Monday, December 31, 2012
An Edmonds Kind of Winter Day
Bri and I have started an It's an Edmonds Kind of Day Pinterest after I ran down again today to capture the magic of the Olympic Mountains covered in clouds.
Hoping that Bri can get some good practice with her new camera.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
From a full house
Didn't quite get my cards mailed this year. They are printed, sitting in a pile. ;0
Merry Christmas!
I saw this from my porch the other morning and ran down to the water front to grab this image. It was an amazing sight and I wish my camera had captured it better.
I finally got into the spirit at the last minute. I loved my wrapping this year. My S-I-L's wrapping was the best, but then we are always in an unspoken competition each year. Found some greenery needing trimming outside. I always have big spools of thread purchased from the Goodwill over the years. And of course, craft paper or just a grocery sack turned inside out will do. Sometimes, simple is perfect.
It was fun to watch the kids get into the giving spirit, have fun wrapping presents for weeks! They had a good Christmas. I bought them (really, Santa bought it for me). A cute HEMNES cupboard for them and their extra stuff that doesn't fit in their room. Now the hallway is nice and neat. And then, there is my little Santa. First Christmas for Pebbles and she had a good time. They got their new toys in their stocking and then proceeded to take them away from each other and run.
As usual, my S-I-L outdid herself on gifts! David got me the cutest little incense burning cabin, the smoke floats out of the chimneys!
I found this vintage Santa with glitter beard ($8.00) for David's package. My find of the season were 4 - 1935 Seattle Times color comic pages! For $20.00. Thinking if he didn't like it, someone at the Times would love to have them. But he loved them too.
Santa brought mom lots of bling rings (From Arts of Snohomish, Melissa Subitch) and good smelly stuff.
My gift was getting away from computer, email and websites and just relaxing. Keeping the fire roaring for a day. Lighting my candles ... drinking lots of champagne. Letting the dogs in and out all day. Giving job search a rest.
Hoping everyone had a great Christmas!!!! Oh, and the highlight of the day. Maggie sent me a singing Chihuahua Christmas card. We all roared with laughter and it will forever hang on a Christmas Tree. Thank you, Maggie!!!!
I finally got into the spirit at the last minute. I loved my wrapping this year. My S-I-L's wrapping was the best, but then we are always in an unspoken competition each year. Found some greenery needing trimming outside. I always have big spools of thread purchased from the Goodwill over the years. And of course, craft paper or just a grocery sack turned inside out will do. Sometimes, simple is perfect.
It was fun to watch the kids get into the giving spirit, have fun wrapping presents for weeks! They had a good Christmas. I bought them (really, Santa bought it for me). A cute HEMNES cupboard for them and their extra stuff that doesn't fit in their room. Now the hallway is nice and neat. And then, there is my little Santa. First Christmas for Pebbles and she had a good time. They got their new toys in their stocking and then proceeded to take them away from each other and run.
Santa brought mom lots of bling rings (From Arts of Snohomish, Melissa Subitch) and good smelly stuff.
My gift was getting away from computer, email and websites and just relaxing. Keeping the fire roaring for a day. Lighting my candles ... drinking lots of champagne. Letting the dogs in and out all day. Giving job search a rest.
Hoping everyone had a great Christmas!!!! Oh, and the highlight of the day. Maggie sent me a singing Chihuahua Christmas card. We all roared with laughter and it will forever hang on a Christmas Tree. Thank you, Maggie!!!!
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Fossilized letters
OMG. This is such a fabulous project. Discovery of fossilized letters brings new light into evolution of man. By Andreas Scheiger.
Sunday, December 09, 2012
Glorious Gregorian chant
I just found this
Gregorian chant site. With loads of tracks. For free. I have been listening to Gregorian Chants a long time, I find them very soothing. The 99 Most Essential Gregorian Chants is one of my favorites.
Why is chant called Gregorian?
"That "Gregorian" chant was named for and credited to Pope Gregory I (r. 590-604) is an accident of politics and spin doctoring. Tension between the Pope (the Bishop of Rome) and other Bishops regarding the authority of the Pope as "first among equals" was matched by tension between the Pope, as spiritual ruler of Rome, and Rome's secular rulers. This tension was an off and on thing until as late as the 15th century, when the "Conciliar Conflict" (c. 1409-1460) pitted the power of the Council of Bishops against the power of the Pope and Cardinals.
Gregory I has been credited with many things, including the writing, collecting, or organizing of the body of plainchant in use at the time, as well founding the first singing school (Schola Cantorum) in Rome to train singers for the church, organizing the church's annual cycle of liturgical readings, and first establishing the church's authority over the secular rulers of Rome. There are any number of lovely stories and legends associated with Gregory.
There are paintings showing a bird singing chants into his ear as he wrote them down. (Unfortunately, of course, there was no usable music notation at the time.) There are stories of his sending out missionaries with instructions to bring back any new music they encountered, saying "Why should the Devil have all the good songs?"
Whether he actually did any of these things is questionable. They were attributed to him in later centuries in an attempt to build up and support the primacy of the papacy. Those who attributed wondrous accomplishments to Gregory were doing the same job that spin doctors do today for politicians and entertainers.
In point of fact, the chant that was used in Gregory's time is now known as Old Roman, which barely survived into the era of musical notation, passing from one generation to the next by ear. In about the year 800, two centuries after Gregory's time, the Emperor Charlemagne sent to Rome for authentic liturgical books and chants. Singing teachers were dispatched from Rome to teach the Franks by ear, but they did not get along well and the Franks made major changes in order to adapt the chant to their taste and their ways of singing.
