No sign of little elves.

One month later, and I realize how dismally I've failed in my goals. The first, the experimental advent calendar, got to be too much halfway through December. Next year I'll have to scale it down. Maybe I'll listen to one Christmas song per day, or write one Christmas memory each day...

Random thought: My new favorite song is Nil Na La by Solas.

My other failed goal, is to practice writing. That's ultimately one of the reasons I started this blog, and one month without writing anything is a poor showing. "That's alright, nobody's perfect."

So if I were to offer any excuses for not writing, they would be grad school applications, krav maga, job-hunting and job stress. February 1 will see me with finished applications and no job. Absurdly, I'm quite happy about that. Perhaps I'll even write more.

I took my favorite boots to the cobbler today to have them re-heeled. They're Italian, and I've been walking on the wooden heel for months now, ever since the rubber layer rubbed away on the brick and pavement sidewalks of DC. The shop is this little whitewashed closet on the corner. One side is covered in rows of boots and leather shoes and military issue, and the little stool where the cobbler works can be seen through the big picture window facing the street. The other side holds a dry cleaners. No sign of little elves. Happily re-heeling is "greener" than throwing them away and replacing them. Cheaper, too. The heels are going to cost me $16.95, which I figure is a good deal, since the wood needs replacing as well. I hope they get polished.

Curses! Advent Update

Once again, my weekend Christmas plans were rudely disrupted by the weather. Sunday rained and rained and rained... I don't like walking around wet and cold, so I've postponed my Zoolights excursion. Not only that, but once we'd picked out the "perfect" (and my family always looks out for character as part of perfection) tree, we looked around the Christmas-y things on sale at the garden center, and stopped briefly to pick up lunch on the way home. Thus, the tree was by no means dry - in fact, it was too wet to contemplate stringing electrical lights on the damp branches. So instead of giggling and laughing and getting sticky everywhere while reaching around and hugging the tree did not happen - and my mom has plans to light and decorate the tree herself. :( Ah well.

In any case, I did bake cookies yesterday and last night. Mostly I played sous chef to my sister's master baker, but we had fun.

Tonight is a chores night (i.e. laundry) so it's not certain I'll get around to doing more than listening to holiday music, unless Netflix obligingly sends me The Christmas Carol, in which case I'll watch another holiday movie.

Advent, Days 11, 12 and 13

Today looks like another Christmas movie: A Christmas Story, this time - apparently the most-rented holiday movie on NetFlix. I've seen it before, but remember very little. I suppose I feel it's one of those classics I ought to know, because it's quoted so often. Also, I think quite possibly I'll find it amusing. And who doesn't need a little more laughter and fun in life?

This weekend will most likely resemble a holiday marathon. The family (at least, the women, who are all within less than two hours distant) have plans to congregate and bake, for friends, coworkers (and family, I do insist). Holiday cookies in my family come in at least four varieties - mostly because we love baking, decorating, and most especially (in my case) eating them.

Sunday equals Christmas Tree Day. Unfortunately we no longer drive out to a farm to cut the quote-unquote "best" tree. These days, we go in for much less exciting, but easier tree shopping. I.e., we go to the nearest garden center to pick one out. Then there's getting it home, setting it up in its little tray, and the funnest part of all - putting on the lights. That last is said only partly in jest...

Sunday I will also be going to the Zoolights at the National Zoo. Sunday is evidently "young professionals night" which should make things interesting. It's cheap, at $8 for a non FONZ member ticket. According to About.com, "Throughout ZooLights, the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat will be open for extended hours for those who wish to bid farewell to Tai Shan before he departs for China in early 2010." - so I guess it's also a good time to see the panda.

Zoolights Schedule:
December 4-13, 2009 (Friday through Sunday nights) and December 18-January 2 (every night except Dec. 24, 25, and 31) from 6-8:30 p.m.

Playing Catch-Up - Backwards

Yes, it does happen to be easier to remember things backwards sometimes. Thus:

Advent, Day 8: Christmas Dinner at La Cote D'Or, an excellent little French restaurant near East Falls Church Metro. The menu included escargot (I had one - I've had them before and feel ambivalent towards them), mushroom soup, lamb, "salmon in love with sea scallops" (the best, most excellent seafood I've had, maybe ever) and chocolate profiteroles (a little disappointing).

Advent, Day 7: This day gets as far as listening to Christmas music. Definitely more in line with opening a perforated door in a piece of reinforced paper and either taking a moment to look at a cute picture, or gobbling a tiny hunk of yummy chocolate.

Advent, Day 6: Christmas roll at Maneki Neko, a tiny, excellent (and reasonably-priced) sushi restaurant in Falls Church. Again, not much involved here.

Advent, Day 5: This was the day I was supposed to got to Scottish Christmas Weekend Walk, but it snowed. And snowed, and snowed, and snowed. So I stayed inside after some Christmas browsing and watched Jane Austen movies.

Washington DC Sober Ride

Sometimes working for the government is surprisingly useful... an email I just received, for your edification (especially if you live in the Washington, D.C. area):


*** FOR INFORMATION ONLY ***
The Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) 2009 Holiday SoberRide program will be offered from 2200 to 0600 each night, beginning Friday, 11 December 2009 and ending at 0600, Friday, 1 January 2010. To receive a free cab ride home (up to a $50.00 fare), please call 800-200-8294 (TAXI) or #8294 (TAXI) on your AT&T wireless phone. You must be 21 years of age or older to use the SoberRide service.

Click here for more information: http://www.wrap.org/soberride/

Even if you don't live in this area, it might be worthwhile looking into other regional sober ride programs.