Posted by Pistol Pete
Today’s weather here is the only condition that truly terrifies me…freezing rain. I got stuck on the ice numerous times and didn’t get some of my papers delivered because of the hills in the neighborhoods. At some point,I decided that if my boss wanted my job he could have it (it’ll never happen,because he’s short-handed as it is.) Heavy snow predicted from tomorrow PM until Sunday PM. We got to WalMart about 8AM this morning to finish getting fixings for Christmas dinner. There just hasn’t been enough time to get everything done. Made reservations for our annual new year’s eve dinner at our favorite steakhouse. We eat about 5:30 and by 8 I’m turning in for the night. Such is the life of the old and worn out.
Meanwhile,let’s have a little fun. Grumpy cat Christmas card coming Monday. Be here.
A Christmas wish list from 1915
SEEMS HE’S TAKING HIS FAVORITE BOARD WITH HIM ON VACATION
polination.blog 
How homeless man Leo Grand learned to code and launched an app in 109 days
This man was offered either $100 cash or the chance to learn to code.He chose the latter.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/the-men-behind-trees-for-cars-app-tell-their-story-170333561.html
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How Slick Can a Porta Potty Be? Probably Nicer Than You Would Imagine
Charmin Tissue and Tailgate For troops designed these for the Army-Navy game last weekend.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/13/how-slick-can-a-porta-potty-be-probably-nicer-than-you-would-imagine/
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THIS IS HILARIOUS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5QZgoH9bfQ
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7 Common Christmas Gifts That Nobody Ever Wants
How many can you guess?
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/smart-spending/7-common-christmas-gifts-nobody-ever-wants?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO
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No way!
Snow globes?
I love snow globes.
Didn’t every little girl fall in love with snow globes after seeing Heidi?
I have been collecting them for decades. I have no idea how many I have. I love putting them out.
But a couple of my favs. have leaks. Anyone know how to get the tops off a snowglobe without breaking it.
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I bought my youngest daughter a really adorable snow globe the Christmas she was six, and she was absolutely enraptured — but then she took it downstairs to put it on her shelf, and she dropped it and it shattered. I’ll never forget her wail of anguish and despair. She was absolutely inconsolable. The globe was a limited edition thing and I didn’t think it was possible to get another one… but my son, who was 16 at the time, went online and found one exactly like it on eBay, and he bought it for his little sister. She’s 18 now and she still has it. It’s a daily reminder to her that she has the best big brother ever.
(I don’t know how to fix a leaky one, GP — better talk to a dealer and get some expert advice — I’d be afraid to mess with it, since I almost always end up making a bad situation worse!)
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Mama Buzz also. She collects the miniature ones.
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Not your average chocolate Santa! Half-ton, 2.4million calorie confectionery incarnation of Mr Claus goes on display
DW is watching me post…this got her attention
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2525830/Santa-Claus-come-town-Houston.html#ixzz2o3AqR2VP
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I noticed they have him propped up by the fireplace.
Instant hot chocolate anyone?
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Blind man and loyal dog can stay together — thanks to New Yorkers
Maybe you’re familiar with Cecil Williams,the blind man who fainted on the subway tracks and his guide dog,Orlando pulled him to safety.Orlando was due to be retired and Cecil was going to have to give him up when he got a younger dog because he couldn’t afford to keep him.New Yorkers opened their hearts and their checkbooks so Cecil can keep his beloved friend.You’ll like this.
http://nypost.com/2013/12/18/blind-man-and-loyal-dog-can-stay-together-thanks-to-new-yorkers/
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No comment needed
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I had dinner last night with my oldest and dearest friend. She participated in this over the weekend with her husband and newlywed daughter. She said it was one of the most meaningful things she has ever done. She said that they were told to stay out of Section 60, which was where the newer graves were because man of the families were there and needed more private time for the first few years to personalize the wreaths and grieve.
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What an honor it would be to live near DC and be able to do this. I would probably be in tears the whole time.
When we went to Arlington, I could not even get past the gate before I started to sob. It is so moving to see how many have served and given their lives for our freedom. When I saw the crowds around JFK’s grave, it turned me off-so many accolades for one guy, when all the others are the ones who truly made a difference.
Someday I will get to Normandy too. On my bucket list.
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I started crying 10 seconds in and had to stop watching … way too close to home.
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‘Duck Dynasty’ Christmas Special Hauls in 8.9 Million Viewers
The A&E executives took out a large caliber firearm and took careful aim at their foot.They will feel the wrath of the heartland.
http://tv.yahoo.com/news/duck-dynasty-christmas-special-hauls-8-9-million-194515780.html
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Lotto Winner Decides to Give Entire $40M Jackpot to Charity
He’d made enough to take care of himself and his kids.After his wife died of cancer he knew what to do with his winnings.
http://www.hapblog.com/2013/12/lotto-winner-decides-to-give-entire-40m.html
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Now that would be my dream. I would love to win the lottery so I could give it all away.
I guess cancer puts it all in perspective.
