Random Thoughts on a Monday
You guessed it, this is one of those months where I am plumb stumped for a column topic. I’ve been noodling it for days and coming up absolutely blank. I just spent 45 minutes writing 3 horribly boring paragraphs about how Facebook is always listening – and it is – but it wasn’t nearly as entertaining on paper as the potential had been in my head. So, let’s see if I can come up with enough completely unrelated paragraphs to put together a whole column here. We can be surprised together.
Not to waste a paragraph I did write about Facebook listening combined with an adorable cat photo (who can resist an adorable cat photo), here’s what happened around that: If we’re friends on Facebook you may have seen my photo of one of our cats, Merlin the Round, who for this post was rechristened Merlin the Triangular. I put up a photo of him I had taken in the kitchen and said he made me think of those AI cats shaped like a Christmas tree for a fake t-shirt. (You know the ones, if it’s a t-shirt and the head of the person is cropped off, odds are better than 50/50 it’s a fake shirt – you’ll order one and instead get a three dollar knock off Burberry scarf. Ask me how I know.) Shortly after I posted, yup, you guessed it – the fake t-shirt ad popped up in my feed. It’s pretty darn cute, but I’ve learned my lesson and resisted.
Have you ever noticed how when dealing with Thanksgiving leftovers that normal meal creation and balance ideas go right out the window? I’ll put pasta, potatoes, corn, more potatoes and a roll on my plate, reheat it in the microwave, and not even notice the lack of token protein or a green vegetable. Nope, it’s carbs with a side of carbs and then pile on a few more. It’s the one time of year it’s socially acceptable.
It’s December 1st as I’m writing this and I just realized I’m almost done with my Christmas shopping. Holy crap, I have no idea where that burst of efficiency came from – it’s never happened before and not likely to happen again, so I may just sit here and bask in it for a minute.
For those of you following the adventures of Django the Super Puppy, we took him in for his annual checkup. At 15 months with another year’s growing to do, he weighed in at 130 pounds. Yikes. You may also remember tales of his less than stellar car manners – he freaks out and about 10 minutes into the ride lets out what you hope just is a horrible dog fart, but it never is. (We carry a lot of cleaning supplies and he’s on a rubber mat, so at least it hose-down-able.) After the last episode we swore faithfully we would be diligent in our car training. Yeah, well, we weren’t. And seemingly out of nowhere it was time to get him in the car again. This time at least we were armed with really good Doggie Downers. We discovered that when he’s stoned out of his gourd he is still a challenge to get in the car – there was lifting and pushing and pulling and trickery and hot dogs and shoving him up the ramp, all accompanied with a lot of laughing and more than a few “oof” noises coming out of the humans. But the good news is, once we got him in and tossed Jim in there with him, we made it to the vet AND back without any incidents.
Does anyone besides me still use a paper calendar/daytimer? Anyone actually remember the term “daytimer?” If so, do you get all excited about what calendar you’ll use? What size? Same as last year or different? Maybe buy three different ones in search for eternal organization only to go back to the tried and true you’ve used for years? No? Just me? Alrighty then.
That brings me to thoughts of the Winter Solstice and New Year’s Eve, my very favorite time of year. The solstice is a time for reflection, going within, and enjoying the quiet. New Year’s Eve I love because it’s Pure Possibility. Whatever you want to create for the coming year exists completely and perfectly on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Do you have any New Year rituals? Coins on the window sill to draw abundance? Cleaning the house on New Year’s Eve Day to rid of old energy? “Start the year as you mean to go on” is another good one. Black eyed peas and greens? Or maybe just bingeing college football and enjoying family and friends? Whatever your own rituals are to say goodbye to the old year and welcome in the new, I wish you all the best possible 2026 and hope yours is filled with friendship, abundance, love, success and really, really wonderful food. Happy New Year!