Sisters Day...Eagles-Chiefs SB...and One Week

 

So...Tina did a thing...

Introducing Charlotte!

When she is a little bigger she is going to bring her out to visit Tux.

We had our first official (just us) Sisters Day since Lisa's death.

Got a bottle of the chocolate wine she introduced us to...and drank a toast to her...and talked and worked through some of our feelings of loss. 

Chad bought a flowering crab-apple and planted it.

It will bloom every year on/near her birthday.

We miss her.

Chris brought Lachlan over Sunday.

What a happy baby.

Over 20 pounds now...one tooth started...crawling and pulling up to a stand!

Looks just like his dad at this age.

And John and I watched the Bills-Chiefs Game.

Allen and Mahomes are so well matched...it is always anybody's game.

Last night Josh Allen threw a Hail-Mary pass in the 2 minute zone...and instead of the TE catching it and making a winning TD...

...he dropped the ball...

He. Dropped. The. Fucking. Ball.

Ending The Bills Season, and so we have an Eagles-Chiefs SB!!!

This may be our chance for a three-peat!

So excited!!!

Well...we are one week into Trump's second term...and predictably it's a shit-show.

MAGAts:  "You lost."

Me: "And you lost, too.  You're just too stupid to know it, yet."

~sigh~

We're going to need more popcorn.

Love,

Carla

2025...Healed....The Mess...Rejoining LIFE...And the Playoffs!

 

...and I've survived.

     It is 3 degrees out today. My goals include keeping the house warm...good food...and a nap with Tux.

And maybe work on the clutter and mess that comes from being really sick for a month, because

DAMN!

Feels good to feel good again, though...and making plans with everybody after mid-week (and a bath).

Teams winnowed down to only a handful remaining.

 

The Chiefs

The Bills

The Eagles

and The Commanders.

 

Watched the upset over the Lions...which was unexpected and quite the game.

Also last night as Josh Allen (who just gets better and better) bested The Ravens in a hard won game.

Our match-up with the Bills,as always, has me more than a little nervous.

But here we are...

The goals fairly simple this year.

IF you would have asked a couple weeks ago...it would have been distilled to a single word-

SURVIVE

Today it seems less...er...fatalistic.

And, therefore, replaced with-

THRIVE

Keep everything paid up...continue declutter and downsize...get back to painting...cooking and writing and photography and gardening.

Virtual Travel...I think Greece is calling!!!

...and all that lovely Greek Food....
 

More friend, John, and family time.

Less stress.

That is about it.

Did manage to get indoor plumbin' for the Tux-Cat before the below 0 temps came...which after several accidents he managed to grasp.

"But...I'm not suppose to shit in the house...okay....but only in this sandbox...."

I SEE YOU...

Off soon, to clean house and make lunch and then get a nap with the cat!

Love,

Carla & Tux

President Biden has freed Leonard Peltier!

 

James is 38...I am Closer to Well...and Wildcard is Winding Down

 

With Kansas and Detroit at the top of their divisions...

James turned 38 on the 8th!!!

Although, it may be next week until I can celebrate with him.

Finally starting to beat this respiratory crap and the coughing is lessening...which is nice.

So weak.

Can't even pick my cat up, right now.

Tire out quickly...but know this is temporary.

Tonight finishes off the Wild Cards with the Rams and Vikings.

Some great teams in the playoffs this year!

Right now it is just cleaning up a bit at a time...food and football...sleeping a lot.

But it is getting better, I think.

 

Love,

Carla

(...the recovering...)

2025 and STILL Alive...

 A little bit like this today...

And who is going to clean up this mess????

Rough end to December and beginning of the New Year. Was sick for about 3 weeks with a bit of everything.

Began with congestion and sinusitis...continued with Covid...ran into a brief hospitalization and then acute viral bronchitis...which gave way to the beginnings of what appeared to be bacterial bronchial pneumonia.

Today, I am Covid negative, still coughing like mad but the fever is gone, Z-packed until next Thursday...shaky...in desperate need of a hot bath...but despite my respiratory system's attempts to kill me off...

STILL HERE.

...and there were several days of wondering if this was how it ends...

Slowly getting better.

It's a process.

Hungry, again...

Instacart and Walmart deliveries...and easy one pot soups and meals.

No energy, yet.

