Woman Shoots Husband With Gun Bought With Cabela’s Gift Card.

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Meanwhile, in Melbourne, New Zealand has just bowled out Marnus Labuschagne, by Colin deGrandhomme. With Labuschagne and David Warner out, the Black Caps have dispatched two of their biggest nemeses in the crease. Looks like a good match is shaping up.

Score 3-148 First Innings, Australia.

Merry Christmas

Film at Eleven

Everyone who ever said I needed another pet has been correct. Just this dog sleeping near me has made such a difference.

I’m not exaggerating when I say this is miraculous what Lila has done for me.

I may get a cat instead of a dog, a little easier to manage. Besides feline indifference to my opining will keep me in my place.

Merry Christmas. My birthday is in January. J and I will go to the shelter for a new beast.

Lila slept all night without so much as a whimper. She just had her kibble and her chewy treat.

This is still fun.

First of all, I am totally stoked over my houseguest. She is a pit bull, strong enough to pull Santa’s sleigh all by herself. When I took her for a walk, I could feel her power as I held the lead. She did well on her walk, pooped, came back in.

I find myself talking to Lila as if she were a human, tbe same way I did when we had Choco The Beagle and Bailey The Westie.

Earlier tonight, I had my swim, did 2500 meters (1.5 miles). I went to a meeting at noon.

For someone who is not a big Christmas fan, having this dog around is all the present I could hope for.

This is Lila. She is my “Grandog”. She will be my Christmas guest. More pictures later.

The big news for me is I got five trips to the pool this week and swam 5 miles.

This morning J and I were at Bob Evans for breakfast, totally an uncool place for breakfast, but I love it. People who do actual work for a living eat there.

J says, “After the Holidays, I need to start watching what I eat more carefully.”

“You mean fewer Tate’s Bake Shop Butter Crunch Cookies?” I inquire.

“Yes, for starters.”

“How about every time we have sex, you can have a cookie?” (Let’s see if humour makes any difference.)

(Imaginary smart-was answer on her part) “You mean with each other?”

The day was good. A nap. A swim. The 5:00PM cringe worthy Mass with guitars ( Do you have a light? I need to burn my draft card.) J and I took separate cars so we didn’t have to discuss the doctrinally deficient song Mary, Did You Know?, performed by the theologically challenged musicians, plucking away in their time warp.

But we are home. The rice is cooking. Dinner will be ready soon.

I felt tired today, as if yesterday’s tiredness was held over. I went to AA at 11:00 AM, came home for a nap. J returned from work around 2:30. We went out to eat, Hogshead Cafe´, had bbq nachos, their Hog Nachos. Throughout the day, I keeping worrying about the tiredness that I feel. Is it some dread disease? Then I go swimming, have a good workout and the fatigue is absent after I finish. Go figure.

Maybe I am overdoing it on how much coffee I drink. Seeing if I can get through the night without coffee, regular or decaf, after 6:00 PM.

My greatest fear is that my wife, my family and my friends will stop loving me, especially my wife. So I tell jokes a lot so she will want to keep me around. (Note: When I am serious, I am heart attack serious, apocalypse serious.) Middle Ground? You mean there is such a thing?

Right now, I am watching Brazilians at the beach. The Brazilians seem to be happy. I will watch more Brazilians on You Tube, less newsreels from World War Two. See how I feel after about a month, with no war, no Nazis, more partially clothed Brazilian women.

Later This Evening

I went upstairs to watch a DVD with J. She found Season Two of The Andy Griffith Show. Normally, I would listen, not really watch, because of the position of the television in the bedroom. Tonight, the stories just made me sad. I don’t know why.

Right now, after dressing and coming downstairs, I am watching a YouTube video from Cruising The Cut, about the Manchester Ship Canal. More interesting footage of Manchester was enjoyed.

My objective is to get sleepy, think about positive things. Here is a video of a beach in Spain, the Spanish Mediterranean. This should work. Maybe I will try “doing” the beach next summer. I haven’t been to any beach for years.

But the idea is to drive away melancholia tonight. A video of tourism in Albania looks interesting. It is in a foreign language, Swedish. How can I pass this up?

I’ve spent the better part of the day waiting to feel better. I know I am OK, just tired and sad, with a slight headache. Just tired. The Christmas pendulum is swinging back towards wishing it were over. I don’t think I ever got that nap that would get me back to even keel. Not even Howard Keel, much less Kathryn Grayson.

Anybody else remember Donkey Serenade? I am especially fond of Alan Jones’ version.

More later.