I slept until noon today (technically- Steve woke me up at 6 am for breakfast) but I promptly fell back asleep. Had some eggs, scrapple, and fried green tomatoes for breakfast, made a light lunch of a salad, and then had a ribeye, smashed potatoes, corn, sliced tomatoes, and a nice big glass of milk for dessert.
In between I watched the Stand, some other garbage, played a little WoW, and all in all it was a pretty damned good day.
I have noticed that during lockdown, my need for interaction has dropped even more than where it was before. I literally could go days without even talking to someone on the phone anymore. That’s probably not good.
At any rate, Merry Christmas to you all. I’m ready for a new year, new President, new everything.
Cheryl Rofer
jackmac
Merry Christmas to you John!
(From an occasional commenter but avid reader of the site!)
mvr
Merry Christmas back! And also to everyone who reads this!
planetjanet
Merry Christmas, John. I also had a nice quiet day, enjoying my friends by text. Settled in this evening with a nice Malbec and watched a bit of Good Omens. Major Major Major Major got me curious about Terry Pratchett. Finished off with a documentary on Pacific Island rugby, Oceans Apart, which is a story of economic inequality in the sport and the intersection of global politics. Lots to think about.
satby
I took two naps.My naturally introverted self is getting greatly reinforced by this plague year too. I enjoyed a very quiet day at home. Had quick chats or texts with a couple of people, took the dogs out to play in the 10 inches of snow, and mostly read otherwise. Very satisfying day, truth be told.
Punchy
Noon on Xmas? I dont know what screams “no spawns” greater than this.
OT: Lady Lindsey suddenly wants $2K/per. Cant wait to see what M^2 says about this…. :)
randy khan
A-freaking-men!
Joy in FL
I also had a nice quiet day with cats and good food and the prospect of a better year for many of us around the the world.
I hope everyone had their version of a good day.
Kristine
Solo Christmas except for a walk along the lakeshore with friends and pups. I’m another introvert who’s getting reinforced. Even the occasional shopping jaunt aggravates me at times.
Anyway, Merry Christmas ?, John. Looking forward to another year here at the Juice.
NotMax
Phone gets so little use it is basically just one more knickknack to occasionally dust off.
;)
Eljai
Warm holiday wishes to all jackals! I had a zoom call with my family in Missouri. I miss being there with them, especially since they were making pizza.
frosty
Merry Christmas to you too, Cole. We’ve had three days together at my older son’s house in Pittsburgh. The two Millennials are playing Mario on a Nintendo Switch while the two Boomers are reading. It’s been great being together again.
ETA After watching NatLamp’s Christmas Vacation this afternoon. For the first time for all if us!
NotMax
Finally managed to get to sleep around 6:45 a.m. That lasted until just past 7:30.
Tried again about 9:30 and was able to snooze until about 1. Dropped down into the low 50s last night (maybe even the high 40s). Brrr. Time to blow the year’s accumulated dust out of the space heater vents.
And now some bozo in the neighborhood has started setting off fireworks. *sigh
Evap
Merry Christmas to you, John. This blog has been a lifesaver for me this year and I thank you for what you do here.
Emma from FL
Merry Christmas! As a proper Cuban family, we celebrated Christmas Eve. This year, the American menu won, so we had baked ham, creamed mash potatoes, broccoli with Tuscan dressing, and, as a special treat for me, lobster mac and cheese. Just my sister, my BIL, my dad and I. For dessert, Nutella bouche de Noel, which was meant for four but it was so rich, we’ll have leftovers for a while. In fact, that’s what we all had today. Ham sliders and salad for lunch, mac and cheese and mixed fruit for dessert for supper. lots of calls/Trillian/zooms from friends. Quiet except for the guy that thought it was 4th of July and scared the crap out of the neighborhood.
Eric S.
@satby: She hasn’t used them yet but Mom was thrilled with the soaps. I’ll report back when I know more.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
WaterGirl
@Joy in FL: You and your kitty are adorable.
NotMax
Settling in with a mug of coffee with a splash of Sambuca to watch the 2007 BBC serialized Oliver Twist on Prime. Nearly forgot it was in the queue.
Narya
Merry happy everyone, and thank you BlogFather. Cleaned. Made curried salmon. Friend (who quarantined) came over—first time I’ve seen anyone in two weeks. Watched a bunch of Schitts Creek. Love you all…
Yarrow
Merry Christmas. I’m exhausted after days cleaning and organizing, cooking and dealing with family drama. But today was a good day.
