Precipice - Searching for the Tree of Blood

Precipice - Tuesday December 3rd 2002, 8:35pm

"From the golden-furred wonton, of course", I said. He expressed disbelief. I countered, "Of course, silly. Surely you read about the effect of the cultural revolution and Mao's creation of giant, state-run wonton farms on the social fabric of the small mountain villages?"

Jeff and I went to Best Food in Town, our local Chinese restaurant for our usual wonton soup, General Tso's chicken, steamed rice and extra vego noodle dish for me.

I'd read him a couple of Chicago Wench's entries, in particular this one.

As he handed me the parcel of food, I mentioned to him that the "Chicken" wontons he likes are actually pork

"Not golden furred?" he deadpanned.

Smart arse journallers and smart arsed husbands, this is what I like.

~~~

Sunday night is our clean sheet night, not every week mind you (eww!), but it's nice to start the new week with clean, fluffy sheets.

The Sunday past we didn't, I was just going to slack and slide til next Sunday.

Until I got home from my yummy Indian food and found the remnants of a bird trailed from my hallway, through my bedroom door, up to the bed and then in the middle of the bed.

Nothing like the a bloody wing stump and other little red undefined lumps of ex-bird to make cleaning the sheets imperative.

Picking up feathers in the hallway I bent down to pick up what looked like string (Adelaide loves playing with string) and became deeply squicked to see it was a bird foot. No leg, no stump, just a neatly snipped off bird foot, all claws complete.

Adelaide is too small to have caught the bird, one of the bigger boy beasties must have done that, but she's the one who chewed and chomped with such gusto. I knew she liked chicken, now I know she has a taste for spoggie.

Speaking of Adelaide, here's some gratuitous kitten pics.

Adelaide and the feather duster

Adelaide and the feather duster. Which since the bird butchery in the bed incident has become a little less cute a pic.

Butter wouldn't melt. Or rather, would you fuck off with that flash, I'm trying to kip here!

Holidailies!

My car has a leak, on the left hand/US drivers side. With the major rain we had a week or two ago, I got into my car to hear "squish". My floor mat was sodden, had to be a litre of water all through the side of the car. I've had to wipe down the inside window before taking off. If I try the demister (defogger), I get showered with droplets, not a fun way to start my driving day.

Cue today, heading out to my 2:00 meeting (big site, we're doing weekly progress/update meetings). The temp on the Weather Channel said 26F/-3F. Yes, I scoffed along with other Australians to first hear the US had a channel with just weather, what bunny'd watch that? This bunny, that's who. I know, internet, weather.com, but when I changing after my shower, it's a nice little luxury to know what to wear.

I rugged up in my spiffy new Jones New York coat, burgundy with chocolate brown fake fur collar and wrist trim, and bounded outside. Noticed the ice on the windscreen (windshield), remembering that anything below 32F is freezing. Jumped into the car and my feet hit the mat with a thud. My mat was frozen solid, and the thin sheet of ice on the windscreen was on the inside of the windscreen. Ever tried using an icescraper on the inside of the car? About as easy as you'd reckon, which is not so much. 10 minutes of demister and judicious scraping and I have a mosaic like circle cleared enough to see. We (we being Jeffrey, he's the mechanical one) need to do something about this leak, ice inside the car is not a good look.

US Holiday Food Update

I've tried Pumpkin pie. I've tried it by various people making it, including Pop, and I don't like it. Can't really tell you what I don't like about it, other than I don't like it as much as I do like sweet potato pie. Pumpkin and cinnamon not a match for me, maybe? I know I don't like cinnamon in french toast either. I do like cinnamon, just not in those two places.

Farmers Union eggnog is light and fluffy and more like a eggy flavoured drink, still with the consistency of flavoured milk. I tried Pathmark eggnog, as part of my big Holiday buy, and it made me gag. It's too thick and something about it just tastes.. off. Retching is not so much a holiday thing for me, so no more eggnog.

