The week between Christmas and New Year’s is always a kind of odd time of year. Tracey and I are both working, lots of folks have the week off. This week seems especially odd, given the fact that for the first time in more than two years we have an empty guest bedoom. My sister-in-law’s rabbits “The Beasite Boys” were perpetually in motion and creating all kinds of noise even when Tam wasn’t staying here; now that part of the house is empty and we’ve got more room than we’ve had in years. I’m hoping that taking a few half-days off will enable me to clean the house from top to bottom: with all the activity around here (both inside and out) a rigorous cleaning is definitely in need.

With the weather this week not being quite so chilly as it has been the back patio is back open, even if you need a sweater at night. Still, with the pool light on, the backyard lights, the tiki bar and the patio lights, and the tiki torches lit creates quite a festive and tropical-looking atmosphere.

After a dozen or so years, I ditched the facial hair once and for all. It was getting all gray anyways, and I don’t need to look any older than I already am. Staring on January 2, I’m embarking on a diet based on Michael and Mary Dan Eades book, “The 6-Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle: The Simple Plan to Flatten Your Belly Fast!”. I feel like shaking things up a little bit and starting the New Year off with a blast. The first two weeks of the diet involve no alcohol and no caffeine, so you can bet my liver is looking forward to it! 🙂

Speaking of New Year’s, there are no plans at all for this year, except for Tam actually cooking us dinner on New Year’s Day in her new apartment. If I’m still up anywhere around the strike at midnight it would be a miracle, as I’m still strying to catch up on my rest from the last two crazy weeks. Which is OK – I don’t have much hope for a lot of good things to happen in 2012, so to be around to welcome it in seems to me to be a pointless exercise, anyways. It’ll come whether I’m awake or not!