Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas Postcard



Good Tidings of Great Joy

Monday, December 24, 2012

'Twas the night before Christmas . . .




A Visit from St. Nicholas
by Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;


"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!


His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

Christmas Postcard


Photo: kookykrys
Colmar, France

Friday, December 21, 2012

First Day of Winter

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Whole Foods Parking Lot

If you think the parking lot is nuts at the Princeton Whole Foods, check out what's going down at the Santa Monica store on the west side of LA. 

Monday, December 17, 2012

Christmas Postcard


Warsaw, Poland

Saturday, December 15, 2012

December 14, 2012

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Death by a Thousand Cuts


Once again an original design detail in Princeton Landing has been lost. The wooden lamppost we reported on here and here, damaged in Superstorm Sandy, has been replaced by an unattractive tall black metal post (One would hope this alteration is a temporary—not a permanent—solution, but this is unclear as nothing about it has been reported to the residents by the Board or the management company.)

The integrity of the original design—where the lamppost and gazebo matched, creating a cohesive architectural unit—has been compromised. This is yet another change to the community's original design plan, adding to the recent addition of random signs (removed after our post), different color signs (changed after our post), and incompatible finials (changed to incompatible ones after our post about the missing original).

If FVCSA isn't going to employ a qualified design professional to advise on such changes, then it should stick to the original. These new, incompatible design details don't maintain the architectural integrity of the property, are not consistent with the overall look of Princeton Landing and don't enhance the appearance of the community.

Christmas Postcard


                                                                       Photo:  Kenny McCornick
Strasbourg, France

Friday, December 7, 2012

Question of the Week

One of the benefits claimed for reversing FVCSA's longstanding policy of having no employees and hiring a handyman was that it would save the community the cost of buying outside services such as gutter cleaning. Now FVCSA has TWO handymen, yet a parcel budget contains a $3,000 charge for gutter cleaning. What is the financial benefit from having our own employees?

Christmas Postcard


Photo: milknosugar
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Gabriella Eggers

We learned of the passing of Princeton Landing resident Gabriella Eggers in yesterday's Town Topics. We did not know Mrs. Eggers personally, but she sent lovely, encouraging notes to us in the early days of this blog. She mentioned that one of her favorite posts was about singer Mary Travers, so in Gabriella's memory, we publish it again here today. Our sincere condolences to her family.

Monday, December 3, 2012

"We Get Things Done"? (#3)

Our Question of the Week back on June 8 asked, "When will the wood trim in the Parcel 1 condos be repaired and painted?" Some of the wood has been replaced—though not painted—but much of it is still rotted or missing.

With two full-time handymen on the Association's payroll, it's hard to understand why these things take so long to fix.




Sunday, December 2, 2012

"We Get Things Done"? (#2)


The lamppost we reported about here has been removed. This is what the area near the gazebo looks like now. Is this considered progress?

Saturday, December 1, 2012

December Recycling Dates

The recycling dates in Princeton Landing for December are the 3rd, the 17th and the 31st. There is also a link to these dates in the right-hand column under Popular Posts.