Category: Holidays

It’s COLD Brrr

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Daily Blog, HolidaysLeave a comment

Last year our central heating stopped working and the estimate was thousands of dollars to repair so we went out and got some space heaters. I don’t mind space heaters because I can’t really afford to heat a whole house when I’m going to be in my bedroom all day long.

This year I decided that I’m not going to turn my heater on at all unless it gets really bad and I absolutely need it. Well, I absolutely need it now.

It’s been in the 30′s lately early in the morning and late at night. It’s in the 50′s outside right now but it’s still in the 30′s inside the house. My bedroom is nice and toasty because of my space heater which is actually a radiator.

I always say in the summer time that you can bundle up in the winter, add more clothing and you’re warm but when it’s as hot as it is in the summer time (usually when it’s 100+°F) you can be totally naked and still be miserable. Well, there is no amount of bundling up inside the house that is going to be good enough, we need the heater on lol.

One other reason I need the heater on is because of my hands. I have carpel tunnel syndrome and it gets really bad this time of year. Both my hands start pinching in the palms and then they get numb with pins and needles. During the hot months or even the nice months my hands are fine. It’s when it’s cold out (and in) that my hands really start to hurt.

I still have to finish embroidering a Christmas stocking and I have less than 1 month to do it so I hope that my hands will allow me to do it. Now is the time that I wish that I had just finished it when I was working on it instead of giving up on it. I gave up on it because I was getting burned out on embroidering. I’ll get it finished, I just need the motivation to start it up again that’s all. Unfortunately, I think that with my hands being in the pain that they are in that I won’t be able to finish it but I have to try. I’ve already announced that they are coming this Christmas and I can’t go back on that.

Well, I’m so glad that Winter is almost here but now that it is here I kind of miss the heat of summer lol.

Happy Thanksgiving

On By Michel McDonaldIn Friends and Family, HolidaysLeave a comment

Today is a day that most people spend with their families, watching football, having uncomfortable conversations about their love life or gossiping about the black sheep (that’s me) who did or said what to who. Eat great food and open the button on their pants and unzip their zipper to let their stomach expand so they can breathe and it’s perfectly normal. There might be a fight, someone might come out of the closet, but at least you are with the ones you love.

I miss that.

We’re going to Hometown Buffet today with Venda then we’re gonna go see the movie Unstoppable. I have seen a commercial or 2 about it but I think it came out a long time ago so it’s probably in the little tiny theater. It’s not my choice but that’s what we’re going to see.

On Thanksgiving people usually say what they are thankful for. Well, I am thankful for my health (generic I know but it’s true) and my freedom. I am thankful that I have little drama in my life. You know us gays, always with the drama. Well, not this one. I try to keep all the drama out because what’s the point really? I am thankful that we have the cutest dog in the world who loves us. I am also very thankful that we have a home, a roof over our head with food in our pantry and fridge. And most of all I am thankful that I am in a relationship with the most wonderful person and that relationship has lasted over 16.5 years and is still going strong.

Well, it’s time to go. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful Thanksgiving day with your families wherever you are. Stay safe and don’t drink and drive!

Turkey Day Is Almost Here

On By Michel McDonaldIn Friends and Family, HolidaysLeave a comment

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is already here again. The months go by so fast. Next thing you know we will be decorating the tree. Actually, I’ll be doing that the day after tomorrow lol.

Since Darrin is working again, we’re not going out of town so we’re just gonna go to Hometown Buffet like we always do. I don’t mind going there, in fact I love that they are open because frankly I’d rather not have to cook as if we’re having 10 people over for just the 2 of us then have to do all those dishes. I’m quite content going out where all I have to do is get up, grab a plate then fill it up with good food, eat and repeat until I’m about to explode.

I do miss the traditional visit to a family members house (minus all the drama that comes with that) but I think I like it better with just the 2 of us. The holidays seem to be more for kids than they do for me. I guess that’s how you start to feel when you get older, unless of course you have a family to take care of.

As I said, the day after Thanksgiving I’m gonna be decorating the Christmas tree. It’s in the garage, it’s a pre-lit 8 foot tree. I actually have a video on YouTube of me putting it together using time-lapse photography.

Now some people might say that it’s not Christmas with a fake tree. Pahleez! It’s still Christmas to me and I don’t have to pick out a new one every year and pay the high prices that they charge at the tree lots. It’s such a rip off and I have a fear of fire so that’s another reason for me to want a fake one. Some people say they like the smell of the tree, I don’t really care for it all that much. Even if I did like the smell, I’d rather just light a Christmas tree scented candle.

I have several boxes of decorations to get from the garage and who knows, it might put me in the spirit enough to finish making that last stocking that I started earlier this year. I have 3 stockings to send to Chips nephews. Only one of them is complete, another one just needs it’s red felt back sewn on and the 3rd one needs me to finish embroidering it then put it’s felt back on. I have a little bag of bells that I’m thinking of sewing to the stockings in various places. It’s just not a stocking until it jingles.

So tomorrow morning I’ll get up and have a very light breakfast, maybe I’ll get some pop tarts then starve myself until it’s time to go to Hometown Buffet which will probably be around 1-3pm. One thing I look forward to is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade that will be on in the morning.

Oh joy, I can’t wait.

Happy Halloween

On By Michel McDonaldIn HolidaysLeave a comment

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year.  Not just because you have a legit excuse to eat candy but because it’s a day that you can pretend to be something you aren’t.