I do like hot mulled apple cider. I'll have to make myself some this year, instead of scabbing around at the various holiday events. Hot apples and mulling spices, snap, there's your perfect partner.

First Robin, First forsythia bud, these are signs of my Spring.

First Jersey Tomato, first basil, first day to have the fans on, this is Summer.

First crisp night, first chrysanthemum in bloom, fresh apple cider at the local orchard, this is Autumn.

First night getting dark at 4:30 in the afternoon, first day we have the gas log on all day, first day we turn the whole house heater on, first day we bring the plants inside, this is Winter.

The shops think Christmas/The Holidays start the day after Halloween, that's when they started playing Christmas music this year. The local Chamber of Commerce thinks it's Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, the day they have the Christmas Parade.

Jeff and I? It's when the Tree of Blood goes up.

This is a house a couple of streets over from us. We first noticed this tree the Christmas of 1999, having moved into our house Christmas of 1998. Driving along, and suddenly out of the dark, The Tree of Blood! (out the back, which you can't see from this angle, they have their own little completely lit winter wonderland)

We instantly made up a song that goes something like this;

Tree of Blood, Tree of Life, Tree of Blood

which has to be sung at full, yet dirge like, volume until we've driven past.

We'd been searching for glimpses of it each night we drove past, since Thanksgiving night, no luck. Until tonight, when I drove past on my way to deep water walking class, and shrieked with manic glee at full volume "It's Christmas, It's the Tree of Blood!"

(Continued) I'm going to borrow from Dorothy R, with my bulleted list of things I should put in an entry at some point;

swimming, bathers, and going down a size
Jeff's birthday and the three cakes
JournalCon 02
Syd
Plin Con
My birthday
China Outlet & Garage
Saving the house next door from burning down
Debt collectors pissing me off
Christmas Parades, gallons of hot chocolate and more house fires
3 years of photos from Walmart
gratuitous pics & chat of the kitten (that'd be Adelaide aka Cutie).

Updated 4 December, 2002



		Precipice - Tuesday December 3rd 2002, 8:35pm


Holidailies! "From the golden-furred wonton, of course", I said. He expressed disbelief. I countered, "Of course, silly. Surely you read about the effect of the cultural revolution and Mao's creation of giant, state-run wonton farms on the social fabric of the small mountain villages?" Jeff and I went to Best Food in Town, our local Chinese restaurant for our usual wonton soup, General Tso's chicken, steamed rice and extra vego noodle dish for me. I'd read him a couple of Chicago Wench's entries, in particular this one. As he handed me the parcel of food, I mentioned to him that the "Chicken" wontons he likes are actually pork "Not golden furred?" he deadpanned. Smart arse journallers and smart arsed husbands, this is what I like. ~~~ Sunday night is our clean sheet night, not every week mind you (eww!), but it's nice to start the new week with clean, fluffy sheets. The Sunday past we didn't, I was just going to slack and slide til next Sunday. Until I got home from my yummy Indian food and found the remnants of a bird trailed from my hallway, through my bedroom door, up to the bed and then in the middle of the bed. Nothing like the a bloody wing stump and other little red undefined lumps of ex-bird to make cleaning the sheets imperative. Picking up feathers in the hallway I bent down to pick up what looked like string (Adelaide loves playing with string) and became deeply squicked to see it was a bird foot. No leg, no stump, just a neatly snipped off bird foot, all claws complete. Adelaide is too small to have caught the bird, one of the bigger boy beasties must have done that, but she's the one who chewed and chomped with such gusto. I knew she liked chicken, now I know she has a taste for spoggie. Speaking of Adelaide, here's some gratuitous kitten pics. Adelaide and the feather duster. Which since the bird butchery in the bed incident has become a little less cute a pic. Butter wouldn't melt. Or rather, would you fuck off with that flash, I'm trying to kip here!		