Tuesday...UPDATED

Don't be alarmed!  The LtPC is alive and well in River City!

I've actually started an entry each of the last couple of days, and have been distracted away for different reasons.  Then, once it got to the evenings, my schedule kept me mostly off the computer.  There was also some wine involved, but what else is new?  I'll do better the rest of this week.

The Home Page pic is a one-day offering.  Isn't New Year's Day about some football?  Is there a more recognized game than The Grandaddy of the Bowls?  (Never having been there, the reports that I have heard suggest that the seating at the Rose Bowl is a little flat, and the viewing therefore not the best.  However, my guess is that it is a little warmer there than here in the Midwest, which is a big plus today.)

Has there been a bigger charade pulled on the American public than The Fiscal Cliff?  My vote is to "throw the bums out!"  All of 'em.

Props to 1 and 1.1 and family for hosting an All-Star Christmas on Harvest Path.  And to 3 and 3.1 for arranging the discounted room rates at the Sheraton.  I hope that our future Christmas meetings are as equally successful.

I had that Winter-driving pic up as the Home Page image for one day to recognize that the trip back from Woodbury was pretty exciting road-conditions-wise.  That extra couple of inches of snow that came down in Minnesota on Thursday night produced slick, snow-covered roads for over half of the way to Bettendorf.  I was the guy blasting along in the left lane.  Sorry.

Here's just a couple more pics of 1.01 and 1.02 from our Christmas FFF on Harvest Path.  First, we have 1.02 mooching pizza from 4.  He needs to protect his share from the family scraps-vacuum.  Then we have 1.01 in the hotel pool with 3.  This one is a little blurry, but she doesn't exactly present a still object.  I see swimming lessons in her future.  She had a blast in the pool and shows no immediate fear of water.  (Then again, her Auntie M didn't show any fear either, as I recall!)

And the party pic was also a one-hit-wonder.  Sounds like 2 and 4 carried the family banner for New Year's Eve parties.  Very quiet at my end with The Winniferous.  My pals Pete and Cal each stopped by for a while, but I wasn't motivated to get to the party at Geneva (its not the evening to be having a couple of cocktails and driving) and there was a sinus virus at my pal Ron's house.  Plus, I'm old.

In other boring news, I took the down-time last night to pack three bags of clothes for Goodwill, most of which had not been off the shelf or a hanger for over a year.  And a separate bag of shoes.  If there's a 6'2", 180 lb. person-in-need at the church door on Thursday, he could find a decent wardrobe in those bags.

(I have clients who annually claim hundreds of dollars for used items like those in my bags, that in reality have a street-value of near zero.  I mean, if they're giving the stuff away, how much value can a few used shirts have?  It has always amazed me when generally well-meaning people think that fudging on their tax return is okay.)

Okay.  The games have started.  I'll get back to this later today.  Fo' sure.

Now Later....As promised.

I used New Year's Day to begin the task of  inventorying and sorting the various boxes, piles and shelves of "stuff" that have accumulated in the 10 years that I have called Maplecrest "home".  (Actually, there are also a couple of boxes that date back to Mother as well, but after a brief survey of those treasures, I decided that they could wait for another day.)

Most of the stuff had found its way to my second bedroom, which gets no other use, so I began there. Progress was made, but Rome was not built in a day.  One motivation is that I want to get that room fully organized as a future game room for visitors from Harvest Path.  It won't be the Mecca that exists on Century Heights, but there 'll be enough to occupy young minds while we light the grill on my famous driveway.

Is there any market out there for used paperback beach-trash (or airline) novels?

Looks like 2 will have a furnace man in her future.  I gave it a shot, and got a reading from my pal Ron, but it looks like there's a defective part in play.  Its one of those electronic-ignition furnaces, and its taking an automatic shut-off route.  Is there a Murphy's Law at work when the problem develops on the coldest day of the Winter?  Over/Under on a repairman being available tomorrow?

And how 'bout those Big Ten super powers, eh?

OK.  Hope the Peanut Gallery has a great 2013.  Resolutions coming later this week.

BCOT