Round Robin: The Two Easters

For this week's Round Robin, I asked to see "Springtime Celebrations." Lest it be all about just Easter and Passover, I pointed to a fun page full of April holidays and observances, many of them quite obscure and some of them downright silly. But for me, this week has been an immersion in Holy Week, the most church-intensive week of most Christian calendars. I serve at the 7 PM services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday and the main service on Easter Sunday morning. My friend Kevin and I ate lamb at the Maundy Thursday communal Seder-inspired meal, and later kept vigil last night at the Altar of Repose. Kevin is in the parish choir, and has been singing all sorts of special songs, hymns, canticles and chants this week.

Here is just a taste of what parts of Holy Week have looked like at St. Michael's this year:


Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday, a week before Easter. At St. Michael's it starts outside, where, among other things, palm branches are blessed and then carried into the church.


The Passion (any of the four Gospel accounts of the death of Jesus) is sung several times during Holy Week. The guy with the beard is singing the words of Jesus. St. Michael's doesn't do a full Passion Play, but some choir members are given specific roles to sing.


This is the sacristy, just off the main church, where the clergy and others prepare for services.
The plaster candlesticks seen here are so old and fragile that one of them broke in the middle of a Holy Week service last year. The candle part is a plastic tube containing lamp oil and a wick. Bob here is replacing the wick. And hooray! Brooke and I managed to carry these candles to and from the back of the church without therm breaking again.

All of these Holy Week services lead up to Easter, but since that's not until the day after this Challenge, let's move on.

I seem to go on about religious ceremonies a bit too much in this blog, and so I think it's time to point out that there's a separate Easter celebration that has very little to do with what Jesus did at Passover nearly 2000 years ago. Secular Easter, like secular Christmas, has a lot to do with food, decorations and gifts. For example:


For some reason, the traditional Easter dinner involves ham. Safeway has a whole bin full of hams, each of which would feed John and me for a week. Only we're not going to do that!


The traditional Easter flower is the lily. I don't know why.


Kids get gifts from the Easter Bunny, theoretically. Here are a bunch of Easter-themed stuffed animals and balloons.


There was a time when Easter baskets were filled with hand-colored hard-boiled eggs. That's what Paas food dye is for. Dyed eggs are also hidden in homes and yards so kids can have an Easter egg hunt. My mom once told me I was in an Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn during the Eisenhower era. I must have been two or three years old at the time. That was over 50 years ago. I suspect that most people don't bother to color eggs anymore. These days it's all about the candy: Cadbury creme eggs, chocolate bunnies, jelly beans and so on. Marshmallow Peeps are practically a cult unto themselves. I don't like them much myself!

Now let's check out other Robins' Springtime Celebrations!

Linking List
As of Saturday, April 23 at 9:25 AM

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Jama
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Ruth
ScrabbleQueen Knits, Too
http://scrabblequeen.wordpress.com

Peg - Posted!
Who Can Discover It?
http://whocandiscoverit.blogspot.com

K.

Weekend Assignment #295: Keep Me Warm!

This week's Weekend Assignment is short and sweet:

Weekend Assignment: #295: Even in Tucson, things can get a bit chilly on December nights. What is your favorite way to keep warm?

Extra Credit: What is the temperature setting on your thermostat?

It's no secret that John and I moved to Tucson in 1986 for the specific purpose of getting away from winter. I grew up outside Syracuse, NY, where the thermometer dips below 0 degrees F most winters, accompanied by blowing snow. Lovely. To make things worse, my elementary school made us stand outside in our skirts and tights in similar weather.  So if I become a little insufferable each year as Tucson barely dips below freezing, and that only about three or four times a year, you know where I'm coming from, literally.

So I enjoy the fact that entire years go by here without our turning the heat on once. On rare occasions we'll let it run for a few hours at night. If John feels the need for heat, he'll probably set it probably for 60 degrees at most. If I'm especially cold and the blankets are in short supply (as they always are), I might sneak it up as high as 65. But most of the time it's at 56 degrees - and turned off!

But that's not the fun way to stay warm. I was thinking about that tonight as I climbed into bed after being up for 35 hours straight. (I'd pulled an all-nighter Friday, compiling a list of Round Robin participants for 2009.) Cayenne jumped up on the bed immediately, right onto the comforter, right where my legs are supposed to go. As usual. But where was Pepper?

A moment of listening provided the answer.  She was outside the bedroom window, barking. I called her name and she was on the bed in seconds, streaking around and through the house to reach me. Then it was just a matter of getting Cayenne a foot or two to the south.

You see, when it comes to Tucson weather, it's never more than a Two Dog Night.


How about you? Do you face cold winter nights with a warm friend or a hot drink, perhaps even a Snugee? Tell us about it in your blog, or in the comments below. Easy instructions to participate are at the end of this entry, right after last week's wrap-up.

For Weekend Assignment #294: A Decade of Thanks, I asked what you're most grateful for of this decade's innovations. Click on the names below to read their full responses:


Florinda said...

E-Readers: I never would have said this until a few months ago, but my Kindle has truly made me a believer. I don't think e-books will replace the traditional kind for me, but the Kindle made carrying books with me a lot more convenient. Since e-books tend to become available at the same time as hardcover editions, and they cost less than most trade paperbacks, I don't have to wait so long for some of the books I really want to read, either!

Julie said...

I'm pretty darned thankful for the technology that allows me to work at home. Now if the economy would just cooperate...


Well, this is amusing. As I was working on this blog post the doorbell rang. UPS delivered us a new router! It's a good thing I wasn't working today, which is precisely one reason Paul took the time to outline to Verizon all of the problems we had been having with the old router. I'll spare you the techy details, but when Paul called yesterday they agreed that we needed a new router and promised to drop ship one immediately, though they told us it would be Friday before it arrived, since tomorrow is a holiday. Imagine our surprise when the equipment arrived at our door this afternoon.

Thanks, folks!

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate in the Weekend Assignment:

1. Please post your entry no later than Friday, December 5th at 6 PM. (You can also post your response in the comments thread, but a blog entry is better. )
2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to this entry.
3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments below.
4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!
5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please email me at mavarin2 on gmail.com if there's a Weekend Assignment theme you'd like to see. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor."


Stay warm, everyone!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #294: A Decade of Thanks

This week's Weekend Assignment finishes up one holiday-themed assignment and proposes another:

Weekend Assignment: #294: Thanksgiving is upon us, and it's traditional to ask what you're thankful for this year. But let's tweak that a bit. As we prepare to finish off the first decade of a new century, let's take a moment to appreciate the good things that have come about since 12/31/1999. What aspect of living in the 21st century are you most thankful about? I'm talking technology, medical breakthroughs, favorite tv shows, even people and pets born since the ball drop of nine years ago.


Extra Credit: What are you most looking forward to as the century continues?


