Let's get at it, 2024

[cineater]

Ouch, ouch, ouch, damn it!  That demonologist gets carried away with that freeze gun.  And when the two spots she was suppose to do didn't do it for her, she found two new spots and went back over the biopsy spots again.     Come back if those don't heal well.  Hell no, my right hand is still stinging.

Always sad to go over that way.  I have to go through the valley.  It's where I first ran from the keep in just my shift, through the fields and into the woods.  Where the coyote roamed and the hunting birds flew.  It's now a bunch of warehouses.  Only the pecan grove and the golf course clubhouse remains.  You can't even see from one end to the other.  When the wind of change blew through there, Eldron left and took the wagon south.  I took the railroad tracks west, to the garden.  The sign still points to where Iffrig roams in the north.  A character I've only mentioned.  He's a river rat type, pretty elusive.  Lies, cheats and steals but he gets the job done.  It's a dark night when you ask for his help.

[cineater]

Payday!  I guess a lot of folks are taking a four day weekend.  Bills are paid and I came out better than expected although I'm still not done spending on Christmas.  I like a big Christmas.  It's where I makeup for the rest of the year or try.     I'm fairly absent most of the time.  If you see me, it's generally a quick in and out, take care of business and move on.  Retirement hasn't changed me much either.  I still remember that one Christmas Eve trying to make Dad's family dinner.  Last minute placement disruption, move the kid, try to take care of his emotional needs and make Dad's party.  I flew down that highway at 80.  Walked in just on time, tried to fake my way through I didn't just almost miss my family because I put work first and that's what's on my mind.  I'm a lot like dad in that.  If you really needed him he was there but otherwise, busy with work.  Christmas he tried to make special.

Well my daughter is not taking her brother's girlfriend from Ohio coming to visit very well.  Her text referred to her as that chic a couple of times.     Look he's a grown man.  I know we love him and want it the way it was but he's going through something and he has to go through it.  I wasn't surprised, ignore it.  He's back and moving forward, it's not going to go smoothly.  By the way little girl quit telling your grandmother shit.  You know she locks onto that stuff and then I get a call.  It's Christmas time, be merry.     Maybe that example of fairly absent most the time I learned from dad is a good coping skill for family shit.     I show up when it's time to be merry.

[cineater]

Picked up the new Christmas coins.  A couple of santa's and a really cute snowman.  I don't get the painted ones, probably because the place I go doesn't sell them. 

Picked up all the Christmas scratchers.  The first place was out of the $1 and $2 ones.  Sandy was sitting over in the corner playing the slot machines.     Thought that was her truck when I pulled up.  Says she was up there buying a cheap bottle of wine.  Never would have taken her for a wine drinker.

Forgot to pick up the doggie daycare gift card.  Yes, I buy the dog a gift.   

Susan is skipping Chicago.  She just got back in the condo after having the floors replaced and the weather up there is questionable.  Could have went up last night.  Texted Marsha's husband but haven't heard from him.  They usually went to Iowa for the holiday.  Her family.  He might have went to his.

Traffic not bad out there.  Fixed my dish for tomorrow, the car is packed and the baby is feeling better.  Happy Thanksgiving to those it applies to.

[cineater]

Get in the car to go to mom's and the car reads out: headlight out.  I can see it is on the garage wall.  Should be an easy enough fix but it's cold out there.  Not sure if the tail light is out.  I saw Terrapin hunting in the corner of the garage.  For some reason mice love to chew on wiring.

Nice costumes at the Macy Thanksgiving Parade.  We put up some of mom's Christmas decorations while we watched.  Decorated dad's grave for Christmas, cold out there!  Ate too much at dinner.  Watching The Wizard of Oz, evil flying monkeys!  Your standard Thanksgiving for me.

I think I placed my last Amazon order for Christmas.  I'll take inventory tomorrow.  I need to pick up mom's candy and the dog gift and I should be done.  My daughter will probably have that one last minute, really wants gift but easy enough.  I'm ready to start wrapping but have a few gifts still coming in.  Going to mom's next week to help her with her wrapping.  She wants me to pick up something for my sister from her.

