Le soixante-neuvième . . .

Sacré bleu, j'ai déjà commencé mon soixante-dixième année sur cette planète, la Terre. C'est vraiment ridicule! And in honor of this day in history 69 years ago yesterday I was notified by the Social Security Administration that I would receive a whopping $5 a month raise starting in January 2012. I also received notification from the Connecticut Teachers' Retirement board that I would now lose $2 a month from my pension to pay for medical insurance. That means I get a $36 a year raise. I will be able to buy an extra tank of gas for the Élantra. Woot! The government is taking care of me in marvelous, superior ways.

Spent a great day with Kiddo yesterday freezing to death while he and big brother played basketball in the yard. I am really impressed by how well he and J. play together. It's great fun to watch them bounce pass to each other and drive into the paint for close shots for the Kiddo while the big Kiddo takes the outside shots. I also got a chance to follow Kiddo's Skylander, Spyro, around the crazy Wii world trying to be careful not to attack him. I was supposed to help him but I just kept dying all over the place. He finally ran out of live Skylanders for me to use when we called it quits. I think I did win a game of indoor hallway soccer so the day was not a loss. Won't see the kids until next year as they are going to a party today at their Aunt's house to celebrate, Christmas, J's seventeenth birthday and the New Year. Tomorrow night Richoni's will have their gala and the big kid will keep the little kid company at home. Good way to welcome 2012. They'd better spend as much time together as they can. Seems impossible that they are 7 and 17 years old. Time keeps moving on.

Speaking of time I believe I have found a New Year's Resolution that is in keeping with my now older self. I shall really attempt to stop being critical of myself, others and life. I shall accept my lack of perfection and enjoy others as they are. Ditto for accepting what life has in store for us. Feels good already!

Quote: Time was, is past; thou canst not it recall: time is, thou hast; employ the portion small; time future, is not; and may never be: time present, is the only time for thee. __Mrs. Sigourney

Now, that was fun . . .

We went to the 11:20am showing of The Adventures of Tintin in Lisbon. Wow, it was a lot of fun. We ended up at the 3D version at $10 a pop. I don't particularly care for 3D but this was fantastic. For once we saw a movie that was not preachy and full of modern day silliness. It was a good story with good characters and wonderful tech effects. I could watch this one again. Since the movie is based on a Belgian French speaking comic book character I hope the sequels keep coming. Saw the advert for the The Hobbit which will be out a year from now. Looking forward to seeing it. Must admit that there is nothing like seeing a good movie on the big screen with the surround sound.

Not up to much today. Will walk indoors, work on my horrible puzzle and cross stitch embroidery before I take time to read more of John Derbyshire's free novel about China. It is very interesting yet I don't think it ever made it to the New York Times book list. I'm guessing that the author self-published because regular publishing houses probably were unwilling to face Chinese condemnation.

Quote: The morning steals upon the night, melting the darkness. _____Shakespeare

All warmed up . . .

Just returned from a walk up to Church Street and through the Little League Park. Believe you me I am thoroughly warmed up. It was 37 degrees when I left and it is already 43, so what looked like a possible snow day looks like a rainy day. Kiddo called yesterday to see if I would stop by his home so he could show me his Christmas things. I couldn't refuse the invitation since he had tried twice to call and Grampa and I had been out for a walk. We had stopped for coffee at Johnny's therefore not home for the calls. It seems that his best present is Skylanders, little creatures that have their own portal and work with the Wii. Amazing electronic devices. He'll bring it here someday so Grampa and I can be taught how it all works. He did let me take home my favorite Hess truck to keep under the tree until he gets here to retrieve it.

Christmas Dinner was just about perfect if I do say so myself. Today I'll make soup with the roast beast bones. It'll smell so nice in this old house as it cooks up. I still have some cheese cake but I will not indulge because it really doesn't like me too much.

Came home one day last week and there was a monster box for me. I was blown away when I opened the outer box and there was an early birthday present from my friend Sue G, Godiva Chocolates in a sweet basket with a puppy! I've been very good and not opened the beautiful arrangement yet but I may dive in today. I've also gotten permission from Puppy's Pop to start a puzzle in the kitchen. We've decided that before we tackle the 2000 piece puzzle from Oneco friends we might as well warm up with the 1500 piece Santa puzzle given to us a year or so ago by local nephew and his wife. I sent part of last night setting out the pieces and putting together the borders. Now set to start work in earnest.

