#buy irish coffee chocolate birthday cake

[greatestbakery]

Know Before Buying an Irish Coffee Chocolate Birthday Cake

Here are a few things you must know before you buy an Irish coffee chocolate birthday cake. To order fresh cream cakes and online delivery, call Greatest Bakery.

[echo-of-sounds]

birthday cake

-Fatgum x f!reader-

Headcanons and smut drabble for Taishiro’s birthday! (It isn’t until tomorrow but I don’t post on the weekends so I’m posting it early!)

Please throw him a surprise party. He would be so grateful. And so, so cute. His eyes would light up. His smile would grow. His love for you would blossom to the extremes. Invite all his friends. All. He wants everyone there. Even his intern kids. Everyone needs to be there to celebrate and have fun together!

For a day out with him, find some festival or fair to go to. He loves the games even if he never wins. If he somehow manages to win one, he’ll choose the largest stuffed bear and give it to you despite it being his birthday. He wants you to have something big to cuddle when he isn’t home. And what’s better than a giant teddy bear? You can put one of his shirts on it so it smells like him.

A movie marathon is also another terrific option. Cover the couch with pillows and blankets, litter the coffee table with snacks and drinks, and spend three whole days just watching movies and cuddling. He doesn’t get as much time with you as he wants so it would be refreshing for him. Of course, sex could get mingled in between the snuggles and movies.

Some gifts are rather obvious: food and clothing. He’d appreciate new cookbooks. It doesn’t matter the cuisine- Italian, Mexican, Indian, Irish- he’s always willing to try new dishes. Plus, cooking with you is one of his favorite pastimes so it gives him more things to explore with you.

He could use nicer clothing. He has mainly sweatshirts and t-shirts. Buy a nice suit jacket and a few ties for him. He looks so handsome in purple but he so rarely wears it.

Though he doesn’t wear them a lot because of his job, he does like the aesthetics of rings and necklaces. Keep them simple and masculine, and he’ll definitely appreciate the gift. A chain with a plain pendant or a black smooth ring would be nice. He’d love it even more if it was engraved with your name or anniversary. 

However, at the end of the day, Tai would be grateful for pretty much any gift. If it’s from you and you put thought into it, he’s bound to love it. It’s really hard to go wrong with him.

After saying goodbye to the last guest, you closed the door with a sigh of relief. You turned around, smiling, “I love you but that was way too many people.” 

“But you handled them so well.” Taishiro leaned down to kiss your forehead. “Thank you for the party.”

“Anything for the birthday boy. I love you.” You stood on your tip-toes to kiss his lips. 

He mumbled it back, picking you up and setting you on the counter. “Do I have any more presents to open?”

“Not sure. You might need to check the closet or under the bed. Who knows?”

“Nah. I see one right in front of me.” He slipped off your shirt and undid your bra, letting him pinch and pull your nipples. You leaned forward with the light tugging. 

He took off the cake’s plastic container. A finger dipped into the frosting and brought the warm chocolate cream to your nipples. Rainbow sprinkles spread across your skin.

“Really?”

“Oh, really,” he smirked, thoroughly painting the frosting around, making sure to completely cover both nipples. Melted drips trickled to your stomach.

“You’re going to clean them right?”

“Of course I will.” He grabbed one breast. His large tongue started at the trickles, licking up to the bottom of your breast. “It tastes better when it’s on you.”

Your back curved closer to his mouth, wanting it. His tongue returned, hot and wet, stroking to your nipple, sucking off the cream. You sighed his name at the painfully slow licking. He chuckled, finishing that one breast with a cruel nipple bite. 

“Tai!” you jerked.

He just laughed and went to his next snack. A hand flattened against your shorts, rubbing in a not-so-gentle motion. You rocked on the counter for friction. The licks turned to full-mouth sucking as he cleaned the cream and ate the sprinkles.

Your leg moved in between his. It felt like his erection was already full, almost like he was aroused during the party. You asked with a smile, “How long have you been hard?”

After one final big suck, he popped off your nipple to reply, “Too long.”

He lifted you to the floor and dropped the last of your clothing. His hand returned to you, brushing back and forth over your clit. You grabbed his shirt. He kissed your forehead, keeping the hard motion. The rapidly-growing wetness coated his hand. It rubbed off onto your thighs. Using his arm, he pressed up firmly, lifting you onto your tippy-toes. You bit his sleeve to stifle any moans and whines.

“You got wet pretty quickly. Do you want me to eat you or just fuck you?”

“Just fuck me.”

“Turn around.”

You did, leaning your forearms on the counter. A hand smoothed over your spine while two fingers slicked in. They curled down. You wriggled backward, wishing for more.

“You know I gotta stretch you first, baby.” He kissed your shoulder, carefully adding another finger. They sought your front wall and easily found the spot you liked. The perfect pressure roused an intense moan.

Warm frosting decorated your back. His tongue brushed along your skin, sucking, nipping, licking everywhere. “So damn good,” he groaned.

Fingers curved down and down again. You were stretched. You were wet. You jerked on his hand. “Tai, come on. I’m ready.”

They left you empty. You turned in time to see him use those soaked fingers to scoop up frosting. They slipped into his mouth next, letting him taste you and the chocolate. He licked with grin and glee. “Seriously, you should try this.”

“Taishiro, just fuck me already, please.” You leaned on the counter for him.

“Alright but you’re missing out.” 

The sound of his pants undoing shot a tingle up your spine. Hands held your hips and he entered gently like he always did, making sure you were prepared enough. He seated fully inside in one sink. You took a few deep breaths, familiarizing yourself with the thickness.

At your say-so, the thrusts started. A long pull out, then a heavy push in. They built excitedly, jostling you against the counter. Despite his warm heart and sweet temper, his thrusts turned rough and brutal. But it never hurt, each one only inflicted vivid moans and affectionate gaps.

“Faster.” Your breasts pressed to the chilly tiles. You grasped at them. Fingers found nothing to hold through the increasing speed. 

Your feet left the floor at an intense thrust. Hands stayed on your hips, squeezing encouragement. “You’re doing so good, baby, just perfect.”

“Fuck, Tai!” you cried out his name as he hit your inmost part. It was a keen pleasure, fat and solid, heaving in and out, that only he could give. Muscles twitched at the continuous weight thumping against them.

He pushed you further onto the counter and opened your legs wide. You bent your knees, wrapping your calves around his sides. Depth and hunger grew. Your heart pounded. Heat flooded, tensing. You gripped his wrists, pleading for more, knowing you were right there. 

Hips snapped. Thrusts slammed. Groans swelled. 

The heat burst. Your back went rigid as you came, yet your body still managed to hump back, dripping wetness against him. You gasped into the tiles through his unending movements.

“Good job, baby,” he grunted without breaking his pace. Your hips were lifted and dragged for a better angle, letting him slick in louder. His groans dulled into guttural huffs.

“Tai, are you-”

“Where do you want me?”

“In me. In me,” you moaned, barely getting the words out before he sunk deep, tight. Moans rose to loving whines, feeling him lean over you, rooting his fingers into your waist as he released.

He kissed your neck and shoulders while his body relaxed. You reached back for his flushed cheek, whispering, “Happy birthday, honey. I love you.”

Lips moved to your jaw, exaggerating the smooching sounds. You both laughed. “I love you too.”

When he pulled out, you tried to stand. Hands didn’t let you. He spread you instead, taking a long, broad lick, finishing with a pleasant kiss to your clit. 

You sighed, “What are you doing?”

You could hear the grin on his face when he said, “I’m not finished with my birthday cake yet.”

[blackcatkita]

A Not So Blue Christmas

Book: Open Heart

Pairing: Bryce x MC (Kayla)

Word Count: 2925

This is my contribution to the 12 Days of Fictmas- 2019 edition and true to form, I am posting this at the literal eleventh hour. I was assigned “Blue Christmas” by the late and great Elvis Aaron Presley (may he rest in peace). Big thank you to @leelee10898 for hosting this event and wrangling us all and to @darley1101 for creating the awesome moodboard you see below. I hope you like it and happy holidays!

A Not So Blue Christmas

When Kayla matched at Edenbrook, some 980 miles from her hometown of Chicago, she knew there would be things she would miss out on. Her proud Irish family was huge and freakishly close; three brothers and one sister with Kayla smack in the middle, five aunts, three uncles, twenty-six first cousins and an absolute lunatic of a grandmother to round it all out. And that was just on her dad’s side. Birthdays, holidays, graduations, anniversaries; they were spent together whether you wanted to be there or not. Going away to college had been a blessing. For the first time, Kayla got to be seen as her own person instead of Sean and Connor’s little sister but she would be lying if she said she didn’t miss her family. The last time she saw them was back in June when she took Bryce home to meet everyone. Well, almost everyone. No one should have to be subjected to the entire clan on the first meeting, no matter how confident and easy-going her boyfriend was.

It was worth it though. She’d wanted to be a doctor for as long as she could remember and working with Ethan Freaking Ramsey on the diagnostics team was a dream come true. Her career fed her constant thirst for knowledge and allowed her to help people so she didn’t mind not being there for every little thing her family deigned worthy of celebration. Christmas was different. Christmas in the Donovan house was a huge deal.

The house would be so full it was fit to burst, food, candy, and cookies as far as the eye could see. Her oldest brother Sean and his wife Meghan sniping and snarking at each other, everyone spoiling the hell out of her niece because she was the first child, seeing what new bimbo was Connor’s latest flavor of the week because he was too stupid and too much of a playboy to find a nice girl, Gran handing out shots of whiskey and hitting on any poor soul whose only mistake was dating or marrying one of the Donovan girls; she’d had a field day with Bryce. Her dad and uncles escaping to the garage or basement, betting on how long after dinner it would take her mom to throw in the towel and switch from wine to liquor; Kayla was going to miss it all.

But Boston provided joys of its own; a group of friends she considered family that included the most supportive boyfriend the world had ever seen. Working as much as they did with no way in hell of getting off on a holiday meant none of them would be going home but that didn’t mean they would spend Christmas alone. Luckily, their apartment was spacious enough to house everyone for the open house party she and her roommates planned, though Kayla wondered why hosting always fell to them. Ethan had an even better apartment and you didn’t see him inviting anyone over. Rude.

“And, voila!” Kayla exclaimed from her post at the kitchen island. The cheese tray she put together looked damn good if she said so herself. Cheese ball in the middle with alternating yellow and white cheeses surrounding it in a pinwheel pattern. Yep, damn good indeed. “Sienna, where do you want the cheese tray?”

“Umm…” Sienna didn’t look up, too preoccupied with arranging upside-down raspberries on top of the chocolate ganache cake she made. “The banquet table by the window maybe? There’s more room for people to mill around over there.”

Kayla looked around, finding only empty space near the windows. “Banquet table?”

Glancing up, Sienna shook her head and went back to the raspberries. “Bryce!”

“Yo!” he called out.

“Where’s that banquet table you said you’d set up?”

“Oh, shit,” he laughed before bringing the table in from the living room where he and Elijah had been fiddling with the tv for the last half hour. “Sorry, ladies.”

“What are you even doing in there?” Kayla asked as Bryce unfolded the legs and flipped the table right side up.

“Helping Elijah with the surround sound,” he answered simply, taking a folded red tablecloth from the kitchen table and spreading it over the one he just set up.

“Do you really need to be doing that right now?”

Shrugging in response, he sauntered over, gave Kayla a quick peck on the lips while squeezing her ass, then snatched a piece of cheese, popping it in his mouth before going back into the living room.

Minutes later the front door opened with a thump and Jackie’s voice rang out, “Oh, hell no. You two don’t get to do whatever it is you’re doing in here while we do all the work. It’s all hands on deck so get your asses up and help. And before you say it, no, Lahela, I don’t care that you don’t technically live here. God knows you’re here enough it’s like you do. You can start by putting these bags of ice on the balcony.”

Eyebrows raised, Kayla slowly turned to grin at Sienna, finding her covering her laugh with a hand plastered to her mouth. “Remind me to buy Jackie a pony for her birthday.”

“Or a bottle of tequila,” Sienna giggled.

Kayla picked up her glass of red wine, waiting for Sienna to do the same before clinking their glasses together. “Hear. Hear.”

An hour later, people were trickling in. The cold food was moved to the kitchen table and the hot to the banquet table because that’s where the outlets were, the bar was set up, holiday music was playing and Kayla was mingling in a fitted midnight blue dress that was both sexy and elegant.

“I’m loving this party even more than your last one, Donovan.” Zaid’s tone was as dry as ever, expression impassive as he bopped to the beat of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’. “You’ve outdone yourself.”

“Oh, thanks! It was a team effort.” A knock sounded at the door and Kayla excused herself before opening it with a smile.

“Rookie.”

“You came!” Kayla gasped, putting on an air of shock with her hand pressed to her chest. “I never thought I’d see the day!”

“This is for you.” Standing stiffly in the doorway, he thrust a bottle of red wine into her hands. “I know you like red.”

“I do, thanks, Ethan.” Considering how reluctant he looked, she grabbed him by the wrist and tugged him into the room. “Come on, no one’s gonna bite you. Can I get you anything to drink? Bryce is supposed to be playing bartender but he’s fallen in love with my tv.”

A brief look of confusion flashed across Ethan’s face before he shook his head, probably deciding he didn’t care enough to ask. “What do you have?”

Kayla shrugged. “Everything? I can make you a brandy old fashioned or cranberry mule. Those are our signature drinks.”

“Old Fashioneds are generally made with bourbon.”

“Not in the Midwest,” Kayla smirked. “It’s really big in Wisconsin.”

“You’re from Chicago…” Ethan shook his head again. “What’s a ‘cranberry mule’?”

“Bryce,” Kayla called out. “What’s in the cranberry mule?”

Bryce’s voice came from by the tv, only now he had the thing turned to the side. “Four ounces ginger beer, four ounces cranberry juice, two ounces rum and the juice of half a lime.” His head popped up, looking at her over the top. “Put that in a shaker then pour over ice and garnish with a slice of lime and some cranberries. Make sure you use a copper mug.”

“Ok, seriously, what are you doing over there?!”

“I’m almost done.” Grinning, Bryce shot her a wink and ducked back down.

Rolling her eyes, Kayla turned back to Ethan. “Don’t ask because I have no idea what he’s doing.”

“I wasn’t going to. I don’t care.”

“Nice,” she stated, raising her eyebrow and pressing her lips into the tiniest pout. “Well? Your drink, Dr. Ramsey?”

“I’ll take Scotch if you have it.”

“Uh… if we do it’s probably not very…” Kayla grimaced, leading Ethan to the bar across the room. “Oh, wait! I think Landry might have left some here.” Reaching her destination, Kayla ducked down and pulled a bottle from the lower shelf. “Ha!” she exclaimed as she stood up. “Score one for the jackass.”

“Babe! Kayla!” Bryce shouted out over the noise. He smiled when she looked over, then his gaze seemed to move past her and he gave a subtle nod. “Can you help me with something quick?”

“Be right there!” she replied as she splashed some Scotch in a glass. She handed it to Ethan and gave him a little push. “Go have fun. Socialize. Be normal.” Ignoring his look of disdain, she moved back into the living room. “What’s up?”

“I need you to sit on the couch,” Bryce instructed, turning the tv back the right way.

“Why?”

“Because I need to make sure the angle is right.”

“Angle for what?”

Bryce’s eyes widened, brows raised to give her a look that said, ‘just do it’.

“Fine.” The couch that had been filled with various guests all night was miraculously empty and Kayla sat down carefully so she didn’t flash everyone with the new lingerie Bryce had given her. That show was for his eyes only. “Are you finally going to tell me what you’ve been up to?”

“Stop asking questions,” Bryce laughed as the conversation around them grew quieter. “Elijah?” The music cut out and the lull in conversations spread through the apartment. “Ok, now push the input button on the tv remote.”

Brow furrowed, Kayla reached for the remote on the coffee table. Whatever he had planned, it seemed like most of the people in attendance were aware of it. If it turned out to be a slideshow of embarrassing photos from throughout the year or a video of her drunk ass singing karaoke, Bryce was a dead man. All eyes on her, Kayla pressed the button and the tv lit up. She screamed, both of her hands flying up to cover her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. Before her, her family sat crowded together, enough of them they filled all seventy inches of the screen.

Her dad Sean leaned forward, squinting at the camera in front of him. “Is that it? Can she see us now?”

“Oh my god, Dad.” Squished against him, Kayla’s nineteen-year-old sister Brianna rolled her eyes. “Why do you think she’s screaming?”

“Shut up, you’re all ruining it!” Gran scolded from where she was wedged between Kayla’s dad and her brother Owen. “On the count of three… one… two… three…”

“Nollaig Shona, Kayla!” Everyone shouted as they smiled and waved, not exactly in sync but close enough.

“Nollaig Shona, everyone!” Kayla returned the sentiment, smiling and waving back. She looked around the room at her smiling friends and colleagues. “That’s Irish for ‘Merry Christmas’,” she explained. Her lip began to quiver and she looked at Bryce, waving him over as her eyes flooded with tears. “Get over here.” She felt her face crumple and pressed her palm over her lips as her boyfriend finally came over, looking uncharacteristically subdued. Sitting beside her, he slung his arm around her shoulders and she turned toward him, hugging him around his waist as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, trying to choke back her quiet sobs.

“Hey, everybody.” Bryce’s voice was tight as he gently rubbed her back. He cleared his throat and when he spoke again, she could hear the smile in his tone. “Merry Christmas. Thanks for helping me out with all of this.”

The comforting movement of his hand didn’t cease as he continued to chat with her family and when she was sure the tears had stopped flowing, Kayla peeled herself off him. “Well, my make-up is officially ruined,” she laughed, swiping at her cheeks. Sienna appeared out of nowhere and with tears in her eyes, thrust a wad of Kleenex into Kayla’s hands. “Thanks, Sienna.” Kayla did her best to clean the mascara from beneath her eyes then smiled, shaking her head in awe. “I just can’t believe you’re all in front of me right now.” Her eyes watered again.

“That man of yours is more than just a pretty face, Kayla,” her sister-in-law Meghan said.

“And what a face it is,” Gran added, giving the most exaggerated wink possible.

“Oh, don’t I know it, Gran,” Kayla agreed. “Great hair, too.”

“And a body to boot!” Gran slapped her hand on her skinny little knee. “Bet he’s a right stallion in the sack. You young ones get all the action these days.”

“Okay! Enough of that!” her big brother Sean shouted, clamping his hands over his four-year-old daughter’s ears while Kayla’s dad dropped his head in his hand mumbling something Kayla couldn’t make out. If she had to guess, it was ‘Lord in heaven’.

“Sorry, Sean,” Kayla laughed. Her eyes roamed the faces in front of her; her dad, grandma, her sister and two of her brothers, a few aunts, and uncles and some cousins. “Hey, where’s mom and Connor?” Of all her siblings she was closest to Connor, they were best friends on top of being brother and sister and her mom was her biggest cheerleader. No way would they not be a part of Bryce’s surprise.

“Oh, I imagine they’ll be coming in the door any minute now,” her dad said with a twinkle in his eye. “We’ll let you get back to your party, Punkin. Don’t forget to call us now.”

“I won’t, Dad,” Kayla promised. “It was great seeing you guys and I love you all so much!”

“We love you too, Kayla!” they all shouted back, waving again as they said goodbye.

“Now how the hell do I turn this damn thing off…” her dad grumbled, looking down at his remote before the connection ended.

As the music started and the party resumed, Kayla turned to Bryce, who was looking mighty proud of himself. She grabbed a fistful of his sweater and pulled him to her, planting a kiss on his lips. The doorbell rang and she pulled away. “Duty calls but later, you’re mine.”

“I mean, we can just kick everybody out now,” he teased, leaning in for another kiss. She laughed, giving him a swat on the shoulder but he snuck one anyway. “Get the door, babe. I’ll even come with you.”

“Ah, now that your ruse is over you’ll join the festivities?”

“Something like that.” Grabbing her hand, he pulled her to her feet. When they reached the door, he stopped her a few feet away with an arm around her waist then stepped forward to open it himself.

“Shut the fuck up!” Kayla shouted when she saw who was on the other side.

“Kayla Donovan!” her mom Erin scolded. “Such language!”

“And on Christmas too!” her brother Connor added in a mock scandalized voice with his eyes wide and a palm pressed to his forehead.

Her mom laughed, holding her arms out wide. “Surprise!”

The initial shock had worn off and Kayla launched herself into her mother’s arms. “I can’t believe you’re here!” She held tight for a moment, then turned to Connor.

“Brat,” he greeted.

“Jerk.”