Yeah none of that sounds like merry and bright.     Santa has to work too but at this shop, I've got https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8We4tAn_tV0  Grateful Dead Yule Log   

[cineater]

Thank you youtube!  To get to the car headlight bulb, there is a trap door in the wheel well.  Never would have though of that.  Remove that and it's a couple of twists and it comes out in your hand.  Tomorrow the high is 37 with wind and no room in my garage to work on the side of the car, at least that side.  Only took the guy three minutes.  I can do this right?  Maybe it's so easy the autozone guy will do it.  They save my ass all the time.

[cineater]

How many people are having pumpkin pie for breakfast?  

Wind chills in the twenties.  I'm going to get that headlight bulb but I'm going to wait until Monday when I can use my daughter's garage.  They did get it all cleaned up.    Apparently my pushing them to get that done worked out well for me.

Update.  I did not wuss out.  Autozone would have changed it out but he was the only guy in the shop.  Sunny on the driveway so I gave it a shot.  Turned the tires all the way to the right and sure as shit there is an access door up in the wheel well.  Off it came, couldn't see shit up there in the dark.  Dropped my coat and felt my way around.  2nd access panel unscrewed easily and I was in.  A little screwing and wiggling around, the bulb came out.  Unplug and replug, back in it went.  Can't say I didn't maybe touch the bulb.  Backed out replacing the access panels and I was done.  In and out in 10 minutes.

Er, did any of that start to sound like a mechanic describing sex?   

[cineater]

Snow!  Not your big fluffy flakes, more like the salt shaker kind.  The frost came late and snow is here early.  I thought the snow might motivate me to clean house and do my Christmas cards, not so much.     Winterland with the Dead is helping.  I didn't get out of bed until 10:30.  I could have caught breakfast at my daughter's.  My ex is visiting for the grandbaby's birthday.  I'll catch him at Christmas.  My daughter and I have a shopping trip scheduled tomorrow.  She sent me the links to stuff she wanted for Christmas that's not on Amazon.  Appreciated it, it's on sale and that really gets me almost at the end of shopping.

Speaking of shopping, Susan is going at it.  I keep thinking she will stop buying but then she comes from a hoarder family.  She's buying new so it's at least clean.     She bought her cat a tower for the living room but this morning she sent me a picture of a huge one that is meant for multiple cats.  He does have his own room, have at it.

I touched base with Craig.  I need him to come over and service my heater and tankless water heater.  Not really but it gets him here.  I really need his contractor's discount at Home Depot, his big truck and the pull along.  I kinda miss him too.  He's been sick over the holiday.  I sent him the yule log.  That will make him feel better.   

Almost half way through the big Christmas M&M bag.  Now I know one bag never gets me to Christmas but it does slow me down on consumption.     I only eat a couple at a time but eventually the cats discover them and they like to see if they can fish them out of the cup.  It's just too tempting for them.

Flakes are getting more numerous and starting to cover the road, cool.  It won't last long here but at least for the day it looks pretty.

[cineater]

Did I mention I have to get a facebook page?  Shit, right?  The gardens are going to start developing a social media presence I'll have to monitor, I can't keep using my daughter's account and it will be a way for her to notify people when I'm dead.     I'm trying to convince myself it's a good thing and I don't have to be that active on it.  I think the safety risk from my last job is pretty low.  Psychos have a way of finding you if they are determined anyway.  I can keep it private and anybody I don't approve I can tell I don't really use it if they ask me why.  I don't have to go looking for friends either.  What else can I not do?  I've been meaning to do it but I can't seem to bring myself to hit the create an account button.

Christmas cards are done.  I only had 34 to do.  I lost one person and didn't add anybody new this year.  That's kind of sad.  Susan wins for the longest address.  Didn't have any out of the country addresses.  We'll see if I win the "got my cards out first".  There's always those folks if you don't send them a card, they aren't sending you one.  I have Santa and a reindeer on my card this year.

[cineater]

Geez, winter is here.  Didn't get above freezing all day.  Rare for St Louis to be this cold this time of year.  My daughter and I did go on a short shopping trip.  We quickly switched from outdoor mall to indoor.  I got mom's Sees Candy and a couple of stocking stuffers.  I only have the dog's gift card left.  I'll take inventory next week when the last orders come in.

My daughter has been diagnosed as prediabetic.  She started that during pregnancy and has never gone back to normal.  She got an app that tells her what to have for dinner every night.  Mostly no carbs, mediterranean diet.  She's starving for carbs.   

