Wednesday, December 21, 2016

716.

To those who celebrate any holiday this time of year, I wish you the best, happiest, merriest, most enlightening celebration ever.

Baby Bliss and I don't have a script for our holiday celebration.

I put up our tiny tree and decorated it while she was out one day. She expressed her disappointment in a text: I should have waited for her.

My bad. I did allow her to add the additional decorations (bells) that I recently bought after I decided the metallic blue ball ornaments from last year were just a tad too big for our tiny tree. The tiny bells I found were the perfect size but required work before they could go on the tree.

I thought the package I bought was individual bells to be hung each on a branch. Nope. The bells were all on a single strand of silver cord.

Grrrr!

Initially I thought I would have to crochet strings to add to each bell, to get each one on the tree. Then I realized I could cut the silver string in a way that would allow me to use every other bell without having to crochet extra strings.

It's possible that I will still crochet extra strings for the bells that need them. It's a five-step process: crochet the string, remove the bell cap, tie the string securely, glue the cap back on, hang the bell.

There might be 10 more bells needing to be hung on the tree. Ahhh, well... We'll see if it happens during this holiday season.

On to other topics!

Other than the one warm day we had recently (69 degrees) it's been cold here. I am beyond thankful to have a warm and safe place to call home. For those who do not have these things, I offer my prayers and whatever activities I can perform to help resolve those misfortunes.

Monday evening I was exhausted from being awake from Sunday morning until 5 a.m. Monday morning. A nap became inevitable. I shut down the laptop, arranged a few pillows for my comfort, and wrapped myself in my blanket on the sofa. Then I closed my eyes and drifted away.

A few times I surfaced from my sea of snores. I'm not sure if I was fully conscious but I recall seeing the curtains, hearing the t.v., then zoning out again.

Around 9:30 p.m., the phone rang. It was Mr. Skittish. He could tell from my voice that he'd awakened me. He also sounded like he'd been asleep. (He had been.)

We talked for 15 or 20 minutes then said good night.

Generally we talk at least twice a day, sometimes more. We text throughout the day too. We've shared a lot of our life histories with each other, unexpectedly developing a good friendship along the way.

It's probably why we enjoyed our time together when he visited December 10 and 11.

I got him from the train station late that Saturday morning. We came to my place so I could finish packing my overnight bag. Then it was time for lunch. We ate at a local McAllister's Deli. When we finished it was check-in time at the hotel.

The same guy who checked Mr. Skittish in last time he visited was at the desk. He remembered us. In the room, I took a shower, put on my lounging attire, and hopped into one of the queen sized beds. He took the other bed.

We started out watching telly and both ended up snoring. A few hours later, I woke up hungry and knowing my glucose level was seriously low. Lucky for me I'd brought some leftovers from home.

Mr. S declined my offer to share my food with him so I dined alone. But he was hungry too. We dressed and made a food run. Back at the hotel, we talked, laughed, and watched telly while he ate.

We stayed up late and woke early Sunday morning. Early-ish, around 8 a.m.

It was a lazy morning, no rush to get up. I got up around 10, showered, got dressed, packed my things, and tossed our trash from the night before. He took his time getting up to shower. I helped him pack, making sure he had everything, hurrying him along as he sat around lollygagging after he was dressed.

Not that I was anxious to go but I didn't want us to stay past checkout. Also his train was scheduled to leave shortly after noon and it was a 30-minute drive to the station.

We grabbed a fast food breakfast and ate it on the way to the train station.

It was after noon when we arrived but we knew the train was running late because we'd checked the schedule online about halfway there. We sat in the station talking and laughing while we waited.

The attendant made the announcement for the impending arrival and told folks to head for the gate. We hugged and kissed goodbye. He walked out to the gate and I waited on the other side until he got on the train. We waved bye several times, laughing as he walked toward the train.

He boarded and I headed off to do a bit of shopping. Window shopping really because there was nothing I wanted to buy. My gas tank was a few notches short of half a tank so I filled it after I left the store then headed home.

Mr. S texted me when he arrived home and called me later that evening. He was happy, saying how he'd had a really good time and he was glad he had come to visit.

The next day was his birthday. I texted him a birthday greeting shortly after midnight.

We talked and texted on his birthday, mostly about how much we'd enjoyed the weekend.

Over the past week or so, we've been talking about taking a trip up north when the weather warms up.  There's a place he's been wanting to go for a while and he asked me to go with him. I think it's nice that he invited me. Whether or not we actually go dwells somewhere in the future.

If we do go, I'll drive. My car is good on gas and he works two jobs every day. He deserves to sit back and enjoy the ride. I'll probably decide where we sleep as well. Our destination is very near my home town and I know the areas to avoid to ensure our safety.

Maybe we'll visit my parents on the way up or back.

We'll see.

He also wants to go to Vegas, which should be fun. I haven't vacationed in Vegas since the early 90s.

Mr. Skittish is a decent man. Somewhat gullible too. He can be thankful that I'm not one to take advantage of those sorts.

It's nice to know good people.

Amen.

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