Scattered Thoughts . . .

W e usually start all the Christmas festivities immediately after the holiday I despise, Thanksgiving.  There are one or two other holidays that bother me a bit but I truly despise Thanksgiving.  I always make the best of that holiday anyway and, by the end of that long holiday weekend, all of our Christmas decorations are up and the tree is decorated.  This year, however, Christmas came a little earlier.  We started our Christmas gift-giving on Halloween night! Those who read this blog regularly probably already know that this year has been absolutely miserable when it comes to my health but I'll add a little background here anyway.  This year started out with an ambulance ride to the hospital and I've had about a dozen visits since then for follow-ups and tests.  I had a more extensive bone marrow biopsy not long after my ambulance ride to the hospital.  Shortly after that biopsy, I fell on the biopsy site.  We've had to cancel about a half dozen weekend out-of-town   tri

Batman and Elsa visited us last night... Last night was a night of trick-or-treating for the grandchildren... out into the bone-chilling dampness of a Halloween night in the 30s... as Gee and I stayed warm and comfortable at home in front of a fire in the fireplace. When the kids returned to the house after trick-or-treating they had stories of seeing friends, visiting the firehouse, dinner at Zachary's Pizza with mommy, and having illuminated plastic pumpkins full of candy! I managed to capture a few photos of them, as always... A very happy Elsa... "I'm Batmannnn!" Phantom of the Opera?  Or, Caped Crusader of Gotham?  It looks like Batman has some hidden talents... or he is giving away his true identity?

As one might expect, according to Liza, the kids awoke on Halloween morning and wanted to jump right into their costumes and all the Halloween festivities. Needless to say, by the time evening had arrived and time for 'trick or treating' with the rest of the little ghosts and ghouls in our neck of the woods, the kids were having difficulty keeping their eyes open... actually, they were even having difficulty holding their heads up!  Liza and the kids arrived at our house at 5pm to get ready for their night of festivities in downtown Waterbury... asleep, groggy and even a bit cranky (which I should mention that Sheila and I rarely see!) . They had fallen asleep in the car on their way to our house and now needed to catch a second wind. Little by little, costumes were put together again and put on the kids. Makeup was applied... well, re-applied... they had been wearing makeup all day but most of it was smeared under eyes and rubbed off... onto their couch as well as c