Mosh Glass

The last nail in the coffin lid is this morning, going back to work after vacation. I would rather retire but I have too much work to do. And, I need to gloat about my trip and work provides the stage to really rub it in. So, I guess I will go.

I had three appointments today. Had to cancel one since I was not together enough for the meeting. Mostly bad timing. I have called to reschedule several times. But, no connection. Two more appointments later in the morning that I will be ready and available for.

One good thing about the short vacay, nothing much going on while I was gone. I didn’t miss a thing. When clients called, they only were put off a few days. So I have no anxious people breathing down my neck.

I did receive a large wire transfer on behalf of a client company and spent half my day sorting out all the wire transfers to distribute it. It is truly a pain in the ass. And the client is a whiny jerk. Love my job. Good news, immediate payment of my invoice. That’s nice.

I was unable to get much else done. The above required three trips to the bank. Long trips. I did not even get through my mail. I did get the monthly billings done. That’s very important. I answered a few calls. Had rwo meetings. That’s about the sum of it.

I left reasonably early, at around six. I had to go to Western Union to send more $$$ out on the above. It never ends.

A quick drive home and that’s the day. We just had dinner, Emily got home much earlier and cooked a meal. That’s a nice part of being home, the cooking.

I am going to do the dishes and then a few chores. Some computer work. Nothing much really. Then watch a little bad TV. Then go to bed. Read a book. Go to sleep. I feel good.

I can say we did sleep in today. That’s the only food thing about today.

I am a creature of habit. It works for me. I got up Sunday morning. I did my thing, fed all pets, made coffee, fed all people. Read the big newspaper in detail.

Emily showed up somewhere in that process and announced what we would be doing for the day. Cleaning the house. She listed all chores out, which I really like. Cuz if she don’t list it, I don’t do it. And I accept no blame for that. Also a list allows me choice, so I choose the things I want to do.

So Emily did her thing and got ready. Then she went to work. This is also good. It means no one will be there to comment on how I do chores. Emily is the back seat driver of chores. Very annoying. So, where did I start? I picked up the portable vacuum and went after all the places Roomba and the upright vac can’t get to. Easy hour or more to finish. I’m sure I missed something.

Went out back and cleaned up all the poop. Marika did not bother while we were gone. Then I mowed the lawn. Something I have not done in a few weeks. It looks fabulous.

Back inside, started the laundry. Then the “put shit away” chore. This last task is harder than you think. That’s because I put things away where they go until there is nothing extraneous around. Makes the house look neat and less cluttered. Dusting was next, about 30 minutes into it, Emily returned.

I finished the dusting. Now time for my shower which I had skipped in favor of all the housework. Emily decided to mop. I saw it first, and decided to leave it to her.

Once out of the shower I had nothing to do. Already did my share. Emily has lots to do. Good for her.

I did have one chore left. I went to the store and left Em to the mopping and finishing the laundry.

First stop was the pharmacy. Emily’s sumbass doctor finally got her prescription refilled. He added in extra refills because he was such a dumbass. I picked up mine and of course, meds for Jaxon.

I ran into Barb Garlick there. Her husband, Kirk, has been in and out of the hospital the last couple weeks for Gout. They are trying any number of meds on him with no luck so far. She still has her sense of humor at least. But I can tell it’s getting trying. She is excited about our big winery dinner date next Saturday. I’m glad to see the future doe. Or scare her. Not sure Kirk can make it, but hope springs eternal.

After Rx, time to get groceries. Instead of heading to Winco, favorite grocery, I shopped where I was. I just purchased fewer items and will hit Winco later in the week.

Once I had all in the car I went to Best But, near the house, to return the antenna that does not work. Found a cool advent item for Emily too and then headed hone.

Emily was about done when I got home. I made dinner. Steaks and salad. I fried the steak, faster and easier than the BBQ and I am ready to finally relax.

We enjoyed our dinner as only you can when you have been working all day. After dinner I paid bills, last chore on the list.

Now. Bedtime. Emily has been asleep for an hour. My turn.

All good things must end. What asshole said that first? Hunt him down, string him up.

It’s 745am and I have been awake an hour. Up for 30 mins. Not dressed, still in my beautiful kimono robe. I am rockin this thing. I managed to get the food ready to cook for breakfast and only need some buy in from the others who are cleaning, packing, and walking around. I am showered. I am packed. My travel clothes are hanging in the closet for me. If Col Potter screamed “bug out!” I would be out in under five minutes. But with this group, I would lead the way out every time.

