The Night Before Christmas...

And all through the house...all you could hear was Sofi

"Meowrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...orrooooohhhhh"

And rolling around in the throes of heat on the floor.

I fear for Santa Claus.

Outstanding Christmas Eve, starting with a mug of coffee laced with Hagan Daz ice cream and Razzleberry pie baking in the early dawn...and chat with John before he left for Ohio.

"Just waiting for Santy Claws"
                                         ~Sofi

"Come on, Dad...I could fit in your travel bag!!!"
                                                                         ~Gadget


May have to make the "baking pie for breakfast" my new Christmas Eve Tradition!

What a wonderful way to start the day!

Good Coffee and Hot Pie.

The quiet before the storm.

Friday, I'm hosting Our (Diane and Brenda and I) Christmas Tea...and Saturday everyone is getting together

(...Nicole and James and the Grands: Emma, Kaylee, Brenden and Aiden...Tina and Chris and I...Nicole's grown daughter, Brittany, and boyfriend and my honorary great-grands Amelia Rose and Brantley...)

Nicki is baking a huge ham and we are all bringing sides.

A post-Christmas Feast!

And BEST of ALL

FAMILY!

All together.

(...more important than anything else...)

Settling in for a quiet Christmas Eve/Day here.

Picked up a Ribeye and Portabella Mushrooms and Asparagus to go along with the pie.

A treat from my practical kid (Lennon) in Florida who always manages to send me a Walmart Gift Card for Christmas...lol!

Also much appreciated.

And although, John and I have a standing date to see The Rise of Skywalker on the wide screen together in January...pretty sure I am going to do a sneak peek (preview) it tonight!

Wishing everyone a peaceful, happy, Christmas!

"Peachy" the IMPOTUS...Oh Christmas Tree...Our Birthday/Christmas...and More

We did it!

I got EVERYTHING I asked for...for "Impeachmas"!

How about you?

Possibly the BEST part about the whole thing is no matter what the Senate does...assuming Nancy even sends them the articles to go to trial...

He is impeached.

Will ALWAYS be impeached. 
Only the 3rd President to be so in 243 years...

And because he didn't have the sense to resign (like Nixon) before the impeachment vote was held and passed

HE CAN NEVER BE PARDONED.

EVER.

Meaning, eventually, he will be held accountable for his crimes in office.

No free passes.

I think I feel good about that.

Mind if I just refer to you as "Peachy" from here on out.

So yes...doing the Happy Dance.

and imagine I am not the only one.

Finished the Tree

And John and I had our combination His Birthday and Our Christmas celebration this week.

With gifts, chocolate cream pie, gifts for our respective fur babies, Birthday dinner...and Christmas (early) breakfast...including bacon...bacon...bacon.

And we both learned a valuable lesson

As ROMANTIC as it sounded...sleeping on the floor on a blanket palette with pillows under the twinkling lights of the Christmas Tree is

PAINFUL

In "Love in the Age Of Arthritis"...lol

Nope...we won't be doing THAT again...

What the HELL were we thinking???

(...I don't know...but pretty sure it didn't involve calling a chiropractor the next day...) 

Otherwise, a wonderful time.

Sofi wheedling some of her Christmas Stocking items early.

"Okay...maybe just one..."
                                ~Sofi


and Gadget...being her adorable self...and watching the Saints-Colts game with us on Monday night...

Oh...Hi, Mom!
                  ~Gadget

I love, love, love my electric but looks like a real fireplace, guy! So does Sofi (who parks herself in front of it)
Perfect proportions for the apartment.  Can't wait for January 1st to take down the tree and move it into that corner for the winter!

I'm always wanted one...without the mess, upkeep or venting issues of a genuine wood fireplace.

Can be used with or without heat.

So relaxing.

This Week's Book

Written by Life-Time Conservative Rick Wilson.

Outrageously funny.  Sadly true. 

Conservative Introspect into the Hijacking of the GOP by Donald Trump.

Sheds a lot of interior light into the past 3 years. Shows you things you'll wish you didn't see...and can never unsee.

Into politics? This is the book for you....


