Picture Sunday

Hello, end of weekenders, nay, end of yearers! It's the last Picture Sunday of the year.

I must address a comment left in the last blog, by Duke. Duke asked what kind of a blog tender I must be to have an entire week off from work and not print one single blog during that time. And so I answer you, Duke. A lazy one! In fact, it was a lazy vacation. I barely left the house. I slept late, stayed up late, cleaned, took down the Christmas tree, tended the kitchen floor, did lots of laundry, and generally caught up on all the things I'd been letting go lately. Well, except blogging, I guess.

I stayed up all night on Christmas Eve recording blogs for my dad's Christmas stocking. That seems to be becoming the yearly tradition. Then it was a lazy Christmas with the family. Only one picture from that. It's of Sherman and his new car again. However, there's a twist.

First of all, I got a major case of the giggles watching The Nephew playing with the car. See, all I can do is lurch forwards and backwards, turning around and running into things. Then Taytie took over the controls on Christmas. "You forget, I've done this my entire life," the nearly 19 year-old told me. He then sped Sherman here and there, around furniture and the tree and people's legs, and it was hilarious. I'll bet Sherman's car was hitting 20 mph.

The next part of the story comes from something I put in the sister's Christmas stocking. Weeks earlier, we were reading an article about The 10 Worst Christmas Gifts, and one of them was a yodeling pickle. Her response to that was, "Dang, I'd actually like to have a yodeling pickle." Well, I know my Archie McPhee catalog, and I know they have the yodeling pickle. And he showed up in her stocking. And you know, it's a little odd to hear this, but the yodeling pickle is actually quite tasteful. The yodeling is nice and clear, not too over the top, and the pickle itself is very lifelike. She loved her yodeling pickle.

But my major giggles turned into helpless giggles when The Nephew and I decided to give the yodeling pickle a ride in Sherman's car. There the two of them were, speeding all over my folks' house, weaving and dipping and missing feet and furniture. I got a picture.





















Oh, here's another thing that happened on vacation. A continuing four-day game of Text Twist, playing whenever I was hanging around the Nerve Center, that's still ongoing and holds my as yet highest score. Yes, folks, as of last night I surpassed the six million point mark.


















Alas, Friday I finally got a case of cabin fever, and headed out of town. I found myself in B'burg, where I did a bit of shopping at Target and had dinner with Mr M and the DeepFatFriar. Shopping, burgers, clarinet duets, coffee, then back home. I got two more shelving units for the shelves in the living room, because my videos and DVDs were spilling off the shelves and over the floor. I put them together, my shelves are now really high, and I even splashed out and printed out some new photos for the top.

Did absolutely nothing today, save for watching a very long movie, and put the new stickers on my car. See, along with the camera and printer, Mr M slipped a little something else into my Christmas present. It's about time my car was so adorned.
























And that brings us to the recipe du jour. Yes, the last recipe du jour of the year is also the first using my new camera and new printer given by Mr M for Christmas. It's a little number you might want to serve at your New Year's Eve parties. It's from the "Timely Appetizers" file at cardland, and please say hello to it now, the New Year's Eve Tortilla.




















It's easy and versatile. Take a tortilla, that's your clock face. Then give it some numbers, I used olives because that's all I had around, and I didn't want to cut numbers out of food. Spread your salsa liberally over the tortilla, and add some hands. I used cheese, because what's a salsa'ed up tortilla without cheese. I, of course, placed my hands right before midnight, so we can all salute the new year.

And a happy week, and happy 2008 to you all.

And since I won't be around tomorrow or Tuesday, the Olympic Update shall be an acro. I'll give you all till Wednesday at 10pm est to play.

Betland's Olympic Update:
* OK, I think we do it every year, but I guess that's because it needs to be done. This week's acrotopic? "What is Your New Year's Resolution?" The letters?

M S O F E J

Acro yourself into the near year!