New Year's Day 2023
01/01/23 07:06
Did everyone have a nice Christmas? For those of you not celebrating the birth of baby Jesus, how was your holiday? We didn't have a white Christmas hereabouts, so the kids who got sleds and skates for Christmas will have to wait just a while longer. As far as I can tell, everyone in our household is happy with the presents Santa brought. I got the soap I wanted, the missus has a new device from Apple, and the Ev man really really liked his EVE gear. The missus was a little worried that the EVE gear might be sub-par in the quality department, so you can imagine how happy she was when that turned out not to be an issue. I think my only complaint about all the activity on Christmas Day was that the vegetable lasagna we ordered from Common Roots was a little too runny. I don't know if it was overcooked or what, but I was not expecting soupy.
Maybe mushy is a more appropriate adjective for the lasagna meal. I don't even know that it's something that I would complain about were I in a position to give Common Roots feedback on the dish. We ate it, so that has to count for something. We even sent the Ev man home with a container of it to have in a pinch. I made a nice basket of garlic bread to have with the lasagna, and I sent the remaining half loaf of French bread home with the Ev man to have at his leisure. He's not a big bread guy, but I have to imagine that he'd have a bit of the bread with the lasagna if it's within reach when he sits down to eat. I even took a bike ride yesterday afternoon with temperatures in the mid-twenties. It was about as brisk as it gets this time of year, but I wasn't about to pass on a nice opportunity to work off some of that lasagna dish.
I should probably stop whining and start counting our blessings. We have a home, and a lot of people around the world are without homes for various and sundry reasons. Mostly, not through any fault of their own, I would hasten to add. We have food to eat and that, too, seems like a bit of a luxury when people around the world are going hungry also through no fault of their own. I'm thinking of war-torn areas of the world here, and not the hordes of illegal aliens that are invading our country. They have all the food, the footwear, and the fanciful electronic devices they need, thanks to the NGO's, the democrat party, and other miscellaneous and sundry agencies who advocate for their coming to America.
How about the people dying by the hundreds of vaccine-related deaths in our United States? We only hear about the high-profile types who keel over mid-activity because it would be difficult for the Mainstreet media not to mention them. Nobody keeled over in our household yesterday, so we're happy about that to be sure. The cause of death is always undetermined, but anybody with half a brain knows that the deaths are related to the vaccines that have been forced upon us by our government and our institutions. While we're on this subject, what the hell is going on in China? One minute they report that they are doing away with lockdowns and they are resuming life as normal. Well, whatever passes for normal in China, that is. And now, just barely 24 hours later, they are reporting 5,000 deaths a day from Covid, and they have reversed their position on lockdowns.
The video coming out of China where they are burying and burning their Covid victims is truly horrific. How can this sort of thing be contained? When this Covid thing started back a couple of years ago, all we heard about was some dreadful disease coming out of the wet markets in China. The reports were all over the place. Some reports talked about people eating bat soup that had been infected by the bats. It all seemed so far away. And then, Trump put a stop to airline traffic to and from China, ostensibly nipping this thing in the bud. The democrats screamed racist, racist, racist because that is what they do. That is who they are. It wasn't long before Europe was ravaged by Covid, and we here in the United States started to horde toilet paper ahead of the Covid wave that came ashore from points east. So, how should we view this latest breakout in China? Who can we count on to stop the flights now?
All of this portends bad things for the new year. Some of it is simply a continuation of what we've seen this past year. North Korea is sending drones and ballistic missiles here, there, and everywhere. China is sending even more fighter jets and carriers into and over the Straits of Taiwan, and Russia is strengthening its ties with the Mullahs of Iran. It seems improbable, but I also hear reports about Ukraine attacking airfields and installations inside Russia. Both you and I know that this wouldn't be happening without the financial assistance of the west. The world is on the brink of something, but I'm not quite sure what that is as I sit here this morning. Did I mention that America has a demented president sitting in our White House? That is not helping. We've got a military that now insists that our soldiers not refer to their superiors as "sir" or "ma'am" so as not to misgender them or some such bullshit. No wonder the world has gone or is going, batshit crazy.
