....And That's It.

I am no longer 49.

...and no longer keeping an online blog that isn't art-related. Good-bye!

Thanksgiving

I spent the day (noon to 7:30 pm) at Dad & Ma's. Sarah & Jon and the 4 kids (plus Hayden's Audrey and Celia's Michael) all had dinner with us around 2:00 pm. Sarah & I each had a beer. The Bears beat the Lions in the early game. Chocolate cream pie & coffee for dessert around 4:00. Hung out with Ma during the 2nd NFL game (with "FRIENDS" on too). Home with a ton of leftovers (turkey, gravy, stuffing, Syrian bread, dark roast coffee, pepperoni, cheese, crackers, a chocolate cream pie & a can of whipped cream) and two cool pint glasses (Brooklyn Brewery and a combo Wachusett Brewing Co & Westminster Crackers). Also, Dad & Ma gave me a $50 bill and a nice card for my birthday 2 days early. The sky was blue, but it was below 10 degrees all day!

Final Week...

...of this blog. My birthday is Saturday.

I haven't decided if I am going to reboot with a new one, jump back to Kenozoic Tales, or return to print-only, in my ongoing journals that I began back when I was 17.

One week to decide...

Winter Rumblings

Since the temperature was in the 20's yesterday I wore my winter coat to work for the first time this season.

On the way home from work last night I saw the ski slope lights on Mount Wachusett for the first time.

And Winter Storm Avery is supposed to drop up to 8 inches of snow overnight tonight...

BLEAH.

Yep, the snow began at 7:00 pm, and dropped 2 inches per hour for awhile.
I drove home at 9:30 pm, and spent the entire time on Route 2 going 20 mph.
And then I had to park at the bottom of my driveway because the snow was so deep,
and my drive has a rather steep incline.
Plus, everyone in an SUV or truck was driving as if it was his/her first winter ever.
WEAK!

Magical Art Challenge

Coming soon! I think I can handle one full week of prompts:

It'll carry me to the end of this year-long blog, as my birthday is on the 24th...

Wildfires

There are fires in northern California, pretty close to Walnut Creek. This is the view of Mt. Diablo from my brother's neighborhood:

A far cry from when I was there last week:

Final Night

Today was my final full day in Walnut Creek, CA.

Jason was still on Italy time, so he was up at 3 am. He ran out to get coffee at 5 am (he only drinks ice coffee, and never homemade), and then ran out again at 8 when I woke up, to snag me coffee, and bacon for both of us. Nice!

Sawyer had a soccer game and a basketball game spread over the day, so J & Stacie were in and out with him all afternoon. The NFL begins at 10:00 am on the West Coast, so I spent the day continuing to read "A Dance With Dragons" with football on in front of me. We had chicken fingers from Safeway for lunch, and deep dish pizza for supper during the Patriots demolishing of the Packers. It was a fun sit-around day, and I got to hang out with my little brother for a day. Saying goodnight (and good-bye) to the boys was hard, it was such a great week having them all to myself.

I packed, read for a bit, and then was asleep by midnight for tomorrow's 5:00 am wake-up (flight at 8:05 am).

Oh, and J & Stacie brought me some stuff back from their trip:

Some Italian instant coffee, a bar of Italian chocolate, 

and a journal with an Italian leather cover (they all smell awesome - haha).

Mount Diablo

a nice drive & hike (more later)

World Series Champions

It was amazing watching the Red Sox win their 4th World Series title while I was in California with Cooper & Sawyer. Games began at 5 o'clock, and I got to watch them with my nephews. Not to mention all the great player moments, including clutch home runs, and the  David Price/Joe Kelly/Chris Sale pitching masterpiece in the series-clinching Game 5. What a run...

Also, we carved our Jack O'lanterns for Halloween!

Go West Young Man

Hayden is picking me up at 7:45 am, and my flight is scheduled to leave at 10:47 am (weather permitting)...

