My glittering, twinkling home is all adorned with the makings of a very merry Christmas, at last. What a relief to have this over and done with. I reckon everybody else feels the same way about the Georgia game last night. It went into 8 overtimes!!! I don’t have anybody close to me anymore that’s really into football, so I was spared staying up past midnight. The Smoky Bears are also headed to State, so Sevierville alumni are over the moon. I was thinking I haven’t even bothered keeping up with Eagle football since I graduated. I think I went to part of one homecoming game just to see some old friends cheer. But I just don’t have the school spirit I see ingrained in other people my age. I don’t think I’d give two hoots if Seymour went to State. But good for the people who are excited about the Bears. And, fun fact: this is the 100th year of the Bears. Team 75 also went to State and won, so it’s pretty cool the numbers are falling like that. I’ll be surprised if they don’t take the title, with all the fandom surrounding it. Anyway, the tree. Good grief. After I got all the decorations on I realized I really should have made more effort with the lights, but that would have entailed going to the store and buying some…

Black Friday. Nah. Glitter Friday, yes. Leftovers Friday, also yes. Don’t get out of pajamas all day? You betcha. It was the changing of the decorations from fall to Christmas. I love my fall stuff best, probably because it isn’t so involved…and it’s understated. Christmas is an undertaking. And I feel like I end up cleaning house from top to bottom twice before it’s done. But it’s still better than getting in all that mess out there in the world. I got a slow start. But it doesn’t matter, it’s not like I’m answering to anybody. I had all the time in the world….or three days, anyway. I made the executive decision to only put up the one big tree this year at home. After all, I put up the one at work and Aunt Bren’s, too. And if I can talk JA into not being a Scrooge, I’ll be head of the decor committee there, as well. I’d miss my mermaids, but not enough to drag it all upstairs and put it up. (Although the Mardi Gras tree is tempting….). Only about half my lights worked. This is so infuriating. Isn’t it bad enough I have to settle for a fake tree? My lights should just WORK. I don’t have a light tester, nor do I have the patience to fiddle with checking each individual bulb if I did. But I dutifully placed each…

Ah. The night before Thanksgiving. If I were hosting, I’d be mixing my dressing, boiling eggs, and maybe grating cabbage. I MIGHT be making a chocolate crème pie. I’d be worried my house isn’t clean enough. If I hadn’t got my belly full of being used as a one way helpline, I would have been sitting in an Atlanta mansion in front of a fire drinking Meiomi. But I’m curled on the couch, Chester beside me, drinking apple cider. I’ve been chatting with Kay as she preps at her house, fortified with Prosecco. It’s not a bad night. I’m fairly content, as far as that goes. I have plans to go eat at my cousin’s tomorrow. Her husband is a chef. I have zero problem with that 🤣 Just caught this on Facebook and it couldn’t be more true: There are days when all you want is to disappear, when the weight of everything feels too heavy to carry. But then, out of nowhere, you catch yourself laughing at a friend’s story, savoring the comfort of your favorite meal, or simply breathing in the calm of the evening air as you walk home. It’s in these fleeting, almost unnoticed moments that life gently nudges you, reminding you that even in the darkest times, there are still tiny glimmers of light that make holding on worth it. Life may never be as easy as we hope, and its challenges…

I finished Spare! I finished Spare!!! It’s a sad little life I lead when that’s my biggest news. I didn’t sleep for squat last night and I was up past one trying to write the review on Goodreads. I typically include any passages that speak to me, or any favorite lines in my reviews. Imagine my surprise that my character count was almost DOUBLE what I was allowed. So I spent half the night and most of today whittling it down. That was hard!!! I left all the sad rhinoceros stories. Those are important. Emily read it just after I posted it and gave me her stamp of approval. She said she was so glad I read it so she wouldn’t have to; she feels that I hit all the pertinent points. It looks like I should share it here because I really can’t think of anything else to write about…. I’m gonna read The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post next. It looks intriguing. The cereal heiress. I don’t know that I’ve ever had Grape Nuts. I need to try them. I like crunchy stuff, and I like grapes…. Tuesdays are typically the best for getting around town. Traffic is minimal, tourists have either gone from the weekend, came in on Monday to spend the week, or haven’t arrived yet. Today it was atrocious. I don’t know WHAT…

