Never Done Project: January 2009

January 31, 2009

Garrison Keillor on Barack Obama's election

Garrison Keillor on Barack Obama's election:
Be happy, dear hearts, and allow yourselves a few more weeks of quiet exultation. It isn't gloating; it's satisfaction at a job well done. He was a superb candidate, serious, professorial but with a flashing grin and a buoyancy that comes from working out in the gym every morning. He spoke in a genuine voice, not senatorial at all. He relished campaigning. He accepted adulation gracefully. He brandished his sword against his opponents without mocking or belittling them. He was elegant, unaffected, utterly American, and now (Wow) suddenly America is cool. Chicago is cool. Chicago!!!

We threw the dice and we won the jackpot and elected a black guy with a Harvard degree, the middle name Hussein and a sense of humor. He said, "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher." The French junior minister for human rights said, "On this morning, we all want to be American so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes." When was the last time you heard someone from France say they wanted to be American and take a bite of something of ours? Ponder that for a moment.

The world expects us to elect pompous yahoos, and instead we have us a 47-year-old prince from the prairie who cheerfully ran the race, and when his opponents threw sand at him, he just smiled back. He'll be the first president in history to look really good making a jump shot. He loves his classy wife and his sweet little daughters. At the same time, he knows pop music, American lit and constitutional law. I just can't imagine anybody cooler.

It feels good to be cool, and all of us can share in that, even sour old right-wingers and embittered blottoheads. Next time you fly to Heathrow and hand your passport to the man with the badge, he's going to see "United States of America" and look up and grin. Even if you worship in the church of Fox, everyone you meet overseas is going to ask you about Obama, and you may as well say you voted for him because, my friends, he is your line of credit over there. No need anymore to try to look Canadian.

January 27, 2009

Treehouse is but a dream...

The treehouse was a hit, so unfortunately I didn't get to take it home with me. At least I'll have something fun to play with when I visit Aidan.

A Sayulita Wedding

January 22, 2009

Treehouse of my Dreams

This year for Aidan's birthday we got him the coolest gift ever - so cool in fact, that he will have to pry it from my fingers. I put it together last night in preparation for giving it to him this weekend.

He is very into playing with his "guys" - Star Wars figures, Playmobil figures and a variety of other figures that I don't recognize. Susanna mentioned that he doesn't really have a "house" for them, but noted that he's very cognizant of gender at this time, so he wouldn't like a dollhouse that looked too "girly". My stepmom has a castle at her house that Aidan plays with every time he visits, so I thought... why not get him a treehouse? I found many amazing versions on the web, but actually found one that I could afford on Amazon, sold through Target. Its the Maxim Deluxe TreeHouse, and you can buy additional items to add to it - like a gondola. If he likes it (and if he doesn't it's coming back to my house so that I can play with it) then I will be able to add to it on his next birthday.

Additionally, Mike and I were thinking that we could build something like this, perhaps with the help of Papa and his shop. It's right up my alley, so as soon as we finish the life-size house within which we live, I'll get to work on the miniature version.

January 21, 2009

Tease Your Hair

Image and design by skalway, from www.sarakalway.com

I wanted to note that Sara has updated her website with her latest projects. Do check it out - the designs are fabulous.

January 20, 2009

Mexico: Surfing

And so we went surfing... Mike was in the fast break on the short board, but had to wait forever to catch a wave because there were so many locals surfing.

I was on the slow break with a long board. And even though the waves were tiny, I was at least able to catch more waves (not actually "ride" them all though).

January 14, 2009

We're Back!

We returned in the wee hours of Saturday night/Sunday morning from a week in Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico. It's a small town on the coast, about 30 miles North of Puerto Vallarta. I've been busying getting back to work, gym, life and trying to work my way through 6 loads of laundry. I've also been uploading photos to Shutterfly and Facebook, while trying to edit video and photos for family and friends. At some point, hopefully this weekend, I'll start posting images and stories of our trip here.

Check back in!