Mrs. G had the family over for a nice holiday get-together yesterday. It's always good to see the extended G family, no matter the occasion. I don't think I've seen Mrs. G any happier than she appeared to be yesterday, surrounded by family and friends. I wonder if her children in attendance knew just how much it meant for their mother that everyone was together once again. I can see where that sentiment might be lost on children who view the occasion as just another parental visitation. As a casual observer, I'm here to tell you that the Mrs. G that I saw yesterday was more relaxed, less reserved, infinitely more joyful, and dutifully attendant and happily so to every one of her children's whims. She laughed aloud as they talked about their lives, warts and all. Her days of playing the hostess by walking from guest to guest, offering cookies and glasses of champagne are behind her, so those of us who could did so happily. Opening presents was almost an afterthought, but we got around to that, too, as the afternoon wore on. Santa was good to Mrs. G this year, and celebrating the holiday with her children made the occasion that much more joyful.
The Democrats are about to make Trump's tax returns available to the public. I have to wonder, who gives a shit? I mean, really, who gives a good goddamn? Most people wouldn't begin to know how to interpret their own tax returns, much less Trump's tax returns which are probably voluminous and more complicated than most people understand. Are they hoping against hope that one or more of his returns will show a loss so they can cast him as something other than the billionaire that he is? Do they realize that carrying forward certain losses and offsetting gains for any given year is allowable under our tax code? The lousy Democrats fought Trump tooth and nail right up to the Supreme Court to get access to Trump's returns so they could spew their lies and whip up negative sentiment against a man they have been trying to tear down since he came down the escalator back in 2015. They will be revealed for the fools that they are soon enough, or maybe not soon enough. Time will tell.
I'm amused at this George Santos boondoggle. I know nothing about him, but as I understand it, he was duly elected to Congress for the upcoming session by the constituents in his district. Where that district is, I haven't a clue. I don't even know what state we're talking about. Anyway, he apparently lied about many things during his campaign ranging from where he was employed to which schools he attended. Now, the Democrats want him to resign in the wake of these revelations. I can't imagine their calls for his resignation have anything to do with his lying to his constituents.
After all, the Democrats have a Commander-in-Chief (Biden) who lies whenever he gets in front of a teleprompter. He was actually forced out of a presidential campaign back in the day for lifting speeches word for word from an Irish politician across the pond. No, what the democrats actually want is to force Santos to resign so they can chip away at the 5-person majority that the republicans hold in Congress. God help the republicans, and the American people, if they allow the democrats to pull this off. Republicans must bite their collective tongues and welcome Congressman Santos to the new Congress.
We're winding down here now, and year-end is just a few days away. Any and all hopes for a Santa rally seem to be lost. It looks like we're going to end the year with the S&P down 20% and the NASDAQ down some 30%. I'm not sure anyone predicted this back in January of this year. Year-end returns for the S&P in 2021 were 28%, give or take, and some prognosticators predicted 5,000 for the S&P for year-end 2022. We should have known that we were in for a bloodbath of a year in 2022 when members of the Federal Reserve sold their stocks and other holdings at the market's peak in 2021. The era of zero interest rates was coming to an end and the only question left to be answered was whether we would have a hard landing or a soft landing. In other words, how painful would this be for market participants? Funny thing is, we've not seen the customary elevator-down when it comes to the indices. We may yet, but we haven't yet. If the indices finally catch up to the average stock, which is what usually happens, God help us all.
I heard someone on the telly the other day refer to Bumbles Biden as an asset of the Chinese Communist Party. Who can argue with that knowing what we all know about the Biden's and their affiliations with various parties within China? The point they were making was that Bumbles wouldn't do a thing were the Chinese to invade Taiwan. The Chinese know this, and the American people know this. Oh, Bumbles and his minions are making a lot of the fact that we're working with Taiwan to strengthen their defenses against their Chinese aggressors, but when push comes to shove, America is in no position to defend Taiwan and China knows it. It's a kabuki dance, and both parties on the dance floor are yucking it up as they go round and round the dance floor. Bumbles is getting his ten percent off the top, or maybe more, and President Xi is licking his chops at taking back the island of Taiwan. Quite frankly, I'm not sure what Xi is waiting for. Bumbles is in Xi's back pocket and has been since his inauguration in 2021. Taiwan is and has been his for the taking.
Fast forward 24 hours or so and here we are. We’re in Lake George staying at the Marriott. The Clarion closed down for a bit for whatever reason and this is where we ended up. Does the missus like it? Well, not really. Our room is on the 5th floor which is always a non-starter for the missus. She’s complaining about the toilet not being high enough and she doesn’t think that our room is really a two-bedroom. My only complaint thus far is the missus isn’t happy. You know what they say: Happy wife, happy life.
