The week between Christmas and New Year’s is an odd one. I never seem to know what day it is.
I plan on looking back at 2023 blog in the coming days, but wanted to take a quick moment to thank you. I never imagined that anyone would find the things I write about interesting.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for your likes and comments. Thanks for your friendship and your encouragement throughout the year (s). It truly means a lot to me and my family.
To those who have asked me to write pieces for your blog – thank you. I really enjoy the opportunity to write for you. Perhaps there is something you might want to write that would be something I can feature here? Let me know. We’ll discuss.
With just about an hour before 2024 makes an appearance, I already know that I will be sleeping. So as 2023 wraps up, I want to wish you and yours a very happy and blessed New Year. May it be memorable and full of happiness.
Today I took down the Christmas tree. I wrapped the ornaments in tissue paper and boxed them up. I packed away the stockings. I took the door decorations down. If it hadn’t been raining, I probably would have taken down the outdoor stuff, too.
I suppose that is the bad thing about putting up the holiday stuff early – it comes down early. Sam told me that she was ready to have our living room back. Everything is now back in the basement. I need to get down and organize it a bit, but that is for a later day.
As I said yesterday, we had a good Christmas. However, when everything comes down I feel this deep sadness. I’m not even sure what that is about. I’ve always been a sentimental guy and sometimes I find myself lost in a thought or memory during and after the holidays. I don’t want to call it depression, but it feels like that at times. It is hard to shake.
You can look up “How to get over the post-Christmas blues” online and there is article after article telling you to exercise, make a plan, and countless other things. I try to get lost in a good book, listen to upbeat music, or find things that make me laugh. I had two true guffaws today.
The first was something that I suppose only I would find funny. If you are familiar with Ethel Merman and her music, maybe you’ll chuckle, too. She was big on Broadway and in musicals. One of her songs was “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.” She sings it in her cameo in the movie Airplane! Anyway, someone sent me this:
Hilarious – if you get it.
The second source of laughter came from my son. Before bed, the kids called me to show me that they colored some dinosaurs for me. They want me to bring them to work. I only have a cubby that I can put them in, as I don’t have a desk. They colored them with markers and were so happy to show me.
After I hung up, Sam sent me a picture of Andrew with one of the markers in his nose. I laughed and immediately thought of the scene in Animal House where John Belushi has pencils in his nose in the Dean’s office. Putting them together only made me laugh harder.
Channeling his inner comedian!
Speaking of comedians, I was sad to hear of the passing of Tommy Smothers. He and his brother, Dick, were one of the great comedy teams back in the day. ”Mom always liked you best,” was one of their staple routines. I found a clip of them on Johnny Carson that I remembered watching live the night it aired.
Thanks for the laughs Tommy!
A radio buddy of mine once told me to always “find the funny” when prepping my show. ”Laughter is important” he told me. It is far from a New Year’s Resolution, but I do plan on finding the funny in the days and years ahead. Life has too many things to bring us down.
Christmas has come and gone. I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday! We had a lot of fun moments, for sure. Here is my Christmas recap.
I want to start by saying that this had to be the least “Christmassy” Christmas in a very long time. Part of that could be that there was no snow on the ground and it was about 50 degrees. The sounds of the holidays were certainly there (musically), but it was very difficult to get into the Christmas “mood.”
That being said, I had Friday off and I needed to get a few last minute things for my sons. They had asked for a couple video games and I couldn’t find them. I could have ordered them, I suppose, but all the sites were saying that they would not arrive until January. So I improvised. I took Ella and Andrew with me and we went shopping. I found them some things (that I am sure they thought were not fun) that were more … adult.
Dante’ is 21 and Dimitri is 16 now. I got them things I knew that they could use or needed. It’s hard when you ask them what they want for Christmas in the fall and they have no clue. Or better yet, you find out that the thing they told you they wanted, they went out and bought for themselves with the money they made working. I didn’t want to do gift cards. That just seems easy, boring and requires no thought. I couldn’t help but remember when I started getting the more adult gifts….sigh. The Christmas magic fades too soon.
It was nice, however, to have all the kids together on the morning of Christmas Eve. I made a big breakfast and we had some good conversation. Dimitri had to work that day, so they weren’t at my house more than a few hours. It is a rare occurrence to have them all together in one place.