For me, the choice comes down to social media or my two dogs. Which am I more thankful about, the big, world-changing, life-changing developments in online culture, or the fact that I personally have two dogs who bring me joy every day? Hmm. Let me explore that question for a moment.

Back in 1999, I was on AOL, hanging out on the SF and Fantasy writer's discussion boards. A few people were already writing what would come to be known as blogs, but I'd never heard of them. There was no Facebook, no Blogger, no Twitter, no Wikipedia. I'd never heard of John Scalzi, future blogger Carly of Berkeley, or dozens of other people who have since enriched my life with their words and pictures. But then came AOL Journals, and LiveJournal, and BlogSpot (remember when it was called that?), and other blogging platforms. Suddenly we all had new friends, around the country and around the world. Maybe we hadn't even actually met most of them, but they were friends nonetheless. Blogs in turn gave rise to microblogging, short bursts of self-expression on Twitter and elsewhere.

The next wave came in the form of social networking sites, when again redefined the word "friend." They were organized around virtual pins on virtual maps, around professional connections, around where you went to high school, around a common interest in films or gaming. Eventually the concept coalesced as the juggernaut Facebook, on which I spend far too much time these days.

Then there are the Wikis. Wikipedia was another obsession of mine for a while, and I still think I did some good work over there while the mania lasted. Today there are individual Wikis devoted to hundreds of subjects, from specific tv shows to legal or medical information.

Now, the question for me is, how grateful am I for all of that? I'm certainly grateful for the friends I've made, and the platform to publish my own words and pictures with nearly instant gratification. The downside, of course, is the way it can suck up my time, and the way the different social media compete for my time and interest. Is Facebook a step too far for me, considering its detrimental effect on my blogging output? Does it really matter? I'm not sure. Perhaps I would always been seduced by the next cool thing, whether it's a Zynga game or Gallifrey Base or YouTube.

From the Picasa album Trouble Dogs

The impact of Cayenne and Pepper on my life is much more straightforward. Yes, I'm sometimes a little annoyed when Cayenne demands more petting, pressing her head into my hand or pawing me with her sharp claws. Yes, I get a little frustrated at Pepper's tendency to walk the other way when I call her, although she's not nearly as contrary as she was the first year we had her. But I spend a lot of time happily petting them, taking them on jaunts, trying to take pictures without flashing out their eyes.

Yeah. Overall, considering the drawbacks of the social media stuff, I think I'm most grateful for my dogs!

Oh, and on the hopes for the future thing? Well, first of all, I'm looking forward to being thankful for a permanent, full-time job that I enjoy, and where I'm appreciated. In the long term, I'm looking forward to medical breakthroughs in brain function. I still remember how devastated my dad was many years ago, when he tried to talk to his mother on the phone and she didn't know who he was. My dad's memory is actually pretty good these days for a man in his high 80s, but my mom at age 75 was falling apart rapidly. Even I, at a mere 52 years old, am starting to feel that my memory isn't as sharp as it was. The other day, Father Smith asked what a particular bill was for, and I told him that it was incense. Since the check paying the bill was for hundreds of dollars, we quickly concluded I'd made a mistake in issuing it. I told him to void the check and I'd redo it. But it was actually a payment for office supplies, and the dollar amount was right! I'd confused two vendors with short, nonsensical names. My mistake was hardly earth-shattering, but it worries me. I've relied on my memory all these years. Can I keep it functioning adequately while research continues on how to prevent and treat Alzheimer's and dementia? Oh, I hope so!

How about you? What great new person or thing of the 2000s are you especially thankful for? Tell us about it in your blog, or in the comments below. Easy instructions to participate are at the end of this entry, right after last week's wrap-up.

For Weekend Assignment #293: When Do the Holidays Begin?, I asked when you personally start celebrating the holidays. Click on the names below to read their full responses:

Sherrie said...

After the Thanksgiving holiday, I start thinking of Christmas. Anything before that is way to early to my way of thinking. Our city has already started putting up the holiday lights. They started putting them up right after Halloween.

Carly said...

 Holidays begin for us all the way back in May. You see, there is a small rodeo parade here in the East Bay, which is held every Mother's Day weekend, and it is kinda the unofficial kick-off of summer, or at least it is for us. Two weeks later comes Memorial Day, and then my birthday and well, you get the idea. We don't really stop celebrating until January 1st. But if we are talking about the holidays... holidays... then I would have to say, they begin with Halloween.

Julie said...

It's hard to avoid thinking about the December shopping season, as much as I try. Of course, thinking about it isn't the same as actually getting into the whole holiday brouhaha. Some family members have to plan vacations and time off early, so in that respect we're thinking about family celebrations. I also try to think about gifts, but only because I'm always on the lookout for bargains.

Florinda said...

When my sister and I were little, we used to start playing the Christmas records in August. My mother was far more patient with that nonsense than I would be. Now, if I start hearing holiday music before the end of November, it's "rushing the season." There's a lot of Christmas music that I actually like - I just don't want to listen to it, or sing it, until the calendar is edging into December. And I really don't want to walk into Target on Halloween - in the morning, before anyone's been out trick-or-treating yet - and see the Christmas-decoration department already set up in the "seasonal" corner of the store.

Mike said...

I'm not a huge fan of Christmas decorations going up in the stores right after Christmas. It has nothing to do with the fact that Thanksgiving isn't here yet, or that it contributes to the commercialization of Christmas. I don't care about that. I just hate that it makes me stressed out thinking I have less time to get presents. True, Jenn does most of the shopping now, but I'm a last minute shopper, so I don't want to think that last minute is here already. Does that make any sense?

Thanks, folks!

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate in the Weekend Assignment:

1. Please post your entry no later than Friday, November 27th at 6 PM. (You can also post your response in the comments thread, but a blog entry is better. )
   
2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to this entry.
3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments below.
4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!
5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please email me at mavarin2 on gmail.com if there's a Weekend Assignment theme you'd like to see. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor."

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #293: When Do the Holidays Begin?

This week's Weekend Assignment has to do with where we are in the calendar:

Weekend Assignment: #292: Halloween is behind us, Thanksgiving ahead, and Christmas advertising has begun. So how about it? When do the holidays begin for you? Do you avoid thinking about Christmas and Hanukkah until after Thanksgiving, or is any time after Halloween okay? Is it time for Christmas lights in your neighborhood, and do the neighbors agree with you? How about Christmas music? When does that become okay, if ever?

Extra Credit: Have you bought any holiday presents yet? If not, when do you think you'll start?

Carly asked me today, in effect, whether it's beginning to look like Christmas, everywhere I go. Well, no. I'm sure I've seen Christmas ornaments at the Hallmark store, but they always start way early, and I haven't really looked them over. Costco has creches and wrapping paper, and I've heard the occasional Christmas jingle on tv. But that's it, really. The big Christmas displays around my neighborhood have not been set up and turned on. Even Park Place Mall isn't very Christmassy yet. As for the weather, I'm in Tucson. How Christmassy can it be?

