I Hope the 21st Century's Teen Years Go Better than Mine Did

Stina and I were talking on Christmas Eve about how we both have to have certain things done by New Year's Eve....things like the bills paid, the house swept and dusted, beds made, laundry done. We both have this notion that if we sit down to our caviar and champagne with these tasks accomplished it somehow sets the tone for the coming year. Not, mind you, that nothing will go wrong or that (I laugh) the housekeeping will always be done. It's more to do with the symbolic nature of Things Accomplished and of Setting the Stage for the coming year.

Also on my short list of things to do before New Year's Eve:

Reflect. (It doesn't feel like I've done much of that lately).

Buy aforementioned caviar and champagne (one of the best shopping trips of the year).

Set a goal or two. Nothing monumental. Nothing "resolution-y". Just setting some guideposts.

(Speaking of which, last night my little Wii thing-y told me that I had lost .2 pounds since I started my new fitness program. Must make room for the latkes and caviar, mustn't we?)

Do you have any end-o-the-year-start-o-the-new rituals?

Scrambled Goose Eggs

First of all, let's hear it for the boy! Specifically, The Spouse, who successfully reformatted and tidied up my computer in defiance of the malicious malware. Huzzah, huzzah.

Second, the great Mug Mystery of '08 has been solved. It's amazing what a sleuth can turn up with an invoice and an 800 number. (The mug came from my friend Alameda Fats. Wasn't that nice?)

Moving on, did you realize that today is New Year's Eve? Because I just realized that. Yes, I knew it was coming etc etc etc but all a sudden it is the middle of the week and the end of the year and nearly the beginning of the new year and I all, "What?"

Suffice to say, I haven't taken much time to reflect upon resolutions for the New Year. Not that I necessarily make extensive lists of resolutions; mostly because New Year's is only one of several "new starts" in my year. I always consider my birthday a new year. There's a "new year" ish feeling to the start of any fresh month. The first day of school, even though I'm not the one going, typically calls me to reflect and remember and envision. And it even includes a traditional imbibing.

Point is, I feel like this post should be somewhat profound but all I can think about is the following 3 things:

1) In my dream last night The Spouse gave me a mountain ash tree that was just putting out new leaves. Given the nature of mountain ash trees in springtime mode, this gave the tree the overall appearance of soft, lacy fuzziness and I kept being taken by its beauty while he struggled to plant it just so in front of the new townhouse we'd bought (in the dream). And it wasn't a bad place to live except it was full of someone else's furniture, the bathroom didn't work and the phone was bad because I couldn't hear the buyer at Christie's who was going to make telephone bids on an 18th century console that I really wanted for the house and then we got disconnected.

2) MAB is out of town as of last night and could be gone through the 18th. I'm not nervous about having the whole responsibility of managing the house on my shoulders. I am very sad to think that I might not have occasion for hysterical laughter until the middle of the month. We share an office. Practically speaking it's a demmed good thing that we get along as well as we do. But it is a gift, too. We're starting to finish each other's sentences. I'm really going to miss her. I'm also going to be really busy. I hope nothing major happens while she's gone but if it does it'll look good on my resume. Assuming, you know, that I correctly solve whatever it is.

3) I must go on line and make sure that caviar store hasn't fallen victim to the economy because I gotta get over there today.

New Year's Eve

Here's an amusing thing you may not have heard. Every New Year's Eve there is a big fireworks display at the Space Needle; actually, on the Space Needle. The Child was very excited to actually attend this event with The Boy. The Spouse and I were, as always, perfectly content to watch it on TV from the warmth of our family room.

Prior to the show a news guy was talking to the designer of the fireworks show, who was going on and on about how this year was going to be bigger and better than ever. As the countdown began, fireworks started shooting out from the base of the Needle and all the way to the top, with a big display due to bust out on the stroke of midnight. 4-3-2-1....nothing. Nothing for like, at least a minute. Then some fireworks shot off, but they weren't as impressive as we'd been led to believe. And then, more nothing for a sustained period of time. Then they started again but it was really obvious that something was wrong because they seemed sort of random and not at all balanced. Fireworks would shoot off from one side of the Needle, then others would spurt from the opposite side, further up the structure. Really weird.

Turns out there was a computer malfunction so they had to be set off manually. But one can only assume that since they were relying on computers, the crew was too small to cover the 605 foot building, hence the randomness of the display. It was pretty funny. Not, I'm sure, to the people running the show, but to me.

And despite it all, The Child had a fab time and came home smelling like gunpowder.

Meanwhile, The Spouse and I enjoyed our little repast:


The Dog looked fetching in my tiara but he was not amused.

The Child's New Lunchbox

Now that task is accomplished I should probably start on cleaning the house. And because, for whatever bizarre reasons, we've now associated Kim Wilde with caviar I'll play another one of her tunes.

Ha!

Still not Toto. But I'll give you the real Rosanna. And Madge. Now I really am going to go get caviar.

Pft

The caviar store moved and I didn't know that. Went all the way down there, couldn't find it and thought, "Oh woe. Latkes without caviar. What kind of New Year's celebration is that?"

A Google latter and I have the information I need and all is well because they are open tomorrow. So there you go.

Now I have to unload groceries and take advantage of the fact that the family is out skating. And start "Here's the 80s". This song has nothing to do with caviar.

On the 4th Day of Christmas

Today is not a Cat Dog Day(1).

I have to do some budgetting, get new tabs for my car and buy groceries. I also want to go to what Jlow would call the "Bait Shop" and fetch caviar for New Year's Eve. (I love the caviar shop. They give you tiny tastes of roe on mother-of-pearl spoons and when you make your selection they wrap it all up very nicely and send it home with you in a fine little insulated cooler that is black embossed with gold writing and makes a very swellegant lunch box for those days when you can't find the regular one because someone left it at school). It is a very posh place to shop and the people are super fantastically nice and helpful.

The Spouse is going to take The Child ice skating and I will use their absence to remove things from her room that she's forgotten she owns.

We have to brine a turkey. Tomorrow night is "Sing for Your Supper" and the feast must be lovely because people have to work so hard to earn it.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll get an early start on "Here's the 80s", since it is a holiday weekend after all.

1 (I really worry about this international incident stuff: last night we watched "Gregory's Girl", which is set in Scotland and then we played the Altered Images video of "Happy Birthday" for The Child. I went to bed and had that song playing all through the dream during which The Spouse ate microwaveable oatmeal from a packet and Charlie, who had prepared a huge pot of Scotch oats, became very offended and thugs came to our house and were going to beat up The Spouse unless he ate proper oatmeal. It was harrowing).