The Ciel Show

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Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Household expansion!

Gerbils. The sisters, Crumpet and Alice, have taken up residence in a nice 10-gallon tank beside my chair here. In the tank are the box they came home in, much wood shaving, a bowl of water and a dish of seeds. The box is their house, for as long as it lasts. Busy, busy, busy! Crumpet was irresistable when I saw her in the pet store. She is tones of buff and greyish brown, the darker shades at each end, the light in the middle. And because there were four, and they are quite sociable creatures,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 11:41 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, January 1, 2016

What a treat!

I do an open house with tasty food and drink on Jan 1, and there is no telling who will show up, or not... As it happens, today it was two of Charlie's friends: 3/4 of PITCHFORKS AND HAMMERHANDLES here, making music this afternoon, and that is so cool! Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:42 PM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, December 31, 2015

The pack is intact...

Charlie came home in time for us to have a belated Christmas morning this evening while listening to the radio station that plays all of Beethoven's symphonies on New Year's Eve, timed so that the Ode to Joy coincides with midnight. It's the Pastoral playing now. Davy is in Charlie's lap, blissed out. And unhappily, his housemate Rob who drives for Uber has had another accident. He isn't hurt, but the car is again going to be out of service until it gets repaired. I don't know the specifics yet,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:05 PM | add or view comments (11) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Thinking of English friends...

I hope you are warm and well above the high-water mark, and battened down all good and securely... The village of Whalley where I spent several weeks last spring is suffering under the winds and rains of repeated storms, and the rising of the River Calder that runs alongside, and has filled the streets and hollows... I look at images of the floods and know exactly where that's happening. First floors of homes and businesses have been inundated, Christmases drowned as decorations and presents... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 4:21 PM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Christmas lights

Finally, here's what Christmas looked like here. https://flic.kr/p/CbN5FJ There will be other photos of changes around the house, now I have gone back to my usual photo editing program. It isn't fancy, but it is better than the quicky versions that do everything on auto, and give you little room for discretionary changes, or leavings-the-same. Maybe I will eventually get comfortable with the fancier ones available through Windows 10, which were the main reason I bothered to upgrade--that, and... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:52 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, December 25, 2015

Christmas Dinner

The pheasant was filled with a stuffing of quinoa, dried apricot and dried fig bits, and cherries. I laid it in a casserole dish with Moroccan tangine sauce, covered and roasted for about an hour, then another hour uncovered. It was, in fact, pretty good! And though it was a fairly small bird, I only ate half of it, so there will be tasty seconds tomorrow! It's a funny thing--doing Christmas alone was my choice, and I'm fine with it, enjoyed it in my own way, only sharing with Davy Dog. But the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:54 PM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

The full moon is in the west, lowering towards the mountains... I have been awake since 3am, when Davy Dog stared me awake. It was the ears that were most compelling, so eager and hopeful that I could not disappoint him, and had to get up, and so we are up before the sun on Christmas morning. The moon is a special magic. It will set before most folk are up and about, and they will miss the great beauty of it. Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 5:27 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Departure

A year ago tonight, Mom died. She was more than ready, had been ready for at least the past five years, as her body grew more and more frail and her mind only fading enough for her to be constantly aware of what she was losing. Mom's memories, like most, were of wonderful and terrible things, from a lifetime of personal catastrophes, victories and vindications. She loved the natural world, and was able to see much of it, traveling by road, sky, and sea around the world, finally. She was creative... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:34 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Gifts from Mom

I was 6, and we lived in a renovated apartment over an old carriage house. The downstairs had once housed two or three carriages, and now it was our playground, big party venue, and garage. That Christmas morning there were, among the presents beneath the tree, two large plastic hat boxes with handle loops on top, and zippers around their middles. Inside each was a full wardrobe of doll clothes made to fit the dolls also under the tree. Mom created those unique gifts, though I don't think I... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 10:20 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, December 21, 2015

Chicago for a moment

This morning around 11:30 Charlie flew out of here to Washington DC via Chicago, where a 6 hour layover is almost long enough to say he's actually been to Chicago. It has been several years since he's visited his sister and her family in Maryland, and I have no doubt they will all have a grand time! I'm really pleased that it all worked out this year. While he's away, Davy is here in my side of the house. We will have a quiet Christmas together. When he is missing Charlie, he'll be planted at... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 4:57 PM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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About this Blog

I'm doubtful the events of my life will be of great general interest, but I'd like to share a little more of me to the several of you on Blogit I've come to feel are real friends, and the many I imagine are potentially real friends. We'll see how it works out. ______________________ all my words and images posted on Blogit are copyright 2005-present, all rights reserved.

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