It’s my own fault that I didn’t get a good night’s sleep. I didn’t give any thought to which side of the bed might be a better side to sleep on and that was a mistake. I own it. I know full well how important it is to be consistent when it comes to sleeping on the same side of the bed every night. I mean, people don’t change that up from night to night, do they? They don’t. What is that irritating noise coming out of our bathroom? It sounds like a dispenser gone rogue. I’m here alone and the missus and the Ev man are off getting the Ev man a haircut. I’m trying to concentrate and that dispenser isn’t helping.
I had hoped to catch up with my brother from another mother this morning but I didn’t plan anything since I didn’t know what frame of mind I’d be in when I woke up. I didn’t want to feel obligated to get out of this here hotel room at the crack of dawn if I wasn’t up to it. I was up sometime during the night looking at my iPad so I knew I’d be tacking extra time at the end of my sleep cycle to make up for the time I was up looking at my Pad. I’m not alone in making this calculation, am I? I mean, if you’re not getting your usual eight hours or whatever, you need to compensate for that somehow. Right? It was just as well that I didn’t commit. That’s the bottom line.
I also didn’t have access to coffee right away so that made me a little edgier than usual. I called the front desk a little after eight and asked if they might have a comparable room on a lower floor that we might have for our final night here. That didn’t work out either so we’re just going to have to bite the bullet. I do think that the missus would be more open to getting out of the hotel more often if she didn’t have to walk up five flights of stairs every time she wanted to return to our room. Starting to get the picture? The menu in the elevator looked interesting. The prices seemed reasonable, and they have a Caesar salad for $12. That’s right up the Ev man’s alley. Do you suppose we could get it to go? How would that work?
I’m listening to Led Zeppelin singing their song, Ramble On. That’s kinda what I’m doing here in this blog. I’m making hay while the sun shines, as they say. Will everything go sideways when the missus and the Ev man return? Probably. I’ll lose what little focus I have, and I’ll feel more conspicuous than I want to feel as I punch out the letters on this here keyboard. I’m no typist, so make of that what you will. The music is helping, the coffee is helping, and if the good Lord’s willing and the sun don’t shine, I’ll get down what I want to get down before they return. I think in terms of paragraphs, if that helps. Three paragraphs is an average day, and anything more is just gravy. Think jimmies on a sundae if that helps.
Did I mention why we’re here in town? My brother from another mother has a party at his home between Christmas and New Year every year, and we do our best to make it. It’s always weather dependent, and this year was no different. We ran into a flurry here and there in Vermont, but they didn’t amount to much of anything. You should have seen the missus at the first sight of snow. She can be such a rube when she thinks we’ll have to drive in the snow. Is rube the right word? Probably not. I’m talking white knuckles here, so let’s stay with that idea. Truth be told, there are some nasty hills to go up and down when driving through Vermont, so maybe the missus was on to something.
The missus and I had a nice walk around town when she and the Ev man returned from getting his haircut. He requested a buzz cut, and he asked that they leave the top a little longer. They did a nice job, and the Ev man couldn’t be happier. When the Ev man is happy, we’re happy. The missus took a particular interest in an ice sculpture arrangement that someone was building down the other side of Fort William Henry. It was hard to know precisely what they were building, but there was also an igloo under construction that looked like it could accommodate a large crowd. There was next to no signage, so you couldn’t really put anything on your calendar. That seemed a little silly to me, but that’s just me.
Fast forward another twenty-four hours or so, and we're back on the seacoast. We never did stay that extra day this time around when we visited the Falls, so maybe next year. Today is Saturday if we're trying to nail down which day of the week it is, which is always difficult when the holidays come around. Add travel to the mix, and it gets even more difficult to sort out which day of the week it is. Anyway, it's good to be back home. The hotel room at the Marriott never quite worked out as well as we'd hoped. It wasn't a two-bedroom as advertised, although the Ev man had his own space, and that was the goal from the jump. I don't know why the missus had her knickers in a bunch about it, but she did. She complained, but it made no difference. There were no discounts, no free weekends, no recompense of any kind forthcoming,
We had a good trip, and it was good to see the fam again. The few flurries that we ran into on the way up to the Falls aside, the ride was largely uneventful. It always helps when the weather cooperates. It was actually in the fifties on our return trip, so that felt a little climate change-ish if you get my drift. Did you see all of those unsold Christmas trees at the store we love to stop in just outside Woodstock, Vermont? What was that all about? The missus tells us that they feed them to the goats or some such nonsense so maybe they won't go to waste. I want to know, or maybe understand, why they had so many trees that went unsold. I suppose it's possible that the liberal moonbats in Vermont took to the wild-eyed notion that cutting down the trees in the first place was some abomination against nature, and they weren't going to abide by any of it holiday or no holiday. The possibilities are endless. Maybe someone just ordered too many trees. Maybe they priced them too high?
