J.P.

We are off to Disney World for the next six nights. It’s been a long while since we’ve been to WDW and much, much longer since it’s been only the two of us visiting the House of the Mouse. We have just a couple of days at the park planned, and a few other goodies in between, but the focus of this vacation is relaxation.

I always snicker at the fact that when you live near a non-hub airport you need to get up at 4:30 in the morning to start a relaxing vacation. We’re both in good spirits despite the early hours. Truman is ready to spend the week with the rest of the family and will do his best to maintain law and order in my absence.

I ran across one too many political posts and/or comments on Instagram today. It’s time to take a break.

An interesting video about McDonald’s the change in their portion sizes over the decades. I’ve been trying to eat “1950s” portions for the past six weeks. I’ve lost some weight and my clothes are fitting a bit better. I call it the “Leave It To Beaver” diet. Pearls extra.

Article and video on Pretty Sweet.

We have been enjoying season two of “The Gilded Age” on HBO Max. While not as zesty as “Downton Abbey”, the storylines are enjoyable, the costuming is impressive, and nowhere else will you hear Nathan Lane bellow through a script like Foghorn Leghorn.

I don’t know if the show has been renewed for season three. I’m not following social media much these days and I’ve been steering clear of the gossip and such around this show.

My favorite character is Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell. One must admire a person that knows what they want and does everything to obtain it, especially in this age of society and wealth. The character is well written and enjoyable portrayed.

I’m sad to see this season coming to an end in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully we’ll get more drama from The Gilded Age next year.

Our friends Aidan and Joe hosted a holiday party this evening. We saw several friends, including Homer and Matt, at the gathering.

Aidan and Joe go all out with the decorating. I especially liked this old style silver tree with matching ornaments.

It was a very nice time.

And so ends my last full week of work in 2023. For the rest of the year I’ll be working shorter weeks, with a vacation placed within the frivolity as my husband and I head to Walt Disney World next week.

I’m looking forward to the downtime.

Here’s a little “Linus and Lucy” for your dancing enjoyment.

I find this time of year to be rather frustrating. Not only are ads being flung at us at a high velocity, informing us that we must buy, buY, BUY to show our love, but we’re also asked to not buy anything for ourselves so that folks can show their love by buying something for us in the way of a gift.

My husband starts a moratorium on buying things around Labor Day. “We need more toilet paper!” “Don’t buy it, Christmas is just around the corner”.

Now, I’m a guy that knows what he wants, right down to the finest detail. I want a certain pair of shoes or I want a specific book or I want a particular piece of tech. I plan, I consider, I purchase; this is the way I do things. I fully appreciate the intention of someone giving me a pair of shoes or a book or a piece of tech, but because of my somewhat obsessive nature about these things, as well as my perfectionist tendencies, I sometimes struggle with waiting for a gift instead of just buying something for myself, especially since I know exactly what I want. I don’t want to be the guy that gives details on a gift right down to the serial number, but it takes a lot of restraint for me to refrain from doing exactly that.

Hence, the most frustrating time of year.

Personally, I’m happy with warm regards, a small token of a gift that makes me smile, and maybe a card. That’s it. All in all, I just want people to be happy this time of year, no matter the reason for the season, and I don’t find the crass commercialism of throwing things at one another to be a fair substitute for the warmth I’m looking for.

I guess I’m just an overly sentimental, old-fashioned kind of guy. I’d rather enjoy a drink with friends or a nice meal with the family. When I see a small card sitting on my shelf and it makes me smile, I find all the holiday greetings I really want or need.