I look like a crazy man this time of year.

With no more leaf pick-ups by the city, and the yard waste center closing for the season this weekend, time is running short before I resign myself to leaves being in my driveway for the entire winter.

(There is a certain wind pattern in this neighborhood that brings any stray leaf eventually to the door in the driveway that we use to come in and out of the house.)

So any time I leave or come back home you can find me picking up leaves.

If I bring the trash to the curb - I’ll pick up leaves on the way.

If I go to check on the Christmas lights, picking up leaves.

You get the idea - I am the crazy old man in the neighborhood trying (unsuccessfully) to stay a step ahed of Mother Nature.

The only good thing about the bad winter weather we’ve had so far - some windy nights, some heavy rain and snow - is that the huge tree next door that drops all of these leaves is much more bare than it usually is by mid-December.

There will still be leaves dropping in January and this will likely drive me nuts for months to come…but at least I know by the time I drop off those leaf bags later today or tomorrow I’ll have the memory of one or two days of a clean driveway to look back on in the thick of those cold, snow-and-leaf-covered winter days.

OK, here’s what’s happening with just two weeks left in the year.

This Week’s To-Do

I have my Puzzle Mania and Bowl Games start at the end of the week. It’s beginning to feel very December-y.
This is my Last Week Of Work before a couple of weeks off for the holiday.
We’ll probably be Getting A Christmas Tree this week, so there’s that whole rigamarole - putting it up and decorating and lighting…this is later than we’ve done it in recent years.
For the first time in many years I’ll be going to My Wife’s Company Party - I think maybe the last time this happened was in like 2018.

And here’s how a disappointing last week went, with a reminder you can click here for more details:

Last Week’s To-Do

The bib didn’t go my way, and I told you it was more disappointing than I expected. (Also, no movement on the wait list. I think that ship has sailed.)
Season two of Stranger Things was just as good as season one. I haven’t liked season three as much, but it’s still very good.
It was a late-night pickup at the airport Friday night.
I’m at a decent stopping point for the painting for now. To be continued in 2026.