Christmas Eve night, we went to Sam’s folks for dinner. It was quite a spread: turkey, ham, meatballs, mac and cheese, baked bean, potatoes, and just about every dessert you can think of. Sam’s mom set up some cups on a table for the kids to toss cheese balls in to win prizes. Afterward, $200 in play money was handed to each person and gifts were auctioned off. I won the bid on a nice “evening in” bag – popcorn, candle, candy, hot cocoa and slipper socks. We also played a board game called “Something Fishy” or “Sounds Fishy” where you had to lie about a question that was asked. It was a fun night.
We left later than we expected and got home to get the kids in bed. Before we could do that, we had to leave out cookies and milk for Santa. One of our neighbors (the one who has the box to mail Santa letters – and answer them), messaged me to say that they had something special for Ella and Andrew. I went over Friday and they handed me a beautiful board for Santa’s milk and cookies.
Once the cookies and Egg Nog were in place (we were out of milk and I told them that Santa liked Egg Nog), the kids were off to bed. It was then that Santa began building toys! Ella asked for a Barbie Princess Castle and Andrew wanted a train table. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, as it only took me about 3 hours to put every thing together.
The dog started barking earlier than normal and I was up to let her out. Andrew was up first and he ran to get Ella because Santa had arrived. For one brief space of about an hour, we felt like it was Christmas. The magic of watching them walk out and seeing their toys ready for play! Wow, do I remember that feeling! It is one of the most powerful memories in my life. That initial walk out to the tree … pure magic!
They were so excited that they didn’t open another present for some time!
Ella got this HUGE Barbie. It is almost as big as her. She loves it!
Andrew loves to take pictures with our phones and his tablet. We found a cool camera that he had a lot of fun with.
Christmas day was nice because we just got to chill out at home. After we played a bit, we watched The Polar Express together. It is such a great movie. We napped because we were all up early, and then got ready for dinner. A Christmas Story was on and I had yet to see it this year, so I watched as we cooked up our ravioli dinner.
Sam’s folks stopped by to see they kids and what they got for Christmas. After they left, we ate and got ready to call it a night. Sam and Ella were in our room relaxing and I was out in the living room with Andrew. I was getting ready to turn off the TV, but he was engrossed in The Wizard of Oz. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. When the commercials came on, I told him we’d have to finish it another day and we went to bed.
I tried to be more in the moment this year. I neglected to take a lot of pictures. Playing with the kids, chasing them around the house, snuggling them in our bed….yeah, those were the moments! It was a Merry Christmas for us!
Oh, and as a Christmas bonus for guys like me who have been waiting a long time … The Detroit Lions clinched the division. Merry Christmas!!
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. I can’t wait to read about it!
It’s lunch time at work. In just a few hours I will punch out and head home for the holiday weekend. I am truly looking forward to four days with my family. It’s been a very busy year for all of us.
I was ready to write that my son had his last appointment for the year today, but I remembered he still has one more. Today we saw his neurologist. We discussed the results of his sleep study, the MRI, and his EEG. It was a long appointment and we have some direction and a plan of action.
I left the appointment and went right to work. I’m only a mile or so from the doctor, so I punched in early knowing I will be able to leave early. I was able to get most of my work done before lunch, so I thought I’d blog.
The other appointment, incidentally, will be to pick up his AFO leg braces. This is something that will help eliminate the toe-walking. Hopefully, he won’t need to be in them too long.
I recently blogged about our family tradition of getting a new Christmas ornament at Bronner’s. We had yet to go this year, but someone (maybe someone who read my blog) did the work for us. We received a Bronner’s box in the mail and the message inside said, “It looks like Daisy needs an ornament for that tree of yours!”
This week, I found out that McDonald’s has adult Happy Meals. Sam took the kids to get lunch and they brought me back one. Ella apparently said that mom and dad needed a toy, too!
How silly is that?!
Money has been a bit tighter this year than in the past. Normally, I would try to get something small for my boss and co-workers for the holiday, but I just couldn’t swing it. One of my coworkers got bags for everyone. There was a small gift and some chocolates. My gift was socks! Go figure, right!? Well, they are actually pretty cool.
