I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

After the demise of the Redneck Garage, we have moved on. Take a look at all that snow on Christmas morning! Snapped a few pics since nothing else was to be done without power.


Man got a bit paranoid and decided to shovel the roof of the house. I couldn't complain; who knows if the original owner was thinking about snowload when they built this summer cabin. And we've never seen 2' drop out here before. All the while, Man was saying, "I've been waiting for a huge dump like this since I was 10 years old!" He shoveled rooftops and driveways for 6 hours on Christmas morning. He was smiling the whole time. (Until one of my dozens of errant snowballs made contact!)
In the meantime, I cooked our Christmas breakfast - sausage and French toast. Tea was also served.

Then, we made our way to mom's for Christmas dinner. Man quickly adjusted from snow shoveler to bartender.

We were a few family members short this year, but one sister made the trip from NE via Skype.

We joined Man's family on Saturday, where 7 grandkids kept grandma shoveling out presents as furiously as Man shoveled the driveway that morning to get out! :)

It's raining now. Our Christmas craziness is done for another year. We really did have a fun few days.

In Rememberance of the Redneck Garage...

What a crazy Christmas the Northwest served up for 2008! Weeks of snow and more snow and more snow! We love it, especially since it justifies the all-wheel drive with 4 studded tires! Go, baby, go!

Man and Woman took advantage of the Christmas retail sales by going snowboarding on Christmas eve. Conditions were tasty, even if coverage was a bit thin. For Christmas Eve dinner, we stuffed ourselves with Peorgies and veggies. Not entirely traditional, but we loved it!

Our tummies filled with Perogies and the promise of an additional 6" of snow to fall on the ground by Christmas morning, we snuggled under our down comforter and happily snoozed the night away.

At 7 am Christmas morning, the flickering power and the promised blanket of snow was threatening the final holiday baking. We scurried to shower and complete food processing. The thin sun cast some light outside.

And then we saw it, crushed under the snowload. Our Redneck Garage was sagging sadly down its middle. It was crushed. It is no more. KaPut!

Fortunately, nothing inside was ruined; we don't keep much worthwhile under it anyway. It survived the major windstorm of '06. It was affordable when we had no cash. It lasted many years. It served its purpose. We will mourn only momentarily. Then we will move on.

May she rest in peace.

Nestled all snug in their bed...

We've had a foot of snow over the past week and it keeps coming in spurts, adding a couple of new inches last night. I don't remember icicles this long at our house before, or this much snow accumulation. It's fun to kick around in and makes inside feel so much more snuggly.




We're using the weather as an excuse to stay in this weekend. Had enough of driving in the ice & snow getting to work this week. We haven't decorated the house with lights and the tree this year. Too busy getting all the gift packages together, I guess. Man is a little ahead of the game in getting the gift for his pre-selected brother; he is completing his shopping this weekend, as opposed to Christmas Eve. He's quite exhausted from all his running around... on the internet! Good thing our power has not been interrupted by the snow & winds.


I'm busy putting finishing touches on gifts with the baked goods. Baking keeps the house nice & toasty warm. Went back to an old recipe I haven't made in years; almond roca and I've had fun experimenting with new additions to the goodie bag, like biscotti! Man keeps eating it for breakfast, so I may have to make an extra batch to augment! Good thing its so easy!



Hope you all are staying safe & warm this season! All our best for the New Year!
~Man & Woman

Wow! Success!

While I've been muddling along the last half of 2008, my kick-ass brother has been busy converting a CRX into an electric powerhouse. He's always been into cars, racing (his first car was a bitchin' Camaro, after all), and working under the hood since we were in high school. So, the basics were all there. Along the way, he learned to weld, learned all about electric circuits and named it eRex.

I've seen eRex through its phases; a gutted shell, the old pieces removed, the new awaiting a place in their new home. He documented a lot of the steps here.

After all that hard work, he took eRex for its first spin last night! So cool! So inspiring! Way to go, bro!

Muckraker

I'm going to take my father's comment in a positive light (see gabyjones comment to 11/5/08 post). I take it to mean I have similar qualities to Upton Sinclair, Al Gore, Barbara Erinreich, and Nellie Bly. I stand proud in that company.

You can view a definition of "muckraker" here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muckraker See, not too bad :)

SOAPBOX ALERT!

some thoughts on my President-elect...

of course, i'm excited about last night's results (see post on 2/4/08 "The Underdog"). yes, i'm totally biased. and i admit that i may not have seen the same strong qualities in a republican as i see in obama. because, in the end, obama is not about a set of environmental policies, he is not about bringing change to washington, he is not about ending war. he is fundamentally about leading a change of the vision we have for and of ourselves as americans. with that shift of vision, all the other platform details and crap in washington will slowly begin to change. we will demand it. and that is why his presidency will be different.


there are always people who want to spend more time blaming than putting their energies into more productive things. nobody with those tactics have ever been visionaries or spurred great things. in all honesty, my support of obama is not really based on his platform.



the energy spurred by obama, the record voter turnouts, the galvanization of the apathetic, the hope on people's faces this morning, are not about him being a democrat. it is his subtext that energizes. our system of democracy has been so bastardized by corporations (taking protections under the Constitution as if they are individuals - e.g. claiming right to free speech), it has become meaningless to the individual. we are living in an environment (financially, ecologically, spiritually) that is simply out of scale with human nature, human needs, the human soul.


obama's subtext is something that is difficult to find a soundbite for. but, simply put, he understands the world on a human scale. he understands that $250,000/year is a LOT of money to the majority of Americans.

no matter his politics, he is a visionary. i would go so far as to say we have not had a visionary in the presidency in my lifetime. and he is a great leader. he knows how to get people on his side. how many red states went blue, for chrissake? and he is able to express his vision; he does not have to rely too heavily on staff writers. i think that's a big part of why his subtext comes through.


honestly, when i look at his platform, i'm not all that in line with some of the details. he's far too right for me. his energy policy is short sighted, like them all. but, i feel calmer with him at the helm. i am SO sick of henny penny scare tactics and juvenile solutions equating to shopping. fear does not build a strong country.


i'm excited to have him as our president, but also a bit scared. i am always a bit scared when my hopes are high. our country is a huge vessel at sea, navigating a glacier field. large vessels respond slowly to a new course. it may be a while before we notice the effects of the new captain at the helm. and there's always those small-minded among us who threaten mutiny even when steered into certain disaster.

can't wait for innaguration!

Like Breakfast for Dinner

Tonight, we gathered at the home of friends, sat around the television and waited. While we waited, we had the 4-year old's favorite dinner - breakfast! Yummy!

We watched as polygons plastered across a section of the North American Continent were symbolically colored red and blue. There was even an ice rink in New York with the same design. There was a lot of disconcerting red for quite some time. The magic "270" seemed unachievable for over an excruciating hour. Then, after dinner was over and the west coast polls were closed, the announcement was made. We danced in the living room. We celebrated the dawning of a new day.

We cheered as President-Elect Obama gave his acceptance speech shortly thereafter.

Breakfast for dinner was always a childhood treat for me too. This election night is kind of like breakfast for dinner. Nutritionally sound, exciting for its novelty, and oh-so-satisfying!

There is a lot of hard work ahead. I'm fortunate to be well fed! :)