Olympia

• 3 bottles Bridgeport Ebenezer Ale - George & Linda's, Olympia
• 1 bottle Hale's seasonal ale - G & L's
• 2 glasses wine - G & L's
• tasters of various beers - G & L's
  

Christmas Day

• 1 bomber Delirium Noel - home

London and I went to 8 am mass. It was a special time taking him to his very first Christmas mass. Christmas mass always reminds me of the last time I saw mom. Jim, Ken, Michelle, Susan, and I attended Christmas Day mass in Oceanside in 1998 and I remember praying the whole time that she would live. Later that day we drove down to the Oceanside beach area and walked around. It seems that mom went because that's what she wanted to do, although she needed a lot of help. Or maybe she didn't go because she didn't have enough strength. Unfortunately I don't remember it. Anyway, that Christmas was the last time I saw her. I think Ken, Michelle, and I had a really hard time enjoying Christmas for years after that. I think Michelle still does. I've always thought about families who have gone through tragedies during what should be a special time. Susan's cousin's husband's dad died on Thanksgiving in a house fire. How could a person or family ever fully enjoy that holiday again? I look forward to enjoying Christmas again now that London is here, but there will always be that emptiness and knowing that I'll never be able to let go.

Christmas Eve Dinner

• 1 pint Rainier - Mike's Chili Parlor
• 1 pint mhl - Mike's Chili Parlor
• 1 Woodford Reserve bourbon - LRobb's house
• many glasses red wine - home
• many bottles beer - home
• double Vanilla Sex with hot chocolate - home

Tonight was a very special dinner, not only because of the company, but because of the china. This sounds strange, I know, but it's the china that my mom collected - Friendly Village - Ken, Michelle, and I loved giving it to her for Christmas because she loved receiving it. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas we would carefully pull out the various pieces - the teapot, the gravy boat, the butter dish, the sugar dish, the salt and pepper shaker, the serving bowls, the meat platters, the double decker dessert dish, the place settings...there are so many pieces to it. After mom died, Ken, Michelle, and I split it up and I was amazed when I pulled it out today that I had so many pieces of it. Ken and Michelle have just as many. I would like to continue collecting even though china doesn't usually inspire me. I do love this pattern though. It's such a festive and fun holiday pattern; scenes of covered bridges, and snowy-banked streams, and pine trees; the delicate watercolor-type paint evokes a time when everyone traveled by horse-drawn carriages through snowy paths to arrive at their warm and inviting destination. It was the first time we've used this china since my mom died. My guests didn't know this, but I was glad that they were there to enjoy it.

PtE

• 500 ml Pliny the Elder - home
  

12-22

• 1 glass Pavin & Riley shiraz - home
• 750 ml Duvel - home
• 1 glass Elysian Bifrost winter ale - home
• 1 bottle AB American Ale - Fisher-Johnsons
• 1 bottle Fat Tire - Fisher-Johnsons
  

12-21/Winter Solstice

• 2 glasses Pavin & Riley shiraz - home
• 1 pint Elysian Bifrost winter ale - home

The snow has been everywhere for about a week now and I continue to love it. I love the soft whiteness that quiets everything, and the fat flakes that fill the sky. I've always been a snow person. I was always the last one in the house, hours after Ken and Michelle gave up and went in from being cold. Ken was always the first one. I always regretted not taking advantage of my love of snow and learning how to ski or snowboard at an earlier age. We moved to much however! The Bay Area, Kansas, and Georgia are not conducive to snow sports. I did a little when I moved back to SoCal, but it wasn't until moving back up to Seattle that I tried to get re-involved in skiing and snowboarding. I haven't been in years, but cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing have helped curb the desire to go snowboarding. Sledding is also fun! And we live right by the best sledding hill in West Seattle...Charlestown Street hill! It can be dangerous....

Anyway...

I love driving in it, and plowing through large piles of it, and attempting to drive up the various hills around our house, and spinning in it. Everyone's been complaining about it, but not me! I hope it stays around much longer.

Saturday

• 1 liter Bitburger - Probst!
• 1 Jameson's rocks - P & K's
  
• 1 Coke and vanilla vodka - home
  

Friday

• 2 pints Rainier - West 5
• 2 Baileys & Bushmills - home
  

Entourage

• 2 bottles MHL - MnM's
• 3 bottles Jubelale - MnM's

Christmas Mischief

• 2 vanilla sexes with hot chocolate - WS streets
  
• 2 mhl - MnM's
• 1 Beam rocks - MnM's
  

So I invented this Christmas Mischief thing about eight years ago. Just thought'd be a fun idea to get some friends together, mix some drinks, walk around west seattle and look at lights; and cause a little mischief. Tonight was the 8th Annual! Can't believe we've been doing it for eight years. Eight years! Extra cute and special tonight because it was really all about the children's mischief. Caroling, strolling, walking, laughing, and drinking and a way to see it from toddlers' eyes. Good thing too...I'll need someone to continue the tradition in twenty more years.

