How’s your handwriting? If it’s anything like mine, it’s out of practice and a bit insecure.  I often find myself hesitating because I don’t remember how a capital F or Q or whatever is formed.  With emails and texts and digital everything, who writes anymore?  Cursive writing is a dying art, and the few times I encounter it (done correctly), I find it quite strikingly beautiful.

We’ve been receiving Christmas cards this week from Tim’s aunts who are of a different generation, one where fine penmanship was practiced until perfected.  The following photos are of two different cards but look how similarly consistent and fine their lettering is.  I’m a bit jealous.  Time to pick up a pen and practice, practice, practice!

Such beautiful, even writing

Her sister has similar, graceful writing.

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I know I haven’t blogged much and this isn’t really a blog entry in itself. I just wanted to share a few random snapshots of the Christmas Tree.

Penny and the Christmas Tree

Presents! Almost too pretty to open.

Our Christmas tree and balcony lights.

That’s all for now. I need to create a proper album in the photo gallery at some point.

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Roar growl grrr!

Christmas is fast approaching and I’m quite excited.  I don’t care at all about receiving gifts but I love giving presents. From wrapping paper to bows, gift tags and the element of surprise, I simply love giving my loved ones gifts on Christmas.  This includes the dogs; I make sure to give them a special toy or two on Christmas.

Not that they need any. Jesse is at the age where she no longer cares much for toys, but Penny still likes to play often. They already have a ton of toys.  Tim’s mom usually sends them each something for Christmas, and I buy Penny something new every so often.  Penny’s favorite toy is a simple, plain tennis ball, though I’m always looking for something a bit more durable.  She also loves stuffed animals but she goes through those very quickly.

I haven’t picked up anything for them yet this year.  Perhaps I’ll just get something edible this time around. They’re already spoiled enough as is.

Quite a variety of toys and treats!

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What a sweet light to sleep by.

This past Saturday, we walked to Home Depot and got a 6′-tall Douglas Fir for our Christmas tree.  There was a gigantic line of people waiting to get their tree trunks trimmed, but lucky for us, Tim owns a buzz saw.  We were able to skip the line and bring our tree home quickly—yay!

Usually, we like to let the tree “open” overnight after having been tied in a bundle for who knows how long.  However, I was a bit impatient this year, and after only a couple hours, I started putting on the lights and decorations.  I tend to keep it pretty simple with multi-colored lights and glass ornaments of various shapes, sizes, colors and textures.  However, that’s the extent of it; there’s no garland or beaded strings, no fake snow or ribbons or bows.   I like having it still look like a tree.

I’ll post more pictures soon.  It has opened up a lot since we got it and has shed quite a few needles, but that’s mainly due to the interference of wayward wagging dog tails. They’ve already broken a few of the low-hanging ornaments!

It’s been very cold in Los Angeles lately.  Well below normal and even though it’s December, this chill is unusual for us.  The high has only been around the mid 50s and it drops to the 40s at night.  It’s also been rainy and windy—what a miserable combination! I try not to go outside unless I absolutely have to.

It would be nice if this “arctic front” led to snow, but it won’t snow here in Hollywood. Towns around me are getting a bit of snow here and there, but central Los Angeles doesn’t seem to be able to achieve the right conditions for snow.  Though as the song goes, “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…”

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Today was sunny but very cold and windy.

I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tonight at the Arclight. I really like David Fincher’s other movies, and Brad Pitt always gives an excellent performance. Doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes either.

It’s been a long time since I’ve gone to the movies on a Friday evening, and as expected, the show was sold out. Good thing I bought tickets in advance.

I liked the movie. It had some slow parts and some unnecessary parts, but overall, I liked it. Tim wasn’t a big fan. I guess it’s more like a chick flick than anything else. I haven’t seen The Notebook, but for some reason I think it’s probably like that.

We then had a late dinner at Kabuki on Vine. It was really good, as always. I got the seaweed salad, seared eel sushi, and curry shrimp entree. We split a large sake.

Afterwards, we got lazy (it was cold!) and hopped the Metro back home, stopping at the corner to pick up some food for the dogs. We’re quite lucky to live just an 8-minute walk away from a 24/7 supermarket.

The apartment is still a mess with wrapping paper, and now dog toy bits, everywhere. But hey, it’s the weekend, there’ll be plenty of time for cleaning.

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When Jesse was younger, she loved pulling the stuffing out of her toys. She would tear a hole in whatever it was and then just pull out the stuffing bit by bit. It was funny seeing her take out a mouthful of stuffing only to spit it out and do it all over again. What goes through her mind when she does that? I never will understand the point of it all; I just know it’s a lot of fun for her!

Penny is 7 going on 8 but still acts like a puppy. Here’s a video of her “playing” with one of her Christmas toys.

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