I can’t believe Thanksgiving break is almost over.

Yesterday we had temperatures in the upper 40s and got the outside Christmas lights hung. Mind you, I won’t turn them on until next weekend, but we got them up while it was relatively warm.

Thanks goodness.

Today we made a run to Lowes to get birdseed and a new fire extinguisher, and ended up coming back with speaker wire, since I only have four of my six speakers hooked up. Yes, I’m still excited about the new stereo. And tomorrow is new cell phone day.

I almost feel guilty about this near orgy of spending.

But not guilty enough I won’t be getting my new phone tomorrow. So for tonight I must contemplate: black or purple for the new phone.

So I’ve been complaining for awhile that I need a new stereo receiver.

Mind you, I love my current receiver. It’s a Sony ES series and has been an excellent receiver for years.

(Yes of course it’s tuned to the local public radio station.)

However.

It’s at least 18 years old, if not 19. So it doesn’t have anything close to the number of inputs in the back it needs. XM goes into the tape deck slot, but this is not ideal as the volume is off and there’s a faint buzzing the louder you play it, and although the DVD players goes through the stereo, Dish TV runs only though the TV. Which isn’t that big a deal as Grandmom is the only one who uses the TV, and she’s afraid to touch the stereo.

Nor does it have enough speaker outputs–and I only own six speakers.

And look at my poor remote. The back to the battery case has been held on by a rubber band for about ten years now (at one point it was a black pony tail holder, but that wore out last year and I didn’t have a replacement).

So we’ve known for awhile it needed replaced, we’ve just put it off.

Until browsing the Black Friday sales on Amazon we saw receivers 50% off. Yesterday’s deal, even at 50% off, was way more than we could afford. But today, they have Denon AVR-888 for $350–more than 50% off.

And the thing is sweet. No, I’m not one of those people that can spout specs–my house is too small for that good of a system–but it has everything we were looking for, and it’s a Denon!

I’m sorry I couldn’t find a Sony for a replacement. As I said, my Sony has been excellent for a long time. But never fear, my Sony won’t be heading for a landfill–it’ll head down to the basement so I can listen to something different downstairs than is playing upstairs.

Not that it matters too much. As I said, it’s a small house. But still!

And now I can’t wait for my new receiver!

Too bad we’re not smart enough to figure out what cords we need beforehand.

When Michael got his new cell phone (an Instinct) in August, and we changed our cell phone plan to allow texting and data, I was insanely jealous and wanted a new phone. But alas, but I have to wait until December 1st, lest I pay a zillion dollars instead of pennies for a new phone. (The contact isn’t an issue–there are five of us on the bill–we won’t be changing any time soon.)

I originally thought I wanted a cell phone/PDA. Was sure of it. Knew the phone I wanted to get.

But as the day for getting a new phone grew closer, I started looking at phones in anticipation. And discovered that maybe I didn’t really want a PDA phone. They seemed awfully expensive and bulky for something I keep in my pants pocket.

But there were still some expensive phones on my list that I thought were my top contenders.

Then when we went out to eat yesterday, we stopped by Best Buy, just to peruse what was there. (Black Friday isn’t a big deal with you 1) go late and 2) aren’t planning on buying anything. I discovered that they had the phones I was considering out on display. And once I laid my paws on those little keypads, my top choices plummeted, and the Blackberry, which was on the list as a back-up, fell off entirely (don’t like the keypad–I’m a terrible typist as it is).

The expensive PDA/cell phone I thought I loved had a really flimsy feeling keypad sliding mechanism, and I disliked the layout of the keypad. And the flip phone that had jumped to the top because it had a full alphabet keypad? Unpleasant to type on. Suddenly the phone that was being considered as a backup leaped to the top of the list. I loved the full keypad and the way it typed and the way the letters were separated. It did everything I wanted, and even though it had a slightly smaller screen, I decided it wasn’t that much smaller, since it’s not like I can surf the web easily even on Michael’s phone.

The only drawback is it can’t be used as a modem, which Michael’s phone can’t do either.

But the best part? It’ll cost me about $20 versus $299 if I wait until next week to upgrade.

So it looks like I’ll be getting a Rant, which seems fitting on so very many levels.

Two days!

Better late than never.

OH MY GOD! It’s a GIANT FURRY SLUG!

And then, suddenly, she’s normal sized.

Yes, it’s WVU vs Pitt!

BTHOP!

Ten years ago Michael and I were married.

Saying yes to him was the best decision I ever made in my life.

Today’s word is obviously for John Scalzi.

chawbacon \CHAW-bay-kun\ noun
: bumpkin, hick

Did you know?
“Chaw” is an alteration of “chew” that is still used in some English dialects, especially in rural areas. Cured pork, or bacon, was a staple of some rural folks’ diets in the past. Since the 16th century, “chaw” has been combined with “bacon” to create a ludicrous name for an uncultured yokel. Over the centuries, the word has lent its delicious dialect flavor to a wide range of publications, but it has become less common in recent decades. Today, city dwellers are as likely as country folk to chow down on bacon, and the word “chawbacon” isn’t often on the lips of either group.

Nothing like trying to shoot photos from a moving car with dirty windows.

Sun is in the east on these two pictures–we left the house around 8:30 AM. This meant the sun was at a moderately annoying angle for half the trip.

It was about 26 when we left the house, so the trees were frosted over, and there would be a small window of time between the sun hitting them and the frost melting where they would sparkle in the light.

Very pretty, and one of the reasons I like mornings.

And here’s the drive home. Interestingly, this view is of the north east. The color to the west so so strong it was reflected in the clouds to the east.

Unfortunately, the actual sunset wasn’t photographable from the car, as it was behind us.

If you’ve only seen WV on a map, you may wonder why it takes so long to get from one place to another. After all, in DC and other urban settings you have to contend with traffic. But this is WV, and we don’t have hour long traffic jams (even football game Saturdays in Morgantown aren’t that bad.)

But what we do have are roads that follow the contour of the land. Here is Interstate 79, which runs pretty much the length of WV.

(more…)

This year I am thankful for:

Michael
My grandmother’s continue longevity
Orange juice
Gainful employment that I often enjoy
My family
Paying off our car loan
Chocolate
Our house
Michael enjoying his job
Snow
My cats–most of the time
Down comforters
My new camera and printer
Michael

NOTE: Any updates today will appear in the Twitter widget on the sidebar.

Grandmom: That’s IT! I’ve had enough! I’m gonna BAN computers! NO MORE COMPUTERS!
Michelle: You realize Michael and I will both be out of a job then.
Grandmom: Then you’ll just have to find ANOTHER job!

You answered 30 out of 33 correctly — 90.91 %

Average score for this quiz during November: 78.0%
Average score: 78.0%

I can’t keep my speeches straight, I can’t keep my amendments straight, and I don’t know what the public good is. :) Other than that, I’m golden.

Take the Civic Literacy Quiz yourself.

I’m going to print out the quiz so my grandmother can take it. We’ll see how she does. Probably better than the rest of us.

(via Stereo Describes My Scenario)

ADDENDUM the First:
Grandmom didn’t do as well as she wanted, but part of the problem was she kept changing her answer or knew the answer was wrong but left the wrong answer. Regardless of her score, she really enjoyed the quiz.

If you wanna know why it’s for the UCF, click through and read the alt/title text on the image.

I discovered that when you take your (actual) teeth out of your mouth in sections, they’re much easier to brush.