Neither Krissy nor Katie showed up at the party in the Falls so that was too bad. Auntie Neesy and Cliffy called in sick but sent their lasagna, so that was fine. David never did show up despite saying that he would earlier in the year. Woodrow reached out to Robbie but couldn't get the Facetime thing working, so we all hollered "Merry Christmas" while Woodrow held up the phone. Everyone else was in good spirits, and we wasted no time catching up over lasagna and berry pie. Missus Woodrow outdid herself, as usual, in seeing to it that nothing was left to chance when it came to providing for her guests. Our usual Indian grab was a little weird in that with fewer people involved in the Indian grab, it took on a different look and feel. I think everyone walked away with what they wanted, but I can't say for sure. If not, they have no one to blame but themselves since the give and take of it all was both cordial and generous. Everyone looked to be in good health, so there were no concerns there aside from one or two people going on and on about sore joints. Oh, and hats off to Auntie Neesy; the lasagna was to die for.
Today is New Year's Eve. Well, New Year's Eve day, I guess. The missus tells me that there is a new restaurant coming to downtown Portsmouth featuring grilled cheese sandwiches. They will have a few different soups, and they will also be selling liquor. That's a new twist. Grilled cheese and booze. The liquor license was probably necessary in order to pull it off. Downtown Portsmouth is just too pricey otherwise. You'd never make it just selling sandwiches and soup. Others have tried and failed. The missus likes grilled cheese sandwiches, so I gather we'll be making an appearance at some point. I wonder if they take to-go orders. On second thought, I like my grilled cheese sandwiches hot and dripping with cheese, so taking it to-go doesn't quite cut the mustard. Could I microwave that puppy once I had it home? Anything is possible. I'm still trying to figure out how the liquor fits into it all since I can't think of one drink that goes with a grilled cheese sandwich. Something like a Bloody Mary might work.
Do I have any New Year's resolutions? I think eating better and getting a little bit more exercise would be good. If I can keep plugging away at learning how to play the guitar, that would be good. I'd also like to read a bit more since I've gotten away from reading books in 2022. I've been immersed in the tit-for-tat world of Twitter for most of 2022, and that has not helped my powers of concentration, if you know what I mean. The missus bought me a pair of binoculars for Christmas, so I might do a bit more bird watching, although that can be terribly sedentary exercise, and sedentary is not good when you're looking to move about more rather than less. I'll want to get a better lay of the land when it comes to investing in markets during periods of time when the Federal Reserve is tightening monetary policy. We're still in an inflationary bear market, and we all know how they end, so caution will be warranted. Is it possible that 2023 will see more destruction in the indices and a net loss in the same for the second year in a row? Without a doubt. Nobody said that any of this was going to be easy.
I don't know why but I'm up and about on New Years' day and feeling full of dread. What is that all about? It is not how I wanted to start the year; I can tell you that. It might have something to do with everything I need to do around the house after being away for a couple of days. Is it a feeling of being overwhelmed? Will I feel better after I get a few things squared away? It's almost distracting in a way. I want to get through this here blog so I can get it out the door in an hour or so and I don't need any distractions. Now, I feel like I'm rambling. Did I mention that they think they have the killer of those four Idaho college students? The guy is a doctoral student in criminology so go figure. How does that make any sense? Whose bingo card was he showing up on back at the FBI's profiling lab? I gather that finding his DNA at the scene helped close the deal. I hear some fool on the force out in Idaho leaked that tidbit to CNN. What the hell were they thinking? How much did CNN pay them?
I meant to tell my brother from another mother the back story on the binoculars I gave him for Christmas but thought better of it at the last minute. I didn't want him to know that he was getting the pair of binoculars that my missus gave me for Christmas. I liked them so much that I thought he might like a pair as well. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to buy him a new pair and have them in hand by the time we left for our trip to New York to see him and his family. I ordered a pair for myself and had them delivered elsewhere since they would likely be delivered whilst we were away.
