Hope you all had a fine holiday. Despite my car accident (no one was hurt) it was a very good one. My lovely wife spoiled the heck out of me. If you ever come to the Westgate Cavern you will find out why. The teenager is doing well, as long as he has his iPad to play Badfinger and the Rolling Stones' "Child of the Moon"
I, too, listened to some music this year. Here's what kept me going. Really, really liked the first two - so I'm calling it a tie for the year's best.
Algiers - The Underside of Power
Nicole Atkins - Goodnight Rhonda Lee
Alvvays - Antisocalites
Neil Finn - Out of Silence
Robyn Hitchcock - Robyn Hitchcock
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - Soul of a Woman
Little Steven - Soulfire
Lorde - Melodrama
Willie Phoenix and the Soul Underground - Garage Blues Band
St. Vincent - MASSEDUCTION
Harry Styles - Harry Styles
Tinariwen - Elwan
Waxahatchee - Out in the Storm
Next up, the movies watched list, and car buying.
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Everything but the batteries
Finished most of the Christmas shopping by going to one of the big malls north of Columbus. Got up early, went to the Fox and the Snow cafe to get some sustenance for the shopping ordeal then made the journey up 71 north.
I thought it was going to be a lot like this.
It actually was not unpleasant. We got there early enough to avoid traffic and found a decent parking space. People were in a good mood. The crowd had not grown into a desperate, angry mob so the use of a scythe and taser were not necessary. Had a couple of ideas then and there and found what I was looking for with little trouble. No one was hurt or injured.
Still needed a drink afterwards, and had one.
The biggest hurdle was fighting the traffic out of there, but that's done now. For this year.
I thought it was going to be a lot like this.
It actually was not unpleasant. We got there early enough to avoid traffic and found a decent parking space. People were in a good mood. The crowd had not grown into a desperate, angry mob so the use of a scythe and taser were not necessary. Had a couple of ideas then and there and found what I was looking for with little trouble. No one was hurt or injured.
Still needed a drink afterwards, and had one.
The biggest hurdle was fighting the traffic out of there, but that's done now. For this year.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
The first time
For the last 28 years on his last taping before Christmas, David Letterman has had Darlene Love on as his musical guest and she has performed Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). This was from the first year, 1986.
Letterman is retiring next year and tomorrow night will be the last time Love will perform the song on television, so she claims.
It is a yearly tradition that will be missed. Is Jay Thomas going to throw a meatball on the studio tree?
Letterman is retiring next year and tomorrow night will be the last time Love will perform the song on television, so she claims.
It is a yearly tradition that will be missed. Is Jay Thomas going to throw a meatball on the studio tree?
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Coffee and Pictures
Last year My Scottish Wife got me a French Press for Christmas. I took to it well and use it mostly on the weekend. Found out which type of coffee I like and try new types frequently. I try to have a couple of different ones around and buy it already ground in small amounts, about a quarter of a pound at a time, to keep it relatively fresh.
For Christmas this year she got me a Burr Grinder. Used it over the weekend. It's quite loud but works very well. Now I can buy beans, keep them a little longer and have supposedly fresher and better tasting coffee when I want it. Maybe I'll increase the varieties in the house to three.
Took a bunch of pictures last year. Inspired by another blogger, who did something similar last year, I decided to keep a file of 'best of' pictures as I downloaded them. By the end of the year I had enough to put together a slideshow in near chronological order, added a song from my favorite album of the year and voila, instant youtube sensation. Or not. Did not really go anywhere exciting, but there are some amusing pictures in there - and not just of me and my kid!
Enjoy.
For Christmas this year she got me a Burr Grinder. Used it over the weekend. It's quite loud but works very well. Now I can buy beans, keep them a little longer and have supposedly fresher and better tasting coffee when I want it. Maybe I'll increase the varieties in the house to three.
Took a bunch of pictures last year. Inspired by another blogger, who did something similar last year, I decided to keep a file of 'best of' pictures as I downloaded them. By the end of the year I had enough to put together a slideshow in near chronological order, added a song from my favorite album of the year and voila, instant youtube sensation. Or not. Did not really go anywhere exciting, but there are some amusing pictures in there - and not just of me and my kid!
Enjoy.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Three weeks away.
Been getting Christmas shopping done. In the midst of all the busyness I neglected to follow through on the OSU tree deal I've been using the past few years. That window has now closed, the sale was last weekend and I'm not interested in buying a once live tree anywhere else.
So I found a tabletop one last night and got a tree skirt to go with it - for the table. I'll string up some lights in the window, add decorations on the pre-lit tree and call it a holiday.
My son is leaving for Florida with his mother on the 21st and will not be back until New Year's Eve so he will not be around. He does like to look at the lights, which is why I'm setting something up.
My wife is used to fake trees, the first real ones she had for the holiday were here.
Really not feeling cynical about the whole shebang, but my motivation is low. But I have been getting shopping done, now to get shipping in order. Some of these purchases have traveling to do.
