My only resolution is to spend more time on the yard and to get more serious about ceramics. I think it's other people, especially Republican Congressmen, who ought to be changing their ways, not me.
Saturday was lovely here.We did our usual shopping at the Saturday Market and then went to see how Rainbow Falls was doing. Last time we went there it was dry.
This is how Rainbow Falls looks today. The drought is definitely over.
Later I sat on the deck with my coffee and a very rich baklava made by a local baker with local honey and read about cruises and did a little daydreaming. The cover of the brochure did not entice me, though.
Cover of brochure
Palm trees in our front yard. Seen one you've seen them all, as Reagan would say.
Sunday was overcast but not rainy: perfect for projects and yardwork. Terry built this frame and is drying the coffee beans on it that he picked at Sharky's.
Here is a nice vid on Sharky and his operation.
Sharky's Coffee from Jake Miller on Vimeo.
Terry fixed his roaster once, so that's why he lets him come up and harvest coffee.
Other news: I weeded, transplanted, fertilized and spread slug bait in the orchid house. I use Sluggo, which is non-toxic.
Fred the cat got into a fight last night and came home all banged up and in pain, but he seems OK today. He's 10 1/2 and ought to know better. But that's feline nature for you.
Today is the day I sit down and decide who to send checks to. I already give to Planned Parenthood, Southern Poverty Law Center, Oxfam, and Hawaii Public Radio. I'm a member of League of Women Voters, AAUW and YWCA. Because we did not go on the Nation Cruise, which is their big yearly fund raiser, I will send them a check. I will also send a check to Democracy Now. Terry gives to environmental groups like Sierra Club and Greenpeace. I tend to shy away from giving to out and out charities. I don't know why. Somehow I don't trust them. I'm not going to give to college funds, because these are in good shape. I support local theater groups and concerts, etc. by attending performances.
In other matters: Am I au courant with the Zeitgeist or what? (See what a linguist I am?) There is a long piece in the New Yorker about Danish television, for which there is a fad in England right now. I can see the attraction. For me, it's the language. English is so diffused now and spoken in so many different ways, whereas Danish retains its uniqueness. Hardly anyone but the Danes speaks Danish. Of course, most Americans are not interested in other languages, so a detective series from Danish television has been remade for U.S. TV and set in Seattle.
We plan to spend a quiet New Year's eve, just us two, watch a movie and maybe crack out that bottle of champagne that's been in the fridge for months.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Happy new year! l am impressed by the coffee bean drying frame. Is he going to roast the beans too? I'll bet that coffee is going to taste good, save some for us!
Posted by: rodentia | December 31, 2012 at 09:04 PM
Zoe got in a fight too and she's 12! She has a wound next to her eye and is on anribiotics.
Posted by: rodentia | December 31, 2012 at 09:06 PM
We had a bottle of bubbly moscato with dinner. We finished the bottle which means we might not be able to stay up until midnight. :-) I'm sure we will because we've already got some crazy neighbors setting off those horrible bombs that make the car alarms go off. I thought they were illegal!
Posted by: Musings | December 31, 2012 at 10:10 PM
rodentia: We will bring you coffee when we come. Don't know if this current batch will be ready, thougn. I hope Zoe will be O.K. Fred is fine, now. He had to fight, because a cat came into our driveway, and a boy must defend his territory. There was white cat fur everywhere. I guess I'm proud of him.
Kay: It has been quiet around here. I have not heard a single firecracker. What's up, I wonder.
Posted by: Hattie | December 31, 2012 at 10:53 PM
Happy New Year.
Our next-door neighbors are setting off giant fireworks intermittently.
Posted by: Brandon | January 01, 2013 at 12:07 AM
Danish does have all these different accents and dialects, though! People from different parts of the country are not always, easily, mutually comprehensible ... or at least not until very, very recently!
Posted by: Z | January 01, 2013 at 11:29 AM
A much-improved New Year 2013 to the world. And to you and yours, Marianna. Here we support Oregon Public Bdcstg though radio side is unsatisfactory. We miss WNYC which has two excellent morning programs...Brian Lehrer a special favorite http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/. Wonder if other large metro areas place value on thoughtful this type analysis/interview show.
In 2000, met a college student in Xian, China. He learned Danish when accepted for grad school in Denmark, now businessman living in Copenhagen. Amazes me--cannot imagine speaking Mandarin myself, for goodness sake.
Posted by: naomi dagen bloom | January 01, 2013 at 08:42 PM
I have watched the Danish TV version of Wallender, and The Eagle, as much as is carried on Netflix so far. The Danish Wallender is truly excellent, in my opinion, and puts the BBC version with Kenneth Branagh to shame.
This website discusses several Danish TV shows:
http://www.couchslobs.com/2012/03/23/6-scandinavian-crime-shows-worth-watching/.
Now I'm going to be on the lookout for the ones I haven't seen.
Posted by: Maria | January 02, 2013 at 10:39 AM
Brandon: We heard one big boom around midnight, and that was it.
Z: So I guess Danish is somewhat like Swiss in having a lot of different mini-dialects.
Naomi: Yes, we support public radio while not thinking very highly of it. We don't get the same programming as Oahu, which has an a.m. station with talk programming, so I can't speak to the quality of that. We get some news and classical music programming, which are certainly worth having.
BTW: if you can't imagine speaking Mandarin, try Cantonese!
Maria: Thanks for the links!!!
Posted by: Hattie | January 02, 2013 at 11:23 AM