Uncle Red

DG has his dear uncle Richard, who has led a colorful life including being dragged backwards down a hill on a hay-baler and ending up in the bottom of a pond. I have uncle Red, who I ran into in Louisville the other day. He is working at a local restaurant for a couple of months. (WC: I have found a couple of new options for next fall's Louisville convention.) Red has led a colorful life, you never know what kind of work you will find him doing next or where he will be doing it. It was nice to talk to him for a few minutes, maybe I will see him again next fall.

TR

I am leaving the obvious for your comments; dear uncle Red, I never know what he will do next.

Ah!

Here I am on the beach in San Diego, ah! DG had email yesterday from a friend who is spending two weeks on a warm sunny Island, she told him to think tropical thought. It sound like a way to cope with a long nasty winter. So here I am, thinking warm tropical thoughts. TR

Cold, snowing, nasty

The weather was cold and snowing today. At times like this I remember the warm summer days in Yorkshire. The good old days!

TR

One of those days

Everyone seemed to make about as much sense as this sign outside a supermarket in Portsmouth England did.

TR

Walk up, slide down

I found this stirway to play on someplace in DC last fall. It is a long walk up those steps, but a fun slide down the hand rail. Find something fun to do this weekend!

TR

Dirty Birds

Boy am I glad that the flock around here is cleaner than the nasty flighted birds on the rocky Pacific coast were. It must be that they can't swim underwater like a real bird. TR

Fish

There are lots of old traditions about good foods and good luck in the New Year. In many cultures having a pigs assured a steady supply of food in the coming year, so being able to have ham for New Years was a symbol of hoped for prosperity. Along came the French with Champagne, I don't know what it is a symbol of, but it is fun. In seafaring cultures the symbol is frequently some form of fish, sardines, krill, tuna . . . I really am not very fussy, with all this water there must be fresh sushi around here someplace. TR

The anointing of the fruit cake

You know it is Christmas when DGs family pulls out the bottles of booze. No not to deal with the stress, though that has been contemplated, to anoint the fruitcake. Fruitcake is horribly misunderstood and mistreated in this country. It is not really a cake; it is a desert of candied and preserved fruits and nuts. Done well, it is very-very good and should not be ridiculed. DG’s mother has been making fruit cake for about 30 years. Make fun of fruit cake in this house at your own risk. Adding a little extra booze is always a sign that Christmas is upon us. Make sure you have a designated driver before indulging in Mom’s fruit cake.

Merry Christmas,

TR

Up a Tree

I really don't understand what some birds see in trees. Hanging out waiting for Christmas.

TR

Subversive

Access to Travel Penguin by state employees at work has been blocked by the security people at the Commonwealth. It must be all of the subversive content, or maybe the Queen got in touch with them about Scotland, I knew it would catch up with us sooner or later.

TR

Dreaming of a white Christmas

Old friends dropped by to say hi and we gathered around the tree to enjoy some old favorite Christmas carols. Merry Christmas from TR and WH

In search of a virgin

After four hours of trying to get email to work on a new Windows Vista machine we decided it was time for desperate measures. Fortunately shortly after prostrating ourselves before the oracle things started to work. Just to be safe, we are still looking for a sacrifice.

TR

Tag From http://hiddenmahala.blogspot.com/

Seven random and little known things about me:

1) I was hatched in China

2) I have a back-up twin (just in case.)

3) I have been fished out of an alligator infested swamp in Florida

4) I once fell in the rocks along the Mediterranean in Italy (close call.)

5) I never travel alone

6) I have an increasing balance problem and have to have my tail adjusted from time to time

7) I love sushi

TR

The Captain said, “Welcome aboard Comrade”

Here I am in the ward room of a Russian submarine. My family has a long and distinguished underwater history, but this was the first time on a Russian sub, I can’t tell you where this was taken, well I could, but then my comrades might come looking for you and we wouldn’t want that now would we?

TR

Hotel Del Coronado

One of my best friends is form Coronado Island, now I know why he left. Pretty place, nice classic hotel, but a bird oculd waste away to nothing around here.

TR

Seals

It was really quite amazing to find seals on the beach near San Diego. If I spent more time in the wilds, seals might concern me, but my ocean crossings have been by air or boat, and seals are not much of a threat from 38,000 feet or when you are safely ensconced in a container ship. Here they kept them well cordoned off on the children's beach. No children around, kind of makes me wonder of the Mom's horror stories had some merit.

TR

Awakened by the sound of footsteps overhead

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Clement Clarke Moore
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;The children were nestled all snug in their beds,While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.Away to the window I flew like a flash,Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, Not reindeer, nor penguins, nor Santa himself, but a van full of Mexicans to finish my roof.

There will not be raindrops falling on the head of this little penguin.

TR

Tower Bridge

Kell sent out one of those proverbial 10 things you never knew about me email forward and reply things. There was a question about where have you been and where would you like to be. Tower Bridge in London would be fun.

TR

A woodchuck, a hamster and a penguin go into a bar

with a penguin security detail.

You should have heard the three of us trying to explain this gathering of furry and feathered creatures to the three RV dealers at the next table. They were last seen shaking their heads and ordering a couple more rounds, wondering why they asked, and why France?

A great time was had by all the furry and feathered creatures.

TR

Only in California!

It is a good thing I don't spend much time in California.

TR