A glass of milk for dessert? What even is that?
e julius drivingstorm
@NotMax:
Sporadic fireworks interspersed with heavy rain last night as the cold front moved through Miami. Then prolonged grand finale fireworks started at midnight. What’s up with that? We have cats. We don’t need Christmas fireworks.
Merry Christmas everyone, or Xmas if you prefer.
Brachiator
Merry Christmas, Cole. And happy holidays to the Balloon Juice bunch everywhere.
Lazy day today. Watched Wonder Woman 1984. Enjoyed it, and for now will avoid any details about the movie at all.
I think it is opening in some movie theaters and simultaneously streaming. I love going to the movies. Hell, I love spending money on over-priced buttered popcorn and a hot dog, especially for action movies. But the ease of streaming the first run showing of WW84 suggests that movie theaters as we know them may become a relic of the Before Times.
Also, MGM trying to sell itself for only $5 billion suggests that there may be some major consolidations and shifts within the film industry as it probably moves to becoming an almost totally streaming model.
However it breaks down, we may be looking at an end of an era. Probably not the first big shakeup and transformation as we move beyond this pandemic.
I am going to save the Disney/Pixar Soul for tomorrow, and probably watch Demolition Man next. It is a wacky film with some surprisingly creative touches.
ETA: Saleforce bought Slack for $27.7 billion, an insane amount of money. And probably not worth it. By comparison MGM is a bargain.
eddie blake
happy holidays, everyone. yeah, my christmas has been kinda crappy, broke a bunch of ribs last friday. but we watched rudolph the red-nosed reindeer today and now i have a cat on my lap, so it’s all good.
John Revolta
Who’s this “Cole” guy? He seems very nice. He oughta come around more often.
Whatever. Happy Holidaze to him and the whole damn Jackaltariat!
seefleur
Happy Holidays to all those who lurk and post on this site! Up here in Maine, our weather was most decidedly un-winter – 59 degrees, lots of wind and rain. In spite of that, I’m just so glad that 2020 is nearly over… what a craptastic year it’s been!
Thank you to Mr. Cole for providing me with a little sanity space – otherwise I would have probably ended up losing my cool/job/mind with all the assholery that seems to have infected this country over the last 4+ years.
And thank you to all the smart (ass) people who provide insight and wit to this place.
May your 2021 be filled with unicorns, glitter, chocolate kisses and all the popcorn and drinks (alcoholic or otherwise)… you all deserve it!
Timurid
Merry Christmas, all…
?BillinGlendaleCA
Merry Christmas to John and the rest of the jackals. We had a quiet Christmas here in Glendale since it was just the two of us. The kid stayed away since she’s been treating Covid patients. The wife got Amazon gift cards for me and the kid, except she put the kid’s card in the box for me, added a bit of humor to the evening.
Zelma
Merry Christmas to all. Better late than never, they say. I always wonder who they are.
I had dinner with my cousins who have been pretty careful about everything. It’s only the third time I have broken bread with another person since last March. I wonder if I have become too accustomed to being alone. I’m not at all an introvert so this is not a psychological trait. But I have simply adjusted to solitude and don’t seem to mind it that much.
I have become a more frequent telephone user, which was never one of my favorite things. I’m not real good at it. Well, 2021 has to be better – doesn’t it?
CaseyL
I’m also finding prolonged solitude to be congenial (if I may be forgiven the oxymoron of “congenial solitude”). I have my small circle of friends and near relatives to chat with, and that’s perfectly fine. Watching the ICU and death toll keep climbing exponentially – seems to me that staying alive means staying alone.
I don’t know how I’ll react if normal office life ever resumes. I already kind of resent having to dress in real clothes, put on makeup, and take the bus in, and that’s just one day per week!
ETA: @Brachiator: Yeah! I saw WW84 today, too! As soon as they announced that a lot of first run films would be on HBO Max I signed up. And I loved the movie: laughed, cried, the whole bit. Not your usual superhero movie; more about character – the choices one makes; the prices one pays – than one commonly gets.
Narya
Oh! And we watched Rudolph and the Grinch (original ONLY, thank you).
HRA
Merry Christmas John! We had lasagna and meatballs for dinner. Baklava for dessert. There was no way we could have our usual Christmas this year. Now we are getting our second snow storm after we woke up to the first overnight one today. Merry Christmas to all the Balloon Juicers!
Doc Sardonic
Merry Christmas everyone. I am the most anti-social sociable introverted extrovert you would ever want to meet. This pandemic is really doing a number on me mentally, I really don’t mind the not seeing people part of this, but the social part of me is on life support and I am not sure he is going to make it.
