New Years Eve into New Years day.

New Years eve and day has become a nothing event at our house, sorry girls. When I was younger I went to parties, as I got older I went with Teri and towards the end, the girls. Covid ended the parties at Uncle Eric’s and sorry about that girls. The last few years since Covid, New Year's Eve has consisted of staying home, watching TV, falling asleep and waking up in time to wish Teri a Happy New Year, yes boring. I have no idea what the girls were doing each New Year’s Eve.

KJ did a picture expressing his joy for the up coming year. It is an impressionist work again. Each may interpret this work of art as they wish, but I see a pink New Years Eve mask on top of a black New Years Eve mask thrown away after all of the celebrating has ceased.. It is a very deep and insightful work. It tugs at the longing for connection with another soul and the joy of a life lived together. It is a work many years beyond expectation. Wow, can you smell all that crap I just layed out, I should own an art studio. I could sell the scribblings of a year and a half old. My apologies to KJ, who might be older and stronger and have a sharp temper when he reads this. If I’m still alive when you read this, I’m just having fun with no thought about how my wise ass jokes might stunt your artistic growth. Oops, another joke just slipped out. Yeah, I know to be a joke, it’s got to be funny first.

This New Years Eve, Nastia asked if we could play cards. I have this lovely set of chips in a silver aluminum case, it looks just so cool. I have played cards with the girls and Sean for no money, but this time I wanted to teach them a little about gambling. How the house always wins. We played Black Jack. Black Jack for all of you novices is the game of twenty-one, with a few twists. First if you have a King and an ace, you win one and a half times your bet. You bet a dollar, black jack makes your winnings two dollars and fifty cents, plus your bet back, nice. If the dealer gets it, everyone loses immediately except if you also have black jack and I think that is a push where you get your bet back. You can split your cards, if you get two of the same card, or you can double down. You double your bet, and get one card.

We started playing around nine, I think. We kept going for a while and the house was killing them. I slipped Elena about fifteen dollars to get her to stop drinking. The house was doing so good, I felt bad and really shuffled the cards extra well. It changed everyone’s luck and they started to win and have more fun. I collected fifty dollars for the chips and intended to keep it at least overnight, but with the shuffle of the cards, the house, me began to lose and lose big time, but to only one person, Nastia. At one point she alone had over fifty dollars. The bank could not pay her and the other two. When we finally quit playing, I nonchalantly gave back their money, saying I couldn’t keep it.

A little while later it rang midnight and somehow I didn’t get to bed until almost two. Everyone else twelve-thirty, maybe one at the latest. Both my daughters drank that night and I guess Russians have a special immunity to hang=overs. They were drinking a chocolate liquor, stuff that would turn the stomach of most Americans after a few making them refund their drink at the porcelain god or on some poor sidewalk out front of Annie’s in Nyack. It was a fun night and I hope the new year will be a good one for our family. New Years day. New Years day was quiet. Nastia went off with Sean. Teri,Nancy, Elena and I went to a movie, Mufasa: The Lion King. I fell asleep. Happy New Year!