Thanksgiving, Gone.

First Snow of Winter 2016-2017

The first snow came and went. It was very pretty, but not much to write home about. There was very little accumulation on the grass, and nothing on the road. Kind of like the little whisper before the shouting starts: "Here it comes ... !"

It's going to be a while longer before the real snow shows up. The average temperature needs to drop a bit, and then hang steady for a few days or weeks, and then the ground will finally be cold enough to put on the snow like a blanket and begin the long winter nap.

And I'm not ready yet. We just got the leaves raked up today, but there's still lots of yard work that needs to be done before we call it a season and shut the door and huddle on the couch with the blankets on our laps and cups of hot chocolate in our hands and a blazing fire warming our toes.

I did manage to pull all the scrap wood out of the garage loft and stack it underneath the deck so that we could rearrange all our "keeper" junk up there instead. Now instead of cluttering up the main floor in the house, all that junk is cluttering up my garage. So I have no room to work anymore.

The biggest accomplishment, though, was getting my two "non-functional" Subarus into the garage. It took quite a bit of effort to rearrange all the things which had been in the second and third bays (and a couple of weeks) up in the loft or attic to make room, but now they're in winter storage.

My plan is to start pulling parts off the red Suburu ("Ruby") to replace failing parts on the other cars. Like the differentials for Mary's car ("Sapphire"), the exhaust system and fuel pump for my car ("Serenity"), and the rest of the pieces as spares.

Wish I had a big barn to store all this stuff in.

Some day.

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Deb Finds Something Amusing on the Internet

Thanksgiving is a very strange holiday, in that it appears on the calendar too soon after Halloween and too close to Christmas. And there isn't a lot of commercial tradition associated with it, other than the purchase of food products.

Halloween has costumes, decorations, and candy. Christmas has trees and presents and food.  Thanksgiving has ... food.

That explains why the retailers ignore Thanksgiving and go right to Christmas after Halloween is over. Did you notice that this year? I didn't see anything related to Thanksgiving -- no turkey costumes, Pilgrim platters, native American treats. Nope, they went right from jack o'lanterns to Jack Frost nippin' at your nose. 

Very sad.

Well, at least I got a couple days off. A day to hang out with the family, eat a fancy dinner with some fantastic friends, get totally stuffed -- and then another day to avoid shopping while trying to reset my stomach after throwing it off completely.

Cheryl and Carolyn put on a great spread.

Our Thanksgiving Table

The rest of us (including Eric, Carolyn's wonderful husband, and their amazing children) selected from a smorgasbord of delights including (you guessed it) turkey and cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and green beans and brussel sprouts and haroset(h) and smoked salmon spread and various assorted cheeses and all kinds of crackers and dinner rolls; and then there was apple pie and pecan pie and cookies and ice cream.

It was a wonderful evening of just hanging out and eating and talking and then being very tired and almost getting to bed on time.

Movember

It's Movember again, that magical month when members of the male species forget how to shave.

I actually started two weeks ago. Because my "beard" never really amounts to much. After all that time, as you can see, it looks pathetic.

So does my "resting face". I'm really not upset. I'm just ... tense.

It's been a long two years now, working on that basement. And trying to get stable, enjoyable employment. And seeing the kids start to move on with their lives. And realizing that, physically, it's all downhill from here.

Compared with a lot of humanity, of course, there is nothing worthwhile to complain about. The house is still standing. The cars (mostly) run. The paycheck comes in every couple of weeks. The checks don't bounce. The kids, although we don't always see eye-to-eye, are still a wonderful blessing.  Cheryl is still the most amazing woman ever. (After all, she still puts up with me ... mostly.)

But it is in my nature to complain. Because it is also in my nature to see the imperfect side of things, the things that need to change. It's probably the worst combination of tendencies: perfectionism and pessimism. I know what needs to change, but I doubt it ever will.

Especially in myself.

Were anyone brave enough (or long-suffering enough) to walk beside me as I go about my business during the day, they would quickly come to the conclusion that I am extremely slow when it comes to making decisions or coming up with solutions to problems. They might even conclude that my brain functions a bit on the sloooow side of things. Especially when contemplating tasks that need to be accomplished around the house, like fixing the cars or repairing walls or finishing basements. I can sit and stare at a wall for a long time, trying to figure out the perfect way to hang a ceiling panel; many a weekend has passed by with nary a thing to show for it but an idea or a sketch that is almost what I'm looking for, but not quite ... and it may take me another couple of weekends before the idea actually makes its way into reality.

I really don't like to be rushed.

And neither does my beard.

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