Tuesday, January 07, 2025

Bundled Up, Then Bundled Up More!

"Crazy is as crazy does.".

Being in the low 30's and with the windchill in the upper teens, we took in the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills football game at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro this past Sunday, the last game of the regular season.

Our seats were in section 335, which is almost at the top of the stadium seating and where the wind gusts were ripping, BRRR!


The recently rebuilt lighthouse and the tallest lighthouse in America, Lighthouse Landing, now has 360-degree observation deck, known as the Lookout that provides spectacular panoramic views of the stadium and the surrounding area, including the Boston and Providence skylines -


The view of the field from our seats -



The final score - 
New England Patriots 24
Buffalo Bills 16


With the win, only their 4th of the season, the Patriots squandered their chance at the No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL Draft.  Instead they fall into the number 4 slot, alas.

Although, a very cold day, the game was a good take.  It was a good game and from a fan perspective, a win is a win, and I have high hopes I'll be able to feel my toes again soon...

Monday, January 06, 2025

Another "Here's Your Sign"

Admittedly, I struggled for a bit trying to figure out how to put on my new wool socks.  It was only by chance, with my blood pressure rising and tears in my eyes, did I notice the, "How to use your Chill Buster Merino Wool Socks:" instructions.

Phew, thank goodness the packaging had instructions!


Unfortunately, and I plan to write a sternly worded letter to the company, there was NO warning label listed on the packaging!  I almost choked myself out trying to get one of these over my head...

Sunday, January 05, 2025

Gone Country!

Just like Alan Jackson's song...

I've made some aesthetics updates to my upstairs bathroom, with the goal being a more farmhouse look.

I'm please with my upgrades to date!

It's hard to tell but the stripes on the shower curtain are green, which matches the counter top.


I'm tackling the master bathroom next and will be starting with a fresh coat, and new color, of paint. I NEVER cared for the existing color, a lilac, so it's time for it to go!

Just Thought I'd Share

FYI

I despise when people make the "heart hand" symbol, which is why I've made the icon here as small as I could!

For some reason it just REALLY irks me!

To those that do this, PISS OFF!

Saturday, January 04, 2025

Life Is A Paradox

Where Has Modesty Gone?

I happened upon the below Instagram video the other day and thought I would share it.

Social media seems to teeter on the edge these days, with many posts pushing content awful close to nudity.  Women, perhaps trying to cash in on "Only Fans" hype by luring followers with risque pics and videos, as they push the envelope of what's allowed and often times leaving very little to ones imagination.

It's pathetic really!

As Tara says in her video, "we need to bring back modesty...", and I couldn't agree more!

People need to have more self respect.  Take pride, work on themselves and become better, put in an effort to look presentable - bathe, clean themselves, brush their hair and teeth, etc.  Enough with this sweatpants, pj and just rolled out of bed look. By the way, this laziness and unkept look applies to all - men and women, young and old too.

Sorry, NOT sorry, but how do you take someone serious who's sporting head, face and neck tattoos, dressed in Sponge Bob fleece pj pants, walks scuffing their feet in slipper-type shoes and looking unkept?!?!

It's just not a good look, and in my opinion, sends the wrong message.

Sadly, a sign of the times.


Yes, I'm sure she is going to get called out by many, as too many people are quick to add their two cents.  Yes, that's what I'm doing here but I'm the exception.

Friday, January 03, 2025

Home Repairs, So "Draining" II!

After my recent kitchen sink plumbing repairs I noticed the new drain that was installed wasn't installed properly in the recessed area of the sink itself, see first pic below.

Unfortunately, I didn't notice it while the plumbers, who did the work, were still here, otherwise I would have said something then.

Frustratingly, I decided I'd just live with it, yet I struggled with my darn OCD every time I placed an item in the sink. 

