A New Year Is Here

So...

Boy, the years a flying by.  But The Fuzz remembers reading somewhere that-

"When you're over the hill, you pick up speed."

Well that seems to be true.  And The Fuzz speaks from experience in this case.

But be that as it may, it has been quite a year.

As The Fuzz looks back at the beginning of last year, he finds that it had a wet start as well...

And then turned rather cold.

Well perhaps the cold is on the way, but for now it feels a bit like spring.

The Daffidills are already up...

And working up some blooms!

Perhaps this is not so strange since we have had rather warm weather lately.

At our Christmas gathering, everyone hung out in the yard in T-shirts.

But what got The Fuzz, was when he was out in the yard today, he found...

Violets!

Yikes

Violets blooming on

New Years Day!

But they are calling for some cooler weather.  It is supposed to make it down to freezing tonight.

But of course it is January.

The Fuzz says-

"Let it come."

A Christmas Surprise

Every year the family (those who can meets up for a "Family Christmas" gathering.

This year was no exception.

It was an overnighter for most as it was a bit of a drive for most-

And of course who wants to drive after a celebration.

There were presents exchanged, and eggnog & cookies that night.

And breakfast in the morning-

Pancakes and eggs.

And the guys made sure there was plenty of bacon and liver mush.

It was time to part ways once more.

Then came the surprise.

When a family member with the farthest to drive found herself with a vision issue*, The Fuzz and His Sweetie volunteered to drive her home.

So they took off for the Port City-

the opposite direction from their home in the woods!

That trip went OK but as evening came they found themselves a long way from home-

and no desire for the drive back.

But that is one of the perks of retirement- right?

And so they got a hotel for the night.

And why not take advantage of being at the beach?

So with a quick call to a much appreciated friend back home, they decided to add an extra day and just enjoy being there.

They drove up to Topsail Island where the family has been spending a little time in the summers now for several years.

It was pretty quiet out there this time of year-

Very few people out on the beach.

The Fuzz and His Sweetie went out there for a little bit.

It was quite windy so they didn't stay long.

The Fuzz did have to put his toes in just a little.

But there was time for a snack and a beer at the Quarter Moon before heading back down to the city.

And while they were there, The Fuzz and His Sweetie got one of those "Wild Hairs".

But That bit will have to wait for now.

*The Fuzz is happy to report that she is doing much better now and things are back to normal- for what that's worth!

Christmas Flicks

Christmas is one of those times filled with traditions-

Old & New.

Movies?

Well, yeah, sometimes movies.

It's the time of year to kick back and watch some of the old favorites.

Like The Muppet's Christmas Carrol!

The Fuzz's copy was an old VCR tape-

But alas- the VCR had died.  Finally, The Fuzz and His Sweetie drove into town in the hope of finding a DVD.

In desperation they drove over to Wally World.

The place was pretty busy for a Monday afternoon.

But of course it is the Christmas Season!

It brought back memories of those Last Minute Christmas Shopping Escapades.

That was a tradition that will not be missed.

Of course, as so often happens, although there were thousands of DVDs there, The Muppet one was not-

Nor was The Santa Clause- the other flick on their shortlist.

Well, maybe they need to try Amazon next!

Christmas On The Way

Times change.

The years go by, sometimes one hardly notices.

And then one day you turn around and things a very different.

The Fuzz and His Sweetie spent 40+ years with young'uns around the house.

Christmas was always a time of intense activity.

Lots of presents to procure and wrap up.

The house was decorated, and there was always a Christmas Tree-

And it had to be a "live*" one.

There is no way to replace that smell-

It means Christmas!

But now with the kids all gone and with their own homes, kids, and Christmas;

And living in a much smaller (if less crowded) space-

There is no Tree.

But something is missing with this.

But this year His Sweetie had an inspiration.

So on the way home from a visit they stopped and picked up a fresh Christmas Wreath.

They got out the ornaments and picked out a few favorites-

So here we are!

It may be small, but it's there-

And smells like Christmas again.

*Well maybe not "live" since it had been cut down!

Merry Christmas

Christmas 2013

Well once again it's been a while since we heard from that Slacker Fuzz.

There as been a bit more work done on that roof.  But it is not finished yet.  Part of that has been due to the weather, and part to just general busyness.  And of course, the Holidays!

