As planned, I logged on late (08:00). Nothing in my inbox. Making a beef birria omelette for breakfast, and I’ll log out in two hours.
I wouldn’t be either.
Me?
Christmas Eve, 2017~idiotic, reckless moron blasting his way home to Colorado rear-ended me on the Interstate at 65 an hour because “I turned around to give my dog a drink of water in the backseat because she was whimpering”. 65 miles an hour, at night, in a snowstorm, on a stretch of Interstate in the city where there were multiple exits every mile where he could easily get off and right back on. Bombing heedlessly along in his behemoth SUV, hell bent on getting home for Christmas.
Much of my life was taken away from me, forever. He tossed his broken plastic bumper cover to the side of the road and continued home to a merry Christmas. I doubt he thought about it again after he paid the reckless driving citations.
This Christmas isn’t looking too merry for me either, even once I get through anniversary grief (no small task). There’s confirmed Covid at my daughter’s and grandchildren’s house (my much beloved SiL) so I haven’t been able to go over to see them for 11 days, including my sacred Grandma Sunday play day last weekend nor for my daughter’s birthday Tuesday (her birth was literally the happiest moment of my life). He still tested strongly positive yesterday, ruling out contact for me for another 5 days, plus the 48 hours it will take to get two negative tests sequentially. I’m extra high risk of a bad outcome from Covid because of age, other co-morbidities and having a paralyzed diaphragm requiring oxygen 24/7 (of course caused by the above Christmas Eve traumatic brain injury), so we just can’t risk it.
I was supposed to go over today for a marathon gift wrapping session of the grandkidlet’s Santa presents because my daughter is not only single-handedly working and taking care of the kids while SiL isolates in the basement, but she’s doing it with her dominant hand strapped to her body in a brace/sling because of a painful injury to her supraclavicular joint of her dominant arm which is going to take months to heal. I’ve been looking forward to not only Christmas Day with them (plus prime rib) but also this chance to revisit the magical Santa wrapping sessions from my young mother of three Christmases (actually, I wasn’t that young but I digress). Got the text last night that he’s still symptomatic and testing strongly positive and my wrapping elf gig was canceled (sensibly). As is Christmas Day and the prime rib which my SiL looks forward to all year.
Maybe by New Years Eve I’ll get to see the grands and take them their presents. Maybe.
Bah, bah, bah humbug indeed.
I’ll listen to Christmas music on YouTube with the flickering fireplace videos while I wrap the kidlet present haul, sipping some mighty good non-alcoholic wassail from Trader Joe’s (at least once a day one of those mugs of wassail won’t be non-alcoholic, I assure you). There will be several pajama days filled with trashy novel reading and Netflix bingeing (and serious cat cuddling). Given I’m not about to go to a grocery store this close to Christmas my Christmas dinner maybe be the package of Trader Joe’s shrimp dumplings in my freezer and the mini-split bottle of Barefoot Bubbly pink champagne in the fridge leftover from last NY Eve. I guarantee you that Yule meal will be eaten in pajamas in front of Netflix or a good book.
I keep telling myself that that I’ve got all of you, my magic internetz Mumper friends and we’ll get by~we all get by with the help of our friends and you guys are ‘da best’, none better!
Started Typing: 11:31 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 12:56 PM ET
I am sooo glad I decided to take today off work! I still woke up at ~7am, but of my own volition rather than in response to alarms (I always set two: one on the bedside clock, and one on my phone). Makes a big difference. Because work has been so busy lately (and I’ve been out a lot) I have a bunch of volunteer-related stuff to catch up on today, and I’ve already sent a couple of those emails. That’s my main “to do” item before I head to MD this afternoon; I’ll eat lunch here at my desk.
I’m also doing laundry this morning, and discovered that the very full load I put in the washer on the “delicate” setting – because of one blouse – didn’t spin nearly well enough: I just put everything in the dryer, and had to wring out several items first. Next time I’ll save that blouse for a smaller load. I only dry clothes on low heat (high heat is for sheets and towels), and I may wind up needing to run the dryer twice…we’ll see.
Last night’s workout went well; only one exercise my trainer had planned needed to be changed to accomodate the injury on my right hand. It had been a week since I’d been to the gym, but it felt like much longer…and when I got there, my trainer said “It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever!” Heh. I also discovered that he’s a fellow LEGO fan. I love my trainer! 
I’ll go to the gym again tomorrow morning, to make up for cancelling Tuesday’s session (when my dad was here), and starting next week we’ll be able to stick to our usual Tues/Thurs schedule for a while. I still really need to add some cardio: there are Zumba classes on Saturdays at 11am, and I may try that starting next weekend (in addition to trying to get my butt there for some treadmilling during the week). Before I joined the gym I would have bet money that I’d rather go there on any weeknight vs a Saturday, but after going to several rescheduled training sessions on Saturday mornings I’ve discovered that I actually don’t mind that day/time.
