O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum…

My husband started receiving a magazine recently that he didn’t subscribe to. Nor is he anywhere close to the demographic the advertisers are targeting.

I threw the first issue into the recycling bin without so much as glancing at it.

The second issue, for some reason, compelled me to open it. And what did I see? A DIY method of creating Christmas trees from magazines!

Good golly, Miss Molly: At last here was something to occupy my OCD tendencies, serve as a proxy for art, and make use of an unwanted periodical. It’s all about folding—no cutting involved, so even I can do it.

In my continuing efforts to be green, I’d considered making a tree from books this year; I liked the idea of renting a tree but the closest vendor is in California. So a magazine it is.

Who knows? Maybe origami will become my next special interest.

Stop Smiling

Today's headline is actually the name of a magazine published in Chicago. I love it because just reading the name makes me smile. And the subtitle tickles me, too: The Magazine for High-Minded Lowlifes. That's me! And if it's you, too, then you should check it out. It's a well-designed publication with themed issues—Hollywood writers of the past, the demise of American publishing, interviews with cultural icons.

Our guests have departed, our pooch is sick from "people food" treats, and we're exhausted. But we'll get back in a groove soon enough. It's refreshing to share our small universe with outsiders. It greatly expands said universe temporarily and then leaves it ever-so-slightly, permanently reshaped. We're grateful for the change; the dog was grateful for the new adoration.