investing

It's rained the last few nights but the afternoons have been sunny so we got out while we could. Wednesday was so warm I went out without a jacket then walked over to and down the Wissahickon. We brought back a puddle of mud in our shoes and hair so took an already overdue bath and nap. Yesterday we took an even longer walk but stuck to the pavement around town. The dogs slept the rest of the day while I took down the Christmas decorations and brought the tree over to the recycling pile.

Taylor Swift released Lover in the summer of 2019, and I was relentless that winter in mocking the idea that leaving Christmas lights up until January was a radical act of young love rebellion when "February" fits the meter just as well and exaggerates the point even more. This year I brought two other tree trunks to be recycled, from 2019 and 2020. I had taken them down late those years then left them to breakdown in the yard after missing the opportunity to toss them on the pile. Having finally recycled them this year I thought that I owed the lyric a reconsideration and an apology as it doesn't specify which January. As I unloaded my car a man pulled up in a truck behind me and as he tossed his tree said that it's too bad you can't replant them.

I circled the house enjoying the fresh undecorated feeling then spent the night channel surfing in bed. I watched an episode of The Jeffersons where George's ex Yvonne reappears in his life disgruntled about how hers turned out with her partner Kenny, who George derided as a "numbers runner". The commercial breaks included an ad featuring Jamie Foxx winning blackjack on his phone at a party attended by predominantly black guests and another for personal loans targeted at those with low credit scores. I watched ads on QVC for cable organizers, a universal charger, a speaker, a recliner, an external storage device, and a robot vacuum. I also discovered QVC2 and Shop LC, but those channels didn't produce the emotional charge that the others did so I didn't watch long.

Today I went out running errands stopping first to refuel the car and vacuum out the pine needles and dirt we collected over the week. I was slow to leave, drinking coffee and reading the paper on the couch then building a shopping list and asking a new friend on a first date tomorrow night. On my way to the grocery store a radio announcer mentioned a large Mega Millions jackpot. I bought a ticket and a pack of gum.