Tuesday

• 1 bottle of "I don't f'in remember!" :(
  

Snow Day!

• 1 bottle Brrr - home
• 2 pints Rainier - West 5
• 1 Wild Turkey rocks - home

Add a Friend

• 3 bottles Brrr - the Barking Lamb
• 1 egg nog - the Barking Lamb
• 1 Bushmill's & Bailey's - the Barking Lamb

The first friend I really remember having was in 3rd grade. This was in Palo Alto, California and his name was Ken. I don't remember his last name or really anything else about him, (although I could look it up in the my 3rd grade yearbook) but I do think he was kind of a nerd. His family may have been one of the first in the city to own a Radio Shack TRS-80. In 4th grade I had two friends whom I hung around with named Kirk (whatwashislastname?) and "Tiger" Rodriguez. Tiger's real name was Paul, but everyone called him Tiger and I'm not sure why. I really looked up to him. He wore cool clothes and I remember the way he tucked his shirt into his jeans showed off his homemade embossed leather belt. I also had another friend named Peter who was a bit of a nerd. He was into Battlestar Gallactica and all the other science fiction shows and movies (which I wasn't into). Peter was also a "softy", whereas Tiger and Kirk were solid; they always had something going on and were interested in doing things. In third grade I had heard about sex, but it seemed kind of a strange thing, so one afternoon in the back of my 4th grade classroom while the teacher was teaching, I looked it up in the encyclopedia and found it to be true. After school I told Kirk and Tiger about my findings and Kirk immediately offered up his family's Encyclopedia Brittanica's for further research. We huddled in his family's den with the EB opened up to "SEX" and read all about it. We were really fascinated! And that's the kind of stuff Tiger, Kirk, and I liked to do. Peter wasn't that type of friend.

I've had many friends through the years - in many different cities and states. Some have been short-lived acquaintances, others have started strong, only to fade away, and others have grown slowly over time. Since the Internet, friendships that I have thought to be lost, have resurfaced. It's wonderful to connect with a person with whom you once shared interests. It's amazing really.

I can have friends for different reasons. There are "movie" friends, or "artsy" friends, or "beer" friends, or "I need someone to talk to" friends, or "you're fucking funny" friends, or a combination of some of the above. It is so rare to find a person who really satisfies all of what a friend can be. Of all my friends that I have known and that I still remain friends, no one knows everything about me. That might seem like a strange thing to say, but I guess if you had been friends with a person since say, age 5, you really might know most everything about that person. My sister is really the only person that knows more about me than anyone. Anyway, some friends know things about me that I would never tell others, some friends know me so well that I don't have to tell them anything.

This post isn't really going in the direction that I had intended, but it had been rolling around in my head because tonight was our Urban Fam Secret Santa Gift Exchange and it only reaffirmed that I have a great group of close friends who are wonderful to be around. They make the world a better place. And if any one of you ever needs information on sex, you know who to ask. ;)

11:09

• 1 bomber Full Sail Barleywine - home
• 1 bottle Brrr - home

Japanese Maple - 11:09 pm

12-12-08

• 1 shot Jim Beam - Corner Pocket
• 2 cans Guinness - Maggie's
• 1 glass red wine - Maggie's
  
• 1 shot Jack Daniels - home
• 1 Jim Beam - YWV
• 3 cans PBR - YWV (but took one to Admiral Pub)
  

12-11

• zero
  

Prost! 2

• 1.5 liters Bitburger Pils - Prost!
  

Prost!

• 1 liter Spaten Lager - Prost! West Seattle
• 1 bottle Brrr - home
  

Monday

• 1 glass Duck Pond Cab - home
• 1 bottle Brrr - home

I am so tired of speed limits. Everywhere I drive I just want to go my own speed. I don't wanna worry about looking at the stupid speedometer and having to slow down or adjust my speed or look out for cops or slow down for pedestrians. California Avenue should be at least 40 mph, the West Seattle Bridge should be 60 mph, as should the Viaduct. Downtown Seattle streets should be 40, SODO should be 45 and the 5 should be about 70 outside of Seattle. It's getting to the point where I don't even care and I'm just going to go the speed that I think I can drive safely. So there!

Brrr...

• 1 Brrr bottle - home