ita, you are welcome anytime.

bribery certasinly helps.

Liese, I bought a live potted tree for several years and then donated them to NYC Parks. I loved doing that. Having your land to plant them on sounds wonderful.

I was going to recommend to Liese that she get an ornament display centerpiece from Crate and Barrel, but looking at their website, it looks like they're already sold out.

Hey, we got ourselves a Christmas tree today, too. But it's still in the car right now. Maybe I should take it out and untie it while the kids are still napping.

Also? I want to meet Mac too. I just can't think how to make it happen, other than by pulling a Kat and asking someone else to plan it for me.

But do you see, Burrell, how no one is offering to plan my trip to Santa Fe?

There is no conference happening in NYC some weekend that you need to attend?

A great idea for those looking to spend some of their end-of-year money on a charity or two: Kiva.org, an online lending platform for microfinancing (like the new Nobel Peace Prize winner started, only virtual). For $25, you can help finance a small entrepreneur.

Love this cat's expression! (Also, the one of the little kitten in the background--such a wide-eyed "WTF?")

Oh, Kathy's post reminded me of Modest Needs, a charity whose purpose is to help people who are otherwise financially self-sufficient when they have an unexpected expense that would push them into poverty. They typically give small grants, like paying the utility bill, or paying a mechanic so that a person has a running car to get to work.

People who donate to Modest Needs also can view the applications of people who requested grants and, basically, decide who receives funds.

The Russian intelligence department has a great logo:

[link]

"Hey! We should go to Santa Fe for Christmas!"

You totally should! As a point of fact, the SO & I are currently casting about for what we should do over Christmas. We were thinking about Tucson, maybe, but Santa Fe was on our list, too! We have an invite for Christmas dinner here in town, but we dunno.

Liese, I bought a live potted tree for several years and then donated them to NYC Parks.

How cool is that! Did they grow up nicely? Were you able to know where they were and go see them later?

When I was a kid we had one like that and planted it much later at our home in Ohio. Today they're absolutely massive. I planted them way too close to the others, because I had no idea they'd get that big.

But last year our live tree met an untimely fate. I think I just had watering issues (like, too little followed by too much, repeat), and it never grew when we planted it. I have hopes for this year!

an ornament display centerpiece from Crate and Barrel, but looking at their website, it looks like they're already sold out.

This is also a good idea. Too bad.

Wow, that Modest Needs charity looks neat. It's like the microloan programs in other countries, but scaled for here. What a great idea.