Final Day Off...

...until my California trip!

Today:

• I slept in until 8:45, then had cereal, coffee & raspberry Zingers for breakfast, with a documentary about the planet Mercury.
• I did dishes.
• Thankfully, my new debit card arrived!
• J & Stacie had a flight-changing stopover in Stockholm.
• I took out the trash.
• I had tuna sandwiches, apple juice and Pringles for lunch. Then it was Sunday's Patriots game on the NFL Network and a wikistorm (Mercury and other elements, poisoning, China, etc...).
• I read more of "Harry Potter" 5.
• I went to Dad & Ma's for dinner (roast beef, gravy & Syrian bread), and to watch the Red Sox win Game 1 of the World Series 8-4. Nice 3-run shot, Nunez!

Great Day Off

A checklist of my pretty decent day off:

• I slept in until nearly 11:00 am, but when I got up, I made scrambled eggs, and had them with a toasted bagel w/butter, fresh broccoli, orange juice, and coffee, while I watched "A Million Little Things".
• I did dishes (twice: sink; and pots & pans).
• I shaved my head and cleaned the bathroom sink (simultaneously).
• I called Workman's Comp and left another message.
• I did laundry (sheets & shirts).
• I watched sports tv and had fried chicken for a late lunch/early dinner.
• Went to Dad & Ma's to give her her birthday gifts (pear soap and a mouse & pumpkins figurine). Cousin Michael is here from Florida until Tuesday so we got to hang out for a few minutes. Ma sent me off with a couple of big pears, some roast beef and a bag of Syrian bread. Plus $100 to goof around with on my California trip!
• On the way home I got a few Mega Millions tickets since the jackpot is close to one billion dollars!
• I ordered a Lisa Jewell novel ("I Found You") from Amazon to read on the plane to California.
• The Raptors beat the Celtics (booo!).
• I had my first beer in a month (back pain meds), and it was glorious! A Metacomet IPA.

World Series Bound

The Red Sox just punched their ticket to the World Series by beating the Astros 4-1 tonight in Game 5 of the ALCS! David Price pitched 6 shut out innings, and J. D. Martinez's solo shot in the 3rd inning, and Raphael Devers' 3-run blast in the 6th sealed the deal.

Now we just have to wait to see who wins the Dodgers/Brewers series, currently at 3/2, to see who we will beat.

World Series Schedule:

1. Tuesday 10/23 @ Fenway
2. Wednesday 10/24 @ Fenway
3. Friday 10/26 @ TBD
4. Saturday 10/27 @ TBD
5. Sunday 10/28 @ TBD (if necessary)
6. Tuesday 10/30 @ Fenway (if necessary)
7. Wednesday 10/31 @ Fenway (if necessary)

Games in bold italics = me in California...

Downpour Day Off

I was so tired after my 3-day return to work (and my jackass manager taking Columbus Day off, leaving me alone for seven hours on my first day back after 2 weeks prone) that I slept until 11:00 am today. At least the grey rainy day passed by slowly anyway...

My Washburn University shirt arrived! And it's fantastic. Classy & classic all in one. It'll get its first wearing in California in a few weeks.

Around 3:30 I ran out in the driving rain to fill my gas tank, pick up my doctor's note for work (no trucks or heavy lifting for 30 days), and do a small foodshop (dairy, chicken, cereal, etc...).

The rest of the day was a combination of online games, tv and "Clash of Clans". It's 11:00 pm now and I am going to try to play catch-up on Inktober.

Did one - Day 8: STAR

And last but not least, I snagged Chillhop Essentials - Fall 2018 from Bandcamp. So even if my iPod fritzes out, I can stream it on my cell phone when I am in California...

Miscellaneous

I had my follow up visit at the doctor at 1:30. I can go back to work on Monday, but no heavy lifting (or truck unloading) for one month. Sweet, I was going stir crazy with all of the inactivity and crappy weather...

