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!

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...

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 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.

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...

Random Notes

The past couple of weeks have been mostly work, but a few things of interest have happened:

• I finally visited the Union Coffee Roaster coffee shop in Ayer. Good coffee, fantastic blueberry-coconut muffin!
• I drove home from work via Route 2A instead of taking the highway (Route 2). What a beautiful drive! The road has been recently repaved so it's smooth sailing the entire way to John Fitch Highway, and during non-rush hour, just as fast.
• I bought two tickets to see Aly & AJ on June 28th. It's turning into a very "poppy" concert season.
• I bought a pair of black selvage denim from Brave Star. Size 42x36 for maximum room and shrink resistance. Due in July.

Other than that, not much to report, other than Dad & Ma will be in California from the 1st to the 10th...

Weekend Off Day 1

I didn't set the alarm last night, but I still got out of bed just before 8 am. Breakfast was apple pie and Starbuck's Sumatra coffee. Then tv and Clash of Clans, and then online all day.

Lunch was Domino's. I did some reading, played some games, and drew.

Supper was Swiss rolls and more coffee, Peet's Major Dickason Blend.

My drawing:

Accidentally sketched with a ball point pen instead of erasable pencil!

Ezriyna the Quick vs. a Dark Dimension monster.

Music Things

As I had some extra money a few weeks ago, I snagged a few things music-related from Music Today. 

I got a House of Blues (Boston) mug; a 3" x 5" sticker from the original Woodstock; and after being a Pete Yorn super fan ever since his debut album dropped in 2001, I finally bought a t-shirt, with the logo from "musicforthemorningafter". Sweet!

Christmas Day

I allowed myself to sleep in today (9:30 am). I awoke to a mere 4 inches of snow (so much for 5"-10"). it made the view of the land look very pretty though.

I had to decide on what kind of coffee to have with my banana and mini-brownies, and I went with the Philz Tesora - SO good!

I watched "Mickey's Christmas Carol" and "Good Morning Football", and when I had "A Very Happy Yule Log" on, Chumble thought the kittens were real!

The plow guy came by and whisked away the snow. I washed a sink full of dishes. And I went on Amazon to use part of my $50 gift card.