This Week's Movie

The crew from Jumanji Two with the addition of Danny Glover and Danny DeVito.

Nice storyline...a return to Jumanji...a few additional body-shuffles which are pretty funny.

All in all a good time.

Worth a watch!

A Cinderella-Saturday here...getting home ready for a week's worth of Christmas.

Can't wait to see everyone,

 Have a Wonderful Holiday!

"Just getting ready for the excitement."
                                                        -Gadget

Happy Impeachment Eve!

Waiting...patiently....

Bodhi 2019...A Coastal Christmas...Sofi and Gadget...and "Love is..."

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...in Florida, maybe...

"Missing starfish? I don't know anything about a missing starfish, Mom, but your seafood is definitely stale.   ~Sofi

It is getting there.

Started the week with silent reflection for Bodhi. 

               
Then everything grinding to a screeching halt because despite hand-bac and avoiding touching things (and obsessivly hand-washing) I still somehow caught "The Cold From Hell"

Compacted by the fact that way over on the other side of the state, practically, John has much the same. 

We postponed his birthday celebration until next week.

And keep in touch by phone, IM, and email where life isn't so germy, right now.

Best guy ever though...

You know how you open the door and get flowers, sometimes?

The other day there was a knock at the door, and when I opened it there was this diminutive twenty-somethingish girl with some grocery bags.

"I'm sorry...you must have the wrong apartment."

"You're Carla...right?"

"Yes..."

"John sent these to you via Instacart...and said to 
Get Well Soon..."

In the bags were Kleenex...Soups...Sprite...Crackers...Paper Towel and Toilet Paper...bottled water, a package of Sofi's favorite treats...and a small container of Hagen Daz Vanilla Ice Cream.


That is LOVE, people.
Trust me. 

(...love you too, guy...)

(....as an aside I am thrilled to learn about Instacart and have set up my own account, now...in the middle of Winter this could be invaluable...)

Check it out youself

www.instacart.com

To your door grocery or pharmacy delivery...same day...often within 2 hours.

Today the fever has abated although the sneezing and coughing still persist. I must be getting better...because the mess is starting to get on my nerves...lol

Yeah...sitting here surrounded by piles of used tissue...empty
Sprite bottles...crumpled cracker cellophane and crumbs...and the other detritus of being sick for several days.

The sink full of bowls and soup spoons.

A laundry bag full of wash that needs done.

And filthy bed-head hair.

Yeah..it's time to pull it together.

And to be thankful neither of us SKYPE or FACETIME.

John is also recovering...so far his fever is down (highest was 103.) and sore ribs from coughing, but he is hungry again for real food.

I'm just not there yet.

Saving the Hagen Daz for when I am.

Sofi and Gadget have been furry little nurse-maids...sticking close by us.

"Feel Better, Dad...I love you."
                                            ~Gadget

"You can't die...who is going to fill my food dish!!!!"
" Er...I mean...Get Well, Mom."
                                              ~Sofi

Yeah...Sofi isn't the sentimental-type, okay? This cold has seriously interfered with her comfortable, on time, little life.

And she is about THROUGH with it.

So aside from finishing the Virtual Kokoda Trail...and watching part of the Impeachment Hearings...what does one do besides read, nap, and stay hydrated and blow one's nose repeatedly???

Watch old Christmas Movies, of course.

In no particular order...

I've watched the (original) Grinch steal Christmas.

Charlie Brown and his friends and the tiny Christmas Tree that i love!

Jack and Sally botch Halloween and Christmas but find one another.

Ralphie not "Shoot his Eye Out"

Hans fall from Nakatomi Tower,

and more to come.

This Week's Book

Just a Cookbook with assorted Christmas Cookies...that maybe I will try baking someday before Christmas (...but not today).

And a surprise from Lisa (library) that she has snagged the hardcopy of Joe Hill's Full Throttle and Jill (Outreach) will be bringing it to me next week!!!!

Yay!

Chris is near finals for Cybersecurity...and holding a 4.0.

He is excite about the up and coming Spring Classes and soon graduation!

Loved seeing pictures of Nicole and the Puppies (Arya and Thanos) who definitely aren't puppies anymore!