And that's FINE with me. For me, the Christmas season should arrive with Santa at the end of the Macy's tape-delayed Thanksgiving Parade, and not a moment before. You can turn on the Christmas lights then, and ramp up the holiday merchandise in the stores. I start considering the religious aspect of it when Advent starts (4 Sundays before Christmas), and on the feastday of St. Nicholas on December 6th, because I'm fond of him and have written about him before. Christmas music? Let's hold off until mid-December, okay? Christmas shopping? That's going to be tricky, with our financial situation, but let's say early December for that.

You know, for years and years, it's seemed that people say that Christmas starts earlier every year, at least where stores are concerned. But I see no evidence of that this year. And that's a good thing, I think!

I'm in no rush to set up our aluminum tree!

How about you? Do you need a little Christmas, right this very minute? Are you ready to jump into the holiday season with both feet? Or are you trying to put it off a bit longer? Tell us about it in your blog, or in the comments below. Easy instructions to participate are at the end of this entry, right after last week's wrap-up.

For Weekend Assignment #292: The Oldest Thing, I asked about your oldest possession. Five of you responded, thus:

Sara said in comments...

Interestingly, just last night I wound up the old blue teddy bear I've had since I was a toddler. He still plays the Teddy Bears Picnic. He and a giraffe and a little koala all date back to early childhood, and live in my collection of stuffed animals I have been unable to get rid of for sentimental reasons. His name is David, but don't ask me why. The other two are Giraffe and Mr Koala. I think my bedroom furniture is older though. I was given it when I moved last, the woman who owned it before is in her 90s now. I don't know for sure, but there's a possibility it was around before I was born. If not, then the oldest thing is probably my copy of Ivanhoe, printed in 1968.

Julie said...

It's purported to be a page from an early King James Bible. That's Job 33-34. Now I've held an actual King James Bible in my hands. The museum I worked with a long time ago had a genuine one on display. I know that a lot of Bibles were torn apart and sold for single pages. I also know the first edition of the King James Bible was printed in 1611. Does that make it genuine? I don't know. It certainly looks like it, but I'm no paper expert.

Carly said...

If we are talking about day to day possessions, I don't think I have anything that constitutes and actual antique...yet. I do have two portraits in a lovely Victorian style that hang over our bed, but alas, I don't have a photo of them, at least not on this computer. I bought them back in the mid 80's, when Victorian pieces were all the rage. I love them so much that I believe they are the one thing I would grab if the house were burning down around me. :)

Florinda said...

I think it's a diamond ring that belonged to my namesake grandmother, and which was passed down from my mother to me. It dates from the late 1920's - I'm not sure of the exact year, but since my mother was born in March of 1930, and both of her parents were good Catholics, I'd estimate around 1928. The ring is platinum, with a diamond solitaire in a raised setting; I've never had it looked at by a jeweler, so I don't know any of its "four C's" (carat, cut, color, and clarity) or have any idea of its monetary value. It certainly has strong heirloom value, though.

Mike said...

By far the oldest thing in our house is one of my coins. I'm not a big collector, but I have a few things I've picked up since I was a kid. A few I got through the mail, but most of what I have I got through the regular money circulation channels. I used to wait tables, that is the best way to get a lot of change. Especially when you work in a restaurant that caters to old people. It was not unusual to get a tip of 78 cents. At least this was the before people had easy access to tip calculators, I probably would have been given pennies cut in half if that were the case.

Shari said in a Google Docs document (login required)...

The oldest thing in my home, though it is carefully packed away since I moved over the summer, is an original Twain volume my parents bought for me in a box lot of books when I was 12. It is extremely fragile and I rarely open it because I'm afraid it will fall apart.

Thanks, everybody!

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate in the Weekend Assignment:

1. Please post your entry no later than Friday, November 20th at 6 PM. (You can also post your response in the comments thread, but a blog entry is better. )
   
2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to this entry.
3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments below.
4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!
5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please email me at mavarin2 on gmail.com if there's a Weekend Assignment theme you'd like to see. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor."

Karen

Weekend Assignment #289: Quitting Time

If you like, you can attribute the lateness of this entry to my being sick with a cold that seems to be getting worse instead of better. Be that as it may, let's get started:

Weekend Assignment: #289: Sooner or later, we all quit something that was once important to us: a job, school, a club, an addiction, a relationship, and probably other things I haven't thought of. Tell us about something you quit, and why you did so.

Extra Credit: Did you ever regret your decision?

There was a period in the early 1990s when I was working full time and also editing several fanzines at once: TARDIS Time Lore, The Observer, The Hologram and the compilation of a serial I'd written (Paradox: Two Doctors in Time) into a single volume. I was getting stressed out and burned out, but I didn't see a way out. Julie B kindly took over The Hologram, and the fan novella was a one-time project, so those weren't a major problem. But the two club newsletters, one for our local Doctor Who club, the other for our international Quantum Leap club, were not so easily disposed of. I had a somewhat misplaced pride of ownership and a heavy emotional investment in both zines, and worried that they couldn't go on without my frequent all-nighters, writing and editing. There didn't seems to be anyone in the wings to do the work instead, maintaining the quality of the final product. Oh, yeah, I had hubris to spare.

Now, I don't remember the exact order of events, which zine I quit editing first. But I think I stepped down from TARDIS Time Lore first. Over the next several years three other editors were elected by the club. One never edited anything, another managed to produce one issue before quitting over club politics, and one produced several issues, usually with covers that overshot the "fair use" principle in copyright law by quite a bit. Still, the zine did survive for several years without me in charge.

My most ambitious fanzine cover ever!

As for The Observer, I was so stressed out about it at one point that I mentioned it to my doctor at the time, the non-HMO D.O. who helped me with my weight (very successfully, for a while) and my allergies (ditto). Oh, and for a herniated disc. He practically ordered me to give up editing the zine, but that didn't even sound like an option to me. I think I may have cried a little, I was so upset.

But later that day, I talked it over with John, and contacted Margaret from the fan club. I soon learned that Sharon Major was willing and able to take over editing The Observer. Well over a decade later, she's still doing it. I've contributed the occasional article, but mostly not in recent years. I feel a little guilty about that, but not enough to do more.

Do I regret it? Do I miss it? Well, I'm kind of sorry that the Who club and its zine ran out of steam by 2000, but no, I don't really regret giving up all that work. I could not have saved the club, not with Doctor Who off local tv at the time and many of our members having moved away. My editing the zine would not have helped one bit.

As for The Observer, there's no way I could have kept my dedication and interest going all these years, as Sharon clearly has. The newsletter is in good hands, and I'm glad. I don't have to worry about it. If and when Sharon in turn quits, The Observer will find a new editor or it won't. If it doesn't, it's still had a good run, four times as long as the tv series that inspired it. I am content.

