Like a top ten song, I hear it all.....

SO...

As it's now December 31st, last day of 2018, and I have here my Top Ten Things Of 2018!

There were a lot of important (and not so important) things that happened this year that didn't make the list: TUMBLR slitting its own throat by banning adult content; a new pair of glasses; snowstorm, aka blizzard, Toby; Johnnie returning to Philadelphia (with his wife) from Shanghai; Ollie's batch of DC Comics graphic novels at insanely low prices; having a date (and some bedtimesexxyfun) with one of my ex's Tim; scorching heat in July, freezing cold in January, record temps both; Mom starting the year in early January with a visit to the emergency room with the flu, and ending is just yesterday at the same place with the same thing; one entire week of no 'decongesting'; tooth issues, like cracking a tooth and losing half of it in Sept, and then deciding on getting some bridges at the end of the year; hanging out and getting to know mom's 'friend' Howard (he's a nice guy), etc.  But with all that, THESE below are the top ten!

10. Avengers Infinity War

Marvel continues to hit it out of the park!  This movie was damn near flawless.  A perfect culmination of ten years worth of previous movies!  It's worth every single penny of the billions in profits it's made.  Marvel knows their shit.....unlike DC movies, which continue to be just...shit.

9. New Mattress

(old mattress on top, new mattress on bottom)

Back in September a local furniture was selling their mattresses at half off.  My old mattress I had had for 15 years or so.  And I figured with the discounts, I'd get a new one.

Big.  Fucking.  Mistake.

See, my old mattress had a mattress pad on both side.  That made it fluffy and comfy.  I didn't think about that when I bought the new one...that does NOT have a mattress pad.  Oh.  My.  GOD!  It was so hard.  So rigid.  So uncomfortable. I had to go buy a sheet that had extra padding attached and put that on it, just to make it so I can lay on it.  But its still, even now, not really comfortable.  Oh, I'm used to it and can sleep on it, but it's not at ALL like my old mattress...even though that one was 15 years old.

I've learned my lesson. If I ever again in my life buy a new mattress (which probably, realistically, wont happen) I'm getting it with a mattress pad already attached!

8. Rye Bread

I've always eaten white bread, but it's not that good for me.  I don't really like wheat bread at all.  This year, back in February, I was ordering a sandwich from Rutters, and I saw the option for rye bread.  I've never had rye bread before so I ordered it.  And I LOVED it!  Now, that's all I get.  Both at Rutters and it's what I buy for here at home.  It's much better for me than white and tastes a LOT better than wheat!  So it's a win/win!  And it's a change to my diet that I have no problem making or keeping!

7.  Plays

Last December, my theater buddy, Michelle, and I decided this year, we wanted to see an average of one play a month.  So our goal was to get to 12.  We did good at first.  By May (the fifth month) we had seen 7 plays!  And then.....we kinda slacked off.  Right around Thanksgiving, we were chatting and she said we were only at 9, we needed three more plays!  So we crammed three of them in in ten days in December.  For 2019, we've sworn to not ignore the summer months.

In the pic abover, left to right, front row to back:
It's A Wonderful Life; The Barbara Ingram School Winter Extravaganza
Chicago; The Addams Family; Death By Design; Harvey; The Fantastiks
Hairspray; Shrek; Cabaret; Deadly Murder; The Queen Of Bingo

In the top row are two plays I saw without Michelle: The Play That Goes Wrong and Deceiving Granny.

And all the ones we saw together were local productions and all but one (The Queen Of Bingo at The Totem Pole) were amateur. We've already talked about some plays this year upcoming.  Hopefully we won't be cramming them all in right before Christmas again.