Laughing, he grabbed Kayla around the waist and lifted her off her feet, bouncing a few times before setting her back down. “Damn, it’s good to see you, Kay. Bryce,” Connor nodded as Bryce turned away from the warm hug her mom had given him and held out his hand, doing that weird handshake-shoulder clapping thing guys did. “Good to see you again, too. Thanks for inviting us.”

“Let’s get you guys a drink. There’s a ton of people you have to meet.”

Heart full and cheeks sore from smiling, Kayla paraded her mom and brother around the room, introducing them to all of the people who had become so important to her. When Sienna eventually dragged them to the kitchen to eat, Kayla turned to Bryce, smiling up at him as she looped her arms around his neck. “You.”

“Me.” His warm hands slid around her hips, pulling her tighter until they were pressed against his.

“You’re the best boyfriend in the entire world.”

“I know.” An easy smile spread across his cheeks. “Handsome, too.”

“And the smartest, most thoughtful,” Her words were punctuated by quick kisses. “most supportive, sweetest, the best lover, the…”

“Stop, you’re gonna make me blush,” he laughed, then raised his eyebrow as his lips settled into a cocky smirk. “You’re not wrong, though. I am pretty amazing.”

“And so humble,” she laughed with him. Gazing into his eyes, she knew she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Bryce was home, no matter where it was. “Seriously, Bryce, this was… I can’t believe you did all this.”

“I almost didn’t think I would pull it off,” he admitted. “The Portal thing was supposed to be here weeks ago but it got lost somewhere in Ohio and just came today. Then your dad couldn’t get his to work and threatened to throw the thing in the lake, and now today your mom and Connor’s flight was delayed by like four hours. I’m surprised I survived.”

As he spoke, Kayla’s smile grew wider and when he finally stopped talking, she pulled him down to press a slow kiss to his lips. She pulled back, just enough to lock her eyes with his. “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby. Merry Christmas.”

[marielambs-corner]

Happy Ink Demonth, Everyone!!!

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to keep the pace, but the very least I could try was to participate in its first day this year, no? 

Here have another story from the Ink Shape AU, presenting Sammy Lawrence and Wally Franks.

If you want to read it directly from here, check under the cut and enjoy!!!

♥♥♥

Whole year

“Happy birthday to you~!” Chanted almost everyone gathered in the break room, cheering the Irish man in his special day as he blew the candles that topped the cake the janitor so heartfully got made in honor to the celebration.

Of course, this seemed special, but not really special. Sammy knew well. After all, Wally always made this for everyone in the studio with no exception. And as such, the only really special thing here was the janitor himself, and Sammy liked to watch him roaming around, putting smiles on every face he met, even on himself; he was really good about it.

“You enjoying the party, Lawrence?” Susie came to his reclused corner, earning a disgruntled groan that erased the soft smirk that was peeking from the corners of his mouth.

“Yeah, sure, as if this could even be called a party at all in the petty hour we have for lunch.” He retorted, dripping sarcasm from every pore as he made his way out of the corner, away from the voice actress, and towards the coffee machine by the other side of the room.

“Oh, and I’m sure you’ve gone to plenty of parties to actually know how’s one, don’t cha?” She followed; a glint of mischievousness adorning her eyes.

“The only excuse of a party I’ve been are these ones you and your little group drag me on, interrupting my job.” He said as he started the machine to boil the water, keeping contained the thought of Wally being into that so called “little group” and that he was the only reason he left them drag him on; Susie didn’t need to know that. “And seeing how they are, is easy to tell this couldn’t be called a party in any sense.” Was his final muttered statement.

“Oh, c’mon, mister grumps! Can’t you even pretend you can have fun once in your life? I even heard Wally got a really special kind of cake!”

“What could be so special about--” He turned around to face the short woman but his answer to his unfinished question came from the joyous shout of the man of the hour.

“Liqueur chocolate cake?! How did ya know it?!”

“Heh, I got mah ways.”

“And Joey agreed with this? It’s still working hours...”

“Well, he’s not ‘ere to know it, so I guess we still can enjoy it.”

A bunch of chuckles burst with the projectionist’s remark that gave way to a lightheartedly chat among the crew. All the scene witnessed by Sammy and Susie alike, the latter nudging the former on the ribs.

“See? There can be fun! And you gotta admit it: Wally’s pretty great at giving people what they want. Even for Your birthday.”

“Yeah, yeah...” He turned around to keep with his coffee task and face his back on the actress so she wouldn’t see his forming tender smile “I guess he does can use that brain of his more than for just horsing around.”

“...would it hurt you being nice at least once?” She snarked with a deadpanned glare that fell on the unbothered musician’s back, who only answered with completely ignoring her as he kept preparing his coffee and thrived on things that escaped the woman’s unaware grasp. But with a defeated sigh, she moved around, standing now next to him and leaning on the counter as she kept watching the celebration a couple of tables ahead. “He’s too nice for you to get it, Lawrence.” The understatement of the week, Sammy thought. “But even with all that, can’t help but feel it’s kinda weird...”

She didn’t continue, to what Sammy had no much more choice than to recognize it as his cue to question what she meant.

“What could be so weird that you need to point it out?” He asked, monotonously and not even gracing her with a glance, to what she promptly ignored.

“Well, do you even have an idea of when is his birthday?” That question honestly halted any action he was on.

Every inch of his mind screamed to demand what that even meant, but he couldn’t give away such kind of signs, lest he blew up their arrangement.

“...uh?” Was his so eloquent answer in hopes to show at most mild interest.

“Sammy, I mean it. He knows the birthday of everyone in here, and I mean everyone. There once was this intern that just came in, and barely two weeks after, Wally was already calling every member to the conference room where this intern was to sing and celebrate his birthday! With cake and all the deal! Yet how many years have been since he works here?” She asked, to what he deigned a blank stare direct to her. “He’s been here since before me, but still never heard of anybody who said “happy birthday, Wally” a single time! I wonder when it could...” But her voice got lost in the sea of thoughts that invaded Sammy’s mind.

He kept his blanc façade as he slowly turned to stare the man in question, bewilderment swarming behind those seemingly inexpressive eyes so focused on keep the role of uninterested and plain annoyed. He hated to admit it, but Susie had a point. Wally was actually really secretive, not even sharing his own birthday. Heck, weren’t for that accident, they wouldn’t even have known he was completely homeless! And now that they were dating, he wondered if there would really be things that maybe they’d never share. He could understand it, he had his own quota of private stuff. But if there were so simple things he didn’t know, how sure was he about what he knew of the janitor? Apparently not much beyond a name...

“Sammy... Sammy, are you listening?” The actress snapped him off his thoughts, though he was lucky of not even have reacted with a flinch, conserving his oh, so apathetic semblance. So, he just side-glanced at her as minimal response. “I was asking if you can recall a time where he announced his own birthday.”

“Heh, hardly think he would buy his own cake.” He snorted, half-voicing and idea on the built. And Susie gave him a quizzical look over such strange statement. “I don’t know, Campbell. Why don’t you go and pester him with those questions?” He questioned her with no room left for her to retort, as he grabbed his cup of coffee and proceeded to leave the room and return to his work office.

If he stayed there any longer, he would have started to feel frustrated over answers he wouldn’t be able to get right then. So, he needed to think, plot something to find when was his boyfriend’s birthday. Maybe some sort of surprise out of context so he would give answers in the middle of his confusion, could it work?

*-*-*-*-*

It was pretty late into the night, past 10:30, but for Wally was a usual time to arrive home since he has to keep all in check in the studio before leaving. Normally by this time he would go directly to Sammy, who’d be waiting for him, and have some “quality time” together, although rather brief, as Wally had to get soon to bed due to his day starting way earlier than Sammy’s. Maybe a little snack before bed. Not much really, it was just routine.

But what wasn’t in any sense routine was to find all in the apartment turned off, with only a faint glow that led him see a whole chocolate cake atop the kitchen counter and some burning candles on it.

“Uh, Sammy?” He called around, not having seen the man in question, only to be startled by his voice coming from around out the kitchen.

“Do you like it? I took a wild guess and thought you might like chocolate cake.” Sammy said, voice low and soft in a purr, almost inviting. Why was he doing it? Was some kind of proposal?

“Ah, well, most folks like chocolate cake, ain’t it?” Wally sputtered back, hesitantly. But Sammy paced towards him.

He looked scarily alluring, a rather strange yet enrapturing glint in his eyes, and Wally was unable to understand why all of this came to. Sammy got right in front of him, and not missing a beat, he encircled him and an hand was gently laid on Wally’s shoulder from the back, softly pushing him forward and towards the kitchen counter’s seat with the cake right in front of him; Sammy parting to the other side, retrieving a knife and some plates and getting ready for the unprompted event.

“Shall we begin?”

“Uh, Sammy...” Wally said but paused, refraining some words from just burst out and opting for continuing with caution. “...What’s... what’s all of this ‘bout?”

“Well, it’s to celebrate, of course!” He just stated as a matter of fact that Wally was unable to catch.

“Ce-celebrate? Celebrate what?”

“Oh, could be anything, actually. Like, a birthday.” Sammy murmured, leaving the young man even more befuddled than he already was.

“...Yer birthday was 3 months ago.” Wally said slowly after a pause, still trying to piece what his boyfriend was up to.

“It doesn’t have to be mine. What about yours?” There. He dropped it. Now Sammy only hoped for this to lead to what he wanted to know. Although the constricted, conflicted expression the janitor gave was certainly not part of what he expected.

“Sammy, it’s... ‘s not mah birthday.”

Silence overtook them. The only thing disturbing their quietness was the flickering of the candles, which wax kept melting in a steady pace.

“Oh, well.” Sammy continued, nonchalantly. “It’s hard to throw guesses when you have no clues. Then when is it?”

“Sammy--”

“What about this? I drop some guesses and you tell me if I’m close or not.”

“Sammy, this is--”

“Is it around spring, perhaps?”

“Sammy, no. It is--”

“Then what about fall? Is it close?”

“Sammy, just Drop It!” Wally slammed his hands on the counter, some candles being blown off by the fanning of his hands as some others dropped even more wax from the rattle.

As if running the most straining activity, Wally’s breathing was ragged, frantic, with his torso inflating and decreasing way notoriously. And now he sported a peculiar glint in his eyes; tears prickling his eyes shimmered with the glow from the lingering candles. Both remained there, unmoving. Sammy practically unable to react as he had no idea what had just transpired. Yet by the moment he decided to open his mouth, trying to say something, Wally just pushed away from the counter; the scratching sound from the stool he was sitting on being a piercing noise that Sammy barely could react with a wince, as the seat itself nearly toppled behind the young man. Wally stormed out of the kitchen, and the slamming of the door gave Sammy the shake he needed to properly react.

“Wally-- Wally, wait!” He called, leaving the kitchen, yet returning to blow off the rest of the candles and leaving again.

He slammed the door to their room open in desperation, unknowing and uncertain of what he did wrong. Wally wasn’t there, but the bathroom’s door was closed as well, locked. Sammy strode to that door, knocking it, leaning his ear trying to listen carefully for any sign his boyfriend could give.

“Occupied.” Was the rather dry answer he got, and so he tried again.

“Wally, you know it’s me.” He could hear the water splashing in the back from the running shower.

“I said: Occupied.” He reiterated, but there was a slight crack in his voice.

Sammy tried now by rattling the doorknob, fear building up within him from the uneasiness this ordeal left. Was he really angry at him from trying to guess his birthday? What did it all even mean? How could he blow up from something so common? Although he shook off that last thought, given he had no right nor room to judge what could upset anyone.

“C’mon, Wally!” He banged the door once more, and Wally flinched in the other side. He was sitting in the floor, back leant against the bathtub as the water from the shower fell inside it, some warm droplets bouncing and landing on his hair and shoulders, wetting his shirt in the process. He laid his arms atop his knees, face hiding in the space between his legs and chest, and fingers gripping tight the sides of his legs, nearly pricking skin with his nails weren’t for his trousers serving as a shield for his legs.

“Wally, please!” Begged the man in the other side of the door, confusion and fear creeping in his voice and Wally could not overlook it. “Can you tell me at least what I did wrong...?” One last thump, not as hollow as the previous knocks and bangs, but it pushed the door and rendered it still, probably from leaning his head in it this time. And Wally perked up his stare, eyes swollen and startled and a little panicked.

Because that was the question, no? What did he do wrong, indeed? Everyone had birthdays. Heck, he just celebrated a birthday that very same day! What was so strange on him wanting to know his? Even if he tried a weird move to allure him into telling, with the promise of a chocolate cake that most likely was unbound to whatever the answer he gave, was it really something wrong to wonder about something literally everyone had?

But he couldn’t. He wasn’t-- He did not—

“...Wally?”

“Nothin’.” Was a soft murmur that came from the bathroom, but the musician’s hearing still was sharp enough to at leas make out that he said something at least.

“What? Wally, what was that--” But he stopped on his tracks as a distinctive click resounded from the other side, and the knob slowly turned to let the door be opened, and reveal a rather worn-down man with wet curls, wet shirt and wet, singing eyes. Said man locked stares with him, affliction and sorrow flooding his eyes, and he just plummeted against the musician’s chest, as soft jerks from his shoulders gave away the silent sobs the janitor tried to contain.

*-*-*-*-*

It was past midnight already. Sammy had to juggle around his boyfriend to manage and get the shower turn off, risking some almost-slips that nearly sent him crashing to the tiled floor. But apart from that, Sammy didn’t dare to leave Wally’s side, and now both were lying on the bed, the pillows slightly wet from the moisture carried by the janitor’s hair and shirt. Wally was curled up, still tucked in his boyfriend’s chest, as the latter kept rubbing soft comforts across his back and his now-untied hair. Both silent. Both wide awake. One still confused as to what he did to hurt his lover this bad. The other still struggling with issues the first had no way of know nor had part in the reasons these things kept bothering him.

“Ya didn’t do nothin’ wrong...” A soft murmur rumbled through Sammy’s chest, prompting him to redirect his stare to his companion, even if only an image of messy curly hair tangled between his fingers was all he was able to look now. “’M sorry.”

“Wally, no, you don’t have to--” Sammy stumbled with his words, pretty much not expecting him to still be awake. “You--”

“--Shouldn't’ave reacted that way.” Wally cut him off and continued in his stead. “’S not like ya knew, anyways.”

“Maybe, but I still upset you.” No answer of any sorts, just silence and quietness. “I’m... I’m sorry, Wally. It just... Susie was talking, and made me think—There’s not too many thing’s I actually know about you, and well...” He trailed off, feeling the miniature figure in his arms going stiff for a moment. “Can I know what happened with it? Your birthday, I mean” He curled up even more. “Can I know when it is?” Wally shook his head against his chest, rubbing his forehead with his dress shirt in the action.

“’S not a good date.” Wally concluded; he wasn’t ready to share. And Sammy didn’t skip the slight crack in his whispered tones.

“Will I be able to know someday...?” His voice was soft, a pleading merging with the hope of wanting to know, to be there, to be with him. But after a few way too long seconds, Wally merely shrugged, uncertain even of himself.

Silence reigned once more. Wally jerked every now and then from the remaining sobs trapped in his chest, all the while Sammy kept with his line of thoughts, feeling unable do to anything else with the negatives his lover gave.

It wasn’t like he didn’t trust him; of that he was certain. Were that, he wouldn’t have recognized it as an issue in front of him, would he? After all, he admitted, even he himself had his own quota of things unprepared to share, albeit not even he believed his own could be nearly as painful as what the young man must have faced. But if that specific date brought up so many bad memories, then what about any other?

“What about today?”

“...huh?” Was the answer to a question that prompted Wally to part a little from his embrace, yet not enough to lift his stare, just enough to be better heard.

“I mean, I brought a cake, I put some candles on it... Is there anything that makes today a bad day for you?”

“Ya... ya can’t... pick up a random date and make it yer birthday...” Wally retorted, but perked up a little bit.

Keeping an almost serious tone, nonchalantly, Sammy shrugged. “Who says so?” And Wally finally looked up to him, eyes still reddened, but the faintest of smiles tickling the sides of his mouth.

“Still, can’t be today, ‘s Shawn’s birthday.”

“Number 1, people are born every day, every minute, to claim one specific day as exclusive for anyone. And number 2, probably you didn’t notice, but is past midnight. Shawn’s birthday is over.”

A little snort; Wally was loosening a bit and that was all that mattered to Sammy for the time being.

“Heh, alright. But ya can’t just-- pick a random day, anyways. Is called a Birth-day fer a reason!”

“Well, it doesn’t have to be a birthday, per say. What about... “Beginning day”? You know, so you keep the B-D and no one questions it.” He was pretty sure now it’d also help him to keep Susie’s pestering at bay with any random date. “Doesn’t have to be today either, if you want.”

A beginning day, Wally considered. Was... a weird concept, to be honest, but the prospect of start anew was something he chased since a long time ago. Never thought of giving it a proper day to commemorate, or celebrate, as Sammy put. But what date? Being on the run for so long didn’t help to keep track of days. The day he found the church? Was... quite a significative date, but his heart kept pushing for something relating Sammy. Can’t be their anniversary, wouldn’t make sense. Maybe something from before...

“April 20th.” He resolved, perking Sammy’s curiosity now.

“Really? Why then?”

But Wally only shrugged with a soft, heartfelt smile. And with no more explanation, he reached to Sammy’s lips, and planted a tender kiss on them, before returning to his secluded space between the musician’s arms, curled up, but hugging back this time.

“I love ya, Sammy.” He muttered, almost relieved, against the man’s chest. “Thanks fer ev’rything.”

Speechless, Sammy only returned the embrace, tightening his grip in loving protection, as he rested his cheek on his boyfriend’s hair.

“But you know what’s a shame?” Sammy prodded his boyfriend’s curiosity once more. “Still left like 7 months for that date! I hardly think the cake will last that long.”

“We can get another cake fer then!” Wally spurted between giggles.

“Yeah, but what about this one?”

“We could eat some now.”

“Nah, too late. I don’t pretend to sleep with a stomachache.”

“What ‘bout in the morning?”

“You have to go to work way earlier than me. Is not a good time for cake.”

Wally barely could believe it. Was Sammy actually ranting about eating cake? Although he had a clear suspicion as to why it came.

“What ‘bout this. Ya take some cake to tha studio, and leave it where only I can find it. Ya like it?”

“Eh, could be. But don’t complain if there’s not much cake left.”

A snicker bubbled up from within Wally, seemingly like self-validating his own suspicion.

“Hey, Sammy?”

“Mh?”

“Isn’t chocolate cake yer favorite?”

“Shut up, Franks.”

Yup, he was right.

[strawberryglitterkiss]

50 Questions

Tagged by @agustmoonchildd

Sorry it took me so long!! 😪

What colours is your hairbrush? curly haired bitches like myself try to avoid brushes. My comb is pink tho.

What food would you never eat? Pigs feet, and that’s because I’ve tried it a few times and didn’t enjoy the texture. I’m a texture based person.

Are you usually hot or cold? Hot.

What did you do 45 minutes ago? Ate Mac & cheese and chicken tenders.

Favourite chocolate? Any & all dark chocolate or coffee/espresso flavored chocolate.  

Have you ever been to a professional sports event? Yeah I went to a Yankees game when I was like 10 with my fam. It was awful!

What was the last thing you said out loud? Sang my cats name (Mimi) to her.

Favourite ice cream flavour? Birthday cake surprise, anything raspberry, coffee flavored.

What was the last thing you drank? Berry Lemonade.

What kind of wallet do you have? Korilakkuma!

What was the last thing you ate? Mac & cheese w/ chicken tenders lol.  

Did you buy clothes last weekend? Not that I remember.

What was the last sports event you saw? Truly hate sports.

Favourite snacks? Soft cookies.

Do you like camping? I’ve been a few times as a kid & once as an adult. I don’t enjoy it.

Do you eat vitamins? Psyllium Husks.

When was the last time you traveled? Besides to work & into the city?? Like over 5 years 😭

Do you like sunbathing? No. Love the sun, love being on the beach and outside relaxing but I try to stay in the shade and wear at least 50 spf.

Asian or Italian food? Asian, not a big fan of Italian food.

Do you drink soda? Ginger Ale and sometimes orange/pineapple soda but not often.

What colour socks are you wearing now? Not wearing any.

When was the last time you were speeding? I haven’t driven in over a year.

What are you afraid of? I’ll never tell. 🤫

What can you see if you turn left? My bookshelf.

What kind of housework you like the least? Washing dishes & laundry.  

What is the first thing you think of when you hear someone talking in a language you don’t know? I don’t really think anything besides “I wish I could speak another language...”

Do you sleep on your back or side? I try to sleep on my back, tbh. But a lot of the time, I end up on my stomach.

You crave fast food, where do you go? McDonald’s or Chik Fil A.

