Certain uncertainty...

There are some things which are oft-maligned in our culture: the postal service, meatloaf, and fruitcake come to my mind. I just don't get it. Granted, the USPS is far from perfect, but I will take it any day over most countries' postal systems. Meatloaf? Well mine is pretty darn yummy-- just ask Jon. Which brings me to fruitcake. Why has this lovely creation become the butt of so many jokes? Is it because of companies like Cla*ton, and the garbage they try to pass of as confection? Whatever the reason, I am starting a campaign to restore respect to the Noble Fruitcake. I am starting with this recipe, my great-grandmother's: White Fruit Cake 3/4 pounds butter 2 c sugar 6 eggs 4 c sifted flour 3 t b powder 1 t salt 1/2 c juice and rind of one lemon 2 T vanilla 8 oz citron 4 rings pineapple (2 red 2 green) (chopped) 2 lb white raisins 2 c + coconut 3/4 lb blanched almonds Cover raisins with cold water, bring to a boil, drain and cool. Dredge the fruit in 1/2 cup o

...But I did it this time. I figure I will post with more regularity this way. I warn you, though. These women are pretty much way more clever than I.

It's been awhile since I played along, but I do have a tip for this week. Mr. Giftwrap is where it's at! (Yes, Shannon, I know that was grammatically incorrect) Order one roll of fantastic paper, and wrap everyone's gifts. (This is the good stuff, folks-- nice and heavy.) Then, go nuts with packages ties, exercise all your creativity with bows, and take the headache out of storing ends of fifteen different giftwrap rolls. I have chosen a lovely green stripe that will carry us beyond the holiday season. The best part is that they also sell dispensers , eliminating the great scissors hunt. Shipping is reasonable, and free above a certain threshold . I ordered one roll (417') and one dispenser and qualified. Mr Giftwrap to help me organize my gift-giving certainly works for me! Now go read the mess of tips on Shannon's site.

You Are Midnight You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits. Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle. Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it. You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends. What Time Of Day Are You? A vow of silence? Me? Bwahahaha!!!!!

Or maybe it should be "rundown from the weekend." Either way, I am experiencing that exhaustion peculiar to good times spent with family, good food, and good beer. Just the highlights: Six of us for Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, two pies, the usual suspects. I was aiming for 1:00 pm, and Jon finished carving the bird at 12:59. Score!!! Braved a store or two on friday, mostly because Gram needed shoes (she has rulers for feet, so we had to head to the mother ship ). Two pairs of shoes, one watch, and a sprint through The Body Shop later, we headed out. Mission accomplished in under three hours. Crown and Anchor for lunch. This is where the good beer comes in-- one of the few places which knows better than to serve Guiness in a frosted glass. I mean, what is up with that? Oh yeah, their sausgae rolls-- better than anything across the pond. Nasty Habits playing Cabo Charlie's. Gram dozed off and we took a funny snapshot of her wi

There has been much spirited discussion of rules at Wolske SW. Specifically, what my brother-in-law calls "Man Rules." Not suprisingly, my darling husband is in egregious violation of several of these alleged rules. To wit: The rules clearly state a man shall not be in posession of a pet smaller than a regulation football. Our Tele is quite the petite feline, weighing in at a whopping 6 pounds. I know we are clear with respect to her weight, but she is pretty tiny. I shall have to measure her to be sure. The rules declare no man shall purchase clothing in any department other than menswear. Jon likes flare leg jeans or a really good boot cut. So far, the best fit has come from a pair of Tommy Hilfiger women's jeans. They are a little low in the rise, but other than that, fit like a dream . (I am probably in lots and lots of trouble for posting this one) The rules limit the beauty regimen of men to soap, shampoo, deodorant, and shaving. My DH has a Clinique habi

Forty-one years and still going strong! (This is not in any way meant as commentary. It is merely a holiday tradition)

Good morning, it is I, the woman whose broadband access you have been enjoying. Ordinarily, I wouldn't mind. Mi casa su casa and all that. Recently, however, your use has had a detrimental effect on my VOIP phone service. Truly, I was shocked and dismayed to discover that my wireless connection is unsecured. We programmed a password when we set up the network, after all. I wanted to do you the courtesy of warning you that your free-surfing days are numbered. As soon as I get some free time and some know-how, I will be locking you out. In the meantime, please understand that I will be turning my router off when I am not using it. I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you, though I don't know why I should even care. If you call Cox Cable , they will be more than happy to hook you up with your own cable internet connection, and you will no longer need to pirate mine. Happy Surfing! Sincerely, Your Neighbor

I am not so much a sitcom person. I mean, I watched Friends, but that is more a matter of cultural literacy for those of us under 35, right? How I met your Mother is my new crack. Take this little gem:

Oh my. I just realized that my Rock Star husband will be the ONLY MAN at our Thanksgiving festivities. Dad can't come because he has chickens, my brother can't make it because he works retail, so that leaves Jon with Mom, Gram, Amanda, Dana, and me. Shoot even our cat and Gram's cat are girls! I think he has some serious husband capital coming to him for this one.