In other news, yesterday Honda recalled 2.6 million Acura and Honda vehicles made between 2017 and 2020. It doesn’t affect me, but the press release is here if it might affect you.
Yikes…I got distracted by some stuff online and suddenly it’s almost 1pm! Time to eat some lunch and try to get some more volunteer work done in the next 90 minutes, before I need to get in the shower and head to MD for dinner with some old friends I haven’t seen in years. (We aren’t meeting until 5pm and the restaurant is only 42 miles away, but I’ll be leaving at 3:30 because I-495 sucks…in fact, maybe I should plan to leave at more like 3pm…)
Ahhh, I didn’t realize that Tuesday’s a holiday for you. Gotcha.
(And monetary surprises are the bomb!)
I loved that show!! What service are you watching it on? I checked IMDb, and it seems to only be available on Tubi and Roku…neither of which I have. 
I have decided that if I ever (a) come into more money than I could possibly ever spend and (b) completely lose my mind, I shall open a restaurant called Bears Who Brunch. In the Dupont Circle part of DC (which used to be affectionately nicknamed “The Fruit Loop”). It will be open 7 days a week, but only from 11a-3p. And there will be regular weekend drag brunches. And it will be fabulous.
Oh, my…I am really hoping that you’re airborne by now!! 
I forgot to mention it, but it is important to me to acknowledge this.
Yesterday was my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. She was a good girl from the suburbs and he was a greasy hood from the wrong side of the tracks. They met at a skating rink, had a baby four months after they were married, spent time moving around for Air Force tours and opportunity and 60 years later they’re kicking it Florida laying out on the screened in lanai or putting in another 18 on the links.
Congratulations, mom and dad.
I’m watching it on Tubi. It’s actually a free service. I stream it through my Google TV or my Roku. It’s become a fairly popular streaming service so you may be able to find it easily.
How scandalous! { clutches pearls }
Mazel tov, you crazy kids!
Those are my least favorite as well.
If you survive buzzed cooking without injury, the results can be…ummmm…somewhat interesting sometimes.
Well, she ain’t wrong. Lolllipops formulated with cold medicine and motion sickness medicine are available for kids, so it wouldn’t surprise me if other meds are too.
I hope that Bob has earned your forgiveness JBatts! Congrats to your mom and dad.
Yay on the gift card flyboy!
Congrats on the new g-g-niece / nephew sari!
Sometimes, the best thing you can do on a job like that is walk bat boy. I hope that you find something much better soonest.
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted / lunched, house cleaned and only a load of clothes in the dryer left of the laundry. Once I manage to get a little reddish doggy making puppy-dream noises off my arm, I’ll get sheveled and hit the grocery store.
Tomorrow, I’ll make the gingerbread (cake style, not cookies) for Christmas and move the box of casserole dishes for my great niece who’s just starting housekeeping (I asked her if she wanted them, she said yes, so I got them out of the cabinet above the fridge and washed them up this morning) out to the car to take with me Sunday.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
42 minutes until take-off, and no further delays YET. We must look like an unsavory bunch. they’ve brought three different drugs/explosives dogs around. Two of them put their heads on my lap for a second before their handler pulled them off. Of course, I didn’t pet or talk to them, but I was tempted.
Boo, can you Zoom or FaceTime with the grands and kids? I’ve spent Christmases alone and found it restful, kind of like a spiritual retreat.
Oo! Almost time to board!
Sounds like my previous Hellhole BBQ job, except I walked out in anticipation of being mistreated, in front of my crew, again.
Received an unholy pile of shit about it from my parents (“Sooo unprofessional!!”) and in their defense, yeah, it was. I was acting manager, and I ditched my crew. I coulda handled it better … but in my defense, they coulda handled things better, too. (Like not being creepy around minors.)
Sometimes, you just hafta extract yourself from a bad situation by any means available.
I love how you write.
That broke my heart; I am so sorry this happened, and the fact that it was so thoughtless and preventable is really the cherry on the shit cupcake, isn’t it?
That’s just extra sucky, for everyone.
{{ huggzz }} to you, my dear.
Hoping nellie is on the flight that Delta claims is about to depart.
I am. Just barely. They said I’d been bumped from this flight! Issued me a new ticket after a nail-biting delay. Not sure why I got bumped. The flight isn’t full now. I really, really hope this is the last Hell-ta mess-up!
Godspeed.