The grandbaby is two and hasn't said any words yet.  He should have 50.  He makes noises and I think is trying to sing.  We watch music videos when he's with me and loves them.  So I got him a karaoke machine that lights up and flashes when you talk into it.  He's fascinated.  He figured it out right away from watching us.  Right now he holds the mic and opens his open mouth but not making any sounds.  We'll work with it this week.  In the meantime, the folks are having a great time with it.   

The school wants to screen the grandbaby for autism in 6 months.  He has been slow to do almost everything.  I've noticed he studies everything.  More than just a look and Ill try that.  Once he starts a new skill he masters it.  Applies it to many things and it takes him a while to tire of it.  My daughter was kind of the same way, studying stuff.  She was pushed along by being in daycare.  He's at home so no peer pressure to keep up with.  My daughter worries he gets stuck on certain foods, she did too.  And the doctor said he was going to be short like us.  That's a lot to put on a first time mother.  We had a nice talk today.

[cineater]

24 hours later, the kid is leaning back on the couch and making noises into the mic while watching his music videos.   

[cineater]

What the hell mom?!  She booked over me.  Everyday she's been reminding me I'm coming on Wednesday to wrap gifts.  Now she tells me they are going to cut out to get hair cuts.  Easy going that I am, I offer to come Thursday.  Going to be a nice day Wednesday and I have stuff to do outside.  No, they'll just leave me to wrap my stuff.  This is not my stuff and I'm helping not doing it all by myself!     Then she starts saying something about brushing the snow off her bushes.  I can hear my sister in the background saying no.     We're putting up the rest of your Christmas decorations.  Get with the game plan mom.  You're only 91 and you're not pulling that age shit on me because you're too lazy to do it yourself.  You can walk your ass into the beauty shop, you can walk it over to the wrapping table.  I started the chat with her about being lazy and getting my sister to do stuff she can do herself.  The old "you are going to lose it if you don't use it".  She admitted it, she's being lazy.  Works with my sister mom, doesn't work with me.   

I got the dog daycare gift card.  I'm done Christmas shopping!  Susan wanted me to go shopping with her Saturday.  No, I Amazon that shit.  Besides it's going to be a nice day.  They aren't going to do the siding until the week after Christmas so I can put my lights up.  And I have a few things to do at my garden.  Offered to meet her for dinner.

The way the baby took to the mic, I need someone to make up a video of Axl mic moves.     Don't think he's going to be a singer but he does like to play with the mic.  I think he's trending more towards Aquaman.  Loves water and the aquarium fascinates him.  I'm already figuring grandma is paying for scuba lessons.

Son stopped by last night.  He's still waiting for the start date on a job he was hired for.  Singing his money woes.  I can't help but notice he's in all new clothes and not the ones I bought him for Christmas.  I mean all the way to shoes and coats.  Looks good but he knew he was moving back here and there would be this period of needing money just to live.  And he's still driving around a lot burning up that gas.  It's not what I would do so maybe that's why it seems off.  He does have that thing of buying stuff to fill the void.  I just see more stuff as a weight around my neck.  I have baggage but I'm trying to dump it.   

[cineater]

No, I don't talk to my mother like that, keep it in my head.     They really didn't need my help.  We had a nice time.  I was on paper, my sister on bows and mom on tags.  My sister says it was just a way to get me to come down.  We got everything wrapped and the last of the decorations up.

Susan is ready for her exorcism.  They came out and installed her new furnace.  It was working when they left and then it won't kick back on.  They came back and said the fuse was flipped off.   Said the electrical box is buzzing when it's on.  Still trying to figure it out.  We have brutal cold coming tonight.

[cineater]

Minus the scarf, this is how the grandbaby looked when I took him outside this morning.  



They did install the wrong furnace at Susan's place.  They replaced it today with a smaller unit and so far so good.  I'm still thinking exorcism for her.    

At my eye examine I kept trying to make words out of the letters you have to read off.  I have to quit watching Wheel of Fortune.   

[cineater]

I vote exorcism!  Last I heard Susan had the guys coming back out at 8PM because the furnace was acting up.

