Before Christmas

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 1 p. 560

220.5 miles

bitter cold

 

369 recordings of 72 types, 3 old SVU, 48 old CPD, and 61 Last Man Standing. 21% clear. (I particularly went mad over Christmas movies.)

 

 

Tuesday morning (the 19th) I went to the Widow's Breakfast, and Fay had again crocheted kitchen towels for us, and also did a needlepoint indicator of "clean or dirty" for the dishwasher. It's rather an ugly color, but I believe I'll use it anyway. She also put cookies and trail mix in the bag, but I put them too close to the edge of the table and Pharaoh got them. At least, no temptations for me.

 

In the afternoon Laurie came by. Her car was in the shop so Father Delgado gave her a ride over, and after a couple of hours with wine and cheese and great conversation, I gave her a ride to the shop. I realize I actually LIKE entertaining and I haven't been doing much of it. Or actually, any at all the last 6 years.

 

I got a notice from Social Security, a 2% raise... which somehow comes out to the exact same amount I've been getting the last three years! I may actually write them about this. Meanwhile, it looks like the tax cut will actually be good for me.

 

I asked Frank if he had a drill, because I can't get the hangers into the frame (I really should find Rich's drill and learn to use it. But it's only been 6 years!) He agreed he'll help me, after Christmas.

 

Wednesday I told Bernadette I would stick around so she could go see Lady Bird. First I took Padreic to Wee Wednesday. This was the least successful of the month... they had lots of kids, and they went through the galleries looking for winter pictures. A lot of this was over Padreic's head. The craft was making icicles from glittery pipe cleaners and beads. He very carefully put 4 beads on, was done, didn't want to twirl it, didn't want to make another. When we got home he put it on the tree. I wish Bernadette had displayed Padreic's tree that he made at my house. Heck, I wish she hadn't lost the alphabet board books, which were hard to collect.

 

I read to the kids, and then they played with their iPads, and I read, until Bernadette got back. I'm glad she had this chance, as she's been so excited about this movie. I know why I wasn't all that thrilled... I graduated from a small co-ed high school 40 years before Greta Gerwig and her character graduated from a larger all-girls' Catholic high school. Our experiences were totally different. Meanwhile, my girls were less than 20 years different, and from all-girls' Catholic high school, so they had more points of reference.

 

At home I had boiled that pork shoulder to get the last of the meat off, and used the broth to make 15 bean soup. It was good and I had enough to make two bricks for the freezer as well as this dinner.
 

 

 

 

 

Thursday Pagan came and we went to lunch at Fahrenheit 250. Yum. I had the One Meat lunch with cole slaw, as low-carb as I could manage. As I said, Yum. Then we went thrift shopping. I was looking at stereo slides and horrified to see Hawaiian natives referred to as "bucks." Oh, my goodness. Then, in South Sacramento, we were at a Goodwill dump-off station, all the stuff in bins and you buy by weight. I had seen a little penguin to stick in Gareth's stocking and a horse for Joanna's (I'd already given B. a notepad with a candy-cane pen for Joanna, too) and I saw a Thomas train for Padreic's, but then I saw more trains, all magnetic so they fasten together and don't need a rail, and got 13. So I called Bernadette. I thought they'd give him them from themselves, but at least on Facebook she said it was from me.

 

I was packing up the bean soup for the freezer and noticed the answering machine looked odd. I tried pushing buttons without luck, and thought at first it was broken, but then I picked the phone headset up and discovered the landline was down. I checked all three phones, making sure they were cradled. Nope.

 

Willie said he was homeless starting in mid-January. I dithered about it for awhile, then told him that while I really like living alone, if he needed to, he could stay here as plan B. He says he has a plan A but it's nice to have a backup plan in case. OK then. (I feel like I owe him for his willingness to house-sit while I was in Africa.)

 

I was watching Roots and Ed Asner talked about people making adjustments to maintain an evil... like, say, "body autonomy" to excuse the evil of abortion. I'm sure my great-grandchildren will look back on the likes of Planned Parenthood the way we look at slavery.

 

Friday I got in touch with AT&T and got a repair scheduled. I saw the "Friday at 8 PM" but glossed over the "29th" the first time. I made a quick dash to Raley's for pies. Then I realized I probably wouldn't have a phone for a week. I turned the cell phone on, and got a call... from a telemarketer!

 

In the afternoon I got the rest of the beds covered with leaves out of the bin. I thought the gardeners wouldn't be here the next two weeks (I was wrong. They came on Saturday. Fortunately, I left a note to stay out of the back yard.) Each wagon load took three scoops from the bin, and I moved 8 wagon loads, so I was tired when I was done.

 

My neighbor LaVonne brought over taffy. I've been terrible this year. I learned two things this week, that I've got to be better prepared for my neighbors and that I like entertaining.

 

I watched "Jailhouse Rock" (for the first time) and saw Knott's Berry Farm! The way it was on our honeymoon, before it stopped being a nice little frontier park and turned into a glitzy huge amusement park.