It’s the very last Saturday of 2019, and Linda has given us a slow-pitch softball for our Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. We’ll gather at the bar one last time and see what we can make of:
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘year.’ Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!”
I think we are going to enjoy this 52nd edition.
If we were having a beer, you be questioning my work ethic.
“Hi Dan, sorry I’m a little late, I see you started without me.”
“Actually, David, you’re on time, I was a little early, I had to get to the hardware store before it closed.”
“It’s only three o’clock, what time do they close?”
“Three o’clock.”
“Seems early, no wonder Home Depot is winning the battle with the little guys.”
“Really? Who wants to shop for hardware on a Saturday night?”
“True. I would like to shop for some bourbon, where’s Cheryl.”
“I hate to be the one to tell you…”
“Oh no, not again.”
“Yep, Cheryl took some time off for the holidays.”
“What’s with you people?”
“Excuse me…do you want to order something? Sounds like you’ve already been drinking.”
“Hello – – – Brad.”
“Hello, David. Are you being charitable for Christmas?”
“I suppose the season still has some influence.”
“Would you like your regular, albeit curious order?”
“I would. Do you remember it?”
“Willett Reserve, neat. A snifter of seltzer. A glass of ice and two cherries.”
“That’s pretty good.”
“Cheryl sent me a text.”
“Of course.”
“Whatever works, Skippy.”
“That’s what I say, old man.”
“Ooh, I think he got you David.”
“As long as he gets the drink order right, I don’t much care what he thinks. He’s the one getting a smaller tip.”
“I’m sure that’s consistent with his expectations.”
“You know what’s consistent with my expectations? Good customer service. I remember when it was standard procedure.”
“Hence the ‘old man’ in Brad’s reply.”
“Speaking of replies, you never answered my question.”
“What question?”
“What’s with you people?”
“I thought that was a figure of speech.”
“No, it’s an observation that some of you are taking advantage of a midweek Christmas to slack off for the entire week.”
“Cheryl had to take a few vacation days before the year ended, or she would lose them. I hardly think that’s slacking off.”
“Here you go, sir. One bourbon, one seltzer and a glass of ice.”
“Thanks Brad. I see you remembered the cherries – you put them in the seltzer, but that’s OK, I can move them.”
“Thanks guy.”
“No problem, I’m sure.”
“Reaching out to the younger generation, David?”
“He’s harmless, Dan. No sense in my tweaking my blood pressure over him.”
“That’s how it works.”
“How what works?”
“Language. ‘No problem’ is officially replacing ‘you’re welcome’ according to reliable sources.”
“And who would these reliable sources be?”
“OK, I stretched that a bit. I saw it in an Ask Amy column.”
“Ask Amy? The millennial Dear Abbey?”
“I think she’s a niece or something. I read it sometimes.”
“Is that why you haven’t been writing?”
“Huh?”
“You hid behind Christmas on Wednesday, you skipped Thursday and Friday altogether.”
“I offered an appropriate one-line greeting for Christmas. Norm put Thursday Doors on a holiday break, and I never post on Fridays.”
“You post on the last Friday of the month. For that world-whatever thing.”
“OK, yes, the ‘We Are the World’ blogfest is normally the last Friday of the month, but not in December.”
“Are you planning to hide behind the holiday and post ‘Happy New Year’ next Wednesday.”
“More likely Happy New Year from the Fifth Dimension.”
“Again? You’re going to watch the Twilight Zone Marathon, again, Dan?”
“I am, and since I’m retired, I can watch the early episodes on New Year’s Eve. I used to miss those because we worked until noon.”
“Are there any good ones on that early?”
“According to Paul’s list some of my favorites – ‘Walking Distance’ and ‘Perchance to Dream’ are both on before nine a-m. Not to mention ‘The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine’ which you might like.”
“Which one is that?”
“The movie star who longs for the past.”
“No doubt a reference to my remembering when common courtesy was actually common. Sounds like someone doesn’t want a second Corona.”
“I’m just kidding. I happen to agree with you. I just don’t argue with Skippy.”
“Now you’re calling me Skippy? I thought you were different, Dan.”
“Brad, you once said it was a term of endearment.”
“I don’t remember saying that.”
“No offense, Brad, but you don’t remember a lot of things.”
“I guess that’s true, David. You two clowns want another round?”
“Clow…”
“Easy, David. We do, Brad – we do indeed.”
The gallery includes a little of this and that, but I want to share some news. Cheryl, that would be Cheryl Pennington, who enjoys a virtual part-time gig behind the bar, has moved her blog. I’m sure she’ll explain things in her own time, but for now, all you need to know is that she’s moved to Blogger. I’ll make it easier, bookmark this link – https://dweezepenny.blogspot.com/ to her blog’s main page. Her latest post is here.
