The last week of the year

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.

Quiet ideas in my head

The street I live on is 99% quieter than the last one and it is taking time to get used to. No longer are there people doing 60 in a 25. No more 2AM sirens, although there were helicopters during the day on Thursday. When you deal with fifteen years of noise, you do not necessarily miss it but it is a new normal.

The tree has been up for a week, we all have stockings over the mantel now.

Stockings.

Mantel.

Our bedroom is cold so we got a space heater. We're getting a rug for part of the upstairs space as well. There will be more enhancements, upgrades and replacements coming as they do. Still sorting out the basement space. Have a few pieces of relevant art going down there and an idea for another that could be a commission piece, but who knows?

Christmas Eve is a week away. It's gone so fast amidst the daily chaos of our times. And in all of the good that did happen, there have been a few sad losses in a non-political way, too.

Space, is strange to accept

For years I had lived in small apartments with a bunch of stuff and another person, and their stuff. Then I lived in a small house, with my stuff and her stuff and the kid's stuff. Then it was the same house with my stuff, and the kid's stuff and another person who came over having to live with all that stuff that was not her's.

So here I am now, in our new home, with double the space so no one is really on top of each other. There's still stuff, but it's not as visible. There's a room where the stuff is and you do not have to look at it if you do not want to. And again, this is all my stuff.

When I sit in the basement, which is about 40 feet long, I freak out that there is nothing piled up that I can see. Stuff is arranged, in its place and not giving off a cramped feeling. Everything is so...open, and that's been hard for me to deal with after living in such tight conditions for the past forever.

Our bedroom is on the third floor, the whole floor. My wife was drying her hair while sitting on the floor this morning.

"We should get a chair so you don't have to sit on the floor."

"Maybe"

It's a chair, a necessary chair that would not take up much space.

It would be more stuff, but also a piece of furniture that would be used.

Stuff is weird.

The post vacation wrap up

Been an incredibly busy few weeks. Between upheaval at work, vacation and home repair there was a lot of bashing that was nuts even when you do not add in the incompetence of the current administration.

Las Vegas, though, is a rather intense place. Truly a city that operates on the 24/7 model, there is always something going on. We went to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday, and celebrate we did. You do not have to gamble to have a good time in Las Vegas. You do not even have to drink booze, but it helps! There is even Black Light KISS Indoor Mini Golf!

We saw Big Elvis, who can sing. While watching Big Elvis we saw an Elvis impersonator watching Big Elvis perform. Vegas is meta. The Strip is turning into an upscale lifestyle mall, with gambling and indoor plazas of Venice, complete with a fake sky. That said, breakfast at Bouchon is incredible. As are the fountains at Bellagio, and the indoor Chihuly sculpture in the Bellagio lobby's ceiling. The High Roller Wheel offers up a superb view of the desert, as does the deck at the Eiffel Tower, which was enhanced by the pleasant, savant abilities of the tour guide.

We stayed downtown at the Golden Nugget. A lovely gambling extravaganza which has fish tanks and a shark pool. The rooms were sound. The television in the bathroom mirror was really freaking creepy. The room was not quiet, as it was on Fremont Street which parties hard until late night. Even on the 16th floor, we could hear the music.

The Fremont Street Experience, is just that. A covered party zone when you can drink outdoors provided you have plastic cups. Where zipliners go over your head, where half naked men and women pose for pictures. I also saw a really, really tall man standing in the doorway of the D Resort. It's Times Square with gambling, and I hope the city tries hard to keep it local and not a place where you can go to a Panera instead of a local diner. Sure, we went to an Evel Knievel themed pizza place, but it's not franchised!

Somehow we hooked up with a college friend and his girlfriend who happened to be in Vegas as well as a friend from England who was in town for the Microsoft Conference. We all did a bar hop in a limo and hit a couple of Tiki Bars and the Double Down Saloon, where my friend and I had shots of Ass Juice. The bar scene in Vegas is rather remarkable, like Glasgow you can spend days going to different bars and having a blast at each one without repeating. Although we did go to Frankie's Tiki Room twice, because it's chill, because it's awesome, because it's Vegas.

There is a fascinating history to the city as well. We did not go to the Mob Museum, or the Museum of Sex to see the sex bike but we did make a late night trip to the Neon Museum. This is a must see, a junkyard filled with old signs of casinos and resorts long (and short) gone. A labor of lights with lights in various stages of repair. It's a good look at where the town was, and where it is going.

Also got to gamble. Played blackjack with a live dealer, played a few hands and lost my $10. Did not help that the dealer twice drew 21 to my 20. Gambling and I do not get along, the slots were not kind to me either. Also lost a few quarters at the Pinball Hall of Fame. It was like I was 14 and spending all my paper route money.

At some point I do want to go back, but never again in July. Lows in the 90's are a bit much for me. Did not help I picked up a cold and was not doing well with the cigarette smoke in some of the casinos. The nicest day was when it rained and the temperature was tolerable. So maybe in the spring, or winter.

We returned home to a bathroom in the final stages of renovation, and a tub that leaked into the kitchen because it was moved. Those things have been fixed and the bathroom has a lovely floor and cool tiles on the walls. It's finally presentable and when my wife paints the walls it's going to be terrific. Also had a lot of overgrowth removed from the backyard. To sell or expand may be a serious question soon.

Do my crying and my sighing laugh at yesterday

In preparation for potential changes in our living situation, my Wife has been doing a massive amount of work on the house and is to be highly commended for it. Me? I get stressed when things are moved around and cans of paint are opened. A brush in my hand is a bad idea. She painted the walls of my son's room and we tore up the nasty rugs that were in there for God knows how long.

We looked at some remnants so he can have something in there besides an ugly old blue painted floor and she'll measure for the size the room needs. We'll put a small rug in there soon.

