Now it's Saturday...

...and the last day of January. I know, right!?

I am typing distractedly - bad way to butcher the word, but it's accurate. I have to make certain Cleo doesn't sneak into the dining area to have some kibble with the girls. It would be disastrous and it would undo all the good the special diet has done for her over the last...what?...nearly two weeks. She is to eat as much of the special canned food as she can in a day - at least a whole can.

To date she has yet to accomplish this. About the most she's been able to get down in one day is a little over two thirds of one can. Although, over the last two days it seems as though the amount has lessened, remarkably her condition seems improved; her energy is better and she is hopping up on laps again, where before she would simply sit at your feet and beg. She is even doing the 'penguin' again, which, if you knew her, you would understand is a remarkable thing. She still sleeps a lot of the day away (even for a cat, she is down a lot more than we are used to), preferring to be under blankets and lap quilts. Happily, she doesn't covet the heat vents in the floor of the living room or Bud's room as much as she had been. All in all, I think these are good signs, but we still have a distance to go before she is completely well.

Flop and Hobbes have been pretty understanding of the situation, but you know they are a little cranky over her special treatment and food allowance lately. They eye her little can with greed and are always at the ready should the bag of Cleo's prescribed kibble come to their level. Only recently has Clee even bothered to eat that dry food...preferring instead to try and sneak off and grab a bite when the girls' plate is left where she can get at it and have some crunch time.

This is why I am typing this with one eye on the monitor and the other fixed on her location. F&H have just finished snacking and I figure it won't be long 'til you-know-who makes her way to the kitchen for a water fake-out, and then tries to sneak over to the plate. Cheeky lil monkey!

I am going to head down to the lower level and sew a bit before getting Brian up to work early this afternoon. Karl may have something going on with friends, too, but I need him to get the skinny from his pal so I can plan the rest of the day.

I keep watching the sky, and have seen snow falling, then not falling, then falling again...much like yesterday. So in the back of my mind I am thinking about peanut butter cookies warm from the oven. Mmmmm.....we'll see. Aside from that, Karl has requested fried chicken again for dinner. Found an excellent recipe in the USA Cookbook by Sheila Lukins, but when I made it Monday evening I didn't use enough chicken apparently, and both boys wanted more. So tonight I have plenty of bird thawed! (Originally, Karl wanted something Italian and he wanted chicken, so we settled on Chicken Parmigiana, but he has changed his mind since, so here we are.) Oh, now I am craving coleslaw, too. Watch out Col. Sanders!

Enjoy your meals, whatever they may be, and check your fridges for leftovers - sometimes you can escape cooking, and only have to deal with the dishwashing. :^)

Ciao for now!

...Doesn't feel like a Friday...

It feels more like a Saturday, and I have a sneaking feeling it's because the structure to my week is not as it was during a regular 5-day work week. I fear this is finally catching up with me, and so I must think of ways to combat the mindset from taking hold and settling in.

Yesterday I made four substantial loaves of banana bread, and the boys had the first one devoured before any of them had a chance to cool off. Yes, I had a slice or two (there's no beating - or resisting - warm anything out of the oven), and they were good. As of this morning there are two loaves left, but I doubt they'll last the weekend (through Saturday, really).

Over the weekend I made apple pie, and the crust came out great. I don't ever have trouble with crusts, but I put the pan on another cookie sheet before placing it in the oven...just in case of overflow from the apple juices. The result was a very nice, not too-browned, top crust!

The poor old oven has it's troubles, and it's a separate unit from the cook top. Besides being electric, and very small, uneven temps are commonplace and usually overcome by rotating and repositioning things during baking. I will be very happy when the half-wall is built and the new range/oven is installed. The gas line was run a couple of years ago and sits coiled under the butcher block table in the middle of the kitchen, along with the electrical connections and light switches for the overhead lights and pendants for the work area and eating counter.

The beautiful new stove sits in it's crate waiting. Sad but true.

