Dan Antion

Christmas Tag – #SoCS

Sometimes, the limes are too big.

So, Linda G. Hill decided to give us a difficult Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, and Laura tagged me in a Christmas question thingie. Linda is offering bonus points, so I have to work with that.

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘hairy.’ Use it any way you’d like. Bonus points if you use it to mean more than one thing. Enjoy!”

If we were having a beer, you would be trying to help me respond to Laura’s Christmas Tag.

“Hi guys. What can I get for you today?”

“Surprise, surprise, Cheryl, I’ll have a Corona.”

“One Corona for Dan. How about you? What would you like today, bourbon or wine?”

“What I would really like is a different playlist.”

“Aww, what’s wrong with Christmas carols, Scrooge?”

“I don’t like ‘Little Drummer Boy’ – I want to make it stop.”

“Look, I feel the same way about ‘Rockin Around the Christmas Tree’ but you don’t see me complaining.”

“You work here. You can’t complain.”

“I can, but there’s lots of Elvis songs on this list, so I’m good. Now, bourbon or wine?”

“Bourbon.”

“You know, you just answered half of the first question I got tagged with by a fellow blogger.”

“Who is that?”

“Laura, over at Riddle From the Middle.”

“Oh, I love her blog. I saw that she tagged you. Here’s your beer, and here’s your bourbon. I’ll be back with the ice and seltzer.”

“Yeah, I’m supposed to thank her, but I usually don’t do these things.”

“Once a year Dan, we already know the food and drink you prefer, wasn’t that one of her questions. “

“It was, but I’m not having wings for Christmas, Cheryl. And speaking of drink…?”

“Yes?”

“This lime is too big, I can’t shove it in the bottle.”

“I’ll get you a glass.”

“Well, I have a glass so, cheers, now, what do you have for dinner on Christmas?”

“A bunch of shrimp and roast beef. We try not to have to do a lot of cooking.”

“You buy the shrimp ready to eat?”

“No, I do them. Not a big deal, kinda like a tradition.”

“Here you go, a nice frosted glass for Dan, seltzer in a snifter and a glass of ice, for Scrooge. I have to deal with the party downstairs. I’ll be back before you need food.”

“Thanks Cratchit, I mean Cheryl, and thanks for the cherries in my bourbon.”

“You’re welcome – now cheer up!”

“OK! So, what other questions were on that list?”

“Loose tinsel, garland tinsel or no tinsel?’

“Garland – loose tinsel makes the tree look hairy.”

“OK. We are clearly in Laura’s ‘hell no, you’re not coming near my tree with that tinsel stuff’ category.”

“Why?

“MiMi and MuMu’s predecessors, Oreo and Cookie. I think it was Cookie that ate some tinsel.”

“Got it. No need for details on how that didn’t end well.”

“Exactly.”

“Actually, we only put garland on the tree at our place at the shore.”

“Cool, you answered another question.”

“Huh?”

“Laura asked if you have more than one tree and if you decorate them differently.”

“Why am I answering all your questions? I think she tagged Dan, not Dan’s buddy.”

“Yeah, but my answers are boring. We only have one tree.”

“Well, technically, I only have one.”

“One per house – let’s not even go there.”

“That party seems to be chilled for a bit. Can I get you guys another round?”

“I think we’re ready, Cheryl, and some wings. Why are you covering the lounge today?”

“Jen was visiting her in-laws up in Vermont. It snowed last night, and apparently getting out of their place requires driving on some hairy logging road.”

“You’re sweet to cover for her.”

“She’s a good kid. Did you get all of Laura’s questions answered, Dan?”

“No, I’m giving up.”

“Give us one more. I’ll think about it while I send a Corona out to find a skinny lime.”

“OK – ‘Lights – big or small? white or multicolored? blinking or solid?’ How’s that?”

“I’ll be back.”

“Well, you didn’t ask me, but I prefer small, white, and blinking.”

“I like small, but multicolored and solid.”

“One Corona, another splash of bourbon and I like all kinds of lights, but a blue display makes me oooohhhh and ahhhhh…”

“Thanks Cheryl. Wait, is that Elvis?”

“Yep – ‘Why Can’t Every Day Be Like Christmas’ – one of my favs.”

“I hope you have a blue Christmas, but not the Elvis kind.”

Truth be told, a wee bit of editing was required today. Today’s gallery is some of the usual suspects and some from a recent trip to Washington, DC. I’m supposed to tag a bunch of you with new questions, but I got too many words already. Check out Laura’s place and join in with her questions. And check out Cheryl’s place to see how holiday spirit is done!

