Resolutions

Instead of making new year's resolutions for myself I thought I'd once again make some helpful resolutions for other people.

Neighbors: Get rid of that new barking dog, the leaf blower and the car alarm. And tone down the American flag decor while you're at it.

Screenwriters Guild members: Hurry up and settle the strike (but be sure to get everything you're asking for). Did you hear the networks are planning a new reality show called "Falling Down with the Stars"?

Presidential Candidates: Watch your backs. You've been campaigning so long already that I'm afraid that some new, more interesting candidate will show up and walk away with the prize. Probably someone who won "Falling Down with the Stars."

Happy New Year everyone! What resolutions would YOU make for other people?

Looking back at 2007

I can explain ... or maybe I can't. These posts seemed to make sense at the time.

Help me learn to pronounce ...

Good friends are like old socks.

When I got home last night I found Jeremy in our pantry ...

Did I mention it was BROKEN?

I was not on vacation.

Twice in my life I've accepted rides to my hotel from men I met on the plane.

I don't bet "exotics" ...

... her job in life was "to be purely decorative"

Sightings

Dec. 24th, 2:33 p.m. -- Congressman John Yarmuth (D-KY) at my favorite wine and liquor store, Party Mart on Brownsboro Road. He was buying wine, but I couldn't tell what kind it was.

Dec. 23rd, 3:03 p.m. -- Republican Leader Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his spouse Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao chatting with Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson (D) at Baxter Avenue Theatres. They were going in to see Charlie Wilson's War.

New traditions

We decided NOT to pout and go with the flow this year and it worked out beautifully.

- No live tree. Tinsel is the way to go.
- We went to the movies and had Chinese food on Sunday instead of Christmas Day.
- We had bagels, lox and potato latkes on Christmas morning.
- Naps, leftovers and the entire Godfather saga on TV rounded out the day.

Remembering Moe

Moe (aka "Moefus") was euthanized at the Cherokee Animal Clinic on December 20, 2007. She was 18 years old at the time of her death.

Born under an abandoned house on Jackson Street in Louisville circa Derby Day 1989, she was a free spirit, an adventurer and an entertainer. She was adopted by her human family a few days after a little girl said, "I dreamed I had a kitten named Moe."

Despite her small size (she never weighed more than six pounds in her entire life) Moe was a fearless hunter of birds and small mammals, spending long summer days in the woods behind her house on Ewing Avenue in the company of racoons, groundhogs, snakes and squirrels. She disliked dogs.

She once took an unannounced 10-day journey on foot from Crescent Hill to the Highlands and back, causing severe distress in her human family and the posting of numerous "LOST CAT" flyers. When asked why she left she said, "Meow (just wanted to see if I could find our old house)." She lost two pounds and suffered sunburned ears as a result of the long trip. She never travelled that far from home again.

She loved ice cream, Purina Cat Chow, and in her later years, Fancy Feast (the chicken varieties). Although she told everyone that her job in life was "to be purely decorative," her many hobbies included shedding, sharpening her claws on antiques and napping. In the months before her death, she learned to sing (Opera) with a strong contralto voice and began wearing her fur in dreadlocks, saying "Why the hell not? I'm old, I can do whatever I want."

She asked that her death notice NOT include the words "went to live on a farm" and that expressions of sympathy go to the North American Songbird Preservation Society ("... to help replace the hundreds I've eaten in my lifetime.")

She leaves behind her loving human family and many, many friends.

All I want for Christmas

All I want for Christmas is peace on earth. Really. Don't you?

I know don't want another "thing" in my life. No sweaters. No socks. No new pajamas. And I have plenty of toys. Most of the time, Babycakes and I try to make a conscious effort to give experiences rather than things. This year we're not exchanging gifts. Besides, we just got a lovely new floor. And we're booked for a trip to Italy this fall.

So if you really, really have to get someone something for Christmas, here are some gift suggestions. Donate some cash to these worthy organizations:

The Center for Women and Families -- engages individuals and community in the elimination of domestic violence, sexual violence and economic hardship through service, education and advocacy. (This is the agency where Babycakes is a director. It's important work. Get out your checkbook.)

InKY Reading Series -- a monthly music and literature event held on the second Friday of the month at the Rudyard Kipling in Louisville, Kentucky. The reading series is a project of InKY, Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. (We love us some poetry, fiction and music. This is grassroots and damn, that's good.)

Appalshop -- a multi-disciplinary arts and education center in the heart of Appalachia producing original films, video, theater, music and spoken-word recordings, radio, photography, multimedia, and books. (I spent my formative years there, honing a craft that is yet to reveal itself.)

I guarantee that none of these gifts will ever end up in a landfill.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

You Are a Tinsel Tree

For you, Christmas is no different than the rest of the year. And this means you do things your own way - and continue to surprise people.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

New floor is here

See the before and after photos.

I think I'll have a martini in his honor

Becky's father died this week and today was the funeral. I've known Becky for a long time and always loved being around her dad. He loved people, told the best jokes and made the best martinis. I'm sure that's why he lived to be 97 years old. Goodbye Jeep, thanks for making the world a better place.