Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas from another awkward family photo of the Delektas.

1 Merwin 'Til Christmas

Dreams do come true!

Dreaming of Santa bringing him a box of hyper squirrels.

3 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Sunset dog.

4 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Such a weirdo.

5 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Inspecting a gift from his bird-brained Uncle Spike.

6 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Beach snobbery.

7 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Practicing how to be New Hampshire-y.

8 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Hopeful.

9 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Zen canoe dog.

10 Merwins 'Til Christmas

November duck hunting. Not the brightest bulb.

11 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Maximum levels of lazy, cozy and dog.

12 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Elated.

13 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Double dog droop. Tough lives for these two.

14 Merwins 'Til Christmas

This and food. All he needs.

15 Merwins 'Til Christmas

I just can't.

16 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Looks like he figured it out after all.

17 Merwins 'Til Christmas

See that cozy blanket with the cute dogs on it? Yeah, that is for you to lay on. 

18 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Poker face. 

19 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Judging me again.

20 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Ending his reign as King of Raymond Ave.

21 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Pondering. POND-ering. Round POND-ering. Need I go on?

22 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Backseat romance.

23 Merwins 'Til Christmas

Nothing like a wall corner in your spine for ultimate sleeping comfort.

24 Days Of Merwin...Take 4

Christmas is ripe with traditions and we had a few of our own growing up. This is such a special time for me and I'm pretty sure those traditions and memories have a lot to do with that. While not quite as special, I've developed my own holiday tradition here at the blog. It's utterly ridiculous, but why not be ridiculous at a time of year when ugly reindeer sweaters and holiday knick-knacks abound?

So for the fourth year in a row, we'll be counting down to Christmas day with a daily photo of Merwin...24 pics of his charming little self. What more could you ask for? Probably a lot more, but we don't aim too high over here.

He's totally judging me.

Tis The Season

I've basically held out as long as possible. Fine, I cheated slightly and flipped my Pandora to Christmas hits earlier this week, but otherwise I've resisted Christmassy things before Thanksgiving (round of applause). But for the next four weeks, I will eat, breathe and sleep holiday festivity; I just love it. It happens to be one of the busiest times of year at work so that may put a damper on it, but we're busy with The Nutcracker which epitomizes Christmas, so I can deal.

In honor of the impending month of December and the ridiculousness of the approaching Merwin Countdown Calendar, it is clearly necessary to rank the top Christmas songs of all time. I've given this a lot of thought. Too much thought. But not enough thought to assure you that I haven't forgotten some essentials. This task is over my head. If you are a holiday song rookie, this list may provide a nice guide to a blend of traditional classics and upbeat "pop" tunes to get you in the holiday spirit. C'mon, it's almost December! Embrace it!

Top 10 Christmas Songs/Carols

10) Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays
'NSync (I hate myself for loving this. Feel free to make fun of me for this selection...well deserved. For a special treat, check out the video...wowza.)

9)  O Christmas Tree
This song seems a little under done to me, but I like this version by Aretha Franklin)

8) O Come O Come Emmanuel
Just beautiful. Possibly my favorite traditional carol.

7) White Christmas
Bing Crosby's version. No contest.

6)  Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Lots of singers have done it well, but Frank Sinatra did it best.

5)  O Holy Night
So many great versions...I especially love large chorale renditions.

4)  Santa Baby
Eartha Kitt owns this song.

3)  Baby It's Cold Outside
Love the classic version by Dean Martin and Martina McBride

2) Last Christmas
The version by Wham always gets me bopping around and excited. Just something about it!

1) All I Want for Christmas Is You
Speaking of excited, I can't keep still when I hear this one by Mariah Carey. I know there are haters but this song is so great. I aced this Buzzfeed quiz challenging me on how well I know the lyrics. Pshaw. Child's play.

Honorable Mentions / Cheating:

Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney, Mele Kalikimaka by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, and Do They Know It's Christmas by Band Aid (Original 1984 version but I love the new one too) 

Reflections On Happiness

Oh happiness. What does it really mean? I've attempted to articulate thoughts of its definition, how you can get it, and whether or not it's even realistic or fair to shoot for it. For now I'm acknowledging that I'm not pursuing it because, knock on wood, it is here.