Puppy's Pop is off with the Élantra to play horseshoes in East Hartford so I'm indulging in loud music and maybe some piano!

Quote: I am a great eater of beef, and I believe that does harm to my wit. ___Shakespeare

Gloria in excelsis Deo . . .

He is born . . . Merry Christmas.

The roast beast smells wonderful; the cheese cake is ready; dinner will be served at one o'clock. Spoke with the youngest who is spending a Happy Christmas with G's family in Bradford, England and the oldest who is celebrating with M's family in Dallas. It is a day full of blessings, peace and good will. Happy Birthday, Holy Child, gift of love to all nations.

Now that was fun . . .

Picked up Kiddo at 1pm yesterday and after we got to Moosup and he had shown Grampa a new Wii game he and I went out to play soccer. Pretty exhilarating and tiring in the cold and almost dark! But the best was after supper when he asked if we could set up the Lionel train. We dug out all of the tracks, cars, diner, traffic gate and siding plus the rail cars and set it up before we asked Grampa to wire it all together. What a good time he had. He had played with the train when he was younger and it was okay but now he really likes to go racing around the tracks. He and Grampa even have the smoke working again! And naturally the whistle must work every time you come to a crossing or Irene's Diner! He played for at least three hours last evening and went back upstairs after breakfast this morning to play again before we left for Groton. I'm glad he finally really likes it because it is so much fun to watch him run everything. He even wears his engineer hat.

Got the house in some semblance of order as we prepare for tomorrow's Christmas Dinner. I'm pretty tired today but I'll be off to the children's Christmas Mass soon.

Quote: Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven. By these tendrils we clasp it and climb thitherward. ___H. W. Beecher

Busy week . . .

Have been to Groton every day but Monday this week. Middle child needed help with Christmas shopping and wrapping. The wrapping was so much fun for me because I haven't had to wrap a lot of presents in years. Christmas is the best when you have lots of kiddos. Seeing their pleasure on Christmas morning makes having kids worth the sacrifice of time, hard work and watchfulness. They are the real Christmas gifts and as I ponder that statement I realize that our children are our gifts to the world and ourselves. Kids of all ages make our lives interesting.

The weather is a balmy 45 degrees and rainy. The only snow visible is on the HP home screen. That's okay by me. We'll have no slippery driving conditions for Christmas Day and the oil man will not have to come too often. The best thing that happened this week is I brought the Élantra for the 3000 mile check up. It had over 5000 miles on it but that was okay. They only did an oil change and rotated the tires which is on the 6000 mile checkup list. But . . . I bought the special USB cord from Hyundai and I can now listen to my iTunes albums through the speakers on the car. Wow, that is such a great idea. Not only can I listen to the iTunes library of music through the car speakers we can go to Pandora radio and play any kind of music we like without commercials or news breaks. I'm so impressed. I think I'm going to get a piece of Velcro so I can set the iPad right next to the left of the passenger seat leg space. The cord is not very long. While the music is playing it is also charging the iPad. Who knew that man was capable of such wonders and the cord only cost a measly $40. Oh well, one must pay for ones toys.

Will leave shortly for lunch duty and pick Kiddo up early. He has a half day and pajama day. Can't believe they really do go to school in pajamas. Seems foolish. Getting older and more Scrooge like every day I wouldn't dare question the asininity of school administrators. I'm certain he will have proper attire when we stop by Richoni's to say a quick good by to his folks. They are so busy with their regular Friday night gala and today there are quite a few private parties starting at noon. We shall certainly say a very fast good by.

Quote: It is not money, nor is it mere intellect, that governs the world; it is moral character, and intellect associated with moral excellence. ___T. D. Woolsey

Poor old house . . .

Eleven degrees outside today; the sun is bright, sparkling on the frosted grass and the poor, old homestead is having trouble warming up. But I guess in the grand scheme of life sixty-six degrees in the house is warm enough. I've put on my warm papates and the comfortable, wool sweater youngest child made for me, have had my breakfast and am on my second cup of coffee so all is well in Moosup. I can take the time to read the edifying Bulletin and get even warmer as I fume at the paucity of real news and the scarcity of well written articles.

