Thursday, December 24, 2015

A Bloggy Holiday Blast From the Past

Merry Christmas Eve to you all ... no matter how you celebrate!

Bet you thought you'd heard the last from me, didn't 'ya? Nope. I promised myself that I'd at least post my undying love to you all for the holidays, so here I am!  I will probably always be your little friend who always shows up late to the party!

Just a quick catch up on personal events since last I posted:

      Dan survived and is currently thriving after a little hernia surgery. So happy he's all fixed up. I'm fond of his doctor; he came into Dan's hospital room the morning of the procedure, and greeted me by saying "I see you got your old dad to come in to get this hernia fixed." Adorable, I thought. Dan thought not so much. The good doctor does not deserve his reputation for lacking a sense of humor, IMHO.

      Our business winter season is not so dismal this year! I'm reaping the rewards of finally figuring out how to take advantage of a particular Facebook advertising program that will allow me to get the word out to readers within a 50 mile radius, and happily, we are starting to see some results. This is still our slowest season, but it's not desperate, and for that I am gratified and grateful.

     Beyond that, not much news to tell. Things don't change much here, other than whether they run smoothly or they don't. Oh, yes ... almost forgot. The pony is still hanging out with my big ol' mares, and he still shows occasional bursts of optimism but remains thwarted by physics. Poor lad. Someday we'll have to give him a name, I guess.

As quiet as it is here, there's still a little happening on the personal style front that I can report.

1) I bought a pair of flats. And I wear them sometimes. I feel like I'm standing in a hole when I do, though. Okay, I tried them. But they're not as much fun as heels.
    Seriously, I don't have many flats I really like, but I do like these Old Navy loafers. Especially with skinnies and a scarf and raincoat. Much better than sneaks and a more retro-urban look than booties. Will wonders never cease?


2.) Speaking of skinny jeans ... they didn't die after all the declarations of their demise by the denim cognoscenti. Mine have settled back into rotation with their reincarnated cousins, the straight leg jeans and most of the boyfriend jeans have been relegated to a bottom drawer with only occasional outings. Still love my rippy jeans, though, and the closer fitting ones best.

3) As I wrote a couple of times, I was all excited about the opening of the new Burlington store in our little Big City. It opened. It was nowhere near as nifty as I remember the Burlington Coat Factory in the Seattle area. Not surprisingly, it has a big selection of coats. And lots of other stuff as well, but most of it looks pretty drab and as unsubstantial as the Big Box store brands without the trendiness. There are some "better brands" but their pieces look leftover. There are about a gazillion handbags, all in a similar classic top-handle satchel style, and all in a vast array of black and brown.
You win some, you lose some. TJ Maxx will not be losing a large share of my business after all. 

4)Some bad style-related news is that I'm having trouble getting my photos from my camera onto my computer. Windows 10 updates are still wreaking minor havoc with my digital life, but I'm still optimistic that it will all sort out before I have to freaking replace my current freaking laptop (!!!!!!)

5) But the VERY good news is that Waterlogue (an extremely nifty app that converts photos into pretty convincing watercolors) has finally been made available for PC! And I nabbed myself a copy! I've been so jealous of some friends/fabulous bloggers who have been showing off with their photos on iPad (if you're reading this, SpyGirl Anne, I surely mean you. Your Daily Truck series is the BEST!)

Since I have no new pics to show, I'll jazz up some old photos here:


My favorite corner of our restaurant.





Lovely for pet pics.




Not so much for people, usually.  (This is probably what I'll wear on Christmas Day ... it will be in the 70s I'm told!)


Although, I may keep and use this version of my
avatar ... the lack of detail makes me look a LOT younger... way too many decades younger!  Probably not a good idea, but tempting.  Really tempting ...

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That's it from Mid-Nowhere.
Hope to check in more often in the coming year.
But for now, and whether your celebrate Christmas, Christmas and Boxing Day, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Winter Solstice, Pancha Ganapati, HumanLight, Newtonmas or Festivus, I send my annual big, smothery cyber-hugs with my best wishes that you enjoy


HAPPY HOLIDAYS !



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With special thanks to the Glorious Patti and her world-famous Visible Monday, without whom I'd have missed knowing a world of wonderful women!  I'm heading over there right now ... join me!