First and only peppermint mocha of the holiday season, from the “big” coffee chain. ☕️📷

📷 Two Thanksgivings down…I’m honestly not sure how many more to go at this point… 😭🤣

Brunch for two this morning, my breakfast companion was rather hungry 🤣 (only the one of those plates are for me). 🍳📷

He really does look rather regal here but I think he’s trying to lure me into a false sense of security; I still think Alex is upset about the continuing construction in the house. 😼🐈📷

📷 Going on a walk during the lunch break always helps clear my head. 🙃

Yup, he’s still not happy with the construction…it’s almost done but I can tell he’s plotting our downfall. 😼😹🐈📷

Alex is not amused by the construction going on in the house. 🙀🐈📷

I was hoping to start swapping my media server from it’s tower case into my new Slinger CX4712 case over the weekend…but life got in the way. Fingers crossed I can get to it this week, I don’t want to impact any end users. 🤞🏻📷

Yes, I might be called “basic” but ‘tis the season… 🎃☕️📷

Went to a hardware store last night (my Partner is ripping up the carpet and putting in new flooring) and as we walked in, we were assaulted with Christmas cheer. Given the past few weeks, I was digging it but a couple walked in after us and one of them was complaining it was too early for Christmas stuff. 🎄 I was inclined to disagree but I didn’t say anything…just smiled beneath my mask. 📷

“If I were a blessing, I’d run around naked”

As always, we can count on the Golden Girls to cheer us up and offer a bit of truth with humor.

We said goodbye to my oldest friend this weekend, my lovely Grandma. She’s been…or was…a constant presence in my life, for as far back as I can remember. In fact, my oldest memories involve her, helping her bake cookies, hiding under the table with the bag of brown sugar…or waffles on Sunday morning. She was always just “Grandma” to me but as I moved from childhood to adolescence, into adulthood, she somehow became one of my dearest friends. Even when she turned 101 this summer, we all thought she’d just keep going and going but a few weeks ago, she suffered a stroke and has been slowly drifting away from us…and while I wish I could have just turned back the clock a couple years, for everything to be back to normal, I’m so very happy the family was able to visit her one last time on Friday to say a proper goodbye to her…and that the final words she said to me was that she was proud of me and grateful I’d been such a big part of her life.

I’m going to miss you so much Grandma, thank you for being a Friend. ❤️💔

📷 This photo is from the tail-end of her 97th birthday dinner. As the years went on, it was harder and harder for her to get out of her retirement home, so we’d just bring a birthday dinner to her. She absolutely loved Olive Garden, so we brought her favorite: eggplant Parmesan, along with a giant piece of chocolate cake…and a random gift; Grandma would always say she didn’t need any presents, as it would just be more things to go through once she passed away but I would always joke after you hit 90, you deserved something to mark the occasion. After we sang happy birthday to her and she blew out the candles, we were being silly and she ended up with a bow on her head, laughing. She had the absolute best laugh…and I would give anything to hear it one last time.

🍿 “It’s just a little Hocus Pocus!" 📷
★★★☆☆

An annual tradition with my Girls from University, we started watching the movie (and pigging out) outside during the Pandemic and have just kept that as part of our Autumn event.

He was curious about what was going on in the kitchen. 🐱🐈😹📷

He’s taken to falling asleep in front of the bathroom door…and then when we try to open / close it, he glares. 😹🐈📷