Miserland

It's been awhile since I've posted a blog, and my sorry, lame ass excuse is that I've been too busy. Which seems kind of strange to say since I don't have a full time job or anything, just a full time life, I guess you could say. I'm making most of my Christmas presents this year, and so I've been knitting like crazy. Also, since it gets dark so early these days the Misers have been hibernating. We spend a lot of evenings having an early dinner, then sitting around in the living room all cozy together. Here is a typical night at The Misers: I'm knitting, Bee is doing a puzzle or looking at one of her books, Glenn and Lila are curled up asleep, and Sparky is singing and playing guitar for us. I know it sounds really smarmy, but it's free and what else should we be doing? Then after Bee has had her bath and is in bed, Sparky and I usually watch an episode of The Sopranos (we're on Season Five now.) We've gotten pretty good at living on next to nothing. I've wholeheartedly embraced the whole foods thing - it's cheaper to make most everything from scratch, and it's healthier then eating a bunch of processed junk. We never go out to eat anymore, which I don't even really miss.

I sometimes think that we should make a board game out of our lives called "Miserland" which would be a combination of Life, Monopoly, and Candyland. All of the game pieces would be little hobos, and the board itself would look like the song "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" come to life. You could land on squares that would say things like "Property taxes due: lose five turns" or "Get into fight with health insurance provider. Go back to beginning and start all over again" or maybe "Car needs new tires. Cross your fingers and hope for the best. Go back fifty spaces". The person with the least amount of money at the end would be the winner. Now there's a game that I could easily win! 

But despite it all the Misers have been having fun, and are getting ready for Christmas and The Train Ride. We have splurged BIG TIME and are taking the train up to Seattle to spend the holidays with my family. We have a sleeper car on the Coast Starlight, and I cannot wait. It is one of the most beautiful routes that Amtrak takes, and it's Bees first time ever on the train. We are a train riding folk, and are eagerly awaiting this upcoming adventure, especially because it is the most Un-Miserly thing we have done all year long. Which would make us complete losers at the game of "Miserland."