Out With the Old (decorations)

First of all I want to revel in the fact that I don’t have to work today or tomorrow! That’s a big deal because I work in a grocery store bakery and its Saturday, New Years Eve. Yesterday they were freaking out because we were sold out of so many things: today will be insane!

Ha Ha! I’m not there!

Tomorrow will be depressing at work; the morning after.

That’s how my Christmas tree looks now. The last couple of weeks it sparkled merrily but now it looks cheap and gaudy. Those little Santas waving above my cupboard look tired and need to be laid to rest. Christmas decorations after Christmas just look sad.

I’m happy to be home today for my year-end ritual; each icicle and ornament careful unhung and put in their proper box marking the end of another year.

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I was going to save this for One-Liner Wednesday but it wouldn’t have the same meaning as today; New Year’s Eve;

“Tonight, if someone dares you to do something that seems marginally stupid– say yes. For me.”

https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/30/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-3116/

Moping

This time of year is conducive to moping. It’s dark, dreary and cold outside. On days I have to go out to work I long to be home….. moping. Lately I’ve realized how lucky I am to have the luxury of moping.

This ‘holiday’ season I spend a lot of time alone so I mope. A natural moper; I remember my mother admonishing me to: “Stop moping around!”

No one is coming over so who cares how my place looks. To buoy myself up I get every good thing I like to eat and watch movies and Netflix. I wear my most comfortable rags and mope. ‘Poor me, how did I end up so alone’……blah, blah, blah.

Christmas Day my sister and I met at my aunt’s nursing home in the morning then I went home to mope. But it’s not a bad thing; I have a family that loves me, it’s just how Dec. 25th turned out this year. I think about those people who are really alone; no family or anyone to care about them, how awful that must be.

Then there are the people driving off somewhere they don’t want to go, be in uncomfortable clothes and listen to people bitch and argue. They would love to do what I’m doing; stay home, get high, eat goodies and watch movies.

But when it really struck home was watching a story on a neighbourhood of people who had been evacuated from their homes due to a gas explosion months earlier. They were in hotels or family’s homes. They just wanted to get home and be in their routine. That’s when I realized how lucky I am to have the opportunity to mope. To be healthy enough that my body isn’t nagging at me with pain. To get up and have a leisurely coffee or two in front of my computer in my nice warm home. To have all my bills paid and still have some money in my savings (credit card not included).

We think we want more money or a wonderful partner or better lives. But what we really want is our for our familiar routine to go on and on. Having the luxury to let it all go for a day and just ‘mope around’.

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/mope/

My $10 Ovation

Will I get the ovation I so richly deserve today?

Yesterday was Boxing Day, a day of rest for most people. My boss had asked me if I was OK with Dec. 26th a couple of weeks earlier and I said ‘yes’ as I had nothing going on. It was supposed to be 10:00-4:00 which isn’t too bad. He said it would be really slow and I might get to go home early when afternoon shift came in.

Just before Christmas my boss said the owner wanted me to come in at 8:00 a.m. to help the baker get everything out. I was not happy. We weren’t opening until 9:00; did he really think people would be flocking in first thing Boxing Day?

Well, they did. Not only did they come in early, we were busier than the two days before Christmas!  They were asking for stuff we hadn’t bagged up yet. They were scoffing up buns and cakes up so fast I could hardly keep up. The baker decided he better do up another rack of buns. Our fancy proofer can quick steam heat and raise buns from frozen to ready to bake in an hour.

The afternoon girl was supposed to be in at 2:00 so I was trying my best to get the next days break-outs at least started, hoping to leave when she came in. The baker took the rack of buns out of the oven and said, “Well, these will take a while to cool. I’m leaving now.” and left. There was so much to be done and he just walked out because his shift was over.

The shelves were bare. People were wanting everything. Even birthday cakes: ‘can you write on this?’ I was changing Merry Christmas Yule logs to Happy New Year to fill the empty spaces in the cake counter.

I had a feeling about Dominique all day. She is our worst student; a terrible worker, she’s been written up twice. I was sure she would call in sick and was surprised when she didn’t. Instead she just didn’t show up. At 2:05 I knew she was a no-show.

