Monday, December 9, 2019
It’s a good thing to wear steel-toe shoes on a CTA bus. Baby carriages.
I really like my bone doctor. He’s young, intelligent, concerned and is helping my messed up shoulder. Plus, his first name is Igor. Great name for a sports injury doctor.
Watched Diane Keaton’s first appearance on the Tonight Show Sunday night – from the mid-to-late 70s. She hadn’t yet blossomed into the star she became – even after the Godfather. Probably not until Annie Hall. But less than a minute into the interview and I realized something I’d never thought of – Shelly Long’s character on Cheers was a parody of Ms. Keaton. Btw – what a great singer the real Diane is! Remember her spot in Woody Allen’s Radio Days?
Thought my Lil’ Buddy – the squirrel – was gone forever. She was MIA at ‘the spot’ for a couple of days. The way squirrels bound around traffic and fight amongst themselves, you never know. I’d have missed her. Fed her since the summer and watched her grow. I kind of make a noise when I get to the spot to let the squirrels know I’m there, but I think they can smell my pipe smoke from a block away. She was back, saw her coming down a large tree, then hopping along the top of the wooden fence, headed…towards me? No, headed to a big meal! A yam leftover from Thanksgiving yesterday and an apple and plenty of nuts this afternoon.
If the sun was out today (it wasn’t – heavy clouds), it would have felt like the first day of spring, instead of heading into winter. Almost 50 in Chicago – it wasn’t long before the cold winds began blowing in. We’ll be frigid the next couple of days, then a good warmup. Only four months to opening day for baseball!
Should’ve taken a pic: I usually finish my pipe by the Jewel before I grocery shop. I heard the Salvation Army guy, who stands near the door, singing. Now these good folks are on duty, in one place, about 8 hrs. a day, from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. It’s got to be boring, just ringing a bell for such a long time (I know, I did it about 10 years ago), so the guy was passing time by singing Christmas carols. No great voice, but instead of complaining to myself, I figured I can’t do any better, so I put my pipe away, went over and joined him. We finished White Christmas together – in harmony! That was fun.
Yep – I still play guitar. Till the day I die. Just tried an impromptu jazzy Jingle Bells. Will record and post if I can edit out the clams!
Decorated the apartment in about an hour this year. Only put up a third of the decorations I did last year, but this time, I had enough energy to wrap gifts! I wonder where I put that box of Christmas lights. Maybe I’ll find it next year!
Well, Christmas is shaping up. Hope it is for you, too. I’m going to take a stab at making almond crescent cookies with the powdered sugar. I’ll experiment after I see my cardiologist this week. I lost 21 lbs. this year – wish someone would tell that to my waistline!
I hope to watch the end of Polar Express later tonight. Real cool Pixar movie from a few years back, with Tom Hanks playing the conductor on a train that takes kids to the North Pole. Now what young girl or boy wouldn’t want to do that?
A few more things to do this evening and then, before I settle in for the movie, maybe I can edit a couple of more pages in my book. It’s not over yet – everybody asks me when it;s going to be done, but it’s about getting the best out of each scene. And that takes time and concentration. But the closer I get, great and strange feelings.