What about you? Have you found yourself in a position where you felt you had to quit something? Tell us about it, either in your own blog or in the comments below. Next weekend I'll highlight your responses, thus:

For Weekend Assignment #288: Columbus and his Day, I asked for your opinion of Columbus Day. Here are excerpts from the responses:

Cheryl B. said in comments:

I stopped by your blog to verify that you were still hosting your Friday "theme day".

In case you aren't sure why I would do that, please first go here: http://thehousethatlovebuilt.xanga.com/712911712/today--/

and then read this one:
http://thehousethatlovebuilt.xanga.com/712911311/sept-theme-days/

I see that you still are, so I shall leave you on the lists :-D

Should you wish to contact me for any reason, feel free to do so via: pink bunnies (at) sbc global (dot) net

THANKS!!!
Cheryl B.

Florinda said...

I can't remember when I last lived anywhere that observed Columbus Day, to be honest. School is in session locally, and it turns out that even the banks will be open today, although I'm not sure about the post office and government offices. Therefore, I've almost forgotten that it is a holiday. And I can't prove it, but even in places where it's observed, I suspect not much thought is really given to why it's a holiday or what it means; it's just another three-day weekend (and, in some cities, maybe an excuse for a parade).

Julie said...

I'm not inclined to believe this is a good reason for a national holiday. Yet, I'm not too keen on the idea of tossing out a replacement holiday. In these times fraught with division, it seems a safe bet that such a discussion would turn into an all-out brawl.

Mike said....

Yes, I think it still does merit a holiday. Sure, he wasn't a perfect man, but we do owe a lot to him. If someone else had discovered it, would things be different? We we be the same nation we are today? Who knows, a lot happened from the first time he came this way and the time we actually became a nation. (That was in 1776 in case you weren't sure). But, since he is regarded as the man who discovered America, we should celebrate his day. It only makes sense.

Thanks, all!

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate in the Weekend Assignment:

1. Please post your entry no later than Friday, October 30th at 6 PM. (You can also post your response in the comments thread, but a blog entry is better. )
   
2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to this entry.
3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments below.
4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!
5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please email me at mavarin2 on gmail.com if there's a Weekend Assignment theme you'd like to see. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor."

I'll try to get my next entry up tomorrow. *Cough cough!*

Karen

Weekend Assignment #288: Columbus and his Day

I've been dithering since last night (well, that and reading), trying to come up with a topic for this Weekend Assignment entry. Let's try this one:

Weekend Assignment: #288: Columbus Day seems to have become a largely disregarded and maligned holiday in recent years, as the dark side of the explorer's legacy has made inroads in the public's perception. Do you think that the voyages of Christopher Columbus still merit a national holiday? Why or why not? And if not, what holiday would you propose to replace it?

Extra Credit: Did you even get Columbus Day off from work or school this year?

It's a testament to the power of a catchy jingle that every year at this time I remember, and sometimes sing, a ditty I learned in elementary school:

Christopher Columbus
Sailed from sunny Spain,
Crossed the mighty ocean
Through the sun and rain.

Christopher Columbus
Now we honor you;
You found our dear country,
So we all thank you.

As we now know, he didn't exactly find "our dear country," but he definitely sailed from Spain, sunny or otherwise. I distinctly remember Dan Cheney showing me his models of Columbus's ships, the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, and earnestly explaining that only the Santa Maria survived that first voyage. My memory is wrong, however. According to Wikipedia, it was the Santa Maria that ran aground. Furthermore, the names by which we know the other two ships were only nicknames. All in all, I'd say that very little of what I learned about Columbus as a child was actually true.

Based on what we know now, does Columbus merit a holiday? Tough call, I think. He may not have reached the North American continent itself, and he was not the first sailor to believe that the Earth was round. Furthermore, he was directly or indirectly responsible for the spread of at least one deadly disease and the enslavement of vulnerable natives. Still, he was far from the most brutal of the Europeans to visit our hemisphere, and there's no denying that his voyages changed the world, for better and for worse. I guess there's no harm in acknowledging that with a holiday - but only if kids are no longer taught the sanitized version I got in elementary school.

And yes, I do get Columbus Day off from my temporary job with a local manufacturer. It is not a paid holiday. But I will use the time to get stuff done at St. Michael's instead, so it's no great loss.

How about you? Do you still find value in Columbus Day, or is it just another day when the banks are closed? Give us your opinion on the matter, either in your own blog or in the comments below. Next weekend I'll highlight your responses, thus:

For Weekend Assignment #287: On the Move, I asked whether you've moved very often in your life, mostly stayed put. Here are excerpts from the responses:

Florinda says...

While the mechanics of moving are an undeniable pain in the butt, I actually don't mind the experience of it all that much. There's a sense of excitement and possibility in settling into a new place. However, I won't mind if the next move - or two, or however many there are - is another local one, since my long-distance moves average out to just about one per decade of my life.

Julie says...

We tend follow the boring route and not move around. We found a nice apartment before we got married (Paul moved in and I joined him on our wedding day. See? Very boring and conventional) and we stayed there until we found Stately Barrett Manor.

That's all the participants we had this week. But I do, as always, appreciate what Florinda and Julie have to say!

Here are the guidelines if you'd like to participate in the Weekend Assignment:

1. Please post your entry no later than Friday, October 16th at 6 PM. (You can also post your response in the comments thread, but a blog entry is better. )
   
2. Please mention the Weekend Assignment in your blog post, and include a link back to this entry.
3. Please come back here after you've posted, and leave a link to your entry in the comments below.
4. Visiting other participants' entries is strongly encouraged!
5. I'm always looking for topic ideas. Please email me at mavarin2 on gmail.com if there's a Weekend Assignment theme you'd like to see. If I use your idea, you will be credited as that week's "guest professor."

Eventually, I may or may not explain to you all about what I was doing last weekend, and why. This weekend promises to be far more relaxed; I may even get around to last week's commenting! :)

Karen

Weekend Assignment #267 : A Parade in Town

Late again! I had a topic all planned out, but a Tucson Toros game, lots of photos to edit and excessive sleepiness delayed its implementation. Much later, I remembered that this is Memorial Day weekend, and that I have this week's assignment, minus last week's responses, saved to draft. Here it is.

Weekend Assignment #267: In some communities, Memorial Day is celebrated in part by a local parade. Have you ever appeared in a parade, or at least attended one? Details, please! Note that I'm asking about any parade, not just a Memorial Day one.
Extra Credit: Have you ever studied to play a band instrument? (No band camp jokes, please.)

I've written about Memorial Day before, for John Scalzi's old Monday Photo Shoot. That was several years ago, though. Let me take another stab at the subject, before expanding to include other Parades I Have Known:

I grew up in a house on Fayetteville-Manlius road, about a mile outside the Village of Manlius, NY, roughly two miles from the Village of Fayetteville in the other direction. Both villages were in the Town of Manlius. Fayetteville and Manlius both had annual Memorial Day parades, and at one time or another I was in both of them.