Had such great pleasure yesterday when youngest sister-in-law and I had the good fortune to get tickets to the sold out last performance of Annie at the Bradley Playhouse in Putnam. It really did bring tears to my eyes. Not because of the story being told but because I was so appreciative of the effort and love lavished on this production by everyone who worked behind scenes, on stage, in the pit, building sets, making costumes, manning the lights. It was an all out achievement by local people who enjoyed giving of their best to help the beautiful young, intense director, Nicole Panteleakos accomplish a unique rendition of an old favorite. Am I prejudiced? Most definitely. But I honestly could sit through it many more times and enjoy the production by people who love théâtre because it gives them pleasure to work hard and become more than their singular talent but a great collective talent giving happiness and pure delight to the likes of me, someone with no theatrical aspirations but who enjoys the gift of their time consuming, tiring, fulfilling travail. Yes, I am just a slight bit verbose, again, but I am in awe of the people who make the time to give so much of themselves so others may laugh, cry and be carried away to another time and place. Kudos all around.

Now back to the mundane. Have to make my list and most certainly must check it twice to be sure I get all the right ingredients for Christmas Dinner.

Quote: Although it is said of plays that they teach morality, and of the stage that it is the mirror of human life, these assertions are mere declamations, and have no foundation in truth and experience. ___Sir John Hawkins (My dear Sir John, I humbly beg to disagree. You are an old fogey.)

Wintry blast without snow . . .

Phew! Just returned home from my walk at the Flying Field and it was cold, grey and windy. It took about six treks up and down the hill for my hands to warm up! That's pretty darned cold. Grampa did another superior job getting the Christmas Tree this year. He even had it all set up for me when I got back from Groton Thursday evening. All I had to do was find the angel; that took quite a while. Then it was easy peasy to put the angel on high and the lights below. Last night Kiddo did an excellent job finishing up decorating. I was really amazed at how well he distributed the ornaments. Later on as he and Grampa watched The Grinch we worked on making stained glass ornaments from very old Makit & Bakit kits rescued from the dump some years ago! That was fun and the ornaments came out just right. Of course he had to take them home; one for each member of the family. Very thoughtful. He's in the process of making a paper chain of good deeds that he has to bring to school next week. I've been advised that he made the Good List again this year and he was wondering what ever did Grampa do to get on the Bad List since all he ever gets is coal! I didn't go into particulars because that would have taken a very long time! The only things left on the Christmas agenda is shopping for Christmas dinner and then the cooking. I can already smell the aroma of the Roast Beast. Looking forward to a Joyous, Happy Christmas.

Quote: The moral and religious system which Jesus Christ has transmitted to us, is the best the world has ever seen, or can see. ___Franklin

Not too impressive . . .

Stopped for lunch at The Gentleman Farmer Diner located at the former Gold Eagle and once upon a very sort time ago the Thai Sushi Restaurant and was not impressed. Puppy's Pop had one of their specials, whole belly clams and fish and chip combo. I just had fish and chips. It was about a $36 mediocre lunch. I took the fish out of the batter coating as did Puppy's Pop. I should have tried a BLT. They have a monster sized menu and there were quite a few customers for sleepy Plainfield on a Tuesday but I would not be tempted to go there again. Richoni's has by far the best fish and chips.

Had a nice chat with youngest. She just negotiated herself a pretty good sized raise and is quite happy. Grampa teasingly asked if their house, when they buy one, will have room for model planes and she did say they were looking for 4 bedrooms! Yikes. Another place to rest our weary heads. Poor G. would probably have a heart attack! We truly are looking forward to their visits home. We're not good at traveling long hours on long flights. Not sure how older brother and his wife can calmly contemplate travel to the other side of the globe. I'm thankful the kids are pretty close by! Of course one always willingly and lovingly does whatever is necessary to hug a kid, whether big or little!

Think I'll complete my eight year hooked rug today and then try to figure out what I am going to do with it. Quelle catastrophe! A rug that doesn't fit anywhere.

Quote: A mere madness -- to live like a wretch that he may die rich. ___Burton

Category: Libations . . .

I finally found a little something I can savor after dinner when I like to just sit in my Vermont Folk Rocker and totally enjoy the moment. Whiskey! Not demon Rum but a nice whiskey on the rocks, watered down so much it doesn't make any sense to Puppy's Pop but it works for me. I'm glad we finally got that figured out. It was depressing not drinking a glass of wine after supper. I'm all set for now!

