Silly Site o' the Day

Earrings sorted, ironing done, lots of catalogs skimmed and tossed, it's been a decent day. Should have slept a bit more, as I'm determined to stay up with my Chambord Royale and my Robin (and probably Zed) past midnight, but it's not like I have to get up early tomorrow. If I'm going to spend the next few hours waiting for Baby New Year, I think I could do worse than CNN's "AC2" (Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen); is this the first time two out gay guys have hosted something like this? I love when Cohen calls Cooper "sweetie"! Speaking of babies in the new year, Here's what Bored Panda thinks would happen if toddlers could post on Facebook. Who says they're not already?

Silly Site o' the Day

The cold seems to be seeping into my joints and extremities, as I have some sort of pain in my left hand (centered around the ring finger, leading me to temporarily take off my wedding ring, which I don't like to do) that I know would only increase were I to attempt ironing today. So that's been pushed back until tomorrow, and today was spent relaxing again as much as possible. I'm starting to get antsy, until I see the weather report (I believe the snow has finally stopped), then I just shrug. This too shall pass! Meanwhile, enjoy the continuing adventures of Kyloki (via Laughing Squid).

Silly Site o' the Day

Weekend shopping done, ahead of tomorrow's storm. Laid in some M&Ms for New Year's Eve (an old family tradition, although I'll be eating far less of them on Sunday night than I used to as a kid) and some warm food to take us through the next few cold days. Fortunately Zed does not have the power of Simon's Cat to lock us out:



In fact, he's perplexed every time we draw the curtains. "Where did the window go?"

Silly Site o' the Day

It's starting to get to the point where I'm feeling guilty for conserving energy, but today I found that a big breakfast and a tiny lunch and dinner did me a lot of good. If I stay out of the living room (easy to do when the space heater isn't on in there) I forgo temptation as well, as that's where the holiday snacks are. Our holiday card wreath is now completely filled in, we'll leave that and the table up until Monday, so I can still post holiday-themed silly sites, like this etymological one:



Via Laughing Squid.

Silly Site o' the Day

When one isn't feeling well, one makes do with what one can. Most of the Marvel comics from the past month are now read, and the DVR is down below 50%. Tomorrow is laundry, Friday (or at least one of the few days following) will be ironing and shopping, anything really to keep out of the cold. The space heaters have helped, the drawn curtains (which we use to separate rooms because our doors are hollow and cats tend to make a racket banging on hollow doors whereas they can slip through curtains) have helped more. Hot food always helps, so here's how to scramble some effing eggs:



Via BoingBoing. Stay warm out there!

Silly Site o' the Day

My first non-holiday, non-weekend day off, although technically it's still a holiday as it's Boxing Day which Robin grew up celebrating, so he made bubble and squeak for dinner. Meanwhile I ventured out into the not-yet-bitter cold for my medi-pedi and dry cleaning pickup, and now I'm inside for the rest of the week, thanks to Mom and I agreeing it's too darn cold to venture all the way into Joisey. I'd much rather sit here and watch these pre-1918 Christmas movie shorts presented on BoingBoing, although of course I've already seen the Christmas Carol one.

Silly Site o' the Day

I've done all my Happy Christmas wishes to my Christian friends and Rob's family, watched most versions of A Christmas Carol that I've recorded through the years, and Robin and I made a great feast for one another. The only thing I forgot was oranges. Ah well, one for next year, I suppose. If you must, here's where you find out what your elf name is.

Silly Site o' the Day

It's that time again. I've just finished watching the 1949 severely-truncated version of A Christmas Carol narrated by Vincent Price and presumably (based on its production values) shown on TV back when a few hundred families had one. So why not run the link to my Wholly Trinity series, as I do every year? And just to be extra-festive, here's Old Spice's exploring Yule Log:



Via Laughing Squid. And to all a good late afternoon!

Silly Site o' the Day

Shopping all done, except darn, I forgot a few things, so we'll have to venture out again tomorrow. Meanwhile I've gotten into relaxation mode and am neglecting sitting at the computer for hours on end, which oddly I don't miss. I'm just not with current trends, I guess. Including holiday eyebrows. I mean, really.

