The best Christmas Mix Tape Ever!

Back in 1994, my friend Cindy gave me a mix tape of Christmas songs. I know it was in 1994 because it's title is "Merry Christmas Patty 1994" written in alternating red and green letters. This tape is something I look forward to every Christmas season and, due to a week of no school due to "snow", and the magic of YouTube, and a bunch of people who choose to spend their time creating video of songs, (perhaps they too had five snow days in a row?) I can bring almost every song on that tape to you.

I remember a couple of things Cindy told me about the creation of this tape. One was that Christmas songs are short. She used a 60 minute tape--our usual mix tape length was 90 minutes--and still had trouble filling it up. The other thing about this compilation is when she made it she used four forms of music recording technology: Cd's, cassette tapes, albums and even reel-to-reels(!). Super cool.

Now with a few clicks, you can enjoy this mix tape too. Although you miss out on the various hisses and pops from the albums that I get to hear. Except for on the first song on side two.

Side 1
White Christmas--Otis Redding

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)--U2
(Special "Night Tracks" bonus opening and closing)

Blue Christmas--Elvis Presley

Father Christmas--The Kinks
A bit of a rough cut, but more fun because you get blurry footage of the band. Also, perhaps my favorite Christmas song written after 1950.

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem--Ella Fitzgerald
Alas, YouTube has nothing with Ella singing this so here is one minute of Bing and Frank.

Let it Snow--Harry Connick Jr.
This video is AWESOME!

Santa Baby--Madonna

Happy Christmas (War is Over)--John Lennon

Sleigh Ride--The Ventures
Music only, no video. Go read some email or something.

O Holy Night--The Lettermen

Jingle Bells--Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass

Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me--Elvis Presley

Side Two
Joy to the World--Julie Andrews
With special bonus record needle album noise! Right at the beginning! And some extra bonus album noise around 1:20! What a treat!

Sleigh Ride--Harry Connick Jr.
These ladies rock! In a sort of smooth older woman sort of way.

Silver Bells--The Ventures
I find this girl a little disturbing, but this is the song. Maybe you can read some more email or something.

Silent Night--Tennessee Ernie Ford
I can't find this, though I was distracted with a nice clip of Tennessee Ernie Ford and Johnny Cash. Let's go with Bing again. You can't go wrong from Bing.

Merry Christmas Baby--Otis Redding

Gabriel's Message--Sting

The Christmas Song--Sandler & Young
Nothing of this song. Let us hear Nat King Cole.

What Child is This--Empire Brass
Alas, the Empire Brass are scarce on YouTube. Shall we hear a nice choir?

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus--John Cougar Mellencamp
This is one of my least favorite Christmas songs, but John Cougar Mellencamp has that cool fiddler and that little girl in the video is his daughter. Plus bonus 80s fashions

I'll Be Home for Christmas--Elvis Presley
Elvis' diction is very funny--"snow and mistletoe" especially.

Oh Tannenbaum--They Might Be Giants
Argh! Why must we be denied TMBG? Why? Instead, see the less hip, but most earnest Vienna Boy's Choir

Introducing...

Sentinel Damascus Collins

We've chosen a name. Sentinel, because he stays at home and guards the house, Damascus, because he was found in Damascus, and Collins because he is my cat. In the week Sentinel has been living with us we have discovered quite a bit about him. This is where he spends a lot of time. Not on top of this lounger, but under it, sitting on the wool blanket that is poking out from under the couch. He spent all of Sunday there, hours and hours and hours. This morning he came out and followed me around from place to place, but after awhile, back he went under the couch. It's hard to predict when he will be there for entire days, and when he will be there for just a few hours. I think he feels safe there, and it probably is warm. Or warmer than other places in the house. Right now it is very cold here.

