Category: Weather

A December To Remember

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. And Happy New Year 2026 ! I hope that this year is greater for you than last year. May you enjoy great travels in this new year.

I’m still looking back at my late-November / early-December trip to visit family in the Dallas Texas area. I’m up to the new month of December – Monday December 01ST 2025. This may be the first time ever that I’m in Texas in December. It was back-to-school time for my two nieces following the Thanksgiving Week break.

On that cold, dark, and dreary December day – stuck in the 30s with low clouds and mist all day long – me and my brother headed over to Starwood Cafe for brunch. He had breakfast, and I had lunch. I had their Monte Cristo with fries. I think I discovered the Monte Cristo at the old Bennigan’s during the 2000s. Nowadays whenever I can make it to a Cheddar’s (which is not very often) – I get it there. The Monte Cristo at Starwood is good. I’ve had it before. I enjoyed it via fork and knife. (It can get quite messy.)

After Starwood we went to a local coffeehouse called Armor Coffee. They have just 2 locations – the original one in Allen (where my family once lived and where my two nieces were born), and the newer one in Wylie (where my family currently lives – since 2019). Armor Coffee is owned by U.S. Army Veteran and West Point Graduate Mike Todryk and his wife – HGTV star Jenn Todryk (“No Demo Reno”).

After another Target run – we stayed in for the rest of the day.

There’s a diner in Wylie that I’ve always wanted to eat at ever since my family moved there. It’s known throughout Texas (with 45 locations) as Cotton Patch Cafe. I kind of relate it to Bob Evans serving Ohio comfort food. It serves Texas comfort food. My brother finally agreed to eat there, and we enjoyed a big lunch for $9.99 (not including drink and gratuity). I think we’ll return the next time I’m in town. My brother was impressed with the size portions for such a low price.

Later on that 2ND day of December – with the sun shining brightly and the temperature finally breaking-out of the 30s for the first time in almost 42 hours – we went back to the theatres to see our 3RD movie in 5 days. We saw “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” – the continuing story of the first two movies from 2013 and 2016 respectively.

After the movie and a Starbucks run we ventured over to my oldest niece’s high school. She’s a cheerleader in the 10TH grade, and their high school varsity basketball team was taking on a rival team from 38 miles away in the Denton Texas area. It was my first high school basketball game of my life, and it may have actually been my first basketball game overall of my life. (I don’t recall ever seeing the Washington Bullets growing up in the D.C. area, or the Miami Heat living down in South Florida.) Spoiler: The home team won in a come-from-behind victory !

On the next #TravelThursday I step inside a historic house that serves as the official museum and welcome center for Wylie Texas. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Dallas, Texas, Thanksgiving, Wylie

1980s Animals Blogging Holidays Home Life Weather

The Legend Of Fluffy The Manx Cat

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 23, 2025

Today it’s the return of a Christmas classic that’s been featured on my blog before in various forms. It’s the story of the greatest Christmas gift ever – the arrival of a cat.

It started out as a morning like any other, but just a few hours later it would become a morning that forever changed the lives of me and my little brother, and our Mom and Dad.

Exactly 42 years ago this morning – on Friday December 23RD 1983 – me (age 16½) and my little brother (age 8½) looked out our living room window at the snow and the ice on the ground of our backyard. It was a bitter cold morning in McLean Virginia 2 days before Christmas, and we were happy to be warm and comfortable inside.

But there was a creature stirring outside that was not warm and comfortable. It was a lonely young cat with no tail that was wandering around aimlessly on our ice-covered backyard patio deck, and it was shivering in misery. Me and my brother decided rather quickly that it did not belong in the harsh elements of the outside at that moment, so we opened the door and she walked right in to our more sheltered screened-in ‘Florida Room’.

We gave her some milk to drink. She loved us for it. We gave her some love. We heard a strange sound coming from her that we hadn’t heard before. It was the friendly and inviting sound of her purring. We let her in to our warm and comfortable home. She never looked back. In fact she refused to leave after that. We pretty much named her ‘Fluffy’ that day, and she instantly became an important part of our family – the missing link if you will.

That’s a young me in 1985 holding a young Fluffy. I was about 60 pounds lighter than I am today.

She was the 5TH member of our family, and she was the start of nearly 30 years of felines in our family. Fluffy loved us all, but she clearly adored me the most. During her younger years she anxiously awaited me to open the basement / laundry room door for her first thing in the morning so that she could run (and beat me) to my bedroom upstairs for a long round of petting and purring. During her later years in Jacksonville Florida when she was slowly dying she literally came back to life over and over again and jumped and loved on me and ran upstairs to my parents’ guest room whenever I arrived for a short visit. She lived a long, happy, and healthy life (until April of 2001), and she provided lots of love to our family starting with that very first Christmas of 1983.

There have been other cats and dogs within our family over the years since then. Fluffy eventually gained a feline roommate with Barney (also known as “the cat that never liked me”). After Fluffy’s death Barney eventually gained his own feline roommate with Pumpkin. Boots was my own loving cat and housemate for 12½ years in Homestead Florida until his (expected) death on May 17TH 2007. He was the coolest cat that ever lived.

But it all started with “Fluffy The Manx Cat”. She was the Matriarch of all of our family pets (to this day). She was the Queen of her castle. She was the stability of our family. She was our family’s common denominator. She was the center of attention. She was the most lovable cat that ever lived.