It remained that way for about a week until I received the invoice in the mail for the work done. Well, that was all the motivation I needed and sent a text, with picture, to the owner to request they return to correct their mistake.  He responded immediately, apologized and had the plumber back out the next morning to fix, see second pic below -

After the initial installation of this new sink drain -

After having the plumber come back out to the house to fix the new drain properly -

Phew, all better, which has quieted and satisfied my OCD.

Thursday, January 02, 2025

Keep Moving Folks!


Drum roll please...

Here are my 2024 walking breakdowns and totals, as captured by the app Strava -

194 walks
191 hours
706.6 miles walked


We're onto 2025!

Wednesday, January 01, 2025

Volkswagen Bugs

Grey, yellow and blue punch-buggy, <as I punch you three times>, NO punch-backs!


There is a fourth one at this same house, it's red, but wasn't home when I took this pic.

Lessons

I still haven't forgiven 2022 and 2023 yet either.

Hang in there!

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2025!


Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Be Proud Of You

A message from me to you as 2024 comes to an end -

Is It Me?! It's Gotta Be Me.

Okay, admittedly I've become a grumpy 😠 old man 🧓, and I am perfectly fine with it too, I've put my time in!  I find myself bothered and complaining about SO many things recently.  For example, the idiots who speed up and down my street, aggressive drivers, the knuckleheads with deafening mufflers and bafflers, delivery vehicles and landscape vehicles that double park, selfish dog owners who don't pickup after their dogs and those that doo (hehehe) but leave the bagged turds behind, lazy people who don't return their shopping carts, most cell phone users and on and on and on!

I'm sure many of you can relate and perhaps might even have similar frustrations, and to those that do WELCOME!

I believe I was belly aching to my brother not too long ago about the FedEx delivery guy who I watched trudge through my shrubs so he could walk straight from his truck curbside to my front steps to deliver my package, instead of walking the driveway and up the walkway, AND then stopping to pee 🍆 on a tree in my front yard before driving off.  I kid you not!  If I recall I said something during the conversation about "it must be just me" and without missing a beat my brother said, "yup!"!  So there's that...

Anyway, all the above was a segue to the following incident that has me incensed and would luv to get your take on it and how you'd all handle\react to it -

So, the snow ❄
 we had before Christmas 🎄 makes for perfect sledding 🛷 conditions, ah to be a kid again.

My neighbors kids, boy 10ish and girl 7ish, are taking full advantage of the snow ❄, out having fun, frolicking and sledding 🛷. What's been bothering me, and I've been biting my tongue and trying to ignore, is that the kids are sledding 🛷 down and into my fence!

My concerns are two fold; one, I don't want to see them get hurt and two, I don't want my 'stuff' to get damaged.  Both seem very reasonable to me.

The kids are using a snow ❄ tube and sledding 🛷 down their lawn\hill, which is short and then slamming into my fence; literally slamming into the wire fence!

I've been biting my tongue and trying my best to ignore this but it lingers, as I just cannot understand how their parents would allow this.

Anyway, a couple days ago, the boy had three friends over and boys will be boys. They were sledding 🛷 but wrestling and jockeying for the tube, which prevent them from getting too far down hill, until three kids piled onto the tube, flew down the hill and really slammed into the fence, which bent the fence post; the one with the bird house mounted on it, to a 45 degree and also broken some of the fencing.

Well, that set me off and all I needed...

"When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear."

I yelled at them, told them the fence wasn't a backstop and to STOP slamming into it, then pointed out that they damaged the post! GRRR I was SO pissed 😡!

They didn't say a word and soon thereafter disappeared into the house.

Again, I know snow ❄ is a fun time for kids and sledding 🛷 is too, and even though they have a slopped side yard, it's just NOT a good one for sledding 🛷 since there is a fence and line of trees and shrubs along the property line.


This isn't the best angle to see truly how bent over this fence post is -


Robert Frost was onto something when he said, "Good fences make good neighbors", but I don't think he took sledding 🛷 kids into account when he wrote this.

*** UPDATE ***

Now that the snow has all melted, I took a better angle picture this morning, so you'd get a better look at the damage.  You really gotta hit the post pretty hard to bend it like that 😡 -

She's Very Impressionable!


