Today's topic: Vacation potpour......urgh, can't spell that...spellchecker? Yeah, well I'm getting old waiting for whatever is supposed to happen when I click the spellcheck icon.....
I think about things to write while I am on my long commute. At times, actually often, I feel the desire to BE a writer. What do I mean by that? Well, I'd like to be able to put my FEELINGS down on paper so that others might feel them too or at least know how I am feeling. Do I want to take classes to actually learn how to write? Now that I put it that way, yes. I'd like to at least give myself time to say, "Oh, this is too much work! This is too hard! I don't REALLY want to work this hard." The same goes for music. I'd love to be able write and perform songs that convey how I FEEEEEEL inside. So far, I haven't taken the time out of my fairly regimented life to expore either of these adventures. Perhaps I'll do it when I retire? Oh, that sounds scary. I'll begin living tomorrow. Raaaaaaight!
Let us reflect for a moment on two songs that I have heard this Christmas season that have brought me to tears. They are "The Cat Carol" performed by Meryn Cadell and "The Christmas Shoes" performed by Newsong. I love cats. (Oh, BTW, I've gotten more comfortable with my outside kitties being OK out there even if it gets below zero. They've been out there for years and are somewhat used to it. It was unfortunate that I had to get all emotional about it on Christmas Eve day.)
When I first heard The Cat Carol on the Somafm.com feed that I listened to at work during the weeks before Christmas, it brought gentle sobbing and lots of tears. I was glad I was working alone in the basement of JMS. When I heard "The Christmas Shoes" while driving through south DePere on my way to work, I cried as hard as I had ever cried in my whole life. Yes, as hard as when I was a child and hit my finger with a hammer. I was bawling uncontrollably.

So I immediately set about "acquiring" each of these songs. The author wanted $4.45 to download The Cats Carol from his website. That seemed a little steep. I could not find it for sale on either iTunes or Rhapsody. I managed to find it "on the internet". I did purchase "The Christmas Shoes" and four other Newsong Christmas songs on Rhapsody. Why did I immediately go out and try to find songs that make me cry? Is crying fun? Well, not really. Did the Christmas Shoes cry make me feel better? No doubt! I felt like a dam had burst, a dam that had been building up for some time. What's that all about? I don't know. Best guess? Christmas anxiety. Not having that Christmas shopping done may be a hidden weight tied around my neck. Next year should be better. Since we are exchanging names, I will only have to buy one gift instead of ten.

Here's another question: Why did I stop writing in this blog for so long? My theory is that writing is a way for me to deal with depression. I don't feel compelled to write during the summer when I am busy golfing. During the winter, I am much more sedentary, it is dark and gloomy outside, and I tend to get a lot more introspective.

Boring personal department: I woke up, er went to bed with, a sore throat. Today, my head feels like it's twice its real size. I'm going to lay low, watch lots of TV and generally try to avoid work.

Ciao, babies!

It's 8 below zero this morning and my outside kitties came to eat. It's just killing me. Should I have known it would come to this?
Liz is adamant that they not come inside. She just repeats the same things every time about how they pee to mark their territory.
I promised not to bring them in. What can I do? What should I do?