This is the game I was talking about, a little while ago, where you skied down a slope, and the yeti would eat you at the end.

(Skied looks wrong? Skiied?)



Who else remembers?

( Christmas Day )

( Boxing Day )

Hope everyone else had a good christmas!

they say the ones you love the most are the ones to hurt you the greatest

odd how reality can be boiled down to such simple sentiment, yet it is so true

just tried to call my dad, talked to his new wife (they have been together for 30 years now) and tried to make sure she understood that I was calling to wish them a merry christmas
I tried to do something nice, tried to reconnect and perhaps in my own small way apologize for the pain I might have caused him over the years by being so distant-- our history is long and full of garbage, that isn't what this is about

what it is about is the fact that he called back later, and I missed the call, but he left a message

one full of vitriol and hate and rage, in which he called me a liar-- but I have had my honour thrown in the mud recently by someone I loved, someone I thought loved me, and the first time is the hardest to take, the hardest to bear, and after that the slaps just don't hurt anymore
for a moment after I heard his rage filled voice I was a child again, wondering why he hated me so much, why he was abandoning me again
why didn't he love me?
then the part of me that has always had to be the adult took the child aside-- to that place in me where no one can hurt me
I guess I won't get the chance to mend those wounds, won't be able to say that I love my father, no matter what has happened
he'll grow old, he'll die and he'll never know
he'll just think I'm a liar-- that I have no honour

but that is how the world turns, and I go on...

sometimes when you let go, that is when you have the most power

stop controlling, stop holding things back or holding them in
stop fighting yourself

there is a glade, in it is a tower, white and tall as a mountain, there are windows all along the tower, circling it in a spiral as you ascend
at the base of the tower is a garden, with all sorts of things growing there, the sun is warm and the breeze just right, not too brisk and not too light
there are trees that surround this place, and a river that is not too far away
there are mountains in the distance, but none that seem menacing or forbidding

I've taken stock of my internal landscape, and I know why I chose this place

it's not impossible to get to me, if you honestly *want* to, it's not impossible for you to find me and share in this place of quiet and warmth

it just takes making your way through the trees, into the clearing
it takes caring enough to see the stream, and know it is turbulent
it takes understanding that the mountains are there to misdirect those who are only interested in a facade
it takes listening for the animal sounds, and the turn of the wind, and the whisper at your ankles

and then you are in my home, and I welcome you, give you food and drink and a place to sit
and sometimes a ray of light so you are never alone in the dark

this is an open entry because I want people to understand something
and at the same time I doubt they ever will

Last night, my sisters went of to their respective significant other's houses for their family Christmas. My grandma and parents and I watched Julie & Julia, a really great movie that I'm going to have to buy. It's so refreshing to see relationships that somehow feel honest. Like people weren't characters, but rather people in situations reacting to them. Highly recommended, and now I also have to watch some of Julia Child's cooking show.

( Cut to save some flists. )

roman_cement, here's the part you will like. I got series' three and four of Doctor Who! We'll need to watch some. Need to.

I also realised that Space is TOTALLY broadcasting part two of End of Time on the second, which isn't too too late.

Christmas eve went very well! This morning was lovely. Just Peter and I, opening presents, then eggs, bacon, and mamosas for breakfast. Peter loved his new shirts and tool belt I made him. Peter got me a beautiful set of knives, lots of chocolate, and a lovely stainless steel espresso machine. Now I can wow the other ladies at the book club with fancy espresso drinks!

Days like this just make you happy to be alive.

Happy Christmas, everyone!

Santa brought me lovely new 400 thread count sheets, a spiffy chopping knife, the new H2G2 book, lots of chocolate and candy, tights, and most excitingly...

AN iPOD TOUCH!

It's so shiny and new and magical! I love it!

I have named it Merlin. :-D

The grandparents are coming over for lunch when we can do the rest of the pressies. Then we are off to Out of the Cold to feed the homeless on Christmas night. Because that will get us a ticket straight into heaven!

Now I'm off to see if my sister wants to watch Hogfather. Cheerio!

Flight was pretty good, though it was the longest four hour flight *ever* because I was so exhausted. I wound up staying up all night the night before, so I could catch a cab to the airport at 4AM with marii_chan so we could split the fare. My flight, by the way, was at 8:10. D:

First one to the gate!! I had my choice of chairs, so I grabbed one near an outlet so I could use my computer, and I watched 'The Silver Nemesis' which is a seventh Doctor serial.

And it was.. Well... Not great. There was too much running around, and not enough *doing* things. ( Spoilers for the serial, if you care. )

WOW THAT WAS LONG. On to the rest of my day?

Fell asleep at the airport, on my bags. Fell asleep on the plane, but I dont' know for how long! No watch yet. So the plane trip seemed to take *forever*.

Finally, we landed. Went to meet my family and pick up my luggage but... They weren't there!! Mom had apparently checked online, where it said that my flight was twenty minutes late. So they were ready for that! It was okay though, I figured that traffic was bad or something.

Went to IKEA, then we went home and had naps.

We also picked up my grandma from my cousin's, where my aunt and uncle drove to. It is usually a 45 minute drive, but the road conditions were so bad that it took us about two hours! We were doing 6km/h on the *yellowhead*, which was 80km/h in that spot! Bumper to bumper traffic. Coming back was much better.

I've also made my ugly sweater. I will post pictures, it is *fantastic*. Fantastic. I will win the competition, I am sure!!