6.  Belle Broke

Lovely way to start off the year.  New Year's Day, not 12 hours into the new year, I drive to Rutters to get my morning coffee before heading out to mom's for lunch, and I can't get the key out of the ignition.  Won't budge at all.  So then that involved the AAA, towing her twice, my local mechanic, the Volkswagen dealership, parts needed to be ordered, several unplanned days off work, and some unforseen expenses.  ultimately, though, Belle get repaired and is running fine.  And I found out I had some pretty darn good friends who unexpectedly offered me the use of one of their cars, which I was prepared to take them up on. But then the part arrived at the dealership earlier than expected, so I didn't need to.  Hopefully, this New Year's Day is a little more....unexciting?  Conventional?  

5. VUBOQosity!

This year, I've hung out with VUBOQ quite a bit more than before.  He's invited me several Saturdays up to The Cabin Of Ill Repute in West Virginia.  He came to my house once because he was running a 10K in my little town.  We had planned on hanging out for the day, but it was cold, damp, rainy, and I was sick with some stomach bug.  So he just ran the race, came back to my place, cleaned up, we ate at the Waynesburger, and then we back to the cabin.  But this year, we've played my favorite board game The Road To The White House a few times, and I even got him his own copy of th game for the cabin itself.  We shared many vegetarian meals up there, food that I never would have eaten, as well as some alcohol I wouldn't have tried either.  And lots of fun conversation as well.  And none of this includes the time we spent together, with all the other Puntabupeeps, in NYC in August. And after all this VUBOQness this year, I'm looking to a whole lot more in the new year.

4. Old Man Issues

In February, my lower right back started hurting. I feared it might be my kidney (since I'm diabetic, I don't wanna fool around with that).  Went to the doctor. After tests, he says, it's just skeletal/muscular issues.  Still hurts periodically (although not as bad) throughout the year.

Last year I had physical therapy for the strain in the bicep of my left arm.  This year, while that still hurts, my right arm started hurting the same way.  Both shoulders hurt when I wake up in the morning, but it gets better quickly and doesn't bother me too much.

I cracked a tooth in September and ended up losing half of it.  And now, the dentist and I decided I needed to get some dental bridges, so that'll be fun and costly (although those are necessary).

I got new glasses, but I still have problems reading small print and without enough light.

In addition to being sick with the stomach bug in May when VUBOQ was here, in January, I was knocked on my ass by some of the worst flu I've ever had.  Had me down for most of the week. It was only the second time in the 22 years I've been at my job were I was off sick more than two days and needed a doctor's excuse to come back.  I missed the entire week as a matter of fact.

My knees crack a lot and hurt sometimes when I take stairs or get up off of chairs.

And it's only gonna get worse.  Yeah, getting old sucks.....but as they say, it beats the alternative.


3. New York City

This year, Tam left the Middle East and returned to Canada.  And before leaving North America again for Central America this time, she (and Kristen The Kid) came to NYC and got an apartment for a week.  For a weekend, I, john eliot, and Michelle M. stayed there as well.  VUBOQ came up for an overnight.  And we had a few hours long party attended by Craiggers (we got to meet his man Steve), Adam and Drazen (we got to meet baby Jack and his hair), Mikey and Ty (we got to meet Annabelle), and FDot!

A group of us also went to the Metropolitan Museum Of Art and then later to THE funniest thing I have ever seen on stage: The Play That Goes Wrong.  And we ate at many varied, but always awesome, restaurants. 

But the best part of the trip was just hanging out at the apartment with old friends who I haven't seen in many years!

2. Democrats Take The House

This one should be on EVERYONE'S yearly list, but I know it's not.  Now, FINALLY, we'll have a governmental check on the obscene, chaotic, insanity of the tRump administration.   If tRump and his supporters have not liked the Mueller investigation....well they aint seen nothing yet.

We're gonna get a HURRICANE of subpoenas from the House.  Into his Administration, his campaign, his finances, his tax returns, his university, his children, and all the corrupt practices that his corrupt Cabinet members have been perpetrating on the USA.  Yes I'm going to LOVE watching it all crumble, but much more importantly, no more of the destructive bills of the last two years will see the light of day again.

Thank God. 