Everyone, except the cats, got screwed for Christmas.

I'm sorry. I'll try to make it up during the year.

Slow today...waiting for Walmart to deliver...and so much clean up here to do.

But it feels good to wake up after weeks and even feel slightly better.

Soup and the ball game tonight...and a couple tomorrow...we have snow and bitterly cold weather coming in...so I'll be hibernating with Tux for a while.

Love Everybody!

Carla

...the germy...

 

 

John's Birthday & Our Christmas...Only 7 Days Left...Football and Films

 The Halls are decked...and Christmas is seven days away!

A smaller, more manageable tree this year...with berries, pine cone, and bows.

and Santa came early for Tux and Gadget.

We celebrated John's birthday with lasagna, cheese garlic bread, sodas and strawberry cake.

And we bought for the cats this year.

Tux got a box of treats and food.

They both got tunnels and cat-stockings with toys.

Jingle Balls are EVERYWHERE!!!

Not a lot of extra $$$ this year, but a great deal of love.

Chris has invited me to Christmas with them.

So excited.

The baby will be 7 months old!

Working on getting rid of this chest congestion and sinus so I can actually be there. I've been fighting this crap for a week.

Steamy baths, bullion, and hot tea seems to help.

Things are breaking up...I think.

Most of the last week or so spent in a hot bath, watching football and ALL the Christmas movies and sleeping...a lot.

Hoping to feel better soon.

Love,

Carla and Tux

 

Proud Owner of Aisle 5...Maybe Too Much Football...Christmas is 15 Days Away

 Me...after grocery-shopping-while-hungry....

Oh sure...I picked up bread and milk and eggs & such...

...encompassing a couple of raspberry filled doughnuts...more eggnog...Pepsi...Lindt Orange Dark Chocolate...Cocoa...and more.

December calories don't count.

Right?

Anyway...I am now the proud owner of Aisle Five.

 

And, then, there are the late night games.

The Lions...The Chiefs...The Bengals.

All ending with down-to-the-wire wins.

The guy and I are going to have heart-attacks if this keeps up!

So many great teams this year!

Playoffs are going to be brutal.

Want to have a heart-attack?

Only 15 days until Christmas!!!

The halls are decked...the plans are slowly being made...getting ready to celebrate John's birthday...can't believe it is almost 2025!

Our distraction this week?

This guy.

26 year old, Italian-American, Master's Degree...Valedictorian...Dead sexy and buff...civically minded.

So civically minded he decided that The Healthcare Insurance system  was  abhorrent and that they needed to be taught a lesson.

...here is where the rub comes in...

And so he did.

...teach them an unforgettable lesson...   

By gunning down their CEO.

...to be fair...the CEO...through claim denials...had probably been responsible for thousands of deaths and endless suffering...

I think we all have insurance company claim denial horror stories.

Just after making his getaway, he earned the nickname

"The Claims Adjuster"

and had the makings of a folk hero.

He slipped away, and after 6 days we started to think maybe he had gotten away with it.

...many of us silently hoping he would...

Yesterday, they were tipped off by a McDonalds worker in Pennsylvania...and he was arrested.

Now, he is charged with murder.

An amateur's mistake they caught him with the fake ID...the gun...and a hand-written manifesto of Why He Did It.

Yeah, he is so busted.

A moment's flirtation with a girl at the hostel desk...holding on to items he should have certainly discarded...and what amounts to a hand-written confession will probably cost this kid most (if not all) of his adult life.

Life can be a tough instructor.

Have a Wonderful Week!

Love,

Carla

 

 

 

 

 

It's Beginning to Look a LOT Like Christmas!

 

 It is 14 degrees outside and today is all about decorating...good food...a long nap...a bubble bath and the Lions-Packers Game with my guy, tonight!!!

The tree is coming together with red ribbon, flocking, pine cones, red berries and balls and tiny soft white lights.

Yesterday's shopping trip resulted in eggnog, gingerbread, chocolates, fir scented candles and such.

...calories consumed during December don't count...

Watching all the old holiday specials!

Found a great recipe for Amish Cinnamon Bread.

and will be trying some soon!

Hoping for snow!

Thankful for the boys...their spouses...our grand-kids...John...our families and friends...our cats (Gadget and Tux)...and knowing it will always be okay and there is always enough.

Love,

Carla