What is your lucky number? 777

Who was the last person you talked to? My husband.

Do you eat meat? Yeah but it’s not a huge staple in my diet.

What was the last song you listened? Doja Cat - Say So.

Last book? I read “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” by Caitlin Doughty awhile ago. Very interesting book about the funeral industry and modern deaths. She also has a great YT channel. But I haven’t read anything recently besides random articles.

What is your favourite day of the week? Friday’s.

Do you know the alphabet song backwards? Nope.

Favourite coffee/tea? Anything light roast/light & sweet, mostly iced coffee. I love matcha tea, ginger & honey, and lavender.

Favourite shoes? I love all my shoes equally.

When do you usually go to sleep? Around 11pm.

When do you usually wake up? Around 9am.

Sunrise or sunset? Both, depends on my mood.

Do you like your bed soft or hard? Somewhere in the middle.

Describe the plate you are eating from? I was eating from a glass bowl.

Your favourite type of alcohol? Sweet wines, Sangrias, baileys Irish cream.

Do you like board games? They can be fun.

If you had a car, what kind would it be? I had a car for years, several different ones. All huge expenses. Don’t want another one ever again if I can help it.

Do you know how to change car tires? I do.

Dream country? Japan & South Korea.

If you could choose from any jobs in the world, what would you like to do? Working in R&D or design in a fashion company or toy company.

What would you like to try to do? And what is stopping you? I want to do a lot of things but mostly time & money stop me.

I tag anyone who wants to answer these and then tag me in your responses. 🧡

[travelingtheusa]

FLORIDA

2021 Feb 23 (Tue) – We went out for lunch today to Micanopy. It was a small, historic town with lots of antique shops.  We wanted to eat at a restaurant but it was closed so we went next door to Coffee & Cream where we enjoyed chicken salad sandwiches with rice and beans. After lunch, we walked up and down the main street wandering in some of the shops and reading the historic plaques describing the history of the town.  

     On the way back to the campground, we stopped at the post office to mail off some items and at a convenience store to pick up wine and get some lottery tickets.  Then we stopped at the Antique Emporium.  It was a large warehouse with 55 vendor shops inside.  There were so many items we used to use for sale.  There is no faster way to feel old than to walk through an antique shop and see your life’s belongings laid out and considered to be “old stuff.”

2021 Feb 22 (Mon) – We took our time closing up this morning. Bonnie and Sheba got to play outside and we chatted with Rich and Margaret for a while.  Then we packed up and left Hernando at 11:35 a.m.  The campground was just 40 miles away and we were here within an hour.  Ocala North RV Park is a very nice, very clean facility.  It is large and there were workers putting in new lights, a shuffle board, and a bocce ball court.  They are getting ready for a luau in two days.  The clerk who checked us in said the owner bought the rundown campground two years ago and has been working on renovating it.  He’s done an excellent job.

 2021 Feb 21 (Sun) – We all drove over to Matt & Michele’s today.  They were hosting a drone speed course event for their local club.  It was amazing to watch these little things zip around the yard, sounding like a bunch of angry bees.  We could watch the drones fly around the course and watch the TV screens to see what the pilots were seeing in their headsets.

     When we got back to the house, Margaret made roast beef sandwiches for us.  For dinner, she cooked baked clams and steaks.  We visited for a bit after dinner then returned to the rig to get ready for tomorrow’s move.

 2021 Feb 20 (Sat) – I did some laundry today.  Margaret was kind enough to let me use her washer and dryer. Matt & Michele came over for dinner and Margaret outdid herself, as usual.  I think she loves to cook and is glad to have people visit.  She not only made lots to eat, but packed us a take-home box.

2021 Feb 19 (Fri) – It started out cloudy, rained, then got really cool.  We had to switch to long sleeve shirts and pants as the day wore on.

     We drove to WalMart at 8 a.m. to get an oil change on the truck. There was a line of six cars in front of us waiting for service.  We checked in then went shopping where we spent almost $200 on items in the store. The damn oil change should be free considering we shopped while waiting and spent so much we would not have spent other wise.  Lol.

     We got back around 10:30 a.m. and Margaret & Rich took us to Matt & Michele’s house.  Paul and Margaret used to work with Matt at NYSDOT.  They were building their home and a drone speed course when we were here last January.  It is all finished now and everything is very nice.  The drone control center and speed course are quite the thing to see.

     We returned to the house and finished off Margaret’s egg salad. Later, we went to dinner at Crump’s Landing in Homasossa.  It had a large grass covered roof over a seated patio area.  There were plastic panels pinned in around the sides to keep it warm along with large gas heaters.  It was very nice and the food was good.  After dinner, Rich drove us over to Monkey Island.  It is a small island in the middle of the Homosassa River where a troupe of monkeys lives.  It was too dark to see anything but there is a house and a replica lighthouse on the island that is little more than a mound of dirt in the middle of the river. Guess the monkeys were asleep because we didn’t see any.  It was too dark anyway.

 2021 Feb 18 (Thu) – We packed up and left Tampa at 10:30 a.m. It was a little more than two hours to Hernando where we are staying in the driveway of friends, Margaret & Rich. We were here last January where we celebrated the New Year with them.  Margaret was waiting for our arrival with egg salad sandwiches.  We visited for a couple of hours.  Later, she made sausage and peppers heroes for dinner.

 2021 Feb 17 (Wed) – I went back to ENT doctor today.  First I had a hearing test with the audiologist then a follow-up with the ENT doctor.  I was told I have hearing loss in both ears and should go back to the VA for a re-evaluation on the hearing aids.  The doctor prescribed prednisone for 6 days and a Flonase.  Both are intended to reduce swelling and allow the fluid behind my ear to be reabsorbed.

    After the doctor, we dropped the prescription off to CVS then went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant.  After a stop at U-Haul for propane, we went back to CVS to pick up my prescriptions.

 2021 Feb 16 (Tue) – Johnny & Linda and Rick & Brenda came over for a barbecue.  It was chilly with an overcast sky and cool wind blowing.  At least it didn’t rain.  We had burgers, baked beans, potato salad, tossed salad and a chocolate cake to celebrate Brenda’s birthday.  We visited for almost 4 hours.  It was very enjoyable.  After they left, we took down the town and cleaned up.

 2021 Feb 15 (Mon) – I went to the ENT doctor today.  He wanted to follow up and see how my ear was doing after using the drops.  While the pain is gone, my ear still feels stuffed up.  The doctor believes that I have fluid behind my ear.  He asked me to come back for a hearing test.

     After the doctor, we stopped at Bonefish Grill for lunch.  The Bang Bang Shrimp is good every time! Then we stopped at Publix to pick up some groceries.  When we got back to the campground, Paul set up the covered tent for tomorrow’s barbecue.

2021 Feb 14 (Sun – Valentine’s Day) – We went to the Hard Rock Café & Casino for lunch.  Thought we’d enjoy a meal and a little gambling.  What an UNenjoyable experience!  The place is huge with several parking garages surrounding the main casino. We walked deep into the building before we found the café.  The food was OK but very expensive - $101!  After lunch, we went up to the second floor to the non-smoking lounge.  We searched for 10 and 25 cent machines.  That didn’t make any difference.  When you found a 25 cent machine, you had to bet a minimum of 30 credits – each credit being equal to 25 cents.  We both put $20 in a machine and after just 3 or 4 pushes of the button, we were broke.  It is nice when you can find a machine to play that will last a little while. After all, you look for entertainment for a while.  I don’t mind losing my money if the machine lets me play for an hour or so.  

     So, we went back down to the first floor and stopped in at a lounge for a cocktail and just enjoy the ambiance of the place.  We walked up to the plastic shield and waited for service. Two bartenders were making drinks and even though they came by us to get bottles off the shelf, no one said anything to us.  The bar was oval shaped and they were waiting on people on the other side of the bar. After about ten minutes, we spotted a waitress.  Paul asked if we could get service at a table.  She said yes so we sat at a small table and ordered our drinks.  I asked for a double shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream and Paul had a shot of 43.  My drink wasn’t more than an ounce.  In fact, I questioned her as to whether it was even a double as it looked like so little. The charge for my drink was $22. We left the casino feeling ripped off and very unsatisfied with our experience.  Sad.

2021 Feb 13 (Sat) – A fierce thunderstorm rolled through last night. The campground is full of puddles and squishy grass.  It rained off and on all day today.  There are more thunderstorms on the way over the next two or three days.

     At 11:30, we wandered over to the livestock barn to see what was going on with the little piggies. They were having some kind of contest.  A group of ten kids with pigs entered the ring. Each one had a long, thin switch that they used to continuously smack the pig on the right side of the face. Apparently, that is how they control the pig; with the switch and a stiff brush in their other hand.  It looked like a confusing melee to me.  The pigs walked all over the place and the kids followed, switching them in the face while trying to maintain eye contact with the judge.  A judge watched and selected two or three contestants.  They left the arena and entered cages on the side.  The rest of the contestants were dismissed and the selectees came back out, fist bumped the judge, then left, too.  Then, the next group of ten entered the ring.  We watched for about a half hour.  The animals were beautiful – strong, healthy looking beasts with ears that stood straight up and an energy to their trot. Some pigs were pink but more were other colors – chocolate brown, black with a pink band around their center, black with pink spots or pink with black splotches.   It must be more difficult than it looks.

 2021 Feb 12 (Fri) – We met Brenda & Rick for lunch at Portillo’s. The restaurant is famous in Chicago for its hot dogs and chocolate cake.  We sat outside and visited for almost two hours.  It was fun.

     Next door was a Walgreens.  After lunch, Paul and I went to find cards for our grandsons.  We addressed them, put in a few candy hearts, and mailed them off.

 2021 Feb 11 (Thu) – We went to Cracker Barrel for lunch.  We were appalled to see many tables with the dishes still sitting on them after diners have left.  The service was very slow.  We watched the hostess come in, haphazardly wipe off a table and then seat a couple there.  She definitely is not COVID protective.

     After lunch, we went to Lazydays which was right next door to the restaurant.  After buying a few supplies, we met with a salesman who took us to look at several rigs. We found two we liked and when we returned to the office, he worked hard to get us to buy one of the RVs.  He even brought in the boss to talk to us. Fortunately, he saw we weren’t looking to buy right now so he just chatted amiably with us then left. Good.  I didn’t feel like going through a high pressure sales pitch.  They offered to give us a trade in of $32,000 on our current rig.

     Campers are starting to come into the campground.  There will be a Swine Festival this weekend for the local kids club.

2021 Feb 10 (Wed) – Paul tested the charge on several stanchions and found high voltage running through the line.  I called the office and they sent an electrician over.  He said they have a fair coming up and run a higher voltage over the line.  With lots of people drawing power, it causes the voltage to drop.  Since we are the only camper here, the voltage is too high and they can’t reduce it.  It should be running around 128 but it’s over 133 and tripping the surge protector (which we thought was broken but was really doing its job).  So, we packed up and moved to the other side of the campground where they are not setting up for the fair.  The voltage seems to be OK over here.  There’s one other camper in this area.

     After the set up, we drove to MacDill Air Force Base.  We have tried to get reservations on that base a couple of times but they were always full.  They have over 400 spaces in their campground.  It was full and the sites were very close to each other.  We were just as glad we didn’t get in.  

     We then stopped at the commissary and picked up some groceries, then walked next door to the Class VI Package Store and picked up some wine.  

 2021 Feb 9 (Tue) – We drove to a laundromat to do some wash. They had a value card system in place. You have to put money on a card and put that into the washer and dryer.  It is a confusing system but we managed.  For two washers and two dryers, we spent $12.70.  That was high.

     While the clothes were doing their thing, we went to WalMart and picked up oil and DEF for the truck.  Paul asked about having an oil change done but the clerk said they didn’t have a lift big enough to fit the truck.  He told us to go to the WalMart in Valrico.

     We had lunch at Duke’s Brewhouse.  It was a relatively new place (as an evaluator said on Trip Advisor) but was not crowded.  The walls were covered with big screen TVs playing every kind of sports.  The Tamp Bay Buccaneers are big news after their win at the Superbowl this past weekend.  I had a Greek flatbread and Paul had a Caesar wrap.  The food was OK.

    The electric breaker kicked off twice.  Our surge protector usually takes two minutes to bring the electric back on.  It did it the first time but not the second.  Paul thinks the surge protector has bit the dust.  It is almost four years old.  That’s an awful short life.  Add to that the Jetpack that keeps giving us problems in accessing the Internet.  Ugh.

 2021 Feb 8 (Mon) – I found an ENT doctor and went to see him this morning.  He said I have a bacterial infection in my ear and prescribed ear drops.  He said to stop the Amoxicillin that the urgent care doctor prescribed.  I am supposed to go back to see the ENT doctor in a week.

     We then went to Smokey Bones for lunch.  The ribs were delicious!  Then I ran into CVS (which happened to be in a Target store) to get the ear drops.  I spent a good part of the day cancelling reservations and appointments back in New York. I was supposed to fly out today.

2021 Feb 7 (Sun) – We packed up and left Sarasota at 10 a.m. It was an hour and a half drive to the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.  Sometimes I have to wonder about our timing.  The Superbowl is being played in Tampa tonight.  We always seem to arrive somewhere where something amazing or very big is going on – like a presidential rally or a big concert.

      When we arrived, we discovered we didn’t have an assigned site. The saleslady had acknowledged our reservation and promised to send us information before we arrived.  She didn’t do that.  The guard called someone who told them to just point us to the camping area and to pick a spot.  That’s what we did.  There are two RVs camped along the fence next to the interstate.  Having camped near the interstate before, we knew it would be too loud with the 24/7 traffic.  So we found a site on the other side of the field as far away from the road as we could get.

     After set up, we went out to get some lunch.  We were also going to do some laundry but my ear was hurting very badly.  I got a message from Southwest that I had to have a negative COVID test within 72 hours of arriving in NY.  On top of that, New York is getting another snowstorm today and another is scheduled for Thursday, all on top of a snowstorm they had a few days ago.  I decided to cancel my trip until I could get my ear repaired.  Maybe the COVID test will not be a requirement in another month with the vaccine out there.  We’ll see.

     My sister gave me a homeopathic treatment for my ear so we went to Sprouts Market where I picked up some ear drops.  It did help to alleviate some of the pressure in my ear.

 2021 Feb 6 (Sat) – We stayed in the trailer all day except to walk the dog.  The wind was blowing briskly but it was more balmy than cold.  Paul dumped the tanks this evening in readiness for our move tomorrow.

 2021 Feb 5 (Fri) – It was cool today.  Had to wear long pants, socks, and a jacket in the morning.  We ran several errands around town.  We went to Millie’s Restaurant for lunch.  It was a delightful little café decorated with a French motif.  I told Paul that I would like that wallpaper in our next house, wherever we settle down. Next stop was at Petco to pick up dry food for Bonnie.  In the same shopping center was a Total Wine where we picked up some wine, a cordial, and a margarita mix.  We stopped in a mall to look for sweat pants and jeans for me.  It was about 3/4s empty.  I guess COVID killed most of the stores.  There was a JC Penney’s where I found a pair of soft slacks, not sweats nor jeans.  We looked at cruise wear but decided to wait before buying any.

     After we got home and dropped off our purchases, we ran back out to a medical clinic.  My ear has been painful for a couple of days and I am getting some blood on a Q-tip. The doctor thinks I might have ruptured the ear drum and recommended that I see an ENT doctor.  She prescribed an antibiotic.  I think she should have cleaned the ear out with a topical antiseptic but she refused to do it.  I called back home to my cancer doctor to be sure there was no problem with an interaction with my chemo medication.  I stopped taking it yesterday.  A nurse called back and said there would be no problem with the two medications.

     When we got back, we fed the animals then went into the lodge for dinner and drinks. I still had my free drink to claim from the Queen of Hearts drawing.  The bar was full and service was very slow but we finally got our meal.  The Exalted Ruler came over to chat with us and Paul met a couple of people who were from4rrrr our hometown.  One man came over to sit with us and reminisce about the old town.

2021 Feb 4 (Thu) – I called my brother, Gregory, and made arrangements for dinner.  We met them at Longhorn Restaurant.  The meal was delicious!  Afterward, we went to Greg’s house to visit with him and Potsy for a while.  He had us laughing with his stories of doctors, nail guns, and children.  I love his sense of humor.

 2021 Feb 3 (Wed) – We pulled up stakes and drove 120 miles northwest to Sarasota.  We are camped on the side of an Elks Lodge.  There are 3 campers hooked up.  We got the only 50 amp site. We parked so another camper can fit between us and the motorcoach next to us.  The RV is due to come in tomorrow.

     We went out to pick up groceries and dog food, drop off postcards for mailing, and refuel.  We stopped at the Bayan Tree Chocolate & Café for lunch.  They had a display case with specialty chocolates right when you walked in.  We sat and ordered off the menu.  I got a quiche and Paul had a sandwich.  We took home chocolate chili for dinner.  It did not taste as good as it sounded.

     At 5 p.m. we went to the outdoor Tiki Bar behind our trailer for a drink.  Several people were in there with heaters and a fireplace all blazing away.  It was cold and everyone was in jackets.  We then went into the lodge to pay for our site. We sat at the bar and had a drink. It was Queen of Hearts night so we bought tickets for that as well as the 50-50 drawing.  I won a free drink.  We paid the bartender for our 4-night stay.

 2021 Feb 2 (Tue) – We drove the Loop Road this morning.  It was pretty cool.  It is a 40 mile road that loops through the Big Cypress National Preserve.  About 12 miles of it is hard packed gravel (unpaved).  It was in pretty good condition with few potholes.  It was a narrow, 2-lane road that wound through the Everglades. There were cypress trees and bushes lining both sides of the road and lots of water on either side.  We spotted 3 alligators and several egrets.

      When we came out on the main road, we drove to Everglades City to take an airboat ride.  We were an hour early, so we stopped at a deli on the Miccosukee Indian Reservation for lunch.  We bought a meatball hero, a bag of chips, and an iced tea.  We sat in the car and split the meal between us.  At 1 p.m. we drove to the meeting spot.  It was an entrance into the canal with no office building. Two airboats were sitting there, waiting for customers.  Our guide came over, introduced himself (CPT Ryan), and gave us paperwork to sign absolving them of all liability if we got hurt.  It was only the guide and the two of us on the boat.  We wore headsets so we could hear him speaking over the drone of the engine.  He drove us through the Everglades for better than an hour and a half regaling us with stories of his childhood and descriptions of the area with its wildlife, fauna, and flora.  We saw gators, great blue herons, egrets, vultures, and turtles.  It seemed like we went deep into the wild and untamed wilderness.  The water was so clean and pure looking.  Not at all what you would expect a swamp to be like.  We saw a couple of alligators and many kinds of birds and even a turtle.  I was hoping to catch sight of a python but our guide said they were hard to spot – usually only when a bird or gator has caught one.  What a great experience!

 2021 Feb 1 (Mon) – We packed up and headed out at 9:30 a.m.  It was 110 miles to the Big Cypress National Preserve where we are camped in the Midway Campground.  There are 32 campsites arranged around the perimeter of a large pond.  We have electric hookup only.  We dumped our tanks and filled the fresh water tank before pulling into our assigned site.  The camp host met us at the entrance, ran through a litany of rules, and wished us well. He warned us to beware of the wildlife. When I asked him what kind of wildlife they have here in the park, he said “Everything!”  Does he think they have a zoo in here?

     After set up and a quick lunch, we headed out to the visitor center. It was very small.  We watched a video about the ecosystem but it failed to explain how it all works together.  Outside the center was a wooden walkway that ran along a canal. There were many alligators in the water as well as different kinds of fish.  It was quite thrilling.

     We then drove to Everglades City.  It looked like it has been pretty much beat up over the years.  Almost all of the buildings were raised 10 or more feet off the ground.  Is that for storm surge or wildlife avoidance?  The city is laid out in a large grid.  The houses have large yards; they might each be on one or two acres apiece. The local museum was closed.  We stopped in a very old store-turned-museum and wandered around all the old stuff.  They had interesting signs up describing how various equipment/furniture/ appliances were used.  The Smallwood Store was built in 1906 on Chokoloskee Island.

     My hair is going through another kind of metamorphosis.  It seems to be losing its curl and is more coarse. I guess the change in chemo strength is doing something.  I made reservations for a flight back home next month for a PET Scan and checkup.  I am not looking forward to going back to New York in February.  It’s cold! And with the damn virus, they might make me take a COVID test.  Keep your fingers crossed I don’t have to do that.  I won’t go back then if they try to make me take that thing.  It is too painful.