No Facilities 
I’m hearing about ‘end-of-decade depression’ (THAT’S a new one on me!!), what happens to today’s generation at the end of the year?! Must be where the year-end hic-up comes from – oh no, that’s the alcohol.
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That’s a new one on me, too! Somehow, I’ve managed to feel good about the end of seven decades, one being a millennium. Oh well, I’m sure they’ll survive. I’ll work on that hic-up. I hope you have a wonderful new year/decade, GP.
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And you too my friend!
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Thanks for letting me know about Cheryl. Now if I could just get you to show up in my e-mail . . .
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I am sorry about the email – I have no control over that. It’s happened to me several times this year with blogs that I follow. It is annoying.
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First, thanks for the heads up on Cheryl’s blog.
Skippy/Brad is giving David a run for his money today…..but apparently it will come back to bite him in his tip!
Great shots of MiMi and MuMu today. They are such pretty kitties. Maddie couldn’t take a bad picture if she wanted to. Boy! Sammy is getting feisty, isn’t he? Maddie will be watching him very closely!
I LOVE the picture you took at the stop light. I don’t understand what happened, but it produced a great picture. It looks like you painted it in water colors!
The term “No problem” doesn’t bother me the way it does a lot of people. Expressions have been around forever and we run them into the ground until someone comes up with a new one.
Enjoy the rest of 2019 Dan.
🐾Ginger 🐾
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Thanks Ginger. I’ll be mentioning Cheryl’s new place for a while. Changing platforms tends to result in folks being lost. I lost a bunch of followers when I moved to WordPress from Blogger; I hope I can help her avoid that.
The squirrels are getting very bold. We talk about being ambushed while we’re out with Maddie – they come running in packs of 3 or 4. They’re cute, but Maddie has to draw some boundaries. I think the deck is supposed to be off-limits. I’m not even sure she wants us up there without her.
I have no idea what I did at the stop light. I knew the light was about to change, so I just picked up the camera and clicked. I must have put it in a different mode, because about 6 pictures were too blurry to make out. Why this one looks relatively sharp, I can’t explain. I do like it.
MuMu is making her way back into the rest of the house, sometimes, regardless of Maddie. So far, Maddie seems to be behaving better. Fingers crossed as we enter 2020 with these three M-girls.
‘No problem’ / ‘No worries’ are both falling into the normal language that they no longer make me shake my head, as is the tendency for people to begin every sentence with “so.”
I hope you enjoy the last weekend of 2019, Ginger. As always, thanks for visiting.
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It’s simple to add Blogger blogs to the WordPress reader.
Another great post, Dan. When our almost 18 year old grandson was younger, we bought him a Bird-opoly game which he wanted to play over and over again.
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Thanks for that information, Maggie. I don’t use the Reader very often, but that’s very good to know.
We frequently play the Pittsburgh Edition, but this one is fun. I’m not bankrupt yet, but it doesn’t look good for me.
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Did you survive to play another day, Dan?
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I did, but I fear the second half will be short and end badly for me.
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Hahaha – that “old man” phrase brought me back and enjoyed the dear Abby clip on “no problem”
And your post – glad C had time off for holidays – 😊🍺
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Thanks Yvette. That column of hers occurred on a day that a facebook friend was teasing me about hiding behind Christmas. It seemed too good to pass up.
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Yes – too
Good
To pass up
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Oh boy, Dan, I am guilty of the “no problem,” “no worries,” and “so.” I don’t know when or how I picked that up, but perhaps I need to start reducing the number of times I say them. What do you think? (I know, you are tempted to answer with “No worries, Mary.”)
Your M girls are adorable as always, and glad you had a nice Christmas with the Editor and Faith. Enjoy the Twilight Zone marathon and have a great start to the coming year.
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Thanks Mary. The only one I would ditch is “So” – In Toastmasters, we were taught that that’s a crutch-word, something we say when we haven’t finished our thoughts about what to say and are afraid to pause. No problem/worries doesn’t really bother me much. It’s just different.
I hope you enjoy New Years, however you choose to celebrate.
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Hi Dan! Glad I’ve got some time off and that Skippy is, slowly, evolving. Well, at least you are all finding your common ground. I sense the calm in you since you retired. That makes me happy! Thanks for the shout out and link to my new space. I did create a post on WP with a link today. I don’t want to lose contact with my blogging friends. Now I have the task of going to each one and follow using my new space. I hope your New Year is off to a grand pre start. It sounds like you have a handle on the “Zone” event. Happy watching! We have our monopoly set sitting out. It’s my favorite version to date-Stranger Things.
