Standing Quarter
Well, it happened again today (click on the “it”). When I posted a similar occurrence last year, my friend Alex reminded me of a “Twilight Zone” episode where a guy threw a quarter into a newspaper vendor’s box and the coin stood on its edge. All the rest of the day he had the power to read minds. As was typical of that program, it didn’t turn out so well. I was in the process of putting a quarter into a parking meter this afternoon and it dropped into the snow and landed this way. I wasn’t able to read minds, but it did make me happy.
More Pearl
A bit of “karma congestion” lately. So as a default I feel like doing a Pearl post. We never let her up on the furniture until about a year ago, but now she seems to have claimed the center section of this sofa. It is really nice to have the wood stove going with her asleep next to you.
Cris was putting some wrapped presents under the tree yesterday, and Pearl went right to this “Mega P’nut” dog treat. She got an early gift.
Peter is home from DC and he and I took her for a walk today. I know I have posted a similar photo, but for some reason this still gets to me. She wants to carry her leash everywhere.
This past year has been monumental in many ways, and next year could be equally interesting. My very best wishes to all of you who follow this blog. I’ll get back to some serious stuff soon, but in the meantime, ’tis the season to be thinking about friends and family and have lots of love in your hearts.
Cheers, Jon
Ithaca, NY
Here’s a shot I took from the top of the Ithaca parking garage a long time ago. It was around this time I started to become interested in motion. I really like the movement of the arm reaching out to the mailbox. / Sorry for the dearth of posts lately. My cold really knocked me down. Finally feeling somewhat healthy again.
Plant
Cris thought this was a clematis, but upon looking at pictures that are online, I am quite sure it is something else. In any event, it was outside all summer and appeared to be totally dead. I moved it into the shade and watered it regularly and it came back. / It is an appropriate flower, as earlier this morning I went to the doctor and was informed that I had “pink eye”. I almost laughed when he told me, as I don’t think I have heard those words since elementary school. It is still kind of fun to say….pink eye. It is a total drag though; certainly not a good condition for a photographer. He gave me some drops and I hope it starts clearing up soon. / The picture in the background is my mom and was taken in 1956 in Lermoos, Austria. Here’s a link to a previous post about that trip.
Hot Toddy
I am drinking one as I write this. It seems kind of silly as it is the essence of simplicity to make a hot toddy, but here’s what I usually do. (I am making two here since even if you are not sick it will really hit the spot. Cristine loves them.) Three main ingredients. A thick slice of lemon, a big teaspoon of honey, and some amber liquid (I usually use a fairly cheap blended Canadian whiskey, but others use rum or scotch, or well, just about anything. I would welcome suggestions for alternatives for those of you who don’t use alcohol.)
Put the lemon, honey and alcohol into a big mug. I like these glass ones. Boil some water and add. Stir until the honey is dissolved and everything is well mixed.
You can see from the mug on the left that I left the pips in the lemon slices. They add a certain rusticness (is that a word?). / The main reason I am posting this is that I did get several responses from the previous post. But leamuse’s comment sealed the deal. “The Mistral is blowing here in The Mediterranean so let’s have the recipe!” How could I resist?
New York Thruway (Eastbound)
As I was driving home from Brockport yesterday afternoon the light was similar to that in my previous post, though at a different time of the day. As my film-maker friends might say, “magic hour”. / I seem to have come down with a very nasty chest cold. I know it is all about the virus, but I can’t help wondering if lack of sleep and being in hotel rooms didn’t make it worse. So I’m drinking lots of fluids and sleeping as much as I can. If anyone else is in the same boat, let me know and I’ll post my hot toddy recipe.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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