Christmas Wish List

[yellowcanoe]

Can you find your leaves under the snow? What first.. shovel or rake?

In the US we are getting tired of campaigning and today is a day of Joy. Election Day! Tomorrow go out and collect all those Coroplast signs that the campaigners forget to pick up... Maybe Mike will have a table making class for making a lid for your barrel. He has instructions on another thread but with Corplast we may have to reinforce the top. Get extra signs.. nobody will miss them. Might have to double layer the table.

Yes we decorate with lights for Christmas.. Or for the solstice . We decorate for we. We don't have many neighbors to impress. We decorate to lighten our spirits especially with the cruelly early sunsets in Maine.. 3:30 PM. No wonder we are all in bed at 8.

Its all about the cycle of nature and life. First though my favorite holiday of all Thanksgiving.. which is followed by the nastiest of days Black Friday when we trample those who are in the way of things we were thankful for yesterday but feel we need MOREMORE MORE.

 

[memaquay]

Have you got any snowshoes Brad? Rippy do you get snow where you are? Let me know, if not, I'll send you a pair, I've got many pairs. Yes, I admit, my material manifestations are the result of my obsessive character, but i got lots of toys to share too, and I do it all the time. I was always a cross country skier, until about ten years ago I really got into snowshoeing, it gets me through every winter, I love it, doesn't matter how cold it is outside. So let me know if you need a pair or two. Oh ya, and play this song, it will make you feel real good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_5q0n2mDR8

 

[Odyssey]

Stepped outside feeling glum, and the breeze whispered "bliisss" as it kissed my face. That same breeze made raking leaves a comedy of errors. I ended up spreading more of them around than wound up in the bag. I gave up, but I gave up with a gentle smile on my face. The smile's still there. I came inside and fed the dishwasher (no shirts this time, just dishes). Then I remembered I wanted to post a book to my brother down in NC. I went to the post office down the street and had a nice little chat with the lady there. Thankfully there were no you know what decorations up yet. My good friend George called to say "Ready for tomorrow? How about meeting for lunch to make plans?" I said "Yes, and yes." He helped me strip and reshingle my roof last week, so helping him set up for a trade fair is part of our bargain. Burdens shared and all that. But before I go, here's a song I love. The tune and lyrics lift me when I need it. We played it at our daughter's wedding. Weddings are supposed to be happy times, right? She surprised me with it, and we danced together. I think she knew I needed the lift. I hope it lifts your spirits too. Feel free to dance if suits you...just remember, dance like there's nobody watching. That's the real fun in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGp9bnDm0n0

ps Yes, we have snowshoes. I gave up nordic skiing when we moved back to S Ontario from Quebec. I enjoyed many, many happy snowy days back there, back then. I promise to dust off the snowshoes, and try 'em on. If the mood takes me, I might even try to dance in them.

thanks friends

 

[yellowcanoe]

Ah yes snowshoes. Its getting time. We watch this mountain daily and see the snowline creep ever lower. Soon it will be at Great Glen for tracked skiing and we hope the season lasts till late April as it did last year. We do a little backcountry too but only on flatter trails. The John Sherburne ski trail days are past.

http://www.mountwashington.org/

 

[scoutergriz]

Man, what a bunch of gloomy guys I give one big gift to my wife and daughter, and they each give me one back, and it's always something they need, and usually something that takes a little elbow grease. My wife got a new installed microwave to replace the one with the wonky buttons, my daughter got a set of tires and tuneup, and I got an impact wrench and sockets.
But the best gift was that we were all together for the holidays and healthy enough to enjoy them.
Just remember; no matter how bad life is, someone always has it worse. I've got a bad ticker, bad knee, busted back and hip, haven't worked in over a month, and the bills are piling up, but life's not so bad- I just look at one of my buddies; he's just had a full hip replacement, and during his tests they discovered fast moving leukemia, he may have 6 months to a year if he's lucky.
It's always better to look down at the daisies, than to look up at their roots

 

[Rippy]

Stepped outside feeling glum, and the breeze whispered "bliisss" as it kissed my face.

As I started to read this I felt like I was stepping into a Jimi Hendricks song. Sort of a cross between Purple Haze and The Wind Cries Mary.
Well,,,, excuse me while I kiss the sky. Dave

 

[Rippy]

Ya Mem, we normally get snow here. Some years a little, some years allot. I think you're on to something. I used to hunt in the winter and between the exercise and having something to look forward to it kept the winter blues away. My son grew up and my bird dog got old and passed. I guess I need to find some activities to keep me moving and occupied in the winter. I started solo canoe tripping after my son went to college for much the same reasons. I prefer it now. Later

 

[memaquay]

I'm lucky to still have my son here. He's not much for the outdoors, but he will come with me once in a while. It's our band that keeps us active though, we jam once a week, play out at bars and stuff. My wife is the singer. Think I called us the Partridge Family on Acid on a facebook status.

