“Peace on earth will come to stay, When we live Christmas every day.” – Helen Steiner Rice

We continue to continue our pursuit of what's up around the bend, maybe it will be Moon River, or some such thing as that, as I bring you greetings from my place to yours on this Tuesday, June 15, 2020. I did get my dental checkup although there are advisories saying not to do it unless it is a necessity. In other words, if you are not having any problems, maybe postponing maintenance-related procedures might be prudent. They did add a $15 fee to help them cover their personal protective gear and their increased sanitizing activities. Given their prices, I thought that was a little much, but, maybe next time I will find a coupon they will take. You do know I am just joking. The technician who cleaned my teeth did a good job. The dentist fellow said I still needed to take care of the one tooth on the upper right in the back that will likely need to come out. I told them I would not be doing anything that significant until this virus thing is behind us. They said that sounded reasonable to them. The technician lady did not say my teeth were doing good but I did notice it did not take her long at all to de-plaque them. I put the next visit out in the middle of next January. I am not sure we will have a Santa season for this year. I see many of the professional Santas posting how they are typically beginning to be fully booked by now and they have almost nothing so far. I'm okay with that. The wife and I could do something different for a change especially after being pretty well tied down for the past 10 Christmas seasons. That is part of what may or may not be up around the bend. 

Christmas green screen background example.

I have been super impressed with a number of the Santas who make a large portion of their living doing Christmas related events. These fellows have jumped on the technology bandwagon like nobody's business. They are getting ready to offer all kinds of electronic-based Santa Claus options. They are using green screen technology to do webcam with backgrounds that are simply amazing. I'm talking backgrounds with motion, working fireplaces, and other goodies. The idea will be to visit children in their homes or to do personal appearances for groups via one of the teleconferencing utilities. Fees will be charged for the type of service provided including the option to record and keep the Santa visit. I do admire these ardent entrepreneurial types. Webcam visits have been around a while, but, with these interactive backgrounds have really kicked it up a notch. My guess is, going forward, we will see these types of electronic-based offerings becoming more and more the norm. I just don't know if I am wanting to get myself into a mode to do this type of thing. My biggest hurdle would be the use of the technology itself which I could probably master but not without a whole lot of blood, sweat, and tears. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see robotic Santa Clauses coming to a department store near you. Oh, I forgot, there won't be any malls or department stores in the future. Oh well, maybe we will take a Christmas vacation this year.

You just never know. Or, at least that has been my appreciation for how it goes during my time here on the planet. I had not done a lot of outdoor grilling prior to the onset of the pandemic. It became more of an option as we sought ways to add variety to our menu choices. Because of this, I've done more grilling over the past few months than I have in maybe the last five years. In the past, we had pretty much reserved grilling for our big family get-togethers and the occasional steak cookout. During this quarantine time, I have grilled pork and beef ribs, pork and beef sausage, beef steaks, hamburgers, hot dog wieners, pork chops, and chicken. I had forgotten how much the wife really enjoys grilled meat. At the same time, I have tried not to overdo the grilling because then you have the problem of sameness. You know. The one I was trying to solve, to begin with. The restaurants are open in our area. That sounded so good to us. We were glad. We went to Olive Garden. Twice. This past Sunday, I asked the wife where she wanted to go after Church. She couldn't think of anything. I couldn't think of anything. We named some places but we came up with reasons not to go. We missed them so much while they were closed, but, I suppose it was not as much as we thought. See what I mean? You just never know. Take care and may God add His blessings. Amen. .....More later.