2021 Jan 31 (Sun) – We went into the Elks lodge for brunch at 11:30 a.m.  The food was very good.  At 5:30 p.m. we drove to Marathon to meet Tim at the Sunset Grill.  We had dinner and watched the sun set. There were clouds in the sky so we did not get much color.  A gentleman sitting next to me got a very interesting looking appetizer. I asked him what it was and he said it was cheesecake spring rolls.  I asked him many questions about it.  What was that name again?  Did the waiter recommend it?  It is sweet or tart?  Is it supposed to be a dessert?  He said it was delicious and he couldn’t taste any cream cheese at all.  We finally got our hands on a menu and looked up the appetizer, hoping to find out what ingredients could be put into a cheesecake spring roll that would erase all taste of cream cheese.  What a laugh we had!!!  There was a cheesesteak spring roll on the menu.  The bar was crowded, he had misheard the waiter, and he never bothered to check it out on the menu.  We had quite a chuckle all night long as we ordered and ate our “cheesecake” spring rolls.

     There are the nastiest gnats around here.  Their bites sting and just keep itching.  Our legs and arms are covered with these small red blotches that won’t stop itching.  Ugh. Well, we have checked off the Florida Keys from our bucket list.  Time to move on.

2021 Jan 30 (Sat) – We had planned to take a glass bottom boat tour in Key Largo with Tim today.  He called to say that the weather for the day was bad for boat rides.  The wind is blowing pretty hard which would give us a rough ride.  So we cancelled that plan and arranged to meet Tim at Robbie’s Marina in Islamorada.  Every time we drive down the road, the marina is packed.  Apparently, they have lots of activities going on there and we wanted to see what they have. 

      We got there at 11:30 a.m.  There was a storyboard that told the story of Scarface.  The owner found a tarpon with its jaw badly torn and hanging.  He called a friend who sewed the jaw back in place.  The owner nursed the fish back to health and after six months, released it back into the wild.  Apparently, it liked the treatment because it continued to hang around the marina.  In addition, it brought friends back for handouts, too.  Today, you can pay $2.25 to walk out on the dock to look at the tarpons gathered around and you can buy a bucket of food for $4.00 to feed them.  The dock was crowded with people and pelicans looking to sample the food.  We skipped the melee and had lunch on the patio.  The margarita was terrible.  We told the waitress that and she brought another drink.  It was a little better but still not good.  The food was not that good either.

      Tim’s friend, Jimmy, joined us.  He and Tim met back up in New York working on the casino boat that went out of Freeport.  They have both moved down here to Florida.  Jimmy works for a pool company.  He was pretty funny.  Interestingly, Tim is talking about getting an RV.

      It was cloudy, windy, and cool all day long.  We went on to the patio at the Elks lodge at 6 p.m. to watch the sunset.  We were sure that with all the clouds, the sunset would be fantastic.  Unfortunately, the clouds were too thick and too low on the horizon.  There were no beautiful colors to see.  A couple sitting at a nearby table live next door to the lodge and came over to watch the sunset, too.  They peppered us with questions about RVs.  They were dressed in winter jackets, gloves and hats.  Guess they thought it was cold.

2021 Jan 29 (Fri) – We met Tim at the Florida Keys History & Discovery Center.  It is located on the property of the Islander Resort in their convention center.  It was small but interesting.  Tim and I got in free because we were veterans.  Paul got the senior rate.

      After the center, we went across the street to Lorelei for lunch.  We found a table in the sun out on the patio and enjoyed a delightful meal together.  After lunch, Paul and I stopped at Publix to pick up a few things.  We also stopped at the post office where I mailed off our passport renewals.  Let’s see how long it takes to get the new passports.

      Our mail arrived this afternoon.  I asked to have our mail forwarded 2 days ago.  UPS marked it as a 3 day shipment but it arrived in 2 days.  Unfortunately, the package was marked as one of two packages.  The tracking number for the second package says it is scheduled to arrive here at the Elks Lodge on Tuesday.  We leave on Monday.  The UPS driver said they could forward it to us.  Just leave the forwarding address with the camp host here.

      A cold front came in today.  The temperature dropped to a low of 59 degrees.  Lol.  The Floridians brought out their parkas, gloves, scarves, and hats. 

2021 Jan 28 (Thu) – We went to the laundromat this morning to wash clothes.  We sat in the truck while the clothes washed, then drove to a Mexican restaurant for lunch while they were in the dryer.

      I spent an hour putting together an annual report on finances for the SMART Nomads.  Later in the day at 4 p.m. there was a Zoom meeting with National Muster committee (I volunteered to chair the Administrative Team).  The meeting went on for about an hour. 

2021 Jan 27 (Wed) – We drove to Marathon and met Tim at his boat at 9:30 a.m.  Before we got there, we stopped at a nearby Walgreens to have passport pictures taken. He took us out on the dinghy to his dive boat then we rode out to the Sombrero Reef, the third largest reef in the world.  The water was such a beautiful green-blue color.  Tim said the water was not cold but I thought it was so I did not go in. Paul put on a weight belt and a belt to hold the breathing regulator in place.  Right after he jumped into the water with just his bathing suit, Tim promptly donned a wetsuit.  So much for the water not being cold!  Paul and Tim spent about an hour diving on the reef hookah style (as Tim calls it).  The 50’ hoses were attached to the oxygen tanks that stayed on the boat while they swam around the boat.  I looked over the sides and watched the colorful fish go crazy for crackers I threw in the water.

     After we got back, we transferred to the dinghy and rode to the Dockside Grill where we enjoyed a refreshing drink.  Then we returned to the dock and came back to the campground, stopping at Walgreens to pick up our pictures then at Winn Dixie to pick up a few groceries.

     At 6:45 p.m. we went into the Elks lodge for dinner and to play the Queen of Hearts.  The woman whose name was drawn did not choose the $900 Teaser.  She drew a card but it was not the Queen of Hearts.  So she won nothing.  Next week’s drawing will have a prize over $32,000.

 2021 Jan 26 (Tue) – We drove to the post office to make application to renew our passports.  The clerk told us to go online.  Turns out that all renewals have to be done by mail.  That means we have to go get our pictures taken somewhere.  Ugh.

     We went for breakfast at the Bitton Bistro.  Turned out to be a French café.  The owner, Michel, is from Morocco.  He was the only person working in the café and there were 3 tables taken and several people coming and going to buy pastries.  The food was good and we even bought pastries for tomorrow’s breakfast.

     We met Tim at the Crane Point Museum.  It is a 63 acre hammock.  A hammock in Florida is used in the southeastern United States for stands of trees, usually hardwood, that form an ecological island in a contrasting ecosystem.  Hammocks grow on elevated areas, often just a few inches high, surrounded by wetlands that are too wet to support them.  There were birds in a cage being cared for by rehabbers.  The group included pelicans, cormorants, owls, kestrels, egrets, herons, and an eagle.  A little further on was a pedicure pool.  People could take their shoes off and put their feet in the water. Little fish nibbled on the bottom of their feet.  Four people were sitting on the dock with their feet in the water.  They said it tickled.  We wandered through thick foliage with lots of roots sticking up in the pathway.  It was a rough hike through the trees.

     After the tour, we drove to the Overseas Pub & Grill and had lunch outside on the patio.  It had an Irish menu and I enjoyed shepherd’s pie.  Tim had corned beef stew and Paul just had a burger.

 2021 Jan 25 (Mon) – What an illuminating day it was!  We drove to Key West today.  It was 90 miles one way.  The road (US 1) passed over one island after another.  Each island is called a key and there are many keys (also called a cay).  The houses and buildings are painted in lovely pastel shades of pink, green, blue, peach, yellow and dove gray.  Some islands are very built up and others are sparse.  There are many boats and marinas along the way.  Key West was incredibly crowded.  The streets are narrow and the houses are tightly packed.  The entire place was so built up!  We had to wait on a long line just to get our picture taken at the 0 mile marker for the southernmost point in the Continental U.S. There were so many people in town and no parking that we couldn’t even tour the Truman Little White House or Hemingway’s Home.  It was very disappointing.  

     We did stop in at a Butterfly Conservancy.  That was delightful.  There were butterflies flying everywhere!  The docent told us they buy 300 egg sacks a week and release 15-30 new butterflies into the screen area every day.  There were also very colorful little birds flying around.

     We drove over to the Naval Air Station to check out the Sigsbee Campground.  Although they have almost 100 hookups, there were not many RVs camped there at all. We guess that only servicemen who are stationed at the base are allowed to camp there.  It was nice but the sites were tight.  We are just as glad that we never got in there.  

 2021 Jan 24 (Sun) – We drove to the Florida Keys History and Discovery Center in Islamorada but it was closed.  It is located in the Islander Resort and a guard at the gate told us they are only open Wednesday to Saturday.  That was disappointing.  

     We drove down the road to the Island Grill and had a meal outside on the beach.  Out table was a long table with two trees growing up through the table.  After lunch, we drove further south to Bud ‘n Mary’s Marina.  A friend of ours told us to go see the fish there.  There were loads of pelicans begging scraps from a fisherman cleaning the day’s catch.  In the water was a manatee, several very long fish (we think they were mackerel), and lots of minnows.  The water was a beautiful color.

     We stopped at the Hurricane Monument.  A carved granite marker stands on the side of the road in tribute to the people who lost their lives in a hurricane in 1935.  Next, we stopped at the History of Diving Museum.  It was a very informative place.  There were displays of deep sea diving gear, SCUBA gear, and underwater equipment.  Lots of storyboards told about the personalities that made breakthroughs in diving and contributed to the sport.  We enjoyed the museum very much.

 2021 Jan 23 (Sat) – We drove to the post office this morning to get pictures and submit paperwork to renew our passports.  We will be taking a cruise to Australia and New Zealand next year.  Following the cruise, we are planning to take a camper around Australia for 2 or 3 months. That’s when our current passports will expire.  We are renewing them now in order to avoid the possibility that our passports might expire before we get back home.  Unfortunately, the post office was closed.  So we went next door to the Made 2 Order café and had a late breakfast.

     After our meal, we drove to Islamorada to the Theater of the Sea.  It was fun.  We got on a tour that went to several stations.  First was the fish display.  There were sting rays, parrot fish, and nurse sharks in shallow pools. The guide described the fish and showed how they train the sharks.  Next to the display area was a wading pool where people could wade in the water with some of the fish.

     Next stop was at a glass enclosure that held two alligators; one female and one male.  We learned the females grow to about 6-8 feet and the males can grow up to 14 feet. Another enclosure held a crocodile where the guide explained the difference between the crocodilians.  

     After that was a stop at the turtle pools.  They had leatherbacks, loggerheads, and green sea turtles.  One turtle floated around the pool with a life vest on.  There was something wrong with its shell that prevented it from surfacing.  The vest helps it to be able to take a breath. These critters were so big!

     Then we went to 3 shows.  The first was where they had several parrots and macaws.  The emcee described the different types of exotic birds and where they come from.  Then we all went to a large pool where two dolphins performed tricks for the audience. Beside the pool were two small pools where people were swimming with the dolphins.  The place offered the opportunity to swim with dolphins, sting rays, and sharks, all for an additional fee.  The admission fee was pretty steep - $87 for the two of us and that was with a 10% discount!  After the dolphins, we went to another pool where they had sea lions perform tricks, too. And, again, there were people swimming with the sea lions in small pools near the main pool.

     The tour ended with a ride on a bottomless boat.  The boat had benches on the four sides of the boat with an opening in the center.  The two dolphins from the show came swimming by and popped up in the center of the boat and did tricks inside and on the side of the boat while we rode out and back on the lake.  The guide said the entire park is landlocked so they pump in over 11 million gallons of water every day.

     After the park, we drove to the “world famous” Lorelei Restaurant. It is a bar with a very large patio on three sides that sits right on the bay shore.  We found a table where Tim joined us.  He was meeting a friend who is in Florida on vacation.  The friend didn’t want to come to the table so he sat up in the walkway in his wheelchair watching the women go by. Joey was also there, sitting up on the walkway with a friend.  

 2021 Jan 22 (Fri) – We drove to Marathon today to see Tim and take a ride on his boat.  He actually has two boats.  One he lives on and the other is his dive boat.  He can take out groups of up to six people to dive on a nearby reef.  His son, Joey, was also there.  

     We parked the truck and got on the dive boat.  Tim drove from the dock to a nearby restaurant where we docked at the pier and had lunch on the patio.  After a couple of margaritas, we got back on the boat and rode out into the ocean.  We parked (can you park a boat?) out near the 7 mile bridge and watched the sunset. Sadly, there were no clouds in the sky so the sunset was pretty bland.  You have to have clouds in the sky in order to have a beautiful sunset or sunrise.

     We returned to the marina where Tim anchored his dive boat and we transferred to a little dinghy for a ride back to the dock.  It was tight and a little nerve racking but we did it without incident.  It was a good day.

     When we got back to the lodge, I went in and asked if they had any leftovers.  It was prime rib night and I thought I could get some of the leftover food.  It turned out they had plenty left and we wound up sitting down to dinner at 8:30 p.m.  Ugh.  That is SO late to eat a heavy meal.  We brought most of the meal back to the RV.

2021 Jan 21 (Thu) – After the motorhome next to us left, we readjusted our position in the campsite.  We fit much better now.  We have no TV stations over the air.  Paul had to put the satellite dish up on the roof but it is working fine.

     My brother, Tim, came over this morning.  We were stuck in the campground because I was waiting for UPS to deliver my medicine (I have to sign for it).  At 1 p.m. I called UPS and asked to pick up the package at their office tomorrow. The clerk I spoke with (sounding like she was in India) arranged it.  We then went out to lunch at Tower of Pizza. Tim said it is the closest thing to New York pizza outside of New York. It was OK.  

     We returned to the campground and sat down by the water.  A truck pulled up with a 100 gallon tank on the back. The driver put a hose in the water, turned on a generator, and began pumping water into the tank.  It turns out that he sells salt water to aquariums for their collections.  Who would have thought you could make a career out of that?  A UPS truck pulled up and, low and behold, my medication and our forwarded mail were both on the truck.  Luckily, we were here so I could sign for my medicine.  

     There was a beautiful sunset tonight.  Tim, who lives on his boat in Marathon (an island further south in the Keys), says the sunsets seem to go on for hours down here.  The water is incredibly clear.  We walked out on a pier they have here at the lodge.  There are little needle nose gars swimming in the water.  They blend in with the water and algae so much that it is difficult to see them.  I could not spot any dolphins or manatees.

 2021 Jan 20 (Wed) – We are in The Keys!  We packed up and left South Bay at 9 a.m. and drove 3 hours to Tavernier.  We are camped at an Elks Lodge on Overseas Highway.  The lodge is right on the water.  The Keys is on a narrow strip of land flanked by the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.  The sites are very tight.  We got into our assigned site (# 13) but we could adjust a little.     The motor home next to us will be leaving tomorrow and we will readjust our position after they leave and before the next RV gets here.

      We went into the lodge at 6 p.m. for dinner.  They had a Queens of Hearts drawing at 7:30 p.m.  That was a hoot.  The prize is over $31,000.  The reason the prize has grown so big is that they have a Teaser.  Tonight’s Teaser is $900.  If your ticket gets drawn, you get to turn a card over.  If you turn a Queen of Hearts, you win the entire pot (+$31,000). You can opt to take the Teaser ($900) and they still turn a card over.  If it’s the Queen of Hearts, you win nothing and they start a new game. Twenty-seven cards have been turned over so far.  The winner took the Teaser and the card that was turned over was a Queen of Diamonds. The game is still on.  The next drawing will be next Wednesday.

     I got a series of reservations from the Newburgh KOA for our caravan this summer.  The costs were all above our budgeted amount.  I called and spoke with the manager of the campground.  She explained that she had to just get something into the system to hold our sites.  The price adjustments will come later and not to worry.

 2021 Jan 19 (Tue) – We drove into West Palm Beach today. After a quick lunch at Zaxby’s, we took a ride on the Diva Duck boat.  There were just 8 adults and 2 children on the boat.  It was a weird sensation to go from the road into the water. The woman narrating the tour was very good and had lots of tongue-in-cheek jokes about ducks.

     After our pleasant afternoon, we stopped at PetSmart to get some dog food then Publix for a few groceries.  Paul filled up the truck and I bought lottery tickets hoping to hit the more than $800 million jackpot.  

2021 Jan 16-18 (Sat, Sun, Mon) – We stayed in the campground.  This was a holiday weekend and we were staying away from the crowds.  The folks with the chicken on a leash left today. I wanted to get a picture of it but I missed out.  Oh, well. The weather has been cool; lows in the 40s and highs in the 60s.  Hopefully, it will be warmer down in the Keys.

2021 Jan 15 (Fri) – We drove to Palm Beach today.  Palm Beach was named for the coconut groves that were once common along Lake Worth.  The only remaining coconut grove in Palm Beach is on the Flagler estate.

     First stop was at the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum.  What an amazing place!  Another example of the opulence of the nouveau rich of the 1800s.  Flagler’s family immigrated from Germany to New York. Flagler left home at 14 to look for his fortune.  He found it when he joined up with John D. Rockefeller and Samuel Andrews to form Standard Oil Co.  He made millions (billions in today’s money).  In 1902, he built Whitehall as a winter retreat and visited there for 12 years until he died.  His wife died 4 years later and left their estate to a niece.  She then turned it over to private investors when it became too expensive to keep and they turned the mansion into a grand hotel.  In 1959, the investors had gone broke and the building was going to be torn down.  A great granddaughter bought the property and turned it into a museum in 1960.

     There were more than 75 rooms in the home.  Much of the original furniture, as well as furniture from the period, are in the rooms.  Each room is grander than the next.  It was amazing!  In the back of the home was another building housing Flagler’s personal rail car.  He built a rail line that connected Jacksonville to the Keys.  Flagler is credited with building up Florida and making it a major attraction for tourism and agriculture.

     Across the water behind the estate was a marina that housed several yachts. One of them was a small ocean liner with beautiful lines.  Ah, what the money people spend their dollars on.

     After the museum, we drove into town and had lunch at Almond.  It turned out they also have a restaurant in Manhattan and Bridgehampton back in New York.  We sat on the patio and watched all the rich cars drive by.  I’ve never seen so many high end vehicles – Tesla, Mercedes, Bentley, Ducati, etc. – in one place.  Parking is restricted to two hours and while we were eating, two of the wait staff ran out to move their cars so they wouldn’t be ticketed.  Our lunch was excellent but we paid for it.  It was almost $100 (tip included).  Whew!

     Next was a drive around town.  We wound up on Ocean Drive and drove past Mar-a-lago, President Trump’s Florida home.  It’s a strange arrangement.  The road cuts through the middle of the estate with the club on one side and the pool on the other side next to the ocean.  There was a very large American flag standing on the lawn in front of the club. We couldn’t see the entire building as there was a 6’ hedge in front of the place.  Most of them have 15-20 foot high hedges in front of their properties. I guess that’s more attractive than fences and certainly more private.  Each home we drove past was more opulent than the next.  This is definitely the place to come if you want to ogle the rich and famous.  

     When we got back to the campground, we could see that most campsites have been filled up.  It’s the weekend.  The folks next to us have a chicken.  They tie a rope to its foot and the rooster just hangs around.  He likes to be high so they put him on the handlebars of their bicycle or up on a 6’ ladder.   I’ve seen some crazy things during our travels but a chicken on a leash is a new one for me.  Lol.

 2021 Jan 14 (Thu) – We stayed in the campground all day.  I did work on the Nomads newsletter as well as the New York Caravan.  Paul worked on finding us campgrounds to stay in.  After he found a site in Tampa, I called Southwest and made a reservation to fly to New York next month.

 2021 Jan 13 (Wed) – We asked the office to move to a site further away from the road.  It must be a main truck route as it was noisy all night long.  We got moved from 85 to 151.  It’s marked as a handicapped site but the picnic table is located on the wrong side of the rig.  Regardless, it is much quieter over here.

     After our move, we drove into town to get propane and fuel.  We drove through Clewiston and stopped at the Chamber of Commerce & Museum.  It was small and not well laid out.  The CoC offers a Sugarland Tour which we very much wanted to take.  It is four hours learning about all the sugar cane farms in the area.  Unfortunately, tours are suspended until September because of the coronavirus.

     We drove through South Bay.  There were many slum areas, dilapidated houses, and closed stores. This town is suffering greatly. Trip Advisor listed only one restaurant in the entire town – Subway.

 2021 Jan 12 (Tue) – We packed up and left Cocoa at 9:50 a.m. and arrived at the South Bay RV Campground at 1:30 p.m.  We ran into traffic going through the Palm Beach area.  The campground is owned by the county.  It is neat, clean, and well laid out. Unfortunately, it is right by a major truck route and quite noisy.  We only got a 30-amp site while there are 50-amp sites open.  The campground is about 90% full.  It sits at the base of a levee.  There is a lake and creek on the property with signs warning of alligators. Check-in was online as they are keeping everything contactless.  There is nothing to do in South Bay.  This is the kind of campground you come to when you want to get away from it all.