So I am drinking coffee, ate some banana bread, cleaned up a little out here and I wait for the others. And I wait. Good thing my life does not depend on eating a timely breakfast.

Ten minutes later. Drinking more coffee. What the hell do these people have to do? Just to get ready. I think everyone needs basic training when they hit 18 just to understand some of the basics on life. Like how to get your shit together. And get moving. I learned it well from my father. Get ready the night before. All the way. Then the next morning you are ready and everyone else will look slow and clumsy. And I shine. People here are looking slow and clumsy and wandering around the room. I have time to drink coffee and blog. I got my shit together. One of the few things I do well.

I hate to beat a dead horse but this is taking to fucking long. Wait, Emily just popped out. Time to start the steak. I am gonna push this along. I am way past ready for breakfast.

Our travel partners are not the best at readying themselves to go. Which is obvious when you watch them. And, for more fun, they are having an argument about what? Packing. Who did what and how well etc etc. shut the fuck up.

Break time. Steak and eggs are ready. A fine protein packed meal that is quite tasty. The purchases we made at Costco were very helpful in keeping us out of the local eatery’s. Save lots of cash. The last of the steak and eggs was now. Whatever leftover food we had, Renee packed up and put in her suitcase. She packed everything that was in the fridge. She rebooked the booze into water bottles. Nothing went to waste. Even the waste. She is crazy. They are going on to Kauai for four more days and I hope she does not take the food home after that.

The drive to the airport is about an hour. We left the hotel at 930 for a 1230 flight. Plenty of time. The weather is cool and rainy today so we won’t be missing anything.

First stop gas station at Costco. Gas is cheaper than California by a buck a gallon. Seems wrong. Bob had wanted to go to the swap meet but we really ran out of time.

Airport was busy. I guess everyone else leaves on Saturday. The only excitement we had was the security line. Some stupid cow, and her entourage, plugged up the line. She had so many pieces of luggage I could not figure out how she was getting it on the plane. Has tow infants, twins, and the big stroller to with it. I would tell you she literally unpacked her bags into the security trays. What a mess. Finally some TSA minion cane along and put us in another line. He claimed faster. Fuck no. Worlds shortest security lines take 45 minutes.

We got through and all the way to the gates. Sat around and chatted a few, said our goodbyes and headed to our respective planes. End of trip. Oh well.

Our trip home was really great by almost standards. We flew on Hawaiian Air. We received a free meal, free cocktail, and the staff is friendly and helpful. Why is it only the Hawaiian airline that is awesome? Don’t know.

We landed at 945 pm and it was 44 degrees outside. Half of Hawaii. Welcome home!! We took a shuttle to the economy parking, picked up our car and made the short trip home.

The house was a disaster. Marika had been watching the dogs and cats and she is messy and unable to clean up after herself. She also left her cat with us. I guess that’s payback for her watching ours. Emily says we will need to clean house tomorrow. The

We went to bed pretty soon after we got home. The no surprise there, long day. Have lots stil to do tomorrow.

Last full day of vacay. So sad. Tomorrow we fly out at two. Time to eat and go. Good times always end. Usually with work.

So what to do on last day? Well, we owe some travel company a presentation. That’s how I got the big discount on the cruise two nights ago. We were up at 630 and out by 730 and in downtown Lahaina at 745. Early. I ell, bad news for you fools we dis buy into the travel company, low rate plenty of perks etc. but mostly just cheap lodging at luxury hotels and condos. I hope it pays off. I have 5 days to price check it and verify. I have paid nothing. If I accept it means all good things.

The whole process took an easy three hours. Yikes. Then we walked off into Lahaina for a little travel shopping therapy. Last day we buy souvenirs for anyone we care about. Didn’t get yours? I’m sure it was lost in the mail. I swear you have one on the way.

We stopped at mid day for lunch at some kind of place. I did not pay attention. Food was hops and cocktail was better. Price was too high which is Maui.

After lunch, more walk and shop. For a half hour. Then back to the hotel to hook up with our friends. And maybe do something else. Don’t know what. Don’t care. Being on vacay does not motivate me to plan.