The main parade for me was the Manlius one. I'm sure I marched in it as a Junior Girl Scout. Many years later I was in it again, carrying a non-functioning rifle in front of the high school band. I had a baton, but never really learned to twirl it very well. I just don't have the dexterity for something like that. Nor did I ever get good enough on the clarinet back in fifth grade to join the school band. Getting braces on my teeth was my ticket to dropping clarinet lessons, which I accepted gratefully. Anyway, my task was simply to march in time, which was challenging enough for me. The highlight was always at the corner of Fayette Street and Seneca, where one could usually see an exposed cobblestone or two and a bit of the old trolley track from the turn of the 20th Century, when a streetcar carried people from Syracuse all the way to Suburban Park.

Even if I wasn't in the Memorial Day Parade in Manlius, I always attended it. If my family didn't drive, I'd probably walk into the village, and stand somewhere near the former elementary school, Temple's Dairy Store and Sno Top. Temple's would sell pinwheels, vendors sold little flags, and Sno Top would sell twist cones dipped in chocolate on its "humdinger" opening weekend. Besides the scouts and the school bands, the parade itself always featured a vintage carload or two of World War I vets, marching World War II vets in the VFW (my dad, a former POW, was never part of such things), and the volunteer fire department, including my seventh grade social studies teacher, Thomas Murphy Hennigan. It wasn't the most exciting parade in the world, but it was a community event, something that drew us all together for an hour or so.

One year - and only one year - my mom took me to a Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Syracuse. I think kids' host Denny Sullivan was associated with it in some fashion, and I know I got one of those balloons with a shaped balloon (Mickey Mouse?) inside a clear round one. That's all I remember about it.

Disney's Electrical Parade at California Adventure, July 3, 2003.

I never got to the Columbus Day Parade in Syracuse, the Martin Luther King Day Parade in Tucson, or any parade at all in Columbus or Florida. My post-Manlius parades have all been at the Disney parks - Disneyland, California Adventure and Walt Disney World. And I like them very much, yes I do!

How about you? Did you grow up with one parade or another, or only get to one as an adult? Are you parade memories of community events, or the big holiday parades on tv, or commercial parades at them parks? Tell us about it! Write it up in your blog, and please remember to include a link back to this entry. Then leave a link to your entry in the comments below. I'll be back in a week with the results. Here, meanwhile, is last week's results:

For Weekend Assignment #267 : 30 Years Ago, I asked for your recollections of the late 1970s, or the late 1980s if you're too young for the 1970s. Here are excerpts from the replies:


Julie said...

The 1970s era was sharply divided between high school and college. I've blocked out a lot of my high school years, though I still keep up with a few good folks from that era. College was much better, especially after I switched majors. My counselor at high school pretty much forced me into a business major in hopes that I'd find a nice fellow business major who would take care of me and lead me to a life of bland suburban bliss. I had other plans, and switched my major the first week of school.

Florinda said...

30 years ago this week, I lived in St. Petersburg, Florida with my parents and younger sister, and I was nearing the end of my freshman year of high school. The fact that I still remember my class schedule from back then may have something to do with my inability now to remember what I walked into the room intending to do - I have an extreme case of Brain Clutter. So let me share some of that clutter with you:

Mike said...

After doing a little math, I figured out I was in 4th grade 30 years ago. It wasn't my best year in school. Not that I remember a whole lot, I just know that I got screwed with my teacher. My brother is three years older than me, and when he was in fourth grade he loved his teacher. I guess she was really nice and helpful. So I was looking forward to it over the summer. Then the bad news came. That teacher left, but that wasn't the worst part. The replacement was my old nemesis from kindergarten.

I'm still dangerously low on "guest professor" suggestions for these Weekend Assignments, so I ask again: please, please, please, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE email me some new ones. I warn you, I will continue adding another please to the previous sentence each week until someone suggests something. Save us from the invasion of the pleases!

Karen

A Fool for Dogs

It's no secret that my lifelong obsession for dogs has grown over the past year. This blog has reflected that in the number of dogcentric entries. Today I decided to just go with it, not just in my blog, but in my life in general.

Since the economy is so obviously and greatly improved, I expect to be employed imminently, perhaps doing accounting for PetSmart. The dogs won't have me around as much, so today I adopted more dogs to keep them company. Let me introduce them:

This is Cinnamon! She's a little standoffish, like Pepper was, but we're working on that.

And here's Clove. He's very energetic and kinetic, friendly and playful.

This is Raw Sugar, aka the Natural or Natty. She is aristocratic and shy, but a tramp underneath.

Here's Cayenne with Saffron, the puppy of the family. She likes to run Cay-Cay ragged!

Here's Garlic, the most staid and stuffy of the bunch, but still quite affectionate once she warms up to you. She has bad doggie breath, though.

Last but not least, here is White Cocoa Powder, called Powder for short. I think he resents his new name.

So let's welcome our newest Spice Dogs! The Museum of the Weird just got a lot more crowded, but also much more fun!

Karen

EMPS: A Page for March

For Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #29: Winter Meets Spring, Carly gives us the alternative assignment of designing a calendar page for March. Mine is fairly individual, the sort of thing I might put on a custom calendar rather than one for the general public. See, for me, March is a month of birthdays...

Let's see. My birthday is on the tenth. John's birthday is the 22nd. My brother Steve's is on the 25th. My best friend from college is the 22nd again, my online friend Becky just had hers, and Sara's, I'm pretty sure, is the 21st. Another college friend, Ed, just had his birthday a day or two ago. One of the Whovians, Heather, has hers today. Florinda's birthday is this month, but I've forgotten the details, and there's probably at least one other former March baby I'm forgetting entirely. I've always wondered whether a tradition for June weddings contributes to a glut of March birthdays.

(Setting up this photo: the only thing I bought for this shot was a slice of carrot cake from Safeway. I cloned out the carrot decoration in the icing. The card was a late-arrival for my birthday last week that I just opened tonight. The box and toy dog were from John's birthday present to me last year, representing a promise to buy a dog. Result: Pepper! The candles turned up in a drawer of the china hutch.)

Still, I don't suppose this statistical anomaly is shared by the rest of the calendar-buying population, so here's an alternative page for March, illustrating everyone's favorite silly March holiday. Personally, I don't like St. Patrick's Day even a little bit. I dislike the emphasis on drinking that's a big part of the celebration, or people pretending to be part of a particular ethnic group for a day without honoring that group's non-trivial contributions to the culture, or the pressure to conform to the day's dress code of green shirts or blouses or dresses. I only own one green shirt and I'm pretty sure it doesn't fit. I wore orange today, not to make a statement but because it was at the top of the pile of clean laundry.

