We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Last time we checked (I do not know how we did it), our readership was 60/40% men/women. Also, but not relevant to the topic, our average age of readership was 45. I have no idea about how to get such stats now and it doesn't matter.
Let's say you are a guy, and you know your wife "needs" a Prada bag. Get her one. She can exchange it if she doesn't like it. Ha - reader reminds me that they are free in San Francisco. Cool.
Readers know from past postings that we prefer tickets and trips for presents (with the very rare exceptions of my birthday car and her birthday boat - no more of that is likely cuz her new bedroom fireplace is last on that list). Opening presents is mainly for kids except for diamonds and gold.
One thing anybody might like as a present is a hiking trip. Montana is great, so is Sedona or the Dolomites. Or just the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Backroads has tons of good hiking or biking tours ($), but we really got a kick out of our Wilderness Scotland Outer Hebrides trip. Small (10) group from all over the world, energetic people but not kids, superb Scots guide, semi-rustic places to stay. Kippers and Haggis for breakfast. Bring rain gear.
Would you ever stoop to using a pre-lit fake Christmas tree? I always felt that it was a sort of blasphemy, but those decorated trees are pagan anyway. Balsam Hill has the best. Very cheerful, if you want your house to look like a bank lobby.
But where do you store the darn thing? They are not cheap.
3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,
3:2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
3:3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
3:4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
3:5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;
3:6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
"What is the chief end of man?” And we answered together so one of us could carry on if the other forgot, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”
At the BD homestead Thanksgiving, everybody brings something. It is semi-organized. This year, we had an abundance of homemade desserts, all wonderful.
I am talking about pumpkin cheesecake, mini-mince pies with homemade rum ice cream, squash pie, and things like that.
All good but posting a pic of a daughter's homemade brie pastry thing with the surprise of toasted pecans and cranberries inside with the cheese. That is a meal in itself.
We all got a big kick out of seeing Bob and his band this week down in Westchester.
He sounded good, growly but good. Looked a bit frail at 80. Somebody needs to feed him some pumpkin pie or a Big Mac and fries.
He was on piano. Very tight band. Delighted, happy sold-out crowd - all ages. Played half rockers, half ballads. As typical for him, the arrangements always change. Played Masterpiece, Gotta Serve Somebody, I Contain Multitudes, lots more, and closed with Every Grain of Sand which makes me cry every time. Thanks for that, Bob, and for keeping keepin' on.
One interesting thing we noticed about Italians is how they go out to dine. Yes, they do that frequently. But we noticed that it tends to be groups of men, and groups of women. Small groups and large groups. Gregarious people who love to go out with pals and have a good time.
Any time we saw couples they seemed to be tourists or young lovers. But young lovers do not eat much of course. One more "real Italian" dinner we had in Siena, before Thanksgiving week when it's different foods.
Primi: Poached egg with goat cheese fondue and caramelized leeks
Second primi (yeah, we share each course): Chickpea puree with a hunk of cod, with crispy pancetta:
And more amazing, rare roast pigeon with some roasted corn and mushrooms, with a fig sauce drizzle. That's Italian:
"In the Beatles circa 1969, Paul McCartney is the negotiator-in-chief, and
There seems to be a shortage of links this holiday season. Or are we missing everything?
Towering Musical Theater Master, Broadway’s ‘West Side Story’ Lyricist,
At the BD homestead Thanksgiving, everybody brings something. It is semi-organized. This year, we had an abundance of homemade desserts, all wonderful.
The war on Thanksgiving is real 