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He’ll have a lot of folks looking him up in Heaven. 🙂
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You Couldn’t Stain This T-Shirt if You Tried
a T-shirt coated with silicon…good old American ingenuity
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/18/you-couldnt-stain-this-t-shirt-if-you-tried/
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Fun! I might try that one day when I retire.
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Those are some expensive wish lists! How a fifth of parents will spend up to $500 on each child this Christmas
My kids never had to worry about such things…I was always broke
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2513482/Those-expensive-wish-lists-How-fifth-parents-spend-500-child-Christmas.html#ixzz2o3GkuG1D
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Me too, Pete. Our kids learned the difference between want and need early on.
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Cops: Man Flashes Gun at McDonalds, Demands Job Application
Surprisingly,he was never called back for an interview
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/12/18/Cops-Man-Demands-McDonalds-Job-Application-at-GunPoint
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MY FEELGOOD STORY OF THE DAY
Burglar’s relative says: “He could have used a warning first…”
From WTTC News in Dallas , we get this heartwarming tale of a long-time criminal, 33 year old Deyfon, who tried to climb in a window of a Texas home.
Dead burglar
The elderly owner occupant saw him and fired one shot, ending Deyfon’s criminal career. As the police do, they came by to investigate, gathered the corpse, then went to notify Deyfon’s family of his unfortunate demise. It seems that the family was very upset, because they showed up at the scene. “He could have used a warning,” Lakesha Thompson, Pipkins’ sister-in-law, complained. “He could have let him know that he did have a gun on his property and he would use it in self-defense.”
COMMENT FROM THE SIDELINE:
That’s certainly true, Lakesha. He could also have invited him in and given him a beer, then helped him cart the TV out to the curb. “Unfortunately for Deyfon , Texas is a Castle Doctrine State, and the homeowner chose to shoot Deyfon, as is right and proper to do in Texas .
For that matter, Lakesha, you could have warned Deyfon. Why didn’t YOU tell him: Deyfon, yo’ need to quit breakin’ into those peoples’ houses and stealin’ shit. Else somebody gonna to pop a cap in yo’ ass…
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Laughing all the way!
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TSO’s ‘Wizards in Winter’ is the quintessential music for those self-indulgent weenies who go to great expense to decorate their houses.I’ve posted one each year.This years features flamethrowers!!!
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I am always amazing that there are guys who do this kind of thing. I can’t even get DH to put one strand of lights on the tree.
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I got him to put up one strand. Took me more than a week of please, you promised, notes on counter, gentle nagging, WHEN THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO DO IT.
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Self-indulgent, but still fun – unless you live in their neighborhood!
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Very cool!
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You make it pretty dang hard to click the “like” button when it’s directly under Barry’s anatomically correct surfboard, ya know, Pete?
I’m with you about the freezing rain, though. I really hate that stuff. Sometimes all you can do is pull off somewhere and wait until it stops coming down and the temp drops lower so it’s not as slick. Worst condition I’ve ever seen was a warm front near Fishers Indiana that came in at night after a deep freeze where the roads were covered with about 3 inches of hard ice. Warm rain on top of ice that’s still about 10 degF. You could slide for miles.
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I had a friend who lived in a hilly part of Kentucky. They’d get this heavy fog, followed by freezing temps, so the roads would have this invisible skin of ice … really treacherous on the hilly, winding roads.
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Wow, we have nothing around here, just some fog. Amazing the difference a few miles makes. Stay safe PP.
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We’ve had lots of snow here, but the roads are fine. Most of them, anyway. On the other hand, now that my 18-year-old has her license and her own car (which she bought with her social security windfall!), I don’t have to drive much anymore. My taxi driving days are finally over.
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How does an 18 year old get a social security windfall?
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She was still a minor when her dad qualified for SS (he was 49 when she was born). If one of your parents is getting SS and you’re under 18, you also qualify for benefits. Don’t ask me why — I have no idea! Neither my husband nor I knew about this until the nice man at the SS office informed us of it. So our then-17-year-old got a year’s worth of SS checks from Uncle Sam for no reason other than the fact that she has a geezer dad. The checks stopped when she turned 18, and she actually got gypped out of what should have been her last check because her birthday was on March 31 — if she’d been born a day later she would have gotten a check for the month of March. It made me feel a little bit guilty for having had her on March 31 — I did it because she was already 2 weeks overdue and I didn’t want her to be born on April Fool’s Day! Now I owe her restitution!
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Thanks for the explanation – you learn something new every day. I guess you maybe at least owe her a gas card for that car of hers, but I think you made the right call about not being born on April Fools’ Day!
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Well, that was my thinking at the time. When a baby is two weeks overdue and you know she might come at any moment, you think about these things — what if she decides to come April 1st? In theory I think babies should be allowed to choose their own birthdays (my first three all did), but there are times when a mother has to step in an make decisions for them, to spare them unnecessary embarrassment.
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Oh, goodness. Stay safe, Pete. We are having some actual global warming here this weekend. It is supposed to be in the 70’s! The weather usually moves in from the west, though, so maybe we will have your icky stuff by Christmas.
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