It was two weeks ago that I talked about picking up the leaves in my yard. Well after passing over a few BEAUTIFUL 70 degree days to do it, I FINALLY picked up my leaves Tuesday afternoon!

It was sunny and around 50 degrees. I wore my coat and was plenty warm. As I said, I just used my lawn mower to mulch them and then spread them around the flower beds in the backyard. So simple! Just glad I got it done on a day where it was still somewhat decent to be outside!

This will probably make you think I weirder than you already do. I have STRANGE dreams sometimes, and they can be funny!!! 

Once, I dreamed that I had a werewolf tied to a chair in my basement. Another time, I dreamed that I was at baseball fantasy camp with a teacher of mine from middle school, run by Don Mattingly in Australia. One day after camp was over, we were driving all over the place looking for the best Mexican food in all of Australia!! lol

My latest happened just yesterday! I was at the zoo just hanging out on a bench. Out of nowhere, the tigers got into a huge fight and then a gorilla got involved! These tigers and gorilla broke loose and many animals escaped! Then there was a HUGE explosion! In the chaos, an orangutan sat down next to me. I leaned over and said to him/her "A lot going over there, huh?"...and I woke up.

I have no idea where they come from, but I do remember many of my dreams. They provide me with many laughs! Sweet dreams :)

Now don't get me wrong. I love what I do - it's my dream job! I work with and for awesome people. Even still, short holiday work weeks here and there are very nice. This week being Thanksgiving, it's a three day week and I'm looking forward to this weekend already!

On Wednesday afternoon, I'll be with my Dad, my three siblings and their families. One lives in California, so he and his family don't come East all that often. Then on Thursday, I'll be with my Mom, Aunt, Uncle, and one of my cousins. I guess one thing I'm thankful for this year is that I'm having Chinese on Wednesday and turkey only on Thursday!!! hahaha

Happy (early) Thanksgiving and have a great week!

I went with my mom on Thursday afternoon out to Medina for a specific reason. She wanted to get some wool socks made from Alpaca wool. So, we stopped by Majestic Meadows Alpaca Farm just North of Rte 18. She got a couple pairs and DANG!!!! Those socks are warm!

If you are someone (like me on occasion) who's feet get cold no matter what, I suggest giving these a try. A good stocking stuffer idea perhaps??? 

It was announced a few days ago that the "A Christmas Story" house in Tremont was put up for sale. Now, it appears that several cast members from the movie are thinking of going in together and buying the property as a group! Yano Anaya who played Grover Dill, was in town for the premiere of the new sequel, and confirmed the cast is considering this move.

Over 150,000 people visit every year. About 40,000 in the month of December alone! That would be really cool to see the property owned by the people who were actually in the movie!

We will see what happens! 

First, let's start with the Guardians! For the third time in his career (all with Cleveland believe it or not) Terry Francona has won AL Manager of the Year! The other years being 2013 and 2016 (is that one any surprise? lol). Only Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox, and the 2022 NL Manager of the Year Buck Showalter of the Mets have won the honor four times.

Unfortunately, Steven Kwan did not win Rookie of the Year. However, that by no means deminishes what a tremendous year he had for the Guards. The whole season and team was a thing to witness, especially with all of those rain delays and rain outs! haha.

Then there are the Cavs. What a nice surprise! They lose their season opener, then go on an eight game win streak! Granted they're now on a four game losing streak, BUT it is early in the season. We're still in 4th place in the Eastern Conference and 2nd in the Central Division only to Milwaukee. What is getting me excited is that different guys seem to step up on various nights. Should be an exciting season. GO CAVS!!!

Sorry for the seriousness of this one. I was watching an episode of Hoarders before I went to bed Monday morning, and it really got me thinking. The episode was about a man who filled his house after the death of his longtime partner. The death happened six years earlier, but it was as fresh for him as if it had happened just last week! He had clearly not taken the time or gotten the help to deal with his grief.

My point is this is something we must do for ourselves. As a personal note, in the coming months, I will lose my dad to cancer. I am dealing fine right now. Will I need counseling after the fact? Who knows? If I do, I will not hesitate to seek that out because I know I will feel much better. As I have mentioned before I suffered severe depression in college. Yes, at times I was suicidal. Luckily I got counseling and began feeling better between that and medication. 

Any time I feel I need help, I have always been one to seek it out. If you are someone who tends to hide emotions or pain, I urge you to talk to someone on a professional basis. Just give it a try. You will be able to then deal with the issues, loss, pain, etc in a much healthier way. I know it worked for me.

My weekend was simple and relaxing. On Friday, I had dinner with my brother and my mom - that's really about it. On Saturday, I went shopping for food at the pet store and went to the grocery store to get food for myself. Early on Sunday, I played with Buttercup for a bit and caught up on some TV. I watched a few episodes of Family Guy, a couple Hoarders episodes, and a little The Price is Right too. In the evening, I had dinner again with my mom and then came into work. 

Pretty simple and quiet. Every now and then it's nice to have a weekend like that. I'd also say the weather cooperated as well ;) lol.

The CMA Awards were Wednesday night, and there were a lot of big winners - especially Luke Combs, Cody Jonson, and Lainey Wilson! They each won two of the major awards. Below is the list of the big winners from the night:

Entertainer of the Year - Luke Combs

Female Vocalist of the Year - Lainey Wilson

Male Vocalist of the Year - Chris Stapleton

Vocal Group of the Year - Old Dominion

Vocal Duo of the Year - Brothers Osborne

Single of the Year - "Til You Can't" by Cody Johnson

Song of the Year - "Buy Dirt" by Jordan Davis/Luke Bryan

Album of the Year - "Growin' Up" by Luke Combs

New Artist of the Year - Lainey Wilson

Music Video of the Year - "Til You Can't" by Cody Johnson

Congratulations to all of the winners!

The 5th season of "The Crown" was released on Netflix today! I'm not normally one to get into a TV series like this anymore...except I LOVED "Schitt's Creek"! This drama about the British royal family is another exception for me. Now I'm usually not even that big into following them either - I don't get up early for the weddings, hang on every word or action of theirs, etc.

I do find this series interesting in that it's a fictionalized version of real events. It has had a way to show the members of the family as real people and as a family unit. This has been an interesting look into historical events through the lens of a fictionalized piece of entertainment.

I'm excited to get back into the series!