A Visit Extraordinaire…

I was sitting at this computer when Maggie started whining jubilantly. That could only mean one of three things – that Charlie, Tracy, or my father had arrived. It was Charlie and he was a sight for sore eyes.

“What are you two doing?” Charlie said as he handed me a McDonald’s bag. “You said you liked those chicken sandwiches the other night so I went and got two more for you and Maggie.”

“Well, thank you!” I exclaimed excitedly.

Charlie wanted to see all my many Christmas gifts. I invited him into the back bedroom to show him all the clothes I got.

“I liked the two shirts you got me,” I told Charlie. “They are so soft. They feel like silk.”

“I thought they would make good sleeping shirts thus the short sleeves,” Charlie replied.

Then I took the cover off the side of the computer and showed Charlie my main gift – my Vega 64 video card.

“I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, but it sounds wonderful,” Charlie told me laughing.

Charlie didn’t stay long.

“Eat your chicken sandwiches while they are still hot,” Charlie said as he was heading out the front door.

Maggie gave him a good sendoff then she was ready to eat. She has become to associate Charlie with food these days. I pulled off the dill pickles and put her sandwich on the floor. I blinked and it was gone. Maggie had wolfed it down.

Cold, Dark, and Dreary…

We have been beseeched with the worst weather lately. It will soon have rained for a whole week. They say we shall see the sun again on Friday – when all of this gloom clears out.

Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas…

I decided I wasn’t going to be alone on Christmas Eve this year. I took a shower and dressed in the nicest clothes that fit me and headed to my father’s house. There were a crowd of folks in attendance, but I managed to muddle on by socially. I was terribly and woefully underdressed, but nobody seemed to care. It made me feel self conscious and uncomfortable, though. Charlie had already fixed me two plates brimming with food to carry home with me. He was going to bring them to me along with my gifts. I stayed only about a short hour and a half. My sister helped me load up my car with gifts.

I was really blessed this year. My sister basically bought me a whole new wardrobe of clothes that fit wonderfully and that are stylish. I got about five shirts and three pair of pants. I also got a fleece lined jacket that is the most comfortable jacket I have ever owned. Charlie gave me two shirts that feel like silk they are so soft. My brother and his wife got me a spindle pack of 50 burnable 25GB Blu-Ray discs which just thrilled me to death. I needed them badly having only a few left. Time to start backing up computer files in the next day or two. I need a Techmas and not a Christmas.

Tracy is at work right now. She gets off at six my time and is dying to see me or so she said when we talked on the phone earlier. She is going to run by my house on her way home. I can’t wait to see her as well. It seems like we haven’t seen each other in over a week. I told her I took good care of Wheezy while she was gone. That was a long drive everyday to water, feed, and pet a cat. I made sure to spend some quality time with Wheezy before I headed back home every day which entailed me petting her while she lay in my warm lap and I watched the television or fiddled with my tablet computer.

Glittermom, I regretfully never got around to putting up a Christmas tree this year. Maybe next year. Dad and I kept procrastinating about getting it and then it was too late.

My injection was this morning and it was certainly due. It was actually due on Christmas Day. I got to feeling really shaky last night – a jump out of your skin feeling. I went to bed early and headed straight to Kamath medical in the morning. My shot was already in my fridge and I was ready to go. Rebecca took really good care of me this morning. She was in a joyful, happy mood and it was contagious.

Merry Christmas…

Charlie Twice a Day Keeps the Blues Away…

Yes, I got to see Charlie twice today. I woke up at 9 am and was awaiting his arrival with breakfast. Maggie was in the window as well. Charlie came pulling up front of my yard about 9:45 am. I passed the time playing my new video games Tracy got me for Christmas.

The luck of the draw dictates we get sausage biscuits and that’s what we got. I was just glad to get a hot breakfast and a gigantic diet Coke. Charlie was in the Christmas spirit and slipped me a ten dollar bill to get lunch with. I actually used the money down at the Circle K to get Maggie some pork skins and I got myself a couple of diet Mountain Dews.

Tonight, Maggie and I were once again hungry little critters. My father was gone to a Christmas party in Waverly, Alabama (god’s country) so Charlie was flying solo. Bless his heart, he remembered to get Maggie a single with cheese plain without the fixins. Maggie ate that burger about as fast as I put it on the computer room floor. Dear soul, I always worry she is going to get choked when she does that.

