I was talking with my friend Mary T. today and she mentioned that I must be pretty busy with that pesky teaching/job thing because I haven’t been posting here much lately. You’re darn tootin’ I’ve been busy! You can read about some of it at the official blog and also at EMUtalk.org, which is the community blog that I started this year because of the faculty strike. But the short version is this has probably been one of the busiest semesters in my academic life, simultaneously and at different times horrible and wonderful.
Actually, the whole year– official and unofficial– has been like that for us around here.
Anyway, to get to some things in the order they appear in the subject line here:
- Sure, have a Merry Christmas; or a Happy Holiday. Or a Happy Festivus. Whatever. Just don’t war against Christmas, okay?
- About the, um, “suggestive” Christmas greeting: I got this card in a store in Ann Arbor the other day; it probably requires at least a line or two of explanation for non-locals. Among many other fine things, Ypsilanti is home to the Ypsilanti Water Tower, which has been voted as the most phallic building in the world. So really, this photo was just inevitable. I like the text on the back of this postcard, all of which is true to local legend: “The Ypsilanti Water, also known as the Ypsi Dick, was erected in 1889. It is located next to Eastern Michigan University. Legend says the Ypsi Dick will fall when a virgin graduates from the school.”
- I thought about writing a blog version of one of those Christmas letters that are so popular this time of year– you know, the notes that you get from people you barely know once a year that report on things that happen in these peoples’ lives. I enjoy the ones I get from my relatives and one of my friends, Bruce, writes a pretty entertaining one. But other than that….Besides, why write one of those letters when I can just point to the archives? Ah, what a year it’s been. Beer, eating out (this restaurant review gets hit a fair amount), Coldplay, Not Coldplay, Florida, the big 4-0 birthday week, Omaha, stupid dog, Holland, Monkey Chow, Annette’s messed up knee, A new mayor in Ypsi, Chicago, near-death golf experiences, Florence and Mittenwald (of course, that trip!), Will’s birthday, Barbie Poo, Dan Bern, dead TVs, Kathi Griffin, Darth Vader Jr., White and Nerdy, Thanksgiving in Iowa, and the best gallon of milk ever. That about sums up my year.
Finally, I just wanted to mention that I cooked up a batch of Grandma Krause’s famous “pepper nuts,” an annual Christmas cookie of sorts for the Krauses. I’ve written about this a couple of times in the recent past; here’s the recipe I followed this time. But because I have described these in the past described them as looking like dog food and/or little nut-like pellets, I thought I’d include a picture:
They are tasty though….
Have a great holiday, enjoy your nuts and remember to vote for celebrity MILF of the year!