Saturday, December 30, 2017

Serial Beginner...

...at bowling...we never do it enough to become consistently good, but we do go bowling 3 or 4 times per year...so we're always beginners.

But that's ok...it's an enjoyable "fill in" activity, and it's one we did again yesterday on my birthday.

And that's a pretty good picture of me...it's my best side, and it captures the moment just before all the bad stuff happens...

Here's a collage Karen put together of our afternoon / evening of bowling and then dinner to celebrate the 21st anniversary of my 40th birthday...
The meal was at On The Border, courtesy of a gift card from Sarah...very enjoyable.  Please note the big drink was Karen's margarita...mine was the little glass of whiskey...gotta get one of those whiskey glasses...pretty cool.

The neverending snow continues...


...which makes me wish for summer again...
...as Karen posted on FB, looks like I'm standing in front of a small castle...and I do love our little castle...

Came across this spectacular art deco clock...
...encrusted with rubies and diamonds, it sports a 7 figure purchase price...made by sculptor Sandoz in the 1920's, I believe...wish someone would make a replica...I'd buy one in a heartbeat...very cool.

Hard to believe vacation is winding down, but vacation days fly by at twice the speed of work days, so here we are..today, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and then it's back into the fray...the worst part is going to be getting up to my 4:30 am alarm clock...I've actually laid in bed until almost 8 am some mornings this past week...yikes...my system is in for a shock come Tuesday...

later, mcm fans...

* Crass Commercialism Corner *

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Saturday, December 23, 2017

A Wonderful Gift...

...at Christmas time...from my #1 son, Micah.

The book itself is very cool...handsomely bound, it's a pleasure to hold and handle while enjoying the timeless stories contained within.

But what makes this gift truly special is what it represents and how it illustrates a fundamental truth in life: you never know what will come back to you, or when it may reappear on your doorstep.

In this case it took about thirty years, but all those nights of reading to my sons at bedtime decades ago were given back to me in this one spectacular Christmas gift.

I admit there were times when my only real goal was to try and get them to calm down enough so they would go to sleep, but guess what?

Those tales from Aesop's Fables, those sea going pirate adventures in Treasure Island, those years of privation and innovation in Robinson Crusoe, those childhood morals of The Sugar Creek Gang and those Christmas Hauntings in A Christmas Carol were not falling on deaf ears after all.

Micah and I shared a few laughs remembering back to those days and I will prize this gift for years to come.

And speaking of Micah, he and one of his sons (Isaiah) drove to Washington, DC this weekend to see his oldest daughter Tionna...
Micah brought along some gifts and the little Christmas tree for a touch of seasonal decor.

Tionna just completed her 6 week Navy Ceremonial Guard training and will now be representing the Navy at many official ceremonies and events.
A great honor and a big responsibility to be the face of the Navy to the country at large...so very proud of her!

Christmas is now just two days away, and our White Christmas which seemed a virtual lock a week or so ago is suddenly up for grabs.  A couple of days of 40 degrees and drizzling rain has turned our Winter Wonderland into patches of hard crusty snow scattered here and there around the countryside.

If we're going to have a white one this year it will take an 11th hour rescue by Santa and Old Man Winter.  C'mon boys, teamwork!  You can do it!

But hey, if you'd rather take the day off, I'm ok with 65 and sunny...see you boys on the links and don't forget your hickories...

Today and tomorrow will be final prep for the big day, but I'll be honest...for the most part I've arrived at that age where my Christmas shopping is reduced to writing some checks...boring I know...but Karen still does the shopping thing and also will be making lots of good things to eat for Christmas Eve...I'll do my best to a) stay out of her way and b) help out where I can.  Sometimes to accomplish b all I need to do is a...we'll see.

for now...

later, mcm fans...

* Crass Commercialism Corner *

In the "so convenient you can't stand it" department, you can purchase my books here and on Amazon.com!

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Thank you!

Friday, December 8, 2017

It's A Christmas Miracle...

...Santa brought us a kitchen!

Five months to the (moving) day - from July 5th to same in December - we finally have our kitchen more or less done.
That's a panograph so the proportions aren't right, but since it's a round room I thought it would give you a sense of the flow...we have actual cabinets, a stove with range hood, back splash and wall coverings now...
...and that's standing in front of the sink looking at the other half of the kitchen...love the coffee station.

Karen won't be happy with a couple of these pics since they include some random junk laying around, but a few hours before these pics were taken it was still a construction zone.

Here it is after Karen decorated it this afternoon for Christmas...

We're getting there...finally...still have some floating shelves and some finish work to be done, but we're better than 95% of the way there now.  Insert excited "woo hoo!" here.

And Christmas has come to the rest of our home as well thanks to Karen's tireless efforts...
So it's merry ho-ho around the homestead now...

Of course, the 40 / 50 mph wind gusts we had this week wreaked havoc on our plastic army of Christmas icons in the front yard...and up on the roof top click click click...a couple of Santa's reindeer learned how to fly, while Frosty, Hark the Angel and the Holy Family all got blown over, along with the manger...

So we spent last night after the winds died down restoring order to the troops...all is well in Christmas Village again.

And this morning we're covered with our first snow...
...love how the snow looks on our stone wall...
...and in our courtyard.

It's beautiful, but I can't swing my hickories on the golf course in it...dang...
...and never heard back from the course owners about my trespass onto their course for an illicit round of 9 holes...seems like a year ago now but it was just a week...from 60 degrees to snow in just a few days...welcome to Michigan.

'nuff for now...

later, mcm fans...

* Crass Commercialism Corner *

In the "so convenient you can't stand it" department, you can purchase my books here and on Amazon.com!

Get your paperback books here:



Get your ebooks here:



Thank you!

Thursday, December 7, 2017

A Day...

...that will live in infamy...December 7th, 1941...the official start of WWII for the United States of America.

More than 1,200 Americans died in this surprise attack and eventually, through the course of the war, more than 400,000 American lives were lost in this global conflict.

Today we remember and honor all those who perished, and all those who followed after them, rallying to the cause of freedom.

Never forget.