Last Day

Well, it's the last day of 2024, and it's kind of funny to me to look back and think it was 25 years ago that folks were freaking out over the Y2K bug.  People were stockpiling food, and buying generators, and hoarding gas, and I'm just over here like, "Calm down folks!  The electric company isn't just going to say 'Oh, well' and shut down.  This is how they make their living.  They'll figure out how to keep the lights on.  Same with the stores.  They aren't making money with empty shelves.  They'll figure out how to keep them stocked."  And sure enough, they did.  A few little blips, but nothing really major happened when the calendar turned to the year 2000.  

I did buy an extra bag of rice, and some beans, but that was the extent of my panic prep.  To me, the whole thing wasn't much different from being prepared for a hurricane -- which even a cat 1 causes more disruption than that whole Y2K did. 

On a similar note, I went back to last year to try to see what goals I'd set for 2024, and there really weren't any, other than finish my Alfred's book, which I already blogged about, and keep scrolling past the stupidity on Facebook.  That one takes some effort, but I've managed to do it-- for the most part.  I mean, I did start my Meme Debunkeration segment on the blog, but other than that...

I guess my goals for the new year will be the same:  keep scrolling, finish the Alfred's book, and start getting this house fixed up.  That's going to be the difficult one, because it requires two things I don't have -- money, and the ability to make phone calls.  Oh, and to keep up my walking and keep my blood sugars under control.  

By the way, I went walking this morning, but only made one lap of the Lake Circle because that wind like to have blown me away.  It had a bite to it, too.  So much so, I came home and hauled a load of firewood up to the house, then cleaned the ash out of my wood burner in anticipation of the cold that is to come.  I went out a few minutes ago to fill the bird feeders, and it already feels colder, but the real cold isn't expected to arrive until Thursday morning.  Just in time for us to go back to work.

And now I'm depressed.   

Because I have to go back to work day after tomorrow.  I don't want to.  Nobody wants to work at that place.  Which reminds me, I drove past the plant on the way to and from the lake, but I didn't see any broken or boarded up windows.  Either they got them fixed really fast, or I was looking in the wrong place.  Or the whole thing could just be a rumor, but the security guard was sitting out in the front parking lot, so there was that.  

In knitting news,  I got this far in my new hat when I decided I probably ought to finish the one I had already been working on, so I picked it back up.

I'm almost to the crown decreases, so I ought to get it finished while watching football tomorrow.  And I brought in my storage boxes, so I'll probably start taking my Christmas stuff down tomorrow, too. 

I think right now, I'm going to go get me a slice of that DiGiorno pizza.  

Laters 

The Funniest Thing

The funniest thing happened to me while I was at Walmart this morning.  

But first, I'd gone out to the lake and walked the Lake Circle route three times, which amounts to just under two miles.  If I can keep this up after I have to go back to work, it ought to keep my sugars under control just fine.  Alas, convincing myself to go walk after a 10 hour shift is the difficult part.  I have good intentions, but once I'm sitting in that car, all I want is to come home, especially after it starts getting hot. 

So anyway, I went out and walked the Lake Circle route, then went to Walmart.  I didn't really need anything, but wanted to check out the clearance section to see if there was any good stuff left.  They had quite a bit -- a lot of wrapping paper, which I do not need -- but all I got were some fancy marshmallows for my hot chocolate and a new Pez dispenser.    

I also picked up another string of these lights, which I may put up next year.  

I have a few different styles and tend to put up different sets each year.  I was looking for some multi-colored icicle lights, but all they had were the ones with white wire.  I like the ones with the dark wire, so they're not as obvious.  But that's just me.  I might run up to Batesville tomorrow to see what they have and collect a few route badges from the Mounds.   Or I might not.  We'll see. 

I almost bought another box of Christmas cards, but put them back after reminding myself I still have five boxes at home -- three of which are still unopened.  Speaking of cards, I got home to find three more in my mailbox.  

All of them had been mailed before Christmas; one was mailed December 12!  Tell me this isn't a government operation...