NotMax
Any plans for a holiday weekend B-J Zoom by any chance?
Nelle
I’m fairly analog about some things, so I ordered two calendars, one in Sept, one in Nov. Neither has come. I guess I won’t need them right away as I think 2020 will not end until 11:59 on January 20.
rikyrah
Merry Christmas, Cole and Casa Cole??✨⛄???
WaterGirl
@eddie blake: Very sorry to hear about the broken ribs! Ouch.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: Zooms around New Years is the current plan.
Ilieitz
Finally watched A Christmas Carol that was on FX a couple of years ago. Strange adaption but realistic. Hope everyone had a Happy, Happy
lamh36
Ok…saw 3 new movies today. Wonder Woman 1984, Soul, and Sylvie’s Love. 3 different streaming sites, HBOMax, Disney+, and Amazon prime
If I had to rank them, it’d be
1)Pixar’s Soul
2) Sylvie’s Love are both a must see.
Soul is sooo good. The last 1/2hr or so of it literally had me contemplating the meaning of lie. It was so good.
3)WW:84. I liked it, but I’ll admit I liked the 1st one better. Still looking forward to a 3rd even though I wasn’t completed geeked about this one.
Brachiator
@CaseyL:
I agree that the movie was as much about character as about heroic action.
BTW, I hope you watched the entire movie, including the post credits sequence.
Mary G
Merry Christmas, John and all the jackals, especially the lurkers, who once they decide to say something or send in pictures, are a delight to me. Not doing it is just as good! I like knowing you’re out there reading along.
I spent most of yesterday hiding in my room from the housemates, because I got freaked out by all the shopping they did in person, even though they ordered a lot of presents from Amazon. The description of the crowds at the Northgate Market, a large chain of Mexican grocery stores, was particularly terrifying. Everyone had masks on, but they weren’t doing any crowd control and it was packed with long backups for the checkout lines, 100% open, going all the way up some of the aisles, cheek by jowl with shoppers trying to grab things.
California is now the #1 OVID hotspot in the nation, so I became convinced that they caught it and have stayed in my room with the HEPA air filter machine running most of the time. I have been so paranoid that I have not even had a slice of the chocolate chocolate cake purchased especially for my birthday yesterday. They have gone to bed early, so I came out, opened the windows on both sides of the house, and turned the fan on to replace the air, bundled up in my flannel nightgown, fleece hoodie, faux fur throw, and scarf. For you Easterners’ amusement, it is 55 degrees out now. I am a delicate hot house orchid.
I had a Christmas miracle. Wednesday I had my audiobook running on my phone when it suddenly stopped and started rebooting. I didn’t think much of it until it rebooted over and over and over and over and over again. Evidently this is called a “boot loop.” I tried every remedy I could find on the internets to fix it without success.
Yesterday I gave up and tried to order a new one, but Tracfone refused all my credit cards (there is plenty of balance on them) which they always do because a human has to credit the new phone with the old phone’s balances (I pay for a year in advance). The wait for a human was so long and I felt so guilty about making someone work on Christmas Eve/Christmas. I decided to wait until Saturday and proved to myself I could live without it, and started streaming the Queen’s Gambit on Netflix.
This morning I convinced it to open download recovery, whatever that is, by holding the three buttons down at once. It wouldn’t go any further than the starting screen of whatever that is, so I just left it to its own devices all day, came out and charged it and voila! Working fine with all my contacts, calendar entries, and game balances intact.
Off to eat cake! Merry Winter Holidays, everybody.
Gravenstone
@Brachiator: Streaming isn’t going to be a viable alternative in the regions of the country where true broadband is still a dream. I expect those areas at least to retain some theaters. Whether Hollywood will continue to release actual movies to them is another question.
Ms. Deranged in AZ
I love reading the accounts of everyone’s day! And I too have had my introversion reinforced to a great degree. In fact, it’s been an eye opener. I never realized just how introverted I really am and what that has cost me in my life until now. Going back into an office is going to be difficult.
Had a lovely day with the kids. Had bacon with breakfast, a rare treat. Opened presents, which was sparse this year but try understand why. Spent time playing various new games with my ten year old. Had a nap. Cooked a small roast that we ate watching the end of season 1 Avatar. Then after the 10 year old let for dads, I watched the new Wonder Woman with my 17 yr old. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Now off to bed.
