Snowflake Marshmallows & Hot Chocolate

Our dear friend Alison Highberger's article, The Perfect Winter Drink in Bend, Oregon's Bulletin food section. Ali & son (sous-chef Nick) are pre-testing some Martha Stewart's Holiday projects. Of course, these marshmallows can be for Hanukkah, as well. You'd probably want to use a kosher recipe & here is one. (We can't vouch for it, though.) For the time-pressed, Whole Foods carries kosher marshmallows that are perfectly fine. For vegetarian/vegan marshies, try this recipe. (Again, no vouching.)

We've no time before Christmas to make these, but we might give them a try for an Inaugural party.

merry ciao-meow!
GG's editor

photo collage [made from Martha Stewart site] from Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn

Reindeer love

Another kindly-faced reindeer from animalphoto. Wonder what he's thinking? (Get that camera outta my face, buster.) Here's the sweet-faced reindeer photo from last week. We miss him so a reindeer will be on the site through Christmas.

merry ciao-meow!
GG's Santa

Original image by candiedwomanire; Some rights reserved.

ZooLights in Washington, DC

The annual ZooLights display opens to the general public on Thursday, 18 December 2008. (Here for all details.) It's so much fun. Fairy lights in the shapes of selected animals. It's very easy to go to the Zoo -- right on the Metro. If you live in, near, or will be visiting, do go. This year the entire display, sponsored by PEPCO again, is constructed of LED bulbs. So no guilt either! (We wish we could take GG, she'd love it. Alas, it cannot be, so here's a tiger photo in her honor. )Photos © Rachel Cooper

bisou!

DIY Snowflake Earrings

We saw these on Paris-based Glynnis Ritchie's blog. (Here is our November post about Glynnis.) This is a nearly instant-gratification DIY project: fast, pretty, clever. These photos are from Italy-based Alice Pleasance's Cupcake Diary. She has generously laid out clear steps (with more photos) for the entire project.

merry ciao-meow,
GG's editor

Venetian Islands: Colorful Burano

More beautiful photographs by Allison Lince-Bentley, via worldislandinfo. These houses in Burano are especially cheerful on a gray day. Burano is an island in the northern part of the lagoon & we completely forgot about the lacemakers & lace museum on the island until we saw these photos.

merry ciao-meow

Squirrel Love

Yes, they are cute. We don't like squirrel haters here. (And yes, they are a pain in the neck sometimes...but so is an adorable redheaded cat roaming these parts. A pair of squirrels would be nothing compared to the GG Show.) Don't know where these guys are from but we hope they're surviving this year's acorn shortage in much of the Eastern U.S. We just handed off a small butternut squash, an (oldish) clementine, & a few peanuts to a little squirrel family outside the door. We've not seen a single acorn this year & we're surrounded by oaks. The oaks flowered, so where are the acorns?

merry ciao-meow,
GG's editor

Original image by davidw; Some rights reserved.

Mia Farrow in Haiti & Congo

Hard-working, lovely Mia Farrow is in Congo presently. She's unable to post photographs right now. However, here is a brief post from Thursday, 11 December 2008. Here for her Darfur, Central African Republic (CAR), Haiti, & Chad flickr sets.

These photos are by Mia & yes, that's a toy car made from items found in the garbage. This little Haitian boy has nothing...not enough to eat, no clean water. But he has this. Haiti is our neighbor & we haven't been very neighborly. We lurch from crisis to crisis & that does not work. Go here & see what you might do about it.

Mia makes mixing humanitarian aid/rights work & the pleasures of life positively graceful. Someone asked GG's editor the other day: how can you look at pretty pix one minute, make holiday plans, see a movie, have a drink, & THIS.? (They were just asking, not critical.) People do the best they can to take a breath between moments of crises. By the same token, we haven't a bit of sympathy with "don't bring down the holidays with talk of doom." No one's had the nerve to say that to us, but we've heard it said about others. Give us a [bleeping] break. (Hey cool cats, "bleep" is all the rage now:)

ciao-meow,
GG Central

Christmas Tree Deadline

No Christmas tree plans on the horizon yet...getting nervous. Though a bit mod for our traditional (in a Christmas sense) taste, we could do a lot worse than take this Swedish tree as inspiration. From lolitamodeblogg via we heart it.