(This hat was worn by a parishioner tonight at the St. Patrick's Day supper at St. Michael's. I showed up for a few minutes to take photos, but didn't stay for the food. Too bad, because I really do like corned beef and cabbage a lot. )

Let's finish tonight's entry with a few sunset shots, because I took them today and they're not like my usual ones. This one was taken while driving toward the sunset, bound for the dog park. I got a really late start tonight; it's been a while since the sun's been this low in the sky during the drive over.

And here's a dog park sunset shot. What makes this a little unusual is that I managed to frame one of the Tucson Mountains in the shot. Unfortunately, the chimney of a house across the street on Country Club Road was directly in front of the mountain. So I cloned it out.

Karen

Weekend Assignment #249: Looking Back at 2009

I've been struggling over the last 24 hours to come up with a New Year-themed Weekend Assignment that isn't too lame, and wasn't previously asked by John Scalzi, myself, or the culture at large. I didn't quite manage it, but here's an Assignment that has possibilities for a range of answers from profound to silly:

Weekend Assignment #249: Today is January 2, 2010. Tell us about the most interesting things that happened in 2009, in the world and also in your life in particular

Extra Credit: How did you do on your 2009 resolutions, if any?

Here's mine.

Now that 2009 is over, I'm delighted to say it was a huge improvement over 2008. At the end of that year, George W. Bush was still in office, there was renewed fighting in the Middle East, the future of many businesses was in serious jeopardy, unemployment was rising and I personally had been unemployed for nearly four months. What a difference a year makes!

As knotty a problem as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been, not to mention the intermittent but deadly skirmishes between Israel and its neighbors, I don't think anyone expected much progress toward peace in less than a year. Secretary Clinton's dramatic "3 AM phone call" deal with Israel and Hamass in September changed all that, coupled with President Obama's roundtable discussions with the leaders of Iran and Irag back in April. The strategic redeployment of troops that President Obama promised seems to be working, various Ayatollahs and other leaders have said grudgingly nice things about the new American government, and people across the Middle East are starting to have opportunities to make a living again, resulting in fewer new terrorists. People are still fighting and dying every day, and we still hear of the occasional bombing, but overall things are much better. And we all got a laugh when Hillary threw that guy's shoes back at him.

Lee H. Brown Family Conservation Learning Center at the Reid Park Zoo.
Photo from http://www.tucsonaz.gov/energy/sac.html.

Here in the States, we still have two of the three major car makers, and it looks at though they will continue in business in the long term. I'm looking forward to buying a Ford Cloud someday. Meanwhile, I've passed all four parts of the CPA exam, and my job with Tucson GreenWorks keeps me busy, accounting for all those fixed assets Obama's economic stimulus packages helped to buy, and for the payroll of people now helping to deploy green technology across the country.

On my New Year's resolutions, obviously my biggest ones were to get a job and to pass the CPA exam. Mission accomplished! When it's not too hot, I'm getting a lot of walking in at lunch, and working out evenings, and gradually losing weight. And my new agent has high hopes of placing my novels now that I've actually finished Mages and the book market is picking up.

That was 2009 for me. How did it look to you? Write up your impressions of the year in your blog, with a link back to this entry, and leave a link to your entry in the comments below. I'll be back in a week to post the results. Meanwhile...

For Weekend Assignment #248: What'dja Get?, I asked what you got for Christmas or Hanukkah. Here are excerpts from your responses:

Julie said...

The most interesting was certainly this tablet. I asked for a tablet to use with Photoshop. Paul picked up a really cool one, that does so much more....

Becky said in comments...

While not particularly interesting, these gifts were unexpected. I received two books from my MIL for Christmas. One Patricia Cornwall and one JK Rowling (the Beadle the Bard book). I'm not going to bother to check if I've spelled the authors' names correctly. But could it be possible that after more than 20 years together as a couple, my husband's mother has finally figured out my taste/true wants? THAT is the really unexpected part. ;)

Florinda said...

The most unexpected gift I received this Christmas was one that came in a green envelope that I opened at my mother-in-law's house on Christmas afternoon. My not having a "list" this year affected her too, since she would normally get some of the items on it passed on along to her by Tall Paul, and the two of them must have had some discussions about what she could do about my gift when I had no specific requests to grant.

(Click through to see what this unexpected gift actually was!)

Karen H. (Scobberlotcher) said in comments...

I think my biggest surprise gift was a camera from my hubby. It was one of those items we both said we needed and would get around to getting soon. It was nice that he remembered and took care of it. The best thing about my Christmas was seeing pure, unadulterated joy from my girls (ages 4 and 5) who are at the age where they still see the magic. My four year old kept going back to the hearth to show everyone that the cookies were eaten by Santa, the carrots for the reindeer were also gone and half of the milk in the glass was consumed. I don't think I'll ever forget that.

Mike said...

Well, one that kind of covers both was a game that Jenn gave me. Actually it's three games for the price of one! What a bargain! Yes, I'm doing that on purpose. Why? Well, just look here at the set of games; it kind of makes you talk like that.

(Again, click through to satisfy your curiosity!)

That's it for now! As you start in on those 2009 resolutions, I hope you'll take a little time to look back to the future with me for this Weekend Assignment.A reminder: I'm still running low on ideas here, so I still need your input. What would you like to see as a Weekend Assignment topic? Email me your suggestions (mavarin at aol.com). If I use your topic you'll get full credit and my undying thanks.

Karen

Weekend Assignment #248: What'dja Get?

Most of my recent Christmas-related posts have been of the "uplifting" variety. Let's get a little more crass for this week's Weekend Assignment:

Weekend Assignment #248: What was the most interesting or unexpected gift you received this holiday season?

Extra Credit: What was the most interesting gift you gave this holiday season?

Here's mine. It wasn't the biggest gift (that was the check from my Dad), but it was certainly the most unexpected one. One of the Weekend Assignment regulars, my friend Julie, sent me the 2008 Tor edition of John Scalzi's first book, Agent to the Stars. I've wanted the book for years, ever since reading about the original online version on By the Way and Whatever. I should have ordered the limited edition from Subterranean Press when it came out, but ah, well. I expect money was tight that year, too. I love the cover on the Tor edition, by the way; it's deliciously retro. Thanks, Julie! You brightened my sparse Christmas considerably.

It's hard to surprise people, though, isn't it? For several years now, John has needed a new iPod, because his old one has become less reliable and less Mac-compatible over time. Every birthday and Christmas I've wanted to get him a new one, but he always knew this, and told me not to do it because of the expense. Another problem has always been John's indecision over the costs and benefits of the various models. But this year there was no attempt to surprise John. When my Dad's check came we spent part of the money on an iPod Nano. The choice was partly based on how much flash memory John truly expected to need and the high cost of the IPod Touch, partly on the fact that the Classic line that he sort of preferred was sold out. Problem solved...

...except for the law of unintended consequences. When we went out to Target on December 23rd for the iPod, I wanted to look at external hard drives. John told me not to, and that was enough to tell me what my main non-cash gift this year was. It's no less appreciated, but it's always better when we don't know that it's coming.

