Christmas? Bah-Humbug.

Happy Christmas to Murray, Leon, Bernie and dearest Duckie. :P

I haven't heard from Brother so I dunno if there's a cemetery visit in the works or not. I got up at 4am. I've been trying to keep busy. I just scrubbed the toilet and sink and mirrors and floor in my bathroom. The kitchen's cleaned up. I'm running out of stuff to scrub.

I've been avoiding holiday music and specials completely. I haven't done a lick of gift shopping. It's just that kind of mood. Kitty's napping in her lounge chair. We didn't put up the tree or anything.

I want a nap. Ugh.

It's now early afternoon. Still nothing from my Brother. I called his cell and got voice mail. If we're going to the cemetery we'll have to go relatively soon. It closes in about three hours and it's almost an hours trip.

I called the house. The SIL answered. Brother's out "running errands" because they didn't get a gift for the niece. Right. Ok. She said as far as she knew he wasn't going to the cemetery today because he's too busy running around and doesn't have the traditional mini tree to take. She said she thought he was going tomorrow but um they're closed tomorrow. Oy.

I think I can see Duckie laughing from here!

Another update. I ate. I used more of my few-months-passed "best by date" sauce. Mother would be proud of my dietary daring. Brother called me to tell me he was coming to pick me up. It was late, less than an hour til closing at the cemetery. I'm like uh... time? He's like "it only takes 15 minutes to get there" and I'm thinking "yous [sic] crazy." I barely had my pants on when he was ringing the bell. Kitty was nonplused, barely roused from her lounge chair, probably because I warned her we might have company.

He explained he never did find a mini-tree. The tree has been a tradition Mother started after Father passed away and I continued last year with Brother after she passed. No worries, I had earlier hacked a length of branch off a pine tree in my landscaping as a back up plan.

I didn't pay attention to the time because I knew that would only annoy me unnecessarily. This is progress. In the past I would've been obsessive about watching the time. Ok, I admit I was eyeing the radio in the truck but couldn't make out a time (if it even has a clock) but I should get points for not checking my watch.

The gates were open. We parked on the gravel and walked in. The sun was quickly heading into the day's oblivion on the ocean horizon. I took photos of the setting sun and Brother rambled to the cold stone with a slight patina of algae. We left.

I'd been thinking that his kids never had their grandpa's holiday candy. For a week or more I'd been kicking around trying my hand at it. He was amenable to the idea so we stopped at a grocery. I didn't have the recipe nor had I even looked it up so I went on memory. It was sad that Brother didn't really have an idea what went into the recipe. It turned out I got was right on all counts but did get margarine that I didn't need. I still swear Father used it even if it isn't in the written recipe. I've been pondering what else he could've made that would've called for melting butter in a large pot. Doesn't matter; it was on sale at only 83 cents per pound--shockingly inexpensive. Not everything was so affordable. The tiny bottle of real vanilla was $4, on sale, for the store-brand!

(more to come)