We got back to the hotel and got changed. The other two are downstairs at the pool. They have been hanging out at he pool and drinking. Bob had called me when we were traipsing around Lahaina. He was whining, he needed a friend to join him. Like a kid who is upset because he has no one to play with. That’s Bob.

I got there, Emily had gone ahead and gone to a different pool. I went upstairs and made Bobby a cocktail. Back down, made Bobby another and one for Renee and one for me. And a glass of wine for Emily. Btw, I am the official trip bartender. Emily has come over and joined us. We sat around drinking and floating in the pool. Quite nice

Then we made more drinks and cruised down the promenade to the next hotel and the next. The last had a huge grotto bar, swim up style. The pool was super huge as well. We sat and drank there and played in the pool for awhile. See a theme developing here? After an hour or so we decided to go to dinner. What a production. Took at least 45 minutes for them to decide cuz I decided to not give a shit. But, after a quick clean up and change, we are on our way out now.

We have decided to go to a restaurant that seems well thought of in this area. Definitely a tourist place but I am a tourist so no problem.

We went out front to catch a shuttle. We want to get there by 515, it’s 5 and the shuttle is best choice. Well, we missed the shuttle. Now we have a new overlong discussion of how we should get there. Finally, Emily and I decided to walk the mile down the beach. Bob and Renee said they would get the car and drive.

So, about 15 minutes later we are standing in front of the restaurant waiting for them. Christ. They got there, we got our table, all is good.

The place was loud with a ton of activity and a lot of diners, maybe 200. The menu was trying to be farm to fork and organic and blah blah. I come from the farm to fork capital of America. This place was about 7 out of 10 on that scale.

We all ordered cocktails because we could not drink the wine we brought. They had a $25 corkage fee.

There special signature cocktails were not special. Good, certainly, but not great. My salad was excellent, a beautiful blend of greens, jalapeños, onions and a creamy piquant house dressing. My fish tacos only ok. Bob returned his meal and skipped eating. All in all, I’m not coming back. Hey, our waitress was a Visalia girl! She made the right choice leaving there for Hawaii.

So we asked back to the hotel. They beat us back. Probably drove like hell. It’s just a quick walk.

We relaxed in the room for awhile. Played a few hands of Hearts and went to bed. Flying out tomorrow so gotta get packed and rested up.

Surf way up on north side today. So the locals say. We have decided to drive to the North Shore to check out the big surf.

We left early. Went into and through Lahaina to a place called Leoda’s for breakfast. Leoda’s is famous for chicken and waffles. And, it would appear, large servings. As popular as it is, we got a table immediately. Placed our order and quickly go served. If I ever come back here I am getting the chicken and waffles. I didn’t. I had coconut French toast. Which was excellent but I tasted Bobs choice and it is the pinnacle. And way less carbs. Emily has some breakfast sandwich. Meh. And Renee’s was plain. I will need another trip to this place to really look through the menu.

After breakfast we drove off. Bye, today I drive. Which turned out well but as our plans developed, turned into work.

The JAWS area of the coast is not marked and has no clear access. The “road” was four wheel drive only. I am glad I decided against driving down the path/road. It’s a dirt road with occasional large and small holes filled with water. It’s really slick. Like grease. I know this because we parked and decided to walk the couple miles to the coast. On our way, Renee fell a couple times. She has some problems with her hip. We got about a mile in. The only things we saw were abandoned cars. Probably 7 or 8 in the first mile. I assume people get stuck down here and no one is available to pull their car out. Don’t know. Cars were is various levels of decay and age.

We met a couple German tourists on their way out. They gave us the 411. Surf was dead and all surfers were gone. Since we were headed to see the big surf, we decided to turn around at that point and walk out. The Germans had parked their 4wd a ways back and the girls caught a ride from them instead of walking. That left me and Bob to walk out. Alone. Not scary, but slicker and harder work since our was uphill.

So we got back to the car. And then, a momentous decision. Let’s drive to Hana. It’s only a couple more hours and no problem and we never been there. It took three. What a drive. Super twisty, thin roads, washed out here and there blind curves 56 one lane bridges (I counted). Easy peasy. And I drove the whole way. I’m a saint cuz Bob kept screaming “look at the view” yet I didn’t. And only cuz I wanted to watch the triad and not kill everyone in a car accident. That type of road.

