Here we are once more, not watching the clock tick down to midnight, knowing it will get there without us.
It’s been a good long while since Herself and I stayed awake to greet the new year, and I see no good reason to break that streak this time around.
Impatient celebrants began setting off fireworks 7-ish, which set off the neighborhood dogs; sort of a bonus year-end racket. Miss Mia Sopaipilla remains unruffled, having developed a degree of hearing loss, and never being much frightened of anything anyway, not even the Turk, who could be very scary indeed depending on which one of the voices in his head had the conn at the moment.
Thus we take a page from “Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry,” by Ted Kooser and Jim Harrison:
We should
sit like a cat
and wait for the door
to open.
The door to 2026 will swing wide directly. Until then, sláinte to all you cats who spent 2025 helping me fill up the old literature box, clawing the furniture and keeping your tails well clear of the rocking chair. See you next year.
Mad Blog Media 
Heh. I fell asleep doing my PT exercises on the living room floor, only to be roused by my better half. Happy New Year, and for now, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Sorry about the furniture. I’ll pick you up a new davenport at Walt’s Used RV’s & Thrift Shop the next time I’m in town. In the mean time here’s a short anecdote to distract you:
Hey I had a great idea this year for getting rid of our Christmas tree. With the concern for proper disposal, I thought that since we have this massive migratory salmon river right near where we live, that I’d tie the tree to a big basalt rock with natural jute rope, and then take it out and sink it in the river about a hundred feet from shore. I figured that I could be a little more eco-friendly by loading the rock into my kayak (a 25 pound rock wouldn’t be too unmanageable) and then tow the tree along behind me as I paddle out. It really worked out well. Paddling along with the tree behind me wasn’t too bad. When I got to the location where the submersion would occur, I untied the tree, paddled around to where I was alongside of it, and then tied the rock to the jute rope already wrapped around the tree. I chuckled and said a few words about Davy Jones locker and carefully lifted the rock and tossed it into the depths. It didn’t take long for the weight of the rock to overcome the buoyancy of the tree and down it went. I had earlier looked at a depth chart for that area of the river and it was about 65 feet. The tree should make a great shelter for various fish swimming up the river. The project really worked well. I figured that next year I’ll do the same thing after the holiday except it will be with a real natural Christmas tree.
Have a Great New Year everyone ! and please keep those great food cooking stories coming.