Merry Christmas With Skunks & Gaiters

This morning, I unwrapped the packages which have been sitting under my imaginary Christmas tree.

Above is photo documentation of some of what I found inside the packages.

I think my favorite thing I unwrapped in the baseball cap you see in the center of the photo documentation.

I should have positioned the baseball cap so you could see why I liked it.

I shall take a photo of the baseball cap.

The individual who sent this skunky baseball cap to me regularly calls me a skunk, or a stinker, sometimes in the same sentence.

I found two instances of smoked salmon in the unwrapped packages. One a version in a jar, from Pike Place Market, in Seattle. The other smoked salmon is in a big box, from Trident Seafood, also in Seattle.

Also found two pair of sweatpants. One of the sweatpants is Sherpa lined.

One of the packages was labeled "For the Durango Kid". Inside was a blue plaid flannel shirt from Land's End. 

I think I will wear the blue plaid flannel shirt from Land's End when I go walking outdoors today, pairing it with something I found in another package, a thing called a gaiter, which is also blue.

I shall model the blue gaiter for you...

This gaiter thing looks like it should help keep out the cold.

Another thing I found in one of the packages I found yesterday when I opened a box to find several gift wrapped items, along with some unwrapped items. One of the unwrapped items was little chocolate malt ball looking things in a green mesh bag. 

I was told these little chocolate balls were marzipan. Not knowing what marzipan is, I Googled to learn...

Marzipan is flavored with almonds – and almonds contain a source of cyanide, amygdalin. Amygdalin can be broken down by enzymes in the gut to release hydrogen cyanide, which is readily absorbed into the blood and transported to cells where it can stop cell respiration in its tracks.

The marzipan was sent by the same person who sent the skunk baseball cap. It was with some trepidation I risked trying one of the chocolate malt ball looking marzipans.

Tasty. No hint of almond. And apparently the dose of cyanide was not fatal.

It has warmed up enough that I think I need to do some nature communing today. And after that I will make my traditional Christmas lunch of instant pot macaroni and cheese, with air fried tempura chicken, plus broccoli...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas & To All A Good Day

Temps in the 60s today at my location, so no chance of a White Christmas.

But a good chance of having a Blue Christmas, maybe in more ways than one, but for certain this will be a clear, blue sky day...

Merry Christmas From Foggy North Texas

For Merry Christmas illustrative purposes I threw a few Christmas cards on the floor and took a photo of the result.

Merry Christmas...

That baby in red you see at the lower left is Henry. Born September 26, 2018. An easy birthday to remember because it is the same birthday as Henry's grandpa, who is also my little brother, Jake.

That is Henry's dad and mom you see below him, my favorite nephew Joey and my one and only favorite niece-in-law, Monique.

At the upper right you are looking at my favorite nephew, Christopher, also known as CJ, with Carissa, who one day may be my favorite niece-in-law Carissa. On the left side of CJ and Carissa's Merry Christmas you are seeing their baby boy, Koda.

Koda is Carissa's service dog, whose service is to help with Carissa's anxiety disorder which kicks in whenever Carissa gets on board an airplane. So, Koda joined CJ and Carissa's Happy Holiday Southwest Airline flight to Seattle. I do not know if Koda gets his own seat or stays in his container on the plane's floor.

CJ and Carissa have two other children who did not get to fly to Washington for Christmas, Bear and Munchie.

The cutest cats I have ever met.

Bear and Munchie are staying with their grandma and grandpa while their parental units are up north. Bear and Munchie's grandma and grandpa are my little sister, Jackie, and her first husband, Jack.

Christmas morning in North Texas is foggy.

Dense fog of the seriously compromised visibility type dense fog. I am hoping the fog lifts by the time the sun exits tonight so I can take a tour of the Wichita Falls Beverly Hills Christmas lights.

Merry Christmas....

Merry Christmas From Santa Durango

Santa Durango.

Sounds like a town South of the Border. Or in California.

I do not know if David, Ruby and Theo knew it was Santa Uncle Durango in whom they were confiding their Christmas wish list.

I also do not know if under their Christmas tree David, Ruby and Theo found everything they told Santa they hoped would show up under that aforementioned tree.

