Christmas Cards

For a while there it seemed doubtful, but I do finally have most of our* (very late) Christmas cards mailed out. There are two or three yet unclaimed, so if you'd like one, send me your address and I'll make it happen! If I sent you a card last year, you're on this year's list.

As is traditional, here is last year's card, with which I was particularly pleased (click to see the larger version):

In the great trajectory of my cards getting weirder and more obscure, this one marked a new high point.  I found the image below as I was searching for the card to post; the reference is Mucha's Princess Hyacinth:



Here are cards from:

• 2010
• 2009
• 2008
• 2007

*Yes, our! My bicycle only makes an appearance in the postage stamps, but David and the kitties are in this one. Eeps!

Thanksgiving

This year, I'm thankful for:

-David's family, who hosted Thanksgiving here today and invited my family
-My family, including my mom and P&T,who were here; my talented and beautiful siblings, who were here only in spirit; and my dad, who's in Indiana with his parents
-My SIX living grandparents
-Living within easy driving distance of both of our families
-My wonky, charming house and mushroom-filled yard
-My sweet kittens, even Pobbes, who destroyed another (silk, a gift transported from India) scarf this week
-Scarves, Capilene longies, and SmartWool socks
-My two online classes and the technology that lets me teach remotely
-My phone, on which I'm tapping this
-My few, but tenacious, readers here

Happy Thanksgiving!

Model

I heard the following blurb on NPR this morning:

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:
Good morning. I'm Linda Wertheimer. Leading with a great pair of legs helps to make it as a model. And apparently, being a 72-year-old granddad doesn't hurt. Liu Xianping advised his granddaughter on her fashion business and thoughts on mix and match, then he modeled the look. The photos went viral. Sales skyrocketed. Here's how to get the look. Pile on the layers and lace and his signature thigh-high red stockings. It's MORNING EDITION.

 Buzzfeed provides some excellent images from the online boutique and the following quotes:

Liu's granddaughter on how the whole thing began:

He picked up one piece and tried to give some advice on how to mix and match. We thought it was fun so we started shooting.

Via: offbeatchina.com

Liu's awesome quote about his modeling:

Why [is it] unacceptable for someone like me to wear women’s clothes? Modelling for the store is helping my granddaughter and I have nothing to lose. We were very happy on the day of the shooting. I’m very old and all that I care about is to be happy.

This definitely makes me to be happy.

Rainbow

Guess who posed this picture?

Today we went for a hike in the rain! We made it most of the way to Tamanawas Falls, but had to turn back before it got too dark. We also found quite a lot of mushrooms, including the elusive and highly prized matsutake (two of them! They smell like cinnamon when cut--or, in my opinion, radishes).

Then I made Thai pizza and we played Bang!--a relaxing and restorative Sunday afternoon.

Twilit

Tonight a whole crew of us--four girls and three guys--went to see the new Twilight movie. It wasn't awful; their highest budget to date (I can only assume) didn't hurt at all, and neither did my movie theater nachos. I only discovered movie theater nachos a year or two ago, and they're now one of my favorite guilty pleasures.

Also: David's home!