I have come to the realization that I could probably build the wall myself, but I would definitely need help with the electrical and gas connections. Not something you monkey around with. So, maybe this summer I will take the next step and boldly pull the sub-floor up to start that half-wall which has been a long time in the offing. Sure would be a boon to have that done and the rest of the oak floor installed. I have wanted to extend the flooring into the kitchen and dining area for years. It stops abruptly where the wall between the street side of the house and the back half used to be. Time to finish things, I say!

Brian came home yesterday, disappointed that his composition class had been cancelled. He moped all evening (and I think still is) and was obviously derailed over having completed two very lengthy assignments for (now) no good reason. After spending so much time avoiding getting back on track with classes at OCC, he was finally excited and motivated. It was wonderful to see.

We contacted the counselor to ask if it would be possible to transfer into one of the full term classes which meets one day a week, just so he doesn't lose momentum...but Bud was hesitant and doubtful anything could be done. As we had to leave a message to broach the subject, it meant waiting to get some feedback. This morning he received a phone call regarding the possibilities, and was still speaking to Doug when he left for work. I am hopeful, but will have to wait until Brian comes home to find out what the news is.

Please keep your fingers crossed for good news on this front.

I am going to cut out another blouse or suit coat - I haven't decided which - but I am going to start another project in keeping with hopeful thinking. When another interview rolls around, I am going to be ready and dapper.

Have a great Friday and enjoy the last remnants of our snowy January.

Working on that 'to-do' list

Good music playing in the background, the photo scanning done for the Schaffer project (holy cow - hundreds of pictures!!), Brian's at work for another 2.5 hours, Karl is in class (with a ride arranged to get him back home), I have taken down the ornaments and am wrapping the trees to go back into storage, and there's a load of laundry spinning as I type. All trace snow stopped falling about half an hour ago, so I may be heading out shortly to shovel. :^)

So, I am a hair's breath away from ordering the editing beast, but I found out that even saying "go ahead" today or tomorrow still means a two week wait to be able to play and work. Ah well...it will be worth it; it's just going to be the longest 14 days ever.

Had a nice conversation with Maria last night, it was great to catch up. She is (of course) keeping herself busy, and has really gotten into paper pieced quilting. What with her jewelry making, stained glass work, quilting, making purses and bags, and now paper piecing...it's a wonder she had time to gab. We've arranged to have lunch next week, following the taping of the show, and we have more gabbing to do believe it or not. She may show up early to sit in the audience and hoot and holler for the teams, too. Very cool.

Mom is on her way down from Marquette to spend the better part of a week (from tonight thru next Tuesday) with Gram, so the boys and I will go down for dinner one day this weekend. That's when I'll get a chance to return the 8 albums and loose photos, freeing up space in the library. This project has been a labor of love, but now has become two completely different entities and working projects. With the new editing system I should be able to cut together a beautiful short for the family and continue with my own thing, as time permits.

So, I am going to scram for the time being, I still have a little time to enjoy the music, plus the trees need to go out to the garage to hang loose for another three seasons.

See you in the funny papers.

Stupid is everywhere

Yup, we run into it every day. Sometimes, it even runs into you.

Some cosmic monkey somewhere sitting on a stump, hand stuck in a bucket of poo, fan on full.... well, you get the idea.

Montana, I have to say, those audio files you passed along were very funny. Sad to say, though, the title is right: "You can't fix stupid" - and can't we attest to that?

Take, for example, the vacuous little harpy who recently decided to email a relatively venomous, decidedly foul load of BS over a mention in the blog she feels was "talkin sh*t" - when it was congratulatory in nature. Since the little shrew wasn't present for the original conversation I referenced, and the nameless lame-oid who was a part of the conversation can't remember (or chooses to not remember, or even prefers the drama of catering to the demented ravings of princess poo), I pointed out in my retort to the little idiot that she doesn't know me, that her lack of decent common conversational skills was going to have to improve or I wasn't going to continue going 'round and 'round with her...because basically, arguing with stupid isn't just a waste of time, it's just more stupid, and I wasn't going to provide her any amusement.