I loved Halloween as a kid but my mother was poor, she couldn’t always buy me a costume.  One year she put an old sheet over me with holes in it for the eyes.  It wasn’t a great costume since it was a pink flowered sheet.  I don’t think anyone was convinced I was a ghost lol.

Sometimes she would get her make-up out and dress me up as a hobo.  I would wear my oldest clothes that had holes in them and she would get them dirty and make the holes bigger.  She would put a 5-o’clock shadow on my face and then she would find a stick and tie a bandanna on one end and it would have socks in it to make it look like it had stuff in there.

Some years when she had the money she would buy a costume but I was never given a choice in the matter.  Here is an example:

This is a pretty lame costume but it’s the only Halloween photo I have.  I was the easter bunny for Halloween lol.

The costumes weren’t always this lame though.  Some years I was dressed up as a clown with the clown hair, some years a cowboy and since my parents loved country music, we all had cowboy hats so that costume didn’t cost a dime.  One year my parents bought fatigues for everyone and we were army people.

No matter how good or bad our costumes were, it was fun to go out and be someone else for a few hours.

When we were old enough, when I was 9, we were sent out on our own.  My sister was 11 and she usually baby sat me anyway and it was a bunch of us, my 3 cousins, my sister and I, we would go around the neighborhood trick or treating in the neighboring apartment buildings.

My parents never took our candy away from us and mixed them together, although they did go through them to make sure there were no razor blades and they would toss out all the fruit.  But then we were given the rest in our bag and allowed to eat that as we wanted to, which was usually until we ended up too sick to eat any more.  Then of course when our tummies felt better we would eat more until eventually the candy was gone.  The bags usually lasted a few days.

Just because I’m all grown up doesn’t mean I don’t still enjoy the holiday.  I started carving pumpkins around 1997 with those cool pattern books with the saws and I would carve a few patterns every year.  The last year I carved a pumpkin was in 2007, that’s because Darrin joined a church that doesn’t allow their members to enjoy Halloween and he wouldn’t let me put my pumpkins outside anymore out of fear that he would get kicked out of his church.

My fun was stamped on but I still enjoy Halloween and I will never stop because I feel that my body may be getting old, my mind is still that little child in that bunny costume.

Happy Halloween everyone!  I hope it’s a great one and I hope you don’t get too many cavities from all the candy you are about to consume.

Happy Easter

On By Michel McDonaldIn HolidaysLeave a comment

It’s Easter!  Once again I got screwed out of a basket with candy and eggs.  Why is it that when I was a kid the Easter bunny always brought me a basket but as soon as I moved out he stopped coming?  You know, I’m starting to think that my parents were the Easter bunny or they were pretending to be.

Well I guess if I’m going to enjoy any of Easter I’m going to have to ride my bike to the grocery store and buy myself some Cadbury eggs.  Now that it’s Easter today all the Easter candy will be on sale like 50% off or more.  And over the next week or 2 it’s all going to be in grocery baskets by the express lane with 75% off stickers.

Ha so take that you stupid rabbit.  Ignore me, I’ll show you what’s what.  I’ll get all my Easter junk for 50-75% off.  That’ll show him.

Easter

On By Michel McDonaldIn HolidaysLeave a comment

It’s that time of year again where all the kids of America gorge themselves on hard-boiled eggs and chocolate rabbits.  For Christians, Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ but for children it’s the celebration of the Easter Bunny coming to bring them baskets filled with cavities and egg farts.

It’s a joyous occasion for all, whether they be christians, pagans, atheists and children because no matter what you believe, you still get to eat junk food for the day then ham for dinner and then ham sandwiches for the next few days afterwards.

I’ve been enjoying Easter for the last 2 months since the stores took down the Valentine’s day goodies and started putting the Easter candy in.  My dentist loves the business that I give him.

Christmas Crafts

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, HolidaysLeave a comment

I was looking through a drawer today and came across some plastic canvas books that were given to me last year and there are 5 books with Christmas ornaments.

I’m going to try out some of the things that I have yarn for since I have a crap load of plastic canvas to work with but I don’t have the yarn to do everything.  Some of these need gold thread which I don’t have.

It’s not all plastic canvas though, there is 1 book with filet crochet projects like an angel that stands up (which means when you finish crocheting I guess you put glue on it so it stands up.  And there are stockings and ornaments which are both crocheted and knitted.

One of the things I think is cool are the 3D christmas trees.  One of them is furry so it looks really neat.  It has little miniature ornaments sewn into the tree.

If my Kodak all-in-one printer didn’t require ink to be able to scan then I’d have pictures available but I don’t have any ink right now.  Maybe once I get some things done or a bunch of things done I will take pictures and put them in the crafts section of my main website.

Christmas Eve

On By Michel McDonaldIn HolidaysLeave a comment

T’was the night b4 Xmas and all thru the house, not a psp was stirring, not even a chihuahua.

Hehe.

I just figured out how to make paragraphs with my psp so I’m taking full advantage.

Tomorrow were all going to Sarah’s house and we’re probably going to be there for a while so i will observe blog silence until we get home.

Merry Christmas to all, don’t drink too much egg nog.

More Fruit Cake?

On By Michel McDonaldIn Food, HolidaysLeave a comment

When Butch (Darrin’s brother) came home from work what was he carrying? A fruit cake hehe. Well its bed time, I’ve taken an Ambien, I’m going to start reading a very good book a very good friend gave to me for Christmas. I will blog more tomorrow after the days events.