I wish

I wish I could say that I spent my Christmas eve...

             ~Being filled with the peace of Christmas in the late service at church, with candles glowing
            as "Silent Night" was softly sang...
             ~ That on my way home I toured the local neighborhoods and gazed in wonder at the celebration
                 in dazzling lights....
             ~ that once I was  home I curled up sipping egg nog and listening to carols to lull me to sleep...

Instead I worked till 1130 pm, slogged through slush to the laundry room, and made the trip 3 times to
have laundry for when I am scheduled to work once more. Sigh...maybe next year.
But! We did have a White Christmas, and that made this day special, that and the smiles of my coworkers as we wished each other a Merry Christmas.

G'nite and have a Merry Christmas,
k

Early Christmas

Christmas with my family came early this year due to everyone's busy schedule. (well, not mine, lol) I had a nice drive down to Spotsylvania and the Lake Wilderness area. It was past dusk when I arrived, which is not the best time for me to drive in unfamiliar areas. The directions I had been given once inside the old battlefield area were a bit jumbled and yes, you guessed it, I got turned around, twice. I finally parked with my flashers on and called for the Calvary to come and rescue me from dark unlit roads surrounded by a forest. I actually had almost made it to the right spot, but doubted the distance to their road so I turned around.

I've been in that area before, but it had been a long time, and I presume in the last 10 years many new houses had sprung up. And let's just say the last trip in there was to find a private spot when no others could be found. Done..saying "GO AWAY!" to that old memory.

Finally at my niece's home and visiting with family. She has a very cute place, lot's of space and potential, it did remind me of my Mother's place in Locust Grove. M and T have quite an animal menagerie going, 2 pups and the 2 cats that M had when she was living in her old apartment. I enjoyed getting to know her new family members. They had celebrated twice that day, once for my cousin G and her spouse and then again later when I arrived. Dinner was lovely T if you are reading this.

Got a present that was unexpected but really cool, a Roku, which is the means of having streaming video from your internet connection to your TV. I currently only have cable for the net, TV does not interest me, and it has not since 2004. Comcast is killing me lately, prices keep going up, and my paycheck has Not.
I've ordered a wireless modem with a router included which should allow me to watch movies on my TV instead of online, and also watch free shows from sites like Hulu, etc.  It will be a nice change being able to sit in my living room instead of at the computer to watch flicks, that is if I can figure this all out by myself. A long time ago I considered myself fairly savvy about my computer, but time and new technology has washed that skill set away.

My weekend was a busy one, work Christmas party, baking, chores and visiting. The next 2 weeks at work are going to be killer, but it's better than sitting and brooding about the holiday. If my bank account has enough funds I will be at the theater watching a movie on Christmas day, alone..but out and about.

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season,
k

Whoosh!

On your mark...get set....GO!!  If a gun had gone off starting the race, I would not have been surprised. Between work, home and the holiday each day feels like a race. That might be because I am used to my routine..in fact it likely is. I have been baking, wrapping, and going since early Monday. Even my trunk is packed tonight in preparation for tomorrows travel.

Before I can head out on my drive I have to attend a quarterly meeting for work, and yes, it will be another race. I can almost hear the clock ticking as I sit through the meeting, knowing that I have to be someplace by a certain time. Good grief..sometimes it seems it is all or nothing at all.

After this week of celebration is over with work will take precedence. The holidays at the casino are not about family or getting together in celebration, they are about work. Why these weeks end up being so busy is a mystery to me. It has been explained to me that not everyone celebrates Christmas, but it still floors me the amount of people who still have money after shopping to gamble.

Heading towards bed, tomorrow will be fun, but a dang long day.

G'nite
k

This Ugly World

    I am sure that most of you have heard about what happened today at the elementary school in Connecticut. Sometimes this world we live in can become so ugly and pain filled in just 15 minutes that we sit stunned and shocked unable to take what happened in. My heart goes out to the parents, families, teachers and students who were forced to face that horrible situation today.