Wishing the best to you all and much gratitude to the John, the blog father, and all the talented writers here at BJ.
smike
@Yarrow:
Got this from a reliable source: “No, that is not a thing.”
Redshift
Happy holiday of your choice to everyone!
I had an extended family zoom call in the late morning which was quite pleasant. It went for an hour and didn’t seem too long. Then we went over to my parents for dessert. (They’d invited us for dinner, but I didn’t think that was advisable, although I’ve had some contact with them.)
All in all, as good a day as is possible under the circumstances, and much to look forward to in the new year.
smike
@eddie blake:
Broke a bunch of ribs? OUCH!
I saw a guy on tv today who did that not long ago, so don’t worry. You’ll be out throwing a football in no time.
eddie blake
@smike:
yeah. four of them. it’s not too bad, it only REALLY hurts when i cough or try to take a deep breath. definitely limits my range of motion. very humbling
eta- our fridge died today, too. “it never rains, but it pours.”
ellie
Merry Christmas from Broomfield, CO! I slept until 11:30 am and then my husband and I camped on the couch watching White Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Home Alone. Right now we are binge-watching The X-Files. We opened all of our presents earlier in the week. For dinner, I made a whole chicken in an oven bag with scalloped potatoes, gravy, and broccoli. It was very laid back and very us. We live very far away from family at the moment, but thanks to the work from home revolution, are looking to move closer to our families next year. God willing and the creek don’t rise.
Jim Appleton
Not seeing a lot of recognition for John’s ultimate point — how we’re doing.
Yes, bless us.
But who’s not hurting?
smike
@eddie blake:
Yep, and just getting out of bed can be an adventure.
mrmoshpotato
As it should be.
ellie
@Jim Appleton: I am not a regular contributor and, like a lot of people who comment on this blog, am an introvert. This extended pandemic lockdown madness is getting to me, and in the before-times would go days without talking to anyone. But having it forced on me? I feel like I am playing a waiting game and will be very thankful when it is over. So, doing ok-ish but wanting it to be over.
mrmoshpotato
Back up everything on your phone. A freak out like that is usually a sign your phone is on its last legs.
I was lucky to be able to get everything off of my old phone before it died for good.
CaseyL
@Brachiator: Yes, I did!
I’m watching more of the Theater Gone Wrong videos. They’re laugh-until-you-can’t-breathe funny. Here is Peter Pan.
Elie
Merry Christmas to the jackals and John. You’re all the best. Here’s to a much better 2021 but even if not, I look forward to laughing, learning and even sometimes arguing with y’all
hitchhiker
always love it when the blogfather checks in!
since mr hitchhiker retired a couple of months ago, he’s taken over all the cooking and grocery stuff for the first time in our 35 year marriage … it’s truly, madly great for us both & kinda reminds me to be pissed off that gendered jobs were a thing for so much of my young working years.
i could never catch up with him in earning power, so most of the time it made sense that i was the part time worker and it only seemed fair that i kept the home/kid routines going.
retirement is turning out to be an equalizer in ways i hadn’t anticipated.
our first grandchildren, as i’ve said here before (but NEVER get tired of saying!) will be twins, now scheduled to be delivered by c-section on Jan 15, just 20 days away.
their mom — our younger daughter — was with her dad on the day he took a bad fall skiing in 2001 and broke his neck … the trauma and horror of the next few years could have wrecked her (all of us, really) but somehow did not. she was 10, and alone with him until she managed to attract help.
a lot of my joy these days is seeing her wild, overflowing, down-to-earth happiness.
merry merry to you all!
Brachiator
@Jim Appleton:
I’m doing…OK. I have some medical issues that might put me more at risk, so I am kinda focused on doing the most that I can to keep safe. And fortunately, I was remote working before the virus. So as much as I might miss little things like being able to go to movies, or to the museum, or dining out, or visiting friends, I think I have been dealing with it fairly well.
I am angry that in Los Angeles county there are significant amounts of defiance and resistance. I have even ordered more food and related items from Amazon, because grocery stores are reporting more infections among employees.
It is aggravating to see that defiance of lockdown orders and the number of infections continues to increase even as the vaccine is delivered.
This pisses me off more than having to stay inside.
So, how you doin’?
NotMax
Roast resting after coming out of the oven. Latkes warming up in turned off hot oven. Asparagus will stay hot, snug in their yet unopened microwaveable bag. Wine cooling in fridge. Planned on holiday din-din at 10-ish, so all is right schedule.