merry ciao-meow!
GG

Christmas Cat Party

Two wonderful photos from photographer & animal rescue heroine Marianne Perdomo of Gran Canaria. She of the Alvar cat photo (A Blue-eyed Snowflake Cat), here. Marianne captures a funny scene which we imagine as holiday party gone a bit wild. (GG claims the dog started it; we're not buying it because GG is an instigator extraordinaire.) In the second photo, we imagine the after-party floops. {Follow the story about Peque, Susi & Robyn, the floopy kitties in the basket, here.)

Computer trouble & GG's antics this a.m. make us late...not the lovely, but quite tame, holiday party we went to last evening. Check out Marianne's photostream at flickr. [Some photos also available via animalphoto, another great resource.] Have a great Saturday.

bisou, ciao-meow,
GG's harried editor

The Full Cold, Christmas Moon

Not the best image but it is from NASA & we're rushing about in a full-moon Christmas frenzy (sounds more interesting than it is, actually). Here is a list of different full moon names for December (according to culture).

bonsoir, bisou, ciao-meow
GG

NASA/public domain photograph

Jacquie Lawson Greeting Cards

Jacquie Lawson is a British artist who lives in the village of Lurgashall in Southern England. Together with a small team of family and friends, she has developed a unique collection of e-cards, and about 20 cards are added to the collection every year.

In order to cover the substantial costs of running a site that sometimes has to cope with thousands of downloads a day, we charge a very small annual membership fee. This enables our members to send as many e-cards as they like -- there is no effective limit -- for the duration of their membership. [from Jacquielawson.com]

Last December, a British friend gave us a subscription & we have thoroughly enjoyed it. Jacquie Lawson e-cards have delighted friends & family--when is the last time that happened with most things "e-postal"? {We waited too long to send a request regarding still-image use, so above is a quickly cobbled together from the amazing Vintage Holiday Crafts & Clip Art site.}

GG's card recipients haven't received a single item of spam or advertising due to Jacquie's site. Preview one of the new Christmas cards with the adorable Bertie & Fluff characters (a golden retriever & tuxedo kitten, respectively), featuring an English children's choir & the related story. After that, we think you will want to subscribe or gift someone (or both). There are cards for every occasion, the site is easily navigable, & an organizational wonder.

Cheers!
GG's editor

Bambi love

We're getting sappier by the day but it cannot be helped: look at that face.

ciao-meow,
GG & her editor

(Original image by 20299709@N00; Some rights reserved)

Displaced by Amnesty International

Displaced is an educational and advocacy project on the massive displacement of civilians in the Darfur conflict region. It is designed for use by anyone concerned about the Darfur conflict who wants to raise awareness about, and encourage action on, the situation.

Go here to begin your preparation. We will post more material as it becomes available.Meanwhile, there is plenty to get started on now & over the holidays. We must keep pushing & be ready for both President-elect Obama's first months in office & the likely ICC warrant-for-arrest of Omar al-Bashir, President of Sudan.

Thank you.

Logo courtesy of Amnesty International; downloadable materials (PDF & Word) here.

Coffee Love

Looks like fun, wish we were there. ..The coffee cup has a favorite bicycle-theme from CircaCeramics of Chicago (we're in a Christmas-red mood, they take custom orders--deadline 18 December). Photograph of coffee from the art of coffee & have a little fun with your coffee photo piles.

While you linger over your coffee, tea, or cocoa...think about what you can do to give the Zimbabwean people support. Of course, we're talking about Robert Mugabe. As in go now, go now, get out. South Africa could do a lot & they are not (no matter what they say). Go to the Enough Project & check with their links.

Have a great afternoon & evening.

ciao-meow, bisou,
GG Central

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 60 Years On

Sixty years...and ?