On the way home I stopped at Michaels to use my $25 gift card that I received from Dad & Ma for Christmas. I got the following:

1. Artist's Loft - 8½" x 11" 75 lb paper hardcover sketchbook (110 pages).
2. Strathmore - 5½" x 8½" 60 lb paper spiral bound sketchbook (130 pages).
3. Pigma - 3-pack of black Micron art pens (.005/.02/.08).

Late lunch was 2 Dunkin Donuts sausage/egg/cheese/plain bagels. Haven't had one of those in ages! They were sooo good.

I did some drawing, and like a dummy, at 11:00 pm I ordered pizza...

Inktober

I began a new drawing challenge today: Inktober. Created in 2009 by Jake Parker as a way to stimulate creativity, promote consistency, and hone skills with freehand inking, Inktober is a 31-day daily challenge with an official list of prompts.

I will be using the official Prompt List, but if I find myself uninspired on any given day, rather than skip that day, I will choose from any number of unofficial lists.

The official one:

My work will be posted on my Instagram, and also at my drawing blog, Balsa Wood Tree House.

Sunday Stuff

I got up at 8:30, and had a banana, coffee, and the rest of yesterday's Chinese chicken fingers for breakfast. Then it was the rest of "The Last of Robin Hood", and after that online for a bit.

I did laundry and dishes, then made 1½ tuna fish sandwiches for lunch (alongside Wachusett potato chips & a cream soda from Harmony Springs). I drew a calendar for October (and part of November), with my California trip boldly featured) while I watched the Patriots destroy Miami.

Unusual Saturday

After a couple of very strange dreams (1. I won $10,000 on a pink "7*7*7" scratch ticket. 2. I was being attacked by a pack of small wolves, but I was winning when I woke up.) I got out of bed at 11:24 am! Cereal, banana, coffee for breakfast.

Online, paid my electric/gas bill, bought Ma's birthday gifts. Then went to my page on the Bandcamp site to see if there was any new music to add to my iPod, and I snagged Aso's Two/Seven EP. Then I ordered Chinese food.

I watched Boston College beat Temple and the Red Sox lose to the Yankees. I shaved my head. At 9:00 pm I showered and went food shopping. Then it was coffee from Peru and a big apple tart.

After that it was the first half of "The Last of Robin Hood", the season premier of "SNL", online for a bit, and then I fell asleep reading "HP4".

Unusual Friday

Oh look, up at 9:00 am. Consistency! Though I was up until 4 reading "HP4"...

Breakfast in front of the tv, then I got dressed and went to my old store to drop off my keys (Arthur & Chris will be helping out in my current store this coming week to cover my injury absence). I put in my sick time (this week's check is only 17 hours - ugh), and processed my (highly undervalued by a &^%$ of a manager) performance review.

Home, made coffee, then online for awhile.

The mailman brought my Herbie Nichols cd. 4 albums on 2 discs. I listened to them straight through (and ripped them for my iPod). Great stuff!

I paid some bills (rent, car insurance), did some dishes, changed Chumble's litterbox, and made mac & cheese & broccoli & beef for lunch. The rest of the day was tv, reading, a one hour nap, and online. I ate smart all day, and fell asleep reading more "HP4".

Unusual Thursday

Is a day truly unusual if one doesn't do much of anything?

The last of three scheduled days off, which fall within my injury absence. Up at 9:00 am, and then breakfast was a banana, apple pie and Starbucks Fall Blend coffee. I spent the rest of the day in front of the tv, online, and reading "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", which I began last night after finishing the previous book in the series, around 3:00 am.

Late lunch (circa 2:30 pm) was pizza (BOOOO!). I took a nap from 5:30 - 6:30. Then it was more tv, including sports, "The Big Bang Theory", the new version of "Murphy Brown" and Vikings at Rams.

It was kind of a waste of a day, but it's inspired me to make the next week (Friday through Thursday) a lot more interesting and productive, despite my injury...

