What is With This “Welcome In”?

This has been bugging me for several years, but it took a Miss Manners column to make a post about it.

I sometimes find Miss Manners’s answers to be crotchety and a bit mean, but this was right on.

Why add the preposition? The word is already complete. Merriam-Webster says that in this context welcome is an interjection that is “used to express a greeting to a guest or newcomer upon arrival.”

See? One word. Done!

And “in” to what? If one is trying to say “Welcome to my store,” or “Welcome to the store,” the word “in” is not used. Do they mean “inside” like “inside the building,” or “inside the door”?

I’m certainly not engaging with people who say this and badgering them as to if they are even thinking what they are saying. It is one of those things I could let go of, but so far, it continues to rankle.

I’m hoping it goes the way the overuse of air quotes did in the 90s.

Come to think of it, air quotes would be perfect for this: “Welcome [air quotes] in [close air quotes]”.

The Movie Quiz December 2024

I’ve missed the last few movie quizzes, but was back again for December. Greg and Renee joined the fun, and we held up the bottom third of the bracket like we usually do. We’re Battleship Cinematic Universe .

While many of the teams are regulars, some of the regulars tweaked their names to include a holiday theme. We didn’t think of that, but we’re ready for next year.

Cinema Toast Crunch was sitting in front of us. It was amazing to see how few questions they missed.

I wonder if team Very Good knew ahead of time how bad they would be?

The last round was anagrams, and that was Not Good. Hopefully they won’t be back for a while.

Tuba Christmas

Not only was 2024 the year I finally made it to the tree lighting, it was also the year I finally made it to Tuba Christmas!

What happens when more than 400 tubas converge on Pioneer Square to play a concert? They need a place to put their cases. The cases served as a nice buffer between the tubas and the audience.

I used to be good at going to public events and arriving early enough to get a good seat, but clearly I have to build those particular muscles back up. I ended up standing on the side near the back, so I couldn’t see what was going on near the front. But it was fun to have an up-close view of all the tubas.

Many Tuba Christmas caps were around in both red and green. The ones that they were selling this year were blue. But it looks like each tuba player gets a button for every tuba Christmas concert they participate in. This musician is a long-time participant.

There was an official tuba Christmas photographer, and I admired his folding stepstool. I would find it handy when I took pictures.

Is That the TriMet Christmas Sweater?

In late November, the TriMet Riders Club email advertised TriMet’s Ugly Christmas Sweater.

“That’s not ugly,” I thought to myself, “That’s a thing of beauty.” Soon after, I ordered.

Then, time passed. I wondered if I actually had ordered the sweater because I received no email. But then! A delivery notification saying the sweater had been shipped from Portland and would be delivered on Saturday, December 9, by 9 p.m. Wonderful! Deliveries are usually earlier than that, so it might be here in time for Heidi and Kevin’s Christmas Party.

But no. The time came to depart for the party, and no sweater was to be seen. It also hadn’t been delivered by the time we got home.

The tracking went dead for a few days, until one morning when I was told it was out for delivery! In Indianapolis, Indiana. A city that is not Portland.

Over the next week and change it would also travel to Detroit, Seattle, and then back to Portland. It arrived on Friday, December 20. I didn’t get to wear it to square dancing, work (when people were there) or out and about, but I did get to wear it to the Snow Ball Chorale and Christmas.

Here I am at the Snow Ball Chorale, Low Bar Chorale’s Winter Concert.

I posted this photo on Instagram, and someone commented, “Is that the TriMet Christmas sweater???” So clearly it was worth the wait.

The Snow Ball Chorale was also not a smooth landing. I invited people, most couldn’t go, but friend Kelly said she could go and bought a ticket. Then I let a few days go by, and when I went to get my ticket, it was sold out! I volunteered to buy Kelly’s ticket off her, because I didn’t mind going alone. Instead, she gave it to me.

Terrible organizer fail. I had a good time, though. And I liked wearing my sweater.

SKS: Promoting Olive

This one also came from NCTE, but from the previous year.

She asks if I find the stickers she pasted on the back to be affirming. They are: OK! (3) and Good Try! (3).

I vote those stickers are not affirming. There were a few Great, Wow, which I thought were affirming, and there was one very odd Mon Cheri one that just seems like a no.

Kenton Station Restoration Finished

We now have the answer to the question asked in September: What will the tree/tree well restoration project look like when finished?

Apparently, the tree wells are going with some asphalt-like material with drains.

And the trees are little and new.

It’s not the prettiest solution. I believe before there were metal grates around the trees, but I guess it gets the job done.

There is nothing to protect the trees from being carved up, but I guess you can’t do anything about that.