The Saddest Day of the Year

 Took the Christmas tree down today.  It went much more quickly down -- once I started -- than up, for a bunch of reasons.  I had planned on going from top to bottom, but as anyone who has ever spent 20 minutes with me knows, my grand plans quickly degenerated into something far less stellar, and I ended up taking down the "toy" ones first, and then the ball types.  I used the flashlight on the phone to search the tree for any leftovers, and sure enough...it didn't work, as I missed one when I took the tree out of the holder.  I put it in the compost pile -- such a good tree does not deserve the indignity of the trash heap!  Sadly, I broke one ornament -- it hit the ground and then another one slid off.  It was one I wanted to keep for sentimental reasons, and I could not help but feel that combination of douchebag, Democrat, and used tampon putting the pieces parts in the trash bag.

Anyways, the living room is back together, mostly; I could re-compress the couches, but tomorrow is another day.  I decided that it was more than high time to clean the bathroom, so I did that as well; the trash bag is now almost full, so I may as well find some more stuff to cull.  I think I will develop a kidney disease or diverticulitis before I flush the toilet again, though the main issue, if you will, is that the heat vent is next to the toilet, so as long as it blows, it will kick up dust and such.  Sigh.  At least with the warm spell it blows less.

I spent a couple of hours this evening trying to get through the last issue of Games magazine, as the new one has arrived.  Fascinating how some puzzles I just plow through, and others are a real muddle.  More sigh, I guess.  I realize the mind does not work as well as we age -- I sense it while watching J! -- but I can assure you I do not like it.

The arrival of Lent means, well, many things, but one of them is of course that I need to plan my fish fry visits.  I do look forward to hitting new places and returning to old favorites, but there aren't that many places around here I have hit, so unless I spread my wings...