Well, the stupid became deeper, and because the original email address was spammed, the twit then decided to email using her name!

See?! You can't fix stupid. Sometimes you can't even duck low enough to avoid it.

Long story short - I pulled everything out of the blog (including photos from class), just so that form of stupid is completely gone. Expunged. Forgotten. Happily MIA. Thrown out like the old garbage that it is. It also felt good to take away any sort of self-worth or popularity and sense of 'look, I found something about me in someone else's words'. You don't exist....poof! Let's hope that tag team of ignorance and obscenity doesn't procreate any further, or Forrest Gump is going to look like Einstein.

Opting to pull or erase items was not a fear factor thing, because there was nothing slanderous, and anybody with half a brain would know that from reading it.

More to the point, the fact that certain sorry people keep reading the blog to find themselves, to prove a worth or value for taking up space on the planet is sort of amusing.

Now leaving Stupidville. Wave to the poor little occupants as we drive out of town.

Eyes open

When it's one of these types of days - beautiful, bright, sunny Michigan winter days - I can't help but notice how the backyard looks like a perfectly frosted cupcake. And the old apple tree has yet to part with the last of it's apples from last fall. I truly thought every last one of them had finally dropped with the heavy snow, winds and ice, but an industrious blue jay brought my attention to one or two which still remain on the far side of the tree.

And then I began to realize I haven't seen much of the jays most of the early part of the winter...usually we see them all winter long. In fact, many of the birds who normally litter the flowerbed, back patio and trees throughout the snowy months have been sparse this year. Usually the tree is freckled with either the beautiful flitting blue flashes of jays in motion, or the gorgeous red of cardinals. Interspersed we will see English sparrows, juncos and an occasional crow. Once in a while we pitch birdseed onto the patio so the cats can watch the birds, and we can watch the cats. The excitement the cats experience being within inches of the twittering and hopping of their quarry, and their eagerness to see the birds without being seen is a lot of fun to watch. The added bonus of hearing the girls squeak and chitter while watching the birds has been a riot some mornings.

I can't help but wonder if the weather has simply gotten much too cold for even the hardiest of winter's acclimated fauna.

I've been looking to buy a small water heating element to plug in out back and place in some sort of container to water the birds over the winter months. The only drawback is the current required to keep it on all day. But we know that birds require water as well as food - probably more so throughout these frozen months, and placing fresh water outside several times a day is not as simple a task as we would have thought initially.

Gotta love Mother Nature, there's a lot to enjoy if you just keep your eyes open.

We have a new President...finally!!

Congratulations to the former Senator from Illinois - and welcome to the unblinking spotlight - Obama family.

Here's hoping the next eight years are years of growth, peace, prosperity and success (yes, I am already looking anticipating the best presidency since Ford, Carter and Reagan - and looking forward to the subsequent re-election).

Furthermore, I am praying that President Obama's time in office is not marked by ignorant violence, or brought to an early end by senseless, thoughtless bigotry.

Updates

New baby - Congratulations are in order for the Stedmans - Tiffany and the latest cousin-in-law had a daughter over the weekend...Madison McKenzie. I can't even begin to tally the great grand kids, now, but I do know that there is at least one other cousin expecting in the near future (although I seem to remember there are two more cousins expecting winter/spring)!

Cleo is suffering with a good sized bladder stone and struvite crystals, again. The blood in her urine tells me she is uncomfortable, and her lack of playfulness (despite Hobbes hilarious attempts to lure her into a round of Box-tag-hide-n-seek) is another indicator that our robust little dog-cat is not at all well. She is on pain meds, and unless we hear from the vet today, we are happy that this is all and that there is no corresponding infection to deal with. She is a totally social little critter, and it pains me to have to separate the three of them to feed the special diet to her, and the regular chow to Flop and the walking stomach.