I imagine by this point, you're wondering what was so funny about all this.  Well, I'll tell you.  

I was strolling down the aisle in the clearance section, when a man stopped me saying, "Ma'am, smell this candle" and held out a candle towards me.  At first, I thought he was looking for something for his wife and wanted my opinion, but when I sniffed the candle I noticed it had a very peculiar, yet very familiar, scent.  

I stood there trying to place the scent, looking puzzled, and the man said, "It's pizza."  A pizza scented candle.  We shared a chuckle over that, then I said, "Now, I'm hungry.  I need to go buy me a pizza."  

And that's exactly what I did, but not just any pizza.  I DiGiorno stuffed crust pizza.   

I haven't had one of those in ages, not since they got so expensive, and indeed this one was $8.47, but I decided to splurge.  

Now I done et too much.  

And finally, one of my coworkers called me a little bit ago and told me that apparently there have been some shenanigans out at the plant.  Someone had gotten fired, and didn't take to kindly to it, so she went out there in the middle of the night with a sledgehammer and busted some windows.  They say they have it on video surveillance, and know who it was.

The weird thing is, I drove by the plant this morning on the way to the lake, and didn't even notice.  I was too busy looking at the Dick's Sporting Goods blimp that was parked at the airport.  I said I was going to have to be sure to look tomorrow when I go walking.  

I mean, it won't look like much, because they've already boarded up the broken windows, but still...

And you only thought life in a small town was dull.  

All Good

I'm sure you will all be pleased to know we made it through the weather yesterday just fine.  It got wild further south, but that weird little geographical thing around here that keeps us from getting snow also shelters us from the worst of the weather -- and by worst, I mean tornadoes.  The most severe bits of the storms always seem to split and go around us.  

And for the record, we do occasionally get snow, but mostly it's sleet and ice here. 

Anyway, preliminary estimates show that there have been 43 tornadoes so far, and that storm moved through Georgia and The Carolinas today, so expect that number to increase.   That one tornado that went through Southeast Texas was on the ground for right around 100 miles, and was given a preliminary F-3 rating.  It was kind of weird watching the storm chasers on Ryan Hall's feed and knowing exactly where he was -- down there by all them refineries in the Port Arthur area, like you're heading towards Sea Rim State Park.    I kept watching to see if he would drive over the Rainbow Bridge, but they cut off his feed once the 'nader had passed into Louisiana.  

BTW, I heard from my brother who lives in that area, and they're good there. 

So, while I was watching Ryan, Reed, Brandon, and the rest, I went ahead and cast on that yarn that the moths had gotten to, just to see how it would look when I knit it up.  I've got about 3" of the brim knit, and despite the fact that there are six joins in this segment, they aren't that obvious, so I'm going to keep on going. 

I know, right?  When I caked it up, I ended up with five small balls of yarn, so I knew there would be joins, but as I was knitting, I found several more spots where the moths had cut through one or two of the plies in the yarn, so I cut them out and made a join at those places.  Hopefully, there won't be too many more of those.  But if there are, I'll just join and keep going.   However, I don't think I can give this hat as a gift with all those cuts in the yarn.  I may just have to keep it for myself. 

In other news, I started back to doing my piano lessons this morning.  I'd been playing my Christmas music just for fun these last few weeks, but now I'm back to the grindstone.  All the teachers I watch on YouTube say it's good to take a break from time to time to avoid burnout, and after doing so, I feel much refreshed.  

One of the goals I'd set for 2024 was to finish my Alfred's Level 2 course, but I didn't quite make it.  I got about 2/3 of the way, and maybe I would have finished if I hadn't started the Faber Adult Piano course.  But I'm back on track now, plus doing my Hanons, scales, and sight reading exercises.  It'll be a bit tougher when I have to go back to work Thursday, but I'll do my best to make it a priority.  