Might have to do the same for Sandy.  She might be possessed by her mother.  That woman was always trying to feed you.  Sandy calls me almost everyday with something new she cooked and wants me to come over for dinner.  Or it could be she's smoking pot, trying to quit smoking cigarettes.     She keeps talking about how good it tastes so it's probably the pot and not a case of possession.  That air fryer I gave her has a prominent place in her kitchen and a little pad it sits on.  Could be an alter.   

It's Christmas time.  You have to have religious thoughts.  Mine are just downright weird.

[cineater]

We're playing Wheel of Fortune at the Christmas party tonight.    Yeah my head's in gear for that.

Update:  I had to bow out of the game after I got the first one with one letter and got the second one with no letters.   

[cineater]

Beautiful day here.  Garden in the morning, put up Christmas lights in the afternoon and out to dinner with Susan.

I'm not liking the inflatable I got for the yard.  It just doesn't go with my lights.  It's kind of a wash out and it blocks the lights on the bushes.  It's bigger than I am.  Might to need to move it further away from the house lights.  Granted they're kind of bright, I think I need a few more strands.     While I was up on the roof, I discovered where the trim piece of siding I found on my back porch came from.  Where the chimney connects to the roof.  The roofers must have loosen it up.

Susan's place is coming together.  The new floors have bigger boards which looks nice.  The installer did something to one of her doors and threw out a bag she had her new coat in.  Exorcism!  She goes to church all the time, it would be easy.  She was a little disturbed I was arranging her decorative pillows but by the time I put the third pillow in, she decided that did look nice.  Now if she'll just let me hang some pictures.  The cat got 3 new cat towers/houses.  This one is overkill but it works for decoration.

[cineater]

Some positive news for the pot plantation.  There's an investor in Kansas City who is willingly to supply him with a growing space within a facility he already grows in.  Not only the space but the staff to take care of it if that's what he wants to do.  All this costs but the guy is willingly to postpone payments until the product sells.  He could be up and growing by the middle of next year.

I'm thinking, wait, are you moving the family to KC?  He says no, he would go up for 3 days and his partner would go the other 3 days.  Yeah, how long are you going to do that?  My father did that.  Moved us out of California then to Illinois and then here following the job.  I would hate to see my family go and I would hate to leave my life to follow them.  And what about the mafia?  It's been a long time since I knew anything about that but they had a presence in KC back in the 80's.  Not necessarily opposed to that but I thought this could all be played above board.  And one should not find out later you're involved and don't want to be.  

Involved and don't want to be is exactly what happen today.  The SIL forgot to tell me he's going out of town Wednesday and needs me to babysit.  Okay, I can cancel what I was doing.  The teacher comes at 7:45.  Doesn't effect me, my daughter can go into work after her visit.  No, she has to be at work at 6 for something and I need to be at the house at 5:30!  And now that I think about it, if he's leaving Tuesday, does that mean I need to babysit Tuesday too?  Look folks I have Christmas presents I need to wrap.

[cineater]

I actually had a good time with DJ.  None of her mothering shit.  Every year we have chili at her house and then walk through the park to see the Christmas lights.  She just had back surgery and is on some pretty powerful painkillers.  I like DJ on drugs.     We got rained out on the walk, just a bunch of women sitting around eating and chatting.

But before everybody got there, I'm sitting at the table with their new foster dog sitting by me.  I hear what I think is a couple of farts.  The dog gets up and walks away.  DJ and her husband are close by, was it one of them?  Just going to ignore that but then the smell hits.  I didn't do that.  It was the dog but he walked away and left me sitting there!     I get tickled and can't hold back the laughter.  That dog just framed me and the smell is getting worse.  DJ is looking at me and I can barely get out, I think your dog farted.  Oh yeah he has tummy issues.  And he knows how to put the blame on somebody else.     I like that dog, fix his tummy issues and I'd take him.

[cineater]

I swear the baby said mommy when we pulled up to the library.  He has such a sweet voice.  Of course he wouldn't repeat it.

[cineater]

3 out of 4 and I played my way into the pinball playoffs next week.  Took second in the one game I didn't win.   

I slept until noon.     Susan's daily Christmas question asked what one did to decompress with all the stress around the holidays.  She said watch Hallmark movies.     I said, stay up late at night.  The hours after midnight are a god sent.