Just this afternoon Cleo finally ate a good amount of the prescribed wet food. She can also have [no more than] a 1/4 cup per day of the prescribed dry chow - it is terribly oily and not appropriate for the other two girls, so I am trying to be clever about how Clee gets hers and when I feed the non-patients. Her urine output is slow, but it at least exists...although usually tinged with, or full of blood. If she stops drinking and urinating totally, then it will be time to make a very hard decision.

Cleared the driveway - AGAIN - but the pavement is getting harder to find away from the house. However, as long as I can keep the snow level and smooth and the snowbanks wide enough apart, I am not concerned with being able to get boys to work or school. It's about all the exercise I am getting anyhow, so it's a good thing. It is invigorating (to say the least), and somewhat satisfying to see progress and accomplishment (and sort of amusing to bury Brian's truck at the same time).

On the job front - No other word from any of the last round of resumes and inquiries. It is only mid-January, and I am well aware if the current job market being slim pickings to begin with. So, no, I am not really expecting any sort of hiring miracle to pop out of the woodwork as soon as this (or in February, for that matter). Once new year budgets and 2008 taxes are out of the way, businesses will get down to the business of hiring (if there is work to be had). Until then I will keep trying, and will pester some places a little more than others, but I know that when it is time, and the right thing is out there, the Lord will guide me to it.

OCC - The boys have each had their first week of classes for the winter semester, and I am keeping my fingers crossed for successes there. Thus far the transportation thing has not been bad, and Mom's Taxi Service is working out well enough.

By-the-by...Karl had fun this weekend playing a Nintendo/Mario game tournament-style with several friends at Elliot's. Hat's off to Becky (Elliot's mom) for hosting the hoard of gaming dudes. :^)

Haircut - I am headed to the Royal Oak salon I won the $45 haircut from (through a contest with 105.1FM), and will have a new 'do on Friday afternoon! Huzzah! The perm frizz from the June attempt at a fun hairstyle is hanging on something fierce, and refuses to be tamed any more...so it is going bye-bye the hard way.

And speaking of "goodbyes"...

Change - Well, here we are. Finally saying goodbye to the Bush regime. Hopefully the nation will begin to heal and grow, turning itself around with the beginning of a new Camelot. Mr. Obama promised we can, and I think everyone is holding their breath with hopefulness on the tips of our tongues that we actually can, and will, make change happen.

Happy days, people. Let's practice patience and tolerance and let go of bigotry and hatred. Put on your bias goggles and color blinders, and forget that the color of your skin (or any body's skin) or the accent in one's voice has anything to do with anything. It's no more acceptable (or intelligent) to assume that someones color should be a reason to hold them back - or exalt them to a higher lifestyle and presence - than should their religious beliefs or depth of their pockets.

Our president was elected to lead the country, to serve the populace, to save, preserve and represent America...let's help him help us!

US Air Flight 1549 -- A little miracle every now and then

Flight 1549.

It just wasn't meant to happen. It wasn't anybody's time 'to go', therefore a miracle happened.

A series of miracles and correct calls, open doors to sail that failing airliner through to come to a safe landing in that freezing bay.

The pilot maintained his composure and kept his wits about him, and no one on board his plane, nor on the 'ground,' was injured in any way. No catastrophes. No tearful endings or unsaid goodbyes.

These folks now all have another chance to face a new day tomorrow and take the time - or the opportunities - to be kinder, to be thankful, to be aware of life happening around them. To be charitable, to be humane, to be better parents and spouses; better friends and siblings.

To simply be better humans.

I hope it isn't asking too much for the families and loved ones who surround them to also realize the gift of life just granted, in one supreme moment of miraculousness.

But above all of this, these people will somehow hopefully carry the thought of this miracle in their every waking moment, so that their lesson in the Hudson Bay won't be forgotten or go ill-spent in the future. How often do we get a second chance such as this?

Thanks be to God.