Unusual Wednesday

Today was another scheduled day off. I was up at 7:30 because I had a doctor's appointment at 8:45. Breakfast was coffee, cereal and a banana beforehand.

I forgot how cool (and pretty) Nurse Practitioner Samantha was. She took care of me two years ago during my initial, more severe back injury. It's great to be treated by someone so easy to talk to. After running me through some motion tests she recommended I stay out of work until at least next Friday, and she prescribed me some painkillers. I have a follow up visit next Wednesday to check my progress.

I went to the nearby CVS to pick up my prescription, and I found some Starbucks Fall Blend coffee. Sweet! I went online for awhile and wound up buying a 4 disc set of Herbie Nichols music from Amazon. Love that guy.

Those pain pills really work, by the way. Around 4:00 pm I rolled onto my bed to read more of "HP3", and after an hour or so I was out like a light, and slept comfortably until 7:00.

Supper was ground beef and angel hair pasta and Ragu. Then it was "ATH", "PTI", and the season premiers of "Survivor", "Modern Family" (UGH! Pameron's kid come to stay), and "Single Parents" (better than expected). We got some severe thunderstorms during this part of the day too (poor Chumble!).

Unusual Tuesday

Today began like yesterday (though it's the first of three scheduled days off, and not an 'injury day'): up at 9:00 am, then coffee & cereal. TV and tablet, then some more of "HP3", while a load of laundry ran.

At 12:30 or so I ran out to Hannaford because I needed bread, ½&½, coffee, and fruits & veggies. I also grabbed an apple pie half, and fried chicken from their deli. I made a few phone calls (scheduled a doctor appointment tomorrow for 8:45 am; gave a work status update to my DM; left a message with the accident claim department rep). Then after eating some of the chicken, it was a Wikistorm (reading and link-jumping on Wikipedia).

The rest of the day was more laundry (blankets), more tv, more reading, and in between, coffee (in my newish deer mug) & apple pie for supper.

Unusual Monday

Today was Day One of my back injury work hiatus.

I slept until 9:00, fed Chumble, and had a normal breakfast (cereal & coffee). Then it was tv and my tablet. Online for awhile, then I got hungry so I washed the dishes in the sink, and then prepared a deceptively complicated lunch (which I rarely do).

I had the remnants of a cooked barbecued chicken from Market Basket, a can of mushrooms, and a can of mushroom soup. SO: I prepared a pot of fettuccine and the soup (can of soup, can of 1% milk). I stripped the chicken bare of all salvageable meat. I added the chicken and mushrooms to the simmering mushroom soup. I strained and then buttered (and salt & peppered) the fettuccine. And last but not least, I plated the fettuccine on a big deep plate with an indentation in the middle of the noodles, and then spooned the chicken & mushrooms out of the soup (and then poured some of it) onto the pasta. It tasted fantastic. I'm so glad I didn't have something delivered or settle for something lame & lazy like pretzels and apple juice...

Around 4:00 pm I went to my bed and read some of "Harry Potter 3" until I fell asleep until just after 6:00. Then it was sports tv, a bit of "The Voice", and then the season premiere of "The Big Bang Theory". Supper was more coffee, vanilla wafer cookies, and then later, ice tea and tortilla chips.

My back hurt a lot off & on all day, depending on how I was sitting or laying. Hopefully tomorrow it will feel better. I can't sit around for a week again.

Are You KIDDING me?

Today I felt a twinge in my back as I was unloading our delivery truck. Fast-forward a couple of hours, and while I was unloading cases of bottled water, it seized up.

Again.

For the 3rd year in a row...

I went home early (after work-related injury due diligence: the injury line, talked to an on-call nurse, and texted my DM), leaving behind my closing shift, and tomorrow's opening shift. Thankfully I have Tuesday through Thursday off, but it's up to the doctor tomorrow how soon I return to work after that.