If they only made socks with the Miser Brothers on them …
I’m looking forward to Christmas for many reasons. One of them is that the Elf on the Shelf goes back to the North Pole! It becomes work to do something with it each day. Some people really go all out! It’s crazy. My favorite one from this week ties into the last bit of news to share …
I don’t care if I use this one every year! Here is Twinkles, the elf, reading from the Bible. I said that it ties in with my last bit of news.
This week, I finished my 1st semester of the second year of my Bible classes. I will have three tests to do over the next week or so. Then I will move on to the second semester. I feel like I have really accomplished something. Actually having a lunch hour (which we really never got when I was on midnights) allows me to watch an entire class and take notes without any real interruptions. I’m hoping to keep it up and press toward the mark.
I know many of my blogger friends are taking a break over the holidays. I’ve got plenty of things lined up over the weekend, I don’t know that I will not blog, but just in case I don’t, I want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. As we get ready to wrap up another year, I find myself grateful for you. Your own personal blogs, the comments you share here on my blog, and your friendship has brought me much happiness.
I look forward to a year of sharing experiences with each other.
“It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that’s important, but rather who is around it.”
“The best Christmas gift is to realize how much you already have.”
“The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much.”
“From home to home and heart to heart, from one place to another, the warmth and joy of Christmas brings us closer to each other.”
I had to keep this quiet, because I wasn’t sure if my wife might read my blog. However, I can now share the news. Her request to paint my children was granted and (just in time for Christmas) the finished portrait has arrived!
When the package arrived in the mail, my wife began to question things. We had “agreed” to not get each other anything for Christmas. I told her that it wasn’t for her, but for us. I, of course, had seen the progression of it and was amazed when I held the final project in my hands. She kept wondering about it and eventually broke me down and I showed it to her. She was impressed. It is really something!
Admittedly, neither one of us has ever owned a portrait before and this one is like owning something from Van Gogh of Rembrandt! It will be hung with pride and joy in our home and will be something we will treasure for many years.
Belita does amazing work. If you didn’t read the blog above, you should. There are examples of the work she has done for Moe and Larry of the Three Stooges, King Khalid of Saudi Arabia, portraits for friends, churches, and more. Her work is in high demand and I know why! What an honor it was to have her ask to paint my children!
To me, the most amazing thing was the process. Belita kept me in the loop as things progressed. She had asked me to send some photos of the kids to use. She used a couple from a photoshoot we did in the Spring of 2022. The first draft was basically a sketch.
The above was from April or May of this year.
Tweaking happened and she cropped it a bit.
The above was the skeleton of the finished product. This would have been May 23 of 2023. She opted for the closer shot because it allowed for more details on the faces.
The beginnings of color started a few days later – May 27, 2023. This in itself blew me away. Their faces were so life like.
By July 18, the base colors were done and there was still some detail work that she was doing on it.
Between July and October, she received a commission piece that she had to finish. She told me of this and apologized for the delay, but I completely understood. I told her that I would wait as long as I had to for her to finish.
On October 26, she sent me a photo of the finished piece.
What a marvelous piece! The detail in this portrait is simply amazing to me. The eye color, the curls , the buttons on the overalls, and even the holding hands are just wonderful! I showed the kids, and Ella said, “That’s me and Bubby!!” They couldn’t believe it!
I cannot thank Belita enough for the time, the effort, and the love that she put into this portrait! When the initial “go ahead” was given, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The final project was above and beyond anything I could have imagined. This portrait will be something special to my family for generations. Thank you, Belita, for such a precious piece!
God has given you a wonderful talent! I am so thankful that He allowed us to connect and become friends. May He continue to bless you, you work and your entire family.
Back when I worked on the radio, it was key to always look ahead. We’d often be writing Christmas bits in October and November for use during December. Being away from radio now for a while, I’ve forgotten the importance of planning and looking ahead. If I was better at that, I could have had a month’s worth of music blogs!
I heard a song today on a Christmas channel that got me to thinking. We have many Christmas standards that are played throughout the season. Many of those have been radio/holiday staples for decades! I always love to hear those songs that became holiday hits because they were featured in some holiday special. I guess you could call some of those songs standards, too (Linus and Lucy, You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch, Christmas Time is Here, Frosty the Snowman, etc…).
Maybe next year (you may have to remind me come October) I will feature a different Christmas song from Holiday specials or movies. I’m sure I could come up with 24 of them.