My most interesting gift to someone else hardly counts as a gift at all. On Christmas Eve one of my last Christmas shopping stops was at Traders Joe's, where I picked up this very gothic fantasy/SCA packaged Stone Levitation Ale for John. He likes to sample a variety of microbrews, but would probably not have chosen one that was quite this silly-looking. I got it anyway because the label notes that it was a Gold Medal Award winner at the Great American Beer Festival. And it turns out that the reviews for it are quite good.

Your turn! Tell us about your recent interesting or unexpected gifts. Write about this in your blog along with a link back here, and leave a link to your entry in the comments below. I'll be back in a week with a roundup of your responses. Here are the ones from last week:

For Weekend Assignment #247: Home for the Holidays? I asked about your holiday travel plans. Three of you answered:

Julie said...

I have to admit that Paul and I now enjoy spending Christmas day at home. Back in the B.C. (Before Chris) era, I worked in retail and then in radio, which meant very odd hours. I did get Christmas off in retail, but I volunteered to work Christmas at the radio station (sometimes double shifts) because we didn't have any kids. Once we had a child of our own we decided that we would at least spend Christmas mornings at home.

Becky said in comments...

Apparently, there's no place like OUR home for the holidays this year. Christmas is here for the first time since...wait...this is the first time EVER. I had Thanksgiving here one year shortly after we moved in and that was the last time. Hmm. Maybe my cooking isn't as good as I think it is. Back to cleaning up the house in my usual insane panic mode.

Florinda said...

It seems that for much of my adult life, the holidays have involved travel for someone close to me, although more often than not, the person or people in question have traveled to me and my home, even if that wasn't really "home" for them.

That's it for now! I don't expect a big turnout this week, but I'll be thrilled if you can work in a Weekend Assignment in the midst of your inter-holiday activities. Write about the assignment topic in your blog or journal, and include a link back here. Then leave a link to your entry in the comments below. Please don't forget your links! I'll be back in a week to highlight the results.

A reminder: I'm still running low on ideas here, so I still need your input. What would you like to see as a Weekend Assignment topic? Email me your suggestions (mavarin at aol.com). If I use your topic you'll get full credit and my undying thanks.

Karen

Weekend Assignment #247: Home for the Holidays?

Hanukkah starts Sunday night, and Christmas is Thursday. Any minute now, people will start heading elsewhere for the holidays. Karen Carpenter is singing in my head, egging me on to ask about holiday migration patterns:

Will you or a relative wake up in a hotel room on Christmas morning?

From my Picasa album Christmas

Weekend Assignment #247:"There's no place like Home for the Holidays" - or so the song claims. Are you heading "home" to family and friends? Are other family members heading "home" to visit you? Are you heading someplace that definitely isn't home, or perhaps just staying home, with no visitors on your doorstep? In short, what are your holiday-related travel arrangements this year, and is that they way you prefer to spend it?

Extra Credit:Tell us a holiday travel story from yesteryear.

John and I almost never travel at Christmas, and it's been at least four years, probably more, since we had holiday company. Even if money were not an issue this year, we would probably still be staying put this coming week. I'd love to bring my dad and stepmother and brother out here for a visit, but the house is in no condition for that, and neither are anyone's finances.

Pepper is dubious about her future Christmas stocking.

Overall, though, Christmas for the two of us plus the dogs is just about right. In May John and I will have been married for 30 years. We enjoy each other's company, and we aren't big on parties and large gatherings. Oh, I like a smallish, alcohol-free party full of people I know really well, but that's not likely to happen again anytime soon, whether I travel or not. John, on the other hand, probably hasn't attended any party whatsoever in a couple of decades. John's parents are dead, and his sister is we're-not-sure-where. My brother is in Cleveland, my Dad and Ruth are in Wilmington NC, and my surviving aunts and cousins in New Jersey haven't seen me since the 1970s. Clearly, our situation just isn't conducive to holiday family reunions. A low-key holiday at Casa Blocher with John and the dogs isn't terribly exciting, but it's comfortable, and relatively low stress - or would be if it weren't for the whole unemployment thing.

It's A Small World Holiday, 2005

We did get out of Tucson one year, and I think only one, since moving to Tucson in 1986. In 2005 we made it to Disneyland, to see Christmas decorations around the park, reindeer at Big Thunder Ranch, and the seasonal versions of two attractions, It's A Small World Holiday and the Haunted Holiday. I loved the former, but the latter not so much, and a hotel room on Christmas morning is a bit cheerless. Nor was I able to get to church for Christmas mass. Anaheim's St. Michael's Church didn't have anything like a midnight mass, nor much of a schedule on Christmas Day. Disneyland was expected to fill up early, and if I'd gone to church I would not only miss a whole morning at Disneyland but in all probability be unable to get into the part at all for most of the day. Ah, well. I felt a little guilty, but overall it was well worth the trip! I wouldn't want to leave town every Christmas, though. Not even for Disneyland.

Your turn! Tell us about your holiday travel this year or lack thereof, whether you're traveling or someone else is coming in to visit you instead. Write about this in your blog along with a link back here, and leave a link to your entry in the comments below. I'll be back in a week with a roundup of your responses. Here are the ones from last week:

For Weekend Assignment #24: Surprise! I asked about any pleasant surprises for you this year. Four of you answered, but one was for the other meme I piggybacked onto the entry:

Julie said...

So, what was pleasant? Selling a story to a major mystery anthology certainly was. I was also pleased to be invited to The Leap Back 2009.

Suzanne R said in comments...

Your doggies are precious. It's amazing what love can do. This is for Feline and Furball Friday. My link is:
http://suzyq421sphotoblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/feline-and-furball-friday-socksie-and.html

Florinda said...

The best surprise this year is almost certainly our aforementioned new home. We were reasonably content in our old apartment. Although we occasionally talked about finding a new place, we knew there weren't too many rental options in our area that had both the space and pet-friendly policies we needed, so we figured we'd be signing another lease there in October. The opportunity to lease a larger three-bedroom townhome in a nicer area of town for a guaranteed term of 18 months and a reasonable monthly payment came up unexpectedly and was just too good to pass up - so we're very glad we didn't!

Mike said...

I have a few, nothing really special. One has to do with our older car. The car is about eight years old now, and fast approaching the 100,000 mile mark. Well, now that Jenn has a job four miles from home, that magic number may take a little longer to reach.

That's it for now! I don't expect a big turnout this week, but I'll be thrilled if you can work in a Weekend Assignment in the midst of your holiday merrymaking. Write about the assignment topic in your blog or journal, and include a link back here. Then leave a link to your entry in the comments below. Please don't forget your links! I'll be back in a week to highlight the results.