A mite cold . . .

Impressively cold this morning. We've been spoiled so far weather wise; fairly mild temperatures, lots of rain but at 19 degrees this morning the house took its time getting up to speed. After a Lizzy B's breakfast I decided I should dump out the monster pots of summer flowers before winter sets in next week. I had haphazardly thrown them into the woods near the burn pile. That's as far as I could carry them without collapsing from their weight. With all of the rain and last night's cold they are super heavy. But that didn't deter me. I manhandled them and got two out after lots of picking up and dropping. The third one was smashed several times only to break into partial smithereens. It still has some of the plastic pot frozen around the bottom and my fingers were too cold to pick it up and continue the smashing! Since I hadn't bothered to wear my gloves my hands are still numb. When the sun is out shining so brightly I never think that I need to dress for the cold. I'll go back out after Mass and hope the sun has warmed up the shattered pot so I can finish cleaning up the mess. I'm probably the only person in the world who cares about a mess behind a garage! Puppy's Pop will go out towards the end of the week to get our Christmas tree and Kiddo will be able to help decorate next Friday. I still like the smell and look of a live spruce. We may not have a white Christmas this year and that's okay by me but we will surely have a smokey one! Our neighbor has his outdoor wood furnace working overtime. I have no idea what he is burning but at this moment huge clouds of dark grey/black smoke are heading our way. The whole neighborhood is getting smoked. I can even smell it in the house! Hope it warms up enough today so I can wash the Élantra. Black may be beautiful but it shows the road dirt something fierce.

Quote: A mob is the scum that rises upmost when the nation boils. __Dryden

Sorry, this calls for a new post . . .

Just got a call from NE Conservation, the outfit that came more than two weeks ago for the energy audit, returning my call of two weeks ago. I left a message, for shits and giggles, complaining that one of the new bulbs they put in above the dining room table was fading on and off on a regular basis. This is true. There is a bad bulb. The lady wanted to set up an appointment so the two guys could come back and change the bulb! I was flabbergasted. I actually did say, "You want to make an appointment so two men can come to my house to change a light bulb?" She didn't even get the disconnect here. She just said, "Yes." On my dear loving god, how can anyone think that they have to come here from Woodbridge to change a light bulb? Not only that but to make an appointment to do so? NE Conservation canceled two previous appointments and were late for the one they finally kept! (When they were here one of the young men had to call for help from his partner when he tried to lower the glass bowl on the fixture without disconnecting the pull chain.) I told her I had expected them to send us a new bulb and we were perfectly capable of screwing the bulb into the socket. Finally, in disgust, I told her to forget about an appointment to change a light bulb. But she asked me to wait on the line so she could talk to her supervisor to find out if they could mail the new bulb to us! Good lord. I was speechless. (Here we go again, the USPS!) When she returned to the line she informed me that the maker of the bulbs would mail it to us and if we don't get it by Monday I must call New England Conservation again. (They're made in China.) Am I now living in some parallel universe where life is topsy-turvy? Mayhap I should drink the Koolaide! What is even more ridiculous is the surcharge on our electric bill to partially fund this stupidity.

End of a Chapter . . .

Amazon finally caught up with my ill gotten gains (the personal check I received from the lady who finally ended up with the $100 audio book after 44 days of meandering through the US mail empire.) Because she sent me a check and didn't go through Amazon I am now out $79 which is what I would have made if the USPS had delivered the package in a timely fashion. Amazon would have made $21 if theUSPS had not opened the package looking for drugs thereby delaying delivery. I just received an email from Amazon telling me that they had -$79 from my account. So I made about $21 on this deal gone bad. Not sure what lesson I've learned from this fiasco other than don't trust the US postal service. Puppy's Pop is going to be mailing out the Cistercian Nuns Christmas Fudge soon and perhaps the holiness of the makers of the candy will protect it from the depravedness of the postal service. I can only pray that St. Christopher, guardian of travelers, will watch over fleet footed Mercury as he guides the Christmas penuche through the labyrinth.

Puppy's Pop is off with the Élantra for East Hartford and horseshoes. I will spend my time on this dreary, grey, 56 degree day listening to Christmas music and writing out Christmas cards for all and sundry. Best if I get to work before I find something else to complain about!

Quote: We do not despise all those who have vices, but we do despise all those who have not a single virtue. ___La Rochefoucauld (And, yes, someone does come to mind, Despicable Him)

Eureka . . .

