That is cool! And it has the potential to be a new hobby for @mark ....

I went outside and had planned to use the leaf blower to get rid of what I thought was light powdery snow. Turns out the top is light powdery snow but underneath it was semi-frozen slush on the driveway. The driveway is black, so it tends to warm up and retain heat, which it must have done over the last few days, as it has been warm. I had to get the shovel out to scrape everything down to the bare blacktop. The winds were howling all night and I didn't get much sleep; I was awake worrying about a tree branch coming down on the house.

On a related note, I found out you can block shorts on YouTube. Yes! Now to convince the algorithm that I really, truly, don’t want AI videos.

@Daniel Spectacular view but a bit overdone for my taste.

[image: 1767003209739-20251229_083604-resized.jpg] Hellebore are blooming

Special days. Soup for the next fortnight️

Yes, Kyushu and the Rockys. Must stop spending on the house and have a holiday!

Iran is part of the global nuclear monitoring agency. Israel isn't. Israel refuses to say whether it has nuclear weapons or not when the world has known since the time of the Kennedy administration that it does have them. Fears are not facts. Insinuations are not facts. Accurate, concrete intelligence represents facts. I don't have a reason to think that there isn't fear mongering and war mongering happening now on the part of the powers that be who have openly, publicly been announcing their intent to go to war with Iran for decades now.

Awesome!

I've decided to change the bar pendant with crosses to this cross pendant. https://athenagaia.com/products/silver-faced-greek-cross-small You can get a sense of what it looks like in three dimensions by looking at this cross pendant. https://athenagaia.com/products/rustic-center-stone-silver-greek-cross-small

Addendum: I did bring out the oil-filled heater today for the room with the TV. It’s working well and the heat is so comfortable even on the low setting. It didn’t have much effect in the kitchen, which is draftier. It’s possible that the radiator isn’t getting hot enough because of air in the system. I should try bleeding it. [image: 1766893369546-img_2287-resized.jpeg]

His point seems to be things have changed over 60 years. A 25 to 30 year old doesn't share all the cultural touchstones of my generation. Go figure. Maybe he should play assisted living facilities.

@piano-dad Congrats to the family! For Christmas I love pulling out the china (my mom’s Noritake Oriental, bamboo motif) and her silverplate (service for 12; we have sterling for 8 from her uncle, but that’s not enough). It’s like playing dress up for the house. I don’t mind hand washing it all after guests go home. My kids stay and help with the clean up.

In a nearby suburb, a critter does what it was born to do. https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/fmc-1acbbiqidajexr23

@Piano-Dad said in Who’s decorating for the holidays?: Not me. We're out in Las Vegas preparing to welcome granddaughter Raven on New Year's Eve! Ahem. Is there something you’d like to announce?