Ruckus
I find myself becoming more of hermit than anything else. Less interaction with others than ever in my life and I’ve been a rather private person for most of it. Last week the battery on my car had to be charged because I don’t drive it enough. Between age, health and covid I think I interact with this blog more than I do with everyone else. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just that I’m getting used to not being with/around people, and I’m not sure that’s all that good. OTOH it makes it easier to isolate.
R-Jud
My Christmas was good. The Child’s at her dad’s this week, so they came over at 9 for presents and breakfast. Scrambled eggs with sour cream, pigs in blankets, and skillet potatoes. Enormous pastries from a local bakery, plus mimosas. The Child is thrilled with her big present: an electric guitar.
We all took a walk for an hour. They went back to his place around 2. I went for another walk just before 4, then watched the HBO series John Adams while finishing off the champagne.
Msb
Merry Christmas, John, and happy holidays to all!
Amir Khalid
@R-Jud:
It seems to be guitars for Christmas this year among the jackaltariat. Did you see the beautiful Epiphone that Momsense gave her son?
JustRuss
I feel you Cole. I’m pretty introverted although I can pass for an extrovert for a limited time before I start getting stabby. With covid limiting my circle of associates and options for activities, I’m finding I can easily spend a weekend incommunicado, but I feel kind of depressed after I do. Trying to strike a healthy balance.
Spent today with a few family members, nice and low-key. Found out my friend who’s a nurse in a covid ward just got vaccinated, very happy about that.
Tim in SF
Hey JC,
I need a new guild, preferably with people I have more in common with, such as age. What server are you on and which faction?
bjacques
Merry Christmas from Amsterdam, a week into the second “lockdown” (really a dispersal: go where you like but there’s nowhere to go) that expires Jan 19, about when vaccinations are supposed to start. We’re barely leaving the house, but visiting the occasional friend in the neighborhood. Despite the ban on fireworks for New Year’s Eve, there are still the traditional scattered reports off in the distance, increasing nightly.
Could be worse. June/July (vaccines due for the general public) is closer than February/March was, so we’re “short” as raven and Ruckus would say.
Uncle Cosmo
Santa Claus might have come by on the night of 24-25 December. BFD.
I’m holding out for Sanity Clause. Who doesn’t show up till noon on 20 January.
grandmaBear
Had a fairly typical Christmas other than the large extended family part. Grandkids opened so many presents it was evening before they actually played with/examined them all, but seemed genuinely very happy. We had a beef tenderloin, broccoli with lemon, some fried cheese & rice balls (because family tradition) and rolls. Had a Manhattan before , Prosecco with and an eggnog cocktail after with fruitcake while watching Purdue basketball. I actually enjoyed the smaller, less frenetic day. There were naps. Watched Soul earlier in the day. My dog Mac kept asking to go out , hoping it was going to be warmer than the last time. A good day.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: Roast banana.
DCrefugee
I’ve been working from home off and on since 2004, and I tell people I’ve been socially distant since 1995, so Christmas was little different than a normal day around here. Watched Die Hard and Enemy of the State as my holiday movies and did some work-work.
Talked to a few friends via text and to my kids on the phone. Learned my ex-wife had the Covid but is recovering and has been “okayed” by her physician, whatever that means. My 100-year-old ex-father-in-law also came down with it, likely from his assisted-living facility. He was hospitalized but is back to the home and expected to recover. That was all in the last 10 days or so. A local business I frequent shut down in November, thanks to an outbreak. Most everyone there has recovered, as far as I know.
2021 can’t get here soon enough…
WaterGirl
@Nelle: If the November calendar was the BJ Pet Calendar, you can contact Cafe Press the day after their email said you would receive it.
WaterGirl
@R-Jud: I am wondering if you guys found your little snake, Popcorn. Right after he went missing, you told us that your sister had a stroke. Some of us have been wondering about that, too.
Hoping there were happy endings to both of those.
kindness
In my case even if no one came over for days I would still have a house of critters that all demand their needs and attentions in their own way. I’m too busy with them and general upkeep to be lonely.
DaveinME
Merry Christmas John! I too am noticing the amount of time I spend dealing with people dwindling, and it doesn’t bother me at all. Not sure that is a good thing
Jake Gibson
Scrapple is even more of trigger than fruitcake. Some people!
As my mama used to say, “Everyone to their own taste” said the old lady as she kissed the cow.
Marcelo
John, what do you think of this new Stand miniseries? I’m still not sold on how nonlinear it is, though I do like the casting.
bemused senior
Dog and human aging (yes it is FTF nytimes): https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/science/dogs-aging-behavior.html