rambling I'm a Sucker for... a new vacuum. Okay, the pun was intended, but it's also true. Of all the weird things in my life my search for the perfect vacuum is probably near the top of the list. Right now I currently own four vacuums. We have the robot vacuum (Roborock, much
rambling Write it Up... Okay so writing. My goal was to write more days than I didn't and I was thinking I should aim for five days a week. I did write more days than I didn't, but I didn't quite hit five days a week. I missed
repost I Believe... fiction I Believe and I Believe Too were written December 13, 2013. I Believe was originally a stand alone piece but almost as soon as I published it the idea for I Believe Too came out. And then (as some of you might remember) it actually blossomed into a multipart,
rambling Here Comes Santa Claus... I am a sucker for a Santa Claus movie. Traditional, bad ass, looking to hand over the family business, you name it, I've watched it and probably really liked it. Unless Santa is an asshole, then I hated it. Rudolph is a fine Rankin/Bass production EXCEPT for
rambling Feats of Strength... Last night was the last Christmas show of the season. This year we saw five different shows. Which is a lot. Normally I try and do at least two, but with special pricing offers and emails sent at exactly the right time to tempt me we ended up with five.
rambling Read it Wrap... I'm going to read everyday. I'm going to keep mixing in nonfiction and fiction, stories about people who are different than I am to keep broadening my world view, and things I love and want to escape into. That was all I put about my 2025
repost Christmas Stories fiction Since I reposted the Krampus piece earlier this month I figured I'd repost this companion piece as well. Gotta give the Fat Man his due! Christmas Stories "I don't normally do interviews." "I understand. I really appreciate that you are making an
rambling A Day Early... And a dollar to the good? A day late and a dollar short is the usual saying so is it a dollar richer if you are early? Hmm... Anyway... I thought today was the solstice but it's tomorrow. I was all prepared to write a quick jaunt reflecting
rambling Best Of Recaps... Okay, it's that time of year. The Best of lists are all out. The Year in Reviews have hit. The wrapped versions of everything. How was your 2025? What did you do? What was the best thing you saw, ate, did, read? Since I've been trying
rambling How Are You? I was talking to a friend yesterday and we got off on "the state of the world today" and I laughed and said that it was amazing I had any friends at all. I am always the one who is having the "the world is burning down
rambling The Darkest Week... We are in the darkest week of the year right now. Sunrise in Portland is at 7:45 and sunset at 4:30. Give or take a few minutes. We'll start to gain a few minutes on either end starting soon. But right now we are in the
rambling Fair Weather Fiends... I just got done gardening. In December. What the fuck? Our weather has been bonkers so far this season. Dark and cloudy but without much rain all November. POURING rain but 60 degrees in December. My yard has absolutely no idea what season it is. I finally gave in and
rambling None of My Business... I mean, technically that's true but... So I'm not sure how up to date most of you are on college football coaches but Michigan's coach was just fired. Seems he was having an "inappropriate" relationship with a staffer and Michigan has a
rambling Skipping Ahead... I'm still trying to figure out how 2026 is going to look. I mean aside from terrifying and frustrating and all of that "good" stuff around being an American right now. The personal how do I want my year to go stuff. I still like the
repost Krampusnacht... fiction This is another repost from the other blog. It's from last year, so not as old. It's also a little deeper cut than the other one. I love my deep cut characters. At the end of this first story is another one. One that I
rambling Sing, Sing a Song... Portland has a really talented symphony. Brent and I go to at least one show every year and we've always enjoyed them. I think the first time we saw them we were surprised as much as anything. Portland is a good sized city but it's not
repost Good Old Days fiction This was originally posted on my old blog in December of 2016. It was the Krampus parade this weekend so it seemed like a good time to repost it here. Christmas is all about rewatching and rereading right? Krampus was bored. He leaned back on his throne and cleaned
rambling Updates... So I put away a few things yesterday and put out like three things. Christmas decorating is in full, partial, barely, okay, just swing. Christmas decorating is in swing. I'll finish it all up by the end of the weekend for sure. I ran some errands this morning
rambling Fa La La La La blah blah blah blah... I need to decorate the house for Christmas. This is the worst part of decorating. The I need to do it part. First I need to find places for all of my normal decor. Put it all away someplace for the month. Then I need to figure out where to
rambling Clearly... Since it's December 3 and this is the first time this month I've sat down to write clearly I haven't beaten the mehs just yet. But to be fair to myself I knew that I'd have a quiet start to the week.
rambling Remember Remember... Oh shit, nevermind, it's already over. Okay, so for all of you who laughed when I said I was going to do all of my October things in November congratulations, you win. Honestly once the slide starts toward the end of the year you just have to hold
rambling Thanksgiving... Happy Thanksgiving! As most of you know Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. It's a lot less pressure than a lot of others. Just eating and watching TV. The parade, the dog show, football, and often Christmas Vacation in the evening to transition holidays. The food is almost
rambling What Have You Done? It's Beat Ohio week. The Game is on Saturday and all week long at every single Michigan game, no matter the sport, at some point the chant "Beat Ohio" will break out. As soon as last week's football game was well in hand it
rambling Love Languages... We went to the bakery and the butcher this morning to pick up our holiday feast stuff. I learned a few years ago that though picking everything up on Wednesday SEEMS like a good idea, it most definitely is not. The first year I ordered from the bakery (New Cascadia,
rambling Introspective... That's the kind of day it is. Introspective. Sounds better than bummer. And honestly it's less of a bummer than it has been. It's still a day that if I'm not careful I could cry. In fact I read a lovely little