 2021 Jan 11 (Mon) – We went to the Brevard Zoo today.  Paul thought it was very nice.  Not too big and all the animals were out and visible. We had to make a reservation online as they are limiting the number of people in the zoo at any one time.  There were lots of animals from Australia and Africa. It was about a two hour tour.

     We stopped at the Melbourne Seafood Grill for lunch.  I had a crab cake and Paul enjoyed clams.  Then we got some fuel in preparation for tomorrow’s move. When we got back to the campground, we did some wash.  Sheba brought some hairballs last night while laying on our bed so we had to wash the sheets and bedspread.  It’s time to take the flannel sheets off the bed anyway.  We are headed into southern Florida where the weather is sure to be warmer (we sure hope so!).

 2021 Jan 10 (Sun) – We did laundry today.  It seemed like Sunday was wash day for a lot of people in the campground and we got the last two machines.

     We met George & Linda at El Leoncita for dinner.  The food, margaritas, and company were all good.

 2021 Jan 9 (Sat) – We drove back to Merritt Island and picked up Denise with her dog, Levi, then drove to Cocoa to George & Linda’s. George made dough balls to go fishing with his grandson, Ryan.  Their son, Neil, came over and we all went down to the lake.  Ryan, Neil, George, and Paul fished while Linda, Denise, and I went for a drive around the neighborhood.  It was cool with a brisk breeze blowing.

     No fish caught, we returned to the house and George grilled up some burgers and hot dogs.  After visiting, we returned to Merritt Island to drop off Denise, then back to the campground.  Sheba ran out of the door when we got back at 8 p.m. and it took a bit of effort to get her back inside because it was dark and we couldn’t see.

2021 Jan 8 (Fri) – We went out to pick up food for Bonnie.  The vet recommended that we only give her one protein source.  Rather than mixing up beef and chicken, we should only feed her chicken.  We also have to make sure her dry food is chicken as well as her treats.

      Next door was a WalMart.  We ran in to pick up a few things.  While at George & Linda’s the other day, I noted she was cooking with a Blue Diamond pan.  We got to talking about different kinds of pans.  I have been thinking about getting rid of my Teflon pans for a while.  So while we were at WalMart today, I picked up 3 new fry pans and a Dutch oven.  I also picked up a roasting pan and a small baking pan with rack.   After we came home, I spent time rearranging the cabinet and getting rid of the old pots and pans in favor of the new ones.

     The day was very windy today.  Sheba didn’t spend more than a few minutes outside before looking to come back in.  It was just too breezy.  She sure loves her new toy.  

 2021 Jan 7 (Thu) – We stayed around the campground for the day. Paul ran out briefly to pick up some hardware to fix the silverware drawer.  It was not working smoothly and he had to replace the hardware slide. The drawer works very nicely now.

     At 8:30 p.m., we went out to watch the Space-X launch.  It was delayed for a little bit but the rocket finally took off at 9:15 p.m.  It was so quiet but very bright.  The launch was successful and they were able to capture the booster rocket.

 2021 Jan 6 (Wed) – We went over to George & Linda’s for dinner tonight.  They grilled chicken and Brussel sprouts.  We enjoyed the food with margaritas.

     I pulled out the NY Caravan file today to see what actions I have to take. I contacted one campground to confirm our arrival.  After some discussion, the owner decided that they could not support our caravan.  We have too many large rigs.  It was with some disappointment I found another campground. The next one is $11 more per night. That will certainly put a dent in our budget.

 2021 Jan 5 (Tue) – We packed up and left KARS RV Park at 10:30 a.m. Since the drive was only 27 miles, we waited until near checkout time before leaving.  We had to stop and dump the tanks first.  It was a good day to leave as a bunch of Fish & Wildlife trucks pulled up in the field across from us this morning.  It looked like a manhunt was underway.  I called the office only to find out they are doing a controlled burn around the property today.

     It was 50 minutes to Patrick Space Force Base in Cocoa.  We checked in with the camp host.  She said we were lucky.  That someone just left a very nice spot (they have a first-come, first served policy for campsites).  The site looks out at the river without a camper in front of our site. It’s OK.  The camp host told us this is a historic stay.  They just changed the name from Patrick Air Force Base to Patrick Space Force Base last month.  It’s a nice campground but a little tight.  We have full hookups with 50 amp service.  

     We went out for dinner to Grill’s Seafood Restaurant.  It was right on the water and we sat out on the deck. It was enclosed in glass so it felt like the inside but with all the view of the outside.

2021 Jan 4 (Mon) – We took Bonnie to the vet this morning.  We might have inadvertently solved the problem on our own though.  Bonnie has been doing a lot of barking and appeared to be very hungry.  She has been suffering urine infections off and on for two years now.  She’s been through a variety of antibiotics but the UTI always returned.  We remembered a friend who used the same pro-digest we give Bonnie.  She said she stopped giving it to her dogs because they had renal issues.  We stopped giving all extra stuff to Bonnie – the pro-digest, multivitamin, glucosamine, and fish oil.  We’ve just been giving her the liver medicine and regular food.  She’s also been getting lots of extra treats. Interestingly, Bonnie has calmed down. She’s not doing the excessive barking or restless moving around.  Maybe the antibiotic she was on and the pro-digest disagreed with each other.

     At any rate, the vet’s office only allowed one of us in so Paul sat out in the car.  After hearing of Bonnie’s story, the vet recommended that we give her only one protein source.  We feed her Hill’s Science Diet (approved by the vet association) but mix it up between beef and chicken.  The vet said that a dog’s system has to do a reset every time the protein source changes. Her long standing issue with diarrhea could be related to the changes in protein.  She suggested we give her only one protein for three weeks and see how her system reacts.

     The vet took some blood and found that Bonnie’s thyroid level is low. So now she is on a thyroid medication. She needs to go back for a recheck in two weeks.  We’ll see about that.

     When we got back to the campground, we did the laundry.  There were two washers and two dryers in the laundry building when I looked in last week.  Today, there was only one washing machine.  We only did the whites.

     A Falcon 9 Space-X launch was planned to take place between 8:30 and 12:30 tonight.  We rode down to the waterfront, set out our chairs, and waited to see the launch. The sky was clear and the stars were so bright with no moon to fade out the stars.  It was so cold; in the 40s.  We waited 20 minutes, trying to find out online if the launch was going to be live streamed.  People finally started posting on Facebook that the launch was rescheduled for January 7. That was disappointing.  We are in such a perfect place to watch a launch, right across the river from the NASA launch site.

 2021 Jan 3 (Sun) – We drove over George & Linda’s this morning. She made hash with the leftover corn beef.  That and eggs with toast was scrumptious.  The mimosas were a nice touch.  Denise (George’s sister) and her little dog, Levi, joined us.  After our meal, we sat out on the patio around their fire pit and had a nice visit.

     On the way back to the campground, we stopped for lunch at Kelsey’s Pizzeria.  We’ve seen a number of them around and wanted to try them.  We couldn’t eat in their store.  They instructed us to go next door to Harry & Jack’s, a bar and grill. They had indoor and outdoor seating. None of the wait staff wore masks. There were 3 tables occupied near us when we sat next to the bar.  The first group left and the waitress haphazardly wiped the table but didn’t touch the seats.  The other two tables vacated and neither of them was wiped down at all.  We got our pizza.  It wasn’t New York.

     After lunch, I stopped in at Supercuts next door and got my hair cut. The woman did a terrible job.  The good thing about it is that my hair will grow back in.  

 2021 Jan 2 (Sat) – Another day in the campground.  The weather has turned cold.   We went over George & Linda’s for dinner.  She made reubens with corned beef and sauerkraut on rye bread.  It was so good.  We are invited over for breakfast tomorrow where Linda will make corned beef hash with the leftovers.  After dinner, we watched a movie with Liam Neeson.  It was awful.  It certainly wasn’t his usual genre as a kick-ass fighter.  I think the name of the movie was “The Other Man.”  Don’t watch it!

 2021 Jan 1 (Fri-New Year’s Day) -  We stayed in the campground all day.   Our church had a Zoom meeting at 1 p.m.  We would normally have a potluck meal on New Year’s Day but no one’s getting together in groups this year.  There were about 20 of us online.  It was confusing to me with everyone talking over each other.  But it was good to see all our friends.  The call lasted about an hour.

2020 Dec 31 (Thu-New Year’s Eve) – We met George & Linda at the pier by Doc’s Bait House near their old condo.  We were going for a boat ride on the Banana River and lunch down river.  Unfortunately, as soon as we got past the bridge, the wind was whipping up the water and waves were splashing over the boat, getting us all wet.  It was too rough to go boating so we returned to the dock and pulled the boat out of the water then followed George back to his shop. We met their dog and checked out their new Renegade Class C RV.  They bought it in July and it still smells new.  After putting away the boat, we went to Fishlips for lunch down by Port Canaveral.  The meal was good but pretty expensive.

     After lunch, Paul and I drove to Patrick Air Force base to check out the campground.  Most of the gates into the base are closed and you have to drive a couple of miles around the runway to get to the campground.  They are also pretty full but there are still a few empty spaces. We will look to move there next week.

     We returned to the campground and spent a quiet night watching TV.  We turned in at 9 p.m.  How’s that for celebrating the new year?  I think we are officially “old fogies.”

 2020 Dec 30 (Wed) – We ran some errands today – picked up groceries and got some propane.  George & Linda drove over to the campground and we chatted for about an hour then drove to Denise’s house.  We picked her up and drove to Carrabba’s for an early dinner.  We all sat out on the patio and enjoyed margaritas and a good meal.

 2020 Dec 29 (Tue) – We packed up and left Mayport Naval Station at 9:30 a.m.  It was 160 miles south to Merritt Island where we are camped at the NASA owned property KARS RV Park.  We have been here twice before.  It is pretty full now; almost every campsite is occupied.  We have a site way in back behind the storage area nowhere near the water. They continue to improve the campground.

2020 Dec 28 (Mon) – We drove into St. Augustine for lunch. Our meal was at the Florida Cracker in the old historic town.  St. Augustine was settled in 1565 and is said to be the oldest city in the United States. It has been under six flags over the years – Spain, Italy, France, England, Colonial America, and the U.S. (I think).  It is an interesting tour.  There were many people out and about, too many without masks.  Traffic coming into town was all backed up.  We walked around for a while then left.  We stopped at the post office on the way back to mail off a package and got fuel for tomorrow’s move.

 2020 Dec 27 (Sun) – We dialed into the virtual service at our church this morning.  It appears that the minister contracted the coronavirus and was quarantined for two weeks. That must be why they stopped having in-person services last week.

     We took down our Christmas decorations today.  I thought we were leaving tomorrow, Monday, but we are leaving on December 29.  That’s actually on Tuesday.

 2020 Dec 26 (Sat) – We drove into town and had lunch at North Beach Fish Camp.  It was a seafood place.  I had a cod dish and Paul enjoyed crab claws.  On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Publix to pick up a few groceries.

     The weather is pretty cold today.  The temperatures have dropped into the thirties and there is a freeze warning for the area tonight.  We’ll have to remember to disconnect the hose before going to bed.  At least the wind has died down.

     The vet called to say that Bonnie’s urine sample had come back normal.  The antibiotic has done its job.

2020 Dec 25 (Fri – Christmas Day) – It was very cold this morning but warmed quickly to the 50s.  The wind was blowing strongly.  Last night’s storm left many homes without electric and the news showed streets and homes where trees fell onto them.  It was a very destructive storm.

     We went to the Oasis Galley on base at 3 p.m. for a holiday meal.  It was supposed to be $9.20 per person but the guy just waved us through when we arrived.  I don’t know if it was because he was having problems with the register or that it was almost time to close the mess hall (dinner was being served from 1 to 4 p.m.  At any rate, we got a great meal for free.  There was salad, shrimp cocktail, turkey, dressing, steak, mac & cheese, cranberry sauce, corn, kale, green beans, biscuits, eggnog, coffee, tea, and a variety of pies.  We brought our pumpkin pie back to the trailer and had it later with coffee.  

 2020 Dec 24 (Thu) – We dropped a urine sample from Bonnie off at the vet’s office this morning.  Then we went to breakfast at Another Broken Egg.  They have such good and unusual selections.  We both enjoyed our meal very much.  We sat out on the patio with a lot of other people.  

      After breakfast (more like brunch), we drove to General RV to pick up our new loungers.  The shipment never came in so we bought the floor sample.  The saleslady we dealt with was out today.  The person we dealt with today must have thought we were really stupid.  She said they never had new furniture to order and we were always going to get the floor sample.  Then she said the saleslady we first dealt with (Brandi) tried to order it but it wasn’t available.  I then asked for a discount on the cost of the furniture since we had to take used furniture rather than get it new.  She tried to tell us that the sample was only on the floor for 4 days.  We sat in it over a week ago so that wasn’t true. Brandi had told us it was out for several weeks.  In addition, the floor sample was still sitting on the floor.  It was not sanitized and packed up for us.  The woman tried to mumble that she couldn’t have sanitized it earlier because people would have still sat on it.  Paul told her no one could sit on it if it was disassembled and she tried to tell him they would have.  It was one of the most aggravating hours we have ever spent. The woman was either incompetent or an out-and-out liar.  At any rate, we waited while they sanitized and took the furniture apart (2 chairs with a center console).  She refused to give us any plastic to wrap up the furniture so it wouldn’t get dirty in back of the truck.  We did get a refund of almost $200.

                                               the old furniture

                                                   the new furniture

      Paul then drove into downtown Jacksonville.  Since it was Christmas eve, he figured a lot of the stores and offices would be closed.  He was right. It reminded me of when we went to Phoenix and arrived on a weekend.  It was like a ghost town.  We stopped at the St. Johns River Riverwalk and strolled along the waterfront.  There were a few people out but not many.

      The day started out very nice but turned nasty late in the afternoon.  Severe thunderstorms rolled through and there were warnings of tornadoes in the county.  The temperatures dropped drastically and the prediction was for iguanas falling out of trees tomorrow (lol. Temps are supposed to be freezing)

 2020 Dec 23 (Wed) – We did some laundry today.  Since the machines are free, we are taking advantage of the benefit.  Someone got annoyed we weren’t right there when our wash finished and they took our laundry out.  They put it on top of the dryers.  We put our stuff in the dryers and made sure to come back before it was done.

     We went out for lunch at Cracker Barrel today.  The food was good and they were doing a brisk business.  It’s hard to believe there’s a pandemic out there. After lunch, we stopped at a liquor store to pick up some Bailey’s Irish Cream.  It’s for Christmas day.

 2020 Dec 22 (Tue) – The day was cold and blustery.  We stayed in all day.

 2020 Dec 21 (Mon) – We ran some errands today.  Went food shopping at WalMart, picked up dog food at PetCo, got some fuel at a very sloooooooow pump (took a half hour to fill the gas tank), and dropped off an envelope at the post office.

     At sunset, we drove over to the southeast side of the base to see the Christmas Star.  Not since 1600 (400 years ago) has Saturn and Jupiter been aligned next to each other. They are so close that they look like a big star in the sky.  This great conjunction is referred to as the Christmas Star.  I think it’s because it’s happening during Christmas week.  We saw nothing.  Maybe it was hidden behind some low clouds on the horizon.  We’ll try again tomorrow night.

     I volunteered to put together a cookbook for SMART as a fundraiser. Paul was looking through our church cookbook one day and brought up the suggestion that we should do it for our travel club.  I pitched the suggestion, went through lots of questions and hesitations, and finally got the go ahead today.  Hope I don’t regret the offer.

2020 Dec 19&20 (Sat & Sun) – We stayed in the campground this weekend.  We dialed into the church for a virtual service on Sunday morning.  We had some initial trouble getting the live broadcast but it turned out to be a problem at their end, not ours.

 2020 Dec 18 (Fri) – We ran out to get propane this morning. The weather has been cold (it was 37 degrees this morning) and the heat has been running almost constantly.  We ran out of propane two nights ago (luckily, we have a second tank to switch to when one goes empty).  The place we first stopped at was out of order and we struggled to find another place.  The refill was finally achieved.

     Karen called today.  She is a travel agent and we are working with to arrange a cruise to Australia in 2022. We have tentatively decided on a Holland America 15-day cruise to Australia/New Zealand in January 2022. We also spoke with her about arranging a campervan trip around Australia following the cruise.  We plan to take two months to travel around Australia after the cruise.  She’s looking into it.

     We returned to the campground and hunkered down for the day. I sure hope it gets warmer soon. This is Florida!!!!

 2020 Dec 17 (Thu) – We drove into St. Augustine this afternoon. It took us over a half hour to find a parking space.  We finally wound up parking in a church parking lot for $10.  Then we walked into town and came upon the Lightner Museum. It is in the former Alcazar Hotel which was built from Henry Flagler in 1888.  One half of the 5-story building houses government offices and the other half features the museum collection.  The building was stunning and the hotel must have been amazing! The collections were from the 1800 and 1900s.  There were pottery, crystal, and glass artifacts; furniture; paintings; sculptures; and more.  A stuffed lion was on display that was a gift to Winston Churchill.  The lion was placed in the London Zoo and sired over 40 cubs before being stuffed.  I don’t know how it wound up in a museum in Florida.

     At 5 p.m. we went to dinner at Harry’s Seafood Grill.  It was a New Orleans style restaurant.  The waiter was very animated and made the meal enjoyable. He said he was originally from Queens and worked in Melville.  I had rice and beans with sausage and Paul had a scampi dish.

     We walked down to the marina and took the Night of Lights boat tour. It was a boring ride back and forth in front of lighted store fronts in the freezing cold.  The captain was absolutely silent.  Most tours of this kind would have had a dialogue about the area. He should have described some of the landmarks or talked about the history of the marina or told the story about St. Augustine.  Aside from his mandatory safety briefing (which was 75% unintelligible), he said nothing during the entire ride.  We were supposed to get complimentary coffee or tea but they didn’t have that either. We didn’t think the boat tour was worth the expense.

 2020 Dec 16 (Wed) – It rained for most of the day today.  It was cool and miserable.  I called the office today and was able to extend here at Mayport for another 3 nights until January 1st.  Hopefully, that will be all we need to take care of Bonnie’s issue.

2020 Dec 15 (Tue) – We went food shopping at Winn Dixie to get groceries for the week.  Then we went to Bono’s Pit BBQ.  We bought a rack of ribs and brought it back for dinner.  Yesterday and today have been blustery and the temperatures have been in the low 50s in the morning.  The wind was blowing so hard today that you had to be sure to hold the door when you got out of the car or the RV.  There were white caps and big splashing waves out in the river.  We swear that the winds were gusting to 50 mph.

 2020 Dec 14 (Mon) – We went furniture shopping today.  After wandering through several stores, we finally arrived at General RV and paid for two lounge chairs.  The clerk said she thought she could get it in by Friday, Monday at the latest.  If it doesn’t come in, then they will give us the floor sample.  We have to call on Friday so they’ll have time to sanitize the floor sample if it doesn’t look like the new chairs will come in on time.

     After paying for the chairs, we stopped at Taco Bell for lunch. Yuck!  They no longer have the taco salad.  Now it’s bowls.  I got a chicken quesadilla and Paul got chalupas.  My meal was very skimpy and too spicy.  I won’t get that again!

     The vet called to say that Bonnie has a bacterial infection and needs to go on antibiotics.  We turned around and drove to his office to get the medication.  After ten days, we have to give another urine sample.  The time period will be close to when we are scheduled to leave.  Since we don’t have a reservation for the next campground, I called the office at Mayport to see if we could extend for a few days.  The clerk said they have no vacancies.  We have to call back every day to check on availability.  Ugh.

 2020 Dec 13 (Sun) – We went to lunch at Seaglass, a restaurant on base.  We were the only two diners in the place.  It looks like it would be really nice on a Friday night with folks gathered around the bar and socializing.  That won’t happen for a while, if ever again.  I had avocado toast and Paul had chorizo hash.  It was good.  We returned to the campground and let the animals play outside.  Sheba is fascinated with the geckos crawling on the palm trees.

 2020 Dec 12 (Sat) – The day was rainy and overcast.  We just hung around the campground all day.

 2020 Dec 11 (Fri) – We went out for lunch today at Colhane’s Irish Pub.  The food was very good.  I had my usual – shepherd pie and Paul enjoyed potato soup and a salad.  He’s down to 208 lbs.  His goal is in sight and he’s very focused.  We came back and let the fur babies have time outside.

