Twas The Week Before Christmas...

And not a creature was stirring. Oh well unless of course you consider that I being a human creature have been up and at 'em for an hour or so which on a Saturday morning is a rarity indeed.

So J and her girls are on their way to Kissimmee for a week. H is going to be around for another couple of days until I bring him to GSP for his flight to Montreal on Tuesday morning and then there will be just me and Jynx/Jinx for the rest of the week.

I know I am off on Monday. I think I am off this coming Friday also. I've spent the last two months trying to get my vacation day carryover down to the max 10 days that I can bring into 2012. I really don't plan those very well. I should be taking these days off during June and July rather than November and December. Hmmm. I wonder if this old dog can learn a new trick.

Well I know that I have time to do my Christmas shopping and I even have time to finish raking the leaves out front. If I am real energetic or insane I can start with the backyard as well. I guess when you buy a house that has 8 mature trees and 2 trees that are early in their lifespan you get to enjoy the exercise that they provide. Enjoy is probably not the word I wanted to use there but it is too early for me to start swearing.

So I had mentioned that I was going to talk about my beloved Expos slash Nationals in an earlier blog. The winter meetings have come and gone just like my hairline and 32 inch waist have and all that happened was a trade for interchangeable parts. We obtained Ryan Perry in exchange for Collin Balester. It could have been worse. We could have gotten that brainwave from Texas also named Perry and he could have been named team chaplain or something.

Anyways the trade is between a couple of guys that are better known for their exterior attributes than their stats in the majors so far.

Balester is best known for having the facial hair that was common on the faces of 1970s male porn stars. LOL. I can't believe I just typed that. I didn't come up with that line. It has been a running joke that I have seen somewhere. Perry so far is best known for the intricate tattoo that he has on his right forearm.

Once November arrived, the rumblings were that the Spos/Nats were looking for a veteran starter, a centerfielder and some pop for the bench. A month or two into the offseason we made that trade and non-tendered Doug Slaten and that's pretty much it. I can barely contain my excitement. LOL. I think I needed to get some coffee. Going to type some more later as I will come up with anything to avoid raking!