Christmas Without You…

I am taking care of my girlfriend’s idiosyncratic cat over the holidays. I am lucky she adores and likes me. I told you all before that I am a cat magnet despite my allergies to them. I just have to wash my hands good after petting them. I don’t dare rub my eyes, mouth, or nose.

Tracy headed out for her mother’s house very late this afternoon. I am already missing her something terribly. She really brightens up a room when she steps inside. I won’t see her until the 26th and she has to be back for work. It is going to seem like an eternity. Luckily, her mother’s house is just an hour and a half drive away.

“I wanted to wake up beside you on Christmas morning,” she told me wistfully as we talked on the phone as she was headed up the interstate this afternoon.

Tracy is a hopeless romantic at heart and it is catching.

Tracy’s and my Christmas went without a hitch last night. She loved the food and her watch. She said I am spoiling her. She’s my little princess I tell ya. She really loved the stocking full of candy and gum. She has a sweet tooth like I do. She said that was very thoughtful and a very nice Christmassy touch. I loved the video games she got me. Yes, Morrowind Online was included along with a game time card for one month’s play. I will have to sign up for a subscription when that month runs out. It will be nice playing with real people from all over the country in that game. Think of Facebook with a 3D world of swords and shields and monsters to fight. I haven’t played an MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game) since Warcraft. 

Charlie will be here in the morning with breakfast. I look forward to seeing him. Maybe we will get bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits again like last weekend.

Of Casseroles, Kitchens and Christmas Cheer…

I ended up making a broccoli, chicken, rice and cheddar casserole this evening. All I have to do is put it in the oven in the next 30 minutes or so and let the cheese get bubbly and the bread crumbs get brown. The heat and serve rolls should take only 10 minutes to bake. I’ve also got a tasty green salad with some of dad’s homemade thousand island dressing he made for me. Tracy will be here at seven my time for our very own Christmas extravaganza. Tracy says it is novel having a boyfriend who can cook when Michael couldn’t even open and bake canned biscuits without burning down the house.

We are going to exchange gifts after supper. I hope she likes what I got her – the turquoise inlay watch. I also got her some stocking stuffers and she has her very own decorated Christmas stocking. I already know what she got me as she told me – an “action pack” of four currently popular video games. I am sure I will enjoy them. I am wishfully hoping Morrowind Online is included and alluded to that fantasy. “Men are so hard to buy for,” I can hear Tracy say now.

The Wiley Wills of My Father…

Last night, I needed gas. My low gas indicator was on and I don’t know what I would do without it. I’d probably run out of gas sooner or later. Dad called me at 9 pm ready to go.

“I will meet you at the Circle K on Gilmer avenue,” he told me.

He insists on putting my gas on his personal Visa for some reason. I braved the cold and soon my father came pulling into the gas station. We filled up both our cars and I had one more task to do.

“Let’s run inside and get Maggie a couple of bags of fried pork skins (chicharrones),” I told my father.

I used my allowance money to pay for them.

“Are you ready to go to the grocery store?” Old Fuss and Feathers then asked. “We can go ahead and get it done and over with.”

“Let’s put it off till tomorrow night,” I said feeling shaky last night.

The was a little coercion, but my father gave in and said alright. I don’t think he really wanted to do all that last night as well.

Well, I got home and dad called me and we ended up talking for another hour on the phone. Maggie just adored a bag of pork skins by the way. It is one of her favorite treats these days.

“We are going to get Charlie and Horsefly this week and ride around and look at all the Christmas lights,” dad said. “How does that sound?”

I told him that sounded like a fun adventure. I love to hear dad and Charlie banter and bicker back and forth. I can then poke Horsefly and make him laugh.

No Trash For the Trash Man…

Charlie and Old Fuss and Feathers were in extraordinary moods tonight. As you already know, Charlie and my father bring meals every Sunday night. I obfuscated things somewhat asking for a plain single with cheese for Maggie, but they got the order right. Charlie took Maggie’s water bowl into the kitchen to empty and refill it.

“You didn’t leave me any trash to take out tonight,” he said almost mournfully. 

Dad was getting Maggie stirred up on the couch. She was really “talking” to him.

“She’s been a good companion to you all these years,” dad said.