It's snowing again

And c-cold.

With p-p-pr-promises of steadily d-d-dropping w-weather throughout the d-day.

We are beginning at 30*...so f-f-falling t-temps from here is s-sort of amusing.

[shiver]

Change

I was supposed to be an extra in a coffee house scene filmed this weekend (for a production being shot in AA/Ypsi), but it was cancelled at the last minute due to the weather. There is no word yet as to a rescheduled shoot date.

Over the past couple of weeks I have sent word to a handful of people (former classmates) looking for some opinions and helpful instruction regarding buying a new PC or Mac for editing purposes, but have heard nothing in return....this has been very disappointing. I am under the gun to get something together and purchased, and was very hopeful to hear their opinions, so you can understand my feeling let down.

Had an interesting, albeit brief conversation, with yet another representative from that infamous agency (Igate) Mastech just prior to the holidays, regarding a temp job out of state as a Project Manager/Change Mgmt Consultant. OF COURSE I haven't heard back yet from them, and it's probably just as well, as the gig was in Arkansas!

This is the same company who found my resume online and had me interview in Feb/Mar 2008 with another rep working at Delphi, and they were very interested in me - oh, and it did look promising ($45/hr!) - until they took a step back to reorg the position...and then cancel it altogether. But it took me contacting the Igate-Mastech rep several times to finally get the word three months later that the position had been downsized! So I don't really hold a lot of stock in what happens when I get a call from these people any more. I just find it ironic that they were the company gedas brought in to off-shore jobs and cut positions years ago, and now they are calling me (coincidentally), an American "on-shore" to interview and fill positions here for them.

Still no word from the banker who was looking into my complaints regarding foul-ups and my extreme dissatisfaction with Charter One. We spoke (Patrick and myself) a couple of times prior to the holidays, and he called the Thursday before Christmas to say he was having some trouble getting ahold of the person I had complained about, who refi'd my mortgage. He would get in touch the following Monday of Tuesday to update me...but of course, no call. So I chalked that up to the approaching holidays...no big deal. While I was away at Gram's, I was worried I would miss the next call, but it never happened, and so here we are. However...

Patrick did call one afternoon late last week, and Karl thought it was a call I would not want, so he begged off asking the dude to call again another day. Aargh!

You guessed it, since then, Patrick has not phoned back...go figure!

So really, no big changes.

Poor little Cleo

Yeah, she's having health issues again, and it appears to be the struvite crystals, as before. It was treatable, but costly, and it took a considerable amount of care and watchfulness...special diet, pushing fluid, giving meds. It was all worth it - she is a dear cat - and we were all relieved to be able to treat her and not have to put her down. But...

That was back about three years ago, when I was employed and that sort of thing wasn't a problem or a concern. Knowing that costs have gone up, and the diagnosis and treatment will be the same (even though I will take her to the same vet), I am slightly hesitant to put out the cash. But I will do it, simply because she is a member of the family, and I can't handle the thought of losing her. Brian knows that the alternative to taking care of her might be an agonizing decline, so he is mentally set to have to put her down, but I know it will rip a hole in his heart.

It's funny, we have three cats, and each one of them corresponds to one of us - either in temperament, personality, physical maladies, what-have-you.

I seem to belong to Hobbes. She is vocal and the "mom-cat", watchful, busy, fussy, but mostly vocal (and a little spastic). She is the first to volunteer in the kitchen, always wanting to eat, make sure others have eaten... She is gregarious and social and afraid of no one.

Flop, now she belongs to Karl. Or, rather, he belongs to the fuzzy one. She was his choice when I told the boys they could choose one kitten from the litter to bring with us to the new house in Clarkston. Someone to keep Hobbes company - and oh how they disagreed on which one (which is how we ended up with three cats; a long story I will tell you some day).

