Tis the Season

Me & Mom with my Christmas cards - Philadelphia - 1978

Doesn't it seem like we just celebrated Christmas a few months ago?  I don't know about you, but when I was a kid I could wait for Christmas to get here.  It seemed like there was about 18 months between Christmases.  Now it seems like six or eight months.

BAM!  Here we are again.  Black Friday was yesterday.  Now today we have something called "Small Business Friday" whatever THAT is supposed to be.  Sounds like another made up shopping day to me.

Back in The Day, I used to get all caught up in the Christmas  shopping frenzy.  Oh yes, I did the shopping for my Mom, father, nieces, nephew (only have ONE nephew thank you), and My Bill.  Also got caught up in shopping for friends and co-workers.  Years ago I stopped that nonsense.  Not that I'm a "Bah Humbug" or anything like that (Heaven forfend), I just stopped it one year to see what happened.  Would I be disowned, disavowed, discombobulated?  None of the aforementioned happened.

Uncle Ronnie bearing Christmas gifts 1971

Now don't get me wrong, God knows I'm not cheap.  I like to shop and waste my money like any other good American but I just lost the taste for all that craziness of shopping for The Perfect Gift (which rarely happened by the way).  

So I stopped and life went on.  However, the one thing I do do which gives me a lot of pleasure and puts me in the "Christmas Mood" is to make a special Christmas Card and send it to a select group of people I've met and known over the years.  Some are relatives, but most are folks from my Past Life that I probably will never see again.  I actually don't see the relatives either.  This is my one way to spread a little of the Christmas Cheer which, to me, is the peace and goodwill that this season truly means.

So if anyone of you reading this blog would like to receive one of my special Christmas cards, please send me your Snail Mail address to my e-mail address.  I will be glad to add you to my Christmas Card Mailing List.  

BTW, I don't expect a Christmas card in return.  This is me wishing you all a very happy holiday season.

Christmas Office Party First Financial Bank - Downingtown, PA 2003

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Me checking my iPhone ( this past spring at the Panera restaurant in Greenville, SC

Christmas is almost here!  Remember when you were young and you couldn't wait for Christmas?  It seemed to take FOREVER to arrive and then once it did, there usually was anticlimactic.  These days my Christmas "celebration" consists mainly of avoiding the outlets and malls and hitting the mute button on TV every time I see a commercial with a fat, white bearded man (which we all know is Santa Claus) that ends with a big "HO! HO! HO!" in the sky.  HA!  So that's who that bearded man was!  Looky here, whoever comes up with these asinine commercials, please...PUHLEASE come up with something new!

I'm not a "BAH HUMBUG!" kind of guy.  At least I don't consider myself that kind of guy.  But other than sending Christmas cards (my tradition) I just get through the Christmas season.

This year I put up minimum lights outside.  Bill likes to put red candles in all the windows. Even though I think that makes our house look like an Amsterdam whorehouse, it makes Bill happy so I go along with it. However, I do notice that NO ONE ELSE has RED LIGHTS in their windows.

Usually I put up so many Christmas lights outside that our house looks like Santa Claus threw up on it.  I have noticed that since I went the minimalist route this year, my neighbors put more lights up.  I wonder if there was a cause and effect. Maybe I'll give my Christmas lights to the thrift store and make a new tradition with single candles in the windows.  Tasteful white candles.

I seem to have more time these days since I'm not caught up in the Christmas Shopping Rush, and I've been cleaning out my e-mails.  I came across this iPhone photo that my dear brother John (love you John!) took of me at the Panera restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina when I was visiting him this past spring.  Apparently my dear brother took this picture of me without my knowledge and sent it to me by e-mail.  I'm so far behind on my e-mail that I just now discovered it this morning.  Good shot John! You captured me at my intense natural state.  I didn't know I pursed my lips like this.  I'll have to change that.

Intense Ron caught unawares by Brother John

So here is the deal.  I'm working today and tomorrow, then I don't go to work again until next week.  This year for the first time in YEARS, I'm not working either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  I don't mind working those days but it will be nice not to work them this year.

In years past when I didn't work Christmas Eve I liked to spend those quiet hours by myself.  I would stay up until midnight then look out at the sky and look for the brightest star in the sky and maybe...Santa Claus.  I never saw either but I did experience the quiet peacefulness of this special time of year.  On Christmas Day I like to ride around the neighborhoods and experience the peaceful tranquility that only happens on that day.  There is no other day of the year that there is so little traffic.  I like that.

This year I have the black cloud of my impending appointment with my urologist on January 6th to have biopsies taken of my prostate.  That I am not looking forward to.  I just want to get through this period of my life then coast out the rest of the winter until spring time comes around again and Bill and I make our annual trek Down South.

I find at this time of my life I like quiet, peace and routine. I don't like change or unexpected surprises.

I need peace.  I don't need another "Ho! Ho! Ho!" I would love just once, JUST ONCE if someone would slam a cream pie into the face of one of those fake Santas when they bellow out that very annoying "HO! HO! HO!"  The kid even seems annoyed.

Riot Over Two Dollar Waffle Iron!!!!

Okay folks.  I wasn't going to post any more videos for awhile but I just couldn't pass this one up.  I first saw it on my fellow blogger Sam's blog "Lazy Circles."  I couldn't believe my eyes.  So I had to go to Youtube to make sure this was authentic.  Sad to say, it is the REAL DEAL.

The Visigoths sacked Rome.  That was the end of the Roman Empire.  The Black Friday Christmas shoppers are our Visigoths.

Black Friday

Friday is almost gone and I did not spend one penny shopping.  


Very good Ron!


Oh I remember years past when I was out there in the thick of the throng of shoppers.  Not this year nor did I go out last year.  


Part of the reason is that I really don't have anyone to shop for.  Bill doesn't like to receive Christmas presents.  I don't give out any other presents other than to my neighbor Barb and my friend Bob.  I like to give them something personal that I created myself which is usually a picture calendar from photographs I've taken during the year.  


In the past I always shopped for my Mother.  Her birthday was on December 24th so I did double duty on the shopping for her.  Mom died this year so I won't even do shopping for her.  And I'll tell you, it's sort of hitting me harder than I thought.  This is the first year in my life that I'm not shopping for my Mom.  The first time in 69 years.  


The temperature was a tolerable 61 degrees so I dragged the outside Christmas lights from the attic.  I wanted to take advantage of this mild weather to put the outside lights up.  I hate putting Christmas lights up but they do look so good as I drive down Whitehall Drive to our home. 


I only got half the lights up though.  And, of course, one string is half out.  One light goes out and the whole block goes out.  I thought they stopped doing that.  Now I have to buy another whole string of lights.  Well, I got the white lights up and now I'm feeling a little Christmasy.


We had our friend Bob over for dinner tonight.  I usually make a new and fantastic dessert to try out on company but I got lazy today.  Probably because I spent so much time with those lights.  Bill was disappointed when I brought out the cranberry pecan cake I purchased a couple of days ago from Sam's Club.  Now I have major guilt.  I think this is the first time in my life I didn't make a fresh dessert when we had a sit down dinner for company.  I won't let that happen again.  I don't want to see that look on Bill's face again.  


I'm looking forward to having a few days off until I go back to work at the hotel.  Maybe I'll whip up that new dessert for Bill over the weekend.  We don't have to have company to have dessert. 


That pumpkin cheesecake recipe looked pretty good.