So I found a tabletop one last night and got a tree skirt to go with it - for the table. I'll string up some lights in the window, add decorations on the pre-lit tree and call it a holiday.
My son is leaving for Florida with his mother on the 21st and will not be back until New Year's Eve so he will not be around. He does like to look at the lights, which is why I'm setting something up.
My wife is used to fake trees, the first real ones she had for the holiday were here.
Really not feeling cynical about the whole shebang, but my motivation is low. But I have been getting shopping done, now to get shipping in order. Some of these purchases have traveling to do.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Feel like I should be doing something
I sometimes get antsy around this time of year. The holidays make me anxious even without my retail past. Used to be a very busy time of year for me. A lot of hard work making sure folks got their booze. Had to make sure there was enough, without breaking the budget on inventory. It was a difficult balance but there were times the last four weeks of the year were nothing but profit. There were also times we had to sell enough to make payroll, and to buy merchandise.
I'm not sure when this picture was taken on Main Street in Fredonia, sometime in the late sixties is my guess. But that sign that says "Liquor Store" was still there the last time I visited.
Business was a bit more successful in Fredonia. Mr. B. had been running the show for awhile. Thanksgiving was always the busiest holiday of the year, with the day before being the day that brought the biggest receipts. Mr. B. even went in for a few hours by himsef on Thanksgiving Day morning. He seemed to enjoy taking care of people getting their last minute wine and liquor.
For the life of me I cannot remember if Mr. S., after he bought the business, went in on those mornings. I can't remember if I went instead. The late eighties were a bit of a blur to me.
Things in Columbus were no different at first. We blew out so much wine at the Holiday. So much Beaujolais Nouveau and Champagne went out the door. We really kicked ass for a couple of years. We'd drink good wine the night before each holiday. Sometimes Perrier Jouet, Dom Perignon one year, we worked hard and drank well. I miss the pre-cooked shrimp C. would bring from Johnson's downtown.
The year I ran the place my ex-wife helped out a lot along with a man who used to be a bar regular. He spelled me on the floor and did quite a good job at it. The extra hands were needed. We made a little money that year. I honestly cannot remember if we were open on Thanksgiving Day at any of the shops I worked at in Columbus.
At the other eponymous wine shop I worked at, the tone shifted. Because the owner was screwing up so much we did not have basics to sell, especially in home brewing supplies. More than a few people left empty handed and disappointed. Hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in sales lost because he did not know how to buy and would not listen to reason from the co-owner or myself. The pressure was immense, selling merchandise just to make payroll instead of profiting from our work. Holidays sucked in the later part of the nineties. I got tired of saying no, it hurt.
It was vastly different at the bookstore. Even with all the craziness, and it was nuts, there never seemed to be much pressure. The stuff was going to sell, it was just those damn loyalty cards that management wanted sold. Luckily, I did not work the register much.
At the library, it's another world. From my desk I barely see the change from quarters to semesters - maybe a little bit in how the books flow into the building but that's it. I barely miss retail and have little desire to be out in it. I'm seeing Black Friday push back into Thanksgiving Day and it's a matter of time before Thanksgiving Eve comes into play. It's tough when so much business is done during one four week period of the year, but when did the the joy of shopping and giving become a obsessive fetish instead of a pleasure?
Even now though, many years removed from the madness, I get a bit triggered about what transpired, and try to find the good things that happened during my time in the retail wine scrum. I can still pick an awesome wine to go with turkey.
I'm not sure when this picture was taken on Main Street in Fredonia, sometime in the late sixties is my guess. But that sign that says "Liquor Store" was still there the last time I visited.
Business was a bit more successful in Fredonia. Mr. B. had been running the show for awhile. Thanksgiving was always the busiest holiday of the year, with the day before being the day that brought the biggest receipts. Mr. B. even went in for a few hours by himsef on Thanksgiving Day morning. He seemed to enjoy taking care of people getting their last minute wine and liquor.
For the life of me I cannot remember if Mr. S., after he bought the business, went in on those mornings. I can't remember if I went instead. The late eighties were a bit of a blur to me.
Things in Columbus were no different at first. We blew out so much wine at the Holiday. So much Beaujolais Nouveau and Champagne went out the door. We really kicked ass for a couple of years. We'd drink good wine the night before each holiday. Sometimes Perrier Jouet, Dom Perignon one year, we worked hard and drank well. I miss the pre-cooked shrimp C. would bring from Johnson's downtown.
The year I ran the place my ex-wife helped out a lot along with a man who used to be a bar regular. He spelled me on the floor and did quite a good job at it. The extra hands were needed. We made a little money that year. I honestly cannot remember if we were open on Thanksgiving Day at any of the shops I worked at in Columbus.
