Twas the week before Christmas...

... and all through the town,
The traffic was light, it was safe to drive now.
The students were home, nestled fast in their beds.
Their parents could worry about parties instead [of us].

Though shopping was stressful, and work hard to manage,
It was always a given that it would soon all be finished.

And as offices closed down, and gifts were all fine,
A deep sigh was heard...I'll have the Cabernet.

Merry Christmas to all. If you celebrate the Christ part, go with that. If you celebrate the federal holiday, excellent. Otherwise, it is simply the appropriate greeting of my people.

Take it in that spirit. See you all on the flip, MAYBE with the long promised knitting pictures. (I forgot and wrapped the pieces before I photographed them.)

Sigh. Dumb ass.

P.S. This is a hard closing. My one good friend, who I have known for nearly 20 years here, is retiring, effective 12/31, but actually at COB today. It will make my job exponentially more difficult. But I'm delighted for her. Every night will now be Friday, and every tomorrow, Saturday, for her.

Ignorance is bliss.

... last year I was bemoaning the fact that the knitting elves had deserted me.

This year the knitting elves actually made their appearance early and have disapparated [sic: Harry Potter]. Do I have photos? Nope. I was feeling so sanguine about no more Christmas knitting, that I woke up one morning this week and suddenly realized that it was about a week before Christmas, and "ulp" I didn't have gifts that I needed to actually purchase. I had not ONE Christmas decoration scattered around. I still had shorts in my drawers, and my woolies in cardboard boxes piled up in the spare bedroom... (and it's cold here now...like in the 20s and 30s).

Unfortunately, I have to physically drag my sorry butt to stores tonight (in addition to some weekly grocery and wine (must. get. wine.) shopping) because tomorrow we have this arriving....

The National Weather Service has forecast that University Park will receive between 3 and 5 inches of snow during the day on Saturday, Dec. 19. As a result, the Office of Physical Plant (OPP) has declared a midnight clear for Saturday night. This means that there is no parking in any surface parking from midnight to 7 a.m., with some exceptions.

The good news is that most of the students will be gone for break. The bad news is that those of us who waited for them to clear out will be SOL.

And in an installment of "What Was He Thinking?"-- I'm trying to figure out how this idiot thought he would never get found out.....He is one of the most recognizable people on the planet. Am I surprised that he is a horn dog? No. But how arrogant can you be to think that it would remain a "secret" forever? I hope his soon-to-be-ex wife takes him to the cleaners.

Still working on the sister-in-law ornament to be mailed Monday.....what was I thinking????

Hopefully, photos Monday. Snow makes for lovely photography.

Too good to pass up...

I know, that no one really cares what goes on here. Seriously, we're just a pimple on the butt of an elephant.

But sometimes, the bizarre just has to be shared:

Crow Wars

OK, the crows are a nuisance. And if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, Hitchcock's The Birds seems tame by comparison (ask me how I know this), but hearing and seeing the pyrotechnic flashes on cold winter nights, is weird. But heck...we can't shoot 'em. That would upset the eco-system, wouldn't it? Never mind MY eco-system. I also really like how they are lighting the area of the campus where they WANT them to go. How is that a sustainable use of energy?

Sigh. I couldn't make this up in a million years.

P.S. Read the comments...

Slight of Hand

This little bit of news hardly made a ripple:

State College & Johnstown Among The Safest Places To Live

You will notice that State College is #1 on this list. If you look at the crimes that were considered:
murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft, it's no wonder. No public urination, no drunk and disorderly, no DUI, no disturbing the peace and throwing items off of balconies, or jumping/falling from said balconies. Without those there would be nothing for the police to do here. So there you have it. As long as you stay away from drunk men in need of facilities, you're golden (no pun intended).

This while the town council is trying to figure out how to pass an ordinance that will make the hosts of parties responsible for damage their "guests" might do. The ACLU seems to think this is unconstitutional because it would inhibit .... are you ready for this ..... religious or political meetings. Those wild and crazy Baptists, I'm sure they're staggering down local streets after prayer meetings.....who knew?