UGH! What a waste of days off, sick time, and my rebooted work out schedule!

I'll just have to figure out ways to make the time off productive.

Next Week

I am going to try to post every day next week. I have 3 days off in row (Tue-Thu), and I've realized that I have many items that I've bought but haven't yet used (clothing, shoes, mugs, etc...), and my travels this year (except for work) have been extremely rare. So each day, beginning on Sunday, I will feature a 'new' and/or 'unusual' item, event, food, destination, or a combination of the aforementioned categories. I'm thinking of branding the posts "Out Of The Ordinary", OOTO, but we will see...

Friday Funday

I have today off, and I received my check from the time my boss was away, including its 19 hours of overtime.

I did some reading in front of the tv over breakfast, and later I paid the rent and bought some high-quality sheets, a book and a bamboo toothbrush from Amazon. It's actually sunny today for the first time in days.

I shaved my head and then took a shower so I could run errands. I food shopped and the grabbed some beer, and came back home for a late Hannaford fried chicken lunch. Then it was off to the lake!

I was there 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm, and the place was pretty quiet for a sunny Friday afternoon! A few jet skis, a few floating porches, and a couple of slow-moving motorboats. That made me very happy. I read some of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". I drank a pair of Hanging Hills Brewery Metacomet IPAs (one as I read, one as I floated). I had pretzels and an apple. And I listened to Tiny Firelies "Nothing/2040" and Cocteau Twins/Harold Budd "The Moon & the Melodies". What an afternoon...

No Plans

Today has been a nice day off. I had no specific plans, nor a list of things to get done for the day.

I got up a little after nine, and had a banana, cereal & coffee for breakfast while I watched an episode of "Nova" about origami. Then I went online to watch a bunch of the final season of "The Office" on Netflix. Midway through, my hardcover English version of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" finally arrived.

Kevin came by around 1:30 and we sat outside (cool and dry, if a bit cloudy) and caught up for about an hour. I gave him the five tallboy Patriots Pepsi cans for his traditional NFL Week One 'shut in' event (haha). After that I bought a couple of books on Amazon.

The rest of the day was more of "The Office", and night coffee.

Only Day Off

This is my only day off until next week, due to the events of the "Bossless 9" (see previous post).

I went to bed at 1:00 am, and wound up sleeping in until 10:00 am. I needed it. I had cereal & coffee for breakfast as I watched an old episode of "Face Off" and played "Clash of Clans". Before, in between and after, I took out the trash, washed dishes, and shaved my head.

More dishes & finished shaving my head while I was online playing "Elvanar" among other things. Lunch was cold pizza. It was in the 90's and humid all day. Got a couple of annoying texts from my manager too (just enjoy your 'vacation', will you?).

At 6:30 I showered and at 7:00 I arrived at the lake to hang out for an hour with a beer (Fort Hill Brewing Doppelbock), pretzels, an apple, and the sunset. I listened to "The Moon and the Melodies" and Tiny Fireflies "Nothing/2040", and as it grew dark, the mosquitoes had at me, including my right ankle and right cheek.

Bossless 9

The store manager is on "vacation" (she is using sick time to take a week off, since she has not earned any actual vacation time yet) through next Sunday for a Florida trip, so Maria & I are running the store until her return.

I did the schedule so we each get an evening/day/morning off, but we each also have to work a closing/double/opening to allow the other to get that span of time off. Also, due to the new girl (who had been with us nearly a month, but with whom I had never worked) abandoning her job, I had some key shifts to fill, and Arthur from my old store is graciously filling the two morning shifts (Tuesday & Thursday).

Today was the first day, and I worked 7:00 am to 2:30 pm. Already I got a ton of little projects completed that she had ignored for weeks. The DM is going to see who really works hard in this store by the end of the "Bossless 9"...

3rd Day Off

Not bad, not bad...

