"i finally got around to making some stock out of a beer-butt-chicken carcass. i've been meaning to make stock for such a long time, and i'm proud to say, it's almost as good as I hoped it would be. A little lacking in flavor, but not bad at all. So now we get to sit under our new electric blanket (now with DUAL CONTROLS! Way to avoid compromise) and make our way through burning hot bowls of soup, along with some sharp cheddar cheese and month-old sprouted hippie bread. a winning combination if i do say so myself."
"AGH! I spotted one! On the computer! Kill it!!!!!!! Our home has been invaded by cretins from the depths of dirt. i think this home was built atop an ant mound. no, i will not share my warmth with them--there's only so much as it is--and yes, i will murder them on sight."
"i don't know if I believe in Raid."
"i've been paying attention to becca's typing style and must admit it's interesting. she'll type a few words, delete them, type the same few but slightly modified, erase that before finally typing the few words that stick around. mind any readers, especially becca, this is only an observation and not a criticism because i often do the same thing. "
"it's called self-editing, and spares other people the drudgery of reading my stream-of-consciousness blarfing. but yes, it is kind of amusing to watch. and it means that i can ONLY write on a computer now. gone are my days of journaling in a fancy leather journal. it sits, unused and moldering, on our ant-infested bookshelf. at least they'll pay it some attention."
"hmmm...i could probably use to practice some self editing. anyway. we also ate some ice-cream with chocolate sprinkles on top."
"not just any chocolate sprinkles. these were HAGELSLAG, the de ruijter variety to be exact. dark chocolatey goodness, in the shape and texture of, you guessed it, ants."
"god bless dutch chocolate, even if to Americans the word looks like vomit. i never thought a word so harsh and...um, rigid could mean something so wonderful. i imagine that's how English sounds to most Spanish-speakers."
"kind of how your farts sound after you've downed a bunch of dairy products. actually, today there was a chance that jonathan was going to experience dutch language firsthand for a few days. my oma hofland passed away yesterday, and we thought about flying our whole family over to holland to go to her funeral. turns out tickets are SO freaking expensive, though. like $1,500 expensive. darn it. guess the whole last-minute thing doesn't work out as well as you might think. so, we'll just have to celebrate and mourn from a couple thousand miles away, in our own time zone. miss and love you, Oma. You made the absolute awesomest cards, and were very good about sending them for each birthday and for christmas. thank you for spending so many hours cutting out the tiny flowers and gluing them onto the pages, and carefully placing each sticker ...just...so. You made great tea, too, by the way. And it really DOES taste better in a glass instead of a ceramic mug. Thanks for the enlightenment there."
"so folks...that's the news from lake ants-be-gone, where everyone is flippin' awesome.
peace, love, rock n' roll....and Merry Christmas!"
J&B