“She’s my Magster,” I replied as I bent over and hugged her. “I don’t know what I would do without her. Thank y’all for getting her a burger tonight.”

“If you lose any more weight, you are going to waste away,” Charlie told me which made me feel good.

They soon left and Maggie and I settled in and ate our burgers. Mine was delicious, A Wendy’s double with cheese and Maggie’s was just a plain single with cheese with none of the fixins. I told dad before he left I had about filled out on the fill-ups from KFC.

Dad broached the subject of Christmas Eve before he left tonight.

“Now, you can come, but there is going to be a lot of people there,” he said. “I thought that would make you nervous.”

“Let’s have another Christmas at Andrew’s house afterwards,” I told my father.

“Charlie and I will bring your gifts and I will bring you a big plate of food,” he said.

“Sounds good to me,” I replied, content with the arrangements.

As Slow As Molasses…

Well, my father and Sir Matt finally got my Christmas ordered today. It was the last day for free shipping and they just squeaked by. I sighed a big sigh of relief. Why we can’t just order it on my father’s computer I do not know. It confounds and aggravates me the rigmarole it takes to get computer parts ordered around here. Dad also ordered a watch for himself from Amazon and got Sir Matt to handle that as well so it is not just me. He actually had the acumen to email Matt the watch he wanted which surprised me. Welcome to 2018 father!

I watched a little of Dr. Phil at Old Fuss and Feather’s house this morning. Just your usual and typical dysfunctional family type stuff – families torn apart by an abhorrent family member or broken families, divorces, etc. Dad cooked breakfast for him and I as well. We had fried eggs and bacon and some frozen biscuits warmed and toasted in the oven. I didn’t stay too long. It was getting close to time for me to take my medications and I didn’t bring them with me

“For god’s sake go take your medications,” my father told me with a laugh when I told him I had to go and the reason why. .

I came home and took off my glasses and my ballcap and was just going to lay down for an hour and rest. It was about 1 pm. I fell asleep and awoke tonight at 6:30 pm and the house was pitch black dark – very disorienting and disconcerting. I guess I needed the rest. It was amazing my phones didn’t ring in all that time nor did Maggie bark. It left me with little to write about today.

We should’ve went and got my Christmas tree, but dad and I both put it off until after the weekend. We're both supreme procrastinators. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow type of stuff.

What Tracy is Getting for Christmas…

12k Gold & Silver Turquoise Inlay Watch

I hope she likes this. She loves turquoise so this should fit the bill. I didn’t realize turquoise jewelry was so expensive. I am using my January and February computer parts money in advance to pay for this. It was $229 dollars.

Turquoise gems are channel inlaid in this 12k gold and silver ladies watch band. The watch band is 9/16" tapering to 5/16" and has a gold extension band. This comes with a quartz movement battery operated watch face. Navajo made in New Mexico. Signed by the artist.

I Am So Excited! I Can’t Wait for Christmas!

GIGABYTE Radeon RX Vega 64

I am actually going to own a top of the line Vega video card!

8GB 2048-Bit High Bandwidth Memory 2

Core Clock 1276 MHz

Boost Clock 1560 MHz

3 x HDMI 2.0b 3 x DisplayPort 1.4

4096 Stream Processors

PCI Express 3.0 x16

Just Your Usual Sunday…

I got up at the ungodly hour of 8 am this morning for no apparent reason other than to wait on Charlie I guess. Within a hour he was here with Maggie’s and my breakfasts.

“I just love your Christmas lights!” Charlie exclaimed.

“Dad said they looked tacky,” I told Charlie with a chuckle.

“Don’t you pay no attention to Mr. Perfect!” Charlie replied smiling.

Charlie thought they were tacky, too. I just know it. He was just being nice.

Charlie was soon gone leaving us heathens to fend for ourselves. Maggie ate her sausage and went and buried her biscuit halves in the backyard as usual. Her nose was all muddy when she came back inside after both trips. I called dad and asked if I could come over after breakfast. He welcomed me over the phone. He was eating his sausage biscuit and drinking his senior coffee when I arrived. We got to talking about how I used to lead the local Methodist church choir when our music director went out of town.

“That’s amazing you could do that back then with all your social phobias,” dad said.

“I used could kill Mrs. Adcock for doing that to me!” I replied with a laugh. “I’d be a nervous wreck. Rachel (ex-wife) got me in all that mess.”

