A Wonderful Christmas Day

Ok... I'l,l admit that I'm in no condition to write... currently.  And if you read my last post, you might be expecting something a little "out of character"  for me.   But Hey!  Toma and Jerry's are AWESOME!  and like Chocolate, I can't seem to stop until the entire bag is gone  Or in this case.... the tub of Batter!   

But I just made up the last of it, so I should be OK from now on until New years Eve.   But that still means that this post might be compromised a little.   already I'm catching a bunch of spelling and typo errors.  Thank goodness for Spell check!

But back to the topic at hand:   Merry Christmas Day!   So far, it has been a great day!  I went to church.   Went of a 6 mile run in the mild weather,  did 75 pushups IN A SINGLE SET!  I have not done that since the Army.   And even then..... When I was in my peak physical condition,  I only did 70 in the two minute limit!   So... yeah... kind of proud about that.  

Granted.  There was no 2 minute limit;  Nor was there a judge telling me my form was sloppy.  I know it probably was.  But I know that I had to press my chest to the ground and push up at least 75 times!  And that is all that matters.   This gives me confidence for the January Month of 100 pushups a day challenge.  I think it is to cure cancer or something. Call me insensitive ...But I am doing it for the T-shirt.  And since I am already doing 150 pushups a day already,  I guess it is no biggy for me.  If Cancer can be helped in some way in the process,  That seems OK by me.  

Am I ready for this shirt yet?

Did I mention that I ran 6 miles today?   The weather was nice and mild and I have not done a single training run since the marathon.   It felt kind of good.  I was not focused on breaking any speed records... but rather I wanted to enjoy the park one last time before the snow eventually flies.  I know it will come in January..  So.  Best to get those runs in before that happens. 

 There were Canadian geese flocking across the street here by the house.  I managed to herd them back to the water.  Not that they really cared.  Canadian Geese are pretty stubborn... and Messy!   Everyone complains about the dogs around here, but the geese leave a trail of land mines all across the road and sidewalk where they cross.  Hurray for nature!

And finally,   I worked on the Fish today, after cleaning up and getting things in order.   The problem with these process pics is that it looks like you have not been doing anything.  But I assure you,  this is an important step in making a Cardboard fish. The only problem is the time it takes for it to dry.  I'll have to get back at it tomorrow, if I have the time. 

So for now... I'm blogging and enjoying my last Tom and Jerry for the Evening.   And feeling pretty good.  (2 shots of alcohol per cup will do that for you...) But seriously,  I have had a pretty good day.  Relax,  Kick back and enjoy the remainder of the day....  For tomorrow we start again at work.   And then..   New Years!   Time for More resolutions and planning for an uncertain future.   We shall see what the future brings!  Because every second counts.

Why I Would Never Write My Love Story.

Because it is stupid!   Love is stupid!  It makes you do dumb things that are not logical.  And that is not how a story with any depth should be written.    A good story.   A LOGICAL story makes sense and has purpose.  A Direction!   And a happy ending.  And life... All life... Has an ending that should be happy.  Otherwise it is a tragedy   Not a "romantic" comedy.    No part of the formula where the couple break up over the dumbest of things only to forgive and get back together.   Who reads this Stuff?

And so it goes that I called Cheryl tonight... the first Christmas in the last 27 years where we have not spent together.  Why did I do it?   Why did I say those things?   Cringe!  Once the genie is out of the bottle... you can never put  it back.   And perhaps that is the Brandy and Rum talking...... But while I'm writing this...  The ELO song "I need her Love" comes on and throws me a  curve ball!  Why? 

 

Do the Lyrics apply to me?   I don't know... but they hint at my problem.  

As a writer, I would make the lovers fall in love against all odds and find the true love that evades us all.  There would be no tension that tears them apart only to patch things back up and get back together.   Those stories are written for the Female psyche.   They make no sense. 

And for that reason, I would write a story where the lovers fall in love and have to face hardship before they finally get together.   And then live happily ever after.   They have already struggled through the darkness to finally be together.   Why would they throw that all away? All those memories and hardships that they overcame together.... Why?   How?  How did that happen that would separate them after they had to work so hard to get  together.   That!.... Is a dumb story. 

Perhaps it was the Christmas Eve depression.   Am I depressed?  Maybe....  A little.  But why do I do the things that throw reason and logic out the window?   Am I really that kind of guy?   Stupid Stupid!

Calm down...  Was it really all that bad?  Probably not.   But it does show a moment of weakness ( Or inebriation) that makes me wish I had not done what I did.  Which makes me think of the other ELO song that came on.   Was the universe trying to tell me something?  Perhaps.   You be the judge. 

 

And so it goes that I will be spending Christmas Eve Alone...   And the discovery that I was not as strong-willed as I thought I was.   Foolish!  Foolish!  Why are men so weak?  

I have to find a way to stop this.   I don't know why.  And perhaps the holidays are making things more complicated than they should be.   I should be able to navigate this stormy patch, but I find myself in a sinking vessels.  Time to start bailing and make for shallower waters.  Because every second counts!

The Saturday Before Christmas.... Eve.

 A Quick post for the night since I wanted to catalog my activities on this First Day of the Christmas Weekend.  Not that I did much.   It as just a typical Saturday for the most part.  But...  I did start a new project...  ( Drum roll....) 

But before that... the boring stuff.    

