So it ends and so it begins

We're jumping right from Autumn to Christmas around here.

We spent yesterday raking leave AGAIN. I really, really don't like oak trees. And as a bonus, this is one of the crazy acorn years (except for the front yard, the oak tree in front of the house barely dropped any acorns this year). So, add to the leaves several MILLION acorn caps and the few hundred acorns that I pulled up from taking root in the yard and we're probably to 60+ bags this season. And that's with the yard vacuum mulching up most of the leaves. I mocked The Mailman when he told me he wanted to buy a yard vacuum several years ago. I apologized again yesterday.

After we tortured The Girl for a few hours by making her do yard work with us, she declared that she was exhausted and needed a break and wanted to know if she could watch a movie. Her pick was "A Muppet Christmas Carol." So begins the Christmas season around here. She declared that she'll be watching "White Christmas" this weekend and moving through the rest of the Christmas movie collection over the next few weeks. I tried to explain to her that when I was a kid (yup, way back then), we had to wait for the one showing each year of "Rudolph," "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," "The Grinch" and all the rest. We had no VCR. If you missed it, you were out of luck until next year. She thought that was very sad.  (This rant about the old days brought to you by Dolly Madison snack cakes.)

I bought "White Christmas" for myself a few years ago, and The Girl and I watched it together one day and she loved it, which I love about her.  Don't get me wrong, she's all about the Rankin Bass classics, and The Grinch and Charlie Brown, too, but she says "White Christmas" is her favorite.  I think maybe I'll keep an eye out for a copy of "Holiday Inn" and maybe get her a non-Muppet version of "A Christmas Carol."  I don't think she's quite ready for Bill Murray's "Scrooged," though.

RTT - from Halloween to Christmas in 500 words or less

Fingers crossed! When I go home tonight, I should have a working toilet, sink and shower. (Amendment to this… the plumber, who is also a friend of the family, just called me at work. The sealed box with the faucet in it… missing multiple parts. I just walked him through all of the paperwork on my desk at home to find the Home Depot receipt so that he can go and exchange it for me, assuming they have another one with all the parts. ** sigh **)
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I went out last night to put out the trash and it smelled like Fall. I love how I can smell the different seasons, and I think the smell of Fall and the smell of coming snow are my favorites.
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I bought Halloween candy the other day and hid it. The Girl knows it is in the house, but has yet to locate it. Heh, heh, heh. (and I’ve only eaten two pieces…)
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I drove home last night in the mostly dark and then remembered that we move the clocks back this weekend. I’ll be getting up in the dark and driving home in the dark and can see no daylight from my office. I better start taking some vitamin D.
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So the questions of “What does The Girl want for Christmas?” have started furiously arriving from grandparents, aunts and uncles. I have NO IDEA what we’re getting her for Christmas, so, sorry, I have nothing to offer you. She’s past most of the “toy” stuff (and I just don’t want to bring any more crap into the house). She wants a cell phone and a laptop. Nope and nope. She’s been taking keyboard lessons on a rather crappy borrowed keyboard, so I guess we’ll go that route. I didn’t want to make the investment if she wasn’t going to follow through, but she says she wants to keep going, even though I have to tell her multiple times every day to “PRACTICE!” Maybe a nicer keyboard will help, and it will be a pretty big box under the tree.
Oh, and my brother sent me a link for a Galileospope, saying that a guy he knows through work is a pretty serious amateur astronomer who says that this is a great deal on a pretty good piece of equipment, so I ordered it.


If you want some more Random, click on the purple and go see Keeley. She's got the key to the good stuff.