“We need to order your Newegg Christmas tomorrow,” dad then said. “What are you getting?”

“A Gigabyte Radeon Vega 64 video card, some blue lighted fans for my computer case, and a big pack of recordable DVDs,” I replied. “Oh, and a 4K ultra high definition compatible HDMI cable.”

Old Fuss and Feathers had no clue what I was talking about and told me so.

“Be sure to email Matt (pharmacy computer guru) when you get home,” he told me. “We’ll try to get it ordered tomorrow. Call me at the pharmacy and remind me.”

He better bet I will. This will be the first time I will own and install a tier one and also a company flagship video card. I just pray it will work in my computer. They recommend at least a 750 watt power supply and that’s exactly what I’ve got in my main gaming rig. I am going to be just squeaking by on that requirement.

Andrew’s Redneck Christmas

I got out this afternoon and started hanging lights everywhere. It’s got that spider’s web look going for it. Tracy will be excited to see this. She will probably laugh. lol

Getting in the Spirit of Things…

YES! Kroger had colored Christmas lights in sets of 100. I bought four packs at $2.49 each. I was surprised at the price and expected to pay much more. I am getting in the Christmas spirit slowly but surely. I already have my step railings decorated. Next, I am going to tackle my shrubbery tomorrow when the day warms up some. Burr! It is cold out there tonight. One nice thing about mom’s Honda is that it warms up quickly. It was toasty warm by the time I arrived at Kroger. 

I didn’t buy much of a way as far as things to eat. I just mainly got breakfast foods for when Tracy stays over and sandwich fixins. Dad fussed a little bit about it but I assured him things were fine. The total was still $61 dollars despite what little bit I got. I got plenty of cheese on wheat crackers and peanut butter which I live on these days. I also got a big pack of smoked sliced turkey and a loaf of Sunbeam old fashioned bread. My big expenditure and splurge was two eight packs of lemon/lime Gatorade. Each bottle only has 140 calories which is far short of sugary soda. I get so tired of drinking copious amounts of water all the time.

I was also thinking of my Magster tonight. She gets so tired of eating just Purina One so I got her some of those Nekot lemon crème cookies to eat. I will only give them to her sparingly, but she loves them. It makes for a happy and content dog. She has a sweet tooth like her owner.

Trouble in Paradise…

9:00 pm rolled around and Charlie and Papa still hadn’t arrived with my and Maggie’s meals. I tried calling my father but it dumped me into his voicemail. 9:30 pm came and soon they pulled up to the curb. That's the latest arrival of them all. Maggie had been looking out the window for over two hours. She just went nuts and never gave up hope that they would arrive. I told her they were coming too early.

“We were caught in the drive-thru from hell,” Charlie told me.

“I got to thinking y’all had a car accident,” I replied.

I had ordered Wendy’s (a double/w cheese) tonight and thought that might have been the hang up, but it wasn’t. It was that dastardly KFC who always gets orders wrong and has a slow drive-thru. I’ve deemed them the screwiest KFC in the South. Horsefly has to have their chicken tenders thus the reason Charlie and Papa put themselves through that every week. They consistently cause problems.

Maggie was really “talking” to Charlie and Papa tonight. It always warms my heart when she does that. She was so excited she was almost beside herself. She doesn’t get to see them nearly enough as she wants to.

It has been a quiet day other than tonight’s little SNAFU. Charlie brought breakfast about 9 am – three sausage biscuits and a diet Coke. I drove over to my father’s house after finishing breakfast. He had his Christmas tree up and lit and I helped him decorate it. It really looked beautiful. Dad inherited mom’s beautiful ornaments and decorations. I always get a live tree so I have to wait until mid December to get my Christmas tree as they dry out so easily. I am hoping Kroger sells Christmas lights so I can decorate my shrubbery and step railing tomorrow night after we buy groceries. My neighbors across the street are putting on a grand show with lights and Christmas icons that are projected on the side of their house.

Mostly Forgotten...

I guess I can't complain. It has been a quiet Christmas. I set my alarm to take my noon medications and Maggie and I went back to bed and slept until 4 pm.  I couldn't get my father on the phone so I drove to his house and no one was home. The beemer was gone so that means he had traveled out of town. Charlie went to Atlanta to be with his oldest son and his granddaughter on Christmas.