Oh it'll be ugly.  And messy.  And nasty.  But it's the ugly, messy, nasty first step to saving this country from the pox in the White House that has befallen it.

1. Diabetes 

My diabetes has basically been uncontrolled since I've been diagnosed.  A bright spot this year is that, in the 6 years I've been tracking it, this is the first year in which my A1C level never tested above 8.0.  But that's not much to brag about really (it SHOULD be under 7.0 all the time, or under 6.0 if you're not a diabetic).

Then, in July, the outside of my right big toe started getting sharp pains.  Never having had one before, I thought it might be an ingrown toenail.  Ended up going to a podiatrist (for the first time) and finding out it's not.  Its some calcium growth at the base of my big toe.  Made it much better with new shoes and specific insoles.

But after this, I finally decided it was time to see an endocrinologist (a diabetes doctor).   I finally got to her ten days ago.  After a two hour meeting, I had some of my meds changed.  And after having taken them for that ten days period, the results have been simply phenomenal!  In that time, I have not had a blood sugar level over 180.  And I have only it over 160 four times (out of 20 times checked).  It's crazy how swiftly and totally that has worked.

So I can only hope the progress continues in the new year.  And I've got home this cuts down on the sometimes pins and needles in my foot.   And the foot aches.  And the eye issues.  And maybe even lose some weight as well.

I just want to hopefully make my uncontrolled diabetes, more controlled.  Because this will continue to have very detrimental effects on my health otherwise.


So that's this year's Top Ten!  Some good, some bad.  Hope you're year was more good than bad.

POLT

So this weekend....many plans!  Tonight, seeing Deadpool 2 with ALCMDPP and Ghostie.  Tomorrow VUBOQ is coming to town to run in the town 10K and the Beer Fest afterwards.  And Sunday, I'm driving a friend, his sister and his niece to see Infinity War.  Tickets for tonight and sunday have already been purchased.

So....that was the plan....

Tuesday, I had a cough.  A cough deep in my chest, felt like I was moving phlegm and stuff around down there. But by Wednesday the cough was gone.

Wednesday, I wanted to get the spare bedroom ready and tidy up the house a bit for VUBOQ's visit, and at work, I got most of my pressing work done.  Plus, I had a nagging little headache.  Coulda been the weather or sinuses, or whatever....  But with all these things together, I just decided to leave at noon.  And so I did.

I came home, had lunch and did a lil bit of moving stuff around.  ANd then, my stomach got all screwed up.  I was nauseous, I was not feeling well at all. I slept for like an hour and a half on the sofa, and felt a bit better then.  But because of how I felt I didn't get a lot of stuff done that I wanted to.  So I in the evening, I called in and took Thursday off too.

Thursday I still got up kinda early for a day off work. I got coffee from Rutters, did a few things around here, and even went to Wal-Mart to get a few things.  But in the early afternoon, like two-ish, my neck, shoulders and back got all achey.  And then, I got all hot and feverish.  Oh I felt terrible!

I went to bed early-ish, like 830.  And I was asleep within the hour.

I got up on time today, and still felt like shit.  But since I wasn't going in tomorrow, I wanted to go today.  OR at least for half a day.  I showered, shaved, even put product in my hair.  But when I bent over to put my socks on, and my back and shoulders SCREAMED in protest, I was like, "Nope."  Not going in.

So I called in and took today too.  I also had to cancel on going to the movies tonight, hopefully ALCMDPP and/or Ghostie can find someone else to take the ticket.

I've been taking painkillers every four hours.  I spent the vast majority of the morning asleep on the sofa.  I'm just hoping I feel better after doing nothing but resting today.  I dont want lose anymore fun plans this weekend.

I mean, there's NEVER a good time to be sick, but damn, this is really kinda the worst time for me. I spend most of my evenings doing nothing but reading, or on the computer, or watching TV, so why did I have to get sick when I had a full weekend of plans!?!

typical.

