Curling the Hedgehog's lashes

Effie's been playing around with the computer again:




Some cooperative game playing - Forbidden Island:



10 days in Europe (competitive gaming):




Apparently "curling the hedgehog's lashes" is not an euphemism...



Here's the result: sausage-based hedgehogs. We were up in Duncan to celebrate Kristal's birthday -woot woot:



At the party... massive Webkinzing...



Life of the party, as usual, Ella:



Some more Forbidden Islanding...



It was a nice sunny day on our drive home so we decided to up the angst factor and get lost looking for a quarry we last visited in 1994. After many u-turns, colourful language and an ill-fated attempt at buying a map we did eventually find it - just up the road from Kristal and Rob's old house. Oh, how we imagined them laughing at us...

A Fry Daddy Christmas

Big turkey dinner tomorrow night + new potato slicer = a homemade french fry-based Christmas dinner! Also got a new frying pan so of course we doubled up on the carbo loading with a french fries n' pancakes meal!

But first came chocolate and presents...









An excited new slap-type chopper owner:



Flipper



Goldfinger

Hey, Merry Christmas!

Just looking out on the day of another dream

Part 2 of the second half of 2010... the snow and rock edition:



Music :: On Melancholy Hill by Gorillaz

What are we doin' this fine day?

The second half of 2010 - Part 1...



Music :: We Are The Battery Human by Stornoway

The Getting of the Tree Day

First off - it must be said that naturally decomposing December jack-o-lanterns are a whole lot scarier that October pumpkins...



A shot of Effie's art class:



Yesterday we got some baking in at G&G's...



They had a food bank santa (move along, no jokes about Santa touching Yoda here...):



This morning Effie got me up early so that we could wait down by the road for an hour and fifteen minutes for Fire Truck Santa. Ferg has now missed out two years running:




Someone's a little bit too excited to find the perfect tree (top):



Trimming:



A post tree trim jump:

Caroling of the holy sacrificial gravy

Less than two weeks until Christmas and boy are we more-ready than ever. By more- ready, I mean we’ve got the outdoor lights up. That’s about it. Inside the house, space needs to be created for baubles and decorations and even the Christmas books and cd’s- not a swift and easy task. As well, our dusk-time property search last night for the perfect tree came up rather empty. More than empty actually as it would appear each of us has a different understanding of what makes the perfect Christmas tree: Gillian wants a Grand Fir cause it sheds fewer needles and she also prefers I don’t “top” any more trees; I would like something with less than an eight foot wingspan cause I’m tired of being poked in the eye when in the kitchen (slight exaggeration); Effie has very specific and elaborate density issues that no one can understand; and Fergus would just like to get back inside the house already.

Another thing causing mild angst around here: a lack of any Christmas baking to date. I’m not sure why since we never have Christmas baking until a few days prior and, more significantly, we continue to be NABOO (New-Age-Busted-Oven-Owners). However, baking be damned, I’m happy to report that we do already have, in the can, a full litre and a half of Christmas gravy! It’s from Jamie Oliver’s make-two-weeks-in-advance-and-then freeze recipe involving chicken wings, bacon, veggies and herbs:

Brewing:



The result:



Yup, that’s right... 6 cups of completely and utterly tasteless/ odourless/ innocuous brown sauce. Jamie Oliver’s make-two-weeks-in-advance-and-then freeze recipe sucks - don’t use it!

Her: “Why did you make this? Were there lots of good reviews?”
Him: “No. Reviews? What? It’s Jamie Oliver! It looked good on tv.”

Move along, no suitable Sacrificial Pagan Yule Evergreen here...



Holiday Tune :: “Tim is just about to lose his marbles”...

At the Theatre

Outside in the rain prior to The Hobbit:



In the lobby:



Eff and Matty Watty:



Nattily attired folks admiring the artwork at the theatre:

Videoconferencing

Webkinz plus Skype plus iChat = playing with and viewing multiple families...

Home of the brash, outrageous and free

The power of halo compels thee... except when life gets in the way...

November spawned a monster:


Just us and the old biddies enjoying some celebratory high tea (though some of us might actually qualify in the biddy department ourselves now):





Rock climbing:






Playing Parcheesi:



Winter cleanup:

Will we make it out alive?

A definitive Top 50

Perhaps not a list embraced as consensus in our household, but you don’t see anyone else around here bloggering during this two week nap of mine sos I dos whats I pleases...

The undisputed best songs of the year...

50. Fresh by Devo
49. All I Want by LCD Soundsystem
48. A Cold Freezin’ Night by The Books
47. Bloodbuzz Ohio by The National
46. Believer by Goldfrapp
45. Moses by Elizabeth Fraser
44. Sticks & Stones by Jónsi
43. Don’t Wake The Dead by Guards
42. A More Perfect Union by Titus Andronicus
41. Fool’s Day by Blur
40. In The Sun by She & Him
39. Go Outside by Cults
38. Paper Romance by Groove Armada
37. Zorbing by Stornoway
36. October by Broken Bells
35. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells
34. Cameras by Matt & Kim
33. Power by Kanye West
32. Doncamatic by Gorillaz
31. I’m Leaving You For Solitude by Manic Street Preachers
30. Silver Soul by Beach House
29. Round The Moon by Summer Camp
28. King Of The Beach by Wavves
27. Blood Dries Darker by Woods
26. Down By The Water by The Decemberists
25. Sideswiper by Fang Island
24. The Alcoholic by Röyksopp
23. Wait & See by Diamond Rings
22. Too Much by Sufjan Stevens
21. On Melancholy Hill by Gorillaz
20. We Used To Wait by Arcade Fire
19. Paradise Circus by Massive Attack
18. When I’m With You by Best Coast
17. Shake The Shackles by Crystal Stilts
16. Party With Children by Ratatat
15. History of Modern Pt. 1 by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
14. Runaway by Kanye West
13. Some Kind of Nothingness by Manic Street Preachers
12. Run by Vampire Weekend
11. Not In Love by Crystal Castles (feat. Robert Smith)
10. Let’s Go Surfing by The Drums
9. Swoon by The Chemical Brothers
8. I Heart California by Admiral Radley
7. ’81 by Joanna Newsom
6. Baptism by Crystal Castles
5. Lemonade by CocoRosie
4. Zebra by Beach House
3. I Want The World To Stop by Belle & Sebastian
2. I Feel Bonnie by Hot Chip (feat. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy)
1. Marathon by Tennis (listen)