I am SO sorry I ever whined to you guys about how I’d only get one gift this year, from my sister. (My kids are giving me a non-material gift. I gave them material gifts because I’m the mom, dammit, and I get to if I wanna.) Oh, my gosh. My sister sent me FOUR gifts. My daughter sent me three gifts, and today I got something from a chocolatier that she ordered. (When I took her to task, she said, “Too bad. I wanted to, and you can’t stop me.” This is what happens when kids don’t rebel in their teens like they’re supposed to.) A friend gave me an RBG ornament, and today a gift from Old Flame #2 arrived. It’s an embarrassment of riches.
I piled all the gifts on my coffee table. Am I the only one who isn’t putting up a tree this year?
I’m going to make quick bread tonight to give to my neighbor. Years ago, I created a banana bread recipe that uses egg nog, so I only make it around the holidays to give as gifts.
If you can’t be with the one you lust, lust the one you’re with. My only beef with Tinder is that it’s not really designed to alleviate loneliness, since it’s based on superficialities. It may alleviate horniness, though.
shoe, I’m impressed with your efforts to feed yourself. I learned the hard way how important self-nurturing is, so I’m cheering from here.
No. I stopped putting up a tree years ago when the last chick left the nest for medical school in Pittsburgh. I had been scaling down for years prior to that once they were all in dormitory residence as undergrads. Plus my rambunctious kitties toppled them for years, scattered ornaments hither and yon and chewed on the lights. I finally gave up.
I do slap a wreath up on my front door once I drag it out of the basement. This year my big Halloween pumpkin (uncarved) was still sitting on my front steps (waste not, want not. I was hoping the squirrels and raccoons would nibble on it) so I put a Santa hat and face mask on it. Plus a wee little Santa hat on a cast iron cat sculpture perched on my front railing next to it. Festive if I do say so myself.
I miss tiny white Christmas tree lights though so I fill a huge glass bowl with large blue and silver ornaments (hand me downs from the daughter, evidently the color is no longer au courant) and twine a long string of lights through it and it has pride of place on my dining room table. So far the kitties leave it alone. There’s a teeny (max 10 inch and 12 lights) tree on a cabinet in the bathroom (the electric toothbrush gets unplugged for that), surrounded by small Santa and reindeer rubber duckies.
I did put my usual wreath on my door. It’s a peace symbol. And I’m hanging the Christmas cards I get. If my kids were coming, I’d have a tree, but since they’re not, and I miss them so (A YEAR! It’ll be a YEAR on the 27th since I’ve seen either one!), I just can’t do it. I’ll still celebrate, and the kids and I will Zoom, but seeing all the ornaments they made as kids (or adults, in some cases) is just too wrenching.
I think we’re all owed an extra year since COVID stole this one from us.
Evening all. Actually did some housework today, and will go watch some tackleball here in a moment. Dinner was BLT’s which were quite well-received by my stomach. Oh, and I got the slippers that Thel recommended 1-2 weeks ago…and they are as warm and comfy as advertised. Probably could have gone with a size 12, the 13’s I got are a bit big, but still worth it.
BBBo, nellie, I don’t put up much of anything as I don’t do any entertaining and spend Christmas up at my Brother’s. And nellie, I hope 2021 brings your kids to you…the outpouring of gifts is wonderful.
Happily married for 23 years. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking.
But a small part of me misses the excitement of meeting somebody new, the butterflies, the first kiss, the first… other stuff. If tinder and the like had been around when I was single, I’d’a been all over it.
Enjoy the adventure, shoe!!
Trust me, I am not passing up any hussying opportunities here on the frozen, windswept prairie.
I am keeping a sharp eye out for said folderoling chances. It would probably help if I ever went anywhere besides rushing overdue library books to the outside return drop box.
I saw that one before but watched (and cried) again because it’s so good. Here’s one that’s not new but that I still love, maybe because I used to act that way with my kids. It also makes the song go through my head:
I approve of this, too. Save some for the swipe-right guy.
Haven’t put up a tree in 20 years. We have Christmas knickknacks strewn on every horizontal surface, tea lights, LED polar bear, Christmas star in the kitchen window. But no tree. I miss the smell, but not the mess. And I’m not using space to store a plastic one.
It’s too early to be crying. Thanks for sharing.
Lots of work to do before Christmas, because Januay will be really busy. As stores, even the ones at the gas stations, are closed on Sundays and holidays, the next two weekends will be a bit difficult as Friday, Saturday and Sunday are holidays. People will be going crazy will stocking up for Christmas.
And. Today’s the big press conference, and there are rumors of lockdown. If that happens, it’s really going to get weird.
Today’s forecast is sunny, so maybe I’ll get a chance to see Jupiter and Saturn tonight. Already set an alarm on my phone.
And I’m really glad I printed out the emails hubby and I exchanged when we were first dating. It’s fun to read them 30 (!) years later. Which reminds me, I have still have the floor of the one room covered with papers being sorted. Something for the weekend.
This is the first year since we’ve lived here that we have a tree. It’s just 3’ tall and most of the ornaments are shatterproof, tho both cats ignore it. I only put it up because of Roxy, but she doesn’t seem to care. Kids! Sheesh!
Yes, I’m up at stupid o’clock.I was dreaming that it was 5:30, but when I opened my eyes, it was just a bit after 2. Bladder made me get out of bed and now I can’t fall back to sleep. It’s been over an hour. Dammit. With luck, I can soon doze again.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 29 Amurrkin out and clear (moony?) with a predicted high of 55 and N.O.S. for the day. I too am up a bit stoopid early. However, I slept well, as I did not have to wake up to pee durin’ the night. I pulled an all nighter! So, up am I. No real big plans for the day. Takin’ care of some bills and such is the main highlight of the day. Sup shall be majik intartoobz pizza. We shall also have sallit, cause that makes it healthy. I thought I posted durin’ the day yestiddy, but apparently I did not.
wordy glad the meet with the boss went well. Good to know she realizes you have done what you could.
nut good luck findin’ a new gig soonest. Sometimes ya just gotta do what you think is best for you. We’re here for ya if that’s any consolation.
flyboy I just assumed they were all recoverin’ from bein’ too sweet.
MetalMouse no rain here yestiddy, but it was cloudy and gloomy all day. The rain visited us Wednesday and looks like it’ll be back to say howdy on Sunday.
boofae glad you had a good day off irk.
nellie yay for all the presents! Sounds like a good haul.
nettie that’s what you get for bein’ competent, I guess.
Miss_Owl please report in so we’ll know the kittehs did not murder you in your sleep.
shoe nice of you to help out Miss_Owl with the hussyin’. Hope you find someone who will meet your ummm… needs.
doggio do you heave before or after you sort, or is heavin’ done durin’ the sort?
OK, now I need more caffeine and rumbly tummy wants to be fed. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
And now I’m up for reals - never did fall back to sleep. But I’ve tended to the critters and had some morning food. Caffeination continues.
We got a wee bit of snow overnight - barely even a dusting, but I can see white stuff on the dark porch furniture. And it’s cold out there. No plans to speak of today - tho I do need to get some more kitteh treats and Higgs’ kibble can is close to empty. Maybe some laundry, too? It’ll be spontaneous chore day!
Woke up an hour and a half early, could not go back to sleep. Today’s going to be unpleasant. Minor errands after irk, then not a lot planned for the weekend besides some mini-cavern sanitation. At least the cat is in an affectionate mood and not doing her “Mommy is a kitty-eating monster” bit.
Woke up with a case of Überblurf- one of those mornings where rolling out of bed seemed like more effort than it was worth and just lying there and festering all day seemed like a good plan. It’s the first day of the Christmas break, and I was already worrying about going back.
But… I just got a phone call, and I’ve got the temp job I applied for * does little happy dance *
I have to move to a different region of the country (about 30 miles from London), and it may only run for 3 months, but the pay rate for that 3 months totals about the same as my current wages would until August, when I planned to quit anyway, and it may well be 6 months. It’s working for a specialist gummint department (working with plants) which was already facing recruitment issues, and is due to have a massively increased workload due to our silly politics, so there’s even a decent chance of being taken on permanently if it fits.
Now I just have to work out how to move 6 hours drive away to a place I’ve never even visited, during a pandemic, over Christmas. It says something about my current job that this is the easy option, though I do plan to leave the bees with one of the local beekeepers (they’re soggy west coast adapted, so they wouldn’t like it; if it looks like I’ll be staying, I’ll get some new local bees).
So yeah- notice has been emailed in, and the day is looking an awful lot brighter than it did first thing, despite the torrential rain and gloomy skies.
Now to head to the shops to pick up stuff which is supposed to be Christmas presents, but isn’t going to make it on time, as I still have stuff to get (one of my cow-orkers had repeatedly promised me a plant my mother would like, which was going to be her main present as we’re going low spend. She not only let me down, she was really rude about it and basically tried to claim it was my fault she hadn’t bothered to get it and implied I was rude to ask, even though she’d offered in the first place. I can’t wait to be out of there).
Afternoon, mumpers! I really enjoyed my day off yesterday, it went pretty much according to plan with the gym and a book, plus a musical interlude in the evening (and I got my request sung so I was a very happy fae).
This morning started well too, early gym session and then home for brekkie before logging in to work. I managed to contact a colleague who is leaving today, we had a round of voluntary severance in the summer with most people who got accepted “volunteering” to leave this week as it’s the end of term. There are a couple of higher grades who will stay on until June so we can delay some of the panic for a few months!
nut good luck quitting, and conga-rats on the temp job, I hope it all works out for you. You’ll be joining us in Tier 3 then, if you’re not already there?
Also, I am in the land of no-hexmas-tree but only because I generally can’t be bothered. I have mixed feelings about the season, both my parents were ill over hexmas and both died early in January (mum on the 4th this year, dad on the 6th about 34 years ago). Mum suffered with breathing problems and was prone to pneumonia, plus at her age she also had a few falls that landed her in hospital over the holidays so most of my most recent breaks from work had been spent going backwards and forwards to her place doing my daughterly duty Now she’s gone, and I have two whole weeks off work with absolutely no plans. But Bogbrush the Colossally Incompetent has made it virtually impossible to go anywhere or do anything anywah.
On the plus side, 'im indoors has braved the nasty weather and gone out (he needs a haircut and has some shopping of his own to do). That means I am alone in the house for the first time since March!!
Congrats, Nut!!! Here’s hoping you like the new gig and it becomes permanent! I don’t envy your move, but pretend it’s a grand adventure! Like a quest! Wear a cape and sing a questing song!
Been bizzy here - showered and dressed, oiled 10 russets and put them in the oven to bake - once they’re done and cooled, I’ll scoop the innards out, mix and mash them, and load them back into the jackets - voila - twice-baked! Or they will be twice-baked. For now, they’ll just be wrapped and crammed into the freezer for future bakeage as quick sides.
I also ran to the dollar store for some kitteh treats and some shredded cheddar for the aforementioned spuds. Once they’re out of the oven from their first bake, I’ll head downstairs for an hour of walkage.
Now she’s gone, and I have two whole weeks off work with absolutely no plans. But Bogbrush the Colossally Incompetent has made it virtually impossible to go anywhere or do anything anywah.