I slept in rather late today.   ( 7 AM!)  And enjoyed every second if it.   I then played Christmas music while I made Breakfast and drank my morning coffee.    Wonderful!   Peaceful!  A Moment of Pure Bliss that lasted a couple of hours at least.   

Around 9 AM   I did the usual Laundry, workout, clean up stuff that I usually do on a Weekend.  But eventually,  I had to  get on with the day.   And to do that... I needed more Tom and Jerry Batter!  ( And booze!)  So I made a special trip out to the Woodmans grocery store and bought the required ingredients.   Upon getting back home, I immediately brewed up a pot of french vanilla coffee and made a Tom and Jerry. 

It was good with the Coffee!   So good, in fact....   That I had another before I headed down to begin my project.   Nothing gets the artist imagination and work ethic pumping faster than 4 shots of Alcohol with a caffeinated beverage....

I wanted to make something a little simpler than the Cardboard Largemouth Bass.  Then again,  I never know how "simple" things will turn out until I eventually finish it.   So...  For the most part.   I started the process with a fish in mind.  Can you guess what it might be? 

Shape and size settled... Time to make the ribs of the structure.     

And make another Tom and Jerry. But this time... With a bigger Cup!  What?    It's not like I have any place I have to be today.   Besides, it was raining and foggy....   Who wants to be outside in that?  

Four Tom and Jerry's later...  I managed to glue up the ribs; tape them in place.  AND still be sober enough to pour the left over glue back into the bottle.   Could I pass a sobriety test?    Perhaps.  But let's not go there. 

Results after 4 T&J's.  Note the Mug at 75%

With little else to do other than watch the glue dry, I decided to call up my brother and talk his ear off for the next 4.5 hours.  I can't really remember what we talked about, but I'm sure I was right.    And probably a little louder than normal.    But hey!   After 6 Tom and Jerry's, you would be too! 

Overall,  it was a pretty good day.  I'm not sure what the plans for tomorrow will be, but I'm pretty sure I will attend one of the Christmas services and then... maybe... Enjoy another Tom and Jerry while I sit near the fire and sing along with the Christmas Music.  (Unless Dave is here...) Because every second counts! And Tom and Jerry's only come once a year...

The Christmas Weekend Begins...

A long day at the Zebra today.  10 hours!   I'm happy they offer overtime for this time of year,  but I feel like I have finally had enough.   Time to begin the Holiday season!

Actually,  I started it off a bit early with John from Work.    He asked me to draw up a picture for his daughter....  A Scooby Doo snap shot with his daughter's likeness in the front seat of the Mystery Mobile.   Honesly, I was a little shocked that he thought I could pull off such a thing...  But apparently, My doodles at work have gotten me the recognition I try to avoid. 

It took a Saturday afternoon.  And there were several times when I wanted to toss it out and tell him I could not complete it.    But eventually, I figured I would rather he have it than give it away.  

Apparently,  he liked it!  ( Yeah!)   And when I refused to give him a price,  he offered me a beer and burger  at the Bar he frequents.    Free food?   And Beer?!?  How could I refuse that?  

It was a good time.  (Thursday night.)  After a long day at work,  we both had a few more than our normal limits.    But... That is how memories are made.   OR erased......  Depending on the circumstances and amounts of alcohol involved....

As for tonight...  Dave is off to New Ulm, Minnesota, visiting a friend who has asked him to come up for a visit.  Meaning:  I have the house all to myself tonight.   I can listen to my music on top volume, Sing along as much as I want... And walk around in my underwear!   All at the same time!  

I'm just kidding.   I don't play the music that loud.  And most of those things I do already when Dave is here. It harkens back to the days of living in the Dorms at MLS.  But before I digress too much,  I wanted to mention the Tom and Jerry. 

The Drink!  Not the Cartoon.    

Tom and Jerry's are similar to a warm eggnog coffee...  With Booze in it!   A Festive Winter drink  that people celebrate the Holidays with.  You can look it up on the internet if you want to make your own recipe.   Otherwise,  there are some some brands out there that do all of the mixing for you.  You just have to add the hot water/milk and Booze.  ( Usually 2 shots!  One Dark Brandy and One Spiced Rum.)  Ironically, I discovered this drink in New Ulm when I was going to college there.   My roommate at the Time talked about them all the time and said they were a Minnesota thing.  We found some Tom and Jerry Batter and made a few on a cold, Minnesota, Winter night.  And I have been a fan of the drink ever since. 

I promised myself that I would have one every night for the last 12  days of Christmas.   However,  Last night,  I had more than my share of Alcohol and did not require any more after coming home from the Bar.  And tonight....

Well,  I think Dave took the mix and the booze with him!  ( To New Ulm!   Minnesota!)  I deduct this after having performed a thorough investigation and noted that the Tom and Jerry Batter are missing.  As well as the Rum and Brandy. It is possible that Dave hid the ingredients so I would not drink all of the expensive spirits before the Holiday.  However,  I doubt that.  No, I'm pretty sure he brought them on his trip to share the Tom and Jerry experience with his friends!

And I'm thrilled!  I personally want everyone to experience a festive Holiday Drink like this.   Especially at this time of year.   Plus,  I know where I can get more batter and fixin's   So there is no worry  that I will be without.  

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend this weekend.  And A very blessed Holiday.  Spending time with friends and Family this time of year is very important.   And I hope and pray everyone has someone they can share Christmas Eve together.   

Because every second counts.

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!