And James...

Looking forward to our Saturday After Christmas together!


Now...I've got to get on the ball and do something with this house.


Have a Wonderful Weekend!

 

As The Impeachment Turns...

So...

Yeah, it has gotten a little crazier over the past couple weeks.

Face it...you KNEW he wasn't going to go away quietly.

Even Nixon knew when it was OVER.

This Idiot just keeps doubling down.

And, although some of the Republicans in the White House are finally beginning to give him the side-eye...most of his die hard sycophants are doubling down as well. 

"...if I had to decide what HILL to die on...it certainly wouldn't be for Ugly Lord Orange-Stroke....okay?"

After hours of testimony by decorated war vets...ambassadors and aides...and witnesses both second and first-hand-

and the GOP, of course...

Jordan, Nunes, Castor, and Gaetz

Screaming and thumping their chests

(...which might work well if you are a chimpanzee or a low-land gorilla...but otherwise it is pretty ineffective...)

At first it was kind of entertaining...which soon gave way to distracting...which was its original purpose, I'm sure...then it just became rather annoying, rude and sad.

Face it...they didn't have anything else.

When faced with facts...hooting and thumping and rudely interrupting was all they had.

Soon after Articles of Impeachment were written and introduced.

READ ARTICLES of IMPEACHMENT

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/10/786579846/read-articles-of-impeachment-against-president-trump

 Boiled down they are

ABUSE OF POWER

OBSTRUCTION

Sure...he has done many many things that are over the top...probably a dozen of those are impeachable items as well...but these two are cut and dried and backed by reams of evidence.

The GOP is twisting itself into pretzels trying to defend their guy...

AG Barr is setting himself up for the same fate as Mitchell of Watergate Infamy by trying to be Trump's personal water-boy instead of AG of THE USA.

(...he will sort it when the handcuffs come and there is prison time...)

Just ask John how well that worked out for him.

Suddenly Trump is like a rabid weasel spinning a wall of fantasies, lies and out and out bullshit...that is is...well to use his word

Sad.

One of his most current rants took on the water-saving toilets...claiming

"You have to flush them like 10 or 15 times..."

and spawning memes like

and, most recently, at his rally in Hershey Pennsylvania:

The President also issued a mocking defense of his conduct at a rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Tuesday night -- arguing that the charges that he abused power and obstructed Congress are "not even a crime."

"Everyone said this is impeachment-lite. This is the lightest impeachment in the history of our country, by far. It's not even like an impeachment," Trump said.

Sure, Jan.

And thank, (insert your chosen deity here), that Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, and Jimmy Kimmel & Others exist to give us a laugh and more importantly, show us that there are many of us...at least 70% who are saying

"What the ACTUAL fuck???"

and

"Impeach his ass, already"

More as it comes...

And it always does. 

*sigh*

Virtual Kokoda Trail: Day 6...Completing the Journey

A sign near yesterday's camp

COURAGE

ENDURANCE

MATESHIP

SACRIFICE


It seemed to sum up this entire journey.

Today would be our final day.

Those of us who requested carvings from our Porters would receive them at the Track's end.

Souvenirs.

I declined this...opting instead for a single kina to remember PNG (and Tooh...who often sighed "Another day...another kina.")

I am going to put it on a plain leather cord to wear around my neck.

A proper breakfast and we start on the last 10 miles.

Eleven water crossings between us and the Kokoda Plateau...most bridged by the ramshackled bamboo, rope and vine affairs we have crossed repeatedly on  the track.

"When the rainy seasons come most of them are washed away  and must be rebuilt each year." Tooh explained.

No one falls in. Bridges hold fast.

And at last we cross the eleventh

(...I know as Woody has been counting each one, out loud...)

A small rise...and then we see the flat grassy approach to Kokoda.

It seems almost anti-climatic after the past 6 days.

When we pass under the black arches at Kokodo there is a burst of exhuberation from our group...

WE'VE MADE IT!

Not the high of the five months spent on the Appalachian Trail and finally climbing Katahdin but a rush, nonetheless...

