Shame on me
My mother comes over to clean my apartment every now and then. I feel nine years old when she does it. I do appreciate it. She is retired and has a bunch of church functions and the like to keep her busy. She keeps threatening to get a part time job so she can meet people. Really, she wants a new bumper and big wheels and tires for her Jeep YJ.
She asked what I wanted for Christmas and I said "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas. Only a hippopotamus will do." It's an old song from the 50s. She found a toy hippo and stuck it in my stocking.

Salmon
The BBC has a story about the contamination of salmon around the world. It turns out farmed salmon is almost always higher than natural fish. The trouble with salmon is they are at the top of the food chain and the fish they eat are the culprit. The industry is throwing a fit. Scotland has the most contamination.
It just freaks me out that the farm raised stuff is worse (contamination wise) than the natural stuff. With all the nuclear dumping and chemical runoff from industry and farming. There is a huge case here in Huston of a company dumping chemicals in a river for decades. It has only just caught up with them.

Walking in the rain
I walk about a mile from the bus stop to my work door. This morning it was cold and wet. I should have brought my laptop for a meeting this afternoon, but I don't have enough rain gear to fit over the bag. I'm stretching the coat to get my backpack covered. Everything usually just fits. I ware a hat (a ball cap) because the rain will still hit my glasses and face under the hood of the rain gear jacket if I don't have something with a bill to block it. I don't bather with the flashlight. The pants of the rain suit have come apart in a couple of places and I have staples holding it together. Digging through my pockets can cause grievous bodily harm if I'm not careful. I'm lucky if I remember to pull out the bus pass before I seal myself in. The suit is bright canary-ass yellow. If any one doesn't see me they need not be on the road.
People from my work stop to ask if I want a ride on clear days. No one stops on the rainy days. I would just soak their car seat anyway.