On A Day With Nothing To Blog About....

 It is the end of Quarter at the Zebra... And they are trying to get as many orders out of the warehouse as possible.  Translation:  Overtime!   And lots of it, apparently. But it is still voluntary for many of the departments that are not outbound.  ( Those poor guys HAVE to show up and work the extra hours...) This means that there is a potential for extra cash if you want it... And since I'm available, I have been trying to get as much as I can. 

I also like to help out the other teams when I can.  And there is Pizza on Saturday... As a kind of  "Thank you" to take the sting out of the missed weekend. I don't need the pizza.. with all of the Holiday Feasting going on around here..... But I do like free food.   Call me a Raccoon if you must.

But that means less time to blog.   And even when I dream up really cool topics to blog about,  I usually come home so exhausted that I simply kick my feet up and relax.   Blogging gets pushed to the back burner.  And then there is the nothingness of no free time.   Having to work all of the time tends to keep your experiences limited.  Sooo...

This is the perfect time to blog about a few weekends ago, when I went to Des Moines to run a 5K.  I was invited by a friend to go and attend a special holiday Craft Show in Pella and Des Moines on the 2nd of December.  An Event Cheryl had been wanting to attend for years now.   

It was more of an art show than a craft fair.   Many of the things were Christmas related.  It was rather cold!   And there were plenty of food trucks there to keep you from starving.  

Perhaps the best ( or worst) part of the event was the coffee!   Mixed with booze!  Like all true northerners,  you have to mix a few spirits in with the warm beverage to keep your nose from getting frosty.   And so Cheryl and I did what any typical tourist would do... Overpay for a cold hot drink that had barely enough alcohol in it to taste, let alone feel.     

But we did get to Keep the Mugs!

A rather expensive souvenir,  But I will take it and hopefully use it again when I enjoy eggnog or a Tom and Jerry. 

Later, On Sunday,  We ran the Candy Cane race for a sweatshirt and elf attire.   I won first in my age group!  Translation:  There were only three men over 50 who ran the race.   And I managed to be the fastest.  I did set a pretty good Pace for the 5K.   8:30 mile, I believe.   This means that I have not been getting slower with my lack of training at least.  

Cheryl won the 7 mile outright, but did not get any special trophy.   One of the downsides of a small race.  

And that was pretty much all for the weekend.   Nothing special.  Nothing fancy.  Perhaps a little of the Holiday Magic was lost somewhere along the way. I have been working pretty much non-stop since then and I felt this was the first opportunity to actually write about it.  

In other news,  The Rømmegrøt was a HUGE hit!  Along with the "They are not really Macarones" Macarones.   I had only two small pieces of Rømmegrøt left and none of the "Failed Macarones" to bring home.  I count that as a success!   

The whole Inbound crew came together and actually baked quite a bit of stuff!  I was surprised and impressed!   Several versions of Chocolate chip cookies...  Matt's Health Version was the best in my opinion.   But they were all good and I sampled all of them.  ( Except the Oreo's)  As I said before,  I'm a raccoon!  

So now I have been thinking about my next great project to fill in the down time that will be approaching as soon as the Holiday Season is over.    I have no plans for Christmas currently, so I will need to occupy my time with something to keep the depression away.   I have spent Christmas alone before.... In the Army.   And it was not fun.  

Project Ideas include:  Another Cardboard Fish.   Another Giant Wet-folded Origami Mask,  Or working on tying my own Fly rod from scratch.   Like I did when I was 12 years old.   ( Has it been that long?)   I wonder if it will be like riding a bike, in that you remember the tips and tricks that you learned 40 years ago.   There is something about actually making your own fly-rod that can not be replaced by simply purchasing one from the Orvis Catalog.  A satisfaction that you get with each and every cast.   And each and every fish that you manage to land.    My last fly-rod that I tied and made lasted a very long time and landed LOTS of fish.  Including the three King Salmon I managed to catch in Alaska.   The only reason I gave it up was because we were selling everything to make the move to Iowa.   And I always told myself that I could build another one if I ever needed to.   Perhaps that time has finally come. 

I have been doing a little research online to see where I can find the parts:   The blank pole,  the eyelets, the cork handle and the reel mount.  I'm getting excited just writing about it.   And I will perhaps try to savor the experience, but I know that at some point I will binge through the process and finish it too soon.   Hopefully I will have the forethought to actually capture the process in pictures... This time.  ( Unlike my baking adventures or small appliance repair adventures.) 

If time allows, I still have a wee bit of Christmas Shopping to do.   With fewer people around to shop for, there are not many ideas that I can come up with.   But I do have a few things and wanted to get them before the season passes us all by.   The gift I sent on Monday is still in transit to Michigan!   Hurray USPS!  

I know, I know... 'Tis the season for crazy busy shipping.  And being overwhelmed used to be our life three years ago.  Ah, the Memories.....  

But things change.   And time is short....  And every second counts!