brought to you by thursday…

Normally, I highlight the feed finds on Friday, which is why they’re called Friday Finds on the Feed.

This week, they’re being brought to you by Thursday. Friday is being reserved for Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in the US of A.

That’s how we’re rolling this week.

The Friday feed finds is something that I started at the end of 2010. I don’t know about you, but I’m always finding stuff of interest — cool stuff, fun stuff, good stuff, lol stuff, and even some crazy stuff in my RSS feeds each week.

{Aside:} Yes, I actually have tags for all this stuff.

Being me, I like to share one to several of these with you each week. Sometimes, one is enough. Remember last week’s Nutella Bread Pudding? Yes. Me, too.

Usually, it’s something for writers first. Then, it’s just up for grabs. Whatever I think you might find interesting, or fun, or just out there.

Here’s what we have this week:

For Writers ~ @ Girlfriends Book Club, Cindy Jones’s Five Scary-Gothic Things About Being a Writer. I can’t do it justice. Just click on over.

For Backyard Chicken Lovers Everywhere ~ @ The Art of Doing Stuff, Karen’s The Reclucktant Activist. Should urban chickens be banned? Hamilton, Ontario might think so. Cluck on over and show Karen some support.

For Foodies ~ @ Steamy Kitchen, Chili and Basil Scallops. I might’ve just had a little foodgasm. I don’t know about you, but I could listen to John Gregory-Smith all day. Click. On. Over.

I’ve put John Gregory-Smith’s Mighty Spice Cookbook on my Christmas list. Actually, I don’t have a list. That’s it.  Are you reading this, Mr. G honey?

Brought to you by Thursday.

It's a wrap…

Confession time. I’m one of those people. The last minute wrapper people. Okay. I’m a last minute shopper, too, most of the time. This year I wasn’t doing too badly on the shopping, probably because I wasn’t doing that much. Oddly, I’m not even bothered by that. It kind of frees you up to think about things like how many cookies can you actually eat in one day? Totally liberating.

Back to wrapping. I’m right there at the eleventh hour on Christmas Eve — at the dining room table, gift wrap at 9 o’clock, egg nog at 2 o’clock, scissors at 4 o’clock — hoping like heck that Santa will bring a couple of his elves when he floats down the chimney. Cute, little gazillion-year-old elves. Someone like Debbie, who can make a mean cup of hot chocolate and do some serious wrapping, while Santa enjoys a tasty treat of milk and cookies — soya, or any other kind.

I’m a wrapping underachiever. The weak link in my wrapping is tape. I never have any, which I don’t quite understand because I buy it in bulk every year. What happens to it from one Christmas to the next? No lolcats live here. The Golden Pup only eats UBO’s and socks, and Mr. G, honey cheats and just uses bags and tissue. Totally lame. What’s a present without a border-to-border, edge-to-edge seal of don’t-peek-at-me-before-Christmas tape?

But what’s a wrapper to do when she’s run out of the extra wide, transparent magic that is tape? I have a few suggestions. You knew I would.

• stickers
• twist ties
• staples
• rubberbands
• surgical, electrical, duct tape
• paper clips

What do you do when the tape runs out? Eat cookies is not an acceptable answer. Right Sven? Sven is frowning. And growling. Where the hell is your Sven Report, #150?

Here, Sven. Have a sugar cookie.

Elen

Birds and the JGF…

Either the birds are migrating, or I’m starring in a Hitchcock film with Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor. They’re circling my street, parking their cute little bird butts in my Blue Spruce, dive-bombing the leaves, and flying in formation like the Canadian Air Force Snowbirds team. Fortunately, they’re not congregating on the telephone wires, so I’m pretty confident I’m not having a Hitchcock moment, though I’d love to see Mr. Hitchcock do a cameo in my neighborhood were he still among us. The Birds is possibly my favorite Hitchcock film and about as close to horror as I like to come.

The leaves are blowing and swirling down the street, and I’m beginning to think about all things pumpkin. In fact, I was nudging Mr. G, honey about pumpkin-carving just last night. I’m ready for my Jacks.

Speaking of which, I was having my head eyes examined yesterday and saw some specs that spoke to me, as in don’t you wish your girlfriend was…

I call them Jack Glasses, because they remind me of jack-o-lanterns. They’re rectangular, with rimless bottoms, black metal across the top, and black and orange grille arm pieces. The bad news is that my vision changed only slightly, and I can’t justify the expense. I’m just going to have to start a little JGF — Jack Glasses Fund — because I totally look like a geek writer in them. Totally.

You know, maybe I should just get my head examined.

Time to corral my brain cells and get to work.

Elen