The only other thing I did today was to get the green onion and bell pepper I'd bought for the gumbo cut up and put into the freezer, since Cody used what I'd cut up and frozen last year.  This time, I won't be storing them for an entire year.  I want to try to eat more egg omelets and use them in those.  Yes, I am allergic to eggs, but not deathly allergic.  Also, I've found that if I eat eggs as part of a full meal instead of by themselves, it really cuts down on the allergic reaction.  

I still need to cut up and freeze the celery, which I can put into my chicken salad.  I also kept a couple of jars of pickled banana peppers for that purpose, though I gave most of them to Cody and Brennan. 

That's about it for today.  I'd thought about trying to go walking this morning before the ball game started at noon, but didn't make it.  Instead, I watched the last of my cheesy Hallmark movies, a couple of episodes of Gilmore Girls, and an episode of JAG.  I need to get back to watching Heartland and The X Files, too.  

Right now, I'm watching a Lucy Worsley documentary on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, so I'll leave it at that. 

Laters. 

Well, Well, Well

Here lately, I've been thinking about trying to post the links to my blog on the book of faces once more, despite having had so many of them removed for violating community standards.  I miss the interactions I used to get over there -- the comments on my posts, the discussions, etc.  I've got one friend who will leave comments on the blog itself, but for the most part, the community I had has disappeared.  Heck, I don't even know if any of my readers have followed me over here. I do know my hit count has taken a significant hit...but I don't want to sound like I'm whining about that. 

Then, just this morning, I see yet another one of these.  

This is one of those scam groups that promise you can watch season 5 of The Chosen if you just send in your credit or debit card information.  Despite the fact that everybody who follows the show knows that season 5 isn't even finished post production, and won't be released until sometime next year -- March-April time frame -- people still fall for these scams.  We report these groups to FB every time they pop up, but for some reason, they don't think scamming people out of money violates their community standards.

Yet, my blog posts about knitting, herbs, and daylilies do.  Go figure.  It's gotten so bad, I don't even get a review any more when I request one after a post has been removed.  So, I don't know.  I may try it and see how it goes.  

In better news, I got two more Christmas cards today -- again, both were mailed before Christmas. 

The one on the right is from my Australian pen pal, so it has an excuse.  The one on the left came from Michigan, so there's no reason it should have taken over a week to get here.   I mean, the USPS is a government operation after all, so I guess I can't really expect any better from them. 

In knitting news, I caked up this yarn to cast on the next hat.   It's Vesper Sock Yarn in the colorway Rawhide. 

It's another one that came from my dear friend Suzie's stash, and I'm wondering if she used part of it for a small project or something, because the cake seems kind of mall compared to the others I've wound.  Still, I'm thinking I'll have enough for a hat, because I usually have quite a bit left over when I use a standard 100 g skein. 

So, while I was digging through that box I was talking about yesterday, I found a bag full of yarn, including the hank my friend Leann had dyed for the very first Fiber Fun In The 'Sip.  The colorway is called Jazz Rhapsody.  Alas, when I wound it, I guess moths got to it, because it was all in pieces.   

I was so disappointed!  But I can piece it together and I don't think it'll disrupt the color schemes too much.  Of course, you'll be able to see it as I'm knitting it.  But, as soon as I was done, I grabbed my cedar spray and gave all the drawers and shelves a good refresh, just in case.  

And finally, I'm posting kind of early today because we are expecting a bit of weather this evening.  

The worst of it is supposed to pass to the south of where I am, but we are in the red area here.  If you follow me on social media (FB, X, Threads), I'll do my best to keep you updated.   If not, I'll be sure to check in tomorrow to let you know how we fared. 

Good Intentions

You know what they say about good intentions, and alas, today was no different in that regard.  Oh, I had good intentions...I just didn't carry them out.  

So, what were those good intentions, you ask?  I'll tell you.  

See this box of junk?  

The intention was to finally sort through all this and toss what needed to be tossed and put what I want to keep somewhere else than my craft room floor.  Yes, that is a year old Knit Picks catalog right there on top, and it is now in the trash can.  And the little case with all the fiber in it is the needle felting kit my sister got me for Christmas -- three years ago.  