The people of Kokoda are smiling, happily waving us in. There are orange sodas in cold water for us and a woman who is passing a large tray of fresh cut up pineapple.

And we have made it.

All of us...even the Porters, I suspect,  are ready to be back to civilization, and the comforts we have foregone for the past 6 days.

(...only Woody seems to not share this sentiment and I half expect to turn around and see him disappearing silently back into his rain-forest...his natural habitat...)

I want dark chocolate, good food, a comfortable bed, candles and a bubble bath.

Monk seems to have made peace with the loss of his father, here. And that is good.

I have learned that Military Tourism is not really my cup of tea.

Or a Mark Twain once remarked about Golf

"A Good Walk Spoiled."

Not spoiled, in this case, but definitely a omni-present distraction, and definitely at times depressing/unsettling.

And I won't be eating Spam for the foreseeable future, either...

And in Tok Pisin we say

Gutbai Lukim yu binhain

(Goodbye & Good Luck)






  

December...Frozen II...Elton John's Autobiography...Coastal Christmas Decor and More

Woke up to heavy heavy frost and the promise of snow later this week.

Tis' the season!

Working on getting the house warm this morning in a way that doesn't include setting the wastebaskets on fire.

Went to bed and it was warm...so I left the heat off.

What a mistake.

Woke early...frozen...and after the crash of an elephant on my head.

"Who me??"
                 ~Sofi

Sofi has learned if I sleep past her breakfast-time that she can push the elephant canvas off the headboard onto me...waking me up.

The first time she did it...I thought it might have been an accident.

After the third morning I had to acknowledge that my cat is just a little furry thug...

(...but smart...)

Gadget is doing well at John's

 "Hey...I can be a thug, too. Don't let this innocent face fool ya..."
                                                                                                         ~Gadget



Also learning she can knock his cup of water over in the bathroom sink in the morning...lol.

And seems quite please with her new trick.

Working on finishing Christmas cards this weekend with the whole house smelling like the amazing fir candle we picked up at Ollies.

Finally getting The Coastal Christmas Decor going.

Adding more shells and maybe some small white balls yet.

Still working on a basket for the coffee-table.

The artist in me wants a large starfish yet.

The cynic in me says I need to toss a crumpled Coke can, or plastic water bottle in.

...laughing...

Anyway,
it is wonderful to enjoy the dim glow of the tree and candles, again...

John and I getting ready to celebrate his birthday this week!

Chris has been busy disassembling, this time his Springfield.

Just amazing.

And he put it back together and took it to the range later.

(...yes...it still works...) 

He and John, planning a trip to shoot together before long.

He is finishing his Cyber-Security class...and still maintaining an "A" and his 4.0 GPA.

So proud of him!

James gave everyone a Pup Update this week with Thanos and Arya.

Who are both muscular and beastly!

And I found the BEST vinyl ever...if you happen to have a dent in your car or truck.

Seriously!

Lennon is enjoying the Raspberry Pi (from me) and a complete set of Halo (from Chris) for his birthday, and doing well.

This Week's Movie

Which was just...well...meh.

There were some funny moments, and a good message.

I loved the little fire lizard.

But nothing spectacular.

New songs...but nothing that really stood out.

(...much to James' relief, I imagine...because the last one with "Let it Snow" and "Do you Wanna Build a Snowman" damned near drove him postal in a houseful of little ones who sang them both seemingly endlessly...)

"No...I DO NOT want to build a freakin' snowman, okay???"

This Week's Book

His Official Autobiography

Coming on the heels of "Rocketman", and it is wonderful!

An unvarnished account of his life from childhood to fatherhood and marriage.

Really can't say enough good things about this one.

And a lot of great laughs along the way as he explains his inner circle and their drag queen names for one another and notes sent back and forth.

His is Sharon...

Rod Steward (...who he is playfully continually trying to upstage...) is Phyllis.

and more.

If you grew up during the 70's...love his music and the man behind it...this is the book for you!

Outstanding read!

Another Cinderella-Saturday here...so must get to it.

"Yeah you do that...I'll just be over here taking a nap..."
                                                                                          ~Gadget

Have a Wonderful Weekend!