Dwell on the past and you'll lose an eye; forget the past and you'll lose both eyes

We met our project deadline at work. I added my final two documents to the build at 11:15, 45 minutes ahead of schedule. Relieved and congratulatory emails richocheted around the group for the rest of the afternoon. We also learned that the sales group closed another large account, giving us additional work for the coming year. We made it. We can use the long weekend to breathe and then get going again.

My manager let us out early. So, Sandra and I went to visit with Adam, Jennie, and Lily. We had our first visit to their new house, a log cabin on eight acres in one of the hill towns just a bit further west. It's a nifty place, with both warmth and openess. Lily will start at her new school on Tuesday; the family will move a few weeks later. After the visit, we went to one of Lily's favorite restaurants, a Mongolian barbeque place in Hadley. Although there were no Mongolians to be seen, we dined well and had lots of good talk and laughter.

Today we hope to gather up some of Mike and Lynn's kids to go to the latest Harry Potter movie.

Snow is in the forecast for this evening, making travel even more treacherous. Tonight is amateur night, a time when lots of otherwise well-behaved people get drunk. The serious drunks are apt to take the night off, preferring to show their stuff when everyone least expects it, like some Tuesday morning in March. Anyway, the serious drunks have known for a long time that there's no cure for a hangover; here's the science. If you want to avoid a hangover, don't take that first drink.

In case you were wondering, Hiatchi claims that The Hard Drive is the New Bling.

It's nice of people to share their dreams with us. This guy, for example, wanted to set the record for the longest ear hair. And, this guy implanted an RFID chip in himself.

[The title for this entry comes from an Russian proverb, quoted by Solzhenitsyn at the start of The Gulag Archipelago.]

As I've mentioned in the past, I don't typically make New Year's resolutions. If a good habit is worth starting, any day is fine. It was 20 years ago yesterday, I just remembered, when I had my last cigarette. Here are, nevertheless, some tips for setting goals, whether those goals are set tomorrow on New Year's Day or some Thursday in November or some Tuesday in March.

Stuff left in the toe of the Christmas stocking

We're putting in some long days this week as we head toward our project deadline of noon on Friday. There are times during the day when a nap would be helpful, but it's not to be. We'll just hope that the coffee supply holds up.

It's election season in Canada. A question that I'd never asked once, let alone frequently: "Is someone allowed to eat a ballot?" (Hint: No.)

And when we're through wondering what our neighbors to the north are doing for the future of civilization, we look across the pond and find that Sienna Miller is the most admired woman among teenaged British girls. Paris Hilton was #8 on the list. Paris Hilton. My theory is that Alistair Cook's bones weren't stolen, but that the spinning in his grave sent the bones too deep to be found.

Another holiday recipe - Creamy Spam Broccoli Casserole. Nice touch - skim milk and low-fat cheese to go with the Spam.

Finally, during flu season, never let anyone lick your keyboard.

I'm pretty sure that the pogo stick isn't ours

We're awakening to a quiet house, a light rain falling outside and fog rolling over the snow. Inside, there's a lot to pick up, clean up, and put away. There are several half-pies on the table and lots of leftovers in both refrigerators. And then there's the pogo stick, still in its box, "Lots of good healthy fun and exercise, indoors and outdoors." And, as the fog lifts, I can see two snowboards in the back yard.

It was a great party and everyone contributed. Sandra did most of the planning and lots of the cooking. People helped us fill the dishes before the meal and wash the dishes afterward. (Marley did his party, pre-washing many of the serving dishes and pans.)

I've kept people posted about our lives through this journal. Niece Lori asked, "So, who is Blaugustine?" I explained that Liz and I had worked together for several years at a previous company and that we now kept in touch via email and blogs. Juliet's health concerns became part of the dinner conversations.

While I was in our office, showing Michael and Joe how to put music files on their MP3 players, our granddaughters and Jennie's sister, Julie, were playing hide-and-go-seek around the house.

Folks left a bit after six. We fed 35 people. We'd parked our cars at the drug store parking lot about a quarter mile away, giving us more room in our driveway. Sandra, Marley, and I walked down to get the cars, enjoying the cool and quiet night.

Today we'll visit my father, bringing him a couple of meals of leftovers. We bought him a pair of Yaktrax so that he can walk across the ice more easily to get to his wood pile.

Bark us all bow-wows of folly

We went to Mike and Lynn's for a bit of Christmas Eve gift-giving and a dinner of Chinese food (nothing like this on the menu, though). Before the meal, we (Sandra and her parents and yours truly) drove around to see the Christmas lights. Some families have done put up glorious displays. Several years ago, we spent Christmas at Prince Edward Island. There the lights on the houses were even more hopeful because the houses are so far apart, the only bits of color and light in a dark night.

As Curly said, I have a cold and I don't smell so good. Soon the house will be filled with the smells of beef and turkey and veggies and pies and stuff(ing). People will arrive around noon and we expect to eat at 2:00. The weather is nice, so the kids can play in the yard, using their new sleds on the crusty snow.

Our kitchen is in the middle of our house. Even though I'll spend most of my time cooking, everyone has to pass through the kitchen on their way to anywhere else, so I'll get to see everyone and talk with most.

This is a needed time for a break from work. We have a very big deal deadline at noon on Friday. (If we don't deliver, the company doesn't get paid.) I have a rule that I can give one 70-hour week in each release. With Christmas weekend, I'll have long days, but I'll have a chance to recuperate. It means that I get to work my 40 hours in three days, instead of five.

We received lots of nice Christmas cards and newsletters. We're going to write back; at least we want to. The mailings may not get out until Groundhog's Day, though. As a friend observes - Don't be sorry. Change.

My Blackberry arrived and I've had a chance to play with a bit. Lots of features that I'm sure will be fun to play with while observing the posted speed limits on our interstate highways. The biggest deal about the Blackberry, I think, came when I was placing the order. I was trying to decide between a one-year and two-year contract. There was a significant savings in placing a two-year order, but I was hesitant because I wasn't sure if my job would be around in two years. "Don't worry," said our office administrator, confidently. I placed a two-year order.

The rest of the lyrics for Deck Us All With Boston Charlie/Bark Us All Bow-Wows of Folly are here.