To talk of many things

Of shoes and ships and sealing wax

and cabbages and kings

I used to know that whole poem and The Raven – which I would happily recite whenever the mood struck. My brain is now too full of other stuff, or someone hit the delete button by accident. (That happens quite often, by the way)

So it’s Christmas and we have much to discuss. I’m taking a break from candy making. My mom made cream filled chocolates every year***, started with a bunch of flavors and eventually only made maple creams because those were the favorites. When I moved to PA, I volunteered to make them but in one of those ‘”This is how it’s done and I can’t change” moments, I only suggested maple and no one here likes it. Duh, you can use other flavorings! (Sometimes I get stuck, too!) Three years ago I decided to make them and got a little crazy with flavors, but my friends truly loved all of them. So last year I made them again and this year – well, I really like experimenting, so we have peppermint with dark mint coating, peppermints with white mint coating, raspberry with dark chocolate coating, coconut, rum and maple with milk chocolate and cherry with pink vanilla flavored coating. The cherries are currently in the freezer, and will be dipped later.

***recipe will be shared if anyone wants it

During this process, Bear discovered that we’ve owned a double boiler thingie for like 3 years

I swear sometimes he never opens a cabinet. (And when he does, he doesn’t close it! Men!)

In other news, Maverick had to visit Dr. Dave – our vet. Maverick decided it would be fun to scratch his butt on the carpet, thus giving himself a rug burn on his ass. That rug burn has turned into a lovely hot spot. Part of the cure is to shave the affected area – so he’s got a bare ass look going on and he’s not impressed. It’s also sore and I feel bad for him but I can’t help thinking, “dude, you did this to yourself!” (My mom had no patience with injuries. She would say, “do you want sympathy? Look it up in the dictionary, it’s between shit and syphillis”) (I had no idea what syphillis was, but I knew it was after “sympathy” in the dictionary!)
At any rate, he’s always a bundle of energy and this has turned him frantic. Yes, we’ve resorted to calming meds. They’re sort of working. So is brandy. For me, not him. I’m not that crazy! (Although it has crossed my mind) Today I will be making a neck pillow in the vain attempt to keep him from biting his butt. Because I’m quite tired of yelling “LEAVE IT!” so loud the neighbors can hear.

Bear is off for the next two weeks. Pray for me. Seriously, when he’s home, I tend to snack less so it will be good for my diet. Also, I have a honey do list that I haven’t mentioned. Don’t tell him.

My family is 350 miles away. Bear’s family situation is complicated. It’s me, Bear and Maverick of the Bare Butt today. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I feel like most of what I love about it has been taken away. So I’m choosing to focus on the blessings in my life, and on the meaning of today. Last night I watched a live stream of a local church service where my BFF played the organ, and a girl who was a member there since she was a child sang “Mary Did You Know?” and brought tears to my eyes. She has an amazing voice and I expect to see her on Broadway someday.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Hope your day is filled with joy and no “Leave it!”