Total Eclipse of the Heart

I awoke drunk with sleep last night at 2:00am or so to step outside and check out the total lunar eclipse.  Half asleep, I struggled into my boots and coat, but I was still able to enjoy the majesty of the event.  The eclispe happens over a few hours, so I only glimpsed a portion of it, but it was cool none-the-less.  I fell instantly back to sleep and awoke again at 3:30am.  At that point it was in total eclipse mode with a reddish/orange hue.  Beautiful.

Here is the one (half asleep) photo I took with my point and shoot.  There are much better photos all over the internet today.

Lunar eclipse at 2:06am Dec 21, 2010 - view from the front yard

Picture Is Worth A Thousand Points...

I'm at my Mom's this weekend and she has been doing lots of holiday baking.  Yesterday she made her world famous Nuts and Bolts and today she is whipping up her equally delicious caramel corn.  Here is a shot of what goes into the "caramel".  Mmmmmmmm....

Mmmmmm... Sugar and fat... A winning combination!!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, -- Make It Stop!

I'm in Barrie today, but just barely.  It was snowing heavily the whole drive down and it has only gotten worse since I've been here.

I know I live in Canada.  I know it is winter time.  I know that piles and piles of endless snow should not be a surprise.  But it has been snowing for DAYS now (DAYS!!!) and it is starting to make me a little bonkers.  In the country, everything is contingent on the weather.  If it is a snow storm you can't go out, even if you need groceries.  Or you can go out, but plan to take twice as long and pee before you go, because you might not make it back.  It is weather like this that makes me miss the city.  No matter what the weather, you can just walk to the bus/subway and you can get where you're going.  It still might take a while, but at least you're not risking your own vehicle, and it is probably a lot safer being in a giant bus versus my little Mazda.

One of these days I am going to pick up a pair of snow pants and try to enjoy all this stupid snow.  Until then, I am taking to my little blog and complaining about it!

Boo!!!!!

Christmas Confession

You know all those people who go to the mall and curse the Christmas music blaring from every store sound system? I am not one of those people.  I love Christmas music.  I hate being at the mall in December, but it is not because of the music.  The music I like.

This year I am filling the house with Christmas cheer via internet radio.  John let me know about something called SHOUTcast, and it has an entire page of Christmas radio stations.  The one that I keep returning to is called Christmas Melody.  It is a crazy mix of songs that will transition from Elvis to NSync to The Andrews Sisters to Pavarotti to John Denver. It also includes comedy songs and original classics - it is fabulous and I have been playing it non-stop.

Listening to Christmas songs all day makes me think about favourites.  Jingle Bells is pretty classic - it is catchy, fun to sing, and is full of memories of elementary school sing-a-longs.  What's not to like?  There are so many fun songs - Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty the Snowman, Holly Jolly Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Jingle Bell Rock - it is hard to choose the best, as there are so many that I like.  The following is a list of a few tracks I absolutely must hear over Christmas and some that I try to avoid altogether.

My Christmas Favourites:
Rocking Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - The Pretenders
Baby it's Cold Outside - I like the Tom Jones + Cerys Matthews version, but any will do.
Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney
Christmas Time is Here Again - The Beatles

My Least Favourite Christmas Songs:

12 Days of Christmas - Bob and Doug McKenzie -- The beer in a tree thing drives me nuts!
The Christmas Shoes - NewSong -- The worst of the worst.  Completely gag-worthy.
River - Joni Mitchell -- I actually love this song but I find it way too depressing for Christmas.

What are your favourite Christmas songs?  Which ones drive you crazy?

Santa's Little Helper

Gary loves boxes.  She also loves to dominate anything new.  Putting up the tree around here involves the extra step of cat-removal.  Good thing she is cute.

A new box, eh?  I better check this thing out...

Now where is the comfy spot?

I could hang out here all day...