on St. Nick

Relevant did a piece in their 850 Words newsletter, and here's an excerpt:

The original Saint Nicholas was a Christian bishop in 4th-century Myra, geographically located in modern-day Turkey. As an adult, Nicholas gained a reputation as a generous man and the protector of innocents. These saintly traits largely arose from two horrific legends, both of which eventually led to his canonization.

The first is said to have occurred during a terrible famine. A local butcher, in need of something to sell, lured three unsuspecting boys into his shop. He killed the boys, chopped them into pieces, then stuffed their remains in a brine tub, hoping to cure them enough that he could sell the parts as ham. Nicholas was visiting the afflicted region at the time of the crime. Somehow Nicholas became aware of the butcher’s wicked deed. He visited the shop, uncovered the crime, and hastily reassembled the three boys. They came back to life, a bit salty but otherwise in good health. Despite the happy ending, it’s not exactly the kind of story that gets told at the Christmas Eve candlelight service.

In the second legend, a poor citizen of Myra had three daughters, but not enough money to afford a dowry for them. No dowry meant no marriage, and unmarried women in those days generally had one career choice: prostitution. The father was less than thrilled by this possibility, but too proud to ask for help. Nicholas discovered the family’s predicament the night before the first daughter came of age. Not wanting to embarrass anyone, he approached the family’s house late one night and tossed a bag of gold through an opened window. He did the same thing the night before the second daughter came of age. Both gifts were enough to cover the dowry, and both girls were spared the consequence of their poverty.

Before long, the third daughter was ready to marry, and the appreciative father wanted to find out who was behind the lavish gifts. When the time came, the father hid next to the window, hoping to catch their anonymous benefactor in the act. Nicholas learned of the father’s plan and improvised: Instead of lobbing it through the window, he dropped the third bag of gold down the chimney.

It wasn’t long before people began to suspect that the kindly bishop Nicholas, who had inherited money from his affluent parents, was behind these mysterious actions and a great many other secretive gifts to the poor. After he died of old age on December 6, 343 AD the people of Myra continued providing for those in need. In fact, they made a practice of giving gifts anonymously, always attributing them to the late Bishop Nicholas.

Before long, the bishop — who had worn liturgical robes of red and white — was canonized as a saint. Saint Nicholas became venerated as the protector of innocents, the patron saint of children, and a secret giver of gifts.

Of course, the traditional American idea of Santa Claus — along with his British/Canadian counterpart, Father Christmas — originates in the stories surrounding Nicholas of Myra. As far as saints go, St. Nick was especially venerated in the Netherlands, where he became known by the Dutch variant Sinterklaas. When the Dutch came to the New World and settled in New Amsterdam (today’s New York City), they brought with them the story of the now-anglicized “Santa Claus.”

hahahaha

ok, let me preface this by saying that I am a HUGE fan of sci-if & fantasy. I even enjoy some of the stuff that's not even that well written. that said, I hated the Golden Compass trilogy. I wasn't aware of Pullman's atheistic tendencies, or his pure hatred of all things Narnian & C.S. Lewis. whatever. the books were just horrible.

then comes the movie.

for months nothing but barrages of ads (and the awful pop-up floaters) for The Golden Compass. ugh. granted, it was the best of the three books, but that's still not saying much. AT ALL. this morning the news reports were listing weekend box office grosses, and while the GP was No. 1, it only grossed about $7k a theater. Juno, on the other hand, grossed about $60k per theater. that's hilarious.

Prince Caspian

the teaser/trailer is out.

see it here.

ok, I had to come back and edit this post. you know the weird Scifi Channel commercials where the things pop, turn into something else, etc.? well if I was one I'd turn into an explosion of happy little firework sprays that go dancing all over the place because I'm that happy/excited about the newest Narnia movie.

insert perma-grin & happy dance.

elf-ish

I would love to be blogging about some Christmas present projects right now, but unless you're on Ravelry . . . . you probably won't be hearing about them here. just on the off-chance that the person I'm making the thing for actually happen to read this blog. it could happen. must . . . keep . . . surprise! ugh. I really want to blog about it!