Three hours of that, with a couple stop at roadside stands carved out of the rock or jungle, and we made it to Hana. I can say I have been there. Not impressive, not big, not shiny. Just a very small outpost in rural America isolated by geography. Most stores and businesses, if u can find them, not open most of the day. The bank hours are 3 to 430 five days. Super convenient. Nice little harbor. I am sure if you lived here you would meet all the inhabitants within a year. Brings new meaning to going to town for provisions.

We drove around a little while we were here. Nothing to do. I went to the local grocery/general/hardware store. I bought limes. They are hard to come by.

We headed out in the opposite direction of whence we came. Why? Well, it’s an island and you can go around. Same distance either way.

If I thought the road in was crazy, the road out was worse. And it was an uphill as well. More blind curves, the road surface was awful, gravel hiway for a few miles and slow speed to go with it. Not many cars most going about 25mph. No place to pass and who wants to die anyway. Three hours to get out. An absolute adventure in driving. The views, per Bobs yelling, were still spectacular. I watched the road. Again, I choose life.

We almost made Kihue by sunset. Almost. So we pulled off on the road, now wide and paved, and watched the sun hit the horizon. So close I heard the sizzle.

Back in the car and another hour to Lahaina the we are staying. After a long day, cocktails. Red wine. Steaks. Charcuterie. Rinse and repeat. Then, it’s bedtime.

That’s a day, I think.

I woke up, for the 20th time tonight, early. Early because my watch said 830am but the clock on the wall said 630am. The time difference makes it early. Don’t care. I’m up.

I got up and found a robe. The place had kimonos for us to wear. The alternative is I walk around naked. Then Bob would not feel like a real man. I could not live with that. So I wore a robe.

I managed to get the coffee maker going. That’s an important job. At least to me. Then I went off to have a shower. The shower was semi lame. The shower head is so high up the wall it kinda has a light spray by the time it reaches me. Cools it off too. Not good.

I am clean and refreshed. And I have my kimono robe to wear. I am lookin good!

While I was in the shower someone else made breakfast. Eggs with cheese and mushrooms. Quite nice. I fried up some chorizo to go along with mine. Much better. I think.

We need to figure out what the hell we are doing today. Or we will miss out on something. There are quite a few things to do but we have to do them.

So decision made, we are walking down the beach a mile or so to some outdoor shopping place that sells at full retail. Sounds fun. But not for me. I went along. The walk is nice, and the beach is beautiful. The people, not so much.

So we shopped for a few hours. I bought nothing. Which is what I do. Everyone else found something they could not live without. Whatever.

Next stop lunch. After a couple false starts someone decided we should go back the the room for salad and shrimp. That sounds great.

On the way back to the hote we stopped at a kiosk which brokers activities in the area. We had been discussing, all day, things we could do. One idea was a sunset cruise. They have dinner cruises with all you can drink cocktails. We decided on one. 320$. But, if two of us went to a time share presentation they would cut the price to $160. So I volunteered to fall on my sword. The presentation is Friday morning.

So we did finally go back for lunch. And, strangely, it was very good and easily better than going out. And a hell of a lot cheaper.

After lunch, another round of mai Tais. We decided to go down to the pool. We soaked in the poll for an hour or more. Had another mai tai. I had to watch the clock, our dinner cruise is tonight. I have to be at the boat by 3 to check in. It sails at 330. I made the boat on time. There were quite a few passengers there already. I got checked in quickly. And, I called the other fools to get them moving to the boat. They are quite slow.

They finally showed, last ones to arrive. Nice. Bob seems to be under the impression it’s no big deal. The crew was ready to shove off without them.

So we got onboard the catamaran and got underway under engine power. There is really no wind to drive the sails. The sailing was very smooth. We got quite a few pictures of whales spouting and breaching. That was amazing. The weather is perfect so our cruise is very nice. The bar is open so we had more Mai Tais. I make much better ones than they do. We sailed around for quite awhile. Till dinner, which was good though not great. But at $40 per person with open bar and dinner, it was a bargain.

The coolest part of the trip was the whales breaching and spouting. Not something you see every day. Unless we are talking about today. Then we see it.

After we got off the boat we went for a walk. Back to the hotel. Had more wine. Cocktails and went to bed. Peace out.

