The Ciel Show

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Tuesday, December 29, 2015

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

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Mom and Yorkshire Pudding

It was one of those things she wanted to make. It's an English staple with roast beef, an eggy batter dropped into the super-hot drippings off the roasted beef, it erupts into a great thing like a popover, but savory rather than sweet, and deliciously greasy! She practiced it for about 4 or 5 weekends, using us as her test-tasters. Delicious roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, every Sunday until she believed she had it down. But she had never had 'the real thing,' so when some family friends... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:20 PM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Christmas menu

The frozen poultry section at Whole Foods drew me in with duck and goose and Cornish game hens, but here was a first: pheasant! There was a world imagined by CJ Cherryh where the most conservative social class disdained all farmed meats, considering it only proper to eat hunted meat. The idea was that it was repulsive to breed animals solely to be eaten, that it was heartless and unnatural. I thought of that recently in a conversation about vegans, vegetarians, and the moral/ethical... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 5:40 PM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, December 18, 2015

Expectations... Disappointments... Problem-solving...

The trouble with having expectations in your head, especially unconsidered ones, is that disappointment keeps you from seeing the actual qualities of a thing, for a while at least. Now the new electric fireplace is set up and glowing, flickering, filling a corner of the room, and I'm trying to appreciated the look of the 'fire' which is not quite as realistic as I thought it would be. But maybe it isn't as bad as initial disappointment made it last night. I'll give it a few days, maybe look... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:20 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, December 17, 2015

What a find!

I treated myself to a pedicure today--the whole shebang with massages and oils and all! The technician was excellent and the chair had a really good built-in massager! I'll go back to that one again! Feeling quite light on my feet, I went next door to the thrift store because it was there, and found a few odd bits of this and that, and then... the thing! One of those items I always have an eye open for: a lovely hooded cloak in dark green wool and with some nordic style pewter fasteners, and in... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:09 PM | add or view comments (6) | 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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