Fun Fact: This WordPress blog is a spinoff of my former hit music based massivesmash.com web site that I created in 1995. That web site grew out of a previous web site known as “MANx On The Net”. That first web site was a spinoff of “MANx Cat BBS” (1993-1997) – a dial-up bulletin board system run via MS-DOS typical of its time that was inspired by and named after Fluffy.

Blogging Christian Geography God Health Home Music Travel Weather

The Other Side Of The River

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date November 6, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I’ll always remember a particular Thursday in November of 1980. In fact it was exactly 45 years ago today – on Thursday November 06TH 1980. My Dad was going through with his plan to leave Maryland, cross the Potomac River, and physically move his family to Virginia. It was a day that changed my life forever.

Me and my parents lived in Prince Georges County Maryland (outside of Washington D.C.) for over 11 years from 1969 to 1980. We actually moved 3 times during that period – from Greenbelt to Bowie to Lanham. I was 2 to 13 at the time, and my younger brother was born there in 1975.

It was a terrible move for me. I was transplanted into a new state and a new neighborhood and a new school system 2 months into my 8TH grade. It was a radical change of culture for this 13½-year-old. I was plunged into a completely different environment that I was not prepared for, and I never got used to. I had friends in Maryland. I knew nobody in Virginia. I was a “normal” kid in Maryland. I was a “poor” kid in Virginia (labeled as a “grit”) that nobody really wanted to associate with. I had very few friends in Virginia – and I hung out with nobody after school. I did poorly in school, as the school system in Virginia was at a much higher academic level than the one that I came from in Maryland. I was essentially a “C” and “D” student through my 11TH grade. That wasn’t good enough for college, and everyone around me was definitely going to an expensive college in 1985. I eventually made the Honor Roll during my Senior year in high school – making all “A”s and “B”s. But it was too late. I ended up joining the military. It turned out to be a nearly 39-year career.

Had it not been for that move from Maryland to Virginia exactly 45 years ago I’m thinking that my life may have been completely different than it turned out to be. Maybe I would have gone with my friends from elementary and junior and senior high school to the University Of Maryland (where my Dad went 25 years earlier). Maybe I would’ve become a Meteorologist. Maybe I’ve would’ve gone into Radio or Television Broadcasting. (Those were my dream jobs as a teen.) Maybe I would’ve met the woman of my dreams, gotten married, and started a family. Maybe I would’ve led a wonderful life.

But then again – Maybe I would’ve never known God. Maybe I would’ve never created this blog.

Be careful when you make decisions. Think about the possible consequences of your decisions before you go through with them. Some decisions that you make can be far bigger than you can ever imagine at the time. One decision today could change your life – or a family member’s life – or a loved one’s life – forever – for better or for worse.

During my first 28 years of life I moved no less than 14 times. I’m not a fan of moving. I lived in the same home in Homestead Florida for the next 28 years. I moved to my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida almost 32 months ago. I plan to be here forever.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll head to “The Other Side Of The Ocean”. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Florida, Sebring, Texas

Blogging Christian Geography God Health Home Music Travel Weather

Walking Around My Neighborhood

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date October 30, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I’m now halfway in-between trips to and from North Texas. I had fun with family in the Wichita Falls area near the end of September, and I’ll be back on Texas soil enjoying more fun with family in the Dallas area soon. I’m already thinking about what I’ll be packing in my big silver suitcase. I’ll need to pack for 10 days, 10 nights, and temperatures from the 20s to the 70s.

#ButFirst – This week’s trip takes me around the block – literally. The block is the approximately 1.1-mile circumferential road around my neighborhood that surrounds a long hybrid natural / manmade lake. (There’s also an “inner-loop” sidewalk that rings around the lake about 20 feet below the surface of the road and the homes.)

#SomeHistory – This is my 19TH season of walking around my neighborhood for fun and fitness. I’ve documented many of these walks in this blog’s history. They are tied directly to my spiritual journey following my Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. God rescued and saved me 19 years ago. It’s when I began honoring my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. During the early years my walks were dedicated to my Dad (by name) who lost the ability to walk in 2007 due to the crippling effects of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He would pass away from the horrible disease in 2010.

I’m currently in the best physical, mental, and emotional condition of my life. I’m in a much better place than I was before the age of 39. Walking around my neighborhood (or engaging in any intentional exercise) was an unknown concept back then.

My walks are essentially a 20-to-40 minute 1-to-2-mile walk where I listen to Christian pop music via my AirPods and talk to God – thanking Him for all that He has done in my life and all that He will do for me. I also thank Him for blessing my neighborhood with beauty, safety, security, and His abundant and endless miracles for my neighbors – those who believe, and those who do not yet believe. I pray for salvation for all !

Fun Fact: It takes about 19 minutes for me to walk a mile. I walk an average of about π MPH. (π = 3.14159265358979 …)

My 19TH season of walking started early – in fact – it was the earliest start ever. After a 12-week off-season (mid-summer) hiatus – I began this season on August 28TH 2025. I’ve walked 21 times so far, and my goal for this season is 100+. (Last season I walked a personal best 90 times, and that narrowly surpassed the 87 times I walked in Season 17 – 2023-2024).

If you wish to read about my very first walk ever – then click here. It occurred at High Noon on Christmas Eve of 2007, and it was inspired by a fellow WordPress blogger at the time. It was not a passing fad back then, and I’m still walking – more than ever before – nearly 18 years later.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll go back in time exactly 45 years ago to look back at a short road-trip across the river that would change my life forever. Let’s keep traveling together.