Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry for she of the Evil Eye has once again changed the day she comes and it’s really tiresome but is what it is, so I will have to be up early, which I’d rather not be, and I’ll have to go somewhere to breakfast, which I’d rather not do, and then I can do the two errands and whatnot that I need to, and then I can come home and rest for an hour – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. And it IS the holiday season and here I am, sitting like so much fish, being all Scrooge-like. Bah humbug. Anyway, not much to write about for yesterday. I got about ten and a half hours of sleep, my hand behaved for most of the day – just one instance of cramping and it was brief and hallelujah for that, sister. Once up, I answered a few e-mails and decided on a Chinese chicken salad from Stanley’s – hadn’t had on in a few months. It arrived and was very good. I was a good boy and did not partake of the bread that came with it. Took the pills, did yet more organizing and clean-up, although the big clean-up day will be tomorrow. Then I decided it was the day to order everything for the Do. Most of it came via Amazon Fresh, and the stuff they were out of, only a handful of items, came via Instacart and I’m happy to say both got delivered early in the quoted time, right after seven o’clock in the evening. So, the only thing I’m missing are rolls and I’ll pick those up after I breakfast. I didn’t doze off at all, and all I really did for the afternoon and evening was watch some YouTube things, mostly Jack Benny shows, some Bob and Ray stuff – I didn’t know their stuff at all – I’d heard of them, of course, but never quite watched them – they’re very droll and very funny, but their kind of comedy would, I’m afraid, baffle today’s audiences, who only seem to respond to crass and loud and bad jokes. I also watched a bunch of best of Graham Norton shows. I had no idea who he was until about two years ago when someone suggested I watch his show, and I was delighted by him and the show, where guests really seemed to let go in ways they didn’t on other talk shows. A lot of that has to do with Norton who, for me, is the best talk show host next to Johnny Carson. He really listens to his guests but also keeps it funny and moving right along. It’s been on the air for eighteen years now and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. But it’s always a delight to watch and I’d like to see them as they air – what carries BBC 1? Not an unpleasant way to spend a Sunday, viewing-wise. At five, I had a couple of pieces of muenster cheese and a fruit bar and took pill two, and then a little while ago I had the ubiquitous English muffin and pill three. And here we are.

Today, I’ll be up by eight and out the door by eight-thirty, I’ll breakfast somewhere, do a quick Macy’s return, do a quick Gelson’s run for rolls for the Do and a snack of some sort for later in the day, then I’ll come home and at one we have a big Zoom production meeting for the play that I hope doesn’t last more than twenty minutes. I’ll say what I have to say, and that’s about all I can do, really. Then I’ll just need to rest – my voice and my being, although my voice is pretty much back to almost normal – and then watch, listen, and relax.

Tomorrow is the big clean-up day, with lots of stuff going to the garage so the home environment can be sparkling for the Do, but mostly I’ll rest and relax, then in the evening I’ll make two batches of tuna pasta salad and do all the slicing and dicing and chopping for the spaghetti sauce. Wednesday is the Day of the Do, and I’ll begin the sauce preparation at noon o’clock and that will simmer until people arrive at six. And then we do the Do. Thursday, I believe the Darling Daughter will be here and we’ll do our usual things, then I know I have a lunch and maybe one other thing, but mostly I’m free and resting until our annual Rockin’ New Year’s Eve Bash here at haineshisway.com, where we’ll ring in the New Year with our dear readers, the safest and best partay anywhere. Then the following morning, I’ll begin writing a new book, which I’ve already done a few pages for, and we’ll see how it goes and how I like it and, more importantly, how Muse Margaret likes it, although she already likes the idea of it. Then I’ll do the small gathering I’ve been doing for the past few years on New Year’s Day, where I make faux chicken stroganoff.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eight and out the door by eight-thirty, breakfast, do a Macy’s return, do a Gelson’s quickie, come home, have a Zoom production meeting, rest, then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: I was discussing the sorry state of commercials the other day, so – what were your all-time favorite commercials, both nostalgia-wise and cleverness and humor-wise, and also touching-wise? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall shed my minor Scrooge and bah humbug and replace it with holiday cheer and good tidings.