Anyway, the song I heard today was from the Polar Express. It is a fantastic movie with Tom Hanks, Michael Jeter, Peter Scolari, Nona Gaye and my pal Eddie Deezen. If you are unfamiliar with the story it is “an inspiring adventure based on the beloved children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg. When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.”
The song’s melody is simply beautiful. At the same time, the lyrics are heartbreaking at times. The song is performed by Matthew Hall and Meagan Moore in character as Billy and Hero Girl respectively. The song’s placement in the film happens just before the train arrives at the North Pole.
The characters Hero Boy and Hero Girl notice Billy looking out from the back of the observation car and singing the song. Hero Girl joins in after the first verse. In the song, Hero Girl sings about the joys of Christmas while Billy sings about how he has never been able to experience these joys.
This song moves me every time I hear it.
This video incorporates some of the movie clips from the scene.
(Billy) I’m wishing on a star And trying to believe That even though it’s far He’ll find me Christmas eve I guess that Santa’s busy ‘Cause he’s never come around I think of him when Christmas comes to town
(Hero Girl) The best time of the year When everyone comes home With all this Christmas cheer It’s hard to be alone Putting up the Christmas tree With friends who come around It’s so much fun when Christmas comes to town
(Hero Girl) Presents for the children wrapped in red and green (Billy) All the things I’ve heard about but never really seen (Both) No one will be sleeping on the night of Christmas eve Hoping Santa’s on his way
(Hero Girl) Presents for the children wrapped in red and green (Billy) All the things I’ve heard about but never really seen (Both) No one will be sleeping on the night of Christmas eve Hoping Santa’s on his way
(Hero Girl) When Santa’s sleigh bells ring (Billy) I listen all around (Hero Girl) The herald angels sing (Billy) I never hear a sound (Hero Girl) And all the dreams of children (Billy) Once lost will all be found
(Hero Girl) That’s all I want when Christmas comes to town (Both) That’s all I want when Christmas comes to town
I had taken yesterday off because Andrew’s MRI was originally scheduled that day. When they moved it up to last week, I decided to keep the Monday night off. Sam was off, too, so we decided we’d make sure to get a night out.
Originally, Sam’s mom and dad said they’d watch the kids while we were out at dinner. They them said they kids could spend the night, which we were totally cool with! We can always use some “us” time!
Sam worked Sunday night, so she came home and slept a bit. When she got up, we got the kids ready and drove up to Cabela’s so they could see Santa. This is the third year we’ve done it and it’s a whole lot less stressful than waiting in line at a mall. It’s in and out for the most part.
Ella walked right up to him! Andrew was a bit more stand offish. He wouldn’t sit on Santa’s lap, but we got a cool picture anyway.
We finally got our Christmas Cards. Lack of stamps allowed some to go out and the rest will go out this week. LOL. We sent out a lot less than we have in the past. So from my house to yours – Merry Christmas and Happy 2024!
With each book I read by Fredrik Backman, the more I like him. I just finished A Man Called Ove, and it was so good.
I kind of held off on reading this one because I heard people say how sad it was. Were there some sad parts, yes, but life is not always happy. We all go through sad times. This book was that way. Much like the other Backman books I read, I found myself laughing out loud at times. Other times, I was anxious to find out what happened next.
Backman has a way of presenting his characters in such a way that you connect to them. They are real people with real emotions and experience real life situations. I think we all know someone like Ove, and all of the people in his neighborhood. To me, this could take place in almost any city anywhere.
Here is the Goodreads Synopsis:
A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.
Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?
Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.
I compare Ove to Ebenezer Scrooge of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Not because he has this miraculous change and becomes a happy, cheery guy, but because of that grumpiness that IS Ove. That doesn’t mean you can’t like him, because you can. He has quite a story.
This book was made into the movie A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks. I like Hanks, but I’m not sure I want to see an American movie take on such a wonderful book. I started this blog by saying that I held off reading this book because of things I had heard about it. After finishing it, my only regret is that I didn’t read it sooner.
Despite having been able to sit and get a blog or two up this week, it has been a busy one and I thought I would let you know what’s been going on. As with most weeks, we’ve rode the emotional roller coaster.
Funny
We ran out of coffee creamer this week. Andrew wanted to go to the store with me to pick some up. I got him out of the car and put him in the cart. As we made our way into the store, I saw his eyes widen. He saw something behind me, so I turned around. There, in a shabby Santa suit was some guy obviously going to play Santa somewhere.