The deli sent a student to help me which was hard because we are friends and he thought it was fun!  He helped me with a few things but sometimes its harder to show someone how to do something rather than just do it yourself. Not only that he talked and talked…. I finally had to say, “OK, I can take it from here, thanks!”

At four o’clock the assistant manager came down and said I could forget cleaning the floors if I gave it a really good sweep and handed me a $10 gift card. She said, “Thanks for staying.”   That was nice! a bit of an ovation.

By 4:30 I had the buns all out, the break-outs done and the entire bakery cleaned. I shut off the lights and high-tailed out of there!

Today I’m on the afternoon shift, thank goodness, because I’m still sitting around in my house coat nursing on coffee.  I can’t imagine not showing up and sticking people with my work no matter how much I don’t want to go  in today.

But will I get an ovation from The Todd’s?  (both my boss and the owner/manager are Todds).Who cares? I did a damn good job and I’m going to use my gift card to buy marked down chocolates.

I can give it to myself!

I can do IT ALL!

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/ovation/

I’ll be cookin’ soon

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “cook.” Find a word that means “cook,” (or use “cook” itself) and use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

Today I plan on cooking myself. That doesn’t mean preparing food alone, it means getting my wood stove going so hot I have to get down to my t-shirt and exclaim, “I’m cookin’!”  It will be easy because it’s not very cold outside.

I’m off until Boxing Day! This week was busy: I burned out Thursday night. The customers get so much crazier; the Christmas carols, which had been every third song, are now every song and cranked up to the most psycho insanely santa shit and merry, merry, jolly, happy for six hours until you want to scream; shut the fuck up! How many versions are there of “All I Want For Christmas is You”?  In six hours there are three different versions.

It’s also very cold at work, and I work in the bakery! The lunch room is so damn cold I have to sit on my coat and wrap it around me. Thursday night I was on six hours which means punching out for a half hour break (Yes, six hours there, paid for 5 1/2) and sitting in that freezing cold room under a speaker so the carols and announcements are even louder. I usually cut my break short so I can go open the oven and warm up.

Friday a Christmas miracle happened. I was supposed to work 12:00 to 5:00 and wondered how I was going to get through it; on the verge of a crying jag ready to blow. Then my boss phoned and said he didn’t need me, Merry Christmas!  Joy!

Since I’d planned on getting my groceries after work I went to another grocery store and stocked up for three days of indulgence.  I ignored the mess that has piled up all week, stayed cozy all afternoon then cooked a decent dinner (lot of cheese sandwiches this past week)  with sweet potato, broccoli, asparagus and paneer on coconut rice. Have to put healthy stuff in my body so it can deal with the crap I have in store for it.

 

 

Thought I would look this up; how many versions are there?  couldn’t find a number but there are LOTS of versions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_I_Want_for_Christmas_Is_You

“As of 2013, the song was reported to have earned $50 million in royalties.^[7]“

 

I can’t think of anything witty to say about that. I’m going to go cook myself now.

 

https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/23/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-2316/

Moot: SoCS

It’s good thing these prompts are around that show us our incorrect use of words. Moot, is the word today. I thought it meant irrelevant, extraneous, not the point of focus.

Even if I’m sure I know the meaning I look it up to spark some inspiration. Sometimes I find its meaning is different from I thought. Like this one for example;

“Moot-  #1-a deliberative assembly primarily for the administration of justice; especially; one held by the freemen of an Anglo-Saxon community.”

#2-“obsolete”

Boy, was I way off. Now I understand the puzzled looks when I used the word ‘moot’. I thought they just didn’t understand.

But that’s moot. (Oh,oh….. is that wrong?) I’m going out to shovel but that’s OK! Today I can enjoy it; it is light and fluffy and I don’t have to go to work today. I get some good exercise outside then can come back in to my warm house and relax. After being outside the house seems extra warm.

Winter is great if you can stay home.

Next week I have five days of work! the Christmas Food Frenzy is upon us.

Come to think of it; that first definition sounds a lot like my work place; just subsitute ‘bread’ for ‘justice’.  —a deliberative assembly primarily for the administration of bread; especially; one held by the freemen of an Anglo-Saxon community.

So then; work is moot.