Today is the day. It’s 625am and I am ready to go. But, Emily is not. She can always find another chore to do on the way out. Always. And she is so kind as to offer them to me. Thanks. Be right back after I scoop the cat box.

Well, we made the airport on time and early. Being the economical guy I am, I parked my car in the economy parking. For a truly sweet ripoff fee of only $10 per day I am allowed to park in a graveled field. With stripes. Sort of. When it rains it’s a muddy and flooded gravel field. Let’s hope it stays dry.

We had no more than a five minute wait for a shuttle. Record time. Pleasant ride. All the people around us were flying to Hawaii on our plane. I noticed something else, they are all a little older than us. I guess I am in the demographic that goes to Hawaii this time of year. Everyone was quite excited to leave the dreary weather of the Sacramento Valley. Weather in Maui is predicted to be 80 degrees and some light rain. Pleasant sounding.

We met up with our traveling companions in the terminal. All ready to go. And we had a short wait for our in crowded flight. We even have a seat open next to us.

All good things must end. Long flights, this one is 5.5 hours are now ruled by electronic devices. Like it or not. It would be fantastic if they all worked in flight. They don’t. So on my Alaska Air flight to Hawaii I had my usual low expectations. Very low. These expectations are normally met, never exceeded. Today was bullshit. You see, Alaska Air had one of its flight attendants walking the aisle, pre flight, to get us all set up on their app so we can watch TV and Movies! For free!! Right. I did what they said, phone and iPad, and it did not work. No internet access. On either device. One of the attendants said it would not work till we hit 10k feet. I waited. We got there. Was not working. Devices hooked into in flight WiFi but would go no farther. I did the usual. Like, try again, and again, etc. I turned iPad off. And phone. Several times. No workie. One of the flight attendants came by, she said o should turn the device on and off. I said how many times? I’ve done it several. Turn on airplane mode she says and then WiFi. Then it will work. No it won’t. She gave up. Another attendant says delete the app and reinstall. I tried that. BIG mistake. Now the apps are gone and I can’t access the App Store to reinstall. I would blame Alaska Air but my experience on every airline has been crap. What I can blame them for is there attitude pre flight, giving false hope, and their inability during flight to solve the problem. In terms of Yelp, it’s a 1 because Yelp doesn’t have a zero. And this will hit Yelp just to remind them of you offer a service, it needs to be available. I do want to mention one thing, I have a brand new iPhone I used with an incredible amount of free storage. And the phone, being new, works very well. The iPad is a couple years old but also works fine. This is an airline issue. This is my first flight on Alaska Air. I could fly again but it makes me not want to seek them out. I will fly by price, because low price and bad service go together and my low expectations are met. Always. And never exceeded.

I will mention, all in flight personnel eye professional, and helpful, to the extent of their skills. But, management needs to remember, if you advertise something like working internet and free content, we customers raise our expectations to that. Screw it up, and that one thing causes us to think poorly of our entire experience. I guess if I ever again have the (dis)pleasure of flying Alaska, I will call ahead and make someone’s life difficult until they can train me to use their system or convince me to lower my expectations.

Off to something else. We did order food, a sandwich and a cheese plate. Coffee and soda. Coffee was great, and hot enough. Emily ate the sandwich which looked good and she said she enjoyed it quite a bit.

We have two more hours of flight time and I really have nothing to report about. Can’t contact the outside world. Can’t watch and content that is internet based. Done eating. I think I will read a book. Currently reading “Imagine Me Gone”. Not far into it. So far it is confusing but that’s par for the course. A lot of authors confuse up front and then bring it home in the end. I have high expectations.

The approach flight was nice. Great views out the window on a clear day. Will be glad to get off the plane. No telling what’s on the ground when we land.

The airport was a breeze. Ran through it at a good clip. We did slow a bit at the rental car counter. Dollar Rent. Got there after a short walk. 25 people in line in front of us. These guys are old school on rentals. I guess some things are still behind the times.

We did finally get our car. A beautiful Hyundai Elantra. Bee yoo to ful. Really. Ok. Not really. But all or luggage fit in it. Off we go headed toward Lahaina. But first, a stop at Costco for provisions. We are staying in a full service time share so we got a kitchen and washer and everything. So at Costco we got booze and wine and food for whatever. Saves some money. Food costs a shit ton here. So we got a lot of good shit to eat and drink. Then we are off again to Lahaina. This time I mean it. The drive was pleasant with little traffic. We again made a stop at Safeway for more provisions of a type that Costco does not carry. I bought the complete makings for mai Tais, amongst other things. All makes sense.

