It's finally arrived -- the time many of us look forward to each year. Including...to my surprise... the Brick! He made some grumpy pronouncements yesterday -- then suddenly asked when we were going to watch a Christmas movie. I said, "I thought you didn't want to do this."
"I was just being a Scrooge," he said.
Two movies later (Scrooge and The Christmas Cottage), he's wrapping presents by the fireside, while I'm typing this. What a guy.
Guess I'd better go fill his stocking, including a bag of (candy) coal.
Meanwhile:
One of my favorite Christmas stories ever -- you'll enjoy this pioneer tale of despair and hope from Harvest Lane Cottage.
Cheap (and filling) meals for a large crowd. (Thanks, Quorans) Including this gem: 50 budget recipes for good food, Australian-style. Speaking of:
Is THIS what happened to Malaysia Flight MH370? Did it crash off Australia's southern coast? (That's not where they've been looking.)
A surprisingly delicious-looking Christmas dinner: all from Dollar Tree!
Turns out Harvard's president not only plagiarized, but she did it -- a LOT. That didn't stop Harvard from threatening the newspaper that broke the news. (My work has been plagiarized before. It doesn't feel good.)
Some of the kindest photo memes I've ever seen...including this one:
People taken in by scams. (They must also post on Quora -- I see a LOT there.)
So the murder charges were dropped against this bodega clerk in NYC. So why is the clerk suing? Everything's fine now...right?
A classic on earning vs spending, including the Colonial era poem below. (Thanks, Legacy of Home.)
“A Dialogue between a thriving Tradesman and his Wife about the Education of Their Daughter.”
Prithee, good Madam, let her first be able,
To read a Chapter truly, in the Bible,
That she may’nt mispronounce God’s People, Popel,
Nor read Cunstable for Constantinople;
Make her expert and ready at her Prayers,
That God may keep her from the Devil's Snares;
Teach her what’s useful, how to shun deluding,
To roast, to toast, to boil and mix a pudding.
To knit, to spin, to sew, to make or mend,
To scrub, to rub, to earn and not to spend,
I tell thee Wife, once more, I’ll have her bred
To Book’ry, Cook’ry, Thimble, Needle, Thread.
- Boston Evening - Post, December 10, 1744.
Petty revenge stories. But oh, so satisfying...
A Goodwill-purchased vase sells for more than $100,000 at auction. Just goes to show that study and research (and appraising) help!
On the flip side, an elderly couple who did not think their inherited collection of African artifacts was worth appraising, so sold them to a dealer, including a mask (for 130 pounds), were very pissed off when that dealer sold the mask for millions. They sued -- and lost, because they took no action to find out the real value of their pieces. (Ironically, the dealer didn't know its true value, either. He offered the couple 330,000 pounds to settle the lawsuit -- but the adult children refused. Sounds like they got greedy. Now they get nothing. )
The girl who gave emotional interviews about her family's slaying -- arrested eight years later, along with her husband, for their murders!
Faking indigenous artwork? Five years in JAIL...and he's just the first one. If you enjoyed that...
Another huge art world scandal -- this one involving the Dynamic Art Museum (DART).
An intriguing -- and often confusing -- story about a mother's search for her 12-year-old son, kidnapped decades ago. (And the complicated sex trade ring she says he was dragged into.) FYI -- it's not as straightforward as you would think.
Princess Diana's 'ballerina' velvet dress sells for $1.1 MILLION...setting a new record. (It was valued at only $100,000 -- oops, that appraiser has a red face now.)
(Can't help but think this one is kinda ugly, Gentle Readers.)
Actors who were roommates talk about each other. (The mix is truly surprising sometimes.) Plus:
Wild stories about celebrities in other celebrities' memoirs.
A couple that erased a $460,000 debt -- and had a much better Christmas.
Master cooking hacks. Some good ones here!
Merry Christmas to you, friends. I hope this week is a peaceful and restful one.
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