Holidays, The Shutdown, and The Wheel of Time

I tend to write a blog when I have house news to share, or when I am inspired by something. This blog will lean toward the latter, although there is some house news to share as well. I look back and see that my last entry is from November, the longest gap since I started this blog in 2015. The two main reasons for the gap were that I was busy through the holiday (not on house stuff), and I was feeling rather uninspired. Not sure why this mini writers block hit me, but the beauty of it is that it was easy to walk away for a while as I am pretty certain that not many have noticed that my blog was missing.

Our beautiful home on Christmas Day.

The holidays were great. Nice and quiet, for the most part. I worked on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years. The weather stops for no man (or woman). Working during holidays is old hat for me, and I don't mind it all too much. Cindy and I can flex our celebrations to fit my schedule since it's just the two of us. Most of our families traveled for the holiday, but we did get out to do some visits, drop of treats and down a quick shot of Stoli (smidgens as Cindy calls them). The weather was mild in the second half of December, after a cold and snowy end to fall. Then, the shutdown hit.

Many of my NWS co-workers changed their
Facebook profile photo to a pawn. 

I am determined not to let politics seep into my blog. It would serve no purpose for me to try to convince you of whatever opinion I may have, not that I could, and it may just anger or displease you. In any case, this or any shutdown uses the American people, and Federal employees, as pawns in the game of politics. This hurts them in many ways, not the least of which is stress. For Federal employees, going the month after the holidays with no paycheck to settle bills is not at all pleasant. Many new or lower level employees do indeed live paycheck to paycheck, despite what government officials may say, and I felt truly bad for them. Making matters worse, here at the NWS and many other agencies, we are "excepted" employees meaning we are required to work, despite not being paid. So, in addition to everyday expenses, many in the NWS have the expense of working, like daycare and even fuel. There has been bi-partisan efforts to end shutdowns once and for all, forcing Congress and the President to do their jobs. I support this legislation.

The cover of the first book in The
Wheel of Time. Warning: you will
get hooked. 

The shutdown got me thinking about an incredible book anthology that I read many years ago called The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan.  This epic fantasy series spanned 14 volumes and thousands and thousands of pages. It took 30 years to write and had to be completed by a second author after Mr. Jordan died. Fortunately, Jordan had left detailed notes revealing the ending of the story so we were all not left hanging. The series is very complex, with entire volumes devoted to only a few of the many characters. One of those characters was Thom, a Gleeman that travels with the group that, of course, turns out to be more than he seems, royalty in fact. In any case, Thom is an expert in The Game of Houses, which, at it's basic level, is a game of deception and one-upmanship by the rich that can result in everything from petty crime, to adultery, to murder. The working class is unaware of the games being played, and the effect of the game in their daily life. This is what brings me back to our government and the shutdown, and how we are controlled by the high power games that are being played by the elite in Washington. Truly a Game of Houses, but in this case we are painfully aware of the price.

Oh yeah, the house! Well, I finished the downstairs half bath, for the most part. I put down new molding along the floor that came out really nice. I opened up the access to the plumbing and wrapped the pipes in insulation, and insulated the wall with pink fiberglass, That should prevent the pipes from freezing again, but in the very coldest weather I will still shut off the water just in case. We still need to pick out a new towel rack, and more importantly a mirror to replace the old medicine cabinet, but that stuff is pretty straightforward.

Our living room crown molding. Can I do it?

We have decided to move into the sun room as our next project. We just keep some plants in their now but we eventually would like to use the room as a breakfast nook/bar. First job, as usual, will be to repair the ceiling. The plaster is in good shape, but the paint is peeling so it will need to be scrapped, primed, and repainted. After that, we will need to pick a new color *shudders* and paint the walls. Then, I plan to use the same rather complex crown molding for the room, that we used on the rest of the house. This will test my abilities as an amateur carpenter and budding complex miter saw operator.

Holiday Season

Tree is up and decorated. Missing the top
ornament though. 

It's never been clear to me whom or what decided that the Holiday Season runs from Thanksgiving to New Years, but I don't have a problem with it. I suspect that it was driven by commercial interests, i.e. retail and shopping, but it has been around for a long time. Certainly it has been so for my entire 50+ year life. I remember early on seeing advertisements on television saying "Seasons Greetings" beginning with Thanksgiving programming. I know many, if not most people, get upset when they see the wrapping paper and Christmas trees showing up in stores in October, but it doesn't bother me and having worked in retail in high school and college, I understand the reasons behind it. Certainly, the retail giants would not put the holiday items out if it didn't make sense and money for them.

For Cindy and I, decorating for Christmas begins just before Thanksgiving. It is early but logistically it works, with both of us at our jobs full time, and it allows us to enjoy a month of time with the house beautifully decorated. We both love the holiday season, and it fits into our more leisurely winter lifestyle. Evening consists of dinner in the living room, with a fire in the fireplace, Christmas tree lights on, village pieces lit up on the mantle. Cozy, peaceful. and bright. A defense shield erected to resist winter's cold and gloom.

In the middle of nowhere. 

We went out to get our tree, a Spruce of course, a week before Thanksgiving. We've been going to the same Christmas tree farm for years. The owner expects to see us before his official opening, but he doesn't seem to mind and is, I think, a bit amused by us. There is a problem though, in that he stopped planting spruce years ago, since fir trees have become more popular. Each year it has gotten tougher to find a tree that we want, and this year we finally struck out. It was sad to tell him on the way out, since we both knew we'd never be back again. After a couple of fails, we began to get nervous that we may not find a spruce. However, I took a recon trip one weekday morning and investigated a tree farm we had visited many years back. I was thrilled to see acres of spruce, nothing but spruce. Cindy and I returned a few days later and found our tree quickly. The farm is a throwback to the old days, with no attendant, at your own risk mud roads, and an honor system for paying, that consisted of a hole in the side of a small barn. You pay what you think the tree is worth. Awesome.

Over a brief Thanksgiving break from work, after decorating the tree, I also put up the outside lights. I'm old school there as well, going with 4 strings of C-9 lights. Not energy efficient at all, but they give off a warm glow that you cannot get with LED lights. I like that you can change out some of the bulbs with twinkle bulbs that give a very random and slow flashing or twinkle to the lights.  I did buy a couple of LED spot lights that I am using to eliminate the side of our house, which is now easily visible from Grand Boulevard since the leaves are off the trees.

Delicious bread. Some light, some dark. 

Also, Cindy and I spent a full day baking Christmas bread, which we will distribute to family. We are still getting used to our new oven and adjusting the temperature, so some of the bread turned out a bit dark, others a bit light. That was somewhat by design, as some like the bread darker, others lighter.

So, while we may be a bit early with things, we are pretty much ready for the holidays. It's nice to just relax and enjoy, and not be a part of the frenzy. We still have some shopping to do, but Cindy and I have really cut down on the gift giving at this point. We really don't need or want all that much, and it really helps keep the spirit of the season while lowering the stress.