They say the memory goes first...

Although it feels pretty routine now (after my relatively busy travel schedule this year), going through the airport still provides much creative stimulus... people-watching opportunities... different lights, sounds, smells... many things to look at and take in -- and, of course, literally hundreds of places to go.

While I was traveling to Colorado for Christmas, I was in a particular mood to take in all I was seeing and then share about it on my blog.  Needless to say, I observed a whole bunch of GREAT entertaining things that you, I'm sure, would be amused by as I myself was.

I arrived in Denver and, surprisingly, couldn't remember a single one...

Two days later, in the middle of the night (really, it was the middle of the night), this one came back to me:

Standing in line to go through security, I heard one of those dog squeaky toys squeaking -- and we're not talking one or two squeaks. I mean a constant stream of squeakiness.

I surreptitiously glanced around to locate the source of the slight commotion.

It turned out to be none other than an adorable young boy of Asian descent -- or, more specifically, what he was wearing on his feet.

The child was dressed in red plaid flannel pajamas with teddy bear slippers. When he walked slower, the squeaks came more slowly. When he sped up, so did the squeaks. Of course. Squeaky teddy bear slippers.

Trailing behind the boy was who I assumed to be his mother. Though talking on her cell phone, she still managed to keep on eye -- or perhaps an ear? -- on her son and directed him with hand gestures when he was nearby or a word or two if he got too far ahead.

Both squeaky boy and cell phone mom meandered toward the baggage claim area.

Meanwhile I, still in the security line, could hear the squeaks continue even after the child disappeared from view.  And it's not as though the airport was quiet that day...

Also amusing were the comments of the people ahead of and behind me in line who had also witnessed the squeaky-slippered boy.

Is that noise from his slippers?

Oh my.. where is that coming from?

What a smart mom.

Sure makes it easy to keep track of him...

Anyways, I was amused.  If only I had had my camera or a voice recorder handy...

Sigh.  And if only I could remember all the other funny things I observed that day.

Townhouse Christmas

Last night was Townhouse Christmas with my roommates.

Last year, I began the Townhouse Christmas "tradition" because I felt strongly that we needed to celebrate Christmas together early before we all went our separate ways to celebrate the real day with our families.  I wanted us to have "Christmas dinner" and that special togetherness you get during the holiday season.

Last year, I'd say the roommates humored me because they knew it was important to me.  This year, they looked forward to it.  And it turned out being such a special time.  Even though it was 10 days early, it really felt like Christmas.

I had fun creating a menu that highlighted a favorite for each person...

Chicken breasts stuffed with fresh basil and havarti

Mashed potatoes with green onions and creamy chicken gravy

Steamed broccoli with pine nuts

Italian bread with roasted garlic

(Jenny - potatoes, onions; Sarah - broccoli; Me - havarti)

Jenny was sweet to supply the sparkling apple-marionberry juice -- which made the table setting that much more festive.  I think stemware makes anything look festive.

Oh... and for dessert ...  Last year I made a fancy dessert, but we were too full to eat it.  This year, I decided to buy fancy pints of ice cream.  Then if we were to full, I didn't put out any effort.  And if we weren't, we would still get one of our favorite desserts.

Here we are posing before dinner.  

The little tree is real.  Everyone thinks it fake.  But it's really real.  It's about 2 feet tall and still potted (which means I'll probably plant it in January rather than waste a good tree).  It ended up on the table because it's too small to sit on the floor in the living room.

In this picture, I'm being an imp... I'm actually tickling both of the roommates who are trying their best not to show it.  But I'm laughing and enjoying myself immensely.  You would never know it, but right before the picture snapped they were both laughing and squealing "STOP!!  JAMIE!!  AHH!  What are you doing?!?  STOP!!" :)

The mantle, stockings, fireplace, and pile of presents

Jenny is known for giving unique gifts.  Sarah got a kick out of the note on this one: "A warning - this one is weird!"  (And it was, but in a fun way -- and perfect for Sarah)

All in all, we had a wonderful Townhouse Christmas.  These are important times to share together.

This is probably the last one for just the three of us... at least for now.  Sarah is getting married, and Jenny is moving to the next festival city.

But, I hope that the three of us will have a chance to get together again some day and catch up and share another Townhouse Christmas.  I doubt it will happen every year... or even every 5-10 years.  Maybe spouses and children will be at the next one.  Or maybe we'll all be grandmas.  Who knows? But I'll be watching for that opportunity.

Some day.

Winter Wonderland

Blustery and cold. And, get this - snowing! It's been snowing since early this morning, and unlike most Portland snow it's actually sticking. The high for today was 31, and it's only supposed to get colder from here on out until next week. Crazy!

As beautiful as it is to have snow, I'm bummed it couldn't hold off for just one day. There's a wedding reception I wish I was attending in Newberg right now. And Sarah and I were heading there when we found out that the Oregon department of transportation is requiring chains on all highways.

So, since I don't have chains (and by the way I wouldn't have used them anyways since there is neither ice nor enough accumulated snow on the roads and it would have ruined my tires), and since we can't drive into Newberg without using a highway, Sarah and I went back home. (Well, techincally, we could have taken one of the back roads over a huge hill... but that just wouldn't have been smart since it's often slick when there isn't snow).

Anyways, I suppose I'm still venting about the seemingly over-paranoid weather measures around here. And really, even though I'm used to driving on snowy roads after years of it in Colorado, I am concerned about sharing roads with all the other people who really can't handle driving it or who think their 4-wheel drive makes them invincible. Scary thought.

Now that I'm home wrapping presents and writing Christmas cards as I sit in front of the cozy fire in the living room with the roommates, I'm sort of secretly hoping work is cancelled tomorrow. I'm still recovering from a cold, and tomorrow night is our Townhouse Christmas (since the three of us are going to be out-of-town with our families on Christmas Day). It would be nice to have all the time I want to leisurely cook the gourmet Christmas dinner I have planned... sigh. I guess we'll see what happens through the night and tomorrow morning...