Merry Catmas And Happy New Purr

When Mother-in-Law called for me to bring my camera, what to my wondering eyes did appear?  It was three puzzled cats, one at a time, with a hat and a beard! Next time, I think I'll give them catnip before we try something like this, but they didn't protest much; they didn't howl or try to scratch, they just made it clear that they wanted the hats off as soon as possible or sooner. I printed a few copies of the picture to distribute as our holiday greeting. It's a silly form of creativity, I suppose, but it's all our own!

Conserving Happiness by Gluing The Tree

Glue, Cannister and Tree
Celebrate A Different Kind of Christmas Story

Last year, I broke the base off a resin Christmas tree with built-in snow globe that, when you wound it up, played a tune while the branches turned. Replacing it probably wouldn't cost much, but I didn't want a replacement; this one had come from my mom. Also it seems wasteful to toss stuff that can be mended. I put the problem off but finally when we hauled out the holiday decor I gifted myself with the problem of how to fix it.
I've had good luck with "Gorilla Glue"; it seems to have most of the virtues of old-school Superglue and few of the disadvantages. But gluing works better when the pieces are clamped together for the glue to cure; how the heck do you clamp a cred to the base?

The solution was to insert the tree into a cardboard oatmeal cylinder. The tips of the tree dug likely into the cardboard to hold its position. I stacked a couple of cans of soup on top, and that proved the force to hold the piece together while the cylinder kept things aligned.

I then let it all sit for a day and cure. The process worked, and the ornament now looks almost new.

I had resisted the impulse to through it away because:

• It was shiny
• It moved
• It played music
• It was a gift from my mom.

But through this I Learned A Valuable Lesson: a little glue and a little ingenuity can reduce waste and conserve resources. I don't know if that's a traditional Christmas message, but saving an ornament (and a little cash) it may be something to balance against the Gospel Of Consumption.

Beef Stroganoff Soup

Only a little soup left ... want some?

Sunday at Big Al Brewing we had a little soup contest. The mandatory ingrediant was "beef" and there were four entries, ALL of them very tasty! The winner was Kris' Beef Stroganoff soup, and here's the recipe:

Let a handful of dried mushrooms go swimming in a cup of sherry for a day

Get:

• 1 pound chunk of beef with a bone in it and heavily marbled (noticable fat)
• 4 medium sized parsnips
• 1 large sweet Walla Walla onion

Put all the above into cast iron Dutch oven or casserole if you aren't lucky enough to have one.

Cook 4 hours at 300F
Remove from oven
Dredge out bones and gristle
Transfer carmelized veggies and meat to 2nd pot

Add:

• half cup sherry
• half tablespoon of marjoram
• half tablespoon of salt (or to taste)
• 2 and a half cups water
• 1 cup sour cream. We used  a Mexican style sour cream from the Savon store in White Center; it has extra flavor!

Simmer for 45 minutes on medium high

You can add a quarter cup of chopped pickles, if you like that in your Stroganoff. We didn't do that this time.

Serve and stand back!

4freeCLE: Your Free CLE Newsletter! December 16, 2012

4freeCLE: Your Free CLE Newsletter! December 16, 2012 In This Issue 2012 Webcast CLE 2013 Webcast CLE On-Demand Recordings In California In Massachusetts In Minnesota In New York In Ohio Past Issues  On-Demand Recordings   Turn an idle hour into CLE credit with your choice of dozens of free recordings, available to you anytime, on-demand! Learn more at 4freeCLE's On-Demand Page. Webcast CLEs: Accessible Whereever You Have A Web Connection! 2012 Webcast CLE Live credit, in many jurisdictions, can be earned in the convenience of your home, office or vacation cabin! December 17: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Update. Free for General Counsel, Corporate Executives and Law Firms.By ALM Media Properties.  December 18: Ethical Issues in Pro Bono Representation 2012.Recent developments and on-going issues in ethics and professional responsibility arising out of pro bono and public interest practice. Also in-person (NYC). By PLI. December 19: Japanese Litigation: A Primer for Foreign Companies. The increase in litigation in Japan and general procedures for Japanese litigation. By The American Lawyer. December 20: Best Practices: Prior Art Search.Manage your patent prosecutions and searches more effectively and efficiently. By Legal Advantage. 2013 Webcast CLE Plan Now for 2013! Why not calendar next year's learning now, to start the year off right! January 9: The Eighth Amendment and the Mentally Ill on Death Row. Also presented in-person (Cleveland). By Case Western Reserve School of Law. January 18: Social Media Ethics for Lawyers. Ethical violations from online activities. By Attorney Protective.  Find more webcasts at 4freeCLE's Web-Based CLE. On-Demand CLE  Learn What You Need, When You Need It, With On-Demand CLE! Learn and earn credit on your own schedule! Alternative Fee Arrangements & Pro Bono Service. This two part program covers (A) practical and ethical considerations of alternative fee arrangements and (B) ABA's stance on pro bono service and corporate pro bono work. By Lexvid.  Calculating Child Support for Clients with Reduced Income. Training for the Washington State Bar Association Moderate Means Program. Elder Financial Abuse. How to recognize financial elder abuse, and how to remedy it. By Legal Aid Association of California.  Human Trafficking: What Judges Need to Know.While aimed at judges, this program should be of interest to attorneys and the public. By National Judicial College. Selected Ethical Issues for Litigators & Business Attorneys. A trio of ethical issues for litigators, in-house counsel, employment lawyers, and business attorneys. By Lexvid.  Working in the Cloud: It's the Latest, It's the Greatest, Or Is It? This cloud computing primer for lawyers addresses benefits, disadvantages, and ethics of working in the cloud, including internet-based software as a service (SaaS), financial and case management benefits. By The Florida Bar. Find more on-demand programs at 4freeCLE's List of On-Demand CLE. Remember to Bring Business Cards To In-Person CLEs, So You Can Network As You Learn! In-Person CLEs State-by-State Most in-person events are great places to meet your colleagues, share experiences and make your interests known. A question prepared ahead of time, if both relevant and succinct,can both address a problem you encounter in practice, and show yourself to the speaker and to the audience as someone worth knowing. A conversation during a break can lead to future opportunities, especially if you are prepared for that conversation! In-person event are often eligible for credit in multiple states either by application or reciprocity.   Do you know of an event offering free CLE? Send us information about free CLE and we'll publicize it for free! California December 18/San Francisco: Restraining Orders. By ALRP.  December 19/San Francisco: Introduction to Family Law training. By BASF.  Massachusetts December 17/Boston: Intro to Guardianship of Minors VLP Training. By Volunteer Lawyers Program.   Minnesota January 9/Minneapolis: Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) New Volunteer Orientation. By VLN. New York December 18/NYC: Ethical Issues in Pro Bono Representation 2012. Recent developments and on-going issues in ethics and professional responsibility arising out of pro bono and public interest practice. Also webcast. By Practising Law Institute. Ohio January 9/Cleveland: The Eighth Amendment and the Mentally Ill on Death Row. Also webcast. By CWU.  Need More By Year-End? As the year winds down, many professionals face a need to earn credit quickly at little cost. If this is your situation, email the editor and I'll see if I can locate something helpful. If you are able to use online recordings, you should be able to get much of your need satisfied. About 4freeCLE 4freeCLE is delivered weekly and will always be free!Please forward to your fellow professionals so they may benefit; if this was forwarded to you, get your own subscription for free by signing up now!  If you are interested in providing free CLE, contact the editor and I'll be happy to help with publicity. I may also have a few ideas for making your program available more widely, based on what I've learned from reviewing more than 1000 (one thousand) free CLE offerings..