 

[Odyssey]

As I started to read this I felt like I was stepping into a Jimi Hendricks song. Sort of a cross between Purple Haze and The Wind Cries Mary.
Well,,,, excuse me while I kiss the sky. Dave

There goes another shirt.

But I digress.I just got back from lunch with my buddy George. We tried a new restaurant. I was leery of the place, but he's an optimist. Outside it mumbles creperie franchise. I love crepes, but franchises not so much. Too faceless and impersonal. Well, inside it sings European restaurant...pure Polish perfection. I can't pronounce what I ordered, but I can pronounce how it tasted...yum. We talked holiday plans (work plans can wait)...Latin America in February (not sure I can afford it) and Newfoundland next July (not sure I can afford that either). One thing that rattled me was his question: "Brad, we still want you two to take us on a canoe trip sometime. It sounds great, but uh...umm...er...once you've been there and done that...doesn't one lake look much the same as another? I mean, what's the point of doing the same thing year after year?" I scrutinized his face for any sign of humour, and realized that maybe the only way to answer his question is to include them on a canoe trip sometime.
On the ride home I kept one eye on the traffic and one eye on the autumn splendour drifting past. I tucked in behind an 18 wheeler with plenty of car lengths between us, and put it on cruise. I soon floated by a little valley nestled amongst forest and farm fields. On a western slope there's a beech wood. In the soft rain the beeches looked like tall and slender wood nymphs, their elegant arms reaching up delicately to brush the insipid sky with shimmering skin. Auburn tresses of falling leaves flowed down into pools at their feet; a woodland casting off robes of autumn splendour, slipping into a winter slumber. Winter.
I decided to come home and hijack this thread. Would you mind? I got thinking about the winter-Christmas blues.
We've all heard Elvis singing Blue Christmas. The King was good, but he was never singing my tune. When I think blues, I think of my favourite blues man Stevie Ray Vaughn, with his hard driving raging against the rain Texas blues:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWLw7nozO_U
Or if feeling blue takes you to another place, there's another favourite of mine, Buddy Guy (he taught Jimi Hendrix all his best licks) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_FYRa44iv4
Let's not shortchange any women, after all, everyone can get the blues. Here's another favourite, Billie :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWtUzdI5hlE
My wife loves listening to Bonnie Raitt for her blues :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mylo0piAgc
Well, there's just too many heart strings to pluck with blues chords, and too many blues artists to bend these blue notes; so this was just a sampling. Next time I'll blab about some other winter-Christmas blues...bluegrass, folk, and rhythm and blues.

 

[Odyssey]

" First though my favorite holiday of all Thanksgiving.. which is followed by the nastiest of days Black Friday when we trample those who are in the way of things we were thankful for yesterday but feel we need MOREMORE MORE." Yellowcanoe
Sorry about that, my American friends. I forgot about your Thanksgiving. We've had ours, with turkey and gravy, pumpkin pie and ice cream. Don't remember doing any shopping. My stateside brother just e-mailed me to say he'd be in Buffalo for Thanksgiving, could I slip across the border for a visit? I automatically thought "Thanksgiving 2015? Whoa, that's planning ahead!" Then I engaged my brain and realized my mistake. M and I reasoned that a Friday visit would be easier, until I remembered YC mentioning Black Friday. No, I don't live on an ice flow. I just don't shop much. Let me guess, people shop till they drop on Friday after Thanksgiving, for Christmas stuff? Lots of people? Hoards of shopping type people? That could wreck our cross border Thanksgiving plans. Might be time to shop for an ice flow. 2 bedrooms with a nice backyard, miles from the nearest shopping centre.
If it's not too early, have a happy Thanksgiving. I could really get used to celebrating two of them in a year!

 

[yellowcanoe]

Thanks Brad. Now I have a Christmas list of things to give and of things to hope to receive. Bob Mills here may make a lot of money at his store!

 

[Rippy]

In the soft rain the beeches looked like tall and slender wood nymphs, their elegant arms reaching up delicately to brush the insipid sky with shimmering skin. Auburn tresses of falling leaves flowed down into pools at their feet; a woodland casting off robes of autumn splendour, slipping into a winter slumber.

Undressing trees with your eyes again Brad? Ya kinda had me worked up a little with that wood nymph thing. I can just see us all on a forum canoe trip. Some newbee paddles over to me and asks "Is that guy over there over there by the shore alright? He seems to be talking to him self allot". "No problem" I reply "That's just Brad talking dirty to the trees again".

