Monday, December 16, 2024

Not quite Christmas...Yet!

OK Campers, we're getting closer to that big day, you know, Christmas! Where we celebrate the Birth of Our Lord, first and foremost. Then we open presents and have a big dinner with all the fixins and Friends and Family gather...to celebrate the Birth of our Lord. Right? Actual Christmas celebration this year will be Mrs J and I and my Brother (Note to self: Need to come up with a blog nickname for Brother. While "Hey Punk" has a history in our relationship, something tells me it won't work nowadays. Suggestions appreciated.)

MBD, The Rev and the rest of the Gang are celebrating Christmas with his family. The gang from the 'Burg will arrive at CStat on the 26th. Gift exchanging will take place at some point during the ensuing 3 days. Not quite the same, but pretty darn close. I guess we're kinda like the Three Magi, late to the party, but still remembered. 

Looking forward to the visit...A lot!

 

Source

On the "WhatCha doin on the keeping busy" side of things, Mrs J determined that the temperature sine wave was going a little too much below the "comfortable" range.  That range is about 40 degrees here, much below that and the dogs get pretty vocal. (Yes, Beans, I know Sarge regularly goes sunbathing at -40 degrees.  What can I say?)

In any case, they like their role as guard dogs, hence they bark at the slightest strange sound.  Which, if they're in the house, means we get no sleep either.  So...

Mrs J determined that an investment in a canine apartment complex constructed on the back porch was a worthwhile expenditure of Benjamins.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

 

Oops, Typo, Sorry. A little Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner is good for the Christmas Cheer, No? 

So ...


Hardest part of the project was moving the two boxes (1 each) from outside the gate to the back porch, very bulky and heavy.  It is a two person job in putting them together, one to hold the pieces in position. The other to screw the bolts in.

First night trial, Atticus, the leader of the pack, slept on the patio couch.  Gryndll, however, was nowhere in sight.  There also was no barking in the yard, so the assumption is he was in his nice, warm, quiet bedroom.

Or at least we hope so. Maybe he'll convince Atticus that he can fulfill his guard dog duties and keep warm at the same time. 

Again, we hope so.

Mrs J also took the opportunity to  straighten up our patio, got a trip to the dump scheduled for today.  But the back yard looks a heck of a lot better.  My back and the words "lot better" are not orbiting in the same universe however.

Learned something else new.  I mentioned a while ago that I had purchased a MacPro laptop.  Well, this post is being written on my 10 year old PC.  Seems Apple didn't mention that my version of the MacPro laptop has a battery problem.  Went to write last week's posting and the laptop wouldn't power on.  Tried hooking it up to electric power, no change.  Took it to the local computer dude, he said he'd heard of the problem and I needed a new battery.

No, Beans, it's not covered by warranty.  It's a refurbished computer.  Looks like I"m gonna be out $250, plus labor to get back in the saddle.  Just when I was getting used to Mac peccadilloes and forgetting those of a PC.

Ahh, Well! To end on a rather humorous note, I saw this sign this morning as we were walking back to our truck after a brunch downtown.


The sign was on the other side of the sidewalk and therefore the street, the difference between the two walls is less than 4 feet, so if a car could cross the sidewalk, well, I guess the car could serve as their BnB cause they ain't gonna be able to open the doors.

I gotta chuckle about it though.

Peace out, y'all!

24 comments:

  1. That last photo, there's always someone galivanting around with an electric scooter.....:) Guard dog abodes look pretty nifty juvat, nicely done there. Ah.......laptops.....they can be sooooo much fun eh? Enjoy the Family Time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nylon, I haven’t seen any scooters on Main Street. It’s generally very crowded with pedestrians and so not a lot of maneuvering room for them. But I don’t go there too often, so could be mistaken. Did see a moron on a motorcycle doing a wheelie for two blocks down the middle of the road, aka the yellow line. Traffic going both ways. YGBSM. Fully expected to be dialing 911.
      Will do,
      juvat

      Delete
  2. Keep in mind that the Early Church celebrated Nativity and Epiphany together. In many households even now Christmastide runs to Epiphany, and some hardcole types say that it runs until Candlemas. There are 3 families near us that seem to hold to that date as the Christmas trees go out to be picked up for recycle on or about Feb. 2nd every year. So an exchange of gifts on Stephensmas is well within reason.

