as the seasons greet us!
The widescreen HDTV (not the b&w Philco) quit in the middle of the Lovely Lisa’s Hallmark channel melodrama, another episode where cutesy kids and impossibly affluent young adults chirp mindlessly about getting in “the Christmas spirit.” (Tugging on our pants: I got yer Christmas spirit RIGHT HERE!)
Even a chance encounter spikes this scribe’s hyperglycemia; we’re beginning to think old Ebenezer had the right idea, after all.
We identify with Tim Allen’s original Tool Man — we’ve got the tools, but are short on the know-how. We figured the AV receiver was kaputt, since the light lit not and no one was home. A brighter bulb would have gone out to Best Buy for another model and retrace the hook-ups. But frugality calls so we’re rerouting the various HDMI cables and RCA plugs directly to the Sony Bravia like a manic Lily Tomlin at the switchboard, half expecting to bring down the electrical grid with each attempt.
I seen fire, I seen rain
Frugality because, almost simultaneously, the Stately Manor’s water softener quit; it’s been softening since we bought the place in 1991 and Dr. Google says their life expectancy is 15 years, max. Bought a Rheem extra-hard water unit at Home Depot for $600. Saw enough of the You Tube do-it-yourself video to call Benjamin Plumbing in Fitchburg; the nice man in the basement is still at it. The meter, as they say, is running.
The water heater at our son’s condo decided to follow suit. It is so inaccessible to service that many plumbers won’t touch it. One of the few who does bills $3,150. For the third straight year, meeses set up housekeeping over the summer in the Ariens snowblower. Another $500. Tree blew down in the back yard; $750 just to bring it all the way to the ground where the Head Groundskeeper can buck it up, himself.
A month ago the iMac would not wake from its slumber; $500 recovered some of the data, but not the life story I was compiling or many of the scanned family photos. Replaced with a new 24-inch Mac with the M3 chip (a lovely pastel green) for $1,600.
Number One son, the Mental Health Warrior, needs another ketamine treatment. Finally convinced the Lovely Lisa that to get a hearing aid. Yeah! Costco! (Downside: now she can hear Blaska.)
We got the seeds and stems again blues, to recall a song from the psychedelic ‘60s. Our dog, at least, did not die today. We don’t have one.
Platinum subscribers who have endured our litany of Job’s First World travails thus far will not be spared our chagrin at the passage of Madison’s spending referenda. The public schools will eventually add another $1,400 to property taxes, the city another $300.
At the last get-together of Sun Prairie high school Class of 19(never you mind) — all of whom were much more successful — maybe the most active among us, a truly nice guy, announced that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Fighting with experimental treatments. “Boy, I did not see that coming,” he said.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: is trying to say that, this Thanksgiving 2024, the Blaska family has much for which to be thankful.
10 responses to “Banging the tin cup slowly”
“the Blaska family has much for which to be thankful.”
Amen!
The Gotch
The bright side is you got to buy all this stuff before the tariffs kick in and saved a bunch. You can always sell plasma.
River Food Pantry BREAKS RECORD In 18 Year History Ahead Of Thanksgiving
Not in a good way, or is this what Kacklin’ Kamala meant when she said BiDUMBnomics was working?
Americans can be thankful that the Kackler specifically, and Lefty generally, have had their ability to plow the economy further into the dirt removed!
The Gotch
And they thank you for your donation. Oh wait! Sorry for the mistake.
Life is hard, then you die…..
“Sometimes I Go About In Pity For Myself, And All The While A Great Wind Carries Me Across The Sky.” Ojibwe Saying
The Gotch
That is a fantastic quote. All MAGA people should take it to heart.
1) Who are “MAGA people,” and
2) Why just them?
The Gotch
Anyone else see Kamala started Thanksgiving early? Prevailing opinion is how could her people allow it to happen? How could they not? She got torpedoed.
Ohhh Lordy! I hear this tale of woe, and nobody who reads it will say, “Boy I wish I were Blaska!” No-noo-nooooo. But when the world was about to end recently because my long-lost brother (whom I adore) called me to see if I was going to die in the latest round of hurricanes, his first question was, “WHAT DID YOU DO???!!!” Indeed, in your case, the hot water heater tops the list for me. No hot water – NO LOVE and NO LIFE. I spent many Christmases in ol’ Blighty at the in-laws, and will never recover those two to three-week stints without recalling the trauma of midnight HEAT OFF til morning while wide awake with jet lag and the limited hot water for six bodies. And yet, you still managed to round out all those slings and arrows with a particularly hurty wound via the Madison political wallet-rapists. I hope things get better. You and Tim – Last Man Standing. PS. LOVED LOVED LOVED your Lily T reference.