Happy Happy New Years!

Yes...I am still here in BlogLand and my one and only resolution for 2009 is to spend a heck of a lot more time doing what I love to do...blogging and reading posts. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Year's celebration and I will visit you all very, very soon.

I Guess The Car Was Jealous

Waaaaa...! Here it is Monday morning and Rick and I are sitting at home waiting for the tow truck to arrive. Yesterday we got into the car to go to our friend Judy's housewarming party and, when Rick turn the ignition on, there was a terrible whine coming from under the hood. He pulled the car out of the driveway, drove around the block and, every time he turned the wheel, the sound changed. Oh, oh...sounds like power steering problems to us. So back into the driveway he drove.

I called the Auto Club this morning and it's a 2 hour wait for a tow because we are having our first major rainstorm of the season. I've already called the car repair place and they are waiting for us to come in. I'm sure they're seeing dollar signs aplenty...lucky them at Christmas time. Oh well, first it was the house and its new garbage disposal...now it's the car. Damn!

Music of the Season

'Tis the season...Rick, our friend Judy and I attended a fun, free holiday organ concert at the Nethercutt Museum last night. The Nethercutt family owns the Merle Norman Cosmetics company and created this wonderful place where they display the many treasures they have collected through the years. Guests tour free of charge.

The museum is especially known for its large collection of antique automobiles. Rick and I have toured the museum before and this area is definitely Rick's favorite. Here's just a sampling of the cars on display.

The Nethercutts also own and display a world-class collection of automated mechanical instruments including musical repeat striking watches, Swiss bird boxes, cylinder and disc music boxes, and grand pianos. The "grande dame" is their 5,000-piped Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ.

Last night's concert featured 21 year-old organist Mark Herman who treated the audience to a wonderful selection of holiday music, showtunes, vintage songs and a few of his own compositions on the Wurlitzer organ and on one of the museum's prized pianos. I have to say that the three of us were amongst the youngest in the audience which makes me wonder how many more years the museum will offer these free concerts. It's sad to think that this terrific music will someday fall victim to the changing tastes of the world's audience. Oh well...I'm just happy we had the opportunity to enjoy Mark's performance and the wonderful music.

Gifts for the House

Why is it that household expenditures always seem necessary around the holidays? It never fails that something goes wrong around this time of the year requiring money leaving our pockets. It's no fun going out to the home center trying to buy gadgets and other "stuff" for the house when I could be out amongst the throngs shopping for gifts.

Today Rick and I will be going to a few home centers to look for a new ceiling fan, a new bathroom light fixture and a few other small items for the house. It's a long story but basically the new garbage disposer installed at the beginning of the week requires that we have an electrician come out to change the electrical do-dad beneath the kitchen sink. What can I say...we have a very old house. Since that will take all of a few minutes for an expert to do, we figure we might as well have Mr. Electrician do some of the other work we've been talking about.

While I'm sure Mr. Electrician will appreciate the work and the money that comes with it, Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner will not be so happy to write that check. It's like buying tires for a car...they're a necessity but what fun are they?

Just Catching Up...Again

It's hard to believe that I haven't been around BlogLand since Thanksgiving. Actually, I have been lurking about...reading new posts by my blogging buddies but I just haven't felt like posting or commenting. So trust me...I have been keeping up with things even if you didn't see me.

One of the reasons for my absence was a general feeling of punkiness. I kept feeling like I was coming down with something...achy muscles, sore throat, headache. The symptoms kept coming and going from one day to the next and I never knew how I was going to feel when I got up each morning. I'm still not feeling 100% and I continue to have trouble sleeping a reasonable number of hours each night but I'm trying to go about my business now and ignore how I feel.

Despite my general feeling of malaise, I've managed to do some holiday shopping so I don't feel too frantic or panicked. Our family and friends have decided to do away with gifts for the adults and just concentrate on the kids. That's made this season much less stressful although I'm still trying to figure out a few gifts for people. Most of my shopping has been for my Mom and she will be getting lots of clothing and other necessities. I've been trying to take advantage of all the sales and coupons and I have to admit I've gotten some amazing bargains.

Today I actually started wrapping some gifts so I don't fall too far behind. I had to wait for the plumber to come to replace a leaking old garbage disposer so it was the perfect time to sit down with wrapping paper, scissors, ribbon and tape. I managed this year to remember to label all the boxes so I know which is for whom when it's time to get ready to exchange gifts.

I've been visiting lots of blogs to see how everyone is decorating their homes for the holidays and I've seen some incredibly elaborate scenes. It puts us to shame so don't expect photos of a beautifully appointed house and tree from me. Nope...no decorations for us this year except for stringing all the beautiful Christmas cards we receive from family and friends. For us it will be a lowkey holiday season. How about you?