Yesterday David, Ruby and Theo's grandma, who also is my mom, told me David, Ruby and Theo had taken their parental units to Seattle to spend Christmas weekend. I would guess Christmas in downtown Seattle would likely involve riding the Monorail to Seattle Center to partake of the various Christmas related installations in that venue.

When I was David, Ruby and Theo's age a visit to downtown Seattle always took place at some point in time during December. This would always involve going to the Bon Marche. For those reading this in Fort Worth, who know not of such things, the Bon Marche was a downtown Seattle department store, many stories tall, accessed via a big parking garage and a skybridge which took one from the parking garage to, if I remember right, the eighth floor.

One of the Bon Marche's floors during the Christmas season was devoted to kids, as in full of toys. And Santa. Years ago the Bon Marche ceased to exist, taken over, I think, by Macy's. In addition to whatever the old Bon Marche department store now is, there are many other department stores in downtown Seattle, along with dozens of smaller stores, and several vertical malls.

In downtown Seattle there are a couple surface level trolley lines to zip one around downtown, but, unlike downtown Fort Worth, there is no old bus converted to look like a trolley and given a silly name, like Molly the Trolley. In downtown Seattle one can also zip around downtown underground via a light rail transit tunnel with five downtown stations.

Today, as in Christmas, Pike Place is closed, but yesterday at that downtown Seattle venue one would have experienced human gridlock.

Yesterday, as in Christmas Eve, one would not experience any human gridlock anywhere in downtown Fort Worth, despite that town's pitiful newspaper of record last week propagandizing that downtown Fort Worth has "a lively downtown filled with people day and night".

Did I mention that that town's newspaper of record is pitiful?

Downtown Fort Worth has zero department stores, zero vertical malls, few stores, few restaurants, no grocery stores, and no subterranean transit system.

But, there is Molly the Trolley....

UPDATE: Incoming photos documenting David, Theo and Ruby's Christmas Eve in downtown Seattle---

Above David, Theo & Ruby are all aboard Seattle's Molly the Monorail, heading towards the Space Needle and Seattle Center, sponsored by Nissan. I joke. Seattle would not be so goofy as to name one of the monorail trains Molly. Or have Seattle Center in need of a corporate sponsor.

Above I can tell Ruby is at the aforementioned Seattle Center, because that is the Space Needle behind her. But, I have no clue as to what this futuristic looking swing device is for, other than to swing.

I had mentioned that Pike Place would be human gridlock on the day before Christmas, But, above this would have to be into the evening of Christmas Eve, with Pike Place in shut down mode. Behind David, Theo, Ruby and their parental units is the location where the fish fly, you know, that sort of iconic Seattle thing where vendors throw salmon at tourists, and each other. There is always a HUGE throng at that location, watching.

Some things in Pike Place remain open, such as some of the restaurants. I suspect such is where David is at below, and the reason they were at Pike Place after hours.

I have never known a kid to like seafood as much as David does. Any seafood, well, as far as I have seen. I guess there could be some seafood David might be wary of. Like Japanese puffer fish, particularly if David knew how poisonous a puffer fish can be if not properly prepared.

That is one big Dungeness Crab David is getting ready to tear in to. At my old home location I used to be able to drive a few miles west, drop a crab pot into the water and head home a short time later to cook me some fresh caught crab.

Merry Christmas From The Jones Family

Last Saturday a package arrived from Arizona. When I opened the package and saw the box inside was festively wrapped I stuck it under my Christmas tree with all the other incoming packages waiting to be opened on Christmas.

What with it now being Christmas that box from Arizona has now been opened.

Among the many things I found inside the box was the above "Christmas Card" from my mom and dad.

I thought mom and dad are being just darn cute in this picture, so I felt compelled to share. How can you not like how mom and dad coordinate their Christmas outfits, color-wise?

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Hope Y'all Read A Bee's Knees Of A Groovy Dope Merry Christmas

The outer world was warmed to above freezing when I took my Merry Christmas morning hot tub dip this Merry Christmas morning.

Being above freezing had the hot tub not in steaming mode, like what happens when the air goes frigid.

I was hoping to take a selfie this morning through a veil of steam.