Living as we do, so far far away from family sucks. Especially the nephews and nieces. (The only advantage, and it is a tinytinysmallminescule one, is that C says Aunt Kelly way more often and better that he says Uncle Jon) My brother-in-law and sister-in-law take lots of pictures, though. And they upload and share them. I can look to my little heart's content. A few weeks ago, I took the plunge and ordered prints. It is fan-flippin'-tastic! Fifteen cents for a four-by-six print, and less than a dollar for five by sevens. I ordered almost forty prints of varying sizes for less than ten dollars-- including shipping to the store ! Hot dog! This weekend's project is to get some of them framed. We have a lot of pictures of Hutsons and Joneses, but not so many Wolskes. I guess I will just have to make a trip to Michael's... oh gee, what a shame.

Yep. It's getting closer... My sister is that person who starts to play Christmas songs November 1. She is already bugging Dana about putting up the lights, and I can all but guarantee that she will be driving her coworkers nuts within a week. It's cute actually. Mandy has always been that way-- it stems from her naturally generous spirit. My mom used to play a game with me when I was small. Each day during Advent, she would place a new decoration in our home. When I returned from school, it was my job to guess what was new. Preparation was always important, and that lesson was well-taught. As we prepared our home for holiday visitors by decorating, cleaning, or baking, I learned the importance of preparing our hearts. As a little girl, I especially looked forward to Sunday dinner, when we lit the candles on our Advent wreath. I was torn as to which week I wanted to read-- Hope, so that I could light my candle every week, or Joy, because that was the pink candle? Eve

I fell in love with this yarn last year, and simply HAD to have it. And so it sat, for months and months. I am so glad I waited, because I was able to give this cap to a friend who is cute enough to be worthy. These are the last two caps J would model. I think it was the super soft pink cap that finally pushed him over the edge. *sigh* I guess I wil have to get one of those foam heads to document my projects. This purple is for my Mom (who will not have time to read this post until after the first of the year, so I am safe). i am trusting you who know her to keep your mouths shut. See that flower on there? I made that, too. I am getting quite good at this loom knitting thing. J refers to it is "not really knitting." Of course, he says this, but had no problem picking out yarns for five more projects. My husband is VERY tactile, so going to the yarn store is an adventure; he likes to touch everything. I always call him over for a touch test-- he hasn't failed

... I think you can hear the angels singing . Bobby, of course has exhibited the class which I have come to expect. Pardon me, while I do a little dance. (You see, I do not have any class)

One of the joys of being maried to a musician is his affinity for gear. Basses, guitars, speakers, amps, mixers, you name it. MJ spends hours poring over magazines, even user guides. I mean this man will download and print the manual for a console! I imagine it is frustrating for him that these things pretty much go over my head. I understand the basics of sound reinforcement, but I am not gear-savvy. Very often the conversation goes something like this: MJ: So, we have this fantastic board that came into the shop today. It is a 128-channel desk. Full meter bridge, the works. I had to test every channel... sooooo sweeeet. It's an xxxx Supercharger. Me: Oh! Wow, I'll bet you were in hog heaven. Isn't that the same brand they were using at that big place? MJ: No, this is so much more than that board. This one has the PX15000 super-rated flux converter. The crossovers have dual overhead cams, and the drivers are supercharged. Me: Oh? That's nice. This ex

I can't stand it! A couple years ago, in an attempt to stop the dreaded hand motion of snack bowl-to-mouth, I decided to learn to knit. Off I went to my friendly neighborhood craft store to spend my saturday afternoon (and about fifty dollars). Twenty-five months later, and this is what I have: No kidding. That is a whole twenty-seven rows of veryverytightknitting. Having seen this, you can imagine what my husband was thinking when I can home, very excited, with this little gem . To his everlasting credit, he said nothing. He is a very smart man, my hero. So, I started my new adventure, four skeins of yummy yarn to add to may already impressive pile. And I did it! I made this as my first project: (Isn't he just the cutest model?) This lovelt rolled-brim cap with a tassel on top took me all of four hours to complete. And that is as a complete novice. This cureent project has about two hours into it, and maybe ten minutes of gathering left. I snapped in still on the loom

are condemned to repeat it. After thousands of years of learning, the trojan horse still works More fun via John .

John Kerry Tries To Tell Other Jokes :: CRACKED.com :: Humor, Parody, Satire Sorry, but it is still a little early, and I am giggling at these. H/T \John @ Locusts and Honey

Yesterday alone I received a call from our county Sheriff, First Lady Laura Bush, former President Jimmy Carter, and General Wesley Clarke (Ret.) At the office. I love how congress exempted themselves from the do not call registry.

Election day is here. If you are a voting kind of person, I wonder if you are as confused and disenchanted as I am. We have had a particularly ugly election season here in NV. We have charaltans, carpetbaggers, and career politicians galore. From the sheriff's race all the way to US senate. I have tried and tried to weed through the garbage, visiting each candidates websites to see what they are really all about, and guess what? Nada. Complete garbage there, too. My only solution is to vote only in those races which I feel confident. That narrows it down to, well, let's see... US senate. Yep, as of 4:30 this morning, I fell confident in my vote for US Senate and that's all. It'd more than enough to drive a woman to her knees.

It it about flippin' time! Go 'Noles!