Parking Lot Pickles

 

"Don't forget to relish the moment."

~Unknown

As you know, I live in Stockton, California. Well, from time to time, on any given day, even the casual passerby, may see a random object sitting in a random parking lot, and the object spotted will have NOTHING to do with anything in particular. In other words, it will all be deliciously, random! Like this Costco sized jar of Mt. Olive Kosher Dills. The day I spotted it, it was just there, in a stall, at Starbucks. Hmmm... pickles and coffee? Now I ask you, who orders a Starbuck's beverage, and chases it down with a pickled condiment?

Oh Barista...

 VT

 Pike's Place

 Decaf

 Caramel Macchiato

 with

Coconut milk

 Extra whip

 Caramel ribbon

 and

 Cinnamon Dolce Sprinkles

With 6 Stevia packets

And a Mt. Olive Kosher Dill Pickle, warmed.

And can you put it in a bag? Umm, the pickle, not the coffee.

Imagine the possibilities.

Wars And Rumors Of Wars... On Christmas! And The Real Battle!

"Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves."

~Eric Sevareid



I have been waiting a long time for this rant. Three months from today will be Christmas Eve. I love Christmas Eve, perhaps more than I love Christmas Day! Alan and I have some traditions, all our own, that I look forward to all year! First we get up and have a light breakfast, then he leaves to finish up his last minute holiday shopping. Actually, it's not so much getting that last minute shopping done, so much as Alan Alone Time. LOL. It's fine, he more than deserves it. He works really hard, and he spoils me rotten, so how could I begrudge him some alone time?

I couldn't!

Last year we had presents under the tree. And the decorations looked lovely. But I felt NO spirit at all. I wasn't the least bit interested, even though I tried really hard to pull myself into the joys that surrounded me. Alan wasn't much in the mood either. You see, just about ten days before Christmas last year, the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting happened. In the days that followed, the country could have come together as one, and to a good degree it did, except for the powers that be at the NRA! Why one interest group holds more power then the whole of the American people, I will never understand, but there it was... December 21st... 2012... and Wayne LaPierre vowing to do nothing to change gun policies to make things safer for our children, or for the person next to us. On Christmas Eve, instead of finishing up my own last minute joys, like baking cookies, or phoning friends to wish them a merry holiday, I spent my time crying for those lost children, and worrying about whether Alan was safe out in the world.

I hate being afraid.

It pisses me off.

So, the Sandy Hook shooting took place on December 14th of last year, on December 17th of last year I saw the above item, Old Carbine Tequila, for sale at Costco! Still on the shelf, still prominently displayed! Because nothing says MERRY CHRISTMAS like a shotgun shaped Tequila bottle, with a couple of free shot glasses included! Guns and Alcohol. Don't it go down smooooooooth? Goddammit! I wasn't over grieving for those the little ones, or the brave adults lost at Sandy Hook, before I saw that ridiculous Christmas gift idea in the aisle at Costco, and my tears turned to anger. With grieving, you have anger, it's built in. It's almost to be expected, but I couldn't believe Costco couldn't see how completely tacky that particular items was! Then, a few days later, December 21st came, and along with it, that stupid NRA press conference, vowing to do NOTHING! No, worse, vowing to fight any attempt to make things safer!

:::::::SILENCE::::::

Here we sit, almost a year later, and still nothing has been done.

Political JackASS Bill O'Reilly loves to falsely claim there is a "war on Christmas." How dare people wish someone a "Happy Holiday" rather than "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Year, after year, the same exact bullshit! With nothing to back it up! His ire has nothing to do with God! It has everything to do with firing up his audience, the ones who gave up thinking for themselves a long time ago. The cowards who need a radio program to tell them how to feel. Money. Greed. Ratings is the King. If Bill O'Reilly were genuinely offended by the lack of Christmas, it wouldn't be about a greeting, it would be about making sure that NO child is ever killed 10 days before Christmas... or at any time... ever again... because of the worshiping of a false idol such as the gun.

When a weapon is held in higher regard than human life... it has become a false idol.

Period.

So, is there a war on Christmas? You bet there is! To win it, you have to put your weapon down, and think about your fellow man!

And by the way, Christmas isn't over commercialized. It is EXACTLY AS COMMERCIALIZED AS YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE IT! YOU CONTROL WHAT YOU PURCHASE, SO STOP SPREADING THAT CRAP!