I think I might have figured out my dad's Christmas present this year. it's not easy - he just goes and gets exactly what he wants (computer, book, e-book, etc.) most of the time. but I think I figured out Christmas AND his birthday, which is Jan 1st. we've never done both together in the same gift for dad, which is tough. this year both should be great though. woo-hooooo!

oh, my friend Steve was interviewed for an article. you can read the article here.

WARNING:

MAY CAUSE INVOLUNTARY OUTBURSTS OF LAUGHTER . . .

click here to proceed . . .

Christmas trees!!!

I love Christmas. it's my absolute, hands down favorite of the holidays. yesterday was a tree hunt that turned into a comedy of errors, but all ended well. mom and I went and found the "family" tree at Lowe's (GREAT deal, btw!), and that went surprisingly smoothly. I think it took us all of ten minutes to find our perfect tree. I finished getting the lights and ornaments this evening, and we'll add the star once the pruning shears are tracked down. here's a night shot:




Now MY tree on the other hand . . .

first of all, I've been collecting ornaments of various shades of blue for years now. the big white trees that are everywhere would look great with the collection, and be perfect for my bedroom. however . . . the 7 or 8 foot pre-lit white trees are way too big for my space. so I started hunting for a 4 or 5 footer. well, Target seemed to have a white, pre-lit tree in-store when I checked online . . . perfect! so when mom and I went shopping friday I looked around. all I could find at the moment though was one (the only one left) 2 foot potted one. so I bought just in case. well, we got home and it was just too small. so, I headed back out to return it and check Hobby Lobby. no 4 foot white, but there was a 4.5 foot silver, un-lit. so I bought the silver Hobby Lobby tree. well, back to Target to return the 2 foot white, and grab a couple of things I had forgotten on the first visit. as I looked through the holiday section what did I find? the 4 foot pre-lit white trees! maybe some group was huddled in front of them the first time, who knows. so then it was BACK to Hobby Lobby to return the silver tree that I had just bought. after that a very tired me headed home to start decorating. here's the result:

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hop everyone is enjoying a drowsy turkey coma . . . I know I have been! my mom and I made dinner for everyone this year (especially after the last Columbus turkey-spam debacle . . . shudder.), and it was great. my grandfather was there (dad's side), my grandmother and her husband (mom's side), and a family from Kenya. it was a lovely meal.

tomorrow is the first Black Friday in YEARS that I have not had to work. THIS IS VERY VERY EXCITING FOR ME! I plan to sleep in, and then go see what sales are still going on. I also plan to be exceptionally nice to all the salespeople . . . no sane person likes working that day. be nice to your salespeople - having to be at work at 3am (at least!) to face screaming lunatics (because a lack of sleep can do that to you at 4am) fighting for "deals" at 4am isn't fun.

Toya posted another blog entry over at blackgirlslikeus, and I feel the same way about her post as I did about Tia's. one of my best friends used to be a stripper/dancer, and we share very different values when it comes to sex. HOWEVER, we both respect each other, and value the other's opinion. just sayin' . . .

well said

I was checking out my friend's blog today, and it pretty much sums up how I feel about this issue, so I'm posting it for you here:

Can I just say...- Tia

that I am constantly floored by how lackadaisical people are about sex. I'm sure I'm opening up a whole can of worms here but right now I just don't care.

I just don't see how another person being up in your body or you being up in another person's body can NOT be a big deal. I'm sure I'm coming off as sanctimonious and self-righteous. But if you really think about it, I mean truly take a moment to think about it, sex is a big deal. And just doing it with anyone just doesn't seem right. Making that HUGE of an emotional commitment to someone is so serious. And I'm astonished that people seem to think that because I don't want to just have any ol' body up inside my body that I'm uptight or old fashioned or that I need to "live a little." Eff that. I know how attached I can get from just kissing someone I'm in a relationship with. Don't let me fool around and sleep with someone and then they leave. I would be gutted. I would be an emotional mess for a long time.