 

[Odyssey]

Rip, I'm finally at a crossroads. Do I give up drinking coffee, or do I give up wearing shirts...cause you're costing me a fortune in shirts and coffee. While most people run a load through in the "usual way", an actual clothes washer, I like to save myself the trip downstairs. Heck, the dishwasher is right beside me here in the kitchen. Every time you cause me an accident, I just strip off and run a half rack through. I've taken to keeping a pile of shirts here in the kitchen cupboard next to the dishwasher. Yeah, I can be a sensible guy. But like I say, you're costing me in coffee and shirts (and dish soap doesn't grow on trees either). I'd hate to cut down on the coffee I drink, and buying a cheaper bean is out of the question entirely. I've gotten too fussy about the java I drink, and spill. Cheaper shirts? Maybe. I do wear them despite the coffee stains. Yeah, the whites are whiter, but the stains are stubborn. Just yesterday I bumped into a psychologist at the gas pumps. He saw my shirt, cleared his throat, and asked "Sir? Take a look at your shirt. What do you see?" I thought he was being funny, so I told him I saw a coffee stain, that's all. Leave me alone. I don't think he believed me. He said something about a Rorschach Test. I asked him to explain. He said they're inkblot tests, the kind his profession gives to evaluate "personality characteristics and emotional functioning." I thought "Swell. I'm dressed like a bum pumping gas, and he wants to do a pop quiz." So I humoured him. "What do you see?" he repeated. I said "A couple making love." Astonished, he opened his trunk, whipped out some inkblots, and asked me to take a look at them. I ran through them lickety split..."A couple having sex in a car, a couple having sex in a canoe, a couple having sex on a tractor, a couple..."He stopped me and said " Good Lord young man! How can you see nothing but sex, sex, sex? What's wrong with you!?" I said "You're the one showing me all these dirty pictures."

Sorry Rippy, but you asked for it.

 

[Rippy]

Ya know Brad, I've had several laughs today and that's a good thing. The guys at work think I'm loosing it. So what's new. I'd rather be crazy happy than crazy sad. Some of the guys at work have girly calendars in there areas. You could put up a tree calendar and no one would suspect a thing.

Like Griz said at least we're looking down at the daisies instead of up at the roots. Merry early Christmas Brad.

 

[Odyssey]

You wouldn't be laughing if you'd seen those naked trees Rippy. I mean it.
Arms reaching up to the sky waving, like they were dancing to Mother Nature's music. Could've been Woodstock.

​Merry early Christmas Rip.


ps I'm happily relieved hearing the good news today. I'd like to see someday, next year, the year after, or many years from now, a yellow canoe approaching from across a lake. I'll head for shore, get a fire going, and put a pot of coffee on...or open a box of Cabernet.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Brad there are bibs. I can send you a supply of them each with a lobster printed on them

 

[Odyssey]

Bibs. Coffee bibs. Wearing a coffee bib instead of a stained shirt, or sitting half naked.
Now that just sounds silly. I'd look childish wearing one of those, as apposed to..... never mind.

 

[Iskweo]

I am in charge of holiday time self delusion around here and I do a fine job of it if I must say so myself. I insist on my Charlie Brown fake tree, with the same sparse lights and lame decorations every year. Familiarity is comforting. It goes up the first week of December. I like to put out presents to decorate said tree. Often, but not always, there is even stuff in them.
I do the traditional turkey dinner as well and then we sit around watching old movies like the Bourne trilogy, or The Kingdom. Real Christmassy stuff. Oh yikes. I used the C word.
Snowshoes. Yep. Love em. I have one for show and one for go. The show pair have little "Chestnut" stickers on them...very pretty. The working pair is much more common. I would love to get a pair of Bastien Bros ones.

And yes, Karin prefers it if I wear a shirt around the house when we have company too.

Christy

 

[Mihun09]

Traditions at that time of year would include certain shows/movies. Considering we no longer subscribe to cable or such, DVD's come in handy. Rudolph with Burl Ives came out 2 years after I was born and I try to see that every year, so I have DVD and VHS versions. I used to be afraid of the "Bumble snow monster". The Santa Clause series has become tradition as well.

In my family we also had a live tree, beautifully decorated, tons of presents under it. We kids would do lists and put them on the fridge a couple months before the day and hope to get something on it. I always had snowmobile at the top but never got one. 1978 I had asked for a Camera and got a state of the art Canon AE1-P which I still have to this day. That camera went everywhere and saw many a thing and is now worth nothing but memories.

Eventually my family discarded gift giving although I kept it up until I could no longer afford it. Christine and I still give to one another with a dollar limit, lists are necessary but she manages to surprise me with something on occasion that I did not ask for. We do birthdays as well, but not necessarily on our birthdays. I gave her a new cherry ottertail paddle a couple years ago a few months before her birthday.

Much like Brad and Rippy, I live in a deep hole with a cloud over it so I no longer get into the Christmas feelings I used to, it was my favourite holiday for many years but I no longer put lights up and just do my best to enjoy the day. Perhaps having a dysfunctional family unit has something to do with it.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Just had to post a pic of our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Every year in November around the American Thanksgiving we go into the woods in back of the house and tag a tree (GPS is handy..there are no trails back there! We need to find the tree in December!) We try to find the most appropriate sized balsam that is not field grown. The stragglier the better. Usually they are growing in wetlands so having the ground frozen is very handy. This year we found the tree directly across from a tree huggers house and had to stealth cut it.



We leave the big fancy trees to others though its kind of fun to run over to Beans for the light show at Christmas