Longest night of the year

I love wintertime in the Pacific Northwest. 

It's peaceful, doesn't get that cold, and doesn't snow much, at least where I live.

My partner and I decided to celebrate the Winter Solstice by getting up before dawn to see where the morning would take us. We've caught sunrise on the solstice for the past few years, and unfortunately for us this was the first time it was too cloudy to catch the first rays sunshine. 

It didn't diminish from the beauty and peace of our morning, however. We started by heading to our favorite park in Tacoma, to spend some time in the blue haze down by the waters of Puget Sound.

...And to watch the ferry cross silently to Vashon Island.

Then we hit the road as the day took hold, headed north to Seattle. Along the way, the sun broke through the clouds a few times, sparkling gold, with a faint rainbow guiding us.

The city lights through a blurry rain smeared windshield are no less beautiful.

The hardest decision we made all morning was which amazing breakfast sandwich shop to choose. We went with Biscuit & Bean because of their incredible biscuit & egg sandwiches.

Then we meandered our way through the hilly Queen Anne neighborhood to find the mini Rosebud Motel (of Schitt's Creek fame).

Later in the evening, we lit a ton of candles, spent time enjoying the darkness, did a Zoom chat with friends, and generally had a very relaxing time. My only disappointment is that the skies weren't clear enough to see the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Next time, perhaps? I wonder what eyes will be looking to those future skies.

Ho-Ho-Horrible Holiday Collection

Now that Xmas is officially one week away - 

If you're tired of all the same old holiday crap, I've compiled a playlist of quirky, odd, unusual, kitschy, and some downright BAD Xmas tunes, videos, and miscellanea for your festive listening pleasure (???).  I'm always adding to this, so if you have any weird crap to add, let me know!

Merry Scary Xmas

 The geniuses over at Stiltbeast Studios posted a video tutorial to make a Christmas tree costume so you can scare the bejeezus out of unwitting passersby - watch til the end to see it in action!! Brilliant!

New scents for the dark winter months

 Although I kinda have a love-hate relationship with Xmas, there are definitely aspects of it I love unapologetically. One is Xmas lights (no matter how gaudy, tasteful, or anything in between), another is holiday-themed scents. Of course, this means I indulge in candles, soaps, fragrance oils, etc. with my favorite cozy smells. 

Earlier this week I swapped out my autumn-themed soaps for winter ones: Bayberry from Ocean Shores Soapworks (made in Ocean Shores, WA) and Fir Needle from Amy's All Natural (in New Braintree, MA).

I got the bayberry soap shortly after New Year's this year, when my partner & I took a meandering day trip out to the coastal areas of WA. The soaps at Ocean Shores Soapworks are a bit pricy, but they did have discounts on buying multiple bars and a freebie if you spent a certain amount. The bayberry bar was my choice, and I'd been looking forward to using it all year. It's very fragrant and lathers fantastically!

I purchased the Fir Needle bar from Amy's All Natural a couple months ago when ordering my annual Harvest Bar soaps. As with her other soaps, this one is SUPER creamy and lathery, with a soft pine scent enhanced with little specks of real peppermint leaves.

I highly recommend both soaps, and both companies have online stores. This year, I think it's more important than ever to support small business, so give them a try! I've linked to their shops above.

Shudder exclusive - 'Porno'

Partner & I couldn't decide what to watch last night, but ended up with this - it's been hyped as a dark comedy, plus the promise of gratuitous gore, sex, and demons sounded fun.

Based on other reviews I've read, people seem to either love or hate this film. I'm about right in the middle. It had some funny moments, some great gore FX, a few moments of hypnotic occult visuals, and it definitely went some places I didn't expect, so it wasn't entirely predictable - but the pacing was a bit strange, and I feel there was a bit of filler as well (the group of characters getting split up and looking for each other, over and over again, etc.) 

Would I recommend it? Hmmm. Maybe? I definitely do not recommend if you're squeamish about mutilated male genitalia. It definitely has its worthy moments. I'll let you decide for yourself. Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 jackos.

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