down town, when you get lonely

I made my annual trip to the Christmas Market 

     I love going to the market in downtown Chicago.  Today was great, because there were not a lot of people.  You didn't have to push and shove your way to the front of any of the lines, or be pushed and shoved out of the way.
     I bought some presents, some mulled wine, a schnitzel, and some candied nuts.
     And I met a friend named Terry who lives in Oregon!  He was right ahead of me in line at one of the shops.  Small world, eh?
     Dan and I walked down to Field's and looked at the Macy's windows.   They were the same as last year, and pretty boring.  Field's did a much better job.
     We also went to see the big tree, but things have changed.  You can't go to the eighth floor anymore...it has been sold.
     So you have to view the tree from outside the Walnut Room.  Not the same, but still pretty neat.
     I took a lot of pictures but for some reason can't move them from photos to the desktop.
     Which is funny, because I moved three pictures....then it stopped.
     And speaking of stopped, two of my garlands are blacked out.  Damn, that is going to be a pain to try to fix.  One of them is new.  I think. 

Mulled wine takes the sting out of being cold.

Megan, what can you tell me about these creatures??

Me and my schnitzel.......

Now to figure out how to load more pictures....this has never happened before!

one down....

I performed one fix today

     My garage door now opens on the keypad (again) and on the car remote. (again)
     I don't know how many times I put that damn battery in only to have the remote not work.
     I finally flipped it over and noticed there was a paper shield on the bottom of the battery.  It would not work because I did not remove the protective covering.
     And following the directions worked like a charm.
     But I am perplexed by the under cabinet lights.
     They stopped working this weekend.
     This happened a couple of times before.  Once they were manually reset by my friend Steve, I think.  The second time they were reset by Pete.  The last time they seemed to reset themselves!
     Seriously!  The lights did not work but we had a storm and lightning hit near by and suddenly, they worked.
     We had a lot of lightning Saturday night, which was when they stopped working.
     I should have watched when the lights were reset.  I will next time.
     Had a great time tonight with my Exit 99 pals.  We talked about doing a show.  That is exciting to me, but it was great just talking and visiting with them, and laughing with them, and just being around them.
      So thanks Carrie, Beth and Terry for a fun night.
      The new me is going to start going to bed earlier.
      So.....good night.  Sweet dreams.

son of a bee

Dag nab it!  Foiled again by electronics

     All this electronic stuff is supposed to make my life easier.  Bull shit!
     My garage door opener in the Honda was not always working.  Sometimes it would open the door, sometimes it would not.
     I figured the battery must be dead.
     So I pry the sucker apart and put in a new battery.
     Nothing.
     I have to get out of my car and use the key pad.  (I know, tough nougie.  We had to do that in the old days.  And hey, until I was 12 I thought my name was Remote.  Dad was always yelling that at me.)
     It was rainy and cold the other night.  I back the car out, get out, punch the numbers in the key pad, close the door, run back to the car, slip on the ice, fall down the driveway, rolling like a concave bowling ball, knock down the mailbox, and bounce across the street where I eventually come to a stop.
      OK, maybe I exaggerated.  It's the Rum Chata in me talking.
     I got wet. 
     When I came home, I reversed the process, again getting wet only it was colder later than earlier.
     I thought maybe, just maybe, when the battery dies you have to re-sync your remote with the opener in the garage.
     So I Googled it.
     Seemed simple enough.  Hold down the learn button until the yellow light starts blinking, then press remote button until yellow light comes on again.
     I haul out my totally unstable two rung step ladder, see the learn button, and push it, holding it down until it starts blinking.
IT NEVER BLINKS!!
     I do it again.
IT NEVER BLINKS!!
     Being persistent, I try it again.
IT NEVER BLINKS!!
     Somebody once told me if something didn't work, stop doing it.  Continuing to do something that doesn't work is the true definition of insanity.
     So I figured I would wait until morning, put another new battery in in case that one wasn't good, and try again.
     I go over to the key pad to punch in my code and......... yeah, you saw this coming, didn't you.
IT DOESN'T WORK EITHER.
     Evidently, hitting the learn button erases all the codes for that door.  Duh!
     Now I have to go to the door to the house, hit the opener button there, go out the little door, relock the little door, then get in the car, being careful not to slip on the ice and roll down the driveway like a convex bowling ball.
     To get in the garage, I have to open the door, turn on the light, go up to the house door, hit the button, go back to the car ah hell, you know the drill by now, don't you.
     I have to find the manual for the garage doors.  Yes, I have it.  I save everything, remember?
     With luck, I will have it fixed by spring.
     Until then, I expect to get cold and wet while opening the back door.

