leaning into the curve

wet winter road, and ivy

racing her little brother (and winning)

fake daguerreotype*

*Daguerreotype: Early photographic process. Fake: I made it with an iphone app.

someone's coming

mid-winter palm tree

ho ho ho (2)

Update on the Christmas food prep: Winner so far is the red wine, heavy cream, and roasting pan sauce.

so why again are we doing the good deeds?

This is an interesting read: Ricky Gervais on god, science, atheism, and being a good person. For a continued conversation the paper added this section: Ricky taking questions from readers.

ho ho ho

Ups and downs in the Swedish-American Christmas food prep:

Turkey: Definite up. Roasting breast side down for 45 minutes, then breast side up until it's done. Basting with butter and honey and an improvised spices combo. Stuffed with oranges.

Snickerdoodles: Definite up. Extremely tasty. Heavy on the butter. Yum yum yum.

Saffron bread: So-so. I'm not a fan of dry yeast, and I haven't been able to find any fresh yeast this year.

Gingersnaps: The dough is the best part. Absolute up for the dough. Cookies baked unevenly. So-so.

Sill: Best of Abba, and IKEA.

Chocolate: Truckloads.

Deconstructed Christmas tree: Definitely up. Pictures to follow.

shame on you

One thing Christians learn in December is that we should open our doors to those who need shelter. I remember the lesson from a book read to my class in grade school. The title of the book was 'Mary's Donkey', and the story was told from the perspective of the donkey carrying Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Each night the little group would look for shelter, and each night they would be turned away. Our teacher would read a section every day all through December, and the lesson for us kids was clear: Do better. Open your doors. Let people in.

Mexican American immigrants in California celebrate Las Posadas in December. Las Posadas is an enactment, over several days, of Mary's and Joseph's journey from house to house. They are repeatedly turned away, until finally they are let in at a house at the end of each day's procession. At that house there is a party with food, music, and candy for the kids.

The DREAM Act was a bill that would have provided a chance for children of undocumented immigrants to earn citizenship in the United States. The bill proposed that if you were brought to the US as a child, and if you completed at least two years of higher education or military service, you would earn the right to apply for a green card, and ultimately citizenship.

The DREAM Act was voted down by the Senate today.

It's a week before Christmas, in a country where no politician dares say they don't believe in God. Christians vote against core Christian values, in the middle of the holiest of seasons. And think nothing of it.