I don't think any of these picture convey quite how large this cat is. I took him to the vet on Friday and he was over 12 pounds. I was glad about that because he was just over 12 pounds when he came to the Humane Society--and that was when he still had both front legs. So he lost a leg but also gained some weight. I think he was a bit scrawny when he was found.
This was our one day of play, last Monday. Subsequent attempts to play have resulted in a retreat under the couch. He was very into that mouse and had fun grabbing for the feather. I'm hoping that as he feels more secure we can spend more time playing.
He has a very small meow, more like a "mew" than a "meow." When he is in a following around mood, he punctures his following with chatting.
I think he still gets sad sometimes that he doesn't have all four of his legs. One attempt to jump up on the couch resulted in a miscalculation and a fall and he retreated under the couch for the rest of the evening. It has only been three months and I hope that as he gets more used to having three legs, memories of his four-legged self will fade. I think he was a very handsome and proud four-legged cat and I hope he will be just as handsome and proud of a three-legged cat.

When he is out and about he enjoys being petted and loves to lick your hand. He could lick your hand for the next four hours if you let him. He rolls around a lot as you pet him and also purrs a lot.

He's a very nice kitty and I'm glad that he has come to live with us.

And now there are three.

I've been wanting a cat for some time, (ahem, nine years, ahem) and Matt has finally come around. We've had our eye on a cat at the Oregon Humane Society, for about two weeks now, but yesterday was the first chance we had to meet him. So last night we got on our bikes and arrived at the incredibly lovely shelter. They have traditional cages, you can see some of them on the right-hand side of this picture, but they also have these very cool themed rooms for the cats to hang out in.
This was my favorite. A whole room like a soda fountain, with jukebox and soda fountain stools and records on the wall. The best part about this setup was that there weren't the typical smells I associate with an animal shelter. The cats seemed very relaxed.
We met a few cats before meeting the one Matt was most interested in. I have a soft spot for Norm (#64869) but Norm wasn't going to be a good cat to begin our cat ownership. Then we met Admiral Jones, who is much bigger and fluffier than his picture. He has been in foster care, because his front right leg was amputated, and his foster mother couldn't say enough good things about him. The woman at the shelter really liked him too. As did Matt and myself. So today Admiral Jones came home.

The first photos:
Coming out of his box
Checking out the litter box.
And he's off to a quiet place. We'll let him settle in a bit and then take some more pictures.

Yipee! A kitty for The Orange Door.

Also, we are going to rename him. There are a few names floating around, but we shall live with him for a bit before we commit to a name.

Upstairs Kitty...

...is mighty cute!
The cat from upstairs has been hanging out down here fairly regularly. She likes to come over and sniff around, play with a few toys, hang out under the couch. Then she jumps on the counter--a verboten act--and back outside she goes. Today she decided the sink was the most delightful place she could be.

Stop the presses!

Matt and Patricia actually leave the house for a date!

Of late, our dates have consisted of playing board games or watching movies. Tonight we decided to venture out of our house. We took a Portland Hill Walk in North and Northeast Portland. We started at 4 p.m. so it got dark quickly, but despite this, it was a lovely walk.
The beautiful Fremont Bridge.
Stairs and trees remain, but the house is gone.
Under the freeway.
Instillation of holiday lights in the shape of a mountain.
This neighborhood has lovely old Victorian houses right next to interstate freeway and modern homes.
An advertisement for the ComUnity Arts Garage which has a number of classes.
Stopping for some steamed milk and hot chocolate.
My hot chocolate had a lovely design.
The very important Hostess outlet store, a beacon in the darkness.
It isn't surprising to see this sign in Portland...

Birthday continued: making of quiche

After working on the cat perch/post I made a quiche for tomorrow's staff meeting. I was all excited about my lovely crust before I put it in the oven, but once it got in there, it sank down below the lip of the pie plate. I know I was supposed to use pie weights but I didn't have any and I didn't want to use beans or pennies. Here is the sunken crust with the goat cheese.
And here is the finished product. The crust was almost completely submerged under the quiche mixture, but it was all tasty in the end.
The best part about making quiche is making pie gods with the "leftover" crust. (Secret revealed: I always make enough crust to make pie gods). To make: roll out pie crust, drizzle a little milk on the top and spread it around with your fingers then sprinkle cinnamon & sugar on top. If you want, you can roll up the crust and slice for lovely cinnamon sugar cookies, but I prefer to just slice up large pieces and bake the whole thing flat.
Delicious!

A nice way to spend a Monday off from work.

Making a double batch of Lasagna. Delicious!