     The vet called today.  Aside from slightly elevated liver enzymes, he really doesn’t see anything in Bonnie’s bloodwork to indicate a problem.  He is going to do a culture on the urine sample we left.  He’ll call back in a couple of days.

 2020 Dec 10 (Thu) – Paul offered to take me out for breakfast this morning.  That’s very funny since he lost his credit card and we had to invalidate it.  Now, I’m the only one with a credit card. After the breakfast that he treated me to (that I paid for), we went to Winn Dixie for groceries (I splurged on a lottery ticket), then to PetCo for dog food, and last to the post office to mail off a letter.

     On the way back, we drove into the Village of Mayport.  It is a small fishing village with a ferry port.  There weren’t many businesses at all.  When we got back on base, we drove around the docks looking at all the big Navy ships.  There were about a dozen ships tied up to the piers.

     We took Bonnie to the vet this afternoon. In the last two or three months, she has started this kind of barking routine.  She gives a bark, waits about ten seconds, then barks again.  She keeps this up until we are moved to do something. It’s either feed her, walk her, or pet her.  She goes out for a walk about every 1-1/2 to 2 hours and has a bowel movement almost time. That’s many more than she used to have (which was two – one following breakfast and one following dinner).  The doc took blood and promised to call us tomorrow.

2020 Dec 9 (Wed) – We stayed in today and spent the time putting up and decorating our Christmas tree.  The season is here!

 2020 Dec 8 (Tue) – We went to the post office to mail off the claim form to New York.  It will be interesting to see how much is due to my mother (who passed away in 2009). My sister, Susan, had filled out a claim in 2010 for money due to my mother.  The five of us each wound up getting $20 (she was due $100).  This time around will probably be $2.50 each. Mom didn’t have much to her name when she died.  I can’t imagine what this money is from.

     We stopped for lunch at the Hangar Bay Café.  It was a small place run by an African American retired Navy guy with an Asian wife.  The menu had a lot of ramen on it.  Paul got pork ramen and I ordered fried chicken.  The food was good.  The gentleman didn’t want to talk about his service.  Even though there was an 11x13 picture of him in dress uniform on the wall, he kept avoiding my questions about his time in the Navy.

     The commissary and PX are both off-post.  We stopped in there to get a few things.  You have to show ID at the register at the commissary and at the entrance at the PX to ensure you are military.  When we got back to the base, we drove around the housing area.  There is a second campground (called Osprey Cove) on base.  It is not on the water but cloistered among spreading trees with lots of Spanish moss. It is very lovely and intended for long-term stays.

 2020 Dec 7 (Mon) – We packed up and left Kings Bay Subbase at 11 a.m. It was much later than we normally move out but the drive was only an hour to the next campground.  We ran out to the post office before we left so I could mail another registered letter to a lawyer used to sell Travis & Sam’s house. We’ve had serious issues with him and have had to make a formal complaint to the Judicial Review Board.

     We arrived at Mayport Naval Station, Pelican Roost RV Park a little after noon.  They gave us the option of choosing one of several sites.  We elected to take a space at the end of the aisle on a curve. We can get a somewhat obscure look at the ocean.  We stayed here last December.  The ships sail right past the campground on their way out of and into the port.  They blow their horns to say hello and goodbye.

     We went out to the bank to get a paper notarized. I was cruising around the internet and put in Unclaimed Funds in New York State.  Surprise, surprise!  My mother’s name came up.  The website doesn’t tell how much is owed, just there is some money due.  I printed out the form and filled in the required information.  I will mail it out tomorrow.

[beechroof80-blog]

Gluten-Free Chocolate Black Sesame Cake with Matcha Mascarpone

This deep dark gluten-free chocolate black sesame cake is so moist that it’s almost gooey in texture – just on the very edge of lava cake – while still cake-like and tender. Nutty whipped matcha mascarpone cuts the inky black richness of the cake while pairing with the smoky notes of the ground black sesame seeds. A chocolate cake made for grown-ups adapted from A Common Table: 80 Recipes & Stories from My Shared Cultures.

Since she started helping me in the kitchen more regularly, I’ve been joking that the first time Zoella bakes at a friend’s house, she’s going to wonder why they only measure one flour. Baking with at least three different gluten-free flours is the norm for her, though I’m not sure she knows why yet. She does, however, know that I can’t eat gluten, whatever that means to her.

In the car yesterday, Zoella (3) said completely out of the blue, “you need to try gluten-free, mama.” She repeated slowly, “glue-TEN free.”

Impressed by her vocabulary and that she remembered that fact, I agreed, “Yes, you’re right. I can’t eat gluten.���

“NO, Mama, you have to try gluten-free before you say you don’t like it.” Ha! Look at her throwing my philosophy on new foods (ahem vegetables) back in my face. 

I have tried it. For years, and for years I had chronic migraines. So, I can’t eat it. Like it? Sure, it’s delicious! Like, you’ve eaten cake before, right? I’ve never met a cake didn’t like (except for that one time my mom put shredded sweetened coconut “grass” all over my 5th birthday cake – I’m not going to let her forget).

When I saw this chocolate black sesame loaf cake in my friend Cynthia’s new book, I needed a slice. And I immediately got to work making a gluten-free version so I wouldn’t miss out. 

A Common Table Cookbook

I’ve been a long fan of Cynthia’s work through her blog Two Red Bowls. The way she cooks, and weaves her stories and beautiful photographs through her cooking, moves me to want to make every single recipe she produces. Somehow, in my eyes, she does it all – a grown up lawyer, mother of two kids under 3(!!), award-winning food blogger, and now cookbook author. Goals. 

When her cookbook A Common Table arrived on my doorstep, I leafed through it at least a dozen times, bookmarking all the recipes I couldn’t wait to try. In her debut cookbook, Cynthia chronicles the varied cultures that have influenced her family – her, Chinese girl from South Carolina, and her husband, a Korean Irish boy who grew up in Hawaii. All of that family history tied together with the foods from places they’ve lived and traveled in getting to where they are now. The result is a collection of recipes that bridge these cultural distances in a mash-up of American and Asian flavors. 

A few recipe that I’ve got my eye on next:

Black Sesame-Stuffed French Toast

Buttermilk Mochi Pancakes

Sesame-Miso Potato Salad

Sweet Sesame Skillet Cornbread

Asian Pear & Jasmine Crumble

Honeydew Bubble Tea

While the book has many naturally gluten-free friendly recipes (like a peanut butter mochi cake!!), I couldn’t stop thinking about this black sesame chocolate loaf cake. I’ve taken her recipe and adapted it with gluten-free flours, a bit of salt to draw out the flavors of the gluten-free flours, and a matcha whipped mascarpone on top. This is my new favorite grown up chocolate cake. 

How to make black sesame powder

This black sesame cake uses ground up toasted black sesame powder to infuse the chocolate notes with smoky nutty black sesame flavor. To make black sesame powder, you first need toasted black sesame seeds. Either buy them pre-toasted like me, or toast them yourself on the stove top. Then grind the toasted black sesame seeds in a food processor until it becomes a fine powder. If you don’t have a food processor, a coffee grinder will work too! 

Black Sesame Chocolate Loaf Cake

Combining black sesame powder with melted bittersweet chocolate and molasses-laden brown sugar makes a cake that’s all at once rich in deep chocolate notes with an underlying nutty smokiness that makes you wonder what it is. Black sesame and dark chocolate both offer a pleasant bitterness that make them a surprisingly natural duo. In the version made with 1/2 cup of black sesame seeds, the cake it undeniably rich in chocolate flavor with a hint of black sesame’s savory super-nuttiness. 

When you pour this cake batter into the pan, it’s liquid and runny. Almost like coffee. You’ll think you’ve done something wrong and wonder how it can possibly bake into a cake. Almost like magic, it does.

This chocolate black sesame cake is ultra-moist and, as Cynthia calls it, “squidgy” – on the verge gooey – with a dense jet black center. Yet still,  it has cake-like structure and tender crumb. Almost like a brownie and a cake mash-up. Pillows of soft matcha whipped mascarpone offer a soft contrast to the chewy cake. 

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe

I have a classic chocolate cake recipe here on my blog – posted both as a layer cake and as cupcakes. It’s my go-to back pocket recipe that I make again and again and again. 

This black sesame infused gluten-free chocolate loaf cake recipe offers something very different. Something luscious. Both in texture and flavor, this isn’t your like a birthday party chocolate sheet cake or a standard chocolate loaf. This is a grown up chocolate loaf cake with deep smoky chocolate flavor. 

What if you don’t love black sesame dessert?

Rest assured, with 4 ounces of melted bittersweet chocolate folded into the batter, at its core with just 1/2 cup black sesame seeds, this is a chocolate-forward cake with black sesame in the offering subtle flavor notes. My husband, who is not a fan of black sesame dessert, actually loves this rendition of the cake. 

For those who love black sesame desserts (me), increasing the black sesame seeds to 3/4 cup at Cynthia’s recommendation, will bring the black sesame notes forward. This is how *I* prefer the cake. 

Charge ahead with your preference in mind!

Matcha March: Matcha Whipped Mascarpone

Because it’s still Matcha March, I’ve added matcha to the whipped mascarpone. Matcha’s sweet nuttiness is a natural partner for both black sesame and chocolate. As a trio, their flavors are harmonious together. 

Here are a few of my favorite matcha black sesame combos:

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

This deep dark gluten-free chocolate black sesame cake is so moist that it's almost gooey in texture - just on the very edge of lava cake - while still cake-like and tender. Nutty whipped matcha mascarpone cuts the inky black richness of the cake while pairing with the smoky notes of the ground black sesame seeds. A chocolate cake made for grown-ups.

Ingredients

Matcha Whipped Mascarpone

Instructions

Gluten-Free Chocolate Black Sesame Loaf Cake

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease and line a tall, 9 × 5-inch Pullman-style loaf pan with parchment paper. A regular height loaf pan may overflow—if this is all you have, take care to fill the pan less than 1 inch from the rim, and save the excess for muffins or mini cakes. Note: I used a regular 9x5 loaf pan here and was able to still use all the batter)

If using untoasted black sesame seeds, toast the black sesame seeds over medium heat in a small dry skillet until a few seeds jump in the pan and they start to smell toasty (but not burnt!), 2 to 3 minutes. Place the toasted black sesame seeds in a food processor and blend until a finely ground powder forms, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together, the sweet rice flour, oat flour, millet flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate, either in the microwave in 15 to 30 second increments, stirring between each interval, until fully melted and smooth, or over a double broiler for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Once the chocolate is melted, set aside and let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, and black sesame seed powder until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes with an electric mixer on medium speed or 3 to 4 minutes by hand. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well. Fold in the melted chocolate until just incorporated.

Alternate folding in the flour mixture and the hot water (or coffee), 1/4 of the flour/water at a time, until the batter becomes smooth and liquid.

Pour the batter into the lined loaf pan, taking care not to fill the pan higher than 1 inch from the rim. 

Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325°F and continue to bake for about 30-40 minutes more minutes until it springs back when touched (Note: Cynthia's non gluten-free version bakes up in about 15-20 minutes less time on the second bake). The cake should still be relatively moist in the center, and a skewer or cake tester should not come out completely clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely before turning the cake out onto a plate. The cake may fall; this is normal, as it is so moist. Enjoy topped with matcha whipped mascarpone (below), whipped cream, or ice cream, if desired. The cake tastes even better on the second day.

Matcha Whipped Mascarpone

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine the cream, mascarpone, salt. Whip on medium-high until the mixture begins to thicken.

Add the sifted sugar and matcha powder and continue whipping until soft thick peaks form.

Notes

*I used toasted black sesame seeds to skip the step of pan toasting them. For a stronger black sesame flavor, use ¾ cup black sesame seeds. I've made it both ways and love it equally as much. the 1/2 cup is great for a chocolate-forward cake with a hint of black sesame and perfect for folks who may not be big black sesame lovers. The 3/4 cup version has a stronger black sesame forward flavor that's great if you're a black sesame lover like me!

Adapted, with permission, from A Common Table: 80 Recipes & Stories from My Shared Cultures.

Source: https://www.snixykitchen.com/gluten-free-chocolate-black-sesame-cake/

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New Post has been published on https://travelonlinetips.com/a-kingaroy-and-south-burnett-food-and-wine-adventure/

A Kingaroy and South Burnett food and wine adventure

Pack an overnight bag and jump in the car. It’s time to head off for a weekend road trip to Kingaroy and the South Burnett to check out the food and wine scene this region has to offer.

A burgeoning locavore movement means produce is often local, organic and super fresh. And you’ll find a few surprises too!

Here are 8 foodie stops to add to your itinerary.

STOP 1

Kai Lounge – Moore

One-and-a-half hours drive from Brisbane, the tiny town of Moore seems an unlikely spot to find excellent coffee, but the lime-green Kai Lounge is your must-stop caffeination station. A bicycle with succulent-laden wheels greets you at the entrance and sets the tone for the eclectic retro vibe inside, but it’s the coffee that’s the attraction here.

Ex-Melbournite Ally brought her extensive hospitality experience to Moore ten years ago, after months of looking for the prefect spot to open her unique business. She exclusively serves Yowie coffee beans from neighbouring Kilcoy, freshly roasted every week, and homemade cakes and slices, just like mum used to make.

While you’re there: A stay at Montrose on Moore B&B just up the road means you can see Kai Lounge by night when it transforms into a funky, dimly lit bar with live music on the deck most weekends.

STOP 2

Blackbutt Bakery

Pull up at the busy Blackbutt Bakery for one of their famous pies. If the Big Mack Pie doesn’t grab you – two all-beef patties, special sauce, cheese, onions, pickles in a sesame seed pie – try a Roo Ragu (kangaroo fillet in shiraz gravy), Jack’s Ribs (pork spare ribs in a Jack Daniel’s-infused sauce) or a more traditional lamb and rosemary pie.

These guys are masters of new flavour combos so check out the dessert cabinet before you head off. Old favourites sit side by side with goodies like decadent cappuccino and French Vanilla Golden Gaytime slice!

While you’re there: Wander through the Roy Emerson Museum, a slice of Australian sporting history celebrating the tennis legend.

STOP 3

The Maidenwell Trading Post

Take the turn-off at Yarraman and head up to Maidenwell. The Trading Post is home to The Sauce Man offering a range of 230 products from fruit cordials, jams and preserves to off-the-scale chilli sauces.

Try their bacon jam – a surprise hit made especially for Kingaroy’s bacon festival in August – with soft cheese on a cracker, or maybe their caramel banana jam on toast for brekkie. And pick up some creamy black garlic before you go.

While you’re there: Coomba Falls waterhole is a short drive from Maidenwell and is a pretty spot for a picnic and photos.

STOP 4

Shackleton’s Whisky Bar

There’s a reward at the end of the winding, tree-lined road to Dandabah at the Bunya Mountains. Sure, you can get a great coffee and a meal up here, but Shackleton’s Whisky Bar is the place to be, especially in cooler months.

Order a tasting board from the 116 whiskies available and cosy up in front of the indoor or outdoor fireplaces.

While you’re there: For a DIY digital detox, turn off the tech, go walking in this sub-tropical rainforest and stay overnight in one of the cute cottages set amongst bunya pines and friendly wallabies.

STOP 5

Kingsley Grove Estate

Heading toward Kingaroy, pop into Kingsley Grove for Queensland-style wines and wood-fired pizza. The growing trend for Queensland wineries to produce wine best suited to the climate and conditions of the region is seeing a surge in Mediterranean styles, often lighter and younger wines. Think tempranillo, sangiovese, verdelho or viognier – classic Italian and French styles.

Just don’t leave without trying their wine ice-cream, made in partnership with Brisbane’s Lick! Ice Cream with flavours like Fat Fox Port with Dark Chocolate or Verdelho and Lemon Sorbet.

While you’re there: Caravanners can camp onsite among the vines or stay down the road at the beautiful heritage-listed Taabinga Station homestay.

STOP 6

The Peanut Van, Kingaroy

Peanuts have been grown around Kingaroy for over 100 years, its fertile red volcanic soil perfect for the crop, which was first planted by Chinese settlers for their own use.

Celebrating its 50th birthday in 2019, the iconic Peanut Van is offering 12 new flavours this year. Taste-test them along with old favourites like honey ginger, maple bacon or angry taco.

We think they should come with a warning: Danger! Addictive products for sale. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

While you’re there: Grab a map from the Visitor Information Centre and head to Mt Wooroolin lookout for some amazing views or borrow a bike and cycle the rail trail.

STOP 7

Prendergast’s Irish Tavern

Local produce and hearty Irish dishes feature on the menu at this tavern, part of the rustic Dusty Hill Winery village in the Moffatdale area.

Their homemade bacon-topped pork and apple sausages with mash and gravy will set you up for an afternoon tipple with friends on the verandah, watching ducks waddle across the lawns to a serene pond.

While you’re there: Designate a driver (scissors, paper, rock anyone?) and follow the compact Moffatdale wine trail for tastings and rolling views.

STOP 8

The Goomeri Bakery

This pretty little town boasts its very own French patisserie-style bakery, after their baker spent three months in France learning the tips and tricks of the perfect pastries and bread. Popular choices are flaky, buttery croissants and the chocolate pear danish. You can buy fresh sour dough loaves and pies and savoury slices as well.

On weekends it’s a popular spot for cyclists and day-trippers, so get there early to find a seat in the outdoor courtyard next to the shop.

While You’re there: Kinbombi Falls are a 10-minute drive from Goomeri and easily accessible. Natural rock pools are surrounded by steep stone walls – great for a dip in the summer months.

Have you explored the South Burnett region yet? Any other foodie finds to share?

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50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators 

http://bit.ly/2Eq5KzI

Cataloged in Holidays

50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators 

January Nelson Updated December 11, 2018

If you still haven’t finished your holiday shopping, you should think about buying these last-minute gifts suggested by Ask Reddit.

1. Mason jar + equal parts granulated sugar and veg oil + either a few drops of essential oil OR some lemon zest OR vanilla extract = boutique grade body scrub.

2. Buy tickets online for a upcoming play, dinner & show, concert, game, etc. Print out page of ticket confirmation and put it in a nice Christmas card envelope. It’s an awesome gift because people tend to love it more than clothing or other junk you usually give. And if you’re parents are like mine, they barely take the initiative to go to these type of events themselves or don’t even know about them. Experience > material goods.

3. Run to the grocery store, pick up chocolate morsels, butter, and cream.

Takes about five hours to make 200 chocolate truffles. Easy to make them different flavors as well. (Orange, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and Cinnamon Honey are the good with milk chocolate. Peppermint, Khalua, and Matcha are good with dark chocolate. Peppermint and matcha are fantastic with white chocolate.)

4. At least for men, my go-to is always a beard or personal grooming kit. It’s likely something that they wouldn’t buy themselves, and many haven’t felt the exhilaration of a peppermint shampoo. Men deserve a little pampering and self care too!

5. I think mugs make a good last minute gift because they’re available at most stores, pretty cheap for a gift, and will actually be used by the recipient.

6. Socks. High-end, badass, toasty warm (if you live where it gets cold) socks. Smartwool/Darn Tough/etc.. They may “meh” at it early on, but will thank you later. Maybe even very later, but it’ll be appreciated (a lot) eventually.

7. Most people I know don’t have bluetooth hook ups in their car, FM Transmitters are absolutely fantastic, they’re relatively cheap and life changers for folks that like to listen to music while driving, Probably $15 and under.

One of those copper chef/gotham steel type skillets. They’re fantastic, less than $20, endless use.

8. Cookie/brownie mix in a mason jar with instructions on a card and a bow.

Or a visa gift card.

9. Fancy pasta, fancy jarred sauce, nice block of parm cheese, in a serving bowl with a kitchen towel. You can do this as expensively or as cheaply as you want.

I also loved a book called The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee (basically, a woman exploring Chinese food in the USA as well as her own Chinese roots, and the history of fortune cookies… really fascinating). She talks a lot about soy sauce in that book, so I’ve given that book with a bottle of “real” soy sauce many times. I love sharing things I love with other people, so that’s a gift I love to give.

10. Subscription box. Like coffee? Subscription box. Board games? Subscription box. Make up? Subscription box. Ties or socks or yarn or hot sauce or tea or beer or wine or Japanese candy or marvel or harry porter or fitness? Subscription mother-fuckin box.

11. Go to the dollar store and grab some over the hand oven mitts, then head to the grocery store and get cake & brownie mixes, hand write the baking directions on a decorated index card or slip of paper. Personalize each one with a message or somesuch. Bam.

12. If it’s someone you’re fairly close to, print out a photo of the two of you and put it in a frame. It feels thoughtful, but can also be done in less than an hour and is cheap.