Schedule of events in NYC, elsewhere. Declarations, videos, ideas for celebration, brochures, & other materials to download. Forward freely. materials courtesy of the United Nations

ciao-meow,
GG

Venetian Window

Love, love, love window shots, paintings. From within or without. Matisse, Bonnard, come to mind immediately. This is another lovely shot by Allison Lince-Bentley, from her Venice series. Gorgeous colors.

Venetian Gondola by Night

Good-night via Venice, thanks to Allison Lince-Bentley's Pointillist Venetian Gondola. Her gorgeous recently-taken photographs from Venice are here. Inspired & lovely. Artcyclopedia's entry on pointillism here. A few more images tomorrow; they remind us of jewels...a lamp looks like a chandelier earring. We might be obsessed by recent viewing of The Forsyte Saga (2002) DVDs.

bisou,
GG

Five things You Can Do In 15 Minutes

Map date is 2 August 2004. Today is 9 December 2008.

Why not take 15 minutes & visit Enough Project's Take Action? It's simple, painless, & it really does help. Much despair about Zimbabwe, Congo, Somalia, on & on. Yes. But it's possible to do something & that makes all the difference. Many thanks.

GG & her editor

A Blue-eyed Snowflake Cat

A beautiful Christmas gato while we're on deadline. This elegant cat, Alvar, is particularly festive with bells & red ribbons. Photo via animalphotos. Photographer Marianne Perdomo's excellent flickr sets are full of cats & various non-feline related subjects. She lives on Gran Canaria, one of our very "most want to visit" places...it's a sign. We'll refrain from jokes about cats & canaries. We're pretty sure they've heard them.

ciao-meow, bisou
GG Central

Snagglepuss

A reminder of the ongoing IKEA soft animal campaign to raise funds for UNICEF & Save the Children. In the States & Canada, $1.00 for each toy is donated equally between both organizations. In the UK, it's £1 per animal.

We love this rucksack-wearing crocodile. When GG is asleep, one little snaggle pops out. (It's so cute it should be illegal.) Today we look forward to a visit from some French friends & GG will be in her element.Perhaps an IKEA visit is in our future today. If so, then Fabler Krokodil will be coming home with us. IKEA's two series of children's accessories, along with the soft animals, are: 1) Fabler and Barnslig. At least one animal (there are some for 49 cents) is affordable for most people. Here is a link to IKEA Fans blog (yep!) with a post on the campaign.

Also remember in the States, the Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign. The IKEA animals are a perfect donation. (No, we don't work for IKEA.) Donations across the board, from food to toys are down everywhere. We know it's rough; GG Central is between contracts. We know. But surely 49 cents for a toy or a dollar to buy a non-perishable food donation is possible?

Have a great Monday.

ciao-meow,
GG's editor

Sweet-faced reindeer

There were snowflakes in the air yesterday! Who could resist this sweet-faced reindeer [the photographer's title is Reindeer With Ear Tag Looks Right At Photographer]? We hope the ear tag is for a benevolent reason.

xo, GG

Christmas in New York

Just because. And we saw that one of our favorite blogs, Bleeding Espresso, used this photo Friday (5 December 2008). Visit Michelle Fabio: she's smart, funny, & entertaining. Plus she has great recipes.

ciao-meow, bisou, baci...
GG's Santa

photograph by Wendy/wenzday01/flickr (check out her collections, wonderful photos)
Some rights reserved

Acqua alta in Venice...la mattina

Are we idiotic to search for publicly-available photographs? We can't find any personal photos of Venice from floods-gone-by. Must've been having too much fun or too poor (it was the last major global recession then, too, yikes). Ah, well. Image courtesy Allison Lince-Bentley/WorldIslandInfo.com

ciao-meow,
GG's editor

Acqua alta in Venice...la notte

We actually walked on café tables to escape the acqua alta many years ago in La Serenissima. Ten or twelve days & perhaps four were as high as this past week. Life goes on in Venice...as with so many, Venice is an obsession that needs no explanation. (Or shouldn't.) buona notte!

photograph by Paolo de Reggio/ permission under public domain license

A Christmas surprise

We sure hope Mum doesn't see this dreadful photo-from-slide (on GG's site). If ratted out by a sister or three (this means you), we promise that glamorous Christmas-pix-of-past will appear soon. The uncharacteristically bizarre outfit & coiffure are what happens when moving house two or three days before Christmas (the tree is up, that's the important thing!). We never saw those plaid pants before or after. She was on the spot & is smiling like she's ready to go out for the evening. Dad looks goofy (he always looks goofy in photos; he's usually the photog). There is a fondness for the photo because the surprise was a new neighbor's appearance as "Santa"...