Flop is stand-offish and timid. Quick to lash out and yearning for attention, affection and contact, but unsure and clumsy in obtaining it. A bulldozer of a critter, but adorable and cuddly; so very much like Karl. She amuses herself much of the time, and from our locations in the house more often than not we can hear her having fun...but never really see it happening. It takes her a long time to come out of hiding, but once she adopts someone into her inner circle, she allows them to see her and get close from time to time.

Cleo and Brian are strange soul mates. They also have similar qualities...Brian had kidney stones a year ago, which oddly enough is just too similar to Cleo's issue. They are both open and friendly, sweet, playful, good natured, rough and tumble. Ready to have fun and be active, but most times would rather just hang and enjoy some quiet time and cuddling.

So, it turns out we have to get Cleo to the vet once more, so it was a good thing I spent some time babysitting great Gram - the capital made will help to pay for this unexpected cost.

Think good thoughts for the little fuzzyhead, and I will keep you posted.

Another little wallhanging

In trying to clean a little bit more, eliminate clutter and put things in order ('everything in it's place'), I found another quilt top I had finished quite a while ago.

I dug it out in late fall of 2007 to show the classmate who wanted a quilt made for her mom, using old **Sun Bonnet Sue squares she had from an aunt. The squares were ages old - some stained - but still usable. Through years of storage and lots of handling they were quite tattered and mis-shapen, but if they were carefully worked into something (like a wall hanging), sooner rather than later, they would be preserved for her mother to enjoy for years to come. Who knows, maybe she would even be able to pass the quilt down to my classmate! [**See the finished lap quilt (and others in progress) in photos posted February 1, 2008]

Well, the little top I uncovered is all in spring colors. The palette I used was peaches, pinks, goldenrod and yellow, with a pastel-ly orange, and very muted purple thrown in for good measure. I remember making it, and I remember packing it, and I was tickled pink when I found it again. And I am even more tickled that today I stretched it and will begin to quilt it tonight (or tomorrow). Either way, it is one more thing I can say I completed - and that is always a good thing! Besides, maybe someone will take a liking to it and offer to purchase it!

The measurements are approx. 45" square, and the corners are mitered, as is the quarter inch plum highlight between the border and the squares themselves. The pattern is a Pinwheel 4 Patch, and is nothing but triangles in two sizes.

At this rate, I will have quite a few smaller quilts and wall hangings to sell at craft shows and bazaars (maybe even the Farmer's Market in town) this fall.

Besides all of that, it simply feels good to be creative and to stick my fingers into that fabric stash of mine and watch something come together - it's like planting a seed and growing a flower garden!

Enjoy your endeavors, whatever they may be.

P.S. Apologies regarding the photo quality lately. I am using a borrowed PC and it doesn't have a decent photo editing tool, so I cannot make adjustments to the pictures as I normally would. Thanks for your understanding.

All [we] need is love

Oh, the Beatles were so right, weren't they? Can't you just hear the tune in your head right now?

All you need is love...bum-ba-dah-dah-dah...

If raindrops were loving happy thoughts, and prayers and wishes, I can imagine with my mind's eye people running outdoors in the rain and standing with their faces up-turned, arms spread out wide - as if to embrace the clouds above - and catching those drops blissfully on themselves; soaking up the love and kindness like sponges. Dry, needy, shriveled sponges in need of a good soaking to be of any use.

Think about it, sponges are really very useless unless they are even slightly moist. Completely dry, they offer no purpose whatsoever for taking up the space they do. That is, unless there is some sort of spill which a completely dried up sponge could sop up. Say like in New Orleans a few years ago.

I hope it begins raining very soon in Darfur, and in Iraq and Iran, and in Afghanistan. Oh, and it should begin drizzling in Israel and along the Gaza Strip for years to come, too. If there were ever anywhere that needed prayers and wishes, and peaceful, loving, happy thoughts, words and deeds...those places would be just the tip of the iceberg, but an excellent start to what ails us as a planet and a race.

Everybody sing...All you need is love...love.

Love is all you need.

