When life seems to lack a bit of "oomph"

I know this sounds almost un-American, but I basically skipped the Super Bowl last Sunday. That loss two weeks ago by the Broncos to the Patriots might have had something to do with it, but I also anticipated that it just wouldn't be much of contest. It wasn't 

Big day for our Seattle kids and grandkids, of course, and I know they hosted a fun watch party.

I did watch the halftime show and thought it was good... technically spectacular with people in giant tree costumes to create an instant forest. My Spanish is basically non-existent but I could sort of follow that there was a narrative going on. 

I wouldn't recognize a Bad Bunny song on a bet, at least partly due to not frequenting dance clubs. I can appreciate the symbolic power of a Puerto Rican artist performing during America's biggest religious holiday (and that not really a joke). 

I enjoyed the discomforture of many of the Trump minions, who somehow turned the whole extraveganza into blasphemy (see what I mean about religion and the Super Bowl?). I am certain there will be a brand new national scandal that will push the social commentary and over-the-top praise off my screens, probably within the next week or so. 

We are in the mid-winter doldrums and our Octoberplike weather isn't really helping. This is the time of year that seems to drag, leaving me impatient for reopening the deck and patio. 

The Olympics are everywhere now, but I have almost no interest in them. I certainly accept that these athletes are demonstrating unbelievable skills and even bravery... I just can't bring myself to feel emotionally invested. 

This is the time of year when Kathleen and I have finally decided to get a whole home water softener, followed by conversations about why we didn't do this, say, 18 years ago. Pulling the trigger on that led to us overdoing it today in moving shelves and bins and boxes out of the furnace room to make way for the new "life-changing" unit coming next Monday.

It's an awkward space but for almost two decades we have stored Christmas decorations there. I took apart an ancient metal shelving unit that leaned precariously due to metal fatigue (maybe?), and that was a thing. Next Monday or Tuesday we will need to make some decisions on rearranging or even culling some decorations. 

We don't put them all out each year and some are pretty beat up, but many of them have some sentimental value and the editing of those items will be agonizing. 

Imagine this: one of my goals for 2026 now is to imagine the fresh, softened water washing away 18 years of sediment. Maybe our appliances and faucets will gain some life.

And my experiment trying a very expensive coffee maker from Denmark failed completely. The $375 unit simply doesn't make very hot coffee... and that was the whole point.

So we went back to the $70 Cuisinart and I have to report that I found this morning's brew quite hot and tasty. 

See what I mean about being in the winter doldrums?