Take My Advice

Good advice is useless unless it's taken, and I deplore waste.  After writing and rereading yesterday's bit, I answered my own question and decided I could make do with what I had for another day or two and delay the dreaded trip to town.  Remember the Procrastinator's Creed:  Never do today that which can be put off until tomorrow.  In response to Kit's comment:  Yes, waiting until the last minute makes a challenge out of a chore.

Most of Michael's walks are utilitarian, but he has added an outing strictly for pleasure.  At a certain time in the afternoon on a good day, he gives me the signal.  I grab his leash while he waits.  We go out the front door, but walk no farther than the end of the deck.  We have our assigned places to sit in the warmth of the sun, listen to the birds, watch clouds drift overhead.  When, and only when, he's satisfied, we come back into the house through the bedroom door.  Celeste, Michael's BFF, is always waiting just inside to welcome him back.  It's a nice routine.

Would that the end of the calendar year meant the real end of all that 2020 wreaked, but I fear there will be leftovers or hangovers for some time.  Take my advice and look for the good.  It might be minuscule, but there's some in every day.

Happy New Year!

Stay safe.  Be well.

Ask Yourself

In order to become a master procrastinator (that's fun to say), there are important questions to ask yourself, and I, procrastinator extraordinaire, am willing to share.  Obviously, I have thought about this for some time, some long time, before deciding to do this piece.  The following are in no particular order and not all will apply to every situation.  When you get around to it, feel free to pick and choose at will.

Can it wait?  (Top of the list, and is mandatory.)

Do I need it right now?

Will anyone or thing be hurt, deprived, or starve if I do it later?

Do I have to have/do it at all?

Is there a substitute that will save me?

Is the weather propitious?  Too hot, cold, wet, dry?

Is company coming?  (Applies to dusting only.)

Will it disturb sleeping cats?

Will one more day really matter?  (Can be asked several days in a row.)

This is the beginner's list.  Add to it as more and better questions occur.  I wouldn't want to overwhelm you all at once.

Obviously, I didn't go to town yesterday.  I'm out of excuses.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Not Cricket

Chirp, chirp, chirp...it goes on and on and, for the time being, there's nothing I can do about it.  I don't need to go on a cricket hunt because it's not a cricket.  The downstairs smoke detector is telling me it would like a new battery.  The detector is in the shop section, the room with an unfinished 10-foot ceiling.  If I had trouble with a two-step step stool in the kitchen, you can bet your bottom dollar I'm not going up on a ladder (the Kids' threats not withstanding).  Under the circumstances, it's not all bad.  Downstairs, behind closed doors, that repetitive chirp is low key, there, but not driving me to distraction.  No one goes down there anymore, so the chances of a fire are nil.  Living out here, I keep a supply of batteries of all shapes and sizes on hand.  And, best of all, Cameron is coming soon.  I know what will be numero uno on Helper Dude's list.

Yesterday was chill, but nothing Stove couldn't deal with.  However, the sky at sundown was a possible portent of what may come today.  Of course it will.  I have to go to town today.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Speechless

Other than walking with Michael, yesterday was pretty much a sit-stay day, leaving me with not much to say.  After a less than spectacular start, the Steelers won their game with the Colts, not by much, but enough.  That took a chunk of time.  Before, after, and well into the night, I was glued to the TV playing catch-up with a series, "Yellowstone," recommended by my daughter.  As it happens, the channel was playing all episodes from three seasons.  Having rather eclectic tastes, I have no problem going from "The Bishop's Wife" to a modern-day cowboy "Sopranos" on horseback, full of double-dealing, gun play, and family intrigue.  The cats were happy as they were seldom displaced from my lap.  Michael got his outings and I got some exercise and fresh air.  That was about it for the day.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Good Taste

 

Look into this face and tell me Michael is not a sentient being.  Intelligence just shines out of those eyes.  This is not a dog to whom one would talk baby talk.  Can you imagine his disdain if I were to ask him, "Does Babykins want nummies?"  I would slink away in shame at his response.

Michael is a dog of discriminating taste.  Carrots, no.  Yams, yes.  Green beans, no.  Spinach, yes.  Color has nothing to do with his likes and dislikes, and he does like veggies.  He is definite, but not effusive.  There is no bouncing up and down, no begging for food.  Even when eating from his bowl of kibble, there is great restraint.  If he had a napkin, he would carefully place it before beginning.  As it is, he lies down by his bowl and politely eats one piece at a time.

If Michael is lacking anything, it is a sense of humor.  He does not play.  There is a basket of toys that goes untouched.  We do not chase or tease.  I can only imagine the look I'd get if I were so inclined.  There is no other dog like Michael.

This last weather front has been a relatively warm one, but, of course, it is winter.  I was speaking with Tinka yesterday and I mentioned that I had not yet lit a fire so far, not wanting to deplete the woodpile and waste the Kids' work.  Tinka said, "Light a fire!  They did all that work because they wanted you to be warm.  They'll get you more wood."  Never let it be said that I won't take good advice.  I put Stove to work last night.  Ahhh.

Stay safe.  Be warm.

PS:  Did you notice that I got the picture and text to line up?!

That Was Different

"Normal" is a relative term, subject to interpretation and circumstance.  If yesterday was an example of the new normal, put me down as not very happy (or merry).  It wasn't a bad day...just blah.  I heard, via phone and texts, from family and friends, but it was far different this year.  No hugs, no laughing, no Dave with a bagful of silly games and toys for the now-grownup Kids.  (He loves/ed to play Santa!)  A bowl of Thai rice and veggies instead of the gallons of chili verde that was always Craig's favorite Christmas Day meal.  Whether through disappointment or frustration, I did something I rarely-to-never do...I grazed.  I didn't count how many times I drifted into the kitchen, opening cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer, looking for something, anything, to fill that empty spot.  The rain that came early in the day suited my mood perfectly, as did the endless machinations in reruns of "The Good Wife."

Any Christmas spirit I had was a gift from my daughter.  Her holiday tree and decorations put Macy's window displays to shame, and she shared via photos.

Enough of the boo-hoo-hoos.  There is much in my life for which to be thankful.  All my family and friends are well, as am I.  There is a January 20 on the calendar.  As I have said so many times in the past, the one thing you can count on is change.  I'm ready for that.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Country Style

As you can see, I'm still having trouble tweaking photos and photo placement, but I'm working on it.

Needs must, and I had to go to the store yesterday.  Michael was disappointed because Holiday is the one store to which he cannot go, but he accepts "I'll be back" quite well, sighs, and lies down.  The little cabin across the road had put up Christmas lights and I was enjoying them when I caught sight of my own decoration hanging on the barbed wire fence.  Not quite believing what I was seeing, I stopped and backed up to get a better look.  Yup, it was a skull.  Whether from a long-dead goat or deer, I do not know...could be either one, they are so similar.  Now the question was, how did it come to hang on my fence?  I'm guessing it was a coyote trying to jump over with a trophy, but who knows.  I'll settle for holiday decorations, country style.

Loving shopping as I do, as long as I was there, I went on a major spree, scooping up one-dish frozen meals and salads.  For a single person, they're just as economical as meals prepared at home and I'm not stuck with a week's worth of leftovers, a la the whatever it was the last time I made a big pot of something or other.

My nod to the holiday was watching the original "The Bishop's Wife" (1947, Cary Grant, David Niven, Loretta Young), such a great feel-good Christmas movie.

The new year is almost upon us.  Let's hope it's a better one.

Stay safe.  Be well.  Ho ho ho!