A reminder: I'm still running low on ideas here, so I still need your input. What would you like to see as a Weekend Assignment topic? Email me your suggestions (mavarin at aol.com). If I use your topic you'll get full credit and my undying thanks.

Karen

Winterhaven and Local Luminaries

Tonight, as promised, will be devoted to Christmas displays at private houses, in and out of Winterhaven. I'm afraid the text to accompany the photos will be a bit rushed. I just watched twelve episodes of the BBC series Merlin back to back, which ate up rather a lot of time today, along with three episodes of House. Hey, John led me astray! So I'll have to make my rounds of Robins and other folks tomorrow, and keep tonight's entry brief and to the point.

Here, then, are more scenes from the Winterhaven "dress rehearsal" last night:

Another shot of the dreidel house.

Penguins lobby for Santa to move to the other pole.

Complete with Thurl Ravenscroft singing "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch."

Looney Tunes and other cartoon characters are all over Winterhaven.

A simple message of the season.

This year's local trend: Christmas saguaros with Santa hats!

Our Lady of Guadalupe

I could show you a few more Winterhaven pictures, but you get the idea. Some rely on lots of lights, some on store-bought figures, and some are highly creative and original. Click on any photo to get to my Picasa album of Christmas images.

Good as Winterhaven is this time of year, it doesn't have a monopoly on Christmas houses. There are a number of good ones in my own neighborhood, which leaves me feeling slightly guilty that we haven't the money and drive to put together something nice ourselves. But the most extreme Christmas house in the neighborhood, possibly in all of Tucson, is about a minute's drive from my house. Here it is:

The Big Tree, 2006

From the Picasa album Christmas

It's almost impossible to capture on a digital camera just how big that tree is, especially at night. For this 2006 shot I lightened the heck out of it to try to reveal the upper branches, but they tend to get lost in the digital noise of the night sky.

The Big Tree, 2008. The structure on the left is a house.

Compare the height of that tree with the one story house on the left side of the photo. You can see the line of the flat roof below the Maypole-style canopy of lights. The top of the tree can be seen from at least a block away.

Part of the display below the Big Tree.

And of course there's lot more to this particular display than the tree. The shot above covers maybe half of the ground-level cacophany of lights and figures.

Another neighbor's house. It gets better every year.

Closer to home is this house, which I've photographed a few times over the years. It's modest compared to the house with the Big Tree, but it's really well designed, I think.

That'll do for tonight!

Karen

RRPC: Tucson's Holiday Haven

It's Round Robin time again! This week's Challenge, Round Robin Challenge: Hometown Holiday Decorations, comes to us from RRPC's own Carly of the blog Ellipsis. She asks to see "public holiday decorations around the town you live in." Still stinging from the time a security guard rebuked me for taking photos at a mall, I tried to go for something municipal rather than commercial.

But Tucson isn't the sort of place that gets heavily into public holiday decorations. Oh, inside the malls you get the usual, and there are thousands of private houses that get heavily decorated, but Tucson isn't big on "Christmas time in the city." For starters, it just doesn't have the climate for that sort of thing. And downtown, despite revitalization efforts, really isn't the sort of place one goes to ooh and ahh at the beautiful sights.

Look! A holiday decoration downtown, commemorating snow. Ooh. Ah.

I went downtown anyway. Cayenne and Pepper didn't understand the long detour before we got to the dog park, but they were reasonably patient. And lo and behold, I found public decorations! Besides the light display of a coach and horses at the top of this entry, there were a few paltry snowflakes and such scattered every couple of blocks. They probably would look better after dark, but not significantly so.

Having seen pretty much what I'd expected to see downtown, I took the dogs to Miko's Corner, where the moon hid behind clouds and trees but the sunset was spectacular. Adjacent to the dog park, more or less, is Reid Park Zoo, which is having a holiday night display on weekends from 6 to 8 PM. But the dogs were with me, and I didn't want to spend three or four bucks to take a few photos while the dogs waited in the car. So I drove to Winterhaven instead.

LED lights and a Christmas street lamp display at Winterhaven.

Winterhaven is a neighborhood just north of Ft. Lowell Rd. between Country Club and Tucson Boulevard. It's been around long enough that many of the trees are over a hundred feet tall, and I don't mean palm trees. In Winterhaven, there's a tradition of everyone decorating for the holidays. They don't get 100% compliance, but it's enough of a big deal that approximately 100,000 visitors come from all over the city each year to see the Winterhaven Festival of Lights.

My favorite house display in Winterhaven features a giant dreidel.

Most nights during the official festival period, which this year runs from Saturday, December 13th to Saturday, December 27th, visitors can see the lights only on foot or by trolley or horse-drawn haywagon. There are three drive-through nights (December 16th, 18th and 27th), and that's always bumper to bumper.

Winterhaven residents assemble their display. Enchantment Under the Sea?

But purely by chance, I was there the night before everything started up officially. Most houses were decorated but quite a few were not, and many houses had whole families (or in a few cases just Dad) outside working on their displays. According to the Winterhaven website, the public strings of lights have "gone green" with Tucson Electric Power helping the neighborhood replace 300 strands of traditional bulbs with 0.1 watt LED) lights, reducing energy consumption by over 98 percent the festival's carbon footprint by 30,000 pounds.

One highly-decorated house proclaims itself a "Winter Wonder Land"

The Festival of Lights has been going on every year since 1950. It's free to the public, but they collect donations of cans and cash for the Tucson Community Food Bank. I will have more pictures of individual displays from Winterhaven, and perhaps a few from my own neighborhood, tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, let's see Christmas decorations on other people's hometowns!

Linking List

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

Monica
Family Affair Photography
http://familyaffairphotography.blogspot.com

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mavarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Martha
Menagerie
http://meandering-martha.blogspot.com

Marina **Welcome New Member** - Posted!
Milepebbles
http://milepebbles.blogspot.com

Sandra
Strong Chemistry
http://strongchemistry.blogspot.com

Suzanne R - Posted!
SuzyQ421's Photo Blog
http://suzyq421sphotoblog.blogspot.com

Liz - Posted!
Visual Counterpoint
http://visualcounterpoint.blogspot.com

_rRose
WAIT-NOTYET-MOUNTAIN RIVER WHISPERS
http://wait-notyet-mountainriverwhispers.blogspot.com

Connie - Posted!
Far Side Of Fifty Photos
http://farsideoffiftyphotos.blogspot.com

Wammy - Posted!
The Ellis Family Cincinnati
http://theellisfamilycincinnati.blogspot.com

Sherrie - Posted!
Sherrie's Stuff
http://sherrie-plummer.blogspot.com

Marie - Posted!
Photographs & Memories
http://photographsmemoriestoo.blogspot.com

Valerie **Welcome New Member** - Posted!
Rosemary's Other Baby
http://rosemarysotherbaby.blogspot.com

Gattina - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com

Teena in Toronto - Posted!
It's all about me!
http://purple4mee.blogspot.com


Karen