Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Christmas Minus One!!

If at least two family members remain incarcerated, we won’t have to put the leaf in the table.

When I got up this morning, it was raining so hard the animals were starting to pair up. Scout wanted out, of course, so he made a bee-line for the south forty, did his thing, and returned like a rocket.  He went to the towel and said, “Please dry me,” in his best Australian Shepard accent. I contemplated tossing him into the dryer on “delicate,” but he is too heavy!

Let it rain; let it rain; let it rain! (7:05 AM)

Joe called at 9:00 AM, and he was out front of the house with the boys; he was ready to install the radiant barrier in the garage attic.  We spent two hours and got it all installed, complete with a lot of laughing and giggling.  The boys were a big help since they could fit into places where Joe and I might have 50 years ago!

Charlie, Alex, and Joe worked two hours putting up the barrier!

We taught Charlie and Alex to read measuring devices, calculate distances, and mark the studs to have the barrier guard straight. The material Joe got was a commercial-grade capable of reflecting 87% of the heat coming through the roof right back to the roof and thus keep the attic much cooler.

The boys get lessons in using tools and making and marking measurements.

The material was quite thick, and we could not tear it with our bare hands.  Now that I have seen it done, I believe I will attack my house attic while it is wintertime and the attic is cool! I just need about 4,000 square feet of material and an electric or pneumatic staple gun!

One hundred sixty linear feet installed in two hours!

At 11:00  AM, we were done, and they were on their way.  I jumped into the shower and got ready to go to Roger’s Gardens with Robin and Bob, and of course, Miss Mary!  You know, I am one bottle of shower gel away from being able to open my own Christmas gift shop in my shower.

We had a break in the weather, so we turned on the balloons, and they stood proud!

The rain has passed for a little while anyway.

We arrived at Rogers almost on schedule, but who is counting?  We talked about Mary and retirement on the way there, and she told us about her meeting Santa for an eye examination a few years back!

Oh, Dear!

12:42 PM, and all is well.  We are ready to enter Roger’s and find some last minutes treasures!  I reminded everyone, “There are three phrases that sum up Christmas: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men, and Batteries Not Included.”

We arrive at Roger’s Gardens.

We walked the gardens, and then Sant’s two mischievous elves turned on him and dressed him up with masks and dark glasses.  After seeing these two in action, I asked Bob. “What do you call Santa’s helpers?” Then I told him, “Subordinate Clauses.”

Pestering Santa

Who is that masked photobomber? Mary and Santa are both safe!  As we walked through the buildings and displays, the Christmas tree decorations looked treemendous!

Mary is a professional photobomber.

What do you call a holiday gift when it dies? The Ghost of Christmas Present.

After a successful shopping spree at Roger’s, we headed to the Santa Ana Elks for the traditional Tom & Jerry afternoon.

Tom & Jerry’s being prepared.

We had a table for us, the Duda’s and the Capps.  Mary, Mary, and Robin just gossiped up a storm!

The girls enjoyed visiting!

We guys, on the other hand, were very quiet and reserved.  I remember telling Bill, “Christmas is a baby shower that went totally overboard.”

Bill responded, “The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington D.C. This wasn’t for any religious reasons. They couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin.”

We were talking about growing up, and I mentioned that when I was a child, my family was so poor that at Christmas, we exchanged glances.

Trading jokes and solving the world’s problems!

I did ask Bill about the new hybrid sleighs since he is up on all the latest technology!

Oh, dear!

A Tom and Jerry is a traditional Christmastime cocktail in the United States, sometimes attributed to British writer Pierce Egan in the 1820s. It is a variant of eggnog with brandy and rum added and served hot, usually in a mug or a bowl.

Another method uses egg whites, beaten stiff, with the yolks and sugar folded back in, and optionally vanilla extract added. A few spoonfuls are added to a mug, then hot milk and rum are added and topped with nutmeg.

After the Tom & Jerry’s, we went home to await the delivery of tomorrow’s dinner from Yang Ming.  We could not imagine a Chinese restaurant not opening on Christmas day!  When we found out there were closed, we asked the Zaitz, Armstrongs, Dudas, and Liles to celebrate in our home with “The Christmas Story” running on the TV.

The Chinese have arrived delivered personally by One-Hung-Low!.

Then we decided to go to Aces for dinner, a massive failure; they closed at 4:00 PM, and we arrived at 4:15 PM.  We then went to Rockwell’s, and only the bar was open that would be fine for me, but the Duda’s and Mary were hungry.  So, we went to Yang Mings and had a wonderful dinner!  We ordered more food from them to ensure we had meals that did not have gluten in them for Lisa.

We giggled up a storm, as usual! Bob and I ran to the market and got last-minute supplies for tomorrow!

Ah, the lovers were doing their thing!  We are fortunate to have found one another, and it is our second Christmas together.

Just us!

I got her tickled, and she could not stop laughing!

Decisions decisions

Bob and Robin took off for home to have dinner with their son Nick and we made sure they had plenty of goodies.  We got a call from the Reidy’s, and they said they were coming over; we fed them Chinese dinner and swapped stories well into the wee hours.  (Wee hours at our age is about 9:30 PM).

Dianne was reading the contents of a box of chocolates, so I let to video run!

We stayed up about another hour and then crashed to be ready for tomorrow.  We have about fifteen folks over for an afternoon of dining, singing, dancing, and other festivities.

 

About Paul

Just an old retired guy trying to finish out my last years on this planet. I lost my best friend and wife in early 2020. I was blessed again by reconnecting with Dr. Mary Côté, a long-time friend. Mary and I got married July 28th, 2021, and are enjoying life together and plan to spend the rest of our lives being a blessing to our friends and family.
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