Happy Holidays To You And Yours! I kinda dig the Holiday Tree.. don't you? :)



“Nor is it the spirit of those Christians - alas, they are many - whose ambition in life seems limited to building a nice middle-class Christian home, and making nice middle-class Christian friends, and bringing up their children in nice middle-class Christian ways, and who leave the sub-middle-class sections of the community, Christian and non-Christian, to get on by themselves.

The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor - spending and being spent - to enrich their fellowmen, giving time, trouble, care and concern to do good to others - and not just their own friends - in whatever way there seems need.”

~J.I. Packer, Knowing God

Mood: Reflective/Sad

~Me :)

If "If's and But's" Were Candy And Nuts

If "if's and but's" were candy and nuts, wouldn't it be a Merry Christmas?"

-Don Meredith

I know, I know, it hasn't even been a week since Halloween came and went, and here I am, writing about... YIKES... Christmas! Well, what can I say? I haven't done even a little bit of shopping for the holiday, which is odd for me, because I usually start sometime around Valentine's Day. It's just that this has been an odd, busy, sometimes depressing year for me. The first of the year got off to a rocky start, and I was reeling from that when everything else started happening. I had a lot of situations occur that either hurt me, or caused me stress, and sometimes the rare event took place that actually caused me both! But things have begun to calm down now. I don't know, autumn tends to put me at ease. Or who knows, maybe I have started to heal a bit, but in truth, I wonder if I will heal completely one day from all of what 2007 was about, I wish there were fixed time lines for such things, but there just aren't, so, what's a girl to do? :)

Well, she celebrates! Thanksgiving is in just a few weeks, the evidence of which is that Lucky has 10 cans of Ocean Spray Cranberry sauce on sale for $10.00! I LOVE Cranberry Sauce. As soon as the Halloween decorations came down in the stores, the Christmas decorations have gone up! Alan and I have been clearing out our storage room, and making room up front for our Christmas tree, and I have been window shopping for menorahs for Hanukkah, although I am thinking of visiting a nearby glaze shop to make my own, It's something I think I might like to do for myself. This year we will be eating not just Kosher for the holiday, but diabetic friendly as well. Yum.

So, with all this happening, how can I not be thinking about Christmas! Yes, Christmas. I have a few ideas for what I want to put on my list to send to Santa. I mean, it's been a really difficult year, and I am still standing. I have been really diligent about taking my medicine, and checking my blood sugar and I am so sane now, that I actually graduated therapy! So, do you suppose I have made my case for asking Santa to bring me the Victoria's Secret Fantasy Bra and Accessories? I mean just look at it. A Bra, thong, barrette, garter and cuff bracelet that add up to a fabulous $4.5 million worth of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and yellow sapphires. Awwwww! Diamonds are a girl's best friend, but I can be pals with rubies too. :)

I made the offer last year, that if some super rich Internet Mogul would buy me the 2006 Fantasy Bra, I would model it here on Ellipsis. But, drat the luck, no super rich Internet Moguls apparently read my little blog. Like I said, drat the luck. I like wearing naughty little undergarments on Christmas Eve. It makes me feel all girly, and puts a bounce in my step. You know, being out shopping in my proper walking around clothes, with something shameful underneath, and no one knows but me. ;) And occasionally Alan, if he's a good boy. Tee Hee. It kind of takes the sting out of the curse of Christmas Eve. You remember that right? That's the one where a total stranger calls me a BITCH for no apparent reason. This will be year 19 I believe. :)

Oh well, there are one or two other items I could use, like a new vacuum and a crepe pan, but then there is that cute little animated penguin I saw at Costco. And the nifty backyard telescope for taking better pictures of the moon, and the meteor showers in August. Oh, I know, doesn't everyone need a talking decapitated Elvis head that sings? And oh my yes, that gorgeous 3 strand pearl necklace. Oh my... yes! Purrrrrrrr. Pearl is one of my birthstones, Alexanderite being the other one. I have the perfect little black dress to wear with it. :) SMILES, and SMILES. Of course a new IPOD would be good, as would some SIMS expansion packs.

Actually, it's all good. In truth, I am not a terribly materialistic girl, it only takes one time being robbed to cure one of that. In fact, not only do I not care that much about stuff, that I finally get what my parents meant, when I was a young girl and I would ask them what they wanted for Christmas. They would frustrate the heck out of me by replying, "Oh nothing really, I have all that I want." How could that be? Well, now I know. I have reached the age where I have almost all that I ever really wanted, so who needs one more thing to keep track of, unless it's diamonds... right? WINK! And as for the rest, you know, those unresolved feelings in my slightly damaged heart, well, "If "if's" and "but's" were candy and nuts, it would be a Merry Christmas."

-OndineMonet