POLT

Review the situation, take part, take over.....

So it's the end of 2017, and that means it's time to review the year and give you My Top Ten For 2017.

10. Turning 50

I'm half a century old!  My God, it just doesn't seem possible.  Course, I'm relly not complaining about it, because a LOT of people don't even get to turn 50, they die beforehand.  And the birthday itself really wasn't bad and quite uneventful.  Which is, frankly, just how I wanted it to.  It's just crazy to think I'm that freaking OLD!


9. Road To The White House

My favorite boardgame, for the last 25 years or so, has been The Road To The White House!  I loved this game.  When I lived back in the apartment, I played it at least once a week I'm sure, usually more than once a week. Ag would play it with me. Phoenix, when he and I hung out, would usually play it.  Anytime Johnnie visited, we'd play at least once game.

But for the last ten years perhaps, and certainly for the last 8 (because that's how long I've lived here in the house, and I never played it here), I've not played the game.  Until this fall.  

When Ghostie graduated Law School and took the bar (which he passed, congrats Ghostie!), I told him now that he had free time I'd teach him to play.  I was joking, but he said he wanted to learn.  So he and I have been playing it since....October?  Perhaps September.  We play about once every other week.  And it's still as much fun as it always was!  Whether I win or lose is irrelevant, I just love playing the game!

8. The Flu

I get the flu once a year usually.  Feel sick for a few days, rest, drink a lot of fluids, and then I'm over it.  Not THIS year!  I started feeling sick on a Saturday in January, and I'm telling you, this flu kicked my ass!

                                          

I was sick for like ten days.  I was off work and entire week.  I have NEVER in the 21 years I've worked at this job EVER been off sick anymore than three days at a time.  I just couldn't beat this thing...without a trip to Urgent Care and some anti-biotics and things to help with my cough, I don't know that I could have beaten it.  I don't know what it WAS that I had, but damn, I NEVER want it again!

7.  The Theater

This year, I went to the theater multiple times....and enjoyed myself at each and every one!

                                                       

Saw this in January (right before getting that horrific flu, see above), with Michelle, Lynn and Susie at the Kennedy Center in DC, and featuring a meal beforehand with them and VUBOQ!

                                                    

Saw this in April with Michelle at the Kennedy Center in DC, and I'm pretty sure this too included a meal with VUBOQ beforehand!

                                            

Saw this in May at the Old Opera House in Charlestown WV, with Michelle, her mother Betty and our mutual friend Celeste.  It was a....different play.  Unusual.  But entertaining.  And one of my old fuckbuddies had a small part in it as a butler!

                                                     

Saw this at Williamsport High School in April with Michelle. (We go to see their productions every year, not only because we like supporting high school theater, but the co-directors of the plays are the wife of a co-worker of mine, and the other one is an occasional fuckbuddy of mine)

                                             

Saw this in July at the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown with Michelle, Betty and Celeste again.  The same fuckbuddy who co-directed Guys And Dolls played the Scarecrow in this one.

                                                

Saw this in July at the Kennedy Center with Michelle and Lynn.  And even though the play, food and company were fantastic, the rides down and back were HORRIBLE.  Traffic jams, Metro closings, shuttle buses, torrential downpours, closed Metro stops.  Just horrible.

                                                      

And finally, I saw this in December at the Hershey Theater (in Hershey PA, duh), with Michelle. Not the best performance we've seen of Kinky Boots, but it's always a fun time!

6. Home Improvements

I had several things done to the house this year to improve it.

In May I had the old wood of the back porch replaced with that vinyl stuff.  No painting or rotting of wood like before.  And, since the old carpet on the porch floor was green (like the shutters) and getting ratty, I had it replaced with this spiffy new grey color! 

In June I repainted the front porch.  It was last done in 2010 and it was faded and chipping in places and very much needed it.

In July, my old fridge finally went KAPUT!  So I bought a new one. 