Forget what you heard. If you want that level of commitment from me then you damn sure better be willing to wait for me. And I mean wait until we have the same last name. If you just want to get laid, stroll the eff on. I know me. And I know that I'm worth waiting for. And if you can't wait for me, then you don't want me. There's no love loss. We just aren't supposed to be together. And I'd be full of bullshishery if I said that waiting was easy. But there aren't really any alternatives for me. You do what you have to do and hard as it is, I'll do what I have to do...which is wait. But I'm not just going to let you up in my body because you want to be there. Child, PLEASE.....

This concludes my soapbox rant for the day.

you can visit the original here.

signs

when you can't find the other Netflix dvd AND your current knitting project . . . it's probably time to re-organize. they're there . . . somewhere. I know because I JUST HAD THEM, but this morning they were not in sight. bah. time for more storage containers and trips to Goodwill.

I started a blog for my Etsy shop. I had considered just blogging about projects and such here, but then things would get mixed up in the posts. and since I've started blogging about my knitting projects, I don't want to confuse customers. knitting has become a hobby for me - there's no way I could do it for profit, but I still love doing it.

I finally got to see Amazing Grace this weekend, and it's excellent. in fact, it will be added to my dvd library very soon.

bunny love

here's the little sweetheart . . .

maybe this is it

I visited Athens Church this morning (they meet at the Classic Center theater but they are NOT Athens Church of Christ). it was great. definitely one of those, "wow. this fits . . ." moments. the small group intros start again in January, which is perfect. it gives me a few more weeks to check them out some more. this morning they were talking about clean water in Africa, which I think is something we as Christians should be at the very least aware of. it's great to send out missionaries, but if people are dying from the water they have to walk miles to get, then how are they supposed to learn the gospel? it was refreshing to hear a pastor in my town talking about something I've been caring about for a while now.

they're taking next Sunday off for the holiday, but I'll definitely be there again in two weeks.

and now I'm a little scared

(from overheardinathens.com)

• Sorostitute: On the way from school I popped both of my tires. This like might be a stupid question...
  
• Guy: Shoot
  
• Sorostitute: Do tires like, cost money?

really, what is going to happen to some people if they're suddenly actually cut off from their daddy's money? and who did they pay off to get into college??

men in black

for all of last week the buzz around campus was that Coach Richt had made a call to all UGA fans to wear black to the Georgia-Auburn game on Saturday. that was fine by me. the "blackout" sounded like a fine idea.

then came Saturday.

the stands were black, with the exception of a few red dots (a few didn't get the memo?). the cheerleaders were in black, and even UGA VI had himself a little black jersey on. the team was warming up in usual red. then they all went inside and the captains came out for the coin toss. nothing unusual so far, right? then it happened . . . a team in black came streaming out of the Bulldog's tunnel onto the field. the red-clad captains pealed back there jerseys to reveal the new black jerseys. and meanwhile the fans were going nuts . . . everywhere. cool would be an understatement. the team had no idea that they were finally getting the jersey's they had been asking for for years now until after the pre-game prayer in the locker room.

they went on to beat Auburn 45-20 on Saturday, and the campus is still electric.

vampires beware . . .

the butternut squash soup at Five Star is tasty, but they did NOT skimp on the garlic. it was obviously fresh too, because the soup had that slightly-sweet squash flavor that powdered garlic does not enhance. mmmmmm . . . autumn . . .

the first pair of socks are DONE! I used a different cast-off than I had first planned on, and I think I like it better. we'll see how it wears though. (link to the other way here) I've already started on a striped pair. yes, my name is Meredith, and I'm a sock knitting addict. :-)

new project!!!

ok, so I almost did a cheezy title involving socks . . . but it's early and there's no need for that.

I am almost done with my first pair of hand-knitted socks! toe up, short row heel, and I'm hooked!



the picture is a bit blurry, but it was late last night when I took it. I did manage to get one of my moon-face stitch markers in there though. the toe was done with the Magic Cast On, and Wendy Johnson's Generic Sock Pattern. Cosmispluto's short-row heel illustrations were also very helpful. it IS possible to do a whole sock start to finish on one pair of circulars, but I moved mine to double points so that I could do two socks at once.

turning a short row heel wasn't bad, and I ripped out enough stitches so that now I can get them back on the needles pretty easily. a few more inches on the cuff, and a little ribbing, and then the socks are DONE.