GG's editor was obviously shy but captivated & Mum made sure that her daughter's hair was quickly bow-tied. We think the lesson of the photo is being absolutely delighted when surprised by well-intentioned new neighbors when you have a little girl, one on the way, & have just moved hundreds of miles away from family two days before Christmas & are wearing the most dreadful plaid pants. Good manners.

ciao-meow, bisou, baci
GG's editor

Revolutionary Road

Before the movie, you have time to read/re-read the novel. We adore Kate Winslet & look forward to the film (& Leo, of course)...but with some trepidation. Having any connection with the late novelist (which we do) causes some concern. We're on the verge of letting that go, though. Film production promises on RR have come & gone for so many years that we decided to believe it when it actually happened. That time is nearly here.

ciao...

front cover via half dead printer again:)
other photo via About.com: Hollywood Movies

London Lights

Will Somerset House sue us? How mean would that be?* [No, no threats, we just didn't like the feeling; so see update & new public photograph info below.]

A post & a link to a cool photo of impossibly glam ice skating in London. GG is pondering how, just how, to go skating on the Mall or the canal in Georgetown (since she can't be in London). She doesn't need skates, just a fancy bow & an elegant wrap for her pink ear-tips. The post is from Wee Birdy & here is the beginning of her London-specific holiday list (but everything is available on-line & under £10).

*Update: a replacement photo by Michael Pead, used with permission of photographer via license.

Cheers!
GG & her editor

Vintage Christmas Cards By You

Vintage Holiday Crafts is a huge source of clip art for nearly every holiday & occasion. You can even make your own vintage-style gift certificate--for anything. We won't waste anyone's time listing, just visit. The rules are clear & the site is generous. It's hard to believe sometimes that anyone would do something like compile an enormous collection just because...but that appears to be the case.

We've purchased Martha Stewart's Handmade Christmas magazine...it's been years since buying anything like this...the animals-out-of-old-sweaters beckoned. Here is the link to the MS site's generous clip art & template section.

bisou!
GG's editor

Santa Baby

We don't care if it's uncool (it's been said): we love our Starbucks 2006 Santa Baby CD...15 great songs & a wide range of singers. That was an unusual-for-us impulse purchase & no regrets. It's out-of-print but apparently in demand & probably available on the usual-suspects resale sites (with dial-up, one more search cannot be endured today). Really worth-it free clip art & holiday sources tomorrow.

Also two wonderful Swedish food blogs (though, they're much more than that). They include possibly the most adorable kitten & cat photos in history...these two friends do "weekend cat blogging" & they are really fun. So here is A Cat in the Kitchen & Anne's Food.

ciao-meow & bisou

image via our own half-dead scanner
illustrations by Ed Fotheringham [here's his website]
Design by Kristery Cameron, Starbucks Creative Group

Odetta, 1930-2008

Odetta was one of those people who seemed immortal. It's sad that she won't be alive to attend the Inauguration. She was very excited to see Obama's election, though, & that is some consolation. Here Odetta's page on the Folk Music Archives Organization website. Maya Angelou said it best: "Thank you Odetta, for continuing to define and enlighten our load."

xoxo,
GG Central

Darfur/Darfur

This photo is not from the exhibit. Unfortunately, we've been unable to reach Brian Steidle (The Devil Came on Horseback) for permission to use one of his photographs before the exhibit leaves Washington, DC. He was only standing less than five feet away from GG's editor several times in early November. "Do not hesitate to ask when you've the chance" would be the lesson here.