The Fuzz, His Sweetie and the Not-So-Young-Anymore Daughter were off to visit family for Christmas.

Christmas Eve was our traditional Eggnog and Cookie event.  We know this seems to be a major Fire Hazard, but we assure you, everyone was quite safe.  The eggnog was excellent, especially with a bit of rum, just for flavor of course!

Christmas Day was presents and Skyping and phone calls with some of those unable to make it personally.  This was followed by dinner.

The Fuzz and his made it home safely that night.  Then it was time to hit the sack, and hopefully get some rest before he had to leave early the next morning.

It's just a busy time of year.

Christmas Lights

The Fuzz finally got around to getting some new Christmas Lights up on the trailer.

A Wet Start

It's a New Year,

The Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Thirteen!

And here in the woods, we had a wet start to it.

Well, the world didn't end, at least not yet.

So what's ahead?

It's hard to say.  

The politicians are still playing their foolish games.

But for the rest of us, life goes on.

The Fuzz hopes to do a little better here at Kinda Fuzzy this year.  Maybe he'll get some new stories up this year.  Maybe even keep up with some pix.

But for now,

It's Still Christmas!

And The Fuzz wishes all

A Happy New Year!

Christmas Travel

One advantage of going north for Christmas is a better chance for that illusive, (in North Carolina) White Christmas.

But When The Fuzz and all woke Christmas Day, here it was.  Of course we're not talking blizzard here, but it was a nice touch.

The Fuzz and His Sweetie had a pleasant morning walk in this winter wonderland.

And besides, who actually wants a blizzard, especially when they are a long way from home?

The Fuzz had traveled north though the mountains.  This avoided most of those unpleasant cities with their nasty traffic.  But with winter storms imminent, The Fuzz bit the bullet and headed home on that infamous

I-95.

It was snowy-slushy-icy at Washington.  So it was not a good time to visit the zoo, and The Fuzz continued on southward, hoping to get out of this mess.

At Richmond, traffic came to a standstill, and there was plenty of time to admire this cool looking bridge.

And then, many hours later, there was this welcomed sight.

There was still a good bit of driving left, but they made it home safe and sound.

All in all, it was a good Christmas visit.

White Christmas?

This year, The Fuzz, His Sweetie and the Young Daughter are visiting family a bit further north then their Home in the Woods.

And it looks like this could be a White Christmas.

Here's a shot of the situation late afternoon on Christmas eve.

The Fuzz would like to wish every body a

Very Merry Christmas! 

The Christmas Tree Thing

The Fuzz used to be a purist about this Christmas Tree thing.  One just did not put it up until Christmas Eve Day!

But over the years they have worn him down.

So, here it is.

Christmas Oi

With Christmas on the way, We got out the stack of Chrismas CDs.  The Fuzz's hearing is not so good any more, so he has a hard time getting the lyrics to a lot of songs.  But he thought he'd share these with y'all.

From "A Very Special Christmas 3"

No Doubt: Oi To The World Lyrics

Haji was a punk just like any other boy 

And he never had no trouble till he started up his Oi band 

Safe in the garage or singing in the tub 

Till Haji went too far and he plugged in at the pub 

'Twas a cold Christmas eve when Trevor and the skins 

Popped in for a pint and to nick a back of crisps 

Trevor liked the music but not the unity 

He unwound Haji's turban and he knocked him to his knees 

If God came down on Christmas Day 

I know exactly what he'd say 

He'd say "Oi to the punks and Oi to the skins 

But Oi to the world and everybody wins" 

Haji was a bloody mess, he ran out through the crowd 

He said "We'll meet again we are bloody but not unbowed" 

Trevor called his bluff and told him where to meet 

Christmas Day on the roof down at 20 Oxford Street 

If God came down on Christmas Day 

I know exactly what he'd say 

He'd say "Oi to the punks and Oi to the skins 

But Oi to the world and everybody wins" 

On the roof with the nun chucks Trevor broke a lot of bones 

But Haji had a sword like that guy in Indiana Jones 

Police sirens wailing, a bloody dying man 

Haji was alone and abandoned by his band 

Trevor was there fading and still so full of hate 

When the skins left him there and went down the fire escape 

(Oi, Oi) 

And then Haji saw the north star shining more then ever 

So he made a tourniquet from his turban saving Trevor 

They repelled down the roof with the rest of the turban 

And went back to the pub where they bought each other bourbon 

If God came down on Christmas Day 

I know exactly what he'd say 

He'd say "Oi to the punks and Oi to the skins 

But Oi to the world and everybody wins" 

If God came down on Christmas Day 

I know exactly what he'd say 

He'd say "Oi to the punks and Oi to the skins 

But Oi to the world and everybody wins" 

(Oi, Oi)

Kinda sweet song, ain't it. 

