is there any more pie?

It’s December! Can you believe it? My shopping is in total freefall and as I sit here making lists (gotta love lists!) at my desk I am praying for inspiration…and maybe some texted hints from the family in Texas.

What to do, what to do…

I bought myself a new I-phone (the 15 to be exact). Yesterday I spent HOURS trying to set it up. Over an hour was spent “chatting” with the Visible helper and, eventually, I was able to overcome all the issues.

By the way, have you ever heard of eSims?

I hadn’t.

Now I am faced with trying to operate a new phone that doesn’t have a Home button (my previous phone was an old SE). I don’t have the energy or patience to do anything today, though, so I am addressing Christmas cards.

Yes, there will be cards this year! And I love them. I hope you do, too.

Just to complicate an already frazzled brain, I have an ear infection. It was a painful weekend, so Banjo Man took me to the Minute Clinic at CVS first thing Monday morning. I now have antibiotics and Flonase and am feeling much better.

Remember the days when the children looked like this? Daughter Nancy came down with an ear infection every December. Son Will had his ear infections every time we step foot in Nebraska. Son Ben ended up with tubes in his ears.

I guess it runs in the family.

I shall leave you with some happy Thanksgiving photos from our 2024 extravaganza. A good time was had by all!

There is a nasty rumor that we could get a little snow tonight.

I refuse to believe it.

What about you? Is there snow on your lawn? On your mountain? On top of your car?

Say it isn’t so.

In 2019, when my grandson was nine years old, I thought Die Hard would be a great Christmas movie to watch for his annual pre-Christmas condo sleepover. The Funny Grandson loved–and still does–to come down to Austin and camp out on the living room floor for a few days. We walk to the Magnolia Cafe for breakfast, go grocery shopping for party treats and gumbo-making, slurp root beer floats and watch football and movies and play chess and go for walks.

You get the idea. It’s a happening.

His parents like the free time to get ready for Christmas. Win, win.

So five years ago I had the bright idea to buy “Die Hard” dvd and party one night with Bruce. BUT I had to buy the special anniversary edition with all three Die Hards together in one package.

Of course I told the Funny Grandson that I had a special animated reindeer movie for him and he did his best to hide his lack of enthusiasm.

And then Uncle Will put DIE HARD in the dvd player…

EPIC.

The evening was such a success that the next night the FG had the bright idea to watch DIE HARD 2. And that’s where the whole “Bad Grandma” thing kicked in, because the language was HORRENDOUS.

Grandpa, Uncle Will and I looked at each other with equally horrified expressions. We let it go on for a short while longer in hopes that somehow Bruce Willis and the Bad Guys would find religion and change their ways.

Nope.

There had been a few “swears” in the original movie, but the four of us agreed that we would never, ever say those words. But this one? Oh, my God. I apologized over and over again to his parents.

I am now trying to find a Christmas movie for this year’s overnight, sleeping bag, root beer float, popcorn, movie extravaganza.

Do you have any suggestions?

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES come to mind, but I don’t know if he’s seen it. There’s a serious-but-true film called JOYEUX NOEL about Christmas Eve during WWI.

We’ve watched ELF and THE CHRISTMAS STORY many, many times.

Is THE SANTA CLAUSE any good?

Help me.