Red-Handed Jill

let out a screech

shorts, dangerously close to

the offender on his

^ Taco Bell seven-layer burrito or bean and cheese burrito < It's Friday - yay! (LONG week!) V If you could spend Christmas anywhere, where would you go?

Hmmm.... it all depends, but I have my own experience with this kind of situation. Back in the Dark Ages when I was eighteen, I became involved with a man whose present could never compete with the past. He kept regaling me and his friends with stories of his glory years in college and in his early twenties. I noticed how wistful he got when talking about them and how he always compared them favorably to his current life (and there was nothing to complain about in his current life.) During the time he was proclaiming his love for me and talking about marriage in our future, his ex-girlfriend (who he had lived with in New York and who he pretty much took for granted when they were together) came out to visit. I didn't see him for a couple of weeks and at the end of it, he told me the story of those two weeks. She stayed at his house the whole time (and NOT in a guest bedroom) and he tried to get her to come back to him. She said no and after two weeks of him begging her to stay with him went back to New York. He didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what he did and still proclaimed that he loved me and fully expected that we'd get married someday. It was at that point that he admitted to himself and me that he over-glorified the past and that was the primary reason his ex-girlfriend suddenly looked so good to him. At any rate, I decided to make him part of my past. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I did this, he couldn't live without me and it took me over a year to get him to stop pestering me. I had suddenly gained immeasureable value. So, the moral of this long and windy story is to not let your past interfere with your present, particularly if your present has value. Ultimately, you're the only one who will be able to reconcile this situation, but think carefully about your motivation.

If you can get any of the North Coast Brewery beers, I recommend them heartily! They are located in Fort Bragg, California and are rated one of the ten best microbreweries in the world. Rasputin Russian Stout is a beer that is a meal. This stout is STELLAR. I also really like their Pranqster Belgian Ale. I also recommend Shaftebury Cream Ale - you have to travel to western British Columbia to get it, but it's worth it! There aren't enough O's in smooooth to describe the drinkability of this ale.

^ The tree - it makes things much more festive during the gloomy Winter months (ours stays up until January 31st.) < Grrr - It's supposed to rain this weekend, which will wreak havoc with my sailing/BBQ plans. v Presents - Christmas eve or Christmas morning?

So at least it's fixable, but I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this! I've got my fingers and toes crossed.

growled whenever he suspected

^ Thirty-some-odd years ago on a camping trip with my family, we stopped in Reno to freshen up. Walked into a casino washroom with our gear and proceeded to brush teeth, wash face, etc. < Mailed out my Secret Santa package today. V Traveling for the holidays or staying home?

Three more (found by a friend): Main menu, go to "According to Plan", LEFT, LEFT -the leaf should be highlighted, ENTER Main menu, go to "Creating the Kraken", LEFT, LEFT, UP, UP -the grass should be highlighted, ENTER Main menu #2, go to "Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer's Photo Diary", LEFT, LEFT, LEFT -the grass should be highlighted, ENTER

^ Both (although I use the cell phone sparingly and it is turned OFF when in my car.) < Going sailing this weekend - woo hoo! V Online shopping or hitting the stores this Christmas?

the last Tortuga visit

^ My first boyfriend was named John Lyons (we were six...) Almost 40 years ago - pretty good memory, if I do say so! < Watching my turtle struggle up on to her rock (she's in Winter "hibernation" mode and rather lethargic.) V Any holiday traditions/obligations you'd like to forego if you could?

the edification of the

his fellow crewmembers, so

also have a tendency

Good idea - I just ordered one for a Christmas present.

^ Shaken (then put in a festive glass with a paper umbrella! ) < Just got back from the San Jose Holiday Parade Inflation Celebration V Favorite pizza topping?

mysterious disappearance of the

a cabin boy, who

^ My skull tree topper with glowing red eyes. < Enjoying some spicy Indian food! V Favorite Christmas tradition?

Sunny but very brisk - in the 20's at night, 40's to low 50's during the day. I'll be in Chicago the week after next - I've heard tell of some interesting weather lately.

^ I used to eat crayons when I was a kid. What can I say - the other kids were eating paste and I was a maverick. The black crayons were my favorite. < Have SUCH a backlog of sewing projects. V Favorite tropical drink?

and kept slipping off