It is also our first Christmas without mom and I miss her dearly. She wouldn't join in on all the revelry and would stay at home in the bed. I would call her with a sob story about how Christmas sucks and she would tell me to come over and be with her. She might just give me something medicinal to make me feel better as well. (ahem)

All Hope is Not Yet Lost...

Edit: Papa was just passing through Camp Hill, Alabama late this evening when he called me on the way back from my sister's house. Thank goodness!

"I'll call you when I get home," he said. "You have a lot of presents from your brother and sister. I've missed you and I love you."

"Do you know what I gave all the grandkids?" dad then asked. "I gave them all $250 and a framed picture of Samantha. (dad chuckles) The kids loved it and had a fit over it!"

I guess the cavalry is arriving after all. Just when I had lost all hopes for this Christmas. You just don't want to be alone on the holidays. You want your family to be around you.

Christmas On Christmas Eve...

Christmas Eve started with a big breakfast for the Mags and I. I scrambled cheese eggs, boiled grits, fried bacon, and made more homemade biscuits. I started another pot of coffee, but only took a few sips and gave up -- even with some milk it was unpalatable. I cleaned up from breakfast and the Magster and I crawled back into the bed to get some more sleep which I felt the need for. Anytime is a good time regarding Maggie and sleep.

I was awakened around 1 pm by a knock on the door. I needed to take my noon meds anyway. "Coming!" I said as I quickly pulled on some pants. I looked out the window and there was this sharply dressed, in their Sunday best, white couple obviously wanting to do some witnessing.  I waited until they gave up and left. Little did they know they left a man a nervous wreck in their wake.

My father soon called and told me to come and unwrap my presents before the house got too busy for me. He had a big Christmas party planned for the evening. I quickly headed to the car and drove to my parent's house with a big goofy grin on my face. I had been waiting for this moment for weeks since we ordered my parts. Everything was there except my Audigy soundcard.

"It must not have been delivered yet," my father told me stymied. "I will keep an eye out for it and get Matt to check and see if it shipped."

I had fun anyways installing my two new 4 Terabyte drives. I am backing up my main computer on one of those drives as I write this. Everything installed flawlessly and my new keyboard and mouse feel marvelous in my hands. No more cordless mice for me. I am tired of changing and recharging batteries.

Charlie brought me two big plates of food tonight along with two slices of delicious cake. A red velvet cake Charlie's sister made and a big slice of my father's coconut and pineapple cake. He also brought me a Christmas present which was a very nice Nike shirt. I can envision this shirt becoming my new sleeping shirt it is so pliable and soft. Charlie soon headed home to give Horsefly his Christmas presents.

It's Christmas Time in the Chattahoochee Valley...

"Let me open my smallest present," I asked my father at noon with fingers crossed.

I knew the smallest box would be my two 4 Terabyte hard drives. I am almost out of space on my emulation computer. Too many Gamecube, Playstation 2, and emulation games.

"No, no, no!" dad replied laughing. "You have to wait until Christmas Eve."

I didn't push the issue. Mom would always let me open one of my presents early every year I complained.

"I am not your mother," dad said when I told him that.

Dad is busy baking a coconut cake which was his mother's specialty and claim to fame. He still has her recipe.

"Now is when I could use your mother's help," he told me. "She could taste the icing and know when it was ready to coat the cake. I hope my layers turn out. I just put them in the oven."

Woe Be the Gadget Disabled...

"Will you come over here?" my father asked me this afternoon over the phone. "My CD player will only play one Christmas music CD instead of all five in a row that I have loaded into the 5 disc changer."

I chuckled a little bit and said I would be right over. This is the same man who didn't realize his BMW had seat warmers until I pointed them out. He uses them all the time now telling me how wonderful they are on cold mornings.

My car was absolutely wonderfully warm after sitting in the sun all day on this cold afternoon. I was soon on the short jaunt to my parent's house which looked beautifully decorated for Christmas. My father had really worked hard today and said he was ready for a nap. Dad's house was also very, very chilly and he noticed me shivering. I am very cold natured.

"The button to play all CDs in succession is on the remote and not on the stereo itself," I told my stymied father standing in his library where the sound system is kept.

"Thank you so much!" my father told me. "I don't know what I would do without you sometimes."

The Christmas Tree is Up and Lit...