Holidailies! My car has a leak, on the left hand/US drivers side. With the major rain we had a week or two ago, I got into my car to hear "squish". My floor mat was sodden, had to be a litre of water all through the side of the car. I've had to wipe down the inside window before taking off. If I try the demister (defogger), I get showered with droplets, not a fun way to start my driving day. Cue today, heading out to my 2:00 meeting (big site, we're doing weekly progress/update meetings). The temp on the Weather Channel said 26F/-3F. Yes, I scoffed along with other Australians to first hear the US had a channel with just weather, what bunny'd watch that? This bunny, that's who. I know, internet, weather.com, but when I changing after my shower, it's a nice little luxury to know what to wear. I rugged up in my spiffy new Jones New York coat, burgundy with chocolate brown fake fur collar and wrist trim, and bounded outside. Noticed the ice on the windscreen (windshield), remembering that anything below 32F is freezing. Jumped into the car and my feet hit the mat with a thud. My mat was frozen solid, and the thin sheet of ice on the windscreen was on the inside of the windscreen. Ever tried using an icescraper on the inside of the car? About as easy as you'd reckon, which is not so much. 10 minutes of demister and judicious scraping and I have a mosaic like circle cleared enough to see. We (we being Jeffrey, he's the mechanical one) need to do something about this leak, ice inside the car is not a good look. US Holiday Food Update I've tried Pumpkin pie. I've tried it by various people making it, including Pop, and I don't like it. Can't really tell you what I don't like about it, other than I don't like it as much as I do like sweet potato pie. Pumpkin and cinnamon not a match for me, maybe? I know I don't like cinnamon in french toast either. I do like cinnamon, just not in those two places. Farmers Union eggnog is light and fluffy and more like a eggy flavoured drink, still with the consistency of flavoured milk. I tried Pathmark eggnog, as part of my big Holiday buy, and it made me gag. It's too thick and something about it just tastes.. off. Retching is not so much a holiday thing for me, so no more eggnog. I do like hot mulled apple cider. I'll have to make myself some this year, instead of scabbing around at the various holiday events. Hot apples and mulling spices, snap, there's your perfect partner. First Robin, First forsythia bud, these are signs of my Spring. First Jersey Tomato, first basil, first day to have the fans on, this is Summer. First crisp night, first chrysanthemum in bloom, fresh apple cider at the local orchard, this is Autumn. First night getting dark at 4:30 in the afternoon, first day we have the gas log on all day, first day we turn the whole house heater on, first day we bring the plants inside, this is Winter. The shops think Christmas/The Holidays start the day after Halloween, that's when they started playing Christmas music this year. The local Chamber of Commerce thinks it's Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, the day they have the Christmas Parade. Jeff and I? It's when the Tree of Blood goes up. This is a house a couple of streets over from us. We first noticed this tree the Christmas of 1999, having moved into our house Christmas of 1998. Driving along, and suddenly out of the dark, The Tree of Blood! (out the back, which you can't see from this angle, they have their own little completely lit winter wonderland) We instantly made up a song that goes something like this; Tree of Blood, Tree of Life, Tree of Blood which has to be sung at full, yet dirge like, volume until we've driven past. We'd been searching for glimpses of it each night we drove past, since Thanksgiving night, no luck. Until tonight, when I drove past on my way to deep water walking class, and shrieked with manic glee at full volume "It's Christmas, It's the Tree of Blood!" (Continued) I'm going to borrow from Dorothy R, with my bulleted list of things I should put in an entry at some point; swimming, bathers, and going down a size Jeff's birthday and the three cakes JournalCon 02 Syd Plin Con My birthday China Outlet & Garage Saving the house next door from burning down Debt collectors pissing me off Christmas Parades, gallons of hot chocolate and more house fires 3 years of photos from Walmart gratuitous pics & chat of the kitten (that'd be Adelaide aka Cutie). Updated 4 December, 2002 Copyright Amanda Page, 1996-2002