[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/n/no+doubt/oi+to+the+world_20101431.html ] 

Elvis?

It finally happened.  Who would have thunk or thought it?  The Fuzz and Elvis?

Every year Sandy's Country Christmas kicks off the season with Elvis.

This year That Adventurous Fuzz got a wild hair and accompanied His Sweetie and the Young Daughter to the event.

No, we're afraid it's not the real Elvis.  But he seems as popular as ever with the ladies.

This is His special Blue Christmas hat.  

(Maybe Elvis is a Duke fan)

Tom Waxter, as Elvis.

Somethin'

Oh, and
Merry Christmas!

I'm dreaming of a white Boxing Day.

We went off to visit family in that City, The Home of a Famous University, for Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve there. We were running just a bit late and barely had time for a quick bowl of soup before heading off to a Christmas Eve Mass at a Huge Local Church.
Then, it was back to the apartment for wine, snacks and finally, Eggnog and Cookies.
It seems that The Fuzz and His Sweetie had forgotten to bring the Lebkuchen. This was realized upon our arrival. However, since a return for these tasty treats would have involved a drive of many hours, it was decided that we would somehow manage without. After all, the friend soon to arrive was also bringing cookies! But it was discovered that he, also, had had this particular form of memory loss. However, We are happy to report, that at that critical time, there were plenty of those delicious treats, to compliment the eggnog.
Somehow, in the course of the evening, the contents of a bottle of Southern Comfort and some Bourbon seemed to have disappeared.

Christmas day, we were joined by more family to open Christmas Presents and enjoy a delicious Ravioli Dinner. This was followed by the traditional game of Pictionary, in which the Girls slaughtered the Boys. (It was those cursed "All Plays" that did them in!)

Finally, it was time to leave, and we packed up the motor vehicles for the return trip. The weather forecast was not encouraging, calling for a bit of snow.
All you Yankees have to realize, that this is North Carolina. We like snow. To look at, or make Snow Cream with. But driving is not so high on our "Want to Do" List. Suffice it to say, that The Fuzz and His, made it home just in time.
Here's a look out of the kitchen window, this morning!

Merry Christmas

A Sumo Christmas

Candle Power

After Christmas we pretty much had the place to ourselves. This was one of those quiet candle lit dinners.
Whilst at the "Sandy's Country Christmas" store, shortly before the big day, we were picking up a few last minute supplies. When the proprietors learned that we actually burn the candles, they thew in a few damaged ones for freebies.
But what, The Fuzz has to ask, use are candles that never get burned? This is the time of year for candles on the table, even when the power's not out. The Fuzz's Sweetie knows how to make things nice.
Here's some of our cool candle holders made out of transmission parts. The semi-carved rock on the right is a souvenir of a special place on the west coast.
Well, for now, it's back to the "old grind". I guess we'll see how this 2010 thing turns out. But, so far, so good.

Wood Pile

Whilst that Scholarly Son was home for the holidays, he Helped The Old Fuzz out on the wood pile.This is all that is left of those trees we cut the other day.
Young Daughter also helped out with this, and moved a bunch of it around to the wood pile on the other side of the trailer, where it's closer to the wood stove.
This cleared out the yard some in preparation for our Christmas guests.
They arrived before all the snow was gone, so I guess one could say we had a Kinda White Christmas.

A White Pre-Christmas

We have had a pretty good Christmas, but have been kinda busy.You may remember as The Fuzz and His Sweetie were bringing home their Christmas Tree, it was beginning to snow. Well, we actually got some, and in the morning The Fuzz got out with his camera and enjoyed himself here in the woods.Here's a look at where one of our trails crosses the creek.A look up the creek.Another foot bridge near the trailer.One of the cats getting a drink.
(This is only about 30ft from the door)Another look at the creek. This is actually where two of them join, but it's kinda hard to see in the pix.And lastly, a look out the "driveway" toward the "road".

And amazingly, there was still some of this around for Christmas Day.