At the other eponymous wine shop I worked at, the tone shifted. Because the owner was screwing up so much we did not have basics to sell, especially in home brewing supplies. More than a few people left empty handed and disappointed. Hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in sales lost because he did not know how to buy and would not listen to reason from the co-owner or myself. The pressure was immense, selling merchandise just to make payroll instead of profiting from our work. Holidays sucked in the later part of the nineties. I got tired of saying no, it hurt.
It was vastly different at the bookstore. Even with all the craziness, and it was nuts, there never seemed to be much pressure. The stuff was going to sell, it was just those damn loyalty cards that management wanted sold. Luckily, I did not work the register much.
At the library, it's another world. From my desk I barely see the change from quarters to semesters - maybe a little bit in how the books flow into the building but that's it. I barely miss retail and have little desire to be out in it. I'm seeing Black Friday push back into Thanksgiving Day and it's a matter of time before Thanksgiving Eve comes into play. It's tough when so much business is done during one four week period of the year, but when did the the joy of shopping and giving become a obsessive fetish instead of a pleasure?
Even now though, many years removed from the madness, I get a bit triggered about what transpired, and try to find the good things that happened during my time in the retail wine scrum. I can still pick an awesome wine to go with turkey.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Pictures of Silly
Cleared out the cameras. Here's a photo dump from the past couple of months.
A weird car we saw at a thrift store on the south side. Yes, that's duct tape
Cute gal at the Tip Top
Cute kid at the therapist's office.
Badass kid at my workplace. He can have my job!
Says it all. Saw that in a parking lot on the north side.
Andy Anderson featuring at Writers' Block.
Two Gun McBride at his WB feature.
Using a toy appropriately. Yes, that's been sitting in the camera since Christmas
My friends Tyrone and Dave talking about what it's like to be tall.
Maybe I'll have more pictures soon. I do like taking them, it's too easy putting them on just the Facebook wall with the iPod though.
A weird car we saw at a thrift store on the south side. Yes, that's duct tape
Cute gal at the Tip Top
Cute kid at the therapist's office.
Badass kid at my workplace. He can have my job!
Says it all. Saw that in a parking lot on the north side.
Andy Anderson featuring at Writers' Block.
Two Gun McBride at his WB feature.
Using a toy appropriately. Yes, that's been sitting in the camera since Christmas
My friends Tyrone and Dave talking about what it's like to be tall.
Maybe I'll have more pictures soon. I do like taking them, it's too easy putting them on just the Facebook wall with the iPod though.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
I See the Lights
Nothing says Christmas like Indian Buffet. Actually, that was the best Indian food I've had at this point in my life. So thank you Taj Palace, for making me believe, and for being a third as much as the Chinese Buffet we did not go to.
We had my son on Friday night and Saturday morning. We went to look around at some of the lights in the city. We were told there was an "It's a Wonderful Life" decorated house in Bexley. We had to go.
Other than the pictures in the windows, which are kind of cool, it was rather underwhelming. Reminded me of getting a big wrapped box for Christmas when I was eight, but finding out it's filled with underwear.
For the first time we checked out the State Auto display, which has become a large model of the birth of Christ. Not bad, if that's how you roll.
Columbus Commons has a rather cool display this year. Lots of LED lights. For it's first year, they're doing a good job getting people to hang downtown.
My son seemed to be tolerating walking around the park so much to the point that he whined when we went back to the car. It was cold, and I think he wanted to take another lap.
Still, the best holiday display lights up my dining room. It's a couple of houses behind us. Years ago, with my first wife, we found this. I had no idea my second wife and I would be living close.
This guy usually goes all out, and this year was no exception. Check out the American flag and the Block O.
There's music piped in and the deer are moving in front of the pond.
You know it's hardcore when the side of the house is decked out.
Anyone can get a bunch of inflatables and prefabricated junk and slap it down on their lawn, but I appreciate a display that has a balance. And this guy does it, year after year.
We had my son on Friday night and Saturday morning. We went to look around at some of the lights in the city. We were told there was an "It's a Wonderful Life" decorated house in Bexley. We had to go.
Other than the pictures in the windows, which are kind of cool, it was rather underwhelming. Reminded me of getting a big wrapped box for Christmas when I was eight, but finding out it's filled with underwear.
For the first time we checked out the State Auto display, which has become a large model of the birth of Christ. Not bad, if that's how you roll.
Columbus Commons has a rather cool display this year. Lots of LED lights. For it's first year, they're doing a good job getting people to hang downtown.
My son seemed to be tolerating walking around the park so much to the point that he whined when we went back to the car. It was cold, and I think he wanted to take another lap.
Still, the best holiday display lights up my dining room. It's a couple of houses behind us. Years ago, with my first wife, we found this. I had no idea my second wife and I would be living close.
This guy usually goes all out, and this year was no exception. Check out the American flag and the Block O.
There's music piped in and the deer are moving in front of the pond.
You know it's hardcore when the side of the house is decked out.
Anyone can get a bunch of inflatables and prefabricated junk and slap it down on their lawn, but I appreciate a display that has a balance. And this guy does it, year after year.
Monday, December 19, 2011
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