The pair I gave him wasn't used, per se. I did take them out of the box and I didn't have to destroy the box in the process so it all looked very pristine when I finally put it all back together and threw a little wrapping paper around it. If he thought he was getting a pair of used binoculars when he opened the package, he didn't say as much. As I said, they weren't really used in the truest sense of the word. All right, I looked at one bird sitting on our bird feeder. Some things are better left unsaid.
Maybe mushy is a more appropriate adjective for the lasagna meal. I don't even know that it's something that I would complain about were I in a position to give Common Roots feedback on the dish. We ate it, so that has to count for something. We even sent the Ev man home with a container of it to have in a pinch. I made a nice basket of garlic bread to have with the lasagna, and I sent the remaining half loaf of French bread home with the Ev man to have at his leisure. He's not a big bread guy, but I have to imagine that he'd have a bit of the bread with the lasagna if it's within reach when he sits down to eat. I even took a bike ride yesterday afternoon with temperatures in the mid-twenties. It was about as brisk as it gets this time of year, but I wasn't about to pass on a nice opportunity to work off some of that lasagna dish.
I should probably stop whining and start counting our blessings. We have a home, and a lot of people around the world are without homes for various and sundry reasons. Mostly, not through any fault of their own, I would hasten to add. We have food to eat and that, too, seems like a bit of a luxury when people around the world are going hungry also through no fault of their own. I'm thinking of war-torn areas of the world here, and not the hordes of illegal aliens that are invading our country. They have all the food, the footwear, and the fanciful electronic devices they need, thanks to the NGO's, the democrat party, and other miscellaneous and sundry agencies who advocate for their coming to America.
How about the people dying by the hundreds of vaccine-related deaths in our United States? We only hear about the high-profile types who keel over mid-activity because it would be difficult for the Mainstreet media not to mention them. Nobody keeled over in our household yesterday, so we're happy about that to be sure. The cause of death is always undetermined, but anybody with half a brain knows that the deaths are related to the vaccines that have been forced upon us by our government and our institutions. While we're on this subject, what the hell is going on in China? One minute they report that they are doing away with lockdowns and they are resuming life as normal. Well, whatever passes for normal in China, that is. And now, just barely 24 hours later, they are reporting 5,000 deaths a day from Covid, and they have reversed their position on lockdowns.
The video coming out of China where they are burying and burning their Covid victims is truly horrific. How can this sort of thing be contained? When this Covid thing started back a couple of years ago, all we heard about was some dreadful disease coming out of the wet markets in China. The reports were all over the place. Some reports talked about people eating bat soup that had been infected by the bats. It all seemed so far away. And then, Trump put a stop to airline traffic to and from China, ostensibly nipping this thing in the bud. The democrats screamed racist, racist, racist because that is what they do. That is who they are. It wasn't long before Europe was ravaged by Covid, and we here in the United States started to horde toilet paper ahead of the Covid wave that came ashore from points east. So, how should we view this latest breakout in China? Who can we count on to stop the flights now?
All of this portends bad things for the new year. Some of it is simply a continuation of what we've seen this past year. North Korea is sending drones and ballistic missiles here, there, and everywhere. China is sending even more fighter jets and carriers into and over the Straits of Taiwan, and Russia is strengthening its ties with the Mullahs of Iran. It seems improbable, but I also hear reports about Ukraine attacking airfields and installations inside Russia. Both you and I know that this wouldn't be happening without the financial assistance of the west. The world is on the brink of something, but I'm not quite sure what that is as I sit here this morning. Did I mention that America has a demented president sitting in our White House? That is not helping. We've got a military that now insists that our soldiers not refer to their superiors as "sir" or "ma'am" so as not to misgender them or some such bullshit. No wonder the world has gone or is going, batshit crazy.
Mrs. G had the family over for a nice holiday get-together yesterday. It's always good to see the extended G family, no matter the occasion. I don't think I've seen Mrs. G any happier than she appeared to be yesterday, surrounded by family and friends. I wonder if her children in attendance knew just how much it meant for their mother that everyone was together once again. I can see where that sentiment might be lost on children who view the occasion as just another parental visitation. As a casual observer, I'm here to tell you that the Mrs. G that I saw yesterday was more relaxed, less reserved, infinitely more joyful, and dutifully attendant and happily so to every one of her children's whims. She laughed aloud as they talked about their lives, warts and all. Her days of playing the hostess by walking from guest to guest, offering cookies and glasses of champagne are behind her, so those of us who could did so happily. Opening presents was almost an afterthought, but we got around to that, too, as the afternoon wore on. Santa was good to Mrs. G this year, and celebrating the holiday with her children made the occasion that much more joyful.