The word prompt for today is “who are your most favorite people?” Well. I won’t be delving into that. One is dead, one I divorced, one I have written off, and one will never be mine, so what good are favorites? So. What are y’all doing? I’m suffering through the last few pages of Spare. It’s horrendous. Harry is pretty cute, but that’s about the extent of his charms as far as I’m concerned. I’ve had this book borrowed three times now, due to my inability to slog through it. That alone should tell you how galling it is. I’ve got The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post lined up next; surely it will be better. I was talking to a friend today about the hair appointment I have coming up. Just not soon enough, since I have a party to attend prior to. My gray is getting harder and harder to cover up for any length of time. Just like my fine lines and wrinkles. And what do I care? I earned them. I don’t want to look 21. But I’d rather not look like a 70 year old, either. Sigh. I stumbled across this on Facebook yesterday. It spoke to me. Don’t fall in love with a woman who reads, a woman who feels too much, a woman who writes… Don’t fall in love with an educated, magical, delusional, crazy woman. Don’t fall in love with…

I’m having a good morning. I feel like myself. I’d go so far as to say I feel light. And lemme tell you, I’m glad of it. All I cleaned last night was the toilet, so I’m sitting here looking at two weeks’ worth of dust on my coffee table. But I have coffee to drink, and I might finish this book before I start in on the cleaning. I also want to fix biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast so I’m just easing into my weekend. Chester woke me up HOWLING last night. Idk if he was dreaming, bc when he woke me up it was little howls, and then he transitioned to full throttle. I remember LAUGHING. That’s an odd thing to do, just waking up. He’s so crazy. And yes, he was right there by my head curled between me and a pillow. I thought most dogs had the manners to curl at their owner’s feet in bed. Mine is a BRAT. I am off to a good start with my word games, too, which always gives me a sense of well being. I got Wordle in three guesses, it was fairly easy, and I only made one mistake on Connections. I didn’t get Connections at all yesterday. Not one stinkin’ category. That takes a hit on the ol’ ego, I’m just sayin&#8217…

I had an agenda for today. I wanted to go to TJ Maxx and look for a new blouse or sweater to wear to some holiday parties (I have four to attend this year, maybe five, and haven’t had anything new in a long time. I’m due for something red and sparkly). I also wanted to see if I couldn’t find Lindsey something for her birthday that’s coming up Sunday. She always compliments me on my tops, so I felt certain I could find something she would like. All I would have to do is find something I liked, and buy it in her wispy size. Additionally, I wanted to maybe run in Ulta for some makeup, and wheel into Publix for a sandwich. I’m aware that’s a lot to accomplish in an hour on a Friday in Sevier County, but sometimes miracles happen. I thought if I left at 11 my chances would be much improved. I didn’t eat but one scrambled egg on a piece of toast for breakfast, so I figured if I did my shopping first, then brought the sandwich here to eat after, I had laid out the perfect day. I am ever the optimist. Well, that’s not what happened. A producer I went to college with showed up and all bets were off, as he stayed from 9:30 till after one. It’s my fault, too; I was contributing…

I like watching people. I especially like people watching at airports and bars, and the absolute pinnacle is airport bars. Blackhorse is no exception. I think they probably get a little bit of airport clientele, being as close to the airport as they are. That’s where I took JA that time after I picked him up, so it stands to reason others go, too. In any restaurant, I prefer to face the door. I don’t want any armed gunman sneaking up on me. Plus, I want to be the first to see anything exciting, period, be it a red-hatted blue hair in her pearls and finery, or a shady character with a backpack. This is part of the reason I prefer that corner stool at Blackhorse. I can put my back to the wall, turning sideways, and watch the entire bar, restaurant, and front door. Only the patio view is unattainable, but I’m okay with that. If you sit on the long part, in front of the taps, you’re constantly being stepped around and people reaching through your space with an ever changing flow of people dining outside needing refills before the waitress can get back to them, or people waiting for a table who want a drink while they wait. Plus they do a swift carry out business, which is picked up from the bar. I’ve never understood that, you’d think it would be more convenient to…