we will retire to the country where I can actually see the stars

That's one thing I really miss about the farm I grew up in. I loved walking out into the field at night and looking at the Milky Way.

Yeah, our stars are ridic out here. One of our coworkers once brought kids from the reservation to our neighborhood to look at stars because it's darker here!

I am slowly learning. It's funny because it's all, like, basic stuff. But I knew, and then I forgot, and so it's like starting from scratch. At this point, I pretty much start at Orion and work my way outward. So I can now reliably find Sirius in Canis Major, and Castor and Pollux in Gemini. But the more stuff I want to look for with the telescope, the more comfortable I have to be with finding my way around the night sky, so it's been really fun learning.

Liese, you should remind your SO that the stars are WAY better where you are than they are in Anaheim.

(For those not with us, he declared his undying devotion to Anaheim when we were all hanging out this past weekend, which is...well, it's Anaheim.)

Heh! Right?

He was somewhat bemused at everyone's reaction to his impression!

Liese, I'm a naked-eye or low-power observer, so I mostly just use the Sky & Telescope web site and a planisphere as my viewing guides, but I also have a couple of books I like: National Geographic's Backyard Guide to the Night Sky and Thompson's Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders.

Oh, those are great, dcp. Thanks for the links!

I have a couple of friends i know well enough that in some casual conversation they'll mention wishing they had the time to brave ikea for more of a certain type of storage canister, or spending ages looking for just the right size of silver hoop earrings and then i luck out and can find that item and save it for the next gift-giving occasion....but that's only a couple of people. I wish my mom would agree to lists, but she thinks that takes the surprise out of gift giving.

I wish my mom would agree to lists, but she thinks that takes the surprise out of gift giving.

only if you get everything on the list. It's a surprise, a stepping stone, if you will.

Wait a minute, Vortex, your mom is planning for thanksgiving now?? Did I read that right? That is nuts! And for only 20 people?

I'm sorry, did I not make it clear that my mother is insane?

Maybe it really is a thing where he heard words but only heard every other word.

Well it is noting the words said, not that they were ALL negative.

As much as I want to give gifts that suit a person, I can be just as guilty. Frankly, I am amazed that I've never been given a teal stalk of celery given how much I loathe teal and celery and then, you know, TALK ABOUT IT.

Lists with links can rock. I make them myself for those that want to know what I want.

A month or two before this Christmas my Niecelet told me that she'd lost a necklace I'd given her the previous Christmas and she'd looked but she couldn't find it and, "hint HINT." Took me ages to find the exact same one but it was really one of my favorite gifts to give this year because I knew she really wanted it. Plus, you know, it was nice to know I'd chosen well for her the year before.

I honestly adore finding something that I think a person will love. But Xmas and things are about having the damn wrapped gift too in my world and I wish more people gave me a list.

where I can actually see the stars

There is not a visit to Joshua Tree that doesn't have me just randomly standing outside the first night (okay, every night) with a glass of wine or a glass of water looking up at the stars. I grew up with them and they still amaze me. I leave conversations to go out and just gape.