We went to see my sister and her husband last weekend for a long weekend. I think our weekend was dominated by good food and good company.
They humored us by taking us to the beach so we could put our feet in some sand and surf.
On Sunday we took a walk at Savannas Park and sweated our butts off. It was Florida hot, y’all. We saw these fierce creatures at a wetlands overlook:
Our house is 87 years old. The front sidewalk looks that old, but we have no idea if it is original. From the city sidewalk, you take some steps and then walk up to our house.
Since we’ve lived here the landing of those steps has been a mess. The concrete was damaged long ago and weeds grow very well in the cracks.
The other weekend the better-half broke up the remaining chunks and we discovered the concrete was very thin. No wonder it failed.
Thirty bucks later we have a new landing.
Before with the concrete removed:
After:
Problem solved.
During the week, I get up between 5:15 and 5:30 every morning. Lucy joins me in the bathroom as I shower and then we go downstairs to start the routine of changing out the water in her bowl and making sure she can’t see the bottom of her food bowl. A sighting of the bottom of the bowl is a sign of the apocalypse.
So on weekends the schedule gets a bit weird. Saturday mornings she gets the remainder of the moist cat food from the Friday Afternoon of Fancy! We all hail the weekend-she with moist food and the humans with drinks. Sunday brings no joy, but that doesn’t mean she’s not full on business of waking me up. This morning it was around 6 which is late as far as she is concerned, but early from my perspective.
Since we are in a weather pattern of bleakness coupled with inches of rain, this morning would have been great for more time in bed. Instead, she and I are downstairs staring at the rain and each other.
It’s a good thing she’s so cute:
Win the Grammy’s that is…
The Joke
Hold Out Your Hand
The Mother
By the way, I don’t know what the ads will be for you. If they are for Camtasia, that’s a good recommendation.
I really like this song. Just putting that fact out there.
Don’t get me started on Brandi Carlile . We saw her perform last May and I’m slowly becoming obsessed. I told the better-half that I’m about to buy her back catalog. We already have two of her albums so what’s another 5?
We’re expecting snow and freezing rain in central VA this weekend. It hasn’t started yet, but it is a cold and gray mid-winter’s morning. We had about a foot here in mid-December. Climate change is still up for debate?
The cheeto in chief needs to give up on the wall and get folks back to work. We are 21 days into the federal shutdown. I’m getting paid on Tuesday and I got paid on December 31st. My mortgage is paid. I can’t imagine the stress on the folks who work for the government. He is incapable of empathy and I can only hope people will remember the emperor has no clothes in 2020.
I’m waiting for a library ebook to pop up for me so I pulled out The Great Gatsby to read. It’s been a very long time since I read this and I’m enjoying it. Last night, I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep so I read a chapter. Gatsby told Nick that San Francisco is the Middle West. Say what? Was that an actual thing back in the 20s to call San Francisco that? Because the last time I was there, it was squarely on the west coast and not in the middle of the country.
We didn’t make resolutions this year, but I am trying to be nicer at work. The struggle is real. And, I’m committed to taking more time off this year. Last year was bleak. We’re trying to balance the need to travel and spending money on some house improvements.
We had the family over for Christmas dinner. At o’dark thirty this morning, my sister and her husband left to drive back to Florida. I’m sure they are tired. We had to take naps this afternoon…even Lucy seemed more nap-prone than usual.
We went to our neighborhood Christmas parade yesterday and then traipsed around until we found a Christmas tree. Apparently, we are reaping the rewards of the economic downturn of 2008. Back then farmers couldn’t afford to plant new trees and since it takes about 10 years to grow a tree. Blam! Tree shortage.
Today we are in the middle of a snowstorm and so we decorated the tree and things seem more jolly than usual. The tree is also smaller so we had less time to reach our level of perfection.
Anyone who has read this sorry little blog for awhile knows my father is an asshole. We were at my parent’s for Thanksgiving yesterday and everything was going well. About two hours in, my father asked what time it was (6-ish). That was the signal.
As my mother was cleaning up, my father threw a snit and yelled at my twelve year-old-niece. And, he dropped the f-bomb. The house was clear in less than 5 minutes. My mother, I’m sure, had no idea what happened.
Here’s the thing…you do not get to be a jerk to the grandchildren/nieces. Period. Game Over. Go to hell.
So, how was your thanksgiving?
We went to see Pink Martini on Tuesday night. A very fun show and they sang Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman and here’s how they did it:
We stayed in our seats and sang along. We left after the conga line ended up on stage during the encore.
Millennial employee got to work on time yesterday for the first time in weeks. Was I supposed to say good job or just hello?
Power went out due to Hurricane Micheal and it chafes when the people across the street have power and we don’t. Our lines are underground after a big dang production a couple of years ago. Their lines are still above ground. Ugh. Speaking of big dang deal, we’re approaching 1 year of continuous construction on the gas lines in our neighborhood. Every week we have to move signs and remove trash from the construction folks. I will be so glad when they are freaking done. At least the heavy equipment isn’t parked at our house. I’ve surely just jinxed us.
