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let us resolve visions of sugarplums cold enough for you? christmas baby Posted by Claudia at 11:29 AM 1 comment : all i want for christmas Posted by Claudia at 1:49 PM 1 comment : every picture tells a story solstice eclipse beginning to look like lo riders how do you pronounce Cai Guo Qiang? then there were roses they gather class pic 

Posted by Claudia at 1:31 PM 2 comments : a small world the venue a merry little workout new york times diagramless yet another vote OK, final ruling. This one or the flaming sky for season's greetings to the tenants?
Posted by Claudia at 10:27 AM 7 comments : outdated technologies, 2 When I began working as a writer, I used one of these.
For you people under 25, it's called a typewriter.
I used a carbon set, which was several pieces of paper with carbon paper in between to make several copies topped with a piece of copy paper with little numbers and lines on it so you could tell how long your story was. You had to wham the keys to register on the bottom page.
The old newspaper writers among us could write a 28-character hedline to the letter just by the feel. I got fairly good at estimating length as well, and since my hunt-and-peck typing was of the two finger variety, I also got pretty good at getting it right the first time so as not to have to retype.
Now I have to learn to type very lightly using just my thumbs on a tiny piece of glass.
Posted by Claudia at 10:44 AM 7 comments : little bear Camilla had her first visit to New York City (her second is coming up in about a week and a half), and she enjoyed it very much. Especially the parties.
Posted by Claudia at 1:01 PM 1 comment : first thanksgiving Posted by Claudia at 12:01 PM 3 comments : I've made something of a tradition of bad Thanksgiving pictures, but this one really takes the, er, pie.
Maybe Chris got a better one.
Posted by Claudia at 1:17 AM No comments : Happy Great American Eating Ceremony! guess who's coming to dinner? A couple of hints (above). And here are a few more:
Four parents with children.
Three divorcees.
One set of siblings.
One lesbian couple.
One pair of college friends.
Two childhood friends.
Four out-of-staters.
One birthday boy.
Four men and six women for a total of about half the usual.
We're calling it intime. . .
Posted by Claudia at 9:19 AM 3 comments : anna, alas Here is Anna when she stopped at the Goose on a cross-country road trip last year. She had already been dealing with metastasizing growths for many years; I used to tell her that she was living proof that a good attitude didn't cure cancer. At the time she was having a respite, traveling with her daughter. She didn't stop long, because the road called.
The road called again yesterday. I wish she could have stayed longer. Anna made everything fun—the world sparkled when she was around to shed the light. May she travel well.
Posted by Claudia at 8:39 AM 5 comments : another vote You wanted beachy summery.  How about one of these snaps? Ok, I know the quality is not up to snuff, but does one of these have the spirit you all wanted? Vote now, vote often.
Me, I'll be sitting here all day watching your votes roll in and waiting for Verizon to not show up. Again. Posted by Claudia at 8:44 AM 8 comments : If you were a summer guest receiving a holiday greeting from me, would you prefer this picture of the North Light? or this one of Claudia's Surf City?
Both by Christopher Garrison. Vote below.
I thought so. . .
Posted by Claudia at 9:12 AM 9 comments : the temptress These are porcelain versions of the Original Apple, the Kazakhstan Elite, which still grow wild in that country. They, however, like many other apple stocks, are endangered, mostly because people use them for firewood. The Plant Genetics Resource Unit, part of Cornell University, collects and nurtures such genetic treasures. An artist friend of mine from L.A., Jessica Rath, has received  a grant to photograph the trees. She is selling these limited edition apples (15 healthy pink and 15 endangered black—look at them on her website as this pic doesn't do them justice) for $100 each plus shipping to partially pay for the project. Just one little bite. . .
Posted by Claudia at 10:16 AM 1 comment : but not in me Had my tooth pulled.
Got my drivers license.
Had the DSL "fixed"—except for when it goes out every couple hours.
On the bright side, went to a musical improv club (above) and saw Lisa Jolly, who was fab. Have had real warm weather and been able to wear shorts. To the gym. Have already made cranberry sauce. So soon it will be time to play Guess Who's Coming to Dinner!
Posted by Claudia at 10:19 AM 3 comments : the confectioner Chocolate excites certain people. I recently read a study saying that it caused a greater release of endorphins than sex. Personally, I have not found that to be true, but then chocolate is not my drug of choice. Some people like it enough, however, that they are even willing to to take up the culinary arts to produce chocolate bars sweetened with stevia that fit into their low-carb diets.
Posted by Claudia at 9:16 AM 5 comments : 
I am living in DSL hell. I have been very patient, but it has been over a week with no functioning Internet. I have been spending my life on the phone with India while piggybacking. The low-speed person carrying me is probably going to get sick of it. The phone went out this morning. Now I can't upload pictures. A tech has been here once, and another is supposed to come tomorrow. And to think, just a decade ago I could have cared less! Meanwhile, I also have to go to the DMV and have a tooth drawn. I'm not sure which is worse.
Posted by Claudia at 10:02 AM 2 comments : puzzle pieces My mother has become a Poetess, as I may have men- tioned. She has now finished a Second Slim Volume and is awaiting news of its acceptance from her publisher. At 84, she doesn't like to wait. The name of the new book is Puzzle Pieces.
All I can think of is the Rolling Stones song: "Me I'm lying here so patiently/ with my woman on the floor./ We're just trying to do this jigsaw puzzle/ before it rains any more." As a teenager, I attached a purient meaning to that. Still do. don't go hungry Big excitement on the Upper White Side! We can hardly contain ourselves since the opening of our very own Trader Joe's! The other ones in NYC are way down on Union Squaresville and out in Foodielyn. Now we can hoist our backpacks and push our doublewide strollers down to 72nd Street to buy our Organic Delights. I loaded up with pre-Thanksgiving supplies, wishing I'd eaten before I went down there. "I bet Fairway's running scared," I said to the cashier kid. "They're just a farmer's market," he said dismissively. "We're the rock star."
Posted by Claudia at 1:28 PM 4 comments : working mom Yes, it's busy season at Wear Your Music, and the elves are jamming. Did you want a John Mayer guitar string bracelet? Keith Richards? Pete Townshend? Bonnie Raitt? Ani DeFranco? Widespread Panic? Order now, before the elf ranks are utterly slammed. With the ranks depleted and two newborns in the mix, the office is more like Wear Your Baby.
Posted by Claudia at 9:41 AM No comments : the money chair I have spent a lot of time in chairs like this one, and indeed in this very chair, which has a view of birds and squirrels in the back yard as well as the TV. Which is usually off.
I have spent a lot of time with dentists, too, and this one, Dr. Sam, is my favorite. After one creative crown, I  told him that it seemed like his job required as much craft as medicine. He said, "That's why I like my job so much!"
I was floored. A dentist who loves his work?
Posted by Claudia at 11:19 AM 6 comments :