I'd played with it a lot that first year, but haven't really done anything with it since.  It's fun to do, but is very time consuming and requires your full attention so you don't stab your fingers while you're doing it.  It's not something you can do while watching TV.  What I want to do is set up a work station in my craft room so I can close the door and know the cat won't be getting into it, but that will have to wait until my snakes finally go to that great herpetarium in the sky.  

But I digress.  The whole point is that if someone were to come toss all that junk without me knowing it, most likely I'd never miss any of it -- minus the needle felting kit, that is.  But with me sorting through it and seeing it and thinking, "I need to keep that, just in case"  most of it probably won't be tossed.  

All that to say, I dragged the box out into the living room with the intention of sorting through it while watching Navy defeat Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl, then realized I just didn't want to fool with it today, so I made my gingerbread house instead. 

I'd bought all three of us these kits last year, but none of us did them.  Cody and Brennan said they didn't really have room to transport the completed houses home in their car, so they took their kits with them, but still haven't done them.  I told Cody that I'd bought a set of gingerbread house cookie cutters on clearance last year, and maybe next year we can do those, since they make much smaller houses.  Plus, the cookies will be fresh, and maybe we'll just eat them here...

I'd gone with a pretty much minimalist approach this time around, since I'm sure the house in the photo on the box was done by professional bakers, but it was fun.  Especially since I didn't pop my icing bag like I did two years ago when I made my first ever gingerbread house. 

I also spent a good bit of the day vacuum sealing the rest of the sausage ball mix and putting the gumbo into the freezer. This year, I actually had to put some of the Bartley Snack stuff into the freezer as well.  Cody didn't eat a single bite of it, and I've never seen him turn down Bartley Snacks.  The only thing he ate was the crabbies and some snickerdoodles.  And I'm grumbling the whole time about next year, I'm not even going to bother...

Only now, I want to bake and decorate more cookies -- but I don't need the sugar.  I've had more than enough of that as it is, and still need to eat up the rest of the cookies and candy since I don't want to put them back into the freezer.  I'll just have to walk a bit harder this coming week-- once the rain lets up, that is.   

In other news, after I posted yesterday, I looked out and saw this bad boy behind the fence. 

He has an 8 point rack, and a minute later was joined by a six point.  I don't usually see bucks out there, and this is the first one I've seen in two years.  

And finally, just so there is some redeeming value to this post, here is a photo of hat progress. 

 I've already picked out the next yarn, so I'd better get cracking on this hat.  

Laters. 

Boxing Day

It's Boxing Day!  Or as we say here in the United States of America, December 26th.  Christmas Day is over and done for another year, and truthfully, this one was kind of rough.   Cody had messaged me last week and told me they were planning on spending Christmas Eve with Brennan's family, then would come here and spend Christmas Day with me.  

I was hoping they'd come pretty early, and we could actually, you know, spend Christmas together, but they didn't show up until after 3:00.  If I'm being completely honest, I was very hurt that they could be so inconsiderate, but Cody told me they didn't get away as early as he had intended. 

You know, I hate being ugly, but I feel like there was some tension there, because I get the impression Brennan's family thinks they should have a monopoly on her time.  That's why I said we'd do our Thanksgiving a week early, so they wouldn't have that conflict.  But still, they need to realize that Cody has family too, and he might just want to spend the occasional holiday with his mother.  

Anyway, after I'd done all that cooking and put everything out for us to have a Christmas brunch while the gumbo was cooking, neither of them really ate anything.  "We had a big dinner before we came," they said.  Sigh....

I'm going to stay out of it, but if Cody wants to spend any of the holidays with me, he's going to have to be the one to stand up to them.  As for me, I had to repent because I had some very unkind thoughts as I was sitting there...alone....all day....waiting for them,  but they finally showed up and the festivities began.  

I didn't take a lot of photos this time around, but I made them pose for at least one.  