In November I FINALLY got the trench in basement fully filled in.  The plumbers had to dig it up to replace a pipe back in January of 2012!  I didn't start filling it in until Last fall, I think it was.  It took six different times and I have no idea HOW many bags of sacrete to fill it in.  But now it's done!

5. Physical Therapy

My left shoulder and bicep have been bothering me since the spring of 2016.  I finally mentioned it to the doctor and he got me to physical therapy the end of the last year.  I went three times a week, starting the first week of January through the end of February.  I was improving so much, the therapist cut it back to two times a week.  And then, in April....I plateaued.  I wasn't improving anymore.  I could feel it, she knew it.  So the beginning the May, after doing another assesment, she said she was discontinuing my sessions, as I wasn't improving.  I still had several sessions left that my insurance would pay for, if I needed them for anything else the rest of the year.  But she gave me directions and long rubber bands to take home and to keep practicing with and wished me good luck.  And I did the same to her....

...and promptly did no more exercises.  At all.  And now, not only has my left bicep reverted to the way it was last year, but now my right bicep hurts the same way.  Don't know what the outcome is gonna be on all this, but that's where it stands now.

4. Anxiety 

Yep, my old enemy anxiety came back this fall.  And at times, with a vengeance!  One night, I couldn't get to sleep and I think I had a panic attack in bed.  But I got through it.  At times, it was almost crippling. Still, it wasn't as bad as it was a few years ago when I had to go on meds for it.  And in the last two/three weeks or so, it's kinda subsided and gone away.  But for most of the fall, it was a continual, unwanted, companion. 

I guess this is something I'll have to deal with for the rest of my life. 

3. Visits

I had a number of unexpected, yet wonderful, visits this year!

In April, FDot visited for a week!  We went to the Gettyburg and Antietam Battlefields.  We took a tour of my workplace.  We walked along Carroll Creek in Frederick MD.  We ate at many local places.  He met and got a meal from Mama Polt.  I had an amazing week, and I hope he did too.  And I'm looking forward to a return visit sometime.

In June, I got to hang out with two very old and dear friends.  Thirty years ago, there were five of us who inseparable over the summer and beyond.  Now, we've all kinda drifted our own way, as happens.  My friend Duff and I still see each other every year for the Super Bowl, he hosts a party at his house.  We've done this for over 20 years.  But I've not seen the other three for years.  This year, Scott tried to get us all five together for a meal, but only three of us could make it.  So me, Scott (in the middle), his son, and Duff (on the right) had a breakfast/brunch one Sunday morning in June.  It was amazing to catch up with them (well Scott specifically, since Duff and I are kinda caught up).  Scott mentioned doing it again, and we both were for it.  Hopefully it happens.

In August, Long Island Travis came down for a weekend visit! What a great time, of fun, hanging out, bedtimesexxyfun, walking around, waching tv, and eating at the Waynesburger and from Rutters.   He loved Waynesburger so much we had food there all three days he was here.  For his Christmas present, I got the Waynesburger logo and made him a t-shirt with it on.  Hopefully he too will make it back for another visit sometime soon!

In October, my Fairy Godfather Mark, who moved back to Michigan more than ten years ago, made a trip back here.  He stayed with friends of his in Hagerstown, but he came up one evening to visit me.  We ate at Waynesburger and hung out at my place catching up.  It's like he hadn't even been gone that long, we got on so well.  He says he going to try to come back once a year, and that would be great to see him more often!

In November Dr. Ryan With The Cupcake, who lives in San Diego, was in DC for a conference.  I made the trip down once Saturday evening and we had a fun time, going to the National Zoo, walking the streets of DC and eating in a Chinese restaurant.  I've met most of the Puntabupeeps, he was one of the last I hadn't yet met (Mel and Mush I think are the only remaining ones).  And he's just as much fun and great company as you'd expect of a guy who mailed a banana cross country to Craiggers in Long Island a few years ago!