Spent some time with fly_girl and friends, where we played the Harry Potter scene it (girls vs. guys, GIRLS WON!!), and then the cranium I had bought fly_girl and her husband for their wedding. It was really fun! I was partnered up with fly_girl's husband, and WE WON!!

HA.

Also have watched the muppet christmas carol now, and it was just as great as ever. Grandma really enjoyed it. Tonight I am going to midnight mass with my sister, and we are also going to watch Julie and Julia, which I've wanted to see.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone, Merry Christmas and all of that!! Hope the weather is good where you are. It's beautiful here right now! Lots of SNOW!!

Not that I won't probably be online later, but it's not a sure thing. And if for some reason you've missed this, it must be promptly rectified:

( The Muppets: Ringing of the Bells )

The reason you haven't heard head or tails of me is that I've been locked behind my sewing machine and in front of the stove, getting reading for the Christmas season. We have already hosted two parties, one for Peter's work friends and one for the books club. We have attended countless others, and I always feel it's my duty to bring something, so I've been slaving away. So far my mini quiches have one down a storm.

Tonight is the annual party for Peter's family, so I'm busy cooking away. We're having roast beef and mince pies and green beans and who knows what else.

At the moment I'm working on the cake. I make a yule log every year, but this year I decided to mix things up and try a recipe I found online here:

http://www.donogh.com/cooking/holiday/yulelog.shtml

I am very intrigued by the tip about rolling the cake in a towel while still warm. Hopefully that will prevent it from cracking. My jelly rolls always crack, but I just cover it with icing and no one's the wiser. I just finished the felling and it's divine! Who ever thought of putting vanilla in whipped cream? It makes it taste ten times better.

Well, my kitchen timer just went off, so it's back to baking. I promise a picture when I'm done. Cheerio!

Because my January is getting pretty booked, and because taking the Blue Line to Gorilla Tango is a breeze in the summer but not so appealing just now. (Yes, I'm a winter wimp. I own it. Let's move on.)

However, I'm thinking a Jossverse mashup improv show is something I must go see.

Sunday nights in February. Who's with me?

001. I'm now a paid member! Thank you for the coupons, guys. Wow, the air smells fresher up here. Is that sound birdsong?

002. ANON CRUSH MEME I've not done one of these before. Be gentle.

003. HolyshitIhavetoleavein10minutes. Catch y'all on the other side of the international date line.

It's Solstice/Yule, and with that in mind it is time to reflect on the year before and look at what I am grateful for, what I have lost and new beginnings
and with that in mind I'll be doing some housekeeping here, flushing out journals that don't update or haven't updated in so long I'm not sure if the owner is around or not

there are also those I have grown away from, and can't see why I was reading them to begin with

my life is about to undergo some serious upheaval, but you know what? that's fine-- in fact I think at this stage in my life untested ground is a good thing, uncertainty a breath of fresh air

I can't just accept comfortable, or secure, not when it's a matter of what is important to me, I can't just watch other people live and be alright with that

where will I be come the 'new year'? no idea, but I'll figure it out as I go, and I'll make the best of whatever it might be

time to let the old life die so I can plant the seeds of a new life, culture them and encourage them to grow
it might also be time to migrate officially to a platform that is there for me to be creative, a place for me to explore who I am as an artist and a creative individual

time will tell

Valar Morghulis...

PACKING COMPUTER IN READINESS.

I'll talk to you all from the other side of the country tomorrow. Or later on tonight, if there's free internet at the airport. I don't think there is though, only in Vancouver.

Yet strangely familiar. (Via claudiagray.)

( Dangerous Wands )

Dead-on movie trailer parody on YouTube.

I've never before had occasion to mention Brittany Murphy (however briefly) in a blog post.

The day I do, she's reported dead at 32?

The world is a weird, weird place.

And all well-wishes to her loved ones who are now having a singularly terrible holiday. :-/

This is what it was for.

It, um, got a little long. I originally was going to post it before P&P opened, and then actually started writing it on October 29. And finished it this morning.

Just in case you're curious.

Did I mention, long?

Had sajex's party yesterday. We missed Cora's, which made me really sad, but we were making a sweet cake. Pictures of that later.

Saw the Princess and the Frog, which was good. It wasn't the Lion King, or Beauty and the Beast, but it was good. ( thar be spoilers. )

And I also have to go to the library!!

~~X~~

Okay, pretty much packed now, checked in to my flight, my little Christmas tree out... Okay. I think I'm good for now. :D

Encountering massive slowness with all things Google this morning, that is.

Which wouldn't bother me except for the part where it's timing out and I cannot read my mail. *scowl*

And really, truly, honestly will read her book one of these days. Really.

In the meantime, it makes my life a happier place to read posts like this:

But what about fictional couples who get together and who we don't believe in? Who you look at together and go 'Nah... it'll never last.' I've got to say, for me Jane Eyre and Rochester, they are going to break up. (Well, probably not given the time they were in, but I don't think they're going to be happy. Because they have a lot of chemistry, but Rochester is a crazy liar, y'all.)

ROCHESTER: Gosh, I have a crazy wife hidden in the attic who occasionally breaks out and sets fires. And I'd like to bigamously marry my governess. You know what this situation needs?
AUDIENCE: ... what?
ROCHESTER: MORE COMPLICATIONS! I think I'll have a house party and have a fake engagement to a third lady. AS WELL as the secret crazy wife. And the bigamous marriage.
AUDIENCE: ... what?
ROCHESTER: You're RIGHT! I'm not giving this a hundred per cent! What if I dress up as a gypsy woman and tell fake fortunes?

I'm just saying, Jane will come home one day and Rochester will have sold the children to pirates.