Their big present was one of those raised planters like I have, but I had that one shipped directly to their house because of how big it is.  Brennan had mentioned wanting one a few months ago, but kind of wilted when I told her how much those had cost.  I decided right then and there to get them one for Christmas, and that's just what I did.  

Their other big gift was one of those counter top ice makers like I have, only it was a bit fancier than mine.  Brennan was thrilled with it, because she said when they want ice, they have to go buy bags of it.  Why they don't just buy ice trays is beyond me, but they don't have any. They'll have to use bottled water for it, because Jackson water tastes like dirt, but it'll go well with the Soda stream Brennan's parents gave them.  

I got them a few other smaller gifts, including one of those digital tire inflators for Cody.  I hope it works the way the ads show -- all you have to do is program in the pressure you want, and it's supposed to inflate to that pressure. Oh and I got Cody one of the mini greenhouses like I have, the one with the heat mat and grow lights.  He wants to start some ghost peppers in it. 

Then we laid out all our gifts for a photo, as is our custom.  

My younger brother got me these LED candles, and guess what?  They're remote controlled!

I don't have to pick each one up and switch it on manually.  Best of all, I can set them on a timer for how long I want them on, and I can adjust the brightness and whether the light is steady or flickers like an actual flame.  He also got me season four of Downton Abbey on DVD. 

My sister sent me this nifty little organizer for my coffee pods, and it was so nice to get up this morning and simply select the flavor I wanted to drink without having to dig through those boxes.  

These are the rest of my gifts.  

The stationery is from Brennan, the Texas Night Before Christmas is from Cody -- and it completes my collection, since I already have the traditional version and the Cajun version.  The DVD, as I mentioned, is from my younger brother, the new house shoes and the drill are from my sister and her family.  The Texas shaped baking dish is from my good friend Jessica, whom I've known since 6th grade.  

The first thing I'm going to write on my new stationery is a thank you letter to her for being such a good friend. 

So, this morning I got up and drove out to the lake with the intention of walking the Lake Circle Pokémon Go route, but once I got there, I changed my mind and drove to Lee Tartt and walked the Rover Loop instead.   It wasn't that cold, but the wind was blowing and I thought the trees would offer a bit more protection on that one.  I want to make the Bottomland trail a route, but I have to gain a few more levels to submit the sign as a Pokestop before I can do that. 

I'd intended to walk it three times, but after the second trip, I wasn't sure my bladder would hold up to another round, so I went to Walmart instead.  Yeah, crazy, I know.  But if you stayed out of the clearance aisles, it wasn't that bad.  I didn't pick much up, just a few disposable pans, 

and some wax melts, but that's it.  

I might go back tomorrow, once the madhouse settles down and see what else they might have.  I don't know.  I still have plenty of  Christmas cards and wrapping paper, but there might be some decorations I can pick up.  Not that I need more, but you never know. 

Imagine my surprise when I got home and found two, yes two Christmas cards in my mailbox!  

 I can't fault the senders, because they were mailed December 18th and December 20th.   They should have gotten here in plenty of time, but thanks to our wonderfully efficient USPS,  they were late.  ANd here I was thinking I'd been forgotten.  

Maybe there will be a few more wandering around in the void that will arrive in the next few days.  Even so, I think I'm going to pare my list down a bit some -- mainly because postage has gotten so high.  Oh, family and close friends will still be getting cards, but people I don't really know that I added from Facebook groups will probably be scratched.  

And finally, I watched Twisters tonight, the new one.  It was OK, but lacked the depth and ...well, the realism of the first movie.  All the storm chasers I follow say they loved it, but for a nerd like me, that's a lot of disbelief to suspend.  I mean seriously, severe weather doesn't sneak up on anyone.  You're not going to schedule your kid's little league game when storms are expected.  

But whatever makes for good theater, I guess. 

By the way, we're expecting severe weather tonight and into the weekend, but the worst of it is supposed to pass to the south of where I am.  

And that's my cue to go see what Ryan Hall has to say about it all. 

Laters. 

Unto You

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, Peace good will toward men. 

Luke 2:8-14

 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us, authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

Christmas Eve Gift

Well, you know what they say.  They say you should buy yourself a little Christmas gift in the midst of all the hubbub.  

Yeah...this is what I got for myself. 

As if I didn't already have two boxes of the stuff.  In my defense, this one has hot chocolate pods in it.  And it's the best tasting coffee I've ever had.  I don't even need to add creamer to drink it, just a little stevia.  

OK, moving right along.  I did run down to the Dollar General just up the way and picked up another bag of sugar, just in case, then didn't use a bit of it. No matter, at least I have some now. 

Then I went down to the lake and walked the Lake Circle route a couple of times, to work off all the sugar I was going to eat this evening.  Which turned out to be three cookies and a few pieces of candy.  

But I got everything made except for the pigs in a blanket, because I just didn't feel like fooling with them.  Maybe I'll do them tomorrow.  Or not.  I don't know.  At this point, I'm just winging the whole thing.  

Except the advent poster.  I'm going by the book on that, and today's addition is the manger. 

 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.  Luke 2:7

That's all I have for today, so I'll just wish you all a happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night. 

Christmas Adam

It feels kind of weird, and a bit of a downer if I'm being honest, not to be frantically baking all day today.  But, as I said yesterday, I didn't really need to.   I dug through the deep freeze and found chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, and gumdrop cookies, plus chocolate fudge, cream cheese mints, and just a few pieces of peanut butter fudge.  I'd originally said that would be enough, but eventually I gave in and made my homemade version of lemon Turkish Delight. 

You know, Turkish Delight gets a bit of a bad rap, and I don't know why. I've always loved it.  Last year, I even ordered some that was actually made in Turkey and it was pretty good.  But, everyone has always loved the kind I make, so I have to make it every year.  

I hadn't planned on making it this year, but as I said, I caved and did it anyway.  Fortunately, I had just enough sugar left, but if I get any more wild hairs, I'll have to run in and get some more.  I'll probably go to the Dollar General just up the way and get some, just in case. 

Before I did all of that, though, I went down to the Lee Tartt Nature Preserve and walked my Rover Loop Pokemon Go route twice, just enough to get the first badge.  Then I thought I'd make a new route using the path I've indicated with the arrow.  

Alas, when I started walking that way, I couldn't find it.  I saw something indicating where a path might have been at one time, but it appears they let it grow up again, so that ended up being a bust.  If it were my own private property, I'd have forged my own trail, but since it's a state nature preserve, I figured I'd better stick to the trails that were already there.  

When I got home, I found a nice surprise in my mail box.  Well, it wasn't really a surprise, because I'd ordered it from my friend Kristine's Etsy shop, but I wasn't sure exactly when it would arrive.   Yep, it's two new candles!

Her Gaudete candle is one of my all time favorites, and I try to get one every year.  Best of all, she included a Christmas card! 

So, now I have two.  I don't count the one from the Ford company, because it's just a marketing gimmick.  I don't mean to sound like I'm whining, but I'm starting to feel a little forgotten over here.  To send out 45 and only get back two is a bit disheartening.  Now, I know some people told me they probably wouldn't be able to return a card, and that's OK, but still...

I feel a little bit like Charlie Brown opening the mailbox and shouting, "Hello in there!" and getting nothing back but an echo. 

Let's talk about something else, shall we?  Today, I added the third and final wise man to the Advent poster. 

 Then opening their treasure chests, thy offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Matthew 2:11

That's A Wrap

The last Christmas gifts arrived today, and are now wrapped and safely nestled under the tree. 

And with that, we're about as ready for Christmas as we're going to get...well, gift wise, I mean.  I've still got some cooking to do.  Even though Cody and Brennan won't be coming until Christmas Day, I'm going to make my traditional Christmas Eve snacks -- minus the cookies, of course. I've got some left in the deep freeze from last year that I'm going to pull out, but most of my snacks will be savory this time around, what with the insulin resistance and all.   

My cousin Beverly used to make these things called crabbies, which everyone loved, but she stopped due to crab meat being so dadgum high.  Well, a few weeks ago, I got in touch with her granddaughter Shelbi and asked her did she have the recipe.  She didn't, but googled and found me one, so I'm going to make those this year.  I didn't get the $15 tub of fresh crab from the meat section, though.  I'm going with the canned stuff.  

I'm also going to make pigs in a blanket with cocktail smokies, which I used to make all the time, but haven't had in ages.  Other than that, just sausage balls and a cream cheese ball and something called Bartley Snacks, which is a recipe that was given to me by the wife of one of my old shipmates when I was in the Navy.  It's super easy: 

1 lb hamburger meat

1 lb ground sausage

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Brown it all in a skillet, drain the grease, then add 1 lb Velveeta and blend until melted.  The original recipe says to serve it on party rye bread, but that's hard to find around here, so we just eat it with Club crackers -- or with a fork.  

I'm not sure what time the kids will get here, but the plan is to set all that back out Christmas Day for us to snack on while Cody is cooking my gumbo.  Plus, I'll make Monkey Bread for breakfast -- which I cheat and buy the frozen kind now.  I got it last year, and it's pretty good. 

While we're on the subject of Christmas, my younger brother got his ornament and sent me a photo.  

He said, "It's absolutely wonderful!"  Now, I'm just waiting to hear from my older brother...The tracking number says it was delivered, but since I wrapped his, they may be waiting until Christmas to open it. 

On a similar note,  I finally made myself pull the plastic off of my faithful representation of the first edition of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol.  The print is very tiny, and I wonder if this is the actual size the original first editions were printed.  A lot of the reviews were not positive about the illustrations, but these are what the first edition illustrations actually looked like.  

If you've never watched The Man Who Invented Christmas, I highly recommend it.  I recommend it so much, I bought the movie.  It's all about how Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol, and in doing so, basically brought celebrating Christmas back from relative obscurity.  It had been outlawed by Jolly Olly and the Puritans after the English Civil War -- you know, the one where Charles I lost his head, and never really regained the same popularity as it had before.  

And yes, I do realize how absolutely dorky it is that I know all of that off the top of my head.  But what can I say?  I am who I am, and I gotta be me. 

Anyway, while I was flipping through the book, all I could think about was how much my dad would have loved it.  That was his favorite Christmas story -- besides the Bible story, that is. 

In other news, the latest hat is progressing, albeit a bit slowly.  

I keep getting distracted by stuff I need to do.  Like, for instance, this cat of mine. She came in this afternoon with a big old slice on her chest.  It's only through the skin and not down into her muscles, so I'm keeping it as clean as I can with diluted betadine, and will watch for infection.  If it looks like it's not healing cleanly, I'll take her in to the vet, but for now, I'm just going to keep an eye on her, and try to keep her in the house. 

By the way, I think Suzie would be pleased at how that yarn is knitting up. 

And finally, since I didn't blog yesterday, you get two new Advent figures today, a camel and a wise man. 

When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.  Matthew 2:10
 

Bummed

To find out why I was bummed this morning, first you need a bit of back story.  

If you read my blog regularly, you'll remember that I've developed a bit of insulin resistance -- not uncommon as we age, especially if you're like me and consider sugar to be a food group unto itself.  So, I decided that in order to keep my glucose levels reasonable over Christmas break, I was not going to just sit in the chair all day. 

No, I'd get up and go walking out at the lake every day that weather permitted, so this morning, that's exactly what I did.  Once the sun had come up, I got dressed and drove down there.  I was going to walk the fitness trail by the tennis courts -- for you local folks-- because it's a Pokémon Go route and I need a few more circuits of it to earn my badge.  I got there only to discover that the entire area was closed.  I don't know why.  The gate was locked, and you couldn't even get to the parking lot.  

That's why I was bummed.  

Not one to accept defeat, I drove down to the lake circle route and walked it.  It's kind of short, so I'd intended to walk it a few times, but halfway through, I changed my mind and decided to go walk the Rover Loop at Lee Tartt Nature preserve.  

Which is exactly what I did.  Twice. 

Once I'd finished, I drove into town to Grocery Basket to see if they had egg nog.  They did, but it was a store brand, not Southern Comfort.  I stood there a long time debating whether to buy it or run down to Walmart on the chance that they had gotten some more in since yesterday.  In the end, I went ahead and bought it.  

When I got home, I opened it up and tasted it, and it tasted pretty good, so we're OK there. At least I'll have nog for Christmas. 

While we're on the subject of Christmas, I took the plunge and bought this faithful reproduction of the original first edition of Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  I know it's a faithful reproduction because it says so right on the plastic cover -- which for some reason I'm finding myself extremely reluctant to remove. 

It's supposed to have reproductions of the original illustrations and all, but since I can't seem to take the plastic off, I don't actually know if it does or not.  Maybe some day, I'll find the strength to open it up and see for myself. 

The only other thing I did today was to call the Ford place and see what was up with the recall on my car.  She said that the recall had actually expired already, but they'd submitted a request for an extension and they're waiting for the Ford place to approve it so I won't have to pay out of pocket.  I don't know how long that's going to take, but at least they haven't ghosted me like I'd thought.  

I still need to find someone to come out to the house and replace the rotten wood that the guy who'd painted was supposed to do but didn't, but I can only handle one phone call per day, so that hasn't happened yet. 

And finally, today's advent figure is a camel. 

And they set out; and there, ahead of them went the star that they had seen at its rising..  Matthew 2:9 

Do You See What I See?

Do you see this?  

Do you know what that is?  It's my alarms on my phone.  Do you see what they are?  They are all turned off!  For the next two weeks, at least.  You have no idea how good that is unless you also habitually get up at 3:30 AM for work.  Then you do know.  And you know why I'm so stoked about this.  For a little while, I can actually keep normal human being hours!   

So, I got off work at 10:00 this morning, wished all of my coworkers a Merry Christmas and a See you next year, and walked out of the door.  On a whim, I decided to drive through the lake, and made a brief stop at the visitor's center, which was all decorated up for Christmas. 

Then I drove on in to Walmart and picked up the things Cody will need to make our Christmas gumbo.  I was thinking it wouldn't be too crowded -- relatively speaking, of course -- it being a Thursday morning and all, but I thought wrong.  It was a madhouse, but I got everything and eventually made it back out the door.  

I'm going to have to venture back out sometime soon, because they were out of egg nog, but I was thinking about running up to Batesville tomorrow anyway.  Oh, speaking of Batesville, they're breaking ground on a new shopping center that it scheduled to open next October.  It's going to be right there beside Lowe's, so that's convenient, and guess what it's going to have!  Go on, guess!  

A Hobby Lobby!

Finally, I won't have to drive 100 miles to go to a craft store!!  It's also going to have a Wataburger and a Chik-Fil-A, so I won't have to drive 100 miles to go to either of those, either!  Boy, I said either a lot.  No matter... The point is, Hobby Lobby!!

Everybody is talking about it.  Batesville is half the size of my town, but they have such a forward looking vision for their future.   Grenada is stuck in the past, with no meaningful development whatsoever.  Sure they just got the new Milwaukee Tools plant, but that's the first new major business that's opened here since ...well since ADP opened in 1996.  There have been small business opened, but mostly new companies come in and buy out an existing business.  

But there has been no new economic development like there is going on up in Batesville.  No new shopping centers, or entertainment venues, or anything.  Oh wait, they're supposedly building an amphitheater in a pretty seedy part of town, next to a filthy polluted river, but that's Grenada for you...

In a bit of better news, I finally got a second Christmas card, only it's from the Ford place. 

I guess postage costs have gotten everyone down this year.  Usually, I have a whole shelf full by now, but so far, only the two.  The first one was from my brother, by the way. 

And that brings us to today's Advent poster addition:  a wise man

We have come to pay him homage.  Matthew 2:2