Benji saying “cheese” in front of our Christmas-y fire place. I still get a kick out of having an actual mantle to hang stockings on — I never had a fire place or mantle before we built ours!

This year is the first year Ian ambitiously set out to hang up Christmas lights outside. I’m proud of this first effort! Here Benji and Ian are huddling outside briefly before dashing back inside to get out of the cold. That long stick to the left is our tree, which is pretty much one straight tall twig.

It’s supposed to freeze overnight and turn all that rain/slush that fell today into… a giant skating rink! Hooray! Just in time for us to attempt to get to school! I’m guessing that biking is out of the question; black ice abounds around here, and definitely is not a cyclist’s best friend.

Not Christmas, But…

Also speaking of not my best friend, and related to WiFi, my trusty Moto X phone, purchased a mere 2 years ago, seems to rapidly be giving up the ghost. It no longer even pretends to connect to WiFi, and only intermittently engages in the novelty of connecting to the cell network. It drops calls like hot potatoes and loads pages with slothlike speed. If the sloth was dead. Otherwise it works fine! The problem is that a phone that I can’t use for communication, alas, leaves me wondering whether it’s really a phone at that point.

I don’t WANT a new phone! I like my less-than-5″ screen phone. It’s small and light and comfy to hold and use as an actual phone, and it fits into my under-saddle bike bag. It isn’t the latest amazing device, but I would happily keep using it for many more years. Now I have been looking at new phones, and they all have humongous screens. Who wants a phone that enormous? I don’t have any pockets big enough for that, let alone a place to carry it while biking. Plus, do people really shell out more than $500 for a device that’s almost sure to be replaced within 2 years? That doesn’t seem like much of a deal!

Anyway, first world problems.

In unrelated news, this XKCD is remarkably apt for my current employment situation: