Aw, ruble, you’re sweet!
It’s been surprisingly hard to get to things I have a whole list of retirement to-dos that haven’t become part of my routine yet. Probably because I’m at my Mom’s about half the time.
{{gardentraveler!!!}} Great to see you here! 
Happy Birthday, Cupcakes!!!
Good to see you GT!!! Come back!
Youngest Granddaughter is in town with her beau (from Seattle) so we are going to the closeby kids house this evening for dinner and prolly (card) games. We have been tasked with bringing curried chicken salad, which is good, 'cause we loves curried chicken salad. Also some wineing, or cidering, will prolly take place.
Re: the original question(?) I don’t like to look back and be reminded of what a jerk I’ve been in the past. Of course, my previous efforts pale in comparison to the Jerk-in-chief, so there’s some solace in that.
I usually spend any thinking on planning things I intend/hope to do in the future. Murphy tends to follow me wherever I go and I find that planning helps to moderate his efforts somewhat.
I am somewhat concerned about leaving Vinnie and Gibbs alone in the house with all the idiocy that goes on New years eve, but the kids have 3 dogs, and granddaughter has her dog with her, and adding our 2 into the mix would prolly be more of a circus than any of us could handle. :dubious:
Here’s hoping the new year brings us some sanity.
{{{GT}}} ::tacklehug::! YAY! Ain’t retirement grand! I wake up every mornin’ and smile cause I don’t have to get ready for irk.
Cake has been picked up. Beastloaf has been made up. Mac ‘n cheese has been made up. Collards have been cooked and are coolin’ down. Blackeyed peas have been “looked through”, soaked, and are now in the slow cooker with ham hock. Tomorrow I bake up the beastloaf, mac ‘n cheese, warm up the collards and peas, cook rice, and make cornbread. I feel so productive! Oh and champagne is chillin’ for sippage this evenin’. Bloody Mary mix is also made for tomorrow’s traditional cocktail before feast. Next up the makeage of shrimpies 'n grits and bacon wrapped spareguts for sup but that won’t be for a while. I’ve been a bzzy bear!
Guess this is a ‘look-back’ day for me, since I spent the morning entering all my expenses and assets into an Excel spreadsheet to see where the money went the past year (pretty much where I planned it).
It has been a year to look back on for me, had a big plumbing leak in March, Got a new concrete patio in front in May, fulfilled a 40-year dream with a trip to China in June-July, and remodeled my kitchen and bathrooms in August-September; so yeah, it’s been an interesting 2018 and we’ll see what 2019 dishes up.
Got up to 70F today, but some very nasty weather is moving this way (tornado watch-type stuff) so it will be cooling back down to the 40s/50’s. Got all my shopping done, I am becoming like my mother who always (on Friday) went to 3 or 4 different grocery stores, each with coupons for the best deal at that store and hauled my brother and I with her. Today I hit Publix (for frozen stuff), Kroger (pickles and cheese) and Wal-Mart (meat and bread). It’s all in the fridge now. Like Butters, stores were crowded, either because of the New Year’s or worrying about the weather.
GT, nice ta meetcha’. Hope you can post here more frequently (I’m another retiree).
Happy B’Day Cupcakes!!
Takle care all…nappage is in my near future…
Corned beef is simmering. **FCD **and I ran to Food Lion for carrots and N.O.T.s - I already had the cabbage. And onions. I’ll finish putting it all together in about an hour.
It’s smelling yummy in here!
Washing sparkley scarves in the washer wasn’t a good idea. I am covered in glitter, my washer is covered in glitter, my kitchen floor is sparkley, even Ripple has a few sparkles in his fur.
Too bad I don’t feel as festive as I look.
They should dry well on the drying rack, so I won’t have to get the dryer all glittery.
I finished off the shrimp and broccoli for lunch and
took out a flat iron steak for dinner. I’ve never had one before, so we’ll see how it turns out.
I made a double batch of tacos yesterday, so my son can heat up his own dinner tonight.
He’s finally going to put my blinds up tonight, the ones in my bedroom.
His bedroom and the back bedrooms still have the temporary ones I bought when we moved in. I asked him if he wants new ones and of course he doesn’t.
It’s raining here so I’m not expecting any fireworks.
They don’t bother Ripple all that much anyway.
Happy birthday Baker!
Looking forward and back a bit lately. Girl 2.0 turned 18 Saturday, so I’m wondering where the time went. She put that time to good use, though: received confirmation today that she needs to write a speech, due in May, as salutatorian of her class. (And got her SAT and ACT scores. Pretty damned good.) Plus she’s genuinely nice, good-looking, and funny. I’m not even humble bragging. Just bragging.
Heading to Ma’s for the traditional southern New Year’s feast and football watching tomorrow - Go Dawgs! No parties this evening, though. Sedating the dog, eating leftovers, and maybe trying to stay awake until midnight. The Boy is hosting a party at his house, and Girl 2.0 is frantically trying to finish a college application before tomorrow’s deadline, so I can safely drink a beer without having to worry about a DD call in the wee hours.
Oh, and I got the bill today for Tony’s social security attorney’s expenses. $67.50. ($10 each for phone/fax, postage, and mileage, $37.50 for copies.) I feel like calling him and telling him that it’s okay to raise his rates every few decades! 
Welcome back GT!
To answer the OP, i’m both a firster and a laster. I enjoy the retrospective at the end but look forward to the fresh start of the new year.
The computer guy called today. The problem is a short in the power supply. That’s an affordable fix. I took a side trip to Goodwill on the way home. Got some CDS and a blouse., then got caught in a monsoon on the way home.
Sitting down to Korean bbq chicken, rice and Chinese buffet style green beans. The black eyed peas are fixing to go in the fridge for reheating tomorrow.
Happy new year y’all!
Happy New Year All!
It’s gone midnight here, things have gone bang outside, annoying the local dogs, and now I’m going to bed.
Been sitting up reading stuff for this essay from the 1700s that uses ‘yea’ in complete sincerity and ſ instead of s. It’s oddly satisfying to be able to work it in to an essay. I know how to party, I just can’t be bothered.
Here’s hoping 2019 makes more sense than 2018 did.
[QUOTE=Filbert;21405305
It’s gone midnight here, things have gone bang outside, annoying the local dogs, and now I’m going to bed.
Been sitting up reading stuff for this essay from the 1700s that uses ‘yea’ in complete sincerity and ſ instead of s. It’s oddly satisfying to be able to work it in to an essay. I know how to party, I just can’t be bothered.
Here’s hoping 2019 makes more sense than 2018 did.[/QUOTE]
Oh hell, there will be fireworks.
I do enjoy English literature. FIL #1 exclaimed, “He’s READING it!” about a poetry collection. Tennyson, I believe.
Favorite Tenant has moved out. I don’t know how he trashed two interior lock sets. I collected the key and delivered the key to New Tenant, a guy I know, and bought new lock sets.
Steak turned out pretty good, as did the fart blossoms I made to go with it.
The mystery has been solved, I found the friend who sent me the blender.
I found a recipe for broccoli cheese soup and it will be perfect for making that.
My blinds are up, took him less than a half hour. I’m glad he measured the widest window first, because his measument was off by 6 inches and he cut the blind too short. Fortunately, that made it exactly the right width for the narrowest window.
We are slowly making it down the ToDoList.
Santa brought* me 3 books of my own choosing for Christmas - a biography of Catherine the Great, a photographic history of Abe Lincoln, and Alex Haley’s “Roots,” which I’ve somehow never read. My mother in law is honestly bumfuzzled that I read and enjoy history. (The last time I was visiting, I was reading a really nice history of the Smithsonian Institute. “Whatcha reading?” was a really short conversation.)
*Tony and I took the Littles to do their shopping. He didn’t know what they should get for me, so I handed him the books, paid for them, removed the price tags, wrapped, and acted surprised on Christmas morning!
Robert K. Massie?
He is very good.
Wait until you get to be my age, the surprise will be real.
Daughter finally got Roxy to sleep. That baby refused to nap today. Hope she sleeps thru the night.
Hope I do, too.
That one.
In a way, it felt incomplete - I looked up a lot of people and events that seemed to need more explanation. But as a portrait of the empress herself, it was a very good read.
Alas, the fireworks have begun here as well. The neighbors across the fence started shooting them off a few minutes ago. Nelson got wound up, so i’m giving him a snack of apple pieces with peanut butter. It’s hard to bark with peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth. 
Neighbors on 2 sides have begun the bombardment. The big dog ate turkey and 3 Benadryl, and the kitten is hiding.
10:30pm here and all quiet on the fireworks front. I think I’ll turn in soon and try to be in a deep enough sleep to ignore any untoward noises.
See everyone in 2019!