The Democrats are about to make Trump's tax returns available to the public. I have to wonder, who gives a shit? I mean, really, who gives a good goddamn? Most people wouldn't begin to know how to interpret their own tax returns, much less Trump's tax returns which are probably voluminous and more complicated than most people understand. Are they hoping against hope that one or more of his returns will show a loss so they can cast him as something other than the billionaire that he is? Do they realize that carrying forward certain losses and offsetting gains for any given year is allowable under our tax code? The lousy Democrats fought Trump tooth and nail right up to the Supreme Court to get access to Trump's returns so they could spew their lies and whip up negative sentiment against a man they have been trying to tear down since he came down the escalator back in 2015. They will be revealed for the fools that they are soon enough, or maybe not soon enough. Time will tell.
I'm amused at this George Santos boondoggle. I know nothing about him, but as I understand it, he was duly elected to Congress for the upcoming session by the constituents in his district. Where that district is, I haven't a clue. I don't even know what state we're talking about. Anyway, he apparently lied about many things during his campaign ranging from where he was employed to which schools he attended. Now, the Democrats want him to resign in the wake of these revelations. I can't imagine their calls for his resignation have anything to do with his lying to his constituents.
After all, the Democrats have a Commander-in-Chief (Biden) who lies whenever he gets in front of a teleprompter. He was actually forced out of a presidential campaign back in the day for lifting speeches word for word from an Irish politician across the pond. No, what the democrats actually want is to force Santos to resign so they can chip away at the 5-person majority that the republicans hold in Congress. God help the republicans, and the American people, if they allow the democrats to pull this off. Republicans must bite their collective tongues and welcome Congressman Santos to the new Congress.
We're winding down here now, and year-end is just a few days away. Any and all hopes for a Santa rally seem to be lost. It looks like we're going to end the year with the S&P down 20% and the NASDAQ down some 30%. I'm not sure anyone predicted this back in January of this year. Year-end returns for the S&P in 2021 were 28%, give or take, and some prognosticators predicted 5,000 for the S&P for year-end 2022. We should have known that we were in for a bloodbath of a year in 2022 when members of the Federal Reserve sold their stocks and other holdings at the market's peak in 2021. The era of zero interest rates was coming to an end and the only question left to be answered was whether we would have a hard landing or a soft landing. In other words, how painful would this be for market participants? Funny thing is, we've not seen the customary elevator-down when it comes to the indices. We may yet, but we haven't yet. If the indices finally catch up to the average stock, which is what usually happens, God help us all.
I heard someone on the telly the other day refer to Bumbles Biden as an asset of the Chinese Communist Party. Who can argue with that knowing what we all know about the Biden's and their affiliations with various parties within China? The point they were making was that Bumbles wouldn't do a thing were the Chinese to invade Taiwan. The Chinese know this, and the American people know this. Oh, Bumbles and his minions are making a lot of the fact that we're working with Taiwan to strengthen their defenses against their Chinese aggressors, but when push comes to shove, America is in no position to defend Taiwan and China knows it. It's a kabuki dance, and both parties on the dance floor are yucking it up as they go round and round the dance floor. Bumbles is getting his ten percent off the top, or maybe more, and President Xi is licking his chops at taking back the island of Taiwan. Quite frankly, I'm not sure what Xi is waiting for. Bumbles is in Xi's back pocket and has been since his inauguration in 2021. Taiwan is and has been his for the taking.
Fast forward 24 hours or so and here we are. We’re in Lake George staying at the Marriott. The Clarion closed down for a bit for whatever reason and this is where we ended up. Does the missus like it? Well, not really. Our room is on the 5th floor which is always a non-starter for the missus. She’s complaining about the toilet not being high enough and she doesn’t think that our room is really a two-bedroom. My only complaint thus far is the missus isn’t happy. You know what they say: Happy wife, happy life.
It’s my own fault that I didn’t get a good night’s sleep. I didn’t give any thought to which side of the bed might be a better side to sleep on and that was a mistake. I own it. I know full well how important it is to be consistent when it comes to sleeping on the same side of the bed every night. I mean, people don’t change that up from night to night, do they? They don’t. What is that irritating noise coming out of our bathroom? It sounds like a dispenser gone rogue. I’m here alone and the missus and the Ev man are off getting the Ev man a haircut. I’m trying to concentrate and that dispenser isn’t helping.
