Christmassing

I'm ready. Not for Christmas to be over ( I wish it'd last longer), but to move on with some things relative to it.

For one, the laptop. I mentioned at length my ruminations about whether we ought to get a new one or not. We finally concluded that this one was getting ready to croak, so we ought to keep the one that arrived despite being cancelled (and the docking station, equally cancelled, arrived, too. Dell seems to have either a real problem with how they handle cancellations or a flat out refusal to accept the idea). In the period since then, I've had three times when it took multiple tries to get the laptop to start. Normally, its about four tries out of ten, it starts as it ought to; three tries, I have to futz with it, either killing it and restarting, or doing the 'flex the case' trick; two tries, plug it in, mess with the battery, flex the case, swear. But in the last six times I've turned it on, three of the startups were of that last type. Plus, some of the keys are starting to stick -- which is why every so often my sentences don't have a period, or have unusual spelling. So, yeah, keep the laptop. And its not entirely bright eyed optimism to think "This is the chance to take those backups that I've been making of this laptop and apply them to the new one. Lets see if the backup methodology really works." My daughter, incidentally, was hot to trot to take this laptop until we said that she could, but either she'd have to use it in public areas only, or let me put Cybersitter back on it. That funked her out (technical term).

For another, Christmas songs. I like them, I do. But some need to be either taken out and shot, or Played Just Once. In either category, anything sung by Bing Crosby. I can't listen any more. Perhaps The Younger Generation can handle it, but not me. Quiet carols, sure. Not Old CroonerHead. I told my daughter about his public face versus the private persona that emerged after his death, and she was astonished. It wasn't like now, I said, where, oh, the stupidity and bad luck and bad choices of a certain female actor get splashed across the world virtually at the same moment. Back then, the public simply didn't know. All in all, I prefer it this way, I think.

Baking. I am enjoying doing all of it, and I'm looking forward what's still to do. But I think I'm getting just a tad burned out. Part of it is irritation -- I made some crepe batter this morning (my daughter loves them), and first I was ticked because I still don't quite know how hot the pan should be -- not glowing like the sun, I know that now -- nor exactly how much butter to use. And then I found that even though I did what they said, mixing the batter by hand, it was lumpy. Next time, by god, the mixer -- the heck with the purists. Or maybe one of those hand held mixers, if I can find a cheap one. I know, these are problems of the idle rich. Hey, does this mean I'm rich?

At least we got all of the decorations out that we wanted -- lights in front of the house and on either side of the garage; two trees, both decorated; a couple of wreaths; roping along the front railing of the house. I even took the poster that my daughter made for Thanksgiving, the one with the turkey head looking balefully at the cooked turkey, and the cheerfully hand-lettered banner 'HAPPY THANKSGIVING' and modified it so that it said 'HAPPY THANchristmasVING'. And right now Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas is playing, to the off-key accompaniment of the clanking in the dishwasher. This is goodness.

Merry pre-Christmas, y'all.