To cast off, I'm planning on using a binding method I found here.

'tis a whirlwind of emotions at times, it is . . . .

I rode over to Atlanta with my parents (slightly scary and nerve-shredding) on Saturday to attend my great-uncle's memorial service on Saturday. it was small and sweet, and shed more light on a man whom I rarely saw growing up. he was an editor in New York City for many, many years. my dad's side of the family is interesting, and almost always full of surprises. there are a lot of very accomplished individuals, but the funny thing is - no one talks about it that much. which is kinda nice too. I knew my grandmother as a grandmother, not the political powerhouse that she was to Atlanta. family was a big deal, education was a big deal, but celebrity wasn't.

anyway, it was all another thing to get me thinking about what I want to do. I just got an offer at UGA, so now I'm back in a full-time job (this time with great benefits!) and I can save up for a big move. Nashville to be exact. and while I'm in this job I can take classes, learn more programming languages, and maybe even take that painting class I missed during Art school. so it's good, as long as I don't lose my mind living in the same town as my family. I'm looking for a new church though. it's not that I hate the one that I grew up in, or was hurt by it, or anything like that. it's a great church, but the people that are my age are rapidly disappearing, and attempts at a ministry group hasn't worked . . . so I'm going to check out some other places. I hope it's not too hard. when you've been in the same church for almost 15 years, it's a little scary to think about starting over at a new one.

weekend racap

first of all, I forgot to take a camera, and therefore have no pictures from this weekend . . . again. I'm bad about that. snapping pictures is usually the absolutely last thing on my mind.

the Fall Festival was great! and while we wish that we had been able to sell more, we all made it out with what we needed, and had a great time doing it. the weather was perfect, and I even managed a (mild, very mild) sunburn in October. the Eggroll Lady lived up to the hype, but I'm wondering if she uses MSG because it's monday, I've been drinking water like a fish, and I still feel weird. those were some fine fried meat delights though . . . yum.

so now back to recovery . . .

counting down

the earrings are on cards and in their little baggies . . . happy dance! things have been going really smoothly, which is great considering that I've been working on this since like April. the smoothness also freaks me out a little because it kinda makes me wonder if I've forgotten something . . . something crucial. but the little earrings are looking fab on the dark gray cardstock, and I think the necklaces and bracelets are all getting little hang tags . . . so . . . cool.

eep!

that's it . . . a mirror . . . I need to go find a mirror for the tables.

well, it's almost here . . . the festival is this saturday (eeep!). actually, I'm doing really well. I have over 95% of the jewelry that I'm going to have there finished, everything is inventoried, the cardstock is the house, the rest of the displays are on their way . . . . looking really good. of course I'm going to have some last-minute additions, but that's fine. at this point it just down to tagging and organizing everything so that set-up early saturday morning is a breeze.

so Logical is trying to assure Emotional that everything is cool. Emotional is still freaking out a little. ;-)

working at a University is great - I'm always picking up new things. occasionally though, I do hear the "our grads make 50k a year starting out" and I start to question why I took the route I did. but only for a second. if there's anything that time & experience have taught me, it's that being where you belong is much more fulfilling than doing something for the wrong reasons. I could be good at those higher paying things, but I'd be miserable in the long run. now, I'm not planning on this current track forever, and even a moderately successful career in the Fine Arts can take a while, but to me it's worth the time and sacrifice. those other things just aren't for me.

how NOT to make me want to hear your band

so I get these ads, or msgs, or whatever saying "if you like ____(artist)____, then you'll LOVE ________. they sound so much like them!" (or some message-ish equivalent thereof).

well . . .

the reason I like these people to begin with, is that some of them ARE ACTUALLY MY FRIENDS or I like their music. and I don't want to hear someone who sounds like them. go be yourself - that's much more interesting.