13. Depends how well I know them, or if I’ve used the same trick before – but it’s probably a cast iron skillet. Costs $20 for a good one (rhymes with dodge), and I always get thanked for it, like a year later.

14. Aldi.

A million calories of chocolate for about twenty quid.

Enough to distribute to everyone.

15. Here is what I do every year.

I go buy gift certificates for my favorite restaurants, and gift cards from Best Buy. I then put them in Christmas cards with no name on them.

I keep some in the house and some in my car.

If someone gives me a gift, I say “Wait a minute, I have something for you too” and go get the card. I quickly write their name on it and hand it to them.

Its worked out perfectly for me for years. I give everyone that gives me something, and if I end up with extra gift certificates or gift cards, I just use them on myself.

16. I make them an elaborate Christmas card with an etymology of their name. It’s always a hit and has more meaning than a gift card.

17. Good pair of headphones.

18. I make very good gingerbread cookies and decorate them very elaborately, like I’ll draw a portrait of them in frosting or I draw a cartoon character they like. Im pretty good at it.

19. Chia pet. So many varieties. ‘Ironic’ gift for those recipients, awesome gift for the others.

Either way you are a hero!

20. Those soft-ass blankets you find in any store around Christmas time. And then I buy one more for me. Every goddamn year

21. For girls: anything from Anthropologie. They have a great gifts and the quality/craftsmanship is decent. That and they gift wrap beautifully for free! I use this for last minute birthday gifts quite often and it always impresses.

For guy: gift cards or booze. Guys appreciate utility.

22. Nail place… Women will go wild over a free mani-pedi.

23. A bottle of their favorite spirits, or for non-drinkers/kids, a book.

24. BOOKS!

There is a book on literally any topic ever.

Fan of Formula 1? Book.

Fan of Jujitsu? Book.

Like economic news? Book.

Porn? Book.

Lonely? Book.

Want to improve yourself? Book.

And you can get books everywhere. Online, in store, thrift stores, little free libraries, everywhere.

25. Houseplants!

I usually have lots of spiderplant babies and keep a few small pots on hand. Great for all occasions.

26. Those Hickory Farms meat and cheese gift boxes.

27. For a family – Get a tin bucket of gourmet holiday popcorn (caramel / chocolate flavored popcorn) to share.

For a dude – Get a bottle of fancy champagne or other booze like whisky or bourbon.

For anyone younger than 30 – Get an Amazon gift card.

For a kid – Give them a $50 dollar bill. They likely never handle money and if they do, the $50 looks so much better than the $20. Easy way to become the cool uncle.

For a girl – Get them a gift certificate to a local salon, a big blanket, or fun warm socks (not regular socks but those nicer holiday woven socks).

For your mom – Get her an ornament that has sentimental value, or, go to the mall (who does that anymore) and get them to hand paint an ornament on the spot with the family name & year on it.

For your dad – Get him NFL or NBA tickets.

28. Things that are consumable… everyone has way too many junk trinkets just because someone felt they had to buy something.

Ground coffee from a local coffee shop (if you know the person has a grinder, get whole bean, but not everyone does). They usually have fun Christmas flavors this time of year.

A bottle of dry wine or champagne.

Nice candles (go for ones that are soy based and have lids) or liquid hand soap.

29. Who wants lottery tickets?!?!?!

30. If we’re talking non-money gifts you know what’s a great go to? TJ Maxx. They are just a hodgepodge of random stuff and they have bailed me out so much when it comes to gift giving because with all the things they have you are bound to find something for everyone.

31. Home made egg nog, Irish cream, or Kahlúa. Most people will love one of the three, they are easy to make, made by hand, affordable, and our gifts that go away.

32. I’d bake a bunch of stuff or make fancy looking caramel apples. If I give people food, they seem to be satisfied.

33. I’ll do a blanket/candle/bottle of wine/nice beer and fudge,

OR a movie/board game and stop by the dollar store for a shower caddy, fill it with popcorn, movie candies, etc if it’s for a family. Do a caddy and filler per family member.

34. Starbucks gift card. Everyone loves Starbucks.

35. Lego. Lego for the nephew, lego for dad, lego for mom, lego for granny, lego for EVERYONE!

36. Spicery subscription for three months. Print out the confirmation and chuck it in an envelope. I’ve gifted this twice and both recipients said that they never wanted any other present from me – just for that subscription to repeat.

37. If it’s last minute, I tried to go to a clothing store I know they have clothes from. Throughout the year I’ll ask “bro, nice jacket, where’d you get it?” Then I remember their spot and get them a gift card.

Then to cover my ass cause some people are weird about gift cards I say “I saw a _____ while shopping but I couldn’t remember your size/didn’t know what color you’d like/etc.”

38. Magazine subscriptions. The New Yorker. Times Literary Supplement. New Scientist. Private Eye. Done them all.

39. Mom – Candles and epsom salts.

Brother – Steam/eShop card, or go to a second hand store and find a game I think he’d like.

Dad – Itunes Gift Card or some kind of sports paraphernalia.

Girlfriend – something that reminds me of her, or that I think she’d love (last Christmas it was a pair of socks that said ,”I’m a delicate fucking flower”).

40. I buy ten copies of the best book I’ve read all year and wrap em in newspaper.

Proof of success: I do this every year

41. A brick of batteries. Everybody needs batteries, nobody will say no to batteries, and they will think of you when they are in a pinch and realize you got them a BRICK of batteries.

Great practical gift.

42. Throw blankets from the 24-hour drugstore. They’re $15 and nice enough that I use them myself. This is also my go-to for any gift swap at the office/with people I don’t know super well.

43. Pictures! Take a picture of something the receiver will like, or find one you might already have, throw it in a cheap frame and WABANG

44. Go to CVS and get a gift card (they have Amazon, iTunes, random others). Swing buy a restaurant and grab a gift card for that place. Last ditch, don’t have time to get a hard copy of a gift card- just buy one online that you can email.

45. Luxury kitchen stuff.

There’s a great kitchen & dinnerware shop within walking distance of my home. I can get pretty dinnerware, flatware, glasses and linens in a range of styles, and they have durable, high quality cookware for the more practically minded people. It’s my go to gift-shop, because everyone eats.

46. Lava Lamp!

No one has one.

They’re 20$

Oh, and it’s neat.

47. I’d bring them all to a restaurant and pay for their meal-> easy way to make a party and present at the same time without having to worry about what to buy them since they can order themselves what they want

48. Pharmacies always have cheap last minute crap like travel manicure kits and hot sauce samplers.

49. You get a box of chocolate! You get a box of chocolate! And you get a box of chocolate! Everyone gets a box of chocolate!!!

50. Cash, candy, and/or alcohol.

0

Image Credit: Anthony Tran

is cataloged in Last Minute Gifts, Presents

What if kindness was cool?

What if you could live a life that would make YOU jealous? What if you could make just one person’s day better with a few simple words of encouragement?  is a book of inspirational words that will keep you fighting and ask you never to give up on life, yourself, or others. Open a page to start your day, frame a page that inspires you to keep living, share a page with a friend who needs support, or leave one behind for a complete stranger to brighten their day.

Join The Kindness Revolution

Source: http://allofbeer.com/50-thoughtful-last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-procrastinators/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/04/22/50-thoughtful-last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-procrastinators/

[adambstingus]

50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators 

http://bit.ly/2Eq5KzI

Cataloged in Holidays

50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators 

January Nelson Updated December 11, 2018

If you still haven’t finished your holiday shopping, you should think about buying these last-minute gifts suggested by Ask Reddit.

1. Mason jar + equal parts granulated sugar and veg oil + either a few drops of essential oil OR some lemon zest OR vanilla extract = boutique grade body scrub.

2. Buy tickets online for a upcoming play, dinner & show, concert, game, etc. Print out page of ticket confirmation and put it in a nice Christmas card envelope. It’s an awesome gift because people tend to love it more than clothing or other junk you usually give. And if you’re parents are like mine, they barely take the initiative to go to these type of events themselves or don’t even know about them. Experience > material goods.

3. Run to the grocery store, pick up chocolate morsels, butter, and cream.

Takes about five hours to make 200 chocolate truffles. Easy to make them different flavors as well. (Orange, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and Cinnamon Honey are the good with milk chocolate. Peppermint, Khalua, and Matcha are good with dark chocolate. Peppermint and matcha are fantastic with white chocolate.)

4. At least for men, my go-to is always a beard or personal grooming kit. It’s likely something that they wouldn’t buy themselves, and many haven’t felt the exhilaration of a peppermint shampoo. Men deserve a little pampering and self care too!

5. I think mugs make a good last minute gift because they’re available at most stores, pretty cheap for a gift, and will actually be used by the recipient.

6. Socks. High-end, badass, toasty warm (if you live where it gets cold) socks. Smartwool/Darn Tough/etc.. They may “meh” at it early on, but will thank you later. Maybe even very later, but it’ll be appreciated (a lot) eventually.

7. Most people I know don’t have bluetooth hook ups in their car, FM Transmitters are absolutely fantastic, they’re relatively cheap and life changers for folks that like to listen to music while driving, Probably $15 and under.

One of those copper chef/gotham steel type skillets. They’re fantastic, less than $20, endless use.

8. Cookie/brownie mix in a mason jar with instructions on a card and a bow.

Or a visa gift card.

9. Fancy pasta, fancy jarred sauce, nice block of parm cheese, in a serving bowl with a kitchen towel. You can do this as expensively or as cheaply as you want.

I also loved a book called The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee (basically, a woman exploring Chinese food in the USA as well as her own Chinese roots, and the history of fortune cookies… really fascinating). She talks a lot about soy sauce in that book, so I’ve given that book with a bottle of “real” soy sauce many times. I love sharing things I love with other people, so that’s a gift I love to give.

10. Subscription box. Like coffee? Subscription box. Board games? Subscription box. Make up? Subscription box. Ties or socks or yarn or hot sauce or tea or beer or wine or Japanese candy or marvel or harry porter or fitness? Subscription mother-fuckin box.

11. Go to the dollar store and grab some over the hand oven mitts, then head to the grocery store and get cake & brownie mixes, hand write the baking directions on a decorated index card or slip of paper. Personalize each one with a message or somesuch. Bam.

12. If it’s someone you’re fairly close to, print out a photo of the two of you and put it in a frame. It feels thoughtful, but can also be done in less than an hour and is cheap.

13. Depends how well I know them, or if I’ve used the same trick before – but it’s probably a cast iron skillet. Costs $20 for a good one (rhymes with dodge), and I always get thanked for it, like a year later.

14. Aldi.

A million calories of chocolate for about twenty quid.

Enough to distribute to everyone.

15. Here is what I do every year.

I go buy gift certificates for my favorite restaurants, and gift cards from Best Buy. I then put them in Christmas cards with no name on them.

I keep some in the house and some in my car.

If someone gives me a gift, I say “Wait a minute, I have something for you too” and go get the card. I quickly write their name on it and hand it to them.

Its worked out perfectly for me for years. I give everyone that gives me something, and if I end up with extra gift certificates or gift cards, I just use them on myself.

16. I make them an elaborate Christmas card with an etymology of their name. It’s always a hit and has more meaning than a gift card.

17. Good pair of headphones.

18. I make very good gingerbread cookies and decorate them very elaborately, like I’ll draw a portrait of them in frosting or I draw a cartoon character they like. Im pretty good at it.

19. Chia pet. So many varieties. ‘Ironic’ gift for those recipients, awesome gift for the others.

Either way you are a hero!

20. Those soft-ass blankets you find in any store around Christmas time. And then I buy one more for me. Every goddamn year

21. For girls: anything from Anthropologie. They have a great gifts and the quality/craftsmanship is decent. That and they gift wrap beautifully for free! I use this for last minute birthday gifts quite often and it always impresses.

For guy: gift cards or booze. Guys appreciate utility.

22. Nail place… Women will go wild over a free mani-pedi.

23. A bottle of their favorite spirits, or for non-drinkers/kids, a book.

24. BOOKS!

There is a book on literally any topic ever.

Fan of Formula 1? Book.

Fan of Jujitsu? Book.

Like economic news? Book.

Porn? Book.

Lonely? Book.

Want to improve yourself? Book.

And you can get books everywhere. Online, in store, thrift stores, little free libraries, everywhere.

25. Houseplants!

I usually have lots of spiderplant babies and keep a few small pots on hand. Great for all occasions.

26. Those Hickory Farms meat and cheese gift boxes.

27. For a family – Get a tin bucket of gourmet holiday popcorn (caramel / chocolate flavored popcorn) to share.

For a dude – Get a bottle of fancy champagne or other booze like whisky or bourbon.

For anyone younger than 30 – Get an Amazon gift card.

For a kid – Give them a $50 dollar bill. They likely never handle money and if they do, the $50 looks so much better than the $20. Easy way to become the cool uncle.

For a girl – Get them a gift certificate to a local salon, a big blanket, or fun warm socks (not regular socks but those nicer holiday woven socks).

For your mom – Get her an ornament that has sentimental value, or, go to the mall (who does that anymore) and get them to hand paint an ornament on the spot with the family name & year on it.

For your dad – Get him NFL or NBA tickets.

28. Things that are consumable… everyone has way too many junk trinkets just because someone felt they had to buy something.

Ground coffee from a local coffee shop (if you know the person has a grinder, get whole bean, but not everyone does). They usually have fun Christmas flavors this time of year.

A bottle of dry wine or champagne.

Nice candles (go for ones that are soy based and have lids) or liquid hand soap.

29. Who wants lottery tickets?!?!?!

30. If we’re talking non-money gifts you know what’s a great go to? TJ Maxx. They are just a hodgepodge of random stuff and they have bailed me out so much when it comes to gift giving because with all the things they have you are bound to find something for everyone.

31. Home made egg nog, Irish cream, or Kahlúa. Most people will love one of the three, they are easy to make, made by hand, affordable, and our gifts that go away.

32. I’d bake a bunch of stuff or make fancy looking caramel apples. If I give people food, they seem to be satisfied.

33. I’ll do a blanket/candle/bottle of wine/nice beer and fudge,

OR a movie/board game and stop by the dollar store for a shower caddy, fill it with popcorn, movie candies, etc if it’s for a family. Do a caddy and filler per family member.

34. Starbucks gift card. Everyone loves Starbucks.

35. Lego. Lego for the nephew, lego for dad, lego for mom, lego for granny, lego for EVERYONE!

36. Spicery subscription for three months. Print out the confirmation and chuck it in an envelope. I’ve gifted this twice and both recipients said that they never wanted any other present from me – just for that subscription to repeat.

37. If it’s last minute, I tried to go to a clothing store I know they have clothes from. Throughout the year I’ll ask “bro, nice jacket, where’d you get it?” Then I remember their spot and get them a gift card.

Then to cover my ass cause some people are weird about gift cards I say “I saw a _____ while shopping but I couldn’t remember your size/didn’t know what color you’d like/etc.”

38. Magazine subscriptions. The New Yorker. Times Literary Supplement. New Scientist. Private Eye. Done them all.

39. Mom – Candles and epsom salts.

Brother – Steam/eShop card, or go to a second hand store and find a game I think he’d like.

Dad – Itunes Gift Card or some kind of sports paraphernalia.

Girlfriend – something that reminds me of her, or that I think she’d love (last Christmas it was a pair of socks that said ,”I’m a delicate fucking flower”).

40. I buy ten copies of the best book I’ve read all year and wrap em in newspaper.

Proof of success: I do this every year

41. A brick of batteries. Everybody needs batteries, nobody will say no to batteries, and they will think of you when they are in a pinch and realize you got them a BRICK of batteries.

Great practical gift.

42. Throw blankets from the 24-hour drugstore. They’re $15 and nice enough that I use them myself. This is also my go-to for any gift swap at the office/with people I don’t know super well.

43. Pictures! Take a picture of something the receiver will like, or find one you might already have, throw it in a cheap frame and WABANG

44. Go to CVS and get a gift card (they have Amazon, iTunes, random others). Swing buy a restaurant and grab a gift card for that place. Last ditch, don’t have time to get a hard copy of a gift card- just buy one online that you can email.

45. Luxury kitchen stuff.

There’s a great kitchen & dinnerware shop within walking distance of my home. I can get pretty dinnerware, flatware, glasses and linens in a range of styles, and they have durable, high quality cookware for the more practically minded people. It’s my go to gift-shop, because everyone eats.

46. Lava Lamp!

No one has one.

They’re 20$

Oh, and it’s neat.

47. I’d bring them all to a restaurant and pay for their meal-> easy way to make a party and present at the same time without having to worry about what to buy them since they can order themselves what they want

48. Pharmacies always have cheap last minute crap like travel manicure kits and hot sauce samplers.

49. You get a box of chocolate! You get a box of chocolate! And you get a box of chocolate! Everyone gets a box of chocolate!!!

50. Cash, candy, and/or alcohol.

0

Image Credit: Anthony Tran

is cataloged in Last Minute Gifts, Presents

What if kindness was cool?

What if you could live a life that would make YOU jealous? What if you could make just one person’s day better with a few simple words of encouragement?  is a book of inspirational words that will keep you fighting and ask you never to give up on life, yourself, or others. Open a page to start your day, frame a page that inspires you to keep living, share a page with a friend who needs support, or leave one behind for a complete stranger to brighten their day.

Join The Kindness Revolution

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/50-thoughtful-last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-procrastinators/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/184356935077

[allofbeercom]

50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators 

http://bit.ly/2Eq5KzI

Cataloged in Holidays

50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators 

January Nelson Updated December 11, 2018

If you still haven’t finished your holiday shopping, you should think about buying these last-minute gifts suggested by Ask Reddit.

1. Mason jar + equal parts granulated sugar and veg oil + either a few drops of essential oil OR some lemon zest OR vanilla extract = boutique grade body scrub.

2. Buy tickets online for a upcoming play, dinner & show, concert, game, etc. Print out page of ticket confirmation and put it in a nice Christmas card envelope. It’s an awesome gift because people tend to love it more than clothing or other junk you usually give. And if you’re parents are like mine, they barely take the initiative to go to these type of events themselves or don’t even know about them. Experience > material goods.

3. Run to the grocery store, pick up chocolate morsels, butter, and cream.

Takes about five hours to make 200 chocolate truffles. Easy to make them different flavors as well. (Orange, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and Cinnamon Honey are the good with milk chocolate. Peppermint, Khalua, and Matcha are good with dark chocolate. Peppermint and matcha are fantastic with white chocolate.)

4. At least for men, my go-to is always a beard or personal grooming kit. It’s likely something that they wouldn’t buy themselves, and many haven’t felt the exhilaration of a peppermint shampoo. Men deserve a little pampering and self care too!

5. I think mugs make a good last minute gift because they’re available at most stores, pretty cheap for a gift, and will actually be used by the recipient.

6. Socks. High-end, badass, toasty warm (if you live where it gets cold) socks. Smartwool/Darn Tough/etc.. They may “meh” at it early on, but will thank you later. Maybe even very later, but it’ll be appreciated (a lot) eventually.

7. Most people I know don’t have bluetooth hook ups in their car, FM Transmitters are absolutely fantastic, they’re relatively cheap and life changers for folks that like to listen to music while driving, Probably $15 and under.

One of those copper chef/gotham steel type skillets. They’re fantastic, less than $20, endless use.

8. Cookie/brownie mix in a mason jar with instructions on a card and a bow.

Or a visa gift card.

9. Fancy pasta, fancy jarred sauce, nice block of parm cheese, in a serving bowl with a kitchen towel. You can do this as expensively or as cheaply as you want.

I also loved a book called The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee (basically, a woman exploring Chinese food in the USA as well as her own Chinese roots, and the history of fortune cookies… really fascinating). She talks a lot about soy sauce in that book, so I’ve given that book with a bottle of “real” soy sauce many times. I love sharing things I love with other people, so that’s a gift I love to give.

10. Subscription box. Like coffee? Subscription box. Board games? Subscription box. Make up? Subscription box. Ties or socks or yarn or hot sauce or tea or beer or wine or Japanese candy or marvel or harry porter or fitness? Subscription mother-fuckin box.

11. Go to the dollar store and grab some over the hand oven mitts, then head to the grocery store and get cake & brownie mixes, hand write the baking directions on a decorated index card or slip of paper. Personalize each one with a message or somesuch. Bam.

12. If it’s someone you’re fairly close to, print out a photo of the two of you and put it in a frame. It feels thoughtful, but can also be done in less than an hour and is cheap.

13. Depends how well I know them, or if I’ve used the same trick before – but it’s probably a cast iron skillet. Costs $20 for a good one (rhymes with dodge), and I always get thanked for it, like a year later.

