called Resurrection (do not confuse this with real Resurrection. heh) Basically it means a friend can read a scroll or wave a wand and you get to come back to life and try it again! We need something like this for resolutions. But you'll notice that you can't do it alone. You need a friend to help.

Admittedly this one is the hardest one for me, but I really think it will be the key to my success. The idea is to find someone that you need to report to. It can be a friend, a support group, your blog, your Mom. You get the idea. Don't discount the option to report out to Heavenly Father on those resolutions that you need some extra support with. You know He will always have time to listen and will cheer you on!

That's it! Three steps to get me off to a good start!
Now I just have to think up the resolutions.
Yipes...

PS. We did have a nice time watching the New York Philharmonic's New Years broadcast. Any concert that features De Falla's "Ritual Fire Dance" and excerpts from "Carmen" has my vote for a ripping good party. It also drown out the real fireworks noise very well and the puppies only freaked out a few times. Thank goodness.