Flannel bed sheets are pretty awesome in the winter, but now there are little fuzz balls everywhere.
I finally got my car put back together after having replaced the broken engine valve. I still had to have the catalytic converter replaced, which was damaged by all the unburned fuel that was dumped into it. However, it is back to running the way it was a month ago.
There was a heavy round of layoffs at the company I work for, and somehow I am still employed. We lost some key people, however. I really don’t understand what people are thinking when they make these decisions.
I have watched the first few episode of Penny Dreadful. I’m probably going to watch more. Combining every classic horror figure in one show seems a little gimmicky, and it relies heavily on visual drama, but it is holding my interest. So far, I have counted three actors from Bond films.
I am beginning to take a serious look at backpacking. This is, in part, due to no longer having a truck. A have a small car, and I have doubts about whether I can fit my full complement of car camping gear in my car. Whereas backpacking is, by definition, much more compact. There are a number of places around here I could camp. The Irish Wilderness comes to mind, but there are several wilderness areas in Missouri, some of which are closer. There is also the Ozark Trail. The optimist in me thinks I can eventually explore all of them. However, the weather is probably only warm enough for four or five months. If I camp one weekend each month, that won’t get me through all of the possible destinations very quickly.
Never again will I allow myself to be suckered by a Clif bar. They look good, and they sound good, but they always taste funny. Then, when I’m trying to figure out why, I find something ridiculous. Prunes in a chocolate brownie bar or something. Fortunately, I have found sensible alternatives to Clif bars, but I find their ubiquity to be rather predatory.
After nearly a year, I have gotten my mother moved out of the house. She is now living with my sister and her family, which is intended to be a permanent situation. For several years, it has been her plan, more or less, to live near her grandchildren. This has involved eleven days off of work, and a long drive in a moving truck. I need to adjust to having space again: my office, my fridge, and my basement. And privacy.
I have visited South Carolina for the first time. Also, driving through the Great Smoky Mountains again has renewed my desire to camp or backpack there. I went through there more than a decade ago, and it was just beautiful. Who knows if I’ll ever make it happen.
I finished reading The Operator, the second (and possibly last) installment in Kim Harrison’s Peri Reed Chronicles. It was a bit better than The Drafter, probably because (spoiler) Peri didn’t lose her memory and start over in this one. Still, the amount of manipulation and unfairness was difficult to swallow. I am quite eager to read The Turn when it is released in January February.
My New Year’s tradition for the past several years has evidently come to an end. It used to be that I would go to a party at a certain friend’s home, and then hunt rabbits on opening day at Busch Wildlife. However, my friend moved to California this year, and the rabbit population at Busch has gotten so slim that we’ve decided it’s no longer worth it. I wonder what I’ll do this year.
After my success in nursing my P.O.S. car back to health, I am giving serious consideration to buying a good vehicle in need of serious work, such as an engine rebuild. It might be a good way to acquire a car that will give back many years of service. I really miss my Ranger, and I would like to get back into one soon, or something similar.