Silly Site o' the Day

And I'm out! My supervisor said I could leave as soon as I was finished with my work, and I've beat the supposedly coming rain and all. Now for a nice nap, but not before I share the charming BBC interstitial that I couldn't get enough of when we were in England earlier this month:



There's just something magical about the beginning of a long staycation...

Silly Site o' the Day

I'm definitely in ramping-up-for-holiday-week-staycation mode, which will of course include the annual watching of Her Majesty's Speech and Doctor Who this Christmas. Hope I can tell the difference between the two! Maybe Doctor Puppet can help:







Can't wait to see how Alisa Stern & co. tackle Jody Whittaker's Doctor!

Silly Site o' the Day

I do have a few holiday-related Silly Sites, but have neglected to present them. Allow me to rectify that with "Dear Satan," narrated by SirPatStew:



Via Laughing Squid.

Silly Site o' the Day

I had a bit too much on my job plate to take a lunchtime stroll, but it did feel good to wear short sleeves and a non-heavy jacket today! All the snow and ice from the weekend is long gone. Let's celebrate with some pretty dominos!



Via Laughing Squid. Love me some Hevesh5!

Silly Site o' the Day

It warmed up enough for me to get some medical stuff taken care of before work today, and take a bit of a walk at lunch as well. Tomorrow promises to be even better, before we're all smacked with the cold reminder of winter again. Meantime I'm smacked with the cold reminder that I cannot walk the city streets without having to steer around people with their heads in their phones:



Via Laughing Squid.

Silly Site o' the Day

The cards are done and ready to mail, the bills are paid, and I'm finally ready to relax and enjoy the lead-up to my week off! Which of course consists of five workdays, but never mind that. Let's just enjoy these kitty-interrupted nativity scenes, shall we?

Silly Site o' the Day

It's been one of those days I feel like making a list of all the things I accomplished, most of them before breakfast! Comics sorted, laundry put away, glucose chart updated and emailed to doctor, holiday card inserts printed, checkbook caught up, car insurance paid... then breakfast and a well-earned nap before doing the shopping list, more washing up, calling Mom whilst Robin cleared the car of snow... then we were off to lunch and errands, and now I feel like all I have to do this weekend is finish the holiday card mailing and pay a few more bills. It's a very satisfying feeling for me! Not as satisfying as some of these hilarious texts from a Jewish mother that make me very happy my Mom doesn't text, but satisfying nonetheless.

Silly Site o' the Day

Today was my second attempt at seeing my ophthalmologist since the MTA screwed me over last month, and it was such a success, despite the gridlock and snow, that I was able to swing by the card store near the medical office and pick up our holiday cards for this year before my appointment. Got home just as it was getting dark and have begun to take care of all the things that I haven't had the energy to do since our return from England. With any luck I can finish up over the weekend and face my last work week before our holiday break with a good sense of personal accomplishment. Meanwhile, Simon's Cat (and kitten) seek to accomplish a respite from all the noise:



Now off to do the dishes!

Silly Site o' the Day

The holiday party was... well, it started out bad and then got better as I found myself a nice spot right by the bar near the entrance. The wait for the bus, not so much fun. Still trying to thaw out, but the driveway is a sheet of ice so it'll be treads tomorrow morning. I bet if I had that $9000 Swiss army knife that everyone's reviewing none of this would be a problem.

Silly Site o' the Day

Brr! Not only was it way too cold for my comfort this morning, but I realized I have an office party to attend tomorrow and my made-up ophthalmologist appointment Friday so I had to schlep to get comics today. The evening cool wasn't nearly as bad as the morning, so I did luck out. But I'm really loathe to even go to work the next couple of days! Can't wait for the weekend thaw, when perhaps I'll get to practice my feminist hyrrs.

Silly Site o' the Day

Rob's toothache has been taken care of by The Best Dental Office In Town, and I'm so relieved he can finally get some sleep tonight! We celebrated by eating food that didn't hurt him one single bit; made a nice change! Meanwhile, I hear the new Star Wars movie is getting good reviews, so in honor of that here's Mark Hamill, Mark Hamill, and Mark Hamill:



Via io9. I had a crush on him back in the late '70s, and it's hard not to still have a crush on him. What a brilliant guy.