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Thanks Cheryl. I’ll keep tossing in some links from the bar, and sharing on Twitter. We’ll get the word out. I think it’s good that you got a jump on the new year. Now, you’re already rolling.
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First, before I forget it, WP isn’t letting me post under pics still and I have to say the 3d picture made me think you were holding out on me, that you sketched it!
Visiting peeps pages today, LOTS of us (not-so-secretly) watch tele marathons on the holidays. I think I may have to try the Zone — I didn’t watch it much as a kid. Xmas we had no family to bother with and I had easy to fix food stuffs and we binge-watched the Closer. With the Kranks thrown in for laughs.
Thanks for the head’s up on Cheryl… we need to tell her to stop changing her blog location… crazy woman.
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It’s funny Kate. I thought of you when I saw that photo. I wondered if I could pass it off on your Virtual Sketchwalk ;-) Seriously, if I could draw that well, I’d be a regular. I honestly don’t know what I did. I have one other photo, from several years ago, that has a drawing feel to it, but I know what I did there, I had the camera set on manual for a long exposure. The picture is black and white and severely over-exposed. This one retained the strong colors.
I hope this new home works for Cheryl. I fillow a bunch of people on Blogger, so it’s an easy change for me.
We’re also have a winter storm warning in effect through Tuesday night. Sleet and freezing rain…again. Not a good time to be on the road with a bunch of amateur drinkers.
Happy New Year, if I don’t see you :-)
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Oooh Monopoly fun! I guess I missed the memo regarding #WATWB. Now the light bulb is on 😂. Happy Saturday !!
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That game remains to be finished. It has been fun, but I was slow to acquire my favorite properties – the dice are not my friends.
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Those that take days to finish are the best.
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I do use ‘no problem’ but not in place of you’re welcome. And I use ‘no worries’ too. Mostly, I appreciate the younger generation because the ones I know are very good people and I don’t like generational prejudice going in either direction. Hope all of us have a good year in 2020.
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I’ve gotten used to ‘no problem’ – my problem with it was that it was often used in a way that seemed to shift the issue into my court, kind of like a sarcastic “that’s ok.”
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Well, if someone has a sarcastic tone but I really take it to mean ‘don’t worry about it’ or at least that is how I use it, like ‘no worries.’ Now you’ve got me worried people are thinking I am being sarcastic when I say that. ;)
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I doubt you would come across like that.
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If I was being sarcastic I think people would know it. :)
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I’ve a bit of a head cold and so when I first read your post I thought you’d gone to the Home Depot for bourbon.
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Ha ha. Not yet 😏
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I’ve probably been guilty of saying “no problem” in place of “you’re welcome” a time or two. Like Dear Amy indicated, it seems that the response is innocent so someone saying either one is OK by me. But, I don’t think I’ve heard it said with sarcasm… yet anyway :) Good to know about Cheryl’s blog. I know a lot of people who have switched from Blogger to WordPress but not the other way around. I’m curious to know why she made that decision so I hope she explains at some point. You are a good friend to help her with the transition.
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Thanks Janis. I generally am not bothered by ‘no problem.’ I do think we’re in a transition period. I think Cheryl will explain, but WordPress has been driving me crazy this year. Between the problems and the ads they put on the free blogs, it’s getting tiresome.
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I agree about the ads I don’t mind paying extra to have them go away from my blog. Free is nice but I’m sure it must cost WordPress a lot to support the system.
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I understand that, and I don’t mind some ads. That said, when they started placing ads with large images in the body of posts, I think they went a little too far.
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‘you people’….I use that when I want to really tick off our IT Department. What a caustic little phrase that is–which is probably why I love it. :D Mimi…she is so darn cute. Ya know–I don’t mind ‘No Problem’ but I get a bit miffed that people cannot even write words out any more. Can I tell you how many emails I get with “YW” “K” and “NP”. What the heck?? Or should I say, WTH??
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Ha ha – or just reply with emojis. I spent 42 years at thf receiving end of “you people” and it did have your desired effect. IT gets such a bad rap (often well deserved).
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I thought Amy’s advice was pretty good. Enjoyed the photos. The Monopoly game looks terrific. Skippy needs to go to his room.
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Ha ha – I’ll send him straight away, John. The National Parks edition is fun. They replaced railroads with ‘activities’ but I call them railroads.
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I can imagine you would still call them railroads.
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In the Pittsburgh edition they are the two inclines, PAT Bus and the T. I can live with that.
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Of course
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I’m excited about the National Parks Monopoly Game since I didn’t know it existed before now and I just got a National Parks wall calendar to feed my dreams. Also, I appreciate how Brad and David seem to be making progress in their relationship, but then they regress – the ongoing struggle is real life.
