Countdowns

Counting down to Christmas and to January 4, when the kids move. Spent a few hours at the new home site for Jason and Lori. The place has been pretty much gutted but progress is being made. The tilers were sweet and industrious. The wrong tiles lifted, the new ones done as originally specified, made a huge improvement. Spent some time lurking and looking menacing in regard to the General Contractor though. The drywaller did not show. The General Contractor was about half snide with Lori. She sticks by her guns though. She had bought sandwiches for all-including the O.F. Sometime in there her cell phone was lost but we found it. Bless her, she bought me some Florida garb-Tommy Bahama shirts which are acceptable attire for David's holiday party. I am running out of excuses to duck Jason's boss' party and am told that picture taking would be welcome. So I am prepared to enter into this with a happy heart.

Talked to Rich in Hawaii yesterday. He had been to the Pearl Harbor monument and they got a rare tour of the lower decks of the Missouri- engine rooms, ancient computers, etc. and I could tell from his talk that this was a good experience. They head home on the 23rd. A nice gift from him from Harry and David's arrived here at John Prince park. That was thoughtful. Always enjoy a great pear!

Showering yesterday there was a kid a few stalls down (all showers have individual outside entrances but the ceiling is high) who was really into the "Twelve Days of Christmas," singing with gusto and tunefully and fairly skilfully but only so far as a "partridge in a pear tree." Pretty amusing as he applied every variation and nuance from vibrato to sotto voce to recitative. A great talent awaits the world if he can only learn the words. Singing in the shower is, I think, a universal impulse that gets drummed out of us.