Andrew never saw the jeans that he had on under the Santa pants, all he knew was that Santa was following us. The guy saw him and said, “I’ll see you Christmas Eve!” and walked to the ATM in the lobby to grab cash. This made me chuckle. Of all the people who aren’t hurting for money this month, it’s Santa!
Andrew ran in the house with the coffee creamer and told Ella and mommy who he saw! I wasn’t quick enough to get a picture. Although a picture of the jeans under the Santa pants would have been funny.
Testing – Testing
We continue to take Andrew to tests to rule out things. Since his diagnosis of mild Cerebral Palsy, we’re doing everything we can to get him what he needs. We’ve been waiting for 6 weeks for his leg braces to arrive. These will help him stop toe-walking.
Sleep study # 5 happened. Once again, I got to hook him up. Wish the results had been better, but he still has sleep apnea. Looks like we’re going to be getting him back on CPAP. The results of this test is among many others that will be discussed next week with his neurologist.
Yesterday, we were up at the butt crack of dawn to get him to his MRI. The neurologist was pretty sure that it will be unremarkable, but wanted it done as a precaution. We should have results by Monday.
He had to be sedated for the procedure. It always breaks my heart to see my kids come out of anesthesia. All went well and he slept on the way home. Once he was awake, he was pretty much back to himself.
The appointment with the neurologist will be a long one, but hopefully, we’ll walk out of there with a solid plan of action.
This week’s “Awwww” moment
I have a pocket Bible that I bought for when my son used to come over. There was a time where we would do a Bible study together. Since he hasn’t been over in sometime, the Bible sat in the room we turned into a play room. Ella knows that it is the B-I-B-L-E (“… yes, that’s the book for me!”). She calls it her “Jesus Book,” and who am I to correct her?!
One morning she came out of her bedroom and curled up on the chair in the living room. ”Daddy, I’m just going to read from my Jesus book, until breakfast…”
This girl! What a blessing my children are!
Elfin’ Around
I added that Snapchat app a long time ago when my boys were using it. One thing I love to do is look at the filters on it with the kids. They love when it makes them look silly. This week, the “elf” filter is back!
They get a kick out of that!
Speaking of Elves …
Last night, we made sure to put the kids in pajamas that were stained. Why? Well, we had their Elf on the Shelf (Twinkles) go in and cut their jammies. I went in and cut one of the legs of Ella’s off and both of the legs from Andrew’s.
When Andrew woke up, he said, “Twinkles cut my pants!” This was before he even saw Twinkles, who was sitting in the Christmas Tree with the scissors and the pieces of their PJ’s (using them as a blanket). Andrew ran in and woke her up yelling that “Twinkles had scissors! She cut your pants!” Ella wasn’t sure what to make of that and walked out to the living room rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She couldn’t believe it!
Only a few more days to try to come up with “elf” ideas!
Frederik Backman is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. His books are full of characters that you connect with. They are “real.” His books make me “feel,” if that makes sense. I find myself belly laughing out loud at times and holding back tears at other times.
Just this week I posted about the novella I read by Backman. You can read that here:
When I read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, I was first introduced to the main character of today’s recommendation – Britt-Marie. You can read about that one here:
In the above story, Britt-Marie leaves her husband and drives off. Her story picks up in Backman’s follow up, Britt-Marie Was Here. I was intrigued to know what her story would be and I found this to be a delightful read. Again, there was laughter and moving moments. There was a whole lot more to Britt-Marie than I could have imagined.
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. A disorganized cutlery drawer ranks high on her list of unforgivable sins. She is not one to judge others—no matter how ill-mannered, unkempt, or morally suspect they might be. It’s just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention. But hidden inside the socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart that anyone around her realizes.
When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?
The one thing that really stood out in this story was that you have Britt-Marie, fresh from leaving her husband in a rundown and dying community and they both really need each other. Despite the obstacles that are thrown in the paths of each of them, they both learn to persevere and compliment each other. Both experience change as the novel progresses and it will leave you wanting more.
In 2019, there was a movie made based on the book. I think you can see it on Amazon Prime, but I’m not sure I want to as the overall rating was 5 out of 10 stars. Probably proof again that the book is almost always better than the film adaptation.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 