Ok, now off to the Hyatt on the beach in Lahaina. We drove through Lahaina, finally. A nice small town with high end boutique shopping for the discerning tourist. And very expensive places to eat. Which is why we hit Costco and Safeway. Nice enough.

The Hyatt is actually quite nice. Luxe really. Very well appointed. It seems like a resort but the sign says time share. I really can’t tell the difference. Either way, the rooms are well appointed and very comfortable. The full kitchen is very well stocked and ready to go.

First things first, dropped car with valet and checked in. Up to the room and unpacked our crap. Then the most important thing. Cocktails. I made mai Tais for all. We are in Hawaii you know. So we sat on the veranda and looked at the ocean. And drank mai Tais. Very pleasant. We then drank two bottles of red. Just to be sure. Dinner was a charcuterie plate. I fried a steak as part of the meal. We ate quite well. Personally all the booze flattened my ass. I went to my room and passed out. I slept. But I had leg cramps, prob from the flight, all night. So I was up and down all night. Then I was up very early, two hour time difference working on me.

Not sure what the new day will bring. Read on tomorrow.

I have now wasted over an hour cruising the internet reading about what I think my next car will be. Honda Civic Type R. They are somewhat hard to get ahold of in the real world, at least without getting stuck paying a “dealer pack”. Dealer pick is Latin for bullshit. My local dealer packs on $5K to the price and they use MSRP (also bullshit) as the starting price. It can be tough buying a car. When I bought my Magnum SRT, a few years back, I was presented with dealer packs of up to $15K on the car. Yikes. I had to go 1200 miles out to Idaho to get a sensible price. This is not available on this car. I will keep working on the price via email with the sales manager. I know him well. I need to start hammering on him just a tad harder. Car is not on the lot yet.

Morning duties took no time.

Next stop, the post office. Emily had spent the entirety of yesterday sewing three advent calendars. They are beautiful, like her. The one I am mailing out is for Michael and Carly who are living down in Camarillo. This is the first Christmas that Michael will not be home with us. Sad day but the damn kid grew up. I warned him but he did not listen. Since he isn’t home, we sent a little bit of home to him via the advent and of course, advent gifts.

The shipping process of said advent was insane. I had to buy a box and bubble wrap at the PO. Went to the car to pack it up. Realized, my tape was not in the car. Back in the PO and buy tape. Back to car and engineer a packing job, basically in the parking lot. Total cost, $24 and a half hour of my life. But done. Marika will be local so we can get hers to her here. She is watching the animals while we are gone.

I was going to do a couple other things before work but shipment took to long. So I went to work.

I have really only one job to do. Finish company setup so I will be able to generate checks and wires once I receive $427K this week. Money in, money out, but need to be set up. Banks are a pain, I have to put wire info in to system one day or more before I can wire it out. I hate banks.

Had to update a years accounting for them to get set as well. Took all day. I also finished two tax returns so I can get paid something while I am gone. For some reason I still want to keep the doors open.

I have to get cash for the trip. I received a check today and I intended on cashing it. One problem. Bank closes early and I did not make it on time. So, I tried the ATM. MY BRANCH, it turns out, does not have one. So I drove to another branch. They have one but I could not figure out how much I was allowed. I tried two different amounts and the ATM rejected me and kicked my card and the screen message was “you have exceeded your daily limit”. Since I got zero I guess my limit is same. I put the card back in the ATM and got $500. And I tried again and zero. Maybe you can see I never use the ATM? I don’t.

After that I went to the pharmacy for Emily. Hers was finally ready after she called a third time today and ripped the lame ass doctor a new one. What a moron. But I got the drugs. Ran into my friend Bard there. Her husband is passing a kidney stone at present. She came for painkillers.

Off to carniceria for dinner. Mexican Monday. The assholes closed fifteen minutes early. So I went to the pet store. For food. No, not for us, for the poodle. Then went across the street for food for dinner, nothing special.

Finally, home. Ate dinner. Finished hanging and filling out advent calendar. Finished off the packing. Charged the electronics. Fed the dogs. And cats. Put out the garbage. It’s a damn busy evening.