odds and ends

Just a lot of stuff to mention

     The doorbell rang at a little after 10 this morning.  I was still in my World Series Champion Chicago Cubs pajamas.  I have seen people wearing these out in public, so after checking the fly, I went to the door.
     There was a really tall man standing there.  I did not have my glasses on.  My hair was sticking out in all sorts of crazy angles.  I opened the door.  I figured two people were either religious callers or thieves, but one person was pretty safe.
     It was my friend Todd.  He had a pie.  His friend felt guilty for outbidding us for the pie package at the VCCT auction, so he decided to bring a pie to us.
     I may have guilted them into it.  I did say several times, in a very whiny voice, "Those were my pies.  I was supposed to win them.  Who are you, anyway?"
     Turns out, you can have your pie and eat it too.  Whatever that means.
     I have a Yahoo e-mail account.  A couple of days ago I had 224 e-mails.  I deleted as many as I could.  Two days ago I had 141.  Today I have 187.  I can tell it is Christmas as most of them are advertisements.  And yes, I can unsubscribe but I have found some good deals!
     I had a zoo day today.  I went to take out a rabbit and read the note that said rabbit was digging and nipping, not a good sign.  I took her out anyway and she was an absolute delight!  Sat very quietly in my lap and did not dig or nip at all.  She even closed her eyes for a few minutes. 
    I was going 65 in the 55 mile work zone on the tollway and people were passing me like I was standing still.  I don't understand.
     The melting snow solved the problems of snowmobilers going through the retention pond.  I opened the back door and screamed at them that this was private property.  Jackie said they could not hear me and I was wasting my time, but they left.  Go figure.
     I hate the sound and smell of snowmobiles and ATVs.  And I hate that people who have them think it is ok to go on to private property and drive their toys.  Shows a lack of respect for landowners.
     I may be repeating myself.....but three nights ago I made some white chocolate hot chocolate.  I then put in an ounce or so of Rum Chata.  Instant heaven.  I may become addicted.
     I think I am becoming a grouch.
     That's ok by me. 

it's a wrap

We did a radio play tonight

     One night only, a VCCT fundraiser.
     I may be repeating myself, but a radio play is a play presented on the radio, like in the 40s and 30s, before the age of TV.
     I thought it went well; met several people I have not really known before.  It was nice learning about them.
     I have a sheltered life.
     They talked about movies they have seen, and I know I should have seen them, but I have not.  I now have a list of about 50 to watch.  And about 20 to see in theaters.
     And while it is not like a full play, with costumes and make up, it still takes a lot of work, and energy, to do a good job.
     I guess that is why I am tired, but can't go to bed.  Still have the rush you get from being in front of an audience coupled with the desire to sleep.
     Could be a toss and turn night.
     Funny, in the middle of the show there was lots of lightning and thunder.  It's Dec. 1, we shouldn't be having thunderstorms.
     Sure wish some smart people could figure this whole weather/climate thing out.
     Any way, I am snarky...so better go before I say something that offends someone.

no news

Sometimes I am in a bubble

     Had a zoo day today.  With Sirius in the car, I mostly listen to the Beatles channel.
     When I left the zoo today, I got a series of texts.  Basically they said Warren and the kids were fine.
     Warren is my cousin in law in Anchorage, Alaska.  I had no idea why he was ok until I found out there was a huge earthquake today.
     I called him tonight and he said the epicenter was directly under the chair his ass was in.  Several seconds of shaking knocked stuff off shelves and walls but did not do any major damage.  His daughter and grandchild also were safe, although there was a lot of clean up to do.
     There was an after shock seconds after the quake, and it was also quite powerful.
     Warren is a native Alaskan.  He was a teenager when the big one hit in 1964.       Jackie and I visited Earthquake Park in Anchorage when we were there in the 90s and could see visible evidence of that powerful quake.  Warren once joked that before that one the family house was a block away from the Cook Inlet, but after that quake it was on the Inlet, because the block across the street collapsed into the water.  At least hat is my memory of a story told almost 30 years ago, so I could be off a lot.
     I left the house at 8, got home at 4:45, left at 5:45, got home at about 9 and had the rest of my supper.  Jackie likes a salad at Panera, so I stopped to get her one, not realizing it was a seasonal offering.  But they have a great turkey/apple sandwich and they had squash soup, with I love.  I had the soup early, and the sandwich late.  I also got Jackie a sandwich, but no soup.
     I am in a production tomorrow night.  The local theater group (VCCT) is doing a radio version of Miracle on 34th Street.  I love that movie, and am glad to be part of the radio show version.
     But it made for a long day today.
     So.....sweet dreams, and solid Earths to all.

dirty dishes

I admit it, I am not detail oriented 

     Lately our dishwasher has not been doing a good job.  Some of the glasses had crud on them.  On one load, I had to rewash 6 glasses and two plates.
     I looked at the spray arms, they seemed ok.  Nothing seemed amiss.
     I mentioned it  to John at Thanksgiving, saying I would have to call a repairman to figure out what is wrong.
     He pulled out the bottom rack and noticed a hole or two (maybe more) was blocked.  So we cleaned it out.
     Then he looked at the top rack and noticed some of the holes were blocked there also.  We cleaned them out.
     I have not had a problem since.  Dishes, and glasses, come out perfectly clean.
     What the hell!!!  Am I blind??  I looked at the arms and didn't see a problem, but it was apparent there was crap in the holes.  (Still referring to the dishwasher for those of you with sick minds.)
     So I don't know if I am:
               A       Blind
               B        Inattentive
               C        Lazy
               D        Lax
               E         Uncaring
               F          All of the above.

     In any case, thanks John for getting my dishes clean.
     Now, about the spots on my laundry.......
      I still have a cold....and my really strong hot toddy is kicking in.  I need more whiskey.
     Good night, America.