Hey you.

Guess what’s coming up in 41 days?

I must say I do love holiday shopping. Mostly because I do 99% of it sitting right here at the box. Two years ago, I went with my daughter-in-law and her mom to do the whole Black Friday, get-up-at-2-a.m. thing. It wasn’t as bad as what I thought it might be, but I ended up coming home with fewer items than I wanted. So, I went back to chair shopping, and I really do like it. Merchants are much more savvy to the online holiday shopper now, and they fashion their BF sales to meet those needs. I like it.

Do you have a special “event” that you make out of Christmas shopping? Any fun traditions? I’m always up for starting a new one. That, and I love reading your stories.

What’s your favorite thing to bake over the holidays? (Or if you don’t bake, tell me your favorite thing to eat.) Jury’s still out on how much I will bake this year, since I can’t eat just about all of it. Blah! I have committed to making cake truffles for my high school choir again, while of course saving some back for the family, but not sure what else I’ll make. I’ll take your ideas. Gotny?

While looking at a hundred pictures on my hard drive (an activity that Jake enjoys in the early mornings, when it’s just the two of us, and the house is asleep), I found this graphic I made a long time ago for something.

First one who explains it gets the great big fat ol’ Hershey bar in the mail.

Set, go.

I know what this is.

It’s the getting up a half an hour earlier every day so I can get to school at the new (earlier) time this year. It’s messing with my writing, and I don’t like it, not one little bit.

Since 4:30 this morning, I’ve made coffee and paid bills. That’s it. It’s now 5:28, and at 5:40, I have to hit the shower and get dressed. I haven’t eaten breakfast yet (I’m plotting what it’ll be as I write this), and I have no idea what I’m going to wear.

Sounds like one of those “let’s get organized” things is about to take place, because going days on end without writing to you ain’t cuttin’ it. Ya know?

The week after a show, I’m usually pretty much useless in the evenings. It’s so wonderful and new to have nighttime free, I rarely get anything done. I guess this has been “that week,” and I don’t really feel guilty about blowing off stuff — especially when I got to spend time at the hospital with A2, my new awesome grandson. Mr. A. is going to be a cool big brother to him.

Well, now that I’ve identified the problem, I need to come up with a solution. Write at night? Sounds like a plan.

Until Dinner Theatre rehearsals start, that is. Have a great Finkday, fiends. It’s the weekend!

Photo by Jessica Florence

…about the “Monday” after a show:  getting out of bed.

I thought that since I had yesterday off (I can now say I have the “Js and the As,” thanks to my daughters-in-law choosing alliterative names ), I’d feel all rested and ready to jump headfirst into Christmas.

I was wrong.

What I’d really like to do this morning is wrap up in an electric blanket on the couch and read all day. But hey, like Mick Jagger once said…

For those of you who have done theater, you know the job’s not done once the curtain falls and the set is struck. Now there’s the erasing of orchestra books, counting up of scripts, and boxing of all rental materials to get back to Stoney so she can return them to the pirates at MTI in New York, who will most certainly find something wrong enough for them to keep at least part of our deposit on their already-too-expensive show. Ah well. Even scoundrels have to eat, I suppose.

But enough complaining, ja? What a great weekend. Now I hear sleigh bells in my future. Get bizzy!

Hugs to all my RtB fiends for their support and comment love through the Fiddler run. Onward…

FO