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 Y'all have to go through this with me.

A lobster Nativity scene.

It's in a lobster trap, which is either ingenious or kind of macabre.  I don't know what has come over the lobster who lies underneath the white garment, which is...  Gift?  Individual serving of rice with hot sauce?  My favorite is the Angel Lobster of The Lord, who seems so excited they've had to cover their mouth with both claws.

If the entire Scene isn't your style (they're sold out anyway), these ornaments might be more your speed.

 I'm troubled that the Wise Lobster on the right seems to have brought ghosts to the Newborn King.  The one on the left appears to have a cat head.  Middle looks to be holding a concrete mummy.  Gold, frankincense and myrrh sound reasonable in comparison.

The Holy Child:

He is on a bed of ... kale?  Seaweed?  Are His claws crossed? Is one claw under the swaddling clothes?  Is He sucking His tiny claw?

Here, the Christ Child is still doing His thing.  The Holy Mother --- who looks good so soon after having a baby --- is delighted and filled with awe.  Joseph --- who had no capitalizable honorific at the time --- is either deep in thankful prayer or, like The Angel, trying to suppress an excited giggle.

Triumph and Tradition

Thursday gave me the opportunity to discover something else that I can't much do with my dead fingers: eat with chopsticks.  The thought of that hadn't crossed my mind.  Those two fingers, though, are "strained" and "uncomfortable."  It's always hard coming up with words to describe the feeling;  the fingers are "dead," but still producing sensations that are beyond my ability to adequately explain.

Traditionally, I begin Christmas decorating the day after Thanksgiving.  Not so this year, as I didn't bring boxes down from upstairs until today.  Remember my year's experience with taking things down stairs.

By the way, the little "non-slip" shoes I was wearing when I fell are still at the foot of the garage stairs.  Maybe I want to let them know that I've overcome their treachery.

Back to decorating.  My horse head is on the front door again.

 Next traditional door decoration is up to you, Bridget.

No Photo Evidence

 Of yesterday's adventure, I mean.  I learned long ago not to ask people to let me take their picture.

Still, it was fine.  Lots of sushi was consumed.  Briton was the most adventurous, downing octopus and eel without flinching.  Even the desserts at Kura are delicious.

We then walked over to H Mart, where you could spend hours.  We did, but not shopping.  We each got some drinks and sat down in the food court and talked.  Well, they talked.  I've also learned not to try and join conversations.  I'll be ignored or impatiently corrected or belittled most of the time.

I will say that I've never felt as old, nor felt that I've ever looked as old as I did yesterday.  My white hair.  The lack of involvement with my children.  My walking many paces behind them.  Thankfully, I found Dr Pepper and sat and sipped quietly.

Trend

Me, I've never been a trend-chaser.  Much.  (Okay, you've got me on 80s twist beads.)

In my waste-of-hours-scrolling-through-sites-for-buying-boots, I am noticing these:

Denim boots.  Cool, fine, I've had a pair for a while.  Mine are like those, but did boot designers stop there?  Course not.  So now out there are:

($2515???)

($774 suddenly looks reasonable.)

There are other hideous, head-scratching, unique designs out there.  One I saw somewhere, but can't find now, inverted the look of the Dolce & Gabbana: the fly and waistband are at the bottom.  You can look them up if you're interested.  

The Thanksgiving plan here is for Son and Myself to go to Atlanta, pick up Daughter, and go to Kura.  The two of them went there last year and had a lot of fun.  (I developed some kind of stomach thing the night before and didn't make it.)

Whatever your plans are, I hope they go smoothly and there is lots of laughter and the food is delicious.  And football.  Lots of football.

Info Drop

I've been remiss in not providing a mailbox update.

It's black and plastic, and my favorite is its stout little flag.  The mailbox is longer and taller than the last one, and it has this tiny flag.  So cute.

Also, my air fryer grilled cheese game is going really well.

Um, Huh?

This is my right index finger, bruised right at the bottom (fist) knuckle.  I have no idea whatsoever what caused it.  This afternoon, I looked down and there it was.  It isn't sore.  It's a source of bewilderment is what it is.

 

Photo Dump

Senior Day for Vanderbilt football.  Things like that are guaranteed to make me tear up, even if it's not Vandy.

If you're a toddler, dressing to go to an older sibling's Senior Day, make this part of your look:

(If these had been available when Hannah was little, we could not have gotten to Target fast enough.  Everything she did and does love: sparkle/shimmer, bows, and lug-soled boots.)

I am proud to announce that my major is on just about every list of Easiest Majors I could find.  Coming in at #7 here.  Technically, I majored in Social Psychology, so maybe we should split the difference and call it #4.

A group of Japanese samurai once visited the Great Sphinx.  Which is crazy to me somehow.  It also looks like many of them brought along their katanas.

I have looked and looked at this and still can't quite  figure out how it works:

I feel like I've talked about this before, but it's still kind of amazing.

The shackles are a bit much, but the legs!

Seasonal Colors?

     

I'm so sorry these pictures aren't better;  maybe you can suss some things out.  There are yellow, red, blue, and orange flags (and coordinating stripes on the ground) in my front and side yarns.  It seems AT&T will be installing high-speed cable, and my yards on the corner will be points of origin AND sites of lots of digging.  Technology marches on.

Say What?

I do love finding new words.

Musth.

It's sort of like Pon Farr, but for elephants.  As interesting as that is, what was a little disappointing was finding out that the pronunciation is not as special as the spelling would have you believe.

One hundred sixty-two years ago today, the Gettysburg Address was spoken into Eternity.

My opinion of President Lincoln is well-known.  I don't think I've said, though, that he's my favorite writer.  He is.

A Nice Plan...

You know when the crayons come out, it's gonna be a fun crafting time.  Unfortunately, fun doesn't ensure success.  What I had in my mind did not manifest itself on the paper.  There are lots of pretty colors, though, huh?

Mary, Guillermo, and Oscar

 Part of my day was spent watching "Frankenstein."  Although I haven't seen many of Guillermo del Toro's films, this one did interest me.  I'm a fan of Oscar Isaac, and, let's face it, the story is one of the most fascinating ever written.  If its creation intrigues you, may I recommend 

That the book came from a "competition," and who the "competitors" were?  Remarkable.  And, since I like to throw Sociology in whenever possible, Mary Shelley's mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was an early proponent of women's social rights.  My students usually found that cross-reference interesting.

Usually.

It Stinks

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time going through my scrapbook/collage/decoupage supplies.  A lot.  Today, my left arm has been very twitchy and sore.  I can't quite figure out how that happened, but there it is.  Good thing I bought icing wraps when I hurt my right shoulder --- they've come in handy today.

Yesterday, I also tried knitting some more.  It's still not happening.  Honestly, it's begun to seem like dead fingers are to be my lot in life.

Quick Question

(Getting this in before Midnight.)

Have any of you ever tried, or seen in real life, a pop-up Christmas tree?  I'm suddenly consumed, and need to know if buying one would be worth it.