A restful day at the end of an exasperating week. Breakfast at Mikes and the rest of the day was spent doing laundry and vegetating. Besides working 65 (hard) hours this week, I spent the evenings finishing our new kitchen table and repairing the garage door once again...I hate that door. I don't think there's much more to break except for the door itself.

With the new kitchen table in place, we have officially finished the kitchen after one year and two months. I am particularly proud because I am neither a contractor nor a craftsman. I'm done with home renovations for a while, at least for a couple of weeks. One last project, for the past week, we've had a 200 pound gorilla sitting in our foyer, if anyone wants it, they can have it. Our entertainment center is to small for our TV so we had to move it out. Too bad it's too freaking heavy to do anything with. We planned on putting it down at the street for someone to pick up but the weather just isn't cooperating.

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04 December 2005

Christmas...not a present has been bought or hardly even thought about. Last year at this time I was almost done. The Christmas spirit is just not here this year. I have no desire to decorate or send out Christmas cards. I may not do either this year. I'm not depressed or even bah-hum-bug. Maybe the snow today will help but I think time may be the best cure. A good old movie sounds good today, Adam's Rib is on. I like their little smart ass "gay" friend Kip who later plays Digger Barnes on Dallas.

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14 December 2005

My mom gave me a bunch of her sentimental stuff from my kid hood last time I was down there and I started looking at through today. You can see how my artistic ability and writing skills shine through at such an early age.

My Mother
My mother is Mrs. Bum...
She is 30 years old.
She has 2 children.
She gives us candy.
I love my mother very much.
I want har for a long time.
She keeps me a house.
Love, love, love
She's so nice
She kisses me at night
I love my mother.
She is Alma
She is good to me.
She is good to me sometimes.

30 years old...What a liar she was....

My Father
My father works very, very hard.
My father is very nice. My
father works for Southern
Rail road. I love my father.
My father works all week.
My father comes home on the 
weekend. My father travels
on the week. Does yours?
He has a truck that can drive
good.
December 7, 1972

I surely thought highly of my dad then as I do now. I'd hate to see what I wrote about him in my teenage years.

On the left is my dad after he got out of the Navy when he worked at the Spencer Shops. These articles were written when they were trying to make the shops into a museum.

...and can you pick the homo out in this 1st or 2nd grade picture?

It's 14 degrees this Wednesday afternoon though we should get up to a balmy 26 tomorrow before the snow/ice comes in later in the day. If anything, it's put me into the spirit a little more than was suggested in my last entry. I've been selling Christmas trees at work with my Santa hat and that's also been fun. It's amazing how nice people can be while buying trees. I love seeing how much fun some dads can have with their kids while picking out a tree. My dad never once went with us to buy a tree nor did he ever help decorate one. It just wasn't his thing I guess.

I plumped up a Christmas tree a couple of days ago and I may very well send out some Christmas cards to boot.

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15 December 2005

Being a Johnny Cash fan, I've really been wanting to see Walk The Line. It was great, and for some reason which I have yet to figure out, I cried through a third of the movie. I have a new admiration for June Carter Cash who I have never known anything about but she was a strong lady, especially for the times. This is the second time Johnny Cash has had this effect on me because a couple of years ago when my dad first started going downhill, he remade Hurt by Nine Inch Nails and I would sit there and watch that thing and just cry. I guess I like to torture myself.

On the lighter side, I mentioned that we finished working on our kitchen. For your viewing pleasure, I posted the finished pictures along with some taken during the job.

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16 December 2005

I have yet to buy a single Christmas present. It's December 16, 2005. I know that because it says so right above. I did write a few Christmas cards but because we're out of stamps and the post office was awesomely crowded on the way home from work today and the stamp dispenser would not take any bills, they're still sitting in the kitchen waiting to be mailed.

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17 December 2005

What a way to protest the commercialization of Christmas.

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19 December 2005

Today I planned to just sit around in my slippers and sweats. Wait, I haven't bought a single present. Maybe I won't be sitting around in my slippers and sweats. By the way, I did get a few Christmas Cards sent out at 10:30 Saturday night. I went to the post office again Saturday morning and the line was coming out the door. You could just feel the Christmas cheer in that lobby. I picked up some stamps at the grocery store later in the day.

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19 December 2005...Later

You're packed and you're stacked 'specially in the back
Brother, wanna thank your mother for a butt like that
Can I get some fries with that shake-shake booty?
If looks could kill you would be an uzi
You're a shotgun - bang! What's up with that thang?
I wanna know how does it hang?
Straight up, wait up, hold up, Mr. Lover
Like Prince said you're a sexy mutha-

How I'm missin' some Salt-N-Pepa today, or is it that man beast that just walked down the street.

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21 December 2005

What a site to see driving home from The Broadway Diner tonight and...BOOM...the spirit has kicked in. Two more days of work and it's North Carolina for the holidays. I feel the stress has just been released.

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22 December 2005

I guess I should be packing and doing wash and getting some music ready for the trip, but I'm not. I'm just sitting here listening to some Mary J. Blige. That beautiful voice makes my body feel so good.....sometimes it scares me.

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28 December 2005

Just a quick update, I had a simply wonderful Christmas, catching up with some people I haven't seen in a long time and getting away from the cold. We're in Savannah now and it may be surpassing New Orleans as my favorite city. More later I'm sure.

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31 December 2005

It's about two hours before the new year. We're home and I had the greatest time I've had in the past year I'm sure. Yesterday morning we were walking around Savannah in tee shirts, tonight we arrive home and it's snowing. Pictures and more later. It was a long ride in the snow.

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