Happy New Year!

Here's hoping that:

• this year has been a good one for you
• that your New Year's Eve will be as elegant/trendy/loud/quiet as you want it to be
• that 2008 will bring health and happiness to you and yours

Best wishes,
Kimberley

A bit of Christmas

Hi, everybody, and merry Christmas! Though Chris and I don't decorate for Christmas the way we do for Halloween, we do like to put out a few things.

Let me show you around!

Here's the table by the front door:




Here's a closeup of the compotes:



I like the old-fashioned look of fresh greenery with herbs and fruits. I was standing in line at Trader Joe's the other day (replacing everything we'd lost when the fridge died, from butter to BBQ sauce) when I noticed the guy in front of me had a lovely little crate of clementines. "Well, Mr. Man", I thought, "you're not the only one who's walking outta here with those citrusy treats!!", and off I dashed to the produce section. Note: I am so thankful that people can't read my mind-- they'd just think I was bizarre.


Here's the top of the entertainment center, with fir boughs (which I pulled out of the free bins at Lowe's) and ivy (which I pulled out of the yard):




Here's a closeup of one of our Jim Shore Santas:




The Christmas tree, which we decorated with friends. That's the way we do thing around here, see: we invite people over for potlucks and then force them to decorate Tallulah House. You'd think they'd have learned their lesson by now ;)





A pine garland from Ace Hardware, with ivy from the yard:




The chandelier, with ivy and rosemary:




The dining room doorway:




The pyramid that my parents brought back from Germany many years ago:





Now for the kitchen. Here's a primitive, folk-arty tree that my friend Lib gave me:





Next is our little nutcracker and some apothecary jars filled with festive M&M's!





Next is the top of the new refrigerator (yes, as much as it set us back, it has to be featured!!). I confess that I keep my gargoyle out year-long, though not usually here. I am very fond of my winged Christmas elf, and of his combat boots :)





Here's a few shots of the vignette in the sitting room (pardon the gap under the pug picture: I have been trying to get Chris's help in hanging things to balance it out, but he hates drilling into plaster as much as I do!):




Here's a closeup of my Dresden angels. My parents also brought these back from Germany and they're one of my favourite things:





Another closeup:





In keeping with the idea of greenery and natural materials, I decided to show off my ginger jar with some huge stalks of rosemary (I noticed today that the rosemary has bloomed, I suppose due to being inside. It's wonderful!):





I kept it simple in the bathroom as well, decorating with a silver tray, a candle, and my favourite Christmas linen: the flying pig towel!





Here's a closeup of my pig. If he doesn't make you smile, then there's nothing I can do for you and I suggest that you seek medical attention quickly!





From all of the denizens of Tallulah House, we wish you a merry Chrismas!

Happy Birthday to Me!

That's right! America's snarkiest girl-next-door turned 34 today :) Woohoooo, I'm still alive!!!

Happy birthday, Chris

"True love is friendship set on fire"

Happy birthday to my best friend and my own true love.

I love you, Grumpy :)

Just a quick hello

Hi, everybody!

I have been really busy at work and, between bikram yoga (I'm REALLY liking this-- more in a later post)-- and World of Warcraft, really busy outside of it as well, hence the lack of posting.

Our refrigerator died last week-- yes, right after we'd heard the news about my sabbatical being approved and resolved to save up money for the trip-- so last Saturday we went out and bought one at Lowe's. Well, long story short, the delivery folks banged our new refrigerator up but good, putting a dent in the bottom and taking some paint off. It was also REALLY LOUD! I called the store manager and complained, explaining how I didn't want to buy it from Lowe's in the first place after the nightmare we went through with our landscaping project last summer, but that we had, against my better judgment.

Well, I have to give this gentleman top marks. He immediately resolved to make it right and, though two ladies ended up handling the actual details, he did: by upgrading us to another refrigerator. Also, I couldn't have been more pleased with the super-nice delivery guys who showed up and took the time to carefully maneuver the fridge through our narrow kitchen doorway. So, hats off to Lowe's. I'm going to write a thank-you letter, but also wanted to share this with my friends in Blogland :)

Tallulah House has gotten a little gussied up for Christmas. We don't go all out the way we do for Halloween, but it is definitely festive around here! In the rush to get out the door when I got the call about the fridge being delivered, I left the camera at work so I have no pictures to share :(
I'll take some photos on Monday, though, and share our modest decorations next week.

It's so funny: though I was thrilled to be getting the Saga of the Fridge wrapped up, I was very irritated to have to leave work early (Chris had taken off to see to it the first time so it was only fair that I did so the second time around) with all that I had to do. However, it turned out to be such a blessing to have some time at home. I did some much-needed cleaning, folded some laundry, polished some silver, and did a bit more decorating. Between working and commuting, I know that Tallulah House gets short shrift, and I hate that. So, it was lovely to have some time to take care of things around here. I'm sure that none of you can relate to that, right? ;)

So my quick hello has turned into a lengthy catch-up session!Thanks for stopping by, and I hope that you have a great day.
Kimberley

Over the moon

It's no secret to anyone who's known me long: though I've had the excitement and privilege of travelling to England, Scotland, Austria, Italy, Hawaii, Canada, China, India, and Kenya, my heart has always, ALWAYS longed for Ireland.

This being my 5th year at my present job, I became eligible to apply for a "renewal" sabbatical. My proposal didn't have to have anything to do with academia or my discipline, but could be simply for pleasure purposes. I decided to apply, all the while thinking that I probably wouldn't be chosen. I mean, come on, what's 5 years next to the 25 or 30 that many of colleagues have given to the school? I decided to go for it, though, because I didn't have anything to lose.

Well, I met with the president of the school on Wednesday, and he gave me the news: my proposal had been enthusiastically approved and I was going to spend two weeks in Ireland this coming summer, all expenses paid. I was overcome and started to cry (don't tell anybody, ok, I have a reputation to maintain!). To be given such an opportunity is a huge gift, and such a compliment.

I keep looking at pictures of Ireland and thinking, "Wow! I'm going to be seeing that FOR REAL!". It's all a bit overwhelming-- but I'll cope ;)


So, here's a list of what Chris and I want to do (oh, yeah, Chris is coming, too-- did you think I'd leave him here??):

Dublin-- 1916 Uprising Walking Tour; Trinity College Library; the Irish Writers' Museum; the James Joyce Centre; the Guiness Brewery (did you know that they have a 1000 year land lease??)

Meath-- Hill of Tara

The Giant's Causeway

Galway-- The Wild Geese Heritage Museum; walking tour of the countryside

Cork-- Blarney Castle

Sligo-- W.B. Yeats stuff (Thor Ballylee, etc); Sligo Folk Park; Carrowmore and Carrowkeel megalithic sites

The Cliffs of Mohr

The Aran Isles

Shannon/Ennis-- Bunratty Castle and Folk Park; Brian Boru Heritage Centre

I know that Chris and I will discover more things that we want to do over the next few months, but the most important thing is to get our flight, car, and accomodations booked. I've found a few companies that give you the option of paying ahead for a set number of nights for B&B's, but that allow you a lot of flexibility on when/where you stay.

So, Blogland: have any of you been to Ireland? Do you have any advice on travelling, things to see/do? I would love any information that you have to offer.

I'll miss my little Tallulah House and the Friendly Beasts, but console myself with the knowledge that coming home is always sweet. Plus, well... I'M GOING TO IRELAND!! :)

Thanks for stopping by,
Kimberley (who still has yet to take it all in)