Excitement! I got the stew underway and turned the kitchen over to the spouse. She mixed up her baba cake ingredients, put it in the two-piece bundt pan and shoved it in the oven. Unfortunately, I don’t think she checked to make sure the insert was properly seated. Next thing we know, the smoke detector is shrieking and so are we and smoke is rolling out of the kitchen. Quickly opened all windows, but by then the smell is all down the hall and people are calling the front desk with reports of a possible fire. All the windows are open now and the place is airing out. I’m just glad it’s in the 40s today and not zero. The oven is a mess, of course, so I’ll bake my cornbread in the convection oven on the countertop. I’m afraid the baba is a loss, but perhaps she can salvage some of it.
Not to be a stalker, but:
TAXIING FOR TAKEOFF
Left gate
11:46AM PST
(12 hours 50 minutes late)
I can remember a time when flying was fun.
The key is a phone charger, a snack, and something to use as a pillow.
Howdy Y’all! Stuff got done and we were bears who brunch. The rest of the day has been highly slothful. I did some readin’ up on how best to cook a prime rib roast. I do not recall ever cookin’ one. However, I have only two functionin’ brain cells, so who knows, I might have at some point. A lot of my mispent youth is hazy.
Oopsie I like the idea of the restaurant. However, I would skip the weekend drag brunches. Not my thang. Nothin’ against drag queens, just not into all that.
Nellie hopefully you are in Spokane by now. I’ve flown Delta a lot cause Jawja, but not a big fan. Truth be told I am not a fan of any airline. Really not a fan of flyin’, but recognize it as the easiest way to get between two points when said points are distant from each other. Also, if I never fly again that will be fine by me.
When FCD got done with his boat futzin’, he came home and we went to pick up the cabinet he bought for his mom at the ReStore. We took it to her apartment, cleaned it, rubbed it down with Old English, and did some furniture re-arranging. On the way out, I spied the spud-n-onion bin and (fortunately) decided to look inside. All 3 spuds and all but 1 onion were rotting/rotted. So major stink averted.
We’ll go back after the new year to hang the drapes we ordered and to put pictures on the wall (finally!!!) She’s been living there since May and all the framed pics are in a pile in a corner. We’ll remedy that.
BIL freaked out today. He got the statement about his rent. Even tho we told him several times that we were taking care of it, and even tho I told him he’d get this statement and he didn’t need to do anything, he still freaked out. His rent is set up to be paid automatically on the first of the month. It’s not due till the 1st, but he went into meltdown today and called his mother in IN when he got the statement. I had a missed call from him and I’m sure that’s what it was about. Unfortunately, while we were out and about, I’d left my phone at home. I expect we’ll get this call every.single.month till it finally sinks in that he doesn’t need to write a check for rent.
So we stopped on the way home for some medicinal DQ before resuming chillage mode.
Yay nellie for being in the air!
Mooooooom, DQ is always medicinal. 
Groceries bought, dog walked, neighbor / apartment management & maintenance cards delivered, supper (cheeseburger w/ mustard and broccoli salad) et. Now for messing around in the studio and chilling.
Good evening all. The swimming pool at the gym apparently had a heater malfunction, because the water was COLD!! So I stayed in the pool and didn’t take my usual halfway whirlpool break and managed to do my mile in one set, took just a bit less than an hour but did make it 3 miles for 3 sessions this week. Picked up a Subway sammich for dinner and traded gifts with my next-door neighbor, so all is be well. Have checked in on-line for my flight tomorrow (American rather than the one nellie flew) via Dallas to Kansas City, hopefully it will go as planned…we’ll have to see. Packing is about 80% complete, mail brought me a new Blue Cross/Blue Shield card for my wallet, and no new dishes have been dirtied.
Flyboy, BBBoo, {{{hugs}}} for the tragic memories this season also brings, along with all the bright and cheery ones. My very best wishes to you both.
FCM, glad you got MIL squared away, wish BIL was as easy to deal with. And a wet mattress is not fun–hopefully no mold from it.
nellie, hopefully this message finds you comfortably ensconced in your room in Spokane. As I mentioned above, I’ve flown American the last few times and really have no complaints.
boo fae, glad that your flights worked better than nellies. Enjoy.
shoe, hope the call works out and clears the air (and ties) between you and GC.
BBBoo, hope you get to see the kiddos soon, I’m sure that they are missing you too.
Oopsie, thinking about getting some personal training for the 2024 year; the last two years have been more about general conditioning and losing weight, might want to see about some professional advice on getting the body in good form–we’ll see.
And even if I am not the target audience, I would definitely dine at Bears Who Brunch.
J-Bats, 60 years together; that’s something special. My best wishes to them both.
Cookie, attempting to burn down the building is frowned upon by this establishment!!! 
Whew. Will head off to be early, my first flight is at 9:19am so I’ll try to be there nice and early. Take care all and while I’m planning to stay in touch, have a Merry Christmas if I don’t.