2. tRump destroys America

Everything this man and his administration are doing to this country, from legitimizing neo-Nazi, to vilifying the Free Press, to throwing 24 million Americans off their health care, to gutting social programs so billionaires like him can get obscene tax cuts, to throwing a lighted match onto the dry tinder that is the Middle East by moving our embassy, to making us the laughingstock of the world, to insulting all our allies while cuddling up to the world's dictators (in Russia, Philippines, Turkey, etc), to daily violating the Constitution's emoluments clause by having foreign governments spend money at this businesses, to lying every single time he opens his mouth....everything they are doing is destroying the fabric of this country.  Even if we are lucky enough to get a Democratic Congress next November that can halt his destruction, it'll still take decades, if not generations, to repair the damage these people have done to the foundations of our nation.  It is indeed a dark time.  Other than the Civil War, it is certainly THE darkest time we've ever had in the USA.

1. Diabetes

The end of may, my lower left leg went numb up to my knee. 

I started immediately eating even better than I have been and walking more.  And it went away.  Although since then, I have periodically had numbness and tingling in my toes, foot, ankle and lower leg.  It's VERY scary.   And it shows me how UNseriously I have been taking my diabetes in the last 17 years.  I've been trying to do better.  And have succeeded, somewhere.

In March, my A1C (long term diabetes number) was 9.4.  In July is was 9.4 still.  In November though, it was down to 7.6!

7.6 is still not an optimal number, but it's a helluva lot better than 9.4!  I hope to keep it lower or even get it lower still.  It's not been the best over the holidays, sometimes, but that's to be expected.  After New Years, I can get back to what I was doing in the fall and hopefully get and keep the diabetes under control!

So that's my list of events for 2017!  I hope everyone has a great New Years celebration!  I'll seeya all in 2018!

POLT

So, Polt, whatcha been up to?

Well today, right now, it's early afternoon, I still haven't showered, I have walked to The Waynesburger to get lunch to go, ate it, decongested twice, and am probably going to waste the entire day.  Yesterday I took a walk, did laundry, Derick stopped by for some bedtimesexxyfun.

But let's see what I've been doing over the past few weeks....in pictures!

Thirty years ago (Christ, where DID the time go), I met and hung out with a group of guys over that summer.  We did everything together.  In fact, during the months of July and August, I'm pretty sure there were only two days when I did not do something with Duff.  Come the autumn though, my college and their high school or jobs interrupted and we kinda drifted a bit apart. Duff and I remained close, I was best man in his first wedding back in 1991.  When he got out of the military in the mid-90s, as we were both Dallas Cowboys fans, I was at this house watching Dallas win their last Super Bowl against the Steelers.  And every year since then, he and I have gotten together to watch the Super Bowl (well every year but one).  I have not, however, seen Scott, Jim or Joe in 25 years at least.

Well a few weeks ago, on Sunday, at Scott's suggestion, Duff, his wife, Scott, his son and I got together for brunch and spent two hours catching up.  The other two, Jim and Joe, couldn't make it.  But the three of us decided we'd do this again sometime, and maybe they'll make it then.

And this is, of course me, Scott's son Jackson, Scott, and Duff, after the meal.  What a great time we had, and I look forward to the next get together.
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Several weeks ago, I stalked this cutie  working a register at Wal-mark while waiting for mom to get done.  He's young, thick and got a decent hairthing.

And yes, I AM that dirty old man that we all hear about.  But you already knew that, I presume....

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I dont remember exactly which Sunday this was, but I was NOT pleased that I got up and could not get back to sleep.  So I just got my coffee and grudgingly started my day.....

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One day I came out of work and saw this family of geese waddling across the grass behind my car.  They made me laugh, so I snapped a quick pic.