I always love the view going into the Metro Station under Union Station in DC.
The Red Line form Union Station in Washington, DC to Silver Spring. I seem to be alone.
Not what you want to see when checking into your hotel.
Christmas lamp for Joey.
Open air pedestrian mall in Silver Spring, MD.
I was in DC for a meeting. The sun made it hard to pay attention.
Christmas tree at Washington, DC’s Union Station
Miniature train display at Washington, DC’s Union Station.
Washington, DC’s Union Station
The view from my hotel in DC. I wonder how they knew?
I still hope to ride over this trestle on CT Rail’s Hartford Line.
This was an accidental image, but I like it.
Wake-up Hartford!
We got a little bit of snow the other night. Maddie is checking it out.
Light snow on my new roof.
MiMi curls into the cradle perfectly.
“Where is that guy with my brush?” “Coming MuMu!”

74 comments

  2. I don’t think I’m going to try this week’s prompt, too many weird scenarios just popped into my head!! :) You did great though.
    Outside of the tree, the train station didn’t look very decorated?

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    • I was a little nervous when I saw that prom

      The center section of the train station, the one with the crived staircases between levels was decorated a bit. Some of the columns were wrapped in greenery as were some of the stairs. Nothing over the top.

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  4. LOL – way to combine two prompts into one! Nice photos too, I like the accidental one – and your final building shot with the light dusting of snow looks great! Congrats!

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  5. You managed to get the bonus point, Dan! YAY!! Good for you! I can relate about the Christmas tree. We do not put one up in our house. The last one was a disaster. Let’s just say hubby and I were awakened to a crash and as we ran downstairs there was our Christmas tree laying on the ground with glass ornaments shattered. We’ve also had candy canes eaten and tinsel swallowed. Nope. No Christmas tree in our house. Those cuddly purring Angels are the culprits! 😉

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    • Thanks Amy – those cute cuddly boys and girls play havoc with things when you bring a tree inside. We have a small tree, tucked into a corner and decorated only on the upper half. MiMi still manages to get into it, but she’s doing less damage as she gets older. Fortunately, she’s not heavy enough to tip it. And, if you’ve dealt with tinsel being eaten, you know why it will never be a thing here.

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      • Tinsel can be life threatening and is nothing to fool around with when you have cats. Yes, those cats do get into the darnedest spots, don’t they? I actually have a manger scene that I have out all year round, way up on a shelf that my cats cannot get to. I have a little bit of Christmas all year round. (smile)

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  7. I walk past that tree every day, Dan! And the model train. The great hall is an inspiring sight year-round, but especially at Christmas. Glad you got a chance to see it again.

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    • Thanks Paul. I envy you that commute. This was down-meeting-home, and was probably my last trip to DC as a working person. I imagine I’ll be back as a tourist though, there’s so much to see. And, if I come back, it will be on a train.

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  8. Beautiful Christmas trees and the shot you took accidentally is really nice! Neat miniature train display.

    MiMi and MuMu are adorable as always. Maddie is probably thinking, “Okay it snowed, so where’s my Mt. Maddie?” Soon enough sweet girl, soon enough!!

    We lucked out with maybe 1/2′ of the white stuff which turned to rain. Have a great weekend with all your girls.
    🔹 Ginger 🔹

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    • Thanks Ginger – Maddie was looking for the rest of the snow, but that was all we got that night. She’s pacing upstairs right now. It’s time for her walk. MiMi is hoping for colder temps, so The Editor will build a fire. MuMu just want’s to be brushed.

      Have a great weekend!

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  9. 💕😀Union Station looks amazing. It’s like a travel agent planner put the trip together for you, complate with crane scenery! I love all the photos. And I love this prompt and its source of inspiration. My Christmas spirit waxes and wanes but having at least half my children with me this year has me feeling “giddy as a school girl.” Excuse me now, I think I must go stand on my head. 👏🏻

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    • Ha ha – the reformed Scrooge. I was in DC for my last AIIM Board Meeting. I remember the first one. It was in Union Station in Dallas. Several of our rooms had a view of the train yard. Some people complained but I was happy. The crane was a nice touch.

      I hope you’re having a good weekend. Not too busy.

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  12. I agree with Cheryl…blue lights make me warm all over and go ooooooh. One of my favorite trees is when we decorate Natasha’s white tree with blue lights, and blue and silver ornaments. It’s gorgeous! I prefer small lights that don’t blink. The blinking lights are too distracting.

