Careful what you wish for

Just in - Wish lists for nephews:
Ian is 81/2 and Eric is turning 7 this month.

You asked for it--here they are--Christmas lists for Ian and Christmas and birthday list for Eric. Ian Star Wars Clone Commander Blaster Bib Buck Huner PPO video game Mindflex Lego Star Wars Pirate Tank Up (the movie) EA Sports sureshot soccer/hockey Dart Belt Blater or Tommy 20 Dart shooter Nerf Lazer tag 2 player battle system--Ian really wants this Nerf N-Strike Vulcan Blaster Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Movie Star Wars TV game All Harry Potter movies except #2 (we have that one) All Harry Potter books except # 3 (have it) Sapce Police Gold Heist If possible (note the whimsical wishing) a Wii! Scavenger Hunt for Kids (by University Games Corporation) Uberpult (game by Patch) Tri-Spy (game by Fat Brain Toy Co) Wobble Deck Gamewright Boochie Zome Tool-Crazy Bubbles Doinkit Darts Original Fart Machinge Yodelling Pickle Lego Star Wars 7676, 8039, 7751, 7675, 7674, 8018 digital camera Eric Disgusting Science Kit Tri-Spy (game byFat Brain Toy Co) Uberpult (Patch) Scavenger Hunt for Kids (University Games Corportation) Ice Age 3 movie River Crossing; The Perilouse Plank Puzzle (game) Ultra Stomp Rocket Moon in My Room (by Uncle Milton) Hexbug (robotic bug) Magic Science (by Scientific Explorer) Illustory (create your own book) diary Original Fart Machine Solar Deluxe Educational Kit (Elenco) Lego Star Wars 8036 (on sale at Target) Lego Star Wars 8036, 8037, 8019, 7752, 7680

Distractions

It's not even 7 in the morning on my one day off and I am sitting here cutting out tiny little houses.

I am on the computer to find out what spices go into Cream of broccoli soup and to get ideas on how to adapt it to my food intolerances.
But, here I am, finished with one house and cutting out Martha's next.

I was reading through recent posts on blogs I follow when I found these little gems.

Too many things to do and not enough time. Just thinking of all of the different embellishments one could do to these tiny houses. Oh boy.


If you have a full list of things to do today - link over here and get your schedule derailed.
twelve22 has this house on a free PDF that you can print out.

Ramblin' Rocket

Did I mention that Rocket likes to visit his friends every so often?
Did I mention his entire brain is encased in his big lab nose?
Did I mention he's a male dog and really enjoys the marking of his territory.

He has a route.

All the dogs on the street have to sniff and pee on a spot that I call the library. The library is a huge crabgrass circle about two feet in diameter halfway down the street.

My dogs spend a lot of time reading this spot.
And - after they are satisfied with the reading, they lift their leg and pee on top of everyone else.

Last night, Rocket took off after dinner as if he had an appointment or another dinner party to attend. He stumbled in hours later, tired out, barely able to manage the one step into the house. Obviously, a hard nights work for this nine year old dog.

He maintains friendships at the trailer park beyond the pond, behind the Christmas tree farm where the renters live, and likes to sashay by Mabel's house just to see if she'll get hoppin' mad that he is outside and she is trapped inside.

He's always been a wandering dog. He has houdinied himself off the chain using his thumbs to unscrew the chain lock mechanism. He can slip a collar every time and we have never been able to make him carry his id.

Next time -- I am so getting a female dog.

Adsense Ads and Blogs and writing a journal

Okay - I admit to being fascinated by the whole Blogger Adsense thing.
This is where you get paid when people click on one of the ads. An advertising thing.

I could get paid for writing really rambling blogs about nothing of consequence.

Every time I post, ads immediately pop up over on the sidebar pertaining to what I just wrote.

I just wrote about my son's pet ferret and, of course, I was also thinking of making ferret gifts for Christmas (COMING UP!). I look over at the sidebar after posting - and  there are three ads for ferret gifts.
I clicked on one - and there was $0.35 in my account. Amazing. (disclaimer: Blogger says I cannot click on my own ads. They say they will pull my blog if I do so (in an effort to get paid more).
But - I was interested in the ad - I found a photo of something I could make out of polar fleece for Miss Luna to play in or sleep in. A great gift idea.

Really - there is a secondary fascination with the ads I see and those ads that my friends see.  They are completely different.

I believe the ads are based on the cookies on YOUR computer plus the hyperlinks I throw in plus the tag words.
Totally fascinating.

For now.

Cascade Warbirds Calendar

Cascade Warbirds photographer John Clark has teamed up with fellow members  Al Sauer and Lyle Jansma to produce a calendar displaying their best CWB  aircraft shots from 2009.

Calendars will be available to purchase at this year's Christmas Party but  can can also be pre-ordered by contacting Lyle Jansma  or his website. The price will be $10.00 with a portion of the  proceeds to be donated to the Cascade Warbirds. It is hoped that with  sufficient interest in the project, we will be able to make the production  of this calendar an annual event.

Note from Kathy: Getting more information. Cover is gorgeous.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

 

I've made these for our Christmas Bazaar for years. They make wonderful gifts as most people cannot resist the combination of chocolate with that little zip of salt.

This year I bought a Wilton Chocolate Pot that melts the chocolate and keeps it warm for dipping.
I bought it with my 40% off coupon here.

The only downside to the pan? It's made of aluminum that when weighed down by the chocolate and you pick it up by the handle -- the handle bends. Knowing that - you don't pick up the pan by the handle.

It does a great job of keeping the chocolate at the right temperature for coating pretzels. I am using chocolate melties sold in the bulk bins here at the Clackamas location. I used some of the bulk pieces of dark chocolate  for my peppermint bark and that worked as well.
  Overall - I like this pan and my old way of using the double boiler - being careful to keep the water condensation from reaching the chocolate is over. The microwave works with pyrex but if the pyrex gets too hot, it will break in half. This pan seems fairly foolproof.

Yummy.

Who is Luna?

Luna is a character in the Harry Potter books.

Extremely smart but a bit barmy. Very cute.

She is a ferret.

Here are two videos:
step 1: Use your mouse to hit the play button below. This will take you to the smilebox site where the videos will load.
Step 2: You'll want to hit the 'plus' sign to see the second video.

Make a Smilebox slideshow