Out with the Old, in with the New

2021 is over and done. Finally.

It wasn't the worst year I've ever had, but it sure wasn't good, either.

I'm at the same job, doing the same thing day in and day out. I long for better, but am grateful to have what I've got.

My health is good. Not great, but better than just okay. Most days, I can get up and get going. And on the days I can't? I take it easy and am good to myself.

My friends remain safe and healthy for the most part as well.

My mother continues to reside in the nursing home and is likely to spend the rest of her days there. No, I haven't been able to see her yet--COVID protocols and such--and talking to her on the phone is a serious pain: It takes five minutes to get her on the phone--the nurses have to hook up a phone at her bed--and then she hangs up after talking for a minute, tops. (No. Seriously. She's done this multiple times to both me and my brother.)

I hooked up a Blu-ray player to Mom's living room TV, so at least I have some entertainment other than over-the-air broadcast networks. I've been slowly rebuilding my movie collection and look forward to adding more DVDs and Blu-ray discs in 2022.

And I'll have new glasses in 2022, replacing the ones I, um, misplaced a few weeks ago.

Goodbye, 2021. Don't let the New Year's baby hit you in the ass on the way out.

Hello, 2022. A pleasure to meet you.

SNOWMAGEDDON 2022

The National Weather Service is predicting that a snowstorm will be hitting the Chicago metropolitan area on the first day of the New Year, with approximately 4-8 inches coming down across the region and with higher totals possible closer to Lake Michigan.

Since I didn't have any plans for Saturday other than lying on the couch and watching Blu-rays, this is fine with me. However, I do worry about the tree out front of Mom's house. It bent forward badly during Snowmageddon 2021 and never really stood all the way back up. Will Snowmageddon 2022 finally be the last straw?

We'll see.

Holidaze 12/30/21

Angelique and I wish you a Happy New Year--happier than 2021, anyway.

Every Picture Tells a (Yummy) Story 12/29/21

Pierogis from Rich's Deli.

Amended Weather Forecast

Remember on Christmas Eve when I said we weren't likely to get any snow before the end of 2021?

To quote Gene Wilder from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: "Strike that. Reverse it. Thank you."

As I type these words, a moderate snowfall has started outside my workplace--large, heavy snowflakes currently melting as soon as they hit the warmer-than-usual December ground. If enough of them fall for long enough, though, we might get a coating to an inch.

Too late for a White Christmas, true, but welcome enough just the same.

Every Picture Tells a Story 12/28/21

Face mask by Josep Blas. Glasses by Mom.

Every Picture Tells a Story 12/27/21

Silent Night 2021

The holidaze this year have been more than a little ho-hum. They've been downright...well, down.

No Christmas presents exchanged.

No holiday parties attended, other than hanging out with Sailor J and her husband a couple of weeks ago.

No Christmas tree at La Casa de Mama; the cats would destroy it as soon as I walked out the door.

No Mama at la Casa de Mama, either. She's still in the nursing home and seems destined to stay there the rest of her days.

No Holidaze decorations except for the small display at work: Three finds from Village Discount Outlet and one ceramic reindeer from Target, accidentally dropped and later glued back together; how I'm going to get it home in one piece, I do not know.

Very few movies on free TV except the Alastair Sim version of A Christmas Carol on the Movies! network.

No snow. Not even one flake. And, according to all the local forcasters, none expected through the end of the year.

Christmas spirit? Not so much.

This year, I'll be spending a quiet evening at home with the cats. I don't know yet what dinner will be--likely something from Rich's Deli--but no libations or spirits involved. Not supposed to really touch the stuff since the heart attacks six years ago. I still do from time to time anyway, but for the holidays? This year? No.

I hope you all have a Merry--or, at the very least, Peaceful--Christmas. And may we all prosper in the coming year.

Holidaze 12/23/31

Holidaze 12/22/21

Holidaze 12/20/21

Holidaze cupcakes.

Holidaze 12/17/21

Holidaze in Lincoln Square.

Holidaze 12/16/21

Holidaze 12/15/21

Holidaze 12/14/21

Holidaze 12/13/21

Holidaze 12/9/21

If this ceramic deer looks familiar, it's because I posted an image of its sister a few days ago. This was the one I bought first, though--the expression on his face reminds me a lot of Bumpy.

Unfortunately, things have been VERY bumpy for this little deer: On the first day I had him at work, I accidentally knocked him off the desk and he hit the floor--hard. His hind left leg snapped off below the knee; his left antler broke away; and the top of his left ear was sheared off.

After I'd bought his sister as his replacement, though, I looked at Bumpy's broken pieces and decided to try to fix him. On the way home that night, I stopped off at Target and picked up some Krazy Glue.

Now? He looks pretty good. He's still missing a chip or two, but he's able to stand on his own four feet and keep an eye on the desktop while I'm gone.

Holidaze 12/8/21

Holidaze 12/7/21

Holidaze 12/6/21

Holidaze 12/3/21

Holidaze 12/2/21

Back in the "Blu"

Last night, I did something I hadn't done since my heart attacks: I watched a movie on a Blu-ray player.

Mom's house is not the most tech-friendly environment to be in. The phone works...sort of. The lights work...mostly. The water from the faucets? The less said, the better. And the TV? Usually it's OK, but sometimes the screen goes white with horizontal lines for a few minutes. Or hours. Or days.

And no, we don't have cable. We have a converter box. It picks up most broadcast stations, including Retro TV (yay, Horror Hotel!) and Comet (yay, X-Files!). So whatever movies I've been able to watch in the six years(!) that I've lived there have been "over the air."

That changed last night.

You see, just a few weeks ago, I found a Blu-ray player in the alley behind Mom's house. Seemed intact with remote in tow. Only problem? No cables to hook it up to the living room TV. That turned out not to be a problem, though: All I had to do was unhook the cables from the converter box and hook them up to the Blu-ray player. Took less that 5 minutes to set up.

And what did I watch on my first night with the "new" Blu-ray player? James Whale's The Old Dark House, which I'd bought on DVD just a few days ago. Beautifully shot with a great cast: Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart and Boris Karloff as the butler. (The role must have been a real comedown for Karloff, having just played the Monster in Universal's adaptation of Frankenstein). It's a relatively short film--not even an hour and a quarter long--but damn, does it pack a lot into those 72 minutes, just like most of the Universal horror films of the '30s and '40s did.

Speaking of...I've replaced my complete Universal Monsters Blu-ray set with a new one. I'll be diving into that next.

Holidaze 12/1/21

Holiday Bear has a present for you.