Silly Site o' the Day

Pretty tough first day back. I got through everything just fine, only it felt like I was working through a haze. I can't remember the last time I had jetlag going east to west. Maybe it's a result of turning 60. Or of the emotional roller coaster of empathizing with Robin's tooth pain (dentist tomorrow, hurrah!). In any case, kitties will make everything better, particularly when they grace famous album covers.

Silly Site o' the Day

I can't believe vacation's over already. No regrets at all, but it's much easier to do "staycations" than to deal with two rounds of jetlag and having to gear up for the holiday season. Yesterday's snow kind of put pay to plans to buy holiday cards this weekend, but our annual Riggs Residence Roundup is completed and I'm all packed up for work tomorrow. We haven't put up our card wreath nor tabletop tree yet, haven't even laid out the table, but we're thinking of going minimalist this year anyway...

Silly Site o' the Day

I didn't think I'd be experiencing jet lag on the return voyage from England, but yesterday was pretty stressful both physically and mentally so I just kind of crashed today. Plus, I'm still bummed I didn't know about the special Marks & Spencer avocados, or I would have gotten at least one. But we're home now, the photos have been sorted for later uploading, the holiday card list is updated, my finances are ready to be tackled tomorrow, all the Premiere League games are now wiped from the DVR except the one I saw in person on my birthday, but that's about it. Off to another nap.

Silly Site o' the Day

Home again, at the end of a very long day. Got up at 3 AM, showered and dressed, checked in around 4 AM, very full plane left around 6 and arrived prior to 9 AM New York time, too early for the customs people to begin their day so we had to wait... then it took forever to get through customs, then my Uber app wasn't working, but we were home by 11:30 then did some necessaries before doing the shopping because, hey, welcome home and did you know it's going to SNOW tomorrow? Anyway, I think I've probably been up around 24 hours so far, give or take, but we're going nowhere for the weekend so that'll help. I'm about to call it a day, but Robin's already gone to bed which means I have no help fixing our wifi which keeps shutting out. Only got about halfway through this killer video:



Via BoingBoing. Great to see us older women still rocking!

Silly Site o' the Day

And as we prepare to return across the pond, I wanted to leave you with some life hacks you shouldn't do, via Wil Wheaton. See you tomorrow, presumably back safe and sound!

Silly Site o' the Day

Happy birthday to my beloved Robin! We're in England as you read this, celebrating with Rob's brother Terry and his family "oop north," but of course this post is pre-written so the blog will have new daily content even while I'm not at home. Not sure how the vacation is going as I haven't yet taken it at the time I write, but I can tell you how the marriage is going. Pretty well, actually! When we fight, we both feel awful about it and make up almost immediately. The love always far outweighs the little stumbles. I'm still astounded we found each other and have built this wonderful life together, and how we've completed each other's thoughts and sentences from the very beginning of our relationship. I love waking up to that accent! And have I mentioned he's a hell of an artist? Plus, he can pronounce all these words that are very difficult for a Scotswoman:



(Via Laughing Squid.) And he can translate Geordie-speak, which really comes in handy in this area!

Silly Site o' the Day

Let's catch up with Cookie Monster for a change:



Via Mark Evanier.

Silly Site o' the Day

This is scheduled to post on my and Robin's 19th anniversary, which we plan to spend mostly riding trains through the English countryside. We will not be staying at any AirBNBs:



Via Laughing Squid.

Silly Site o' the Day

Say, whatever happened to John Moschitta Jr., who made a great living out of being "The World's Fastest Talker" back in the early '80s?



Via Laughing Squid.

Silly Site o' the Day

It's a milestone for me, my 60th birthday. I'll probably do some real-time updates on Facebook, but as I'm typing this from the recent past when I was a wee lass of 59, I just want to thank everyone who's gotten me through this past six decades on this planet and made my life as relatively comfortable and easy to bear as it's been. I'm probably at my first English football game as you read this (Liverpool, my favorite team, versus Brighton, around where Robin and I are staying these first few vacation days), learning new slang terms for male and female genitalia (via io9). And what old gal could ask for anything more?

Silly Site o' the Day

White Rabbits from England, and welcome to clickbait! You wouldn't believe #6 in this series of clickpaid parody sites (via BoingBoing)! Or that some academics choose to do dissertations on clickbait (also via BoingBoing)! Well, some people will believe anything.