   Does it seem that this is happening more often, or I am alone in that perspective? Last week it was a mall in Portland. Before that in Aurora, CO. the movie theater horror. Offices that a disgruntled and disturbed employee returns to seek their brand of justice. Are there more psychotic people out there today than before? Or just more of them that have access to guns? 

   I have a lot of friends that puff up and spout on about 2nd Amendment rights and their need to have a gun of their own. If it had been their family member, their child, would they be so quick to say that their right should not be taken away ? At the very least it should be made much harder to get a gun. Not just government and law enforcement searches, but psychological testing as well. All these shooters had one thing in common, they were 'disturbed' individuals.  Clearly it was seen by friends or family that something was not right with them. I know it's naive to believe that they could not find another way to arm themselves, but it should be made more difficult for them to arm themselves.

   The 2nd amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791. The world was a very different place then. Having a gun meant protection from wild animals, food on your table, Indian attacks, etc. Yes people say that they only use their guns for hunting, but a bow would do the same, and is not an automatic weapon. 
Is it really necessary to have a gun for home defense? I believe that we live in a very paranoid world. Having a gun at home did not help the ones who were lost outside of it.

      I mourn for the children that were lost, there will be no consoling the ones who were closest to them, that pain will never go away.  I wish that there was some magic answer to stopping these senseless murders from occurring. Prayer would be a good place to start.

k

**pardon the whited out..I did everything I could think of with this blog editor and I still could not fix it. If you highlight the white bars you can read what was written, sorry.

The Gilligan

I have to wonder sometimes just how much animals understand. Gilligan, for the most part, is a wonderful cat. I won't call him a pet, because in every sense of the word his is my companion. He greets me when I come home, and waits patiently (most of the time) for dinner. When the alarm clock goes off he KNOWS it is a work day and the pouting begins. I am barely awake and he climbs on to my lap to get as much loving as he can grab before I get up to get ready. At that point he hangs his head over the edge of the bed and has turned his butt towards me. This is the "I am most unhappy with you" position.

Sometimes he will lay next to me on the bed while I am sitting nearby and pose a feline question..
"Mrrr?"\
So I Mrrr back.
"Mrreeeeww"
and I respond.
We have entire unintelligible conversations (well..to me anyway) that can last for minutes. I have to wonder what we have been talking about, but he never shares that with me later.

Tonight I watched a video about dogs that have been trained to "drive" a car. Yes, they taught the dog through endless hours of treats and praises how to touch a part with their paw and place them on the wheel. It was pretty cool to watch, drew a few chuckles from me, and a short "smart dog!" remark. Well..the Gilligan seemed to have understood that remark. How he can understand me and I cannot translate him is just not fair.

A few minutes later while I was preparing to wash up for bed along comes Gil with his straw. Yes, my cat plays with straws like a dog plays with sticks. If you can make a light weight straw fly he will chase it and retrieve. The same applies for rolled up paper or foil. He will entertain himself playing cat soccer all over the apartment. (sometimes when I come home I will see up to 10 different balls laying on the living room floor.)

Apparently Gil decided (since he can understand me..etc.) that he should show me he was smarter than that damn dog.  He padded over to the cabinet under the sink, using his nose and then his paw, he opened the cabinet and looked inside. It closed and he opened it again. Please understand that I had never seen him do that before, and that there is nothing note worthy to a cat under my sink. This obviously was a new trick that he had learned when I was away at work.

"Look! Smarter than a damn dog Mommy."

  And I guess he is. He understands commands without treats.When we are out in the small porch and yard and I say " back inside now" he goes right to the door I left open and goes in. When I open the door and it is a temptation to him to go out "stay!" is a command he obeys.And I did not have to spend hours training him how to do either of them.

