Deal!

Barbara Streisand!  Draped across four different men!  For one low price!

Magnates

Around the turn of the century, Jekyll Island was a hunting club for the richest men in modern history to hang around inventing the Federal Reserve or arranging the first transcontinental telephone call.  Here they are throwing a party for Andrew Carnegie.  
So we decided to have coffee and sit around like disaffected billionaires.

Local Colour

The rental house came with this adorable puppy puzzle.  Which, on closer inspection, is an adorable confederate soldier puppy puzzle.

Fine traditions

Obviously we went back to the beach for Christmas, to see the wildlife.
Then we came home for Claymation Christmas, 
And Toshia's bubbling-hot Blackberry Cobbler.

Christmas eve will find me.....

chomp chomp

Simon is the brother I tell you about whose e-mails always describe some ridiculously awesome job he just got.  He couldn't leave his current job for more than a day or two, so Christmas is at his place this year, so we get to do the job too.  

Welcome to Georgia

Yeah, I guess the house is pretty close to the beach.

Life in Brentwood

Mom knocked down a palm tree at work today.  She takes care of plants for restaurants, malls, fabulously wealthy people, etc.
  While we were driving a former presidential candidate came on the radio to advertise mortgages.  Mom insists that this is a regular occurence.

YEG->YVR->YYZ->BNA

You'd think flying through 4 airports in 4 time zones would be enough to get me off the continent

IT COMES IN A TUUUUUUUBE

Just squeeze the tube and out it comes, professionally formed.

Cues

I never believe it's Christmas time until there are coloured lights outside my window, or a room lit only by a tree.  Or when I'm opening presents under a piano.

"Plush Toys"?

I'm pretty sure this is just National Geographic f#%cking with me.  

Yes Indeed

I'm allowed to start being a real student now.   I didn't have any wine, though, M.  I guess alcohol-free vegetarian Indonesian-Chinese Food Karaoke restaurants are to the linguist as wine is to the philosopher.

Bibles! Bamboo! Bananas! Authentic Friendship!

The more I look at this banner, the more weird things I find. But this blingy-cross anime Mario is still my favourite.

Case in Point

This parking lot is as slippery as it looks, and as slippery as most of the intersections on the way to the bus stop.

Concision

He wrote some numbers with minus-signs and '3's below there too, but this is really all you need to know.

Um. What?

Rounding Error?

Frank Says Yes!

There was a table in our lobby, with a sign that said "Frank Said No" as its only raison d'etre. I keep telling Olivia to make a happy-coloured tile mosaic on it that reads "Olivia Says Yes!" This is presumably because I am delusional from lack of sleep.

Abominations unto the Lord

OK, candy Frankenstein up there I can maybe understand, but who is trying to pass this 'mini-honey' off as existing?

When it snows it pours

Yeah, Jo, I was just missing snow, too, a few days ago. The blizzards aren't even that bad - the bad part comes when the snow isn't plowed so it gets packed down to ice-ruts on the roads and sidewalks and stays that way for 5 months.

Zoom in and read the notes; it's worth it.

Man, I can't stop listening to this. I've pretty much converted to Eckanckar based on catchiness alone.

Get the Vaccine already!

This "Status" box is the best part of the swine-flu intake form by far. The "Aboriginal" box is included here to show you that the "Status" box is, by implication, NOT OPTIONAL.

OBVIOUSLY

Presumably this is because their lineup wasn't diverse enough already.