Posted December 21st, 2004 by Carol Logan Newbill
Today is Solstice, the day the sun stands still. The first official day of winter (though not the first actual day, even here in the deep south). The shortest day of the year, and the day that the Light begins its journey back from the dark.
No matter which of the midwinter holidays you celebrate, please take a moment today to think about the miracle of light and its unceasing yearly journey from the depths of darkness to high summer and back. I will light a fat white candle today. I’ll go outside and stand in the chill air and raise my face to the sun, and give thanks for the ever-renewing gift of light.
Blessed solstice to you.
Posted December 11th, 2004 by Carol Logan Newbill
fa la la la la, and all the rest of it…
It happened. Today was the day that DH finally arrived at the Critical Inventory Shortage of medical necessities. That meant that I had to get in the car and drive to….
Wal-Mart.
Dunh dunh DUNH.
(Sidebar: I have deep philosophical misgivings — nay, horror — about dealing with the Evil Empire of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. I buy as little as possible there and would buy absolutely nothing at all, except that the particular item he needs is $12.50 at W**M*** and $29.75 at the pharmacy. Once a month I grit my teeth, go and save $35.00 by buying two, come home and wear a hair shirt for 24 hours in penance.)
Today, I had to go to W**M*** two weeks before Christmas. On a Friday. Payday. When all the yuppie moms and dads take a half-day off to go buy Expensive Useless Stuff for their kids.
I used to work for a traffic engineer. I know all the shortcuts and the back roads, I know the best places to park, and I know the Commando Shopper secrets of getting in and out in the shortest amount of time.
I had two items to buy. It took me almost half an hour in line to pay for them.
Then once I left, I had to drive past the Galleria, with its flocks of huge black SUVs hopelessly circling the place like buzzards waiting to pounce on a parking space. I made it onto the freeway. Eight miles into downtown to pick up DH after work — normal travel time at rush hour, about 15-20 minutes.
It took an hour.
All of my own Christmas shopping was done online weeks ago. The smartly uniformed representative of the US Postal Service brought the packages to my very door with a smile. I didn’t have to talk to anyone. I didn’t have to find a place to park. And I almost made it through the season without having to brave the wilds of Retail Hell.
Almost.
Posted December 2nd, 2004 by Carol Logan Newbill
When the air is very dry and you know you have brittle fingernails, do not attempt to remove staples without appropriate tools.
