I was surprised when I walked down to the Soo Locks this morning at 0-skunk-30 to find that there were actually other people around that looked alive and awake rather than death warmed over. A very friendly security guard just getting off the midnight shift at the locks. A group of older men having breakfast at Frank’s Restaurant. Which I was really happy to find open because we were planning to head down there for our own breakfast this morning. A runner. A dog-walker. I don’t know why this surprised me. I am not a big New Year’s Eve partier. I know that there are a lot of folks like me. I would rather ring the old year out quietly and greet the new year bright and early.

After my walk and breakfast at Frank’s and a little drive down to the Sugar Island ferry dock (where we watched the Sugar Island ferry scurry across the river between two downbound freighters: the American Mariner and the Indiana Harbor), the GG futzed around with some of The Commander’s hoard of stuff and I drove out to check out the Moominbeach. I made a cheep little 30-second video and posted it on facebook, so if you are friends with me on facebook, you can check it out if you want. But here is a photoooo too. It was 40 degrees out there this morning!!! I’m sure it is not 40 degrees there now. We are now at Houghton Lake and it is 20 or less here with the wind blowing a gale. I bet it is pretty dern cold in the Yoop by now too.

Anyway, I don’t know what this year will bring but I am praying in my own godless kind of way that it’ll be a good one. I do know that walking the moominbeach was a fantabulous way to start it out. Resolutions? Not exactly. I am always, always, always trying to improve my life. Incrementally though. My big thing for the last five or 10 or 15 years has been to DE-ACQUISITION STUFF!!!! Downsize, downsize, downsize. Have I made progress? Well… Sometimes it seems like I have and then, oh I dunno, somebody dies and we acquire a bunch of stuff. Or somebody graduates from college and we acquire (and re-acquire) a bunch of stuff. Kiddos, do not take this personally. This is life.

After the Christmas holiday, I ALWAYS feel like re-a-starting. Cleaning up. Whatever. And this was one of the busier holiday seasons we have had. The Commander was with us for a 10-day visit and I think we connected with every relative within a 50-mile radius. Fin and Mac and a few of the Courtoises to boot. It was WONDERFUL! I know that The Commander had a great time. She got to see her California granddaughter every day for over a week and many other relatives that she rarely sees any more. I am very happy that we could make this happen and I am especially grateful to Our Northern Correspondent Paulette for driving The Commander down.

I am also exhausted! 🙂 I am an introvert! I love the 21st century definition of being an introvert. “We” are now saying that introverts are people who are not necessarily unfriendly or antisocial. It’s just that they build their strength and energy by alone, inwardly focused time. Crowds and constant social interaction is tiring for an introvert. Sooooo, as much as I enjoyed the holidays and seeing ALL of you (!!!) I am looking forward to a little quiet time to try and regain some control over my overcrowded house. Not to mention my job, which has been a bit neglected lately. But I really don’t have any resolutions. It’s just one step at a time…

Hem hem. I also have a wee bit of a rant. We are at the Houghton Lake Group Home here and there is a feetsball game on TV. I am not a feetsball fan but, for some odd reason, I enjoy the ambience of feetsball on TV on New Year’s Day. As long as none of the armchair spectators have a hissy if the U of M does something really stupid. Or maybe watching people have hissies is *why* I enjoy it. Anyway. I dunno what bowl game is on right now. It probably isn’t the U of M because, well, we won’t go there. But from my little blahgging perch at the back of the kitchen here, I actually heard somebody talk about the “Tostitos Fiesta Bowl”! Really? REALLY!!??!! Tostitos??? Say WHAT!!! I mean, I know that all of the colleges need money, yada yada yada. Roight? But. This kind of stuff makes my brain explode. On the one hand, “we” are [supposedly] promoting sports and physical activity to prevent childhood obesity. Right? But “we” are allowing bowl games to team up with JUNK FOOD companies and rename all the blasted bowl games? Of course, my brain is also dredging up images of couch potato type folks sitting in front of televised feetsball games shoveling snacks into their mouths. But then again, the GG procured some “Snyder’s of Hanover Honey Mustard & Pretzel Pieces” this afternoon and he is sitting on the couch watching a game and I am not sitting on the couch or watching a game but I have eaten more of those pretzel pieces than I would like to admit. They should be illegal. But. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl? What the heck?

Happy New Year and what are y’all are resolving to do? Or are you just revolving? If you don’t wanna tell, I’m cool with that too. Love you anyway. KW.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 1st, 2011 at 7:42 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.