It's invigorating! But it doesn't just happen. The process of getting here made me realize that in order to achieve something that you envision as truly making you happy, you need to work at it (well, duh, I suppose). Letting life float you along from step to step won't get it, at least it didn't for me. You have to stand at the edge of something and jump into something else, whether or not you can see where you will land. You have to perhaps turn your back on conventional ideas of what you should be doing and instead decide to do what you want to do. Often, you have to take a risk. And perhaps even most importantly, you have to dig deep within yourself and try to unpack concrete things that could get you there.

This was the hardest part for me. And it took at least a year to imagine how I could sketch an outline of a life that would enable me to truly thrive. When you have a partner it makes it simultaneously more complex and more rewarding. You need to work together around what desires you both have and how your visions for "happiness" could be different. How could there be some middle ground that could get you both to those places? How do you weigh various life factors to find your way?

That's all a bit abstract. For us, it finally boiled down to a little formula:

We like city life. We didn't like Boston city life. + We love the lakehouse. We like being able to drive there for a weekend. = Let's live in a small city somewhere within three hours of the lakehouse.

Okay so that doesn't seem that dramatic but at the time, it was huge. It was clarity. A year of processing, hemming, hawing, crying (it's true!) led us to something concrete. A pursuable outcome. Then we made a plan for how to get it. Simon got the job in Portsmouth, I arranged to be able to continue with my job, we found a place to live, and we're here.

Of course it wasn't easy. Of course it's not as simple as a formula. Of course, along the way, it was not always clear the way it is above. I just think, at the most basic level, we owe it to ourselves to think about the lives we create. Think about how we can craft them to reflect who we are and how we can be the best versions of ourselves. Let the structure of our lives support us, make us happy, instead of bog us down or stress us out. Most of us are incredibly lucky to be able to make change and many of us think we can't, but really, we can. You just have to overcome the enormous, gigantic hurtles of defining what it is you want, what it is that can enable you to truly thrive, and how you can get it. But when you put this type of careful thought and effort into something, take the risk, and achieve what you had set out to, it feels great. Go for it!

Working From Home

I recently took on a split personality, at least when it comes to my working life. Three days a week, I commute into Cambridge while two days a week I work from home. The adjustment has been just that...an adjustment. At first it was tough to find a productive stride at home; I constantly got distracted by the pile of laundry or the stack of bills and other projects that tried to tempt me away from the laptop. Lately it seems a bit easier to manage my time, likely because work has gotten quite busy and there isn't a choice. But I also really want this structure to work. To my surprise, I like it a lot. The two days home help achieve a previously absent balance..I always felt the wear and tear of the five day a week routine but now the days are just different enough where it's more reasonable, more human somehow. I think more and more employers will start offering options like this to keep their workers happy. Why not? 

Merwin seems to like that I'm around more and it has been fun (and funny) to observe his daytime ways. Naturally, I took a few breaks to capture him in non-action over the past few weeks. He sure is a lazy dog.

Six Tips For Zen Commuting

#1 - Blinkers/directions are always optional, especially if you are making a last-minute decision to suddenly turn or change lanes. This keeps you and all drivers around you safe and calm.

#2 - Watching TV on your smartphone as you drive down a busy highway is a great way to entertain yourself when you have absolutely nothing else to do, nothing else to watch, and no other possible way to stay engaged in the world. This activity should be widely encouraged as multi-tasking becomes more and more imperative to our busy lives and being fully up-to-date on fictional tv shows becomes more and more vital to our survival.

#3 - Sometimes, particular models of cars have an inexplicable magnetic attraction to bumpers of other cars. Scientists have yet to figure this out and bright headlights in the midst of the dark night seem to set off this phenomenon more often than the daylight.