14. Aldi.

A million calories of chocolate for about twenty quid.

Enough to distribute to everyone.

15. Here is what I do every year.

I go buy gift certificates for my favorite restaurants, and gift cards from Best Buy. I then put them in Christmas cards with no name on them.

I keep some in the house and some in my car.

If someone gives me a gift, I say “Wait a minute, I have something for you too” and go get the card. I quickly write their name on it and hand it to them.

Its worked out perfectly for me for years. I give everyone that gives me something, and if I end up with extra gift certificates or gift cards, I just use them on myself.

16. I make them an elaborate Christmas card with an etymology of their name. It’s always a hit and has more meaning than a gift card.

17. Good pair of headphones.

18. I make very good gingerbread cookies and decorate them very elaborately, like I’ll draw a portrait of them in frosting or I draw a cartoon character they like. Im pretty good at it.

19. Chia pet. So many varieties. ‘Ironic’ gift for those recipients, awesome gift for the others.

Either way you are a hero!

20. Those soft-ass blankets you find in any store around Christmas time. And then I buy one more for me. Every goddamn year

21. For girls: anything from Anthropologie. They have a great gifts and the quality/craftsmanship is decent. That and they gift wrap beautifully for free! I use this for last minute birthday gifts quite often and it always impresses.

For guy: gift cards or booze. Guys appreciate utility.

22. Nail place… Women will go wild over a free mani-pedi.

23. A bottle of their favorite spirits, or for non-drinkers/kids, a book.

24. BOOKS!

There is a book on literally any topic ever.

Fan of Formula 1? Book.

Fan of Jujitsu? Book.

Like economic news? Book.

Porn? Book.

Lonely? Book.

Want to improve yourself? Book.

And you can get books everywhere. Online, in store, thrift stores, little free libraries, everywhere.

25. Houseplants!

I usually have lots of spiderplant babies and keep a few small pots on hand. Great for all occasions.

26. Those Hickory Farms meat and cheese gift boxes.

27. For a family – Get a tin bucket of gourmet holiday popcorn (caramel / chocolate flavored popcorn) to share.

For a dude – Get a bottle of fancy champagne or other booze like whisky or bourbon.

For anyone younger than 30 – Get an Amazon gift card.

For a kid – Give them a $50 dollar bill. They likely never handle money and if they do, the $50 looks so much better than the $20. Easy way to become the cool uncle.

For a girl – Get them a gift certificate to a local salon, a big blanket, or fun warm socks (not regular socks but those nicer holiday woven socks).

For your mom – Get her an ornament that has sentimental value, or, go to the mall (who does that anymore) and get them to hand paint an ornament on the spot with the family name & year on it.

For your dad – Get him NFL or NBA tickets.

28. Things that are consumable… everyone has way too many junk trinkets just because someone felt they had to buy something.

Ground coffee from a local coffee shop (if you know the person has a grinder, get whole bean, but not everyone does). They usually have fun Christmas flavors this time of year.

A bottle of dry wine or champagne.

Nice candles (go for ones that are soy based and have lids) or liquid hand soap.

29. Who wants lottery tickets?!?!?!

30. If we’re talking non-money gifts you know what’s a great go to? TJ Maxx. They are just a hodgepodge of random stuff and they have bailed me out so much when it comes to gift giving because with all the things they have you are bound to find something for everyone.

31. Home made egg nog, Irish cream, or Kahlúa. Most people will love one of the three, they are easy to make, made by hand, affordable, and our gifts that go away.

32. I’d bake a bunch of stuff or make fancy looking caramel apples. If I give people food, they seem to be satisfied.

33. I’ll do a blanket/candle/bottle of wine/nice beer and fudge,

OR a movie/board game and stop by the dollar store for a shower caddy, fill it with popcorn, movie candies, etc if it’s for a family. Do a caddy and filler per family member.

34. Starbucks gift card. Everyone loves Starbucks.

35. Lego. Lego for the nephew, lego for dad, lego for mom, lego for granny, lego for EVERYONE!

36. Spicery subscription for three months. Print out the confirmation and chuck it in an envelope. I’ve gifted this twice and both recipients said that they never wanted any other present from me – just for that subscription to repeat.

37. If it’s last minute, I tried to go to a clothing store I know they have clothes from. Throughout the year I’ll ask “bro, nice jacket, where’d you get it?” Then I remember their spot and get them a gift card.

Then to cover my ass cause some people are weird about gift cards I say “I saw a _____ while shopping but I couldn’t remember your size/didn’t know what color you’d like/etc.”

38. Magazine subscriptions. The New Yorker. Times Literary Supplement. New Scientist. Private Eye. Done them all.

39. Mom – Candles and epsom salts.

Brother – Steam/eShop card, or go to a second hand store and find a game I think he’d like.

Dad – Itunes Gift Card or some kind of sports paraphernalia.

Girlfriend – something that reminds me of her, or that I think she’d love (last Christmas it was a pair of socks that said ,”I’m a delicate fucking flower”).

40. I buy ten copies of the best book I’ve read all year and wrap em in newspaper.

Proof of success: I do this every year

41. A brick of batteries. Everybody needs batteries, nobody will say no to batteries, and they will think of you when they are in a pinch and realize you got them a BRICK of batteries.

Great practical gift.

42. Throw blankets from the 24-hour drugstore. They’re $15 and nice enough that I use them myself. This is also my go-to for any gift swap at the office/with people I don’t know super well.

43. Pictures! Take a picture of something the receiver will like, or find one you might already have, throw it in a cheap frame and WABANG

44. Go to CVS and get a gift card (they have Amazon, iTunes, random others). Swing buy a restaurant and grab a gift card for that place. Last ditch, don’t have time to get a hard copy of a gift card- just buy one online that you can email.

45. Luxury kitchen stuff.

There’s a great kitchen & dinnerware shop within walking distance of my home. I can get pretty dinnerware, flatware, glasses and linens in a range of styles, and they have durable, high quality cookware for the more practically minded people. It’s my go to gift-shop, because everyone eats.

46. Lava Lamp!

No one has one.

They’re 20$

Oh, and it’s neat.

47. I’d bring them all to a restaurant and pay for their meal-> easy way to make a party and present at the same time without having to worry about what to buy them since they can order themselves what they want

48. Pharmacies always have cheap last minute crap like travel manicure kits and hot sauce samplers.

49. You get a box of chocolate! You get a box of chocolate! And you get a box of chocolate! Everyone gets a box of chocolate!!!

50. Cash, candy, and/or alcohol.

0

Image Credit: Anthony Tran

is cataloged in Last Minute Gifts, Presents

What if kindness was cool?

What if you could live a life that would make YOU jealous? What if you could make just one person’s day better with a few simple words of encouragement?  is a book of inspirational words that will keep you fighting and ask you never to give up on life, yourself, or others. Open a page to start your day, frame a page that inspires you to keep living, share a page with a friend who needs support, or leave one behind for a complete stranger to brighten their day.

Join The Kindness Revolution

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/50-thoughtful-last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-procrastinators/

[zolganif]

I am 5'1. I am 21 years old. My birthday is less than 3 months away. I am happily engaged to my high school sweetheart. I have been in a relationship for at least 5 years. I own two horses and enjoy riding. I have my motorcycle license. My favorite alcohol is whiskey. I have been on 4 cruises. I have been to Mexico more than once. I have swam with dolphins. I was raised by a single mother. I am currently in college. I am going to grad school. I love The Walking Dead. ^It's really the only thing I watch on TV. Italian food and seafood are my favorite. But I enjoy taking care of myself by eating right and working out. I have lost nearly 50 lbs. I weigh less than 125 lbs. I have green eyes and long brown hair. My dog is a Yorkie. I sleep with a pillow pet. I'm really excited to get married.  I hate writing huge papers. ^And have to write one soon. Christmas and Thanksgiving are my favorite holidays. I'm leaving the country within the next month. I like Tumblr and Xanga more than Facebook. I don't trust people easily, at all. I have one tattoo and want more.  I have my nose pierced. And my belly button pierced. I like to bake. I have had stitches and broken bones before. I wear a necklace that I haven't taken off in years. Tea is my favorite drink. I don't drink coffee. I think iPhones are super overrated.  I get really annoyed with people who eat loudly. I love wearing heels. The higher the better. Fall is my favorite season. I adore fuzzy socks and comfy clothes. I want more Victoria's Secret yoga pants. I would get a boob job if I had the money. I love old muscle cars. I am confident with my looks.  I'm also confident with who I am. My hands are almost always cold. I hate the cold of winter, but think the snow is pretty. I rarely ever eat fast food. Bananas and grapes are my favorite fruit. My nails are always painted. I wear contacts/glasses. I'd rather go to the gyno than the dentist. I love chocolate. I like cheesecake more than any other kind of cake. I don't like living with roommates and can't wait to move back home. I'm generally a laid back person. I really want to take pole dancing lessons, but there are none in my area. I don't care what others think. I don't understand why people try so hard to please others. I think people who talk badly about others/gossip are small minded. I have very few people I'd consider friends. My fiance still buys me flowers on our anniversary. I love bubble baths, but hardly ever take them. I wish I had more money. I'm on the computer more than I watch TV. I like to go tanning in the sun. I can drive a stick shift. I can stack an entire loft of hay alone. I love going mudding/4 wheeling. My fiance wants me to go hunting with him. I prefer shooting pistols over rifles. I am both a girly girl and a tomboy. I think cowboy boots outside of the barn look idiotic. I cannot stand Taylor Swift. I love REAL country music. I can drive a truck and trailer. I miss high school and being a teen. I wish more teens would realize how wonderful teen years can really be. I have never been to a strip club, but would like to go to one. I enjoy bar hopping on occasion. I'm old enough to vote and never have/never want to. My dog is currently sleeping beside me. I have fallen off of a horse more times than I could keep track of. I can't wait to have my own home to decorate. Waking up next to my fiance is one of the greatest things in my life. And so are early morning rides with my horses. I love the smell of lilacs. I am a Yankee Candle whore. I live with a retired Army vet. I am going into the medical field. I adore black and white photos. I think there is a special spot in hell for child and animal abusers. As well as the people who price college text books. I enjoy wearing make up, but hardly do anymore. I have been kissed in the rain. I have been kissed under the stars. I am a winter baby. I always sit in the same chair while taking surveys. I didn't like beer at first, but do now. I have wrecked a car before. ^And a motorcycle. I live on the east coast. I live down a dirt road. My area is very mountainous/hilly. I have not seen/talked to my father in nearly 10 years. I have hit a deer with a car before, on accident. I live in the country and COULD NEVER live in a city. Tom Hardy is my favorite actor. I adore Irish accents. I hate water and snow skiing. I weight lift/strength train. I enjoy longer surveys over shorter ones. I am not religious in any way. I would rather be too hot than too cold. I enjoy days where I do absolutely nothing. Being home alone is so nice. I am not looking forward to getting up early tomorrow.  I'm ready for this semester to be over. I have been to my state's capital. I want to dye my hair soon.  My hair has been everything from blond to black. I have an iPod Nano. ^I've had it for over 5 years. I think sex before marriage is much smarter/more preferable than sex after marriage. I believe that you can have no religion and still be very morally correct. ^In other words, morals don't come from religion.  I absolutely HATE politics, with every cell of my being. Stuffed crust pizza is the best kind of pizza. I want a drawer full of lingerie in the future. I currently own lingerie.  I have at least one designer purse. I can be very materialistic and have no shame in that. One Direction is my guilty pleasure. I think my engagement ring is the most gorgeous thing ever. ^Even more gorgeous than Tiffany rings. My hair is almost always in a bun/ponytail. I almost always wear my seat belt. I think getting drunk/doing drugs for the sake of being "cool" is extremely stupid. I have lived in the same state my entire life. ^But not the same town. I have been to at least 6 concerts. I hate flying and it scares me. I have no problem driving 20+ hours without stopping. I think kitten heels are super ugly.  I adore my Uggs, they keep my feet so warm. I own at least 2 bikinis. I own a monokini. I love wearing dresses. I hate polo shirts. My favorite places to shop are Charlotte Russe and Forever 21. I am a size 4. I hate spiders. I have been on birth control pills since I was 16. I love sitting by the fireplace. When I can't sleep, I lay in bed and listen to my iPod. I went to my high school's junior and senior prom with the man I'm now engaged to. I don't text that much. Watermelon upsets my stomach. I wish I had more of a tan. I have never cut my own hair, not even my bangs. But I have colored my own hair before. I work hard to maintain my body, so I enjoy wearing clothes that show it off. I have had my wisdom teeth removed. I have had adult teeth pulled before.

I had braces for 3 years.

I have received a gag gift as a Christmas gift. I always bake my fiance cupcakes/cake on his birthday/our anniversary/Christmas. The last time I threw up was at the bar, from drinking too much. I have never done drugs and never intend to. I live with three other people. Ben and Jerry's ice cream is the BEST. My bedroom is small, but cozy and I like it.

[gaiatheorist]

Just a spoonful of sugar...

Fakebook- “I’m giving up chocolate for January!”

The Guardian- “You might as well give your baby gin!” (OK, I’ve taken a bit of a liberty with that, but there are LOADS of “Sugar, HUH, what is it good for?” articles.)

Twitter has thrown up the occasional BBC news story, and ‘promoted tweet’ about cakes and such as opposed to signing up for a gym-pass, but I have such a tiny and carefully pruned Twitter, I’m hardly deluged with it.

I don’t like chocolate. Pick your jaw up off the floor, there are humans, and, more specifically human-females, who don’t like chocolate. I’m drawing a distinction between males and females because of the advertising-skew, there’s only really ‘Yorkie’ that’s not pushed at the fantasy-female, who wafts about in a lacy negligee, reading romance novels, and eating chocolate. There IS chocolate in the house, but, by the time I eventually ‘need’ to eat it (Brain injury, combined with historical disordered-eating means I quite frequently forget to eat, chocolate is quick, and calorie-dense.) it will have that weird white ‘bloom’ all over it, and I’ll probably eat something else. I don’t like chocolate, and, despite there having been a MASSIVE box of sweets on my work-desk for years, it was rarely me eating them, they were people-bait, and an emergency stash, for all the times people missed lunch. 

“Children are consuming 9 billion percent of their suggested sugar-intake at breakfast!” Yes, they possibly are, how else are parents expected to wake the little shits up enough to put their shoes on? That BBC/Guardian thought-stream plunged me into un-fond memories, of shop’s-own cornflakes, with white sugar sprinkled on them, and now I’m not sure whether I want to brush my teeth, or shave them. Porridge, always a bit of a bargaining-chip with my grandparents, in that the Scots side told us the Irish/Welsh side were WRONG to put sugar on porridge, instead of salt, and vice-versa. My Irish Grandma used to put sugar on EVERYTHING, half an orange, with sugar on it, strawberries, WITH SUGAR ON. I still technically have all of my teeth, but ALL of my molars are filled. My son doesn’t have a single filling.

Sugar-on-cereal was very much a ‘thing’ when I was a child, but I don’t expect all of the ‘Wheat-bricks’, or ‘Corn-lumps’ or ‘Puffed-rice’ were already loaded, like today’s child-marketed cereals. My child isn’t a child any more, but, even when he was, I didn’t buy much in the way of child-food for him. Oh, apart from when I went back to work when he was four months old, and he wouldn’t take my frozen-and-reheated breast-milk from a bottle, so he ended up on that rancid-smelling ‘banana-flavoured’ follow-on milk from a spouty-beaker if he made the hungry-noise during my four-hour shifts. 

I’m in danger of going off on one about the in-laws here, it’s inevitable. The period that I should have spent ‘bonding’ with my son, although massively hampered by postnatal depression, was completely ruined by their overbearing-caring, by their continual insistence on telling me I was doing-the-Mum all wrong. I have a ‘small frame’, whereas most of them are morbidly obese. I strongly suspect that my ‘frame’ is, in fact, no ‘smaller’ than any of theirs, it’s just that the outside of said ‘frame’ is less padded. (Now bringing myself back from a tangent-thought of wondering whether fat people have the same-sized skeleton as thin ones.) ‘Small frame’, narrow hips, ‘small’ baby. OK, he was 6lb 11oz, against my birth-weight of 5lb 10oz, but I was a month premature, and my mother smoked throughout. Oh no! ‘Small’ baby! He’s fucking fine, he’s a normal-sized adult male now, because I managed to have more control over his dietary intake than the in-laws. 

There was, and I don’t know if there still is, because I haven’t reproduced since 1998, a weirdly obsessive-competitive culture of ensuring your baby ‘gained’. Weekly weigh-ins, which, now I’m not in the strung-out paranoid state of a new mother, I realise could be used to detect intolerance, and failure-to-thrive, but, back then, making sure the little dots stayed ‘on the line’ was given so much priority it was devastating. Couple that with the in-laws over-feeding ‘normal’ possibly being a generational thing, and I can see why Fakebook ‘friends’ who have had babies later in life than I did are STILL being sucked-in to the ‘hungry baby milk’, and putting rusks IN the bottles. We’re not fattening the kids up for market, and, despite it being a bit cold, I don’t think we’re heading for an apocalyptic Ice-age, where only the lardy will survive.

Potentially Pavlovian, isn’t it? If the babies are consistently over-fed, that’s going to have an influence on their appetite, on their expectation, and, if it’s rusks-in-milk, or synthesised, sweetened cow’s milk, that becomes the ‘norm’. I’ll bang my breastfeeding drum, in that THAT is what they are for. I accept that some women struggle, I struggled, I had weeks of crying in the bath, with tits so mis-shapen and engorged they looked like they were stuffed with Lego. They FELT like they were stuffed with Lego. Hot Lego, it was fucking horrible. Breast-feeding isn’t easy, I would have loved it to have been the cathartic-bonding bollocks ‘we’ are led to believe it is, but some of it is just fucking horrible. The way the milk ‘lets down’, stimulating Oxytocin, the ‘happy’ hormone is an incredibly pleasant sensation if you happen to be looking at the contented face of your suckling newborn, knowing you’re giving them all the sustenance they need. It’s fucking shit when it happens in the middle of Tesco, because someone else’s baby cries, though. 

I breast-fed for a year and a day, he had quite a lot of teeth by that last morning feed, the day after his first birthday, but that was my choice, as much as it’s the choice of others NOT to breast-feed, or the choice of that one ‘associate’ on Fakebook who’s still breast-feeding her four-year-old-daughter. The in-laws encouraged me to supplement my breast-milk with formula right from the start. I didn’t. They encouraged me to ‘try a bit of baby-rice’ from about 10 weeks. I didn’t. I did find it odd, that they didn’t want me to go back to ‘having a job’, but were still trying to reduce my son’s dependence on the contents of my bra. They’re feeders. I don’t think they even realise they’re doing it, but they always have. “Have a bit more!” “Have one of these, they’re from Marks and Spencer!” “Have some more cake.” 

They grew up in a different time, where food wasn’t so widely available, but not in the same half-starved by poverty way I did. My eating habits were formed early, by having to choke down plates of gristle in my early years, and dinner more or less going ‘ping’ as I grew older. Food is a necessity, it was never a luxury, or a reward, I can take it or leave it, and I don’t associate a huge lump of cake with ‘pleasure’, or ‘comfort’, it’s just cake, which is a thing I’ll eat if there’s nothing else left, knowing that the stomach-noises will follow. My mother didn’t ‘cook’, she re-heated. The ex’s Step-Mum cooks. She cooks far too much, and it’s mostly bland stodge with no flavour, and very little nutritional content, because her husband, and then her children, and step-children are used to that. One of the step-in-laws is one of those that orders omelette in an Indian restaurant. The sister-in-law with a daughter who would ‘only’ eat plain boiled pasta.

Sweets as a treat, sweets as a reward, sweets to stop the toddler crying. Fuck me, the number of times the ex would buy the kid an ice-cream to ‘cheer up’, rather than exploring why he was upset in the first place. There have been frank discussions with the boy recently, and he’s thrown in “Yeah, Dad just buys me stuff.”, he knows. 

Sugar, though, that’s a weird one. I put brown sugar in my coffee. The kid puts artificial sweetener in his tea. Artificial sweeteners bloat my gut, but so does white sugar, ‘the killer white’. Neither of us really crave sweet things, despite the sugar-on-white-bread crap at the grandparents house. Bread is a bitch for added sugars, and the horrible stuff really upsets my stomach. I ‘can’ eat bread, but I could also eat a lightbulb if I wanted to.

No idea at all where I’m going with this one, other than deflecting from a decidedly non-Mary-Poppins response to the bloke on the Guardian comments section feeling the need to say “My wife did better than you!” to my comment that I didn’t buy-in sugar laden baby-food for the kid, I just mashed whatever we were eating.