The Tuesday before Christmas. We’ve noticed the ice has frozen smoothly this year, with a very cold but dry November. Cross country skiing will most likely not happen soon, unless the storm brewing in the West dumps some snow on us later in the week, as the meteorologists tell us might happen. This leaves ice…
Christmas
Throwback Thursday: Snowstorms
The Davis Memorial Carillon at Alfred University stands tall in the snowy darkness on campus in November of 2018. We drove in for a visit in a ranging snowstorm! No boots, no mittens, not hats….we were not prepared! It was early for such a significant snowfall, even in the southern tier of NYS. We heard…
Slice of Life Tuesday: Chasing Packages
With only ten days left until Christmas, we are down to the wire. I finished nearly all of my shopping yesterday by picking up just a few last minute gifts for our boys. The stockings now need filling. I’m pretty much on schedule, or so I thought until things started missing their delivery dates by…
The Making of Spirits
It’s been almost three years since I posted about making Limoncello, the Lemon flavored Italian liquor that is bright and flavorful. Since that time, I’ve made at subsequent batches, but none with my own homegrown lemons. My lemon tree has since died, but fortunately, we are able to purchase Meyer lemons in bulk large enough…
O’ that Tannenbaum Decorating
Today, I’m finishing the decorations on our third Christmas tree. I got out the decorations early last week, and early is the key word here. I usually do not decorate until the second week in December. In truth, some years were later than that. But, whether we were here or vacationing for the holiday, as…
What’s your favorite Christmas Music? Why?
It’s a three hour drive from our home to our cabin. The music selections get stale as we travel through some of the smaller communities and back roads. It’s not that we loose reception, just that it all sounds the same after a while. Before we left yesterday for a trip to the cabin. I…
Slice of Life: The Gift of Friendship
Yesterday, I had coffee with a friend. This is something I do with some regularity with a few close friends. But, yesterday was different. I had not seen this friend in several years. This person is one of those people with whom I am very fortunate to be able to pick right up where we…
December Walls When Decking the Halls
Yesterday, I just didn’t feel good. I had an early morning dental appointment for a cleaning to which I went with a headache. Despite some ibuprofen, the headache persisted for most of the day. By evening, I felt like I had not gotten anything done. Of course, this wasn’t true. I had actually done a…
An Unusual Post for Christmas Eve
I woke this morning, Christmas Eve of all days, thinking about death and dying. Odd, but I know the reason; two of my friends have lost their parents in the last two days. Each of their parents, it seems, were ill. But, death’s arrival has still shocked both of my friends. It always seems to…
The Pressure to Conform or Not
This morning I asked my son what day it was for week of special dress up days at the high school. I had seen that they had a theme for each day of the week this week, from the 17th through 21st celebrating the season. For example: Tuesday was Favorite Winterland Clothing Day. This meant…