Are cats smarter than dogs? I think it is like comparing apples to oranges. They each have their own gifts.
Cats, in my opinion are easier to train. With their eyes still baby blue they instinctively know how to use a litter box. (No newspaper and puppy pee for months on end ) Shoes and socks are usually safely left alone.
He knows when I am sad and seeks to comfort. He watches when I behave just plain silly with very round eyes. And lately when he feels he is being ignored he strikes a pose that must be considered undignified in the cat world..he lays on the bed, on his back legs all a kimbo and turns his head to watch me, to see if I will react. I usually laugh because he looks quite silly in that position.

I probably attribute him more human characteristics then most cat parents do...but then we only have each other for company and that must account for some of it. All in all he is a good feline friend, who though he is lonely quite often, behaves himself in ways most animals would not. I am very grateful to have The Gilligan in my life.

k

Ghost Of Christmas Past

 On chilly rapid little feet the holiday season quickly draws nigh.  I have a few days planned to celebrate this year, one at work, one with family. When I walk in the door after work, and the neighborhood is fast asleep, I turn on my little Christmas tree and it gives me a soft glowing smile. I find myself humming (and sometimes making up new verses) to traditional holiday songs. (depending on how naughty or nice I feel designates the tones of the free verse.)

I am wishing for at least one day of snow, softly falling, and cloaking the world to white. Peeking at the weather forecast I see the trend going back to warmer weather and grouching a bit.  It would be so nice...just a little snow..last year was a warm winter as well.

Tucked into my comfortable old chair I began to write a few Christmas cards to friends and family. Though it  seems weeks away, I know the last week will be a rush. Because of working overtime this week, some plans were curtailed. I will be baking next week in preparation for my holiday with family. Maybe it was a good thing I was short on grocery money last week, that made some room in the freezer.

I remember holidays with stockings hung before a fireplace, the smell of 'real' evergreen spicing the room, and the quiet peaceful lull of carols playing. They may be in my past, but not far from my heart. I have been blessed with many joyous holiday celebrations, and should not despair because the last two (including this year) were so quiet and lonely. The holidays are what you make of them. If you decide to be sad it shall be so. If it is a bittersweet day of memories then that shall be as well.

I can still recall the excitement of being a child, the need to wake up my parents in the wee hours of the morning. ( and gruffly told to "go Back to bed" as they had just gotten into bed themselves after preparing for the morning.) Having to wait at the top of the stairs, antsy with impatience along side my two brothers.
Dad would put his finger to his lips and say "Shhh, I have to make sure that Santa has left" and down the steps he would go to turn on the tree, and likely start coffee brewing. With his all clear signal we would bound down the steps to a tree surrounded by gifts from Santa, enticing stockings that bulged with hidden treasure, and the evidence that Santa had been there, the cookie with a bite gone from it. We took turns to make the unveiling last longer, prolong the gift giddiness. And someone would always pick out the ones that said Mom or Dad and carefully deliver them. That was the beginning of a long day of visiting and food at multiple stops when we lived closed to Baltimore.

Christmas at our house also meant church, that message was shared to us all from the time we could attend Sunday school, till we were young adults. The Christmas eve service has always brought me a feeling of peace and hope. Both my father and I sang in the choir for many years, and attended both services.

So I do have sweet and warm memories of years gone by. I hope someday to share the day of Joy with others once again. This Christmas my gift to myself will be Hope.

Love,
k

Animal House 2012

Good Freaking Grief!!! Some pinhead in marketing booked the Ballroom for a Fraternity party. What the heck were they thinking?? I suspect...NOT thinking. It was a whirlwind of a night with better than half of us chasing down the unruly party goers, and the other handling the usual medicals and ID issues.

The party was shut down by the Big Bosses. We cannot tell guests to close it up..THEY can.

Somebody better be hiding tomorrow because I suspect a head might be rolling.

I kept waiting for John Belushi to show up.( I miss him.) It might have been worth the toll on the supervisors to watch him in action again. No dean was hung in effigy. No mascots stolen. Just college kids drinking too much, and acting like kids from today do. Somehow Animal House seemed more..innocent. I guess their they got their kicks in another way than drinking to incoherence and barfing. (in the movies anyway)

And so my week begins...lol

k