Outerwear

Around these parts, it's Winter.

Winter is long and Winter is not always easy, but let's face it, Winter is part of Life. Around these parts at least. Although I used to hate winter with a deep abiding passion, well, now I accept it. Because for the love of pete's sake, what am I supposed to do? Wish my life away? 

I'm against that.

Plus? Outerwear.

Although I still don't own boots, I now have a parka.

  A Parka. With a capital P.

Winter is *all* about the outer layers, 'round these parts.

Hmm, some have cuter outerwear than others . . . 

. . . well, some are just cute no matter what.

See comment about "cute" above . . .

. . . ditto . . . 

. . . ditto redux.

Hey Mistah, where's your Parka?

There he is.

If it weren't for Winter we wouldn't have sap running . . .   

. . . and sugar flowing . . . 

. . . or whatever they call the monochromatic hocus pocus science nature witchcraft they do every year that results in pure joy.

I'm just glad we get to attend . . . 

. . . and admire the outerwear . . . 

. . . get a glimpse of the hardware . . . 

. . . and sometimes both.

Blog Ideas

I didn't have an idea for today, so I googled "blog ideas," and now I have a lot of ideas. 

• Self improvement / personal development (how you overcame some obstacle or started a new habit, and what you learned)

    Yeah, no.

• Health & fitness for busy people

    Yeah, no.

• Learning a new language

    No, I'm too dumb.

• Animal rescue

    I'm not a dog person.

• Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, etc.)

    Please.

• Working in uncommon fields of expertise while location independent

    That's mumbo-jumbo corporate speak.

• Recipes for couples without children

    Recipes for what?

• Body-weight training

    Where's the interesting stuff?

• Disc golf

    Oh, there it isn't.

• How to be a good friend

    Be kind, duh.

• How to train for a triathlon

    Ohmygod, who wrote this list?

• Mind strengthening (mind over matter/ lucid dreaming)

    I dream vividly; I'll get back to you.

• Beyond the basics of personal financial management

    Don't spend more than you make.

• Healthy eating during times of stress

    Eat carrots.

• Ghost-hunting

    Why would you want to hunt a ghost?

• Self defense training (“for women” or “for children” or “for business executives”)

    Why "the parentheses"?

• Indie video game development

    Oh, *now* we're talking. Right up my alley. 

• Video game tactics shown through video tutorials

    I was kidding.

• Starting and running your own social network

    There are already enough.

• Point and shoot photography (how to create incredible photographs with your phone or whatever camera you have in your pocket)

    I'm a terrible photographist; talk to the Mistah.

• How to write an e-bestseller (documenting the process of creating an Amazon Kindle bestseller.)

    This has never happened.

• Rapid language learning for moving abroad

    See "I'm too dumb" above.

• How to become a better writer

    Read more.

• Modern vegan diets

    Carrots.

• Urban commuting by bicycle

    I call it, simply, "riding my bike to work."

• Interior design on a budget

    Buy your friends' art.

• How to become a famous rockstar online

    Okay, finally a good one.

• Speaking in public (how to overcome the fear of the audience, minimal approaches to presentations, etc.)

    Ew.

• Learning the Ukulele and other less common instruments

    Oooh yes. I wanna learn.

• How to win arguments without losing friends

    Buy the house a round.

• Becoming a wine connoisseur or sommelier

    Make stuff up about vanilla and blueberries and hints of chocolate.

• Build a custom boat and cross the Pacific in it

    Dude. 

• Getting good at tennis and qualifying for tournaments

    Watch King Richard instead.

• Windsurfing

• Stand-up paddle boarding

    But first get rich enough to afford the equipment

• End of the world prophecies throughout time
 

    Now this one I can get my head around. But first you'll need cardboard and a sharpie.

• Car maintenance for non-gearheads

    Okay fine, I like this one.

• Running a small agile business 

    Agile? Really?

• Inspired bootstrappers 

    I do need a new pair of boots.

Wow, now I have so many ideas . . . I think maybe two?

Okay everybody. Get out your tennis racquet, wax up your paddle board, and sharpen your sharpies. Let's get on our bikes and rescue doggies . . . and start blogging about it. 

And don't forget your golf frisbee.

Super Snack Bowl LVI

Get a load of this spread, wouldja?

 

(Please excuse the chicken bones.)

We had ourselves a feast. 

But the best part of all? . . . 

. . . we got to see our peeps.

And how we love those peeps of ours.

We had delicious beverages . . .

. . . and gorgeous course after gorgeous course . . . 

. . . including obligatory wings from New London . . . 

. . . and pretend we took a photo of my world-famous chili with its accompanying avocado and red onions and cheddar and cilantro. It was delish, I promise.

But the best part of all . . . 

. . . what a joy to be with My Girl Nancy.

Thanks for the lovely time in your lovely home, dudes.

And thanks for those killer snacks.

XLIII

For all intensive purposes -- which is my favorite malapropism of all time -- Hygienic Art XLIII was a huge success.

Mistah and I? We stayed home and looked at our own art.

But, man, look at this year's posters . . . 

And look at this sampling -- photos thanks to the Hygienic's social media pages:

"Cheetah Rhythm" by our young friend Greta

Glorious, that's what art is. 

It's humanity's gift to itself.