Time for bed. About time, I should say. A little reading and done.

It’s the usual. I have to work to go on vacation. Even though today is Sunday and the last day of the four day weekend, I am going to the office. Emily is going to school. We are leaving for only four days this week but four days gone still requires some work to be done in advance to be sure nothing goes awry while away. Emily has to leave plans for her sub for each day which she says is as much work as being there. I have to be sure all the things that require me to be there so I work today on a Sunday holiday and probably a 12 hour day tomorrow. Short vacations aren’t.

Got to work early. I am planning on a two hour work day. Just need to set up one company to write checks while I am gone to hula land. Did not use the whole two hours, but I am done. And I can do something different tomorrow.

When I got home from the office Emily was still at work. I decided to wrap advent gifts. I really hate wrapping gifts. It’s the worst part of Christmas. I went through 50 gifts today. All wrapped. I am a gift wrapping phenom.

After Emily got home she finished sewing advent calendars. We are sending one to Michael since we won’t be seeing him at Christmas for the first time. Very sad.

I continued with the advent wrapping and wrapped another 25 gifts. My whole day is wrapping. We both finally finished up our separate jobs and went out to dinner. It has been a long work day.

Back from dinner. We are going to bed.

It finally stopped raining today. I hear it’s going to start up again in a couple days. The respite today was nice. Funny how I wish for no rain now after 200 days dry. Bad weather gets annoying quickly.

We are starting the tough work of the Christmas season today. In earnest. We are leaving for Hawaii on Tuesday (I know you feel sorry for me) so we need to get advent calendars done now.

Speaking of advent calendars, Emily decided to make four of them. She is working on those today. She made the mistake of telling the recipients they would be getting them, by the 1st of course. But now she has told them she is stuck and must finish before Tuesday when we leave.

So, today’s work. I am advent shopping alone. Emily is sewing all day. I am really glad I can’t help. I left in the morning not to early. I went to Cost Plus first since it has the best choice of stocking stuffers. It also has the hidden prizes in the store which makes it more fun. I found lots of stocking stuffers. I concentrated on food, candy and booze. The essentials. I found no prizes. Not fun.

Next up I went to Best Buy. I need to find a replacement for our Roomba. This morning our Roomba again sucked up and smeared around dog poop in our dining qroom. Not the first time. I am hoping there is some new technology in the robotic vacuums that stop the vac from doing this.

I spoke to the Roomba lady and told her my tale of woe. She diligently tried to find out something. Finally she was able to get ahold of the Roomba sales rep, on a Saturday, and he said forget it. No such Roomba. So I have to stick with the old one. And it’s real old and it stinks, obviously. But I saved a lot of money not buying one. The silver lining.

Emily has decided we need to start using a digital TV antenna so we can get rid of cable. She was at her favorite glass store yesterday and the owner, Hazel, bent Emily’s ear about it. She just loves her digital antenna. So today while at Beat Buy I bought one of these “magic” antennas that deliver all stations for free. Right. Have not plugged it in yet, but have low expectations. It’s just a digital antenna. From the way Emily gushed you’d think it cures cancer.

Next up, some really easy stocking shopping. I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Emily uses many of their products and this place is a go to for quite a few items. I like easy. Kinda pricey but whatever. And, with the parking lot there completely full and jammed up, I got a spot directly in front of the store. Probably due to clean living.

Next stop was Target, for toothbrushes and toothpaste. This is a stocking staple. The only time I can guarantee that my kids will change their toothbrush. It’s not much fun but some thing’s are necessity.

I had a quick errand to run for Emily. She was out of sewing machine needles. I stopped at the fabric store and actually managed, with help, to find them. And I managed to navigate thru and get the correct school project pipe cleaners too. I amaze myself at times.

Back home. Emily is still working on the advent calendars. Still. I brought in the haul and took time to sort all the stuff into four piles (Marika, Emily, Michael and Carly). It was actually quite a lot of work. I had to count out 24 items each and set aside the balance for the regular stocking. It took awhile.

I made dinner and did everything else while Emily continued to sew the advent calendars. She took on too much. She is not complaining. I did some laundry. Cleaned up a few things. Made Emily a cocktail. She did not finish till 930. Yikes. She sat down in front of the TV and fell asleep. Just like that.

I think she will be going to bed soon I think. Me too.