Hard to tell his reaction to the change but it has not been horrible. His keyboard is off the floor and he's been playing with it. When I say playing I mean he puts one of the auto-rhythms on and moved back and forth to it in an A-shape.

Earlier, we danced for awhile. Really. At first I grabbed his hands and we moved back and forth, then he grabbed my wrists. When the song ended he held on to one of my arms with one hand and replayed the song with the other.

He wanted me to dance with him.

When he played another song, he started jumping up and down and I joined him in doing some light pogoing. I did not want to jump high as I know the floor leaks since the top of the refrigerator got wet when my Wife mopped the floor.

So we moved around the room, and I hung up a couple of mini hockey sticks on his wall along with his school pennant. He watched me close as I had a mini Blue Jackets pennant and was looking for a place to put it.

He helped put it up.

Stuff is happening

We've been away. In New York for a family event. On Sunday there was a dedication of a bench in the park my Mom worked. The day was beautiful and a good number of family turned out. The bench had some special engravings of daffodils and shamrocks that were done by a former co-worker of Mom's.



We all had turns sitting on the bench during a solemn but pleasant day. The bench is located by the hatchery in the park. I was walking around and found that my Mom's picture is used as part of the guided tour.



My wife and I also had time to hit a hidden winery. Loughlin Vineyards is in Sayville and is run by a very friendly 88 year old man named Barney. I did not really talk wine with him, but we talked about World War 2 as there were several old signs and maps in the tasting room. He went on, "The Germans and the Americans all had one thing in common, when they were dying, they all cried for their mothers - Let's try the merlot!"



The wine is quite good, we liked the chardonnay. There was also time to hit the beach. It was quite the shock seeing the damage that remains after Hurricane Sandy.



Used to be a gentle slope that led you to the water, not an eight foot sudden drop. That's the power this storm had.



We got lucky with the weather when we went into Manhattan. It seems the people were all released after a harsh winter. I have been going to the city for years and have never seen the streets so crowded.



Had some very good pizza at Juliana's then took on the bridge. Which led us, after a lengthy walk to McSorley's. Experienced a subway delay before goofing off with a drink in Times Square.



It was a good and necessary visit. If you're going to Long Island I recommend the Hilton Garden Inn in Ronkonkoma, which was a good base to plan from. I was upgraded to a Prius by the effervescent Shannon of Enterprise at the Islip Airport, an interesting car to drive around town in, but not one I would be comfortable in for long trips despite it's exceptional fuel economy.

Lots of other plans and items are coming, thanks to my Mom. Looking into a new heating and cooling unit for the house, and we got the new roof already. I bought a new turntable today so the Back Room is turning into a bit of a man cave and next week I'll be upgrading my old Macbook. The flights were ok. Came home to a piece of siding hanging from the house, thank you wind, so that is being addressed as well.

At night the stars put on a show for free

When you live in a 85 year old house and find shingles on the ground from your roof after a summer storm you know it's not going to last much longer. Already knew there were two, maybe three layers of shingles up there. Having come into a modest amount of money, the time to get the roof replaced is now, while there are no major holes or leaks to worry about.

It was a tough check to write, but an investment that will be to our advantage when we do put the house on the market - whenever that will be.

After the rep left, my wife said it was wine time, and we toasted my Mom, who is again putting a roof over our heads. Thanks Mom.

This and that on three and a half hours sleep

While on an after dinner walk around German Village earlier this evening, I realized it has been eleven years since I lived there, and eleven years that I have lived in this house. It's the longest I've lived in one home. Now I'm trapped by the market, and other reasons, and cannot get out of there to live, where? Someplace where I can walk to something other than an IGA where a girl got shot in the face and a half-assed but not altogether unpleasant carryout.

Getting really tired of lists. Every time I see a Buzzfeed.com post on social media that has a list of something like "Fifteen Best Bob Dylan Songs With a Horn Section" or something similar, I scroll past. That and people labeling a TV show or cultural event as the best of all time, or the second best of all time after _____. Something else to scroll past. Great stuff is great stuff. Lists are arbitrary and yes, I'm a bit tired and cranky.

My son fell asleep on the couch at 9:30 last night and woke up at 2:30AM. Did not go back to sleep until about 5. He woke up and ate well, but then his bus was late. Again. Had to drive him to school. Again. Yes, it's getting worse. It was so bad last Friday that his bus was two hours and forty five minutes getting home from school. Yes, you read that right. Complaints have been made, investigations are supposedly happening. One justifiably worried parent filed a police report after her children's bus was missing. When you're not able to get through to transportation, what recourse do you have? Even after all this, I'm not sure the district gets it.

Yesterday morning I got to show my wife the International Space Station as it flew overhead. It was a bright, solid, light that moved across the sky in the pre-dawn hour. A good thing that shows cooperation can happen even as the ground below spins out of control.

One seat removed

After my son was born premature we moved into this house while he was still in the hospital. I do not recommend anyone else ever do this. The stress is amazing. A week or two after we moved in we were given two glider rockers, neither of which were wanted (at least by me), or necessary. I had to move them in the car from my mother-in-law's house and was not pleased as I shoved them in the back of the car.



I'd have rather my gas bill paid as money would be an issue for the next half decade. I was rightfully yelled at for being a selfish asshole because I did not want two chairs.

They did not last long, both broke after about 2-3 years. For some reason we still have them, well one of them now. Called the city bulk trash pickup and they told me they'd pick one up this morning. So I moved the worst of the two out of my son's room and took it to the curb. The other, which is more functional, is now in his room. No one's ghost tripped me as I moved these chairs.

For some reason, I expected the chair not to be there this morning. Thought someone would be scavenging in the alley overnight, this did not happen.