Please read this...Not to early to think about Ground Hog Day. . .
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<p class="p1">Gosh, it sure is good to hear the words "polar vortex" again. . .</p><p class="p1">. . .with Christmas and New Year's celebrations behind us, we don't have another holiday to anticipate until Ground Hog Day. . .</p><p class="p1">. . .this week, if you don't mind, I kind of wanted to share some holiday memories with you. . .</p><p class="p1">. . .where to begin? </p><p class="p1">. . .well, let's go back to Christmas Eve. For the past couple of years, our Christmas Eve routine include a visit to a local creek bed. I know, it makes no sense whatsoever. Some of us just can't help ourselves. </p><p class="p1">I had pretty much decided to head into the woods on Christmas Eve, in keeping with a tradition. I asked The Other Half when a tradition became a tradition. We decided that three years was the magic number. Since she is a very good sport, she decided to accompany me on the Yuletide journey.</p><p class="p1">We motored to the Trail of Tears State Forest. I'm here to tell you that the state forest was a pretty quiet place on the afternoon of Dec. 24. I think that the highlight of our visit came when hundreds of geese flew overhead as they journeyed north.</p><p class="p1">. . .on Christmas Day, we hosted visitors from afar. As in way far afar. South America, to be specific. Our visitors were pretty fluent in English. The Other Half is becoming fluent in Spanish. I know the words for taco and tortilla.</p><p class="p1">We introduced them to sweet pumpkin custard, which apparently is not a well-known dish in their homeland. The pumpkin dish was accompanied by whipping cream, the kind that you "spray" out of a can. The kids enjoyed that treat.</p><p class="p1">. . .next day, The Other Half and yours truly motored to the Bluegrass State for a Christmas visit with family, including special visitors from Pennsylvania and Michigan. We only were able to spend a short time in Kentucky, but we were glad to make the trip.</p><p class="p1">One of the highlights of our visit was having an opportunity to watch Kentucky play Louisville in men's basketball. Nothing says Christmas like basketball. Right?</p><p class="p1">On a chilly Saturday afternoon, after the big ballgame, two of the special people in my life joined me for a winter walk. The walk gave us an opportunity to debate the virtues of deciduous trees as opposed to carnivorous trees. Personally, I prefer trees which do not eat meat. I wonder if we actually were talking about coniferous trees. Whatever.</p><p class="p1">. . .all in all, the holiday season was bit of a blur. Due to holidays, we had to make major changes in how we were doing things at the local Paragraph Factory. </p><p class="p1">For two weeks, Wednesday and Thursday became Monday and Tuesday. Friday was Monday. Monday was Tuesday. Tuesday was Wednesday. The whole thing became rather confusing at times. Such is life.</p><p class="p1"> . . .my holiday season ended with coughing and hacking which accompanied an unwelcomed visit by the Ghost of Creeping Crud Present. By Monday morning of this week, I was trying to convince myself that I was feeling better. Sort of.</p><p class="p1">. . .enough for this week. I hope you had a memorable holiday season. And don't forget – it's not too early to think about a Ground Hog Day present for that special someone in your life.</p><p class="p2"> </p>