is the word 'diary' better than the word 'blog'? probably not.

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Grab Christmas by the Teeth, or: On How Pip Killed Buffy.

Grab Christmas by the Teeth, or: On How Pip Killed Buffy.

Pip killed Buffy! You probably remember Buffy the Bison, the stuffed bison Evany got for me in Yellowstone summer before last. I�m in Amherst right now, and Buffy came with me for sleeping. I left her on the bed in my guest room and later that evening when I walked back into the room there he was, Pip, tearing her apart. Both her horns were laying on the floor, and one ear, and the fur beneath her mouth was ripped out, and her stuffing was strewn around the room. Apparently yellow lab puppies really like to eat. Anything. Like the moulding that lines the floors, or shoes, or stuffed bison. Tom felt bad and said he didn�t think he could fix her (haha, such a Dad thing to say), and he looked like he was going to take her to the trash, so I took her back and said I�d put her in the trash later. He stopped himself from giving me the you�re-crazy look, I�m guessing. And then, after he left the room, I put her in a plastic bag and put her back in my suitcase as if I were Dr. Frankenstein and she my beloved creature.

Why is it so strange that a grown woman likes stuffed animals? It doesn�t feel strange to me, but I am aware that it is strange, when viewed from the position of whatever it is that constitutes the norm of grown woman behavior.

So what. I�m traveling back to Haverford with a torn-up stuffed bison carcass. I might be able to fix her.

Here are two tellings of the Buffy the Bison tale, one and two.

Things are otherwise good here. Later that night Tom and I took Pip on a walk so he could do his duty, and he kept insisting on walking through all the deepest snow drifts, which was funny. I asked myself aloud whether I would ever stop wondering just how it is people come to consent to live in climates like this! And Tom said I probably would not. I next mused that I like the New England-y tradition of putting an electric candle in every window at this time of year, and Tom vowed to do that, too. In fact he said, �that is the next way I�m going to grab Christmas by the teeth and wrestle it into submission.� Ha. I laughed, and he wanted to know what was so funny.

The birthday party (for Tom and Martha) was last night and it was really fun. We had excellent food, and eleven guests, and Tom even has a dining room table and dining room big enough to fit all those guests. He made roasted salmon out on the outdoor grill (that he had to dig out of the snow from the snowstorm) and also a Cajun shrimp etouffe that I ate again for lunch today. There was a lovely mixed greens/pear/blue cheese salad, and I made a chocolate cake with Scharffenberger ganache. Jennifer flew in from Baltimore for 24 hours, and most of my colleagues from last year at Amherst were in attendance. The stragglers sat around in the back room by the fireplace talking and drinking champagne until 1 in the morning, and then Tom, Jennifer and I cleaned up and washed all the dishes, etc. We counted the empty bottles and it added up to10, which was alarming because only 9 people were drinking. Ha. Then this morning Tom made French Toast, and after eating I went back to sleep for a couple of hours.

Chris is out of town, and I haven�t been able to reach Eric (which is the way it is with him), so I�ve mostly just relaxed on the comfy couch here at Tom�s. Just as well because it is COLD outside. Tomorrow I�ll walk into town to see my friend John for coffee, and I�ll also try to get together with Martha, and I go back to Haverford Tuesday morning. It is a good visit.

5:46 p.m. - December 11, 2005

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