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    Replies
    1. Joe,
      Interesting, Mom kept ours up til Epiphany, until Dad got assigned to Web AFB, Big Spring Tx. The Christmas tree was pretty much needle less by that time. While our tree is artificial, we’re pretty much on the same schedule. But…very much looking forward to visiting them this year.
      juvat

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    2. Family went to an artificial tree in 1970 at Kwajalein. Apparently the previous year the shipment of live trees did not survive, so the Powers-That-Be decided to get a load of artificial trees in. 6.5 foot tall artificial trees. Half the island was either Airstream trailers or single-wide mobile homes with low (compared to regular housing) ceilings, so the post exchange (actually a Macy's affiliate) put them on sale. And smart trailer folk then bought them on sale, cut half a foot off and, et voila, tree fits. We had decent base housing, right across from the family swimming pool, so we lucked out bigly on a huge tree at cheap prices. Winner! (Side note: the only artificial tree I ever bought was from Home Despot after a Christmas and was a $300 tree knocked down to $50. We're still using that tree, or at least it's branches. Wooo.)

      Delete
    3. Beans,
      I don't know if being a kid on Kwajalein was a good deal or not. Sounds like fun to me, but...Shipping artificial trees in MAC aircraft for morale purposes is a pretty good mission. Did any of the crew debark in a red wool suit and a beard? That would have been pretty cool. And swimming on Christmas Day. Did that in Okinawa, but that was the only place warm enough that I remember.
      Cheers, and Merry Christmas,
      juvat

      Delete
  3. Ah, the great negotiation of Christmas with the grands. For years we lived about halfway between both sets of grandparents and went up to see my parents before Christmas and my in-laws on Christmas day (they lived much closer). When we relocated, it became less of an expedition because we were so far away that we somewhat got used to just staying in.

    Here is hoping for the new dog condos. Poppy the Brave has apparently taken to wanting to go out late at night/early in the morning because once - once - she saw possum and chased it up a tree.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THBB,
      Haven’t seen possums here. Black and white stinky kitties however….
      Same sleeping arrangement as night before last, but the temp has been tolerable. But winter isn’t over, and dog biscuits on the inside is making some progress.
      We’ll see
      juvat

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  4. How about RC, for recovering Californian?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So it is written…so it shall be done!
      Love it Tuna, thanks!
      juvat

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    2. Sarge,
      Agreed,
      juvat

      Delete
    3. Well, there goes calling him "Punky" or "Punky Brewster" due to the "Hey, Punk" previous handle he had as a kid....

      Delete
    4. Punky is good, but I think in the interest of avoiding a civil war, I'm gonna go with Tuna's suggestion.
      juvat

      Delete
  5. Computer batteries, dog condos, where does all the excitement end?

    Hope your holidays are smooth, relaxing, and blessed.

    (As noted above, I second "RC.")

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarge,
      Lord knows, I have no idea! Probably in a graveyard.
      Enjoy your family and retirement also.
      juvat

      Delete
  6. Any time with no medical drama is a good time!
    Canine castles look like a good investment.
    Merry Christmas to all!
    JB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JB
      Agreed, but let’s not discuss those possibilities, don’t want to jinx anything.
      Thanks
      Merry Christmas to you and yours, and a Happy New Year!
      juvat

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. Could be, although, other than parades, not many horses on main street, lots of 18 wheelers though.
      Juvat

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  8. Replies
    1. Tuna,
      I haven’t broken the wonderful news that he’s now got a callsign. Gotta make that a “Special” event!
      ;-)
      juvat

      Delete
  9. RC is a good call sign. We got a cat specifically for the rat problem we inherited when we bought a house in 2002. We named him Rat Cat, so of course we called him RC. We got him as an 8 or 9 week old kitten, so he had some growing and OJT to get through. It turned out that he started bringing home baby rabbits (it was rural San Diego Co., Lakeside), then adult rabbits, so RC still worked. Eventually he reduced the rat population to acceptable levels. He also brought home birds, field mice, gophers and ground squirrels (bushy tailed rats). In 2015 we moved to Tennessee and he added opossums and small armoured pillows to his prey list. He ended up having a great, healthy life until in 2022, when his charge ran out and we found him curled up on a heater vent in the living room one winter morning, having passed peacefully during the night. Buried with honors. Best cat ever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rest in Peace, RC! A job well done!
      juvat

      Delete

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