However, time creeps on & the travelling Darfur/Darfur exhibit leaves Washington, DC's Civilian Art Projects gallery on Saturday, 6 December 2008. The gallery reopens today (3 December 2008) after a Thanksgiving week break. Here is artist Anne Marchand's blog Painterly Visions with a post earlier this autumn. If you cannot see the exhibit in person, there are links to recent installations for a virtual tour. Check here for updates on the exhibit. The website is presently a bit out-of-date & we're not sure where it goes next. It has been in cities around the States, Canada, & Europe & continues on.

The photograph above is by Susan Burgess-Lent, program director of Darfur Peace & Development Organization (& novelist, too). These Mastaria School of Peace students are greeting Susan (during her May 2008 visit).

Oh yes, & have a good morning....
GG's editor

photograph used with permission of Susan Burgess-Lent

December Evening in Strasbourg

Oof. What a day. Missing Strasbourg & the largest (& best) Christmas market in France. The lovely Place Kléber, a nearby side street market, & a wish to be in a favorite café with un vin chaud. GG would be more than welcome in any French café. However, no vin chaud for her, no matter what she meows (she prefers French for some reason...not that she listens any better in one language or another). Much more on Strasbourg during the season...

Bonsoir & bisou,
GG's editor

photograph by the mysterious Jonathan M. No other info available.
CC license.

The House of Mouse

No need to guess which mouse is GG's new favorite. Yes, of course, it's Terry Mouse...dressed up just like GG the Redheaded (Opinionated) Cat. It's so difficult to choose, so we selected the four above: (clockwise from top left) Alice in Wonderland, James Bond, Bharat the Bollywood star, & Hermione of Hogwart's. Another big favorite is Lulu the Bellydancer...perhaps we'll feature her in a dance post because Lulu deserves the spotlight to herself.

These adorable creatures are created by Anna Greaves, a British native who has lived in the Netherlands since 2003. Here is her profile, & here is a quote from Anna:

"10% of my profits go to the British animal welfare charity The Blue Cross where I adopted my beautiful rescue cat Nicki. In order to protect my customers with allergies all my creations are made and packed for shipping in a studio that Nicki does not have access to."

Here are photos of zee artiste in her studio...Anna is crazy busy at this time of the year but if you've not ordered in time for Christmas (there's still time in Europe for holiday delivery), Anna's mice are timeless & there's a mouse for every occasion, career, holiday, & cultural interest (take a look & you'll see what we mean). Custom mice are also a delightful option that Anna particularly looks forward to.

Happy looking...if these do not make you laugh out loud, it may be hopeless!

ciao-meow,
GG's editor

Venus, Jupiter, the Crescent Moon

Phenomenon ... the smiley celestial face has been captured by readers.
Daily Telegraph/Australia/1 December 2008
Picture: Scott Chaney

May this be good tidings...
bonsoir, bisou!
xo, GG Central

Dr. Ashis Brahma

Well, goodness. Where to start with Ashis Brahma? He's currently in Uganda with the Phoenix Global Humanitarian Foundation; see here for their projects. It's a wonderful group of people. They have a Facebook page & would love for you to join them. The photo collage at bottom shows Ashis having/making fun, which he seems to be able to do just about anywhere. This is especially important when he's working in IDP camps like Oure Cassoni, Chad (first photo) on the border with Darfur, Sudan. Ashis will return to the States on another speaking tour starting in January. We'll post the full itinerary later, but if you live in or near Washington, DC, mark off the dates 28-30 January. (Many people will remember Dr. Brahma from the moving 60 Minutes piece The Search for Jacob, here is the link to the video.)

The world needs more Ashis...he can't do it all!

bisou!
GG's editor

photography used with permission of Dr. Ashis Brahma

Spring into December

Yes, it's already December 1st. Before we leap into the madness, Gemma Comas gorgeous photograph. We saw this first on automatism, a beautiful blog by Lori Langille. She writes: "By day (and/or, depending on the deadline, by night) I'm a Canadian collage illustrator. The automatism blog is where I share whatever I find inspiring, interesting, or simply beautiful in design, art, and other creative fields." Lori's sense of style, her taste in literature, & her wide-ranging interests make her a must-see/read at GG Central.