I made the above, with the help of Ms. Trixie of course.

Just my first draft.  I need to do better on the paw print, actually would like to get two paw prints on the one card.  I might need a second set of hands to accomplish this, as Trixie wasn't overly cooperative.

Monday, December 30, 2024

Grisham To Patterson

Stayed up a bit past my bedtime last night to finish this novel!  Banged it out in less than 3-days!

Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down.

Another terrific Christmas gift.

Friday, December 27, 2024

I'm Gonna Air My Laundry...


I scored myself a like new 2 bushel Sterilite laundry basket on my walk this afternoon!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with it and it still had the tags on it.

The laundry basket I've been using is old, an unappealing brown color that matches nothing and one of the handles is broken, so the timing happens to be perfect, as I was going to be buying a new one soon.

I did feel a bit silly carrying this for over 2-miles to get it home but I didn't want to risk leaving it and hoping it would still be there when I returned with the car some 30 minutes later, so...

Merry Christmas to me!

Road Trip!

And done!


Just completed a Christmas present of mine, a 1000 piece National Parks jigsaw puzzle!

I started it on Christmas day, while watching the NFL football games, and just placed the last piece this morning.

Not too difficult but time consuming. Once I'm in the zone and get cruising, pieces seemingly fall into place.

I'm now thinking a new bucket list item - visit all the National Parks in the US.  Who's in?!

Thursday, December 26, 2024

The Best Coffee I've Ever Had!

A nice start to a blessed day!


Christmas morning coffee in my new Harley Davidson mug and a kourabiedes cookie.

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all my family and friends
 a very Merry Christmas 🎅!

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Ouchy Boo Boo!

Yup, I think I might have broken something, my index finger or knuckle on my right hand yesterday, OUCH!  Embarrassingly, I am going to tell you how...

Now, I wish I had some heroic story where I punched a bag guy in the mouth for being disrespectful and that "you should see the other guy". However, truth be told I did it while shaking a throw rug from off my back deck.  UGH, please don't ask.  That's all I'm fessing up to. 

It's all sorts of non-Christmassy colors this morning, very swollen, aches terribly and I'm unable to bend it.

What terrible timing too, GRRR!  I'm right handed, so this is already proving to be a challenge, not to mention that my oldest daughter, her fiancée and my youngest daughter are coming over this afternoon to hangout, open gifts and have dinner.

This is going to be a challenge for sure to prepare dinner and all but I refuse to let this get in the way of enjoying time with my girls and having a nice meal, so giddy up! 



Fortunately, most of the house cleaning I was doing in anticipation of visitors I had completed, so most everything is shinny, neat and clean.

Holiday Neighborly Celebrations


My friends\neighbors invited me to their family Thanksgiving celebration a few weeks ago and as much as I tried to decline they were not having any of it.  I didn't want to impose and be a bother, as they were having a house full but in hindsight I am happy I went.  I had a very nice time, met many of the family that I had only heard stories about.  The meal was delicious, I left stuffed AND with a doggie bag of goodies.

So, when I got the call this past Saturday that their family Christmas party was Sunday and that I should arrive around 2ish, I didn't dare try to bow out.  Once again I had a great time, watched some football, joked and laughed a lot and drank and ate my fill!

Much to my surprise I was also included in their Christmas gift swap!  There were 22 of us in all, so there was a lot of swapping taking place.  The original gift I opened was taken, as was the one I was swapped with but ironically when it was all said and done, I walked away with my original gift, a plug-in the wall heated throw blanket!  Almost no need to turn the thermostat up past 60 now...

I am beyond blessed and am VERY fortunate to have such wonderful friends\neighbors!  I don't know where I would be without their support and caring. I'm not sure if they truly know how thankful I am to have them in my life and just how appreciative I am for EVERYTHING that they've done and do for me!

Note: The picture above is of my neighbors family room.

#Blessed