I had hoped to catch up with my brother from another mother this morning but I didn’t plan anything since I didn’t know what frame of mind I’d be in when I woke up. I didn’t want to feel obligated to get out of this here hotel room at the crack of dawn if I wasn’t up to it. I was up sometime during the night looking at my iPad so I knew I’d be tacking extra time at the end of my sleep cycle to make up for the time I was up looking at my Pad. I’m not alone in making this calculation, am I? I mean, if you’re not getting your usual eight hours or whatever, you need to compensate for that somehow. Right? It was just as well that I didn’t commit. That’s the bottom line.
I also didn’t have access to coffee right away so that made me a little edgier than usual. I called the front desk a little after eight and asked if they might have a comparable room on a lower floor that we might have for our final night here. That didn’t work out either so we’re just going to have to bite the bullet. I do think that the missus would be more open to getting out of the hotel more often if she didn’t have to walk up five flights of stairs every time she wanted to return to our room. Starting to get the picture? The menu in the elevator looked interesting. The prices seemed reasonable, and they have a Caesar salad for $12. That’s right up the Ev man’s alley. Do you suppose we could get it to go? How would that work?
I’m listening to Led Zeppelin singing their song, Ramble On. That’s kinda what I’m doing here in this blog. I’m making hay while the sun shines, as they say. Will everything go sideways when the missus and the Ev man return? Probably. I’ll lose what little focus I have, and I’ll feel more conspicuous than I want to feel as I punch out the letters on this here keyboard. I’m no typist, so make of that what you will. The music is helping, the coffee is helping, and if the good Lord’s willing and the sun don’t shine, I’ll get down what I want to get down before they return. I think in terms of paragraphs, if that helps. Three paragraphs is an average day, and anything more is just gravy. Think jimmies on a sundae if that helps.
Did I mention why we’re here in town? My brother from another mother has a party at his home between Christmas and New Year every year, and we do our best to make it. It’s always weather dependent, and this year was no different. We ran into a flurry here and there in Vermont, but they didn’t amount to much of anything. You should have seen the missus at the first sight of snow. She can be such a rube when she thinks we’ll have to drive in the snow. Is rube the right word? Probably not. I’m talking white knuckles here, so let’s stay with that idea. Truth be told, there are some nasty hills to go up and down when driving through Vermont, so maybe the missus was on to something.
The missus and I had a nice walk around town when she and the Ev man returned from getting his haircut. He requested a buzz cut, and he asked that they leave the top a little longer. They did a nice job, and the Ev man couldn’t be happier. When the Ev man is happy, we’re happy. The missus took a particular interest in an ice sculpture arrangement that someone was building down the other side of Fort William Henry. It was hard to know precisely what they were building, but there was also an igloo under construction that looked like it could accommodate a large crowd. There was next to no signage, so you couldn’t really put anything on your calendar. That seemed a little silly to me, but that’s just me.
Fast forward another twenty-four hours or so, and we're back on the seacoast. We never did stay that extra day this time around when we visited the Falls, so maybe next year. Today is Saturday if we're trying to nail down which day of the week it is, which is always difficult when the holidays come around. Add travel to the mix, and it gets even more difficult to sort out which day of the week it is. Anyway, it's good to be back home. The hotel room at the Marriott never quite worked out as well as we'd hoped. It wasn't a two-bedroom as advertised, although the Ev man had his own space, and that was the goal from the jump. I don't know why the missus had her knickers in a bunch about it, but she did. She complained, but it made no difference. There were no discounts, no free weekends, no recompense of any kind forthcoming,
We had a good trip, and it was good to see the fam again. The few flurries that we ran into on the way up to the Falls aside, the ride was largely uneventful. It always helps when the weather cooperates. It was actually in the fifties on our return trip, so that felt a little climate change-ish if you get my drift. Did you see all of those unsold Christmas trees at the store we love to stop in just outside Woodstock, Vermont? What was that all about? The missus tells us that they feed them to the goats or some such nonsense so maybe they won't go to waste. I want to know, or maybe understand, why they had so many trees that went unsold. I suppose it's possible that the liberal moonbats in Vermont took to the wild-eyed notion that cutting down the trees in the first place was some abomination against nature, and they weren't going to abide by any of it holiday or no holiday. The possibilities are endless. Maybe someone just ordered too many trees. Maybe they priced them too high?
