Old Florida Christmas Happenings – Saturday we went to the Old Florida Christmas at Manatee Historic Village. There were some good vendors, but we got there early enough that it felt a little bit empty. We hit a few stalls and walked around. While The Wife and MIL were looking at somethings, I went over to the blacksmith shop. Unfortunately, the forge was having “technical difficulties,” but the curator was making the best of it. Normally we have a chain here in front to protect you from hot metal. However, since the fire isn’t working, feel free to come in and look around. Unlike other museums that say not to touch anything, feel free to touch what you want. You just might get a bit dirty.

Advent Happenings – As previously stated, instead of stocking stuffers this year, The Wife, MIL, and me decided to do advent calendars. We bought three refillable ones a few weeks back and started finding stuff to put into them. This was trickier than anticipated – particularly when we laid down the “no food” rule. For some larger items, we just ended up putting pictures in. Plus, there was the fun of coordinating with your partner to make sure all the boxes were filled. The plan is for the three of us to “open” our calendars on Christmas Eve or Morning. Still working all of this out, since it’s the first year.

End Table Happenings – I’ve been unhappy with my side table by the downstairs couch for a bit now. It’s too small for all the stuff I need to put on it. The Wife and MIL had similar complaints with theirs. Now, the good news was that The Wife’s would work well for me, and mine would work well for MIL. We just needed to get one for The Wife. Looking on Amazon and Wayfair resulted in some that would fulfill one requirement or so, but nothing that was just right. What we ended up doing was picking up a couple ones that were wide enough, but not long enough with the idea of setting them back to back. Plus, it would have more drawer space for all of her bits and bobs. This necessitated a trip to Hobby Lobby for drawer bins, or at least, that was the excuse we used.

Tree Happenings – While I was putting together furniture, The Wife was setting up her other tree. Her first tree is up in her office since we decompressed it. As she was setting it up, there were technical issues with the installed lighting. Needless to say, we now have a new tree in the main room. Unfortunately for both trees, Freya, our youngest cat, has entered into her “I want to mess with all of the ornaments” phase.

Weight Happenings – After two weeks of poor eating, I finally got back on the scale. I undid some of my progress, but not to the extent I feared. Current: 270.8 Tollgate: 250 Final: 200