I am appalled I used the current "selfie" slang. I generally have an aversion to slang.  I know not from whence this aversion comes.

I remember decades ago cringing when someone said "groovy" unless that word was used sarcastically or ironically. In this century the word "groovy" does not annoy me because it is no longer a slang word. "Groovy" has faded to antique status, like saying something like "bee's knees".

Another current slang word usage that I find annoying is when someone says this that or the other thing was a "good read". Does this annoy me because it is just bad grammar? Or what? I have no idea.

Yesterday I was appalled on Facebook when I read a borderline senior citizen begin a Facebook post with the slang phrase "This is dope."

I commented to the "dope" comment advising that I felt this person was much too old to be saying things like "this is dope." The "dope" poster hit the like button on my comment. I hope this means he drops "this is dope" from his vocabulary.

Well, none of this groovy dope talk has anything to do with wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas.

So, I shall end this good read with yet one more MERRY CHRISTMAS, this time in shouting capitals mode....

MERRY CHRISTMAS

This Morning Spencer Jack Wished Me Merry Christmas

Keeping with my ongoing Happy Holidays Theme, what with this being my favorite time of the year, other than all the other times of the year, this morning Spencer Jack sent his Uncle Durango a Merry Christmas wish via a video sent from Spencer Jack's iPhone.

Or, maybe it was sent from Spencer Jack's dad's iPhone.

I am technically challenged and so am not sure about such things.

It Is A Merry Christmas Morning Of A Wonderful Anonymous Life In Texas

Merry Christmas morning to the outer world.

I do not know if any of the predicted possible snow fell on my location on Christmas Eve. There does appear to be dampness on the ground. But it is not frozen dampness, due to the fact that it is currently 40 degrees.

I was shocked this morning to learn that neither the Dallas Cowboys or Seattle Seahawks got their Christmas wish to win a game yesterday to get into the NFL playoffs. What a tragedy. I thought they'd be playing each other in the Super Bowl.

Changing the subject from football to it being a wonderful life.

This morning I got a comment from someone calling him or herself Anonymous in which Anonymous informed me I've had a George Baileyesque impact on his or her life. Anonymous does not indicate if this has been a good or bad impact. Below is the Anonymous comment....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Princess Annie Shoveling Snow On Christmas Eve After A Blizzard Blankets Wink": 

Durango--

For the past few years, I've had a new tradition. One that I actually enjoy. I'll explain.

Each Xmas Eve I watch the 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life." What a great flick. I always enjoy hearing George Bailey's line: "If it hadn't been for me, everyone would be a little better off..." (this is of course before his guardian angel interrupts him and reminds Mr. Bailey of his importance in this world ((something he overlooks))).

Durango...you have had a huge impact in my life and I think Christmas time is a good time to sit and reflect on that. So thanks. As I don't need a guardian angel to remind me of this, just this movie once a year! And the fun memories.

Merry Christmas. Hope Santa was kind to you this year! 

_______________________________________

Who is Anonymous? I can't help but wonder.

Several suspects come to mind, depending on if I'm thinking the impact was good. Or bad.

I guess I"m gonna go with it must be J.D. Granger who is Anonymous. Yeah, I'm sure that's it.

Merry Christmas From Texas

Looking out from the bars of my patio prison cell I can not quite tell for sure if the last Saturday of 2010, also known as Christmas is another cloudy Texas day, or not.

Cloudy or not, I'm sure I'll be having myself a very Merry Christmas, today.

My phone just made a noise and popped up with a text message.

I don't do that cell phone texting thing, as in I don't send text messages, but I have figured out how to read incoming ones.

This one was from the Queen of Wink. The message said "Merry Christmas."

Near as I can tell, despite Steve Doeung asking him to, Santa has not brought me a new bike. Perhaps Santa did not know where to put the new bike because I do not have a Christmas tree.

A year ago today I looked out my window to see a White Christmas. Right now, with the sun finally adding enough light, I can see that the only thing that appears semi-white is the sky with its covering of clouds.

I have no idea what lays ahead for me on this Christmas day, besides opening a box that arrived in the mail on Monday. And BBQing steak.

Merry Christmas to all and my one longtime blog reader.