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Thanks JoAnna. This is an interesting version on Monopoly. They did a good job of representing the standard properties, and the results of the Chance and Opportunity Chest cards, albeit now Wilderness and Battlefield experiences ;-)
I’m not sure what to make of Brad and David. I guess we’ll all have to wait and find out where that goes.
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Looking forward!
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I like Perchance to Dream as well.
I say “Of course” as a frequent “You’re welcome” and I don’t mind No problem, but it’s the same amount of syllables and has less grace.
Anyway, our female boss gave us 20-26 off. Then she realized they needed a thing on 23 and asked if anyone would trade 23 for 26. I remained quiet. Mentor said she’d work 23 for 30 and Reception said she’d work 23 for 26. Everyone was happy. Except male boss was not there, and when he came in Monday and I wasn’t there, the schedule was explained to him and he was not happy. He was further unhappy we weren’t working 24. 24?!? No one in our line of work needs to work 24. That’s just crazy talk. However, when he came in on 27, he seemed to be over the whole thing and confirmed with me twice about when I’d be there, Reception would be there, just Mentor would miss one day. Apparently no one told him no one will be in 31 or 1 and I didn’t point it out. Phew. He’ll be out for over a week, and he won’t know, and I think it’s all swell :P
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I’m glad you got the holiday schedule worked out. I always appreciated that we closed early on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, but, truth be told, no one ever did any work on either of those mornings. The hardest part for me, on years like this, was going back to work the day after the holiday. I used to try to save a couple vacation days, but then they changed the vacation year to match our fiscal year (ending on Nov-30) and that meant using your new vacation time and I just couldn’t see a reason to do that.
I hope you’re enjoying the season.
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I have to say, I got a little anxious at home and was glad to go back to work. I think next year I will do some hour-shifting in the week prior.
I’m guessing you didn’t have phone work if y’all could just not do work? I haven’t reached a level where I can say, “Reception, hold my calls while I crank this draft out.” Dreams! — Haha!
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You don’t get a lot of calls when you insure nuclear reactors. The only people who ever called me were vendors
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Ah. Hm. I rather think that’s good news!
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It surely is.
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Amazing photos!!!
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Thanks. Your other comment was tagged as spam. Sorry, but the link to your page appears with your name and gravatar. That should be sufficient.
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ohhhhh!!! the i am sending you the link again https://shaheshal.wordpress.com
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Weren’t you the one who wrote recently about hearing something new and then having it pop back up repeatedly in quick succession after that? That’s how I’m feeling about ‘Ok, Boomer’. I heard that expression for the first time a few weeks ago and now it’s popped up multiple times – including in your post here. It must be an American-ism because it hasn’t surfaced here … yet. I guess it’s payback time from the Millennials, tired of getting dumped on repeatedly by our generation.
Happy New Year, Dan. I hope retirement is treating you well. Starting your new year off doing something you really enjoy – the Twilight Zone Marathon – makes complete sense to me 😀
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Thanks Joanne. I did write about that phenomenon, and ‘OK Boomer’ – I guess it’s becoming more of a thing than I realized. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and a great new year.
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Oh, good for Brad! All he needed was for someone to speak his language, as it were. I’ve already been to Cheryl’s new blog and signed up to get new posts by email. Don’t want to miss a line or a photograph!
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Thanks Marian. I’m not sure what Brad needs. I’ll work on it.
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Mattie looks to be taking out her frustrations about Sammy on the look-alike stuffed animal. 🙂 I was always amazed how fast our labs could remove stuffing from Christmas toys.
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Maddie tears a small hole in the toy and pulls the stuffing out bit by bit. She’s like a surgeon.
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Wow, that’s a good one! I do enjoy the old Twilight Zone shows from time to time. They usually make you think. And I always love a good bartender story. Keep ’em coming and happy new year!
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Thank you very much.
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A bit of the clash of the old vs the new. My money bet goes to David for maintaining a far more civil debate. Brad just seems to blurt it out, yet he is clever. I think we oldsters need the youngins – and vice versa.
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Thanks Jennie. The friend of mine who is championing Skippy is also very clever. We all need each other.
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We do, Dan. That’s what makes the world go around. Happy New Year!
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I’ll head over to check out Cheryl’s new spot now. Changing locations is a bear.
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Thanks Laura. I’m going to continue top include some links to her new place for a while. I remember when I moved here from Blogger. A few folks got lost.,
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I wondered about the transition from ‘you’re welcome’ to ‘no problem’ but I thought it was because I notice ‘no problem’ since they say that in Jamaica. ;-) Cheers to you and yours – I’ve so enjoyed reading your blog in 2019, I’ll be back more in 2020 too!
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