I slept in until 10 (didn't fall asleep 'til very late!), then had a banana for breakfast. I did laundry and dishes, then ordered Domino's for lunch around noon. I watched "Avengers: Infinity War" on demand, and then was online for most of the day playing games and watching a bunch of Season 7 of "The Office".

I made coffee around six after an hour nap. It was sunny all morning, but at 3:00 pm the skies opened up several times to downpours. Ma texted to say that Dad had his appendix out today!! Sheesh. It went well, and he will be going home tomorrow.

At 8:30 I showered (and cleaned part of it) and then went to Hannaford to foodshop and get litter. I changed the litterbox when I got home and then did more dishes & laundry (blankets & towels).

I work 10:00 am to close tomorrow so I'll go to bed at a decent hour...

2 Days Off

Yesterday: It rained off and on all day and it was incredibly humid too. I watched tv, hung out online, and didn't talk to a single human all day until my cashier at approximately 9:07 pm in the Hannaford check-out line. In between I made a scrambled hamburger sandwich with the last of the ground beef, the last of the 4-cheese shred, and two slices of multigrain bread. Supper was cold fried chicken from the food store. I fell asleep reading a chunk of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", after watching the first half of the recent "Jumanji" film.

Today: The rest of "Jumanji" during breakfast. Lunch was the rest of the fried chicken. At 3:30 I shaved & showered and then headed down to the lake from 4:00 - 8:00. No one else was there (though Sarah's crew had been there earlier, according to her reply to my first Instagram post of the day), and there were not a lot of boats racing around.

I had a 25 oz. Pond Jumper IPA from Flying Dreams Brewery while I read another big chunk of "Harry Potter". Then it was floating/swimming in my inner tube (and another small beer), and then more reading, with "The Moon and the Melodies" in my ears. What a great afternoon. Supper was Kraft Mac & Cheese while I watched sports tv and a shark movie called "Frenzy".

Booked

Jason booked my flights for my California adventure, which takes place October 27th - November 5th. I'll be staying with Cooper & Sawyer while J & Stacie are in Italy (and Ryan is away at college). He is too funny: because I am taking the time off from work they decided to pay me $80/day plus whatever is necessary for household expenses. Wow.

A Monday Off

Had a nice morning, and then was all set to spend the afternoon at the lake.

I got in my car at 1:30, turned the ignition key, and...

...nothing.

AAA came by and the guy said it was most likely my starter (and not the alternator, because there wasn't even any clicking). Ugh. Lovely, a pricey car repair, that I can't even afford until my bi-weekly paycheck this Friday. At least Jean Marie is being kind enough to lend me her truck for the next two nights.

CRAP.

So instead of the lake I made Ragu & angel hair pasta (and later, coffee milk & cookies), and watched several hours of "The Office" (Season 2 on tv, and Season 3 on Netflix). Dammit dammit dammit. DAMMIT!!

Rainy Day Off

It rained off and on all day, and was supremely humid.

I went on a quick drive to Starbucks around 3 pm to grab coffee beans (Organic Yukon Blend - a medium roast) and a free large dark roast.

Around 11 pm I had the Pukwudgie Session IPA from Down the Road Beer Co. in Everett, MA. Unremarkable. I drank half of it, then grew tired of it. Beer from a can: ugh.

Got some good shots of Chumble on the counter, too.

Things and Stuff

Special things I have bough lately:

1. A coffee mug from my favorite local coffee house, Union Coffee Roaster in Ayer, MA
2. The 20th Anniversary Ravenclaw Edition of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". The original (British) version of the first book.
3. A new pair of selvage denim from Brave Star Selvage. Something new and fun to break in this summer and fall...

Hubbardston House

Hung out at J & Stacie's rental in Hubbardston on Sunday night after work. Steak, various Ballast Point Sculpins (Aloha in a bottle: good! Grapefruit in a can: not so good...), glow sticks, sunset, moon & Venus, etc... What a great way to spend a post-truck Sunday.