The chant of the Franks is the style that eventually propagated. As a result, what we call Gregorian chant should probably be called Carolingian chant, but the easy way out is simply to use the term plainchant and leave it at that."
John Howell
Why is chant called Gregorian?
"That "Gregorian" chant was named for and credited to Pope Gregory I (r. 590-604) is an accident of politics and spin doctoring. Tension between the Pope (the Bishop of Rome) and other Bishops regarding the authority of the Pope as "first among equals" was matched by tension between the Pope, as spiritual ruler of Rome, and Rome's secular rulers. This tension was an off and on thing until as late as the 15th century, when the "Conciliar Conflict" (c. 1409-1460) pitted the power of the Council of Bishops against the power of the Pope and Cardinals.
Gregory I has been credited with many things, including the writing, collecting, or organizing of the body of plainchant in use at the time, as well founding the first singing school (Schola Cantorum) in Rome to train singers for the church, organizing the church's annual cycle of liturgical readings, and first establishing the church's authority over the secular rulers of Rome. There are any number of lovely stories and legends associated with Gregory.
There are paintings showing a bird singing chants into his ear as he wrote them down. (Unfortunately, of course, there was no usable music notation at the time.) There are stories of his sending out missionaries with instructions to bring back any new music they encountered, saying "Why should the Devil have all the good songs?"
Whether he actually did any of these things is questionable. They were attributed to him in later centuries in an attempt to build up and support the primacy of the papacy. Those who attributed wondrous accomplishments to Gregory were doing the same job that spin doctors do today for politicians and entertainers.
In point of fact, the chant that was used in Gregory's time is now known as Old Roman, which barely survived into the era of musical notation, passing from one generation to the next by ear. In about the year 800, two centuries after Gregory's time, the Emperor Charlemagne sent to Rome for authentic liturgical books and chants. Singing teachers were dispatched from Rome to teach the Franks by ear, but they did not get along well and the Franks made major changes in order to adapt the chant to their taste and their ways of singing.
The chant of the Franks is the style that eventually propagated. As a result, what we call Gregorian chant should probably be called Carolingian chant, but the easy way out is simply to use the term plainchant and leave it at that."
John Howell
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Strandbeest
Strandbeest, sculptures created by Theo Jansen and powered by the wind. Via Sunday Morning.
clip 1klein kl from Strandbeest on Vimeo.
Monday, December 03, 2012
Say Cheese (as in Cheesecake)
The last week was a hard week of cleaning. Imagine you haven't really cleaned your house in a year ... and in one week the entire neighborhood is coming over for desserts.
I guess I love to put myself in these situations of panic cleaning. Just to GET IT DONE.
Mom and I spent most of Thanksgiving at Urgent Care or in the hospital. She is better now, thank you!
Then, I agreed to be part of the progressive neighborhood holiday party. Thinking if NOTHING else would make me clean the house completely, that would. I still see a few spider webs dangling down in the corners. But at a certain point, you must stop, call it good and start cooking desserts.
Bri made pumpkin cupcakes and lemon bars. I made Triple Chocolate Raspberry Brownies (this time cutting them into small squares and adding one raspberry on top). Yum. I also made Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake, which was delicious. Plan on making it again, very soon.
Matt is cooking dinner tonight, that frightens me. What frightens me more ... he is asking MY advice about how to cook something. We have reached new depths in meals, the blind leading the blind. (Thank God, David just got home to finish up the meal without my input).
The trees are trimmed. The cats love hanging out under the tree so I made them an extra place to lay around under there away from the dogs. I sold our really large tree this year. We are sticking with the two taller ones for now. It feels good to have them up. To have twinkle lights on the inside and out.
I have my friends Gerrie's little tree up. Bri's little sister decorated it and with a child's perfect vision of fun, did a terrific job. She would put 2 or 3 ornaments on one limb ... and in the end, it was so perfect.
My elves pitched in.
I guess I love to put myself in these situations of panic cleaning. Just to GET IT DONE.
Mom and I spent most of Thanksgiving at Urgent Care or in the hospital. She is better now, thank you!
Then, I agreed to be part of the progressive neighborhood holiday party. Thinking if NOTHING else would make me clean the house completely, that would. I still see a few spider webs dangling down in the corners. But at a certain point, you must stop, call it good and start cooking desserts.
Bri made pumpkin cupcakes and lemon bars. I made Triple Chocolate Raspberry Brownies (this time cutting them into small squares and adding one raspberry on top). Yum. I also made Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake, which was delicious. Plan on making it again, very soon.
Matt is cooking dinner tonight, that frightens me. What frightens me more ... he is asking MY advice about how to cook something. We have reached new depths in meals, the blind leading the blind. (Thank God, David just got home to finish up the meal without my input).
The trees are trimmed. The cats love hanging out under the tree so I made them an extra place to lay around under there away from the dogs. I sold our really large tree this year. We are sticking with the two taller ones for now. It feels good to have them up. To have twinkle lights on the inside and out.
I have my friends Gerrie's little tree up. Bri's little sister decorated it and with a child's perfect vision of fun, did a terrific job. She would put 2 or 3 ornaments on one limb ... and in the end, it was so perfect.
My elves pitched in.
