At least we came before soap...

Happy Thanksgiving!

This guy has the best job ever.

I can't explain it.... but I really like watching this show.



I'm so looking forward to this New Year's Eve Pub Crawl with Zane.

Sapphires can be pink too!

About Natural Sapphires--

"Sapphire is one of the two gem varieties of corundum, the other being the red ruby. Although blue is the most well known hue, sapphire is any color of corundum except red, red corundum is known as ruby. Sapphire may also be colorless, and it also occurs in the non-spectral shades gray and black. Pinkish-orange sapphire is known as padparadscha."

Most of the sapphires you find in stores today are enhanced in someway. Typically the stones are heat treated to bring out the natural color.

If you see a stone that is practically black... and the jeweler is calling it a sapphire... it's basically a piece of crap sapphire.

Holiday Temp Job

It's official. I'm crazy.

No.... not for sending out Christmas cards before Thanksgiving... for getting a temporary part-time holiday job at Macys.

I'll be working in Fine Jewelry. It's a department I used to manage.

It's actually a very simple job. You just need to know the following three things....

Sapphires are blue.
Rubies are red.
Emeralds are green.

You'd be amazed how many people don't know the difference.

Pinnacles National Monument

Some photos from our Sunday hike ...

An Ancient Volcano
These are the spectacular remains of an ancient volcano. Massive monoliths, spires, sheer-walled canyons and talus passages define millions of years of erosion, faulting and tectonic movement
- from the park website

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Ready to begin our hike into the canyon...

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California Condors at Pinnacles

Pinnacles National Monument is a release site for the endangered California condor, and the birds can sometimes be seen from hiking trails throughout the park.
We saw one flying overhead as we concluded our hike.

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Remember scouts... take only pictures and leave only foot steps!

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If your going...

From the San Francisco Bay Area to the West Entrance:
Take Hwy 101 south to the town of Soledad, and then take Hwy 146 east. Take care as you're driving through town; the highway takes a few turns. Follow Hwy 146 for 14 miles into Pinnacles National Monument.
- It's an hour and half drive, but totally worth it!

Mail

I received my first Christmas card in the mail today.

Someone is officially crazy.

Tag-- Sally's IT

Almost forgot.... I tag Sally on the last 2 posts....
I can't wait to see how she's gonna work a recipe into each.
(And you can't use a cookbook for tag 2!)

Page 56...Not

Vivian from Bits and Pieces tagged me to reveal what's on page 56 of a book I'm reading. Here's my attempt to satisfy that request...

As I mentioned on a previous blog post, my son is working on a biographic report on the life of Francis Scott Key. To help him out, I selected a variety of kid-friendly bios through the public library. I began reading one by Helen Dixon Bates which was published in 1936. The forward reads--

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"In accordance with a plan developed with the publishers, "Francis Scott Key," the second of two Patriot Stories, was written for children in the light of modern educational concepts and practices be Helen Dixon Bates. The major incidents are historical. They are linked together by dialogue and description such as may well have occurred in the intervals between the events. Minor incidents, common to life in those days, are introduced for atmosphere and setting necessary for dramatic effect."

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So... Helen plans to take some creative liberties? Anyway, in the first chapter of the book she details a special day in the life of Francis, his eleventh birthday. He is presented with a pony by his loving father.

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"Francis jumped up on the mountain block and put his foot in the stirrup. The old darkie helped him into the saddle."

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The old darkie? I guess the Key family owns slaves. A few pages later I read this educational gem.

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"The children visited a little while and then went on to the barn where the slaves were storing away hay. They were singing as they worked. These negroes were happy and carefree. Although they were slaves, they were well cared for by Grandfather Key. He treated them kindly and like children, for children they really were. No matter how old, they never seemed to grow up or be able to take responsibility."

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After reading the above passage, which was on page 34, I thought to myself, "There's no way I'm letting Andrew read this." And I further wondered... "Why is this book still available?" I suppose this book could be used to illustrate America's changing views of slavery... but I have to say... I really thought it bizarre that this out-dated book was made available as a children's selection.

I should point out, that after reading the above, I didn't make it to page 56.

Stolen from Vivian's Blog

1. What is your occupation right now? Mommy-- but am looking for a paying job!

2. What color are your socks right now? no socks.

3. What are you listening to right now? Paul playing with his computer.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Left-over chicken & carrots.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? You bet ya!

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My mom.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes. I hope she doesn't mind I stole it.

8. How old are you today? 39 and holding.

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Ballroom dancing.

10. What is your favorite drink? Cosmopolitan

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes- black... and later red

12. Favorite food? Sourdough bread.

13. What is the last movie you watched? Guess Who's Coming to Dinner it was in Comcast

14. Favorite day of the year? Christmas Day

15. How do you vent anger? I don't-- that's my problem.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? A ride-on ladybug

17. What is your favorite season? Fall

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries

23. When was the last time you cried? When Obama was elected.

24. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheese.

29. Favorite dog breed? none

30. Favorite day of the week? Any day I'm living!

31. How many states have you lived in? 1

32. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds-- big ones.

33. What is your favorite flower? Calla Lilies

Tooth Fairy Payout

2 teeth lost in a single day= 4 Sacagawea dollars

I absolutely loved Audrey's reaction this morning....

"Mom," she said while holding out a hand full of coins, "What are these?"

Once she found out it was actual money she was quite relieved.

All I want for Christmas...

Last Saturday night, Audrey lost a single top tooth. It had been loose forever until Audrey and Andrew decided together to work the thing out.

Using a lot of floss and a little ingenuity, it finally came out!

The tooth was cleaned and put in to a plastic baggy, which Andrew is happily showing off here ...

















Today, Audrey reported that she lost two more top teeth at school. That's gotta be a record! Audrey can't wait for tonight when she slips both teeth under her pillow.

She seems to think that the Tooth Fairy pays extra for doubles.

Hopefully....

something good to post tomorrow.

failblog.org

Almost better than Cake Wrecks..... almost.

Flashback Friday

I goofed.

The song I heard at last Saturday's party was not by Tata Vega... it's by this lady right here.



Now...Tata Vega is pretty cool disco chic too!

The Star-Spangled Banner

Or "What I learned from my Boy Scout."

I've been helping Andrew with his latest school assignment, a biographic report on a famous American. Andrew picked Francis Scott Key.

I reserved some books for Andrew, about Key and The Star-Spangled Banner, and as I scanned the books I learned something new.

As we all know, the national anthem is based on a poem written by Key.

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Key was inspired by the American victory at Fort McHenry and the sight of the large American flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, came to be known as the Star Spangled Banner.

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What I didn't know, and what my son DID know, (And I'm sure everyone else) is that the national anthem is only a small part of the original poem. (Yes-- I'm that stupid)

Here is the entire poem.

Defence of Fort McHenry

O! say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there--
O! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream--
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havock of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul foot-steps' pollution,
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home, and the war's desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto - "In God is our trust!"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

Coincidentally, there is an amazing article about the efforts to preserve the Star Spangled Banner in this months Smithsonian.

Flashback Friday

Before there was Gwen Stefani... there was Talk Talk.




And yesterday's clip was of The Ting Tings.... I'm not sure why it wouldn't play.
Worked for me.

Flash Forward

For those of you who think I stopped listening to music in the 80's...