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I have two of those atomic clocks that tell time and temp, one in the bathroom upstairs and one in the dining room downstairs.  But the batteries in both of them died within a short time of each other.  So I got the outside sensors, which were on the upstairs balcony and way out of the way and a pain to get to, and once replacing the batteries (which I didn't have enough of and had to run to the store right away to get them....poor planning on my part....), I moved them to one of the posts on the front porch.  They'll get no direct sun there and they are much MUCH easier to get to when the batteries need replaced and such.

The mounting pad of the white one was easy to screw in, the black one, not so much.  But I got it in enough.  And when I slid the sensor in, it wasn't in correctly, so as I pulled it out....I broke one of the side braces off that hold it. *SIGH*  So I just put the sensor in and taped that fucker in there!  I thought I could order a new mounting pad.

But when checking online, i could NOT find that model ANYWHERE!  The clock itself is probably 5 years old or so, but I thought they should still be there, but maybe they dont make them anymore.  But hey, the clock itself probably cost less than $10.  So when the tape fails, or the batteries do, i'll just go and buy another freaking clock.
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I was roaming around on Amazon looking for God knows what and I stumbled upon the DVD set of the first season of the Bionic Woman.  Damn, I LOVED that show as a kid, a LOT more than the Six Million Dollar Man it was spun off of.  And I saw all three seasons on DVD were less than $50.  So I though for a second and then was like, eh, what the hell?  So I ordered them.  And they arrived recently!

The Fembots!  The crazy family with Vincent Price and Abe Vagoda and Julie Newmar!  The Doomsday Machine!  (and I think the fact I can remember all that after 40 some years shows how MUCH I loved this show) I'll get to experience them all again!
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Yesterday's impulse buy from Wal-Mart: An Avengers puzzle, 100 pieces, for only 50 cents.  I mean, will I ever put it together, what will I do when it's completed (framed it and hang it up?)?  Oh, who cares, the damn thing was only 50 cents.  Can't even get a cup of coffee for that nowadays.

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When i moved into the house in the fall of 2009, the front porch was a little weather worn.  So I had it painted.  But in the ensuing years, it's gotten a bit weather worn again, and needed painted.  So a few weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, I repainted it.

Yep, I did that.
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Recently, i went with mom to The Manor, out in the village where she lives, to have supper with her at the dining hall there.  And the food, as always, was amazingly delicious (since it's basically just a cafeteria at an old folks home).  But every time we go, I try to sit with my back to the wall so that she has to face the wall with her back to the room itself.  That's cause she knows EVERYONE and loves to talk, so if she sits so she can see into the room, invariably, she's waving people to come over to the table when she sees them and ends up talking and talking and talking.

But my plan doesn't always work.  As this particular time, I sat so that her back was to the room.  However, people came over to HER!  And when we went to get our soup/salads, after she brought her's back to the table, she sat it down and had to go talk to there people at a nearby table.  *SIGH*

Like I say, it's always an adventure with Mama Polt!
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A lil bit ago, I got invited up to VUBOQ's Cabin of Ill Repute for the first time this year (and third time over all).  Despite it being extremely humid, even in the mountains of West Virginia, we had a fun time.  Chatting, puzzling, taking a walk, watching some Fawlty Towers, etc.

On the way there, I had the windows wound down, sunroof open, and Radiohead's Creep cranked up, and so I just had to sing along.

We toasted our watermelon champagne slushy drinks to Michelle, who was invited, but couldn't make it.

He prepared veggie tacos, which weren't as gross as they sound and actually quite tasty, and I brought the veggie tray.

Wine in a box.  The Cabin Of Ill Repute is NOTHING if not classy! 

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And speaking of VUBOQ, a few months ago, he met Michelle and I for dinner when she and I went to The Kennedy Center to see the musical Chicago.  Afterwards, at the Metro Stop, where he prepared to ride it home, and she and I prepared to walk to the theater, he said, "Let's get a photo! Everyone be happy!"

And then he said, "Everyone be angry!"

Michelle didn't get the angry memo.  But nonetheless, a fun time was had by all!

And so, THAT'S what I've been up to lately!  Thanks for asking!

POLT