    I’m invited to a friend’s house for Christmas Eve. At first, the theme was going to be White Christmas, but she changed it to “Baby it’s Cold Outside” and is serving chili. One of the reasons I love her is she doesn’t take the hoopla over Christmas cups and song lyrics too seriously.

    Happy Saturday, Dan. Enjoy your day, whatever you’re doing!

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    • Thanks Mary! I’ve seen white trees with blue ornaments, and they are a special kind of stunning. Adding silver ornaments sounds like a nice touch. It’s a raining weekend, but it’s not too cold outside. A nice weekend will require a certain Pittsburgh football team to show up and play like grown men tomorrow.

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  13. Count on me to go off on a tangent.

    The photo of the trestle bridge brought back memories of a trestle railroad bridge near Chaska Minnesota over the Minnesota River. The one hundred foot bridge was designed as a swing bridge, operated by manually by turning a key. (Imagine doing that). The odd thing was, the river was only two feet deep under the bridge but back when they built it, the barge companies held political power and were lobbying to dredge the Minnesota River, so they required all bridges over the river to accommodate (imaginary) barge traffic.

    Now how is that for a tangent?

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  15. I had to laugh at ‘it didn’t end well.’ That was always the case with Kitty eating ribbon…. First thing (actually the only thing) I thought of with ‘hairy’ was one boss and his meetings about the BHAG–Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Was that supposed to get me interested in achieving it? Sorry. No. Get that brush for poor MuMu, Dan!! Have a good weekend.

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  22. Again I chuckle at similar names of your pets. You have a cat named Mimi, I have a dog named Mimi. You had a car named Oreo, I had a dog named Oreo. Great minds do follow similar tracks. LOL
    Garage is looking great by the way.

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    • Thanks Laura. I couldn’t follow all the instructions or work the whole list, but it was fun trying. ‘Hairy’ wasn’t easy to work with, so thanks for the tinsel prompt.

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  25. I love the enormous DC tree with a gazillion white lights. I think I may want to move back to lil white lights with my skinny tree but the darned LED lights just will not die and that seems so wasteful…
    Tinsel is a no for me, too. I make sure the ribbon on the tree is the width of the cats themselves, haha!

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    • Ha ha – wide ribbon – that’s the ticket. We put satin balls on the bottom so the cats have something to steal, but we have to toss them when they start ripping the thread off.

      The DC tree is amazing, and I’m always struck by how it fits in the big room. Our tree (artificial) cane with lights and we don’t add any to the mix. I put white LED lights on one shrub outside.

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  26. I’m glad I’m not the only one whose thoughts drifted to BHAGS. I worked for an organization that LOVED them and now the concept is forever engrained in my lexicon.

    For me, it’s one tree, no garland, large multi-coloured solid lights. Blinking lights should be declared a form of slow torture.

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    • Ha! My wife totally agrees about blinking lights. Fortunately, our company never embraced the BHAGS but someone tried to introduce them into an organization whose board I was on. Luckily, the effort never took off.

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  27. Loved DC’s Union station images, and the Christmas tree, the trestle bridge, and the crane!

    I have two small trees, and one big one. I put up only the small ones this year. Beaded garland, no tinsel, and no blinking lights. I love the big colorful strands, but my trees have small white lights, so when we put up outside lights it’s the big colorful strands.

    I’ve always loved the idea of having a Themed Christmas tree like a white flocked tree with blue, silver, and white decorations, but I’ve never done it.

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    • It all sounds pretty. I put a small strand of white lights on a short tree near the post lamp in our front yard.

      After I retire, I plan to camp out by that bridge and wait for my favorite train to roll across. I also plant to ride the train across.

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          • LOL!
            He-Man was watching the game via the Internet…it wasn’t televised out here. Thankfully I didn’t hear any grumbling this week so, thought it might be a good outcome for the team.
            It’s been pouring here since yesterday. You should see the mountains they’re GREEN! I don’t think it was cold enough to get any snow on their peaks though.

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            • Green? Wow – we aren’t seeing much green these days. I appreciated the rain though. I was watching the game at Faith’s and they had predicted freezing rain, which would have made for a hairy ride home from her place. It was a good outcome, but they didn’t sew it up until the last 20 seconds. Oh, my heart.

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  28. Nice post. Honestly, I was never into carols before 2011. However, when I attend Christmas Mass with Sarah I started liking the tunes. So, my favorite one is ‘Silent Night, Holy Night.’ I also like Noel, and Deck the Halls which has a nice tune to it. Also, my favorite Christmas song of Elvis is ‘Santa Claus is Back in Town.’ Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

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