#4 - The lane you should be in at the time you need to exit from the highway or turn down the street will not be the lane you are in. In the vast majority of the country you may make eye contact with a driver in the lane to which you would like to change. It is advised that you give a small smile to let these kind drivers know you are indeed on the wrong part of the road. They will allow you in front of their vehicle and you will get home in time to enjoy a half hour with your loved ones before going to bed and repeating the process in five hours.* 

#5 - Always plan for a minimum of double the travel time particularly if you are commuting on a Monday or Wednesday. This is a simple calculation. For example, if your destination is one hour and eight minutes from your place of residence, the minimum time expected for you to be encased in your cozy home-away-from home is two hours and sixteen minutes. Please note that maximums are impossible to calculate.

#6 - #5 can be prevented! To do so, avoid travel between the hours of 5am to 10am and again from 3pm to 7pm. Plan all of your daily commuting needs to occur between the friendly hours of Midnight and 4am.

*If you are traveling in the area of Boston, MA please note that there will be no opportunity for you to properly shift into the correct lane in time to exit that highway or turn down that street. There will be no vehicle that will allow you into the next lane. As a matter of fact, if a driver in that adjacent lane sees that you wish to move into it, they may actually accelerate or decelerate to prevent you from doing so. Research demonstrates that this is unique to this area of the country.

A Poem For A Thursday

No Shadow
W.S. Merwin

Dogs grief and the love of coffee
lengthen like a shadow of mine

and now that my eyes no longer
swear to anything I look out

through the cloud light of this autumn
and see the valley where I came

first more than half my life ago
oh more than half with its river

a sky in the palm of a hand
never unknown and never known

mine and not mine
beyond it into the distance

the ridges reflect the clouds now
through a morning without shadows

the river still seems not to move
as though it were the same river

Awww, Merwin And His Best Friend!

Scenes From The Weekend

Gorgeous recent weather here, so we took advantage of what I imagine to be the last of the "good old days." Two Boston-based friends joined us for the day Saturday and we roamed around Portsmouth, shared some laughs, and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner of American tapas at Moxy. We've tried a fair share of restaurants in our few months here and this is the stand out as of now. Sunday we headed up to Maine for a little beach walking adventure in York and then later in Ogunquit. Fun to be near the sand and surf although I'm realizing just how obnoxious it is to have these great pictures marred by this annoying speck of dust in my phone's camera lens. Given the pattern, I imagine I'll be taking photos of sunsets, oceans, and Merwin for many years to come so I'll try not to get too bent out of shape. In the meantime, enjoy more of the same!

Book Report - The Circle

This review needs to be couched by the fact that I didn't actually READ this book. I listened to it. I've never really done this before so have no experience with how my absorption method did or did not affect my appreciation for it. I will say, though, that this is one of my favorite books in a long time.

Now to see if I can explain why. "The Circle" is a Company, a futuristic combo platter of social media as we know it--think Google, Facebook, Twitter all further expanded and housed under the same roof. The company's story, culture and ideas are told through the eyes of twenty-something Mae, their newest employee. Among thousands of other "Circlers," Mae's perspective slowly reveals The Circle's principle values: Privacy is Theft and Secrets Are Lies. The Company's ideas get more and more ridiculous as we go on, yet at the same time more and more believable, both to Mae and to the readers. To us, it's a bit cultish and freaky but you can also understand how Mae gets pulled deeper and deeper into this crazy reality, rapidly losing her footing in any other aspect of life. 

Toward the middle of the book she "goes transparent," wearing a high-end tiny camera that feeds EVERY aspect of what she sees to her millions of "watchers." Nearly all of the world's politicians do this as well, taking their watchers into every meeting, every conversation and every vote. The camera never turns off. Soon,"transparency" is the new normal. Getting a Circle membership is required, getting your child microchipped is required, all voting happens through your Circle membership and all votes are made public. EVERYTHING is public, nothing is ever erased and everything and everyone is perpetually accessible...all in the name of safety and access. After all, privacy is theft and secrets are lies. 

The world itself is intriguing and a little scary. I found myself wary of Facebook and in my typical fashion, allowed myself to be CERTAIN that this is the way the apocalypse would go down. Anyway, in addition to the great world-building, there are some fantastic characters, superb writing and fascinating little subtleties that all wrap up into a really spectacular package.  Highly recommend!