Neither Krissy nor Katie showed up at the party in the Falls so that was too bad. Auntie Neesy and Cliffy called in sick but sent their lasagna, so that was fine. David never did show up despite saying that he would earlier in the year. Woodrow reached out to Robbie but couldn't get the Facetime thing working, so we all hollered "Merry Christmas" while Woodrow held up the phone. Everyone else was in good spirits, and we wasted no time catching up over lasagna and berry pie. Missus Woodrow outdid herself, as usual, in seeing to it that nothing was left to chance when it came to providing for her guests. Our usual Indian grab was a little weird in that with fewer people involved in the Indian grab, it took on a different look and feel. I think everyone walked away with what they wanted, but I can't say for sure. If not, they have no one to blame but themselves since the give and take of it all was both cordial and generous. Everyone looked to be in good health, so there were no concerns there aside from one or two people going on and on about sore joints. Oh, and hats off to Auntie Neesy; the lasagna was to die for.
Today is New Year's Eve. Well, New Year's Eve day, I guess. The missus tells me that there is a new restaurant coming to downtown Portsmouth featuring grilled cheese sandwiches. They will have a few different soups, and they will also be selling liquor. That's a new twist. Grilled cheese and booze. The liquor license was probably necessary in order to pull it off. Downtown Portsmouth is just too pricey otherwise. You'd never make it just selling sandwiches and soup. Others have tried and failed. The missus likes grilled cheese sandwiches, so I gather we'll be making an appearance at some point. I wonder if they take to-go orders. On second thought, I like my grilled cheese sandwiches hot and dripping with cheese, so taking it to-go doesn't quite cut the mustard. Could I microwave that puppy once I had it home? Anything is possible. I'm still trying to figure out how the liquor fits into it all since I can't think of one drink that goes with a grilled cheese sandwich. Something like a Bloody Mary might work.
Do I have any New Year's resolutions? I think eating better and getting a little bit more exercise would be good. If I can keep plugging away at learning how to play the guitar, that would be good. I'd also like to read a bit more since I've gotten away from reading books in 2022. I've been immersed in the tit-for-tat world of Twitter for most of 2022, and that has not helped my powers of concentration, if you know what I mean. The missus bought me a pair of binoculars for Christmas, so I might do a bit more bird watching, although that can be terribly sedentary exercise, and sedentary is not good when you're looking to move about more rather than less. I'll want to get a better lay of the land when it comes to investing in markets during periods of time when the Federal Reserve is tightening monetary policy. We're still in an inflationary bear market, and we all know how they end, so caution will be warranted. Is it possible that 2023 will see more destruction in the indices and a net loss in the same for the second year in a row? Without a doubt. Nobody said that any of this was going to be easy.
I don't know why but I'm up and about on New Years' day and feeling full of dread. What is that all about? It is not how I wanted to start the year; I can tell you that. It might have something to do with everything I need to do around the house after being away for a couple of days. Is it a feeling of being overwhelmed? Will I feel better after I get a few things squared away? It's almost distracting in a way. I want to get through this here blog so I can get it out the door in an hour or so and I don't need any distractions. Now, I feel like I'm rambling. Did I mention that they think they have the killer of those four Idaho college students? The guy is a doctoral student in criminology so go figure. How does that make any sense? Whose bingo card was he showing up on back at the FBI's profiling lab? I gather that finding his DNA at the scene helped close the deal. I hear some fool on the force out in Idaho leaked that tidbit to CNN. What the hell were they thinking? How much did CNN pay them?
I meant to tell my brother from another mother the back story on the binoculars I gave him for Christmas but thought better of it at the last minute. I didn't want him to know that he was getting the pair of binoculars that my missus gave me for Christmas. I liked them so much that I thought he might like a pair as well. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to buy him a new pair and have them in hand by the time we left for our trip to New York to see him and his family. I ordered a pair for myself and had them delivered elsewhere since they would likely be delivered whilst we were away.
The pair I gave him wasn't used, per se. I did take them out of the box and I didn't have to destroy the box in the process so it all looked very pristine when I finally put it all back together and threw a little wrapping paper around it. If he thought he was getting a pair of used binoculars when he opened the package, he didn't say as much. As I said, they weren't really used in the truest sense of the word. All right, I looked at one bird sitting on our bird feeder. Some things are better left unsaid.