Sometimes, one smile means more than a dozen roses

What!?!?

A friend (THANK YOU, JEAN) brought over a bag of r-e-a-l-l-y dark chocolate Dove mini's, and we had fun (all of us) devouring the darned things. But, have you ever noticed that the foil wrappers have fortune-like sayings inside? Some people never take the time to observe...so I can imagine the candy being liberated from its wrapper, and the foil being discarded without so much as a glance at the saying hidden inside. Poor wrappers.

Sad little wrappers.

Oddly enough, I was reading my wrappers this weekend (because I am diligent and somewhat compulsive regarding such simple things) when I came across the saddest excuse ever for not spending a little scratch ,or taking time to think (and act) before a particularly important ocassion or celebration, and it could only have been written by a man.

I can only imagine that the man who wrote this little ditty was looking for some weak-knee'd, slack-jawed, Hallmark-sort-of-way, to let himself out of a (sorely needed) butt-chewing -- most likely for forgetting an anniversary, birthday or other meaningful event.

Yes...you guessed it, ladies. It was: "Sometimes, one smile means more than a dozen roses."

A smarmy little homily meaning 'I didn't feel like stopping on the way home (from hanging with the guys) to grab a raggedy handful of four-day-old wilted roses from the cooler at the neighborhood Kroger. Heck, why should I, when I know one of my smiles is worth more than a dozen roses.'

Have you fallen on the ground and smacked yourself silly?

Seriously?

If you didn't fall on the ground and smack yourself silly, please...allow me. I am in a smack-someone-silly-just-for-the-pure-pleasure-of-hearing-the-sound kind of mood.

Smackety-smackety-smack-smack-smack! C'mere you coward.

Sometimes, a smack means 'I forgive your cheap *ss'.

I don't like my new calendar

It's mocking me.

A pudgy little baby dressed in a snowman costume. Oh, and yes...uh-huh....yes, I see it in the kid's eyes.

There's a loaded diaper under that snowsuit.

Good thing it's not a scratch-n-sniff calendar.

Yes, I know...I missed the New Year salute

Happy New Year!

OK, now may I begin? [Thwacking forehead with palm]

Bah humbug and pardon me for stating the obvious and what everybody else is thinking. Just call me this year's bearer of poopy thoughts. Now, where's my crown?

I have come to expect nothing special or fun with the passing of the old year into the new one with the exception of bad programming on TV and a lot of unruly neighbors and drunken fruit heads on the roads, which - incidentally - causes me to worry over the safety of my son (and friends) on the road. My expectations shrink with each passing year, and so with the last dozen or so lost New Year's eves (more than that, truthfully) I have no more dreams of a fun night out - or in - with a sweetie or groups of friends, and I am a l m o s t OK with that.

Smokey bars and basement gatherings are not my thing. And while I love the idea of entertaining friends here one day, I can't bring myself to ask guests to drop by until things are much improved. [sniff]

When I was married, the spouse's idea of a good time was to drink beer all day until he passed out on the sofa. (Note: that wasn't a holiday activity...just the average daily state of affairs.) As midnight for the new year neared he would roll over, scratch himself meaningfully...and pass gas. Woohoo! Goooood times.

Hard to believe I am complaining, eh? Anyhow, from that time to now, let's just say... here we are. You would think my expectations had nowhere to go but up, right?

[Smirk]

I had always hoped to be able to go some place fun and new with the boys for the new year celebration, but it has never worked out due to work schedules or family commitments, and now I can't plan for much until the work (make that non-work) situation changes. This time around the boys were at home without me, and I was at my grandmother's apartment, in a darkened room watching old movies and listening to the fireworks going off at a house in the immediate vicinity.

Besides, with the way things are in Michigan - and the sad state of the economy all over the nation - what's to celebrate? Really...it's just another cold evening in the dead of winter, heralding the beginning of another 365 days with a new chronologic number. That's all.

Don't forget to write "2009" on your checks and important papers everyone.