No more writing; I want to go outside and play;

this photo is a couple of years old but the outfit is the same

 

 

https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/16/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-1716/

SoCS; bear/bare

I can’t bear to go to work today.  Well, that’s not entirely true. I can just barely bear to go to work today. At least the roads are clear.

Yeah, while everyone was saying ‘TGIF!’ I was groaning that my four days off was over. My schedule for the last two weeks has me on Saturday, Sunday and Monday then the rest of the week off.

I spent this week getting my Christmas tree and decorating it. It’s still not done; it still looks a bit bare and I barely did any housework all week either.  Now I have to go back to work already!

Truth be told; if I didn’t go to work I would probably get kind of crazy. After spending  four days alone, talking to no one except at the dentist, I know I must get ‘out there’ and connect with people again. And I get paid for it; even though it’s the bare minimum.

We have a new girl starting today. I hope she is good and wants lots of hours….. at night! Actually, it’s not as bad now as we are closing the bakery at 7:00 p.m. so my shift is 1:00 or 2:00 until 7:00. I said I was OK with that because I couldn’t bear going in at 8:00 in the morning in the winter! I would have to leave at 7:25 a.m.;  in the dark, in the snow….. NO!!!!  

On this shift I can wake up at my leisure (7:30), write a prompt post and get the wood stove corking so the propane furnace won’t run all day long. I can program it to come on while I’m driving home so when I walk in at 7:30 p.m. I feel happy: probably a lot happier than if I just stayed home all day. You need the crappy to really enjoy the good: to tear off those layers of polyester, get into warm, soft cotton and really relish being HOME.

But two nights would be enough.

 

Bears are so lucky they can hibernate all winter.

https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/09/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-1016/

One-Liner Wednesday

I’m going to do my Christmas tree in the 500 year old Riga tradition: “with a flock of maidens and women, who first sing and dance then set the tree aflame”.

(Perhaps that would be a better New Year’s Day tradition.)

https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/07/one-liner-wednesday-the-answer-is-right-in-front-of-you/

Sacred Land

The First Nation Peoples of Turtle Island (North America) have a very important message for us now and that is our land is sacred. The land, water, animals, birds, fish, trees, plants;  all sacred.

That’s the attitude we need to take if we are really going to turn things around. The big corporations are raping and destroying this planet for profit. We all know the pursuit and use of oil is damaging our environment so we double up and squeeze every last drop we can get out of it.

The stand-off happening now at Standing Rock is the beginning of a movement similar to the protests in the southern states in the 1960’s. People stood up and fought for what is right and that’s the kind of fight we are in for.

Even our own hippy, tree-hugging Prime Minister couldn’t stop the expansion of the pipelines here in Canada. He just approved two showing that he can’t just wave his hand and stop them. It’s up to us to protest; to try to stand up against Goliath on our own.

Recently I watched a show called “Sand Wars” about the use of sand to make concrete, the cheapest building material. The oceans are being dredged for sand and sold to make concrete. Tons and tons of sand vacuumed up from the ocean floor, along with all the plants and creatures, and shipped to cities all over the world for the constant construction of new buildings. Along with our voracious appetite for fish, the oceans cannot sustain themselves much longer.

We have to get it into our collective consciousness that this land is sacred. This is our Mother Earth and we are not honouring her. We are raping and abusing her. But that will never hit home if we would rather go shopping or gambling for entertainment. The buildings, the lights, the glitter, the noise…… blinding us into thinking this is normal.   Get out of there! Don’t go shopping if you don’t need anything! Go out for walk in nature, take a drive by the lake or ocean and connect with what is real.

This land is sacred and we are defiling it. It’s time to turn around and honour our Mother.

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/sacred/

Shinola

Shit! I don’t have time to write or read anyone’s SoCS posts!

I’m working 2:00 to 7:00 today and we are having a pot luck dinner. I made an apple crisp this morning, cleaned up and now I have to get ready for work.

I dread this. They had a list of who is making what and everything on that list was meat or birds.  Can I take my cheese sandwich or do I fill up on my own apple crisp? Damn.  Just don’t make me talk about being vegetarian, please.

Shit; I have to go now…..

https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/02/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-316/