How to give the perfect gift

Lee Eisenberg walks us through it at The Daily Beast.

Years ago, when my oldest son discovered a cooking class in middle school, he made me a chocolate-walnut torte for my birthday. He even went out into the garden and picked rose leaves, melted chocolate on them, and let that harden, and decorated the cake with chocolate leaves.

It was the single best cake I’ve ever had — and he insists to this day that he made it wrong.

Whatever, Mary. It was fabulous and when he’s visiting next week, I just may try to guilt him into making another one. And that will be my perfect (and early) Christmas gift. And I hope he makes it wrong again.

Yours?

I don’t judge…

O.K. Maybe I do. And thanks, BuzzFeed, for the link.

Seen in Cambridge

God and Her Critics.

Priceless.

And thanks, Sis. Jac, for the photo.

Take the quiz!

And see if you Know All There Is To Know about Sarah Palin!

Uh..I got 26 percent. Maybe I’d have scored higher if I read “Going Rogue.”

And thanks, Jezebel, for the link.

Wow. Sen. Ralph Nader.

Do you think he has a chance?

Tossing and turning, turning and tossing…

Yet another hot, new item for Christmas: A nail bed!

No! Really! Hair shirt optional!

(Don’t think the guys in the photo come with, though.)

A Friday funny

And thank you, Sis. Korky, for the funny.

Can this be true?

Say it ain’t so, Bro. Mike, but thanks for the link.

I love this guy, Shane Claiborne

He’s one of the brains behind “Jesus For President,” and he has a piece in Esquire: What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?

Why do I love Bro. Shane? Because he’s responsible for words like this:

…to those who have closed the door on religion — I was recently asked by a non-Christian friend if I thought he was going to hell. I said, “I hope not. It will be hard to enjoy heaven without you.” If those of us who believe in God do not believe God’s grace is big enough to save the whole world… well, we should at least pray that it is.

Here’s more on The Simple Way. And thanks, Sis. Letha, for the link.

So on our way home last night

We detoured through New Haven’s Fantasy of Lights. We’re new to the area and neither knew what to expect, but we had the $10 entry fee, and took off.

I don’t know how we were so fortunate as to hit the light display just right, but we were the only car for the longest time moving at parade-speed through Lighthouse Point Park. And it was beautiful. The money goes to Easter Seals Goodwill Industries, and we loved the 113,000 lights (I know how many because I asked; I also asked the nice man at the exit whether if one light goes out, they all go out. He said no.).

We saw elves playing volleyball and Santa riding the waves in a jet ski. And just beyond the lights was the cold and quiet Long Island Sound. My favorite display, though, was the simple string of lights illuminating the lighthouse for which the park is named.

I don’t know. It was just Mr. DJ and I, no kids in the car, and we kept stopping to take these dim pictures. If we’d driven home to have our mothers waiting with hot chocolate and tiny marshmallows on top, the night would have been complete.

Even without our mommies, it was a lovely entry into the holiday season. I make no promises about this being a tradition, but for just this year and just this time? It was perfect.