I think I've found it; a substitute for lettuce. I miss eating salads with supper and today I bought some baby spinach because Olympia, one of my favorite nurse practitioners, told me I should try it. I was amazed because it is very tender and extremely mild. I expected a strong, earthy flavor but it is just like eating tender, mild grass. Yes, grass. I have always liked to chew on a nice blade of spring grass just for the taste, it's too stringy to swallow. So, I'm hyped about getting back to some greens with my meals. Another double woot day! I packaged up some of my Mount St. Mary's fudge today and will probably ask Puppy's Pop to mail it by the end of the week. I also bought some very nice Christmas cards at Benny's. That rather surprised me but the price was right and it saved me an expensive trip to the Hallmark Store in Dayville. We went to the flying field at the Sterling Town Hall and Puppy's Pop got in a first flight on one of his newest planes. I didn't go walking because he needed me to hold the plane for take off; he has to start it upside down so I'm better than a stooge. It flew really well for a first flight and looked just fine in the loops. He has to make some adjustments to the wing but not too bad for a first flight. Those are always a little nerve wracking. Spoke with Kiddo last night and he had gone to a Christmas Lights Parade in Groton. He was so excited because he waved to Mr. and Mrs. Claus but the best part was, " I saw the sleigh going up and up and up." The sleigh must have been an impressive sight. We hit 60 degrees today, not too shabby for December 5. Onward climate change, I say.

Quote: The ordinary true, or purely real, cannot be the object of the arts. ___Illusion on a ground of truth, that is the secret of the fine arts. __Joubert

Odd Sunday . . .

I think the visit I had yesterday with my youngest sister-in-law set the tone for today! She and J. had rearranged their living room area and I liked how it opened up the room so today I ended up going around and simplifying things. We have so much stuff, so I just put some away and then put out a few Christmas decorations. I'm going to keep it plain this year. So far so good. Now I have to keep to the plan! That was odd # 1. Odd #2. I was in my simplifying mode when Puppy's Pop came up from the hangar to inform me that the furnace wouldn't light. Whoa. That 's scary when it is 32 degrees outside. He called our oil man and they sent someone out immediately. Since I was somewhat curious to see if we were finally going to have to buy a new heating system I decided to skip Mass. The best part is that the repair man took about ten minutes to put in a new igniter on the burner and we are all set. Phew, that was a close call. The rest of the day has been uneventful; a walk at the Flying Field and getting tickets for Annie at Bradley Playhouse for N. and me.

Quote: If you destroy delicacy and a sense of shame in a young girl you deprave her very fast. ___Mrs. Stowe

Getting hooked up . . . (That doesn't sound right in today's vernacular.)

The electrician just came in and Puppy's Pop and he are in the cellar. The Honda generator will be ready to go next time we have a loss of power for any considerable amount of time. It will not power the whole house. We'll only power the furnace and the refrigerator. We'll still use the old camp stove for cooking out on the sun porch and kerosene lamps, candles and flashlights for lights. We'll be able to charge the iPad and cell phones with the power inverter so I think we're pretty much covered. The El Camino will hold the gas we'll need for the generator. Not too shabby. Now I hope we'll never have to use the set up but I feel better knowing that we will be warm and the pipes won't freeze if Mother Nature decides to test our survival skills.

Kiddo was sent home from school Wednesday with stomach cramps so he didn't go to school yesterday either. Grampa and I moseyed down to Richoni's for lunch and he was having a pleasant time watching TV and playing games on his Nintendo something or other in 3D. I gave his Mom some Math workbooks so he doesn't fall behind since he has actually missed four and a half days in a row. I told him not to go to the nurse when he doesn't feel well because they always send the sick kids home! He said, "I was in pain!" Grampa and his Mom cracked up. Pretty good actor we've got. I think he's got the makings of a wheeler-dealer. Who'd a thunk it? If all goes as planned I should be going to Sacred Heart for lunch duty and then picking him up at one o'clock. They have half days on the first Friday of the month. Hope he is feeling better and gets over whatever bug he has.

Quote: Between levity and cheerfulness there is a wide distinction; the mind